Why So Blu?

The 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival Begins

It is now time for me to get very busy again, as the Newport Beach Film Festival has returned.  From April 25^th to May 2^nd, the 14^th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will be in full swing and I will be there to provide whatever coverage I can.  As always, the festival takes place in beautiful Newport Beach, right along the coast.  Over 350 films from over 50 countries will be screened during the week with special nightly events, galas, seminars, and more.  Additionally, the Newport Beach Film Festival offers film goers the opportunity to meet the filmmakers.  Directors, screenwriters, actors, and more are all eager to share their work and will provide an exclusive inside look at the industry during post-screening Q&A’s.  That is a lot going on in the world of film for Orange County this coming week.

As a resident of Southern California and one who is apparently eager to lose a lot of sleep for the sake of film, I plan to attend the festival, hopefully gaining access to many different screenings of films that I have my eye on.  I will do my best to provide reviews for films that have both been making there rounds through festivals and ones that are making their debuts at the NBFF.  I do plan to try something a bit different this year in terms of how I handle my coverage, so hopefully I will be able to provide even more information, while still in a timely manner.

Anyone with further interest should make sure to visit the Newport Beach Film Festival’s official website.  Furthermore, anyone who is actually in the Southern California area should try to make an effort to come down and be a part of the festival.  Having gone through this before, I can safely say there are many interesting and exciting films to check out, let alone plenty of stars and filmmakers currently hanging out in the area, so you never know who you might run into, let alone how much you may end up appreciating some of the films you see.

Here is the official press release:

2013 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES WORLD PREMIERES, SEMINARS AND NIGHTLY EVENTS

 

THE 14th ANNUAL NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL RUNS

FROM APRIL 25 – MAY 2, 2013

 

Celebrated as one of the leading lifestyle film festivals in the United States, the 14th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival (www.newportbeachfilmfest.com) brings the best of classic and contemporary filmmaking from around the world to Newport Beach for eight spectacular days, April 25 – May 2, 2013.

The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will showcase more than 350 films from 50 countries and host nightly special events, red carpet galas, compelling conversations with filmmakers, international spotlight events and seminars. The Festival offers filmgoers unique opportunities to mingle with celebrities, filmmakers from around the globe, and film industry professionals in a beautiful seaside locale.

OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT GALAS

The Newport Beach Film Festival will open with the West Coast Premiere of the documentary BROADWAY IDIOT which takes a behind-the-curtain look at how Green Day’s punk rock, blockbuster album American Idiot, became an acclaimed musical. The red carpet screening of Broadway Idiot will take place on Thursday, April 25th, 2013 at 7:30pm at Edwards Big Newport (300 Newport Center Drive) followed by a gala reception at Fashion Island (401 Newport Center Drive) where American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will perform.

On Closing Night, NBFF proudly presents the West Coast Premiere of THE WAY, WAY BACK starring Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, AnnaSophia Robb and Toni Collette and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. The film follows 14-year-old Duncan spending his summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and his daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in the gregarious manager of the Water Wizz water park. Through their funny, clandestine friendship, Duncan slowly opens up to and begins to finally find his place in the world – all during a summer he will never forget. The closing night film and party will take place at Via Lido Courtyard (3417 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA 92663).

WORLD PREMIERES

The 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival will screen over fifteen world-premiere feature films including AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR starring Parker Posey and Bruce Greenwood, B-SIDE; THE GOLDEN SCALLOP starring James Cosmo; I AM I; IN LIEU OF FLOWERS; IN SECURITY starring Michael Gladis and Ethan Embry; LET’S ROLL; THE O’BRIEN’S; TOUCHDOWN NEWPORT; WALK ON; WE’VE GOT BALLS; WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE; and A FISH STORY.

SPOTLIGHTS/FEATURES

Highlights of this year’s festival include 40 feature films including Australian Spotlight DRIFT, starring Sam Worthington, Lesley-Ann Brandt and Xavier Samuel; A SINGLE SHOT starring Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy and Ted Levine; SOME GIRL(S) starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell; WHAT MAISE KNEW starring Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore; THE ICEMAN starring Michael Shannon, Chris Evans and Winona Ryder; STUCK IN LOVE starring Greg Kinnear, Logan Lerman, and Jennifer Connelly; WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE starring Adam Brody, Kristen Schaal, and Jean Claude Van Damme; THE EAST starring Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgard and Patricia Clarkson and I AM I starring Simon Helberg, James Morrison and Jason Ritter.

ACTION SPORTS

The NBFF Action Sports Film Series, an international showcase of films celebrating athletes, visionaries, filmmakers, cinematographers, pioneers, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, artists and designers who have shaped the action sports culture and cultivated its progression with their innovation, energy and creativity. Co-produced by the Newport Beach Film Festival and Orange County-based production company ChopShop, with support by SKATEBOARDER Magazine, SURFING Magazine, the NBFF Action Sports Film Series will spotlight 18 films from around the world including, BIRDMEN: THE ORIGINAL DREAM OF FLIGHT, a documentary about wingsuit skydivers; ISOLATED, a film about a group of intrepid surfers searching for the world’s last undiscovered waves, narrated by Ryan Phillipe; and THE MOTIVATION, a chronicling of eight of the world’s best pro-skateboarders as they prepare for the upcoming Street League Championship in New York City, starring skateboarding headliners like Rob Dyrdek, Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Sheckler.

ART, ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

NBFF’s award-winning Art, Architecture + Design series will showcase 10 films from around the world including: 16 ACRES, the story of how and why the historic rebuilding of New York’s World Trade Center came to be; BENDING STICKS: THE SCULPTURE OF PATRICK DOUGHERTY, focusing on one man’s artworks consisting largely of bending and shaping sapling trees; COAST MODERN, which takes a look at Modernist architecture on the west coast, traced from 1926 to the present; and IF YOU BUILD IT, a heartwarming film about a duo of design professionals who use their teachings and compassion to help a struggling North Carolina school district.

COLLEGIATE

The Newport Beach Film Festival will present a Collegiate Showcase featuring fresh cinematic works produced by collegiate filmmakers from our eight partnering SoCal Institutions: USC, UCLA, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, Chapman University, Orange Coast College, Saddleback College, and CalArts. Each year the Festival gives students from these Southern California colleges and universities an opportunity to showcase their short films on the big screen and engage in post screening Q&A sessions with the filmgoers. The Festival offers students an opportunity to connect with film industry professionals, new audiences, alumni, media and other filmmakers.

DOCUMENTARY

NBFF Documentary Film Series will showcase 19 films from around the world, including: LOVE, MARILYN featuring Elizabeth Banks, Lindsay Lohan, Evan Rachel Wood, Ben Foster, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Viola Davis, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Burstyn, Adrien Brody, Marisa Tomei and Glenn Close; TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY; OUT OF PRINT narrated by Meryl Streep; CASTING BY starring Marion Dougherty, Woody Allen, Jeff Bridges and Robert Redford; HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS from Executive Producer Adrian Grenier starring 50 Cent, David Simon and Russell Simmons.

SHORTS PROGRAMS

The Newport Beach Film Festival continues its proud tradition of hosting some of the best shorts filmmakers in the world with its numerous and genre-spanning shorts series. Uniquely curated into thematic programs, the Festival will screen over 200 short films in categories ranging from romance to animation, from comedy to documentary.

ENVIRONMENTAL

The Newport Beach Film Festival partners with many local environmental organizations to raise awareness of important issues affecting our environment through cinema. The Festival’s “Eco Spotlight” is REVOLUTION from Director Rob Stewart and Executive Producer Gus Van Sant. Other highlights include CRITICAL MASS; THE FRUIT HUNTERS and LA SOURCE. All films in this series cover a wide spectrum of eco-conscious topics including water quality, natural resource preservation and the the effects of globalization.

MUSIC

The Newport Beach Film Festival’s highly popular Music Series continues to expand for the Festival’s 14th year. The Music Film Series features 9feature narrative and documentary films that put music center stage highlighting musical performances, historic headlines and the unique stories behind struggling musicians. The punk band, Green Day, is featured in two documentaries: the Opening Night Film BROADWAY IDIOT and ¡CUATRO!, the documentary exploring the making of Green Day’s latest studio albums. Other highlights include GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY a narrative about both Tim and his son Jeff Buckley; SECRET DISCO REVOLUTION documenting the disco era; IN YOUR DREAMS: STEVIE NICKS Directed by and starring Stevie Nicks. In addition the Festival’s newly created Music Video Program, designed to showcase the medium’s unique partnership of film and music, will feature 18 music videos from artists around the world including No Doubt’s SETTLE DOWN and The Black Keys’ THE BADDEST MAN ALIVE.

FAMILY & YOUTH FILM SHOWCASE

The Newport Beach Film Festival’s Youth Film Showcase consists of 18 short films and features. Highlights in the Family Program include SHORTS FOR SHORTIES, a collection of short films; CHUCK JONES SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS, Chuck Jones Center for Creativity brings some of Chuck’s most beloved and rarely seen works to the Newport Beach Film Festival. In addition to projects from the iconic cartoonist, the program will also include a selection of animated shorts playing at this year’s Festival; WIENER DOG NATIONALS, after a family adopts a runt of a dachshund from a shelter, only time will tell if little “Shelly” and her new family are up to the challenge of entering the nation’s greatest wiener dog race; and HENSON PUPPET DREAMS a collection of live-action puppet short films curated by Heather Henson.

SEMINARS

The City of Newport Beach Arts Commission and The Newport Beach Film Festival will present a series of interactive panels that focus on the art and process of filmmaking. The free educational event will feature talented and distinguished film industry professionals. The Festival invites the audience to go behind the scenes with some of the industry’s leading filmmakers as they share their extensive knowledge and insight into the business and art of today’s entertainment world. This year’s series includes a Film Music panel featuring Oscar nominee Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible, Rush Hour, The Amityville Horror) and Mark Isham (Once Upon a Time, The Lucky One, Invincible) and a film editing panel featuring Oscar winner William Goldenberg (Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, National Treasure) as well as other panels throughout the weekend.

RICHARD BARE CENTENNIAL

The Newport Beach Film Festival will celebrate the career and 100th birthday of legendary Director and Newport Beach native, Richard Bare. On Sunday April 28th, Mr. Bare will host a moderated discussion and screening of some of his most famous projects including several iconic TWILIGHT ZONE episodes (Nick of Time and To Serve Man) as well as select short films from his SO YOU WANT TO series. The Festival will also host a special screening of Mr. Bare’s cult-classic film WICKED, WICKED, shot in the innovative DUO-VISION.

DISNEY RARITIES

In honor of the 25th anniversary of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?, the Newport Beach Film Festival will present a special screening of the groundbreaking film and a pre-film Q&A. Legendary Disney producer Don Hahn will lead the discussion alongside panelists including Charles Fleischer (voice of Roger Rabbit), Joanna Cassidy (Dolores) and Dave Bossert (Special Effects Animator).

The Newport Beach Film Festival is proud to present a special screening of DISNEY RARITIES on Sunday, April 28th with Academy Award-winning producer Don Hahn and Director/Producer Dave Bossert. The program includes a sneak peek at rarely seen treasures from the Disney vault.

I will be posting reviews, updates, and whatever else I have time to write about throughout the week.

Here is the promo for this year’s festival: