Oh, boy, Oh, boy, It's Troy!! A Never-Ending Story About Toy Boy Romans Tossing Around Their Adulterous and Lustful Togas in Cinemas Worldwide Concurrently With Notorious Bloodsuckers Streaming Across Other Silver Screens, Also Worldwide You Must Wait To See What Will Happen The Day After Tomorrow! Where Will It All End? The Dilemma of Choice Rests Evermore with the Movie-Goer: Come one, Come all! Meanwhile Serious Art Brews, Completing 100 Years Across the Open Seas! (May 2004) Before we begin with the latest flashes for the month, let us have a glimpse of everyone's favorite Troy Boy, Brad Pitt, who has been keeping himself successfully incognito from all the Paparazzi (or Paparcheezies, as they call them in Holland) who have been trying to hunt the toga-bearer down in the streets of the Jordan area ever since he and his have taken residence there late last year. Don't worry Brad, your secret is safe with us. Nevertheless, those desperately awaiting the first reels of "Troy," will have to be satisfied for the time being with the two shots here. (One showing the Pitt more appropriately attired for warfare for fending off those damned journalists and photographers.) is set to start shooting "Ocean's 12" alongside George Clooney and Elliot Gould in Amsterdam on May 5th (Dutch Liberation Day!) TROY Brad Pitt as the Petersen version of the Homeric heroic ideal, Achilles © 2004 Warner bros Enterprises, all rights reserved photo courtesy: Warner Bros. Netherland And then, of course there's "Van Helsing"! Due even earlier (on May 5th in Amsterdam), this little treat includes flying Vampires and dashing Werewolves as well as the Ozzie so many women are ready to fall over for, Hugh Jackman. (Once a Wolverine, now he evolves into Wolverine Deux.) Van Helsing © 2004 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Photos Credit: Industrial Light & Magic. photos courtesy: United International Pictures UIP (Netherland) And, speaking of "Idols", let us not forget (are you ready?) that a great proportion of the Dutch population will be looking for their thrills elsewhere later this year with the cinema debut of Jim (runner-up from the "Idols" program and known for his number one hit singles "Tell Her" and "This Love is Real") in "Snowfever", a story with snowboarders. Jim will appear as male supporting actor next to Daan Schuurmans and Ebert-Jan Weber. The competition is enthralling. The film is due to hit the snowy skids in the cinemas in October. But now for more important things: "Bloomsday 100" is about to break loose. (If you don't know what that means, you should be ashamed of yourselves!) Check out the pertinent info and details about the centenary year at www.rejoycedublin2004.ie . And, for the deeper and more delving among you, travel onward to horizons at www.bloomsday100.org . Even, and especially, those of us in exile know exactly what Green means and the day that shortly breaks upon us. And, naturally, the new and exciting version of the main book as discovered in Sean Walsh's film "Bloom" (starring Stephen Rea as the man himself, Angeline Ball as Molly, and Hugh O' Connor as Stephen Dedelus) is a screening not to be missed in several cinemas simultaneously, so that everyone will have their chance to revel. Slainté! From May 13th through June 23rd the Netherlands Filmmuseum in the Vondelpark will screen a series of films focusing on three decades of Dutch film production, namely the period between 1949 and 1980. One incentive for setting up this six-week retrospective of Dutch films is the publication of a new book by public relations expert Hans Schoots entitled "Van Fanfare tot Spetters. Een cultuurgeschiedenis van de jaren zestig en zeventig" ("From "Fanfare" to "Spetters". A cultural history of the sixties and seventies.") which analyzes aspects of various films as being reflective of Dutch society in a period spanning two turbulent decades. (The book will be available from May 6th and is published by Bas Lubberhuizen in co-operation with The Netherlands Filmmuseum.) The film program, on the other hand, spreads more widely into three decades. Divided into three segments, the first two weeks of the program will focus on the 1950's, the second two weeks on the 1960's and the last two weeks on the 1970's. The entire event commences on the evening of May 12th with the screening of Paul Verhoeven's "Spetters." From the 13th through the 26th of May, Bert Haanstra's series of Fanfare films from the 50's will be shown (as well as Alexander Mackendrick's classic "Whisky Galore" which inspired Hanstra's film "Fanfare.") On the 27th of May, Frans Weisz' "Gangstermeisje" ("Gun moll") films from the 60's will make their first appearance and run through the 9th of June. Amongst other directors included in the six-week parade are Wim Verstappen, Pim de la Parra, and Hans Keller. May 7th will also see the American release of "A Foreign Affair," produced by David J. Bijker, written by Geert Heetebrij, and directed by Helmut Schleppi. First screened at the Sundance Festival in 2003, this Dutch production (made in English) finally enjoyed its American premiere at the end of April in both Phoenix, Arizona and Archlight, Hollywood. Starring David Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, and Emily Mortimer, the film is about two brothers from the Midwest who realize, following the death of their mother, that they need a woman in their lives (preferably one with traditional values who is a good housekeeper), so they head off to Russia in order to find the "maid" of their dreams. (The logline is "They're not looking for love, they're looking for a wife.") Will something get lost in translation? And speaking of translation, the gala Dutch premiere of the new Moroccan film (with Dutch subtitles) "Les Bandits" took place in Pathé Cinema De Munt in Amsterdam on April 27th. Directed by and starring Said Naciri, the film was released for audiences on the 29th in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Scheveningen and Utrecht. Already having broken box-office records in Morocco and, considering the growing demand for Moroccan films in Holland, it is now being released Amsterdam and throughout several other cities. The film is a comedy about an intelligent pickpocket named Didi, who, while posing as a rich heir, unexpectedly finds himself turning into a gentleman. Also featured are noted Maroccan actors Abdelkader Moutaa, Majdouline, Mohamed el Khyari and Abdellah Mountassir. NICE (New Italian Cinema Events) begins this year on May 6th and will run until May 12th at the Filmmuseum Cinerama in Amsterdam. "Ora O Mai Piú" has been chosen for the gala opening on May 6th and will be released in cinemas throughout Holland on May13th. The entire festival includes the following screenings: May 7th 19.45: "Emma Sono Io" (Francesco Falaschi) May 8th 19.45: "Velocità Massima" (Daniele Vicari) May 9th 15.30: "L'Isola" (Costanza Quatriglio) May 9th 19.45: "Pater Familias" (Francesco Patierno) May 10th 19.45: "Bell'Amico" (Luca D'Ascanio) May 11th 19.45: "Piovone Mucche" (Luca Vendruscolo) May 12th 19.45: "Capo Nord" (Carlo Luglio) Further information about NICE is available at all of the following four sites:   www.filmmuseum.nl   www.nicefestival.org   www.italcult.demon.nl   www.brightangels.nl. Of course, what might even be nicer than NICE is a short trip to France in order to enjoy the Cannes Film Festival. President of the Camera d'Or Jury this year is British actor and director Tim Roth. Running from May 12th till May 23rd, all the info you need can be found at www.festival-cannes.org . "Media Design Research", a seminar on "Free, Libre and Open Source Software in Design" (Freestyle - FLOSS In Design) is a collaborative effort of the Media Design Research, Piet Zwart Institute, V2_ Lab V2 Eendrachtstraat 10 in Rotterdam (where the event will take place on May 19th), and Interactive Media, Hogeschool van Amsterdam. FLOSS, a form of collaborative software development has, over the past few years, proven itself as a driving force of digital networks, especially the Internet. Now this approach is beginning to open up new approaches in design and visual culture. The upcoming seminar will present clear information on this software and how it both challenges and provides new opportunities for media design. This seminar will be streamed via www.v2.nl/live/ . Further information regarding the entire event available at: www.v2.nl/program/2004/en/events/05-freestyle/more.html and pzwart.wdka.hro.nl . "Ma Fine Art - Experience, Memory, Re-enactment." Situated on the intersection between personal life and collective culture, experience and memory involve both the individual and the social body. A continuing series of lectures and screenings curated by Anke Bangma and Florian Wuest at the Auditorium at the Witte de Withstraat 50 in Rotterdam show how artists employ performances and re-enactments to explore how experience and memory are simultaneously culturally constructed and personally lived, and charged with desires and fears as well as political ideologies. Their work is playful and parodying, but also puts the individual body at risk, making it impossible for the viewer to separate analytical reflection from emotional response. Upcoming dates include Mathilde ter Heijne (May 6th), Matthew Buckingham (May 13th), and a performance by Edward J. Jansen titled "Tripact" (June 2nd). Further information, including a complete list of those participating, is available at pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/fama/public/ComingEvents/view . While we're on experimental art and groundbreaking alternative visuals, the World Wide Video Festival will be opening it's cathodes and liquid crystals for you once again this coming month as its annual event takes place between June 10th and 20th. Check it out at: www.wwvf.nl . When you've got the kind of clout Sydney Pollack has, you can hold your own private sessions at U.N. Headquarters. Armed with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn as secret weapons, Pollack has begun principle photography on "The Interpreter," due for release in 2005. This is, not surprisingly, the first time a motion picture has been granted permission by the United Nations to film inside its historic headquarters in New York. U. N. Secretary General Kofi Annan was instrumental in leading the decision of officials from both the General Assembly and the Security Council to consider allowing unprecedented access to the production. (Wonder what kind of photos they'll wind up with?) Kidman appears as African-born U.N. interpreter Silvia Broome, who overhears a death threat against an African head of state due to address the UN General Assembly. Will she scream like Doris to save the Day? Becoming a target for the assassins herself, she doesn't have time to do anything like that. Tobin Keller (Penn), the federal agent put in charge of her protection, doesn't quite see things eye to eye with his multi-lingual charge. Pollack, whose classic thrillers Three Days of the Condor, Absence of Malice and The Firm have set the standard for the genre, says, concerning this latest venture, "Although The Interpreter is first and foremost a suspense thriller," stated Sydney Pollack, "the film is in sync with the values of the U.N. and its policies, in that it is against using violence to settle problems between people and countries." Shades of Mary Poppins? Emma Thompson has started shooting for a 14-week schedule at Pinewood Studios in her new role as "Nanny McPhee" (in the film of the same name), the story of a nanny with magical powers who, entering the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth), tames his seven wayward children with astonishing results. Angela Lansbury appears as Aunt Adelaide who, hopefully, won't be making any new warm pies for this household. Thompson wrote the screenplay herself, adapting it from the "Nurse Matilda" children's books of Christianna Brand. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will launch a 12-week screening series on May 17, showcasing films that were lavishly nominated for Oscars® in their release years, but did not ultimately win the Oscar® in the Best Picture category. "Great To Be Nominated, Part One" will screen a different film each Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The series will begin with the 1927/28 Best Picture nominee "7th Heaven" and will continue year by year through August 16, when Part One of the series concludes. "Great To Be Nominated" is designed to continue in 2005, picking up where this portion of the series ends. The complete screening schedule is as follows: May 17 "7th Heaven" 1927/28 May 24 "In Old Arizona" 1928/29 June 7 "The Love Parade" 1929/30 June 14 "Skippy" 1930/31 June 21 "The Champ" 1931/32 June 28 "Lady for a Day" 1932/33 July 12 "One Night of Love" 1934 July 19 "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" 1935 July 26 "Anthony Adverse" 1936 August 2 "A Star Is Born" 1937 August 9 "Alexander's Ragtime Band" 1938 August 16 "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" 1939 Passes for "Great To Be Nominated, Part One" are available at a cost of $25 for film buffs wishing to see the series in its entirety. Tickets for each screening may be purchased on an individual basis at a cost of $5 each for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid I.D. They may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, pending availability, the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The Spanish Film "Tempus Fugit," directed by Enric Folch (and originally made for television), won the Silver Scream Award at this year's Fantastic Film Festival in Amsterdam. What else is there to say? Gettin' late. Gotta go now! © 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett We much appreciate comments, suggestions and bug reports. Please send these to The Green Hartnett