The Avengers (titled Avengers Assemble in the UK) exploded at the UK box office with £15.78 million — or roughly $25.6 million — over the weekend, including its Thursday preview screenings, giving the superhero film the winning spot among British releases. And coming in the heels of John Carter (which has yet to even break the £5m mark in Britain), Disney is wasting no time celebrating, calling the result the biggest superhero-movie opening of all time, The Guardian reports . By comparison, The Dark Knight debuted in Great Britain with £11.19m ($18.1m, including previews), while Spider-Man 3 kicked off with £11.83m ($19.1m, sans previews) in May 2007 and Iron Man 2 grabbed just £7.66m ($12.3m, including previews) back in April 2010. Meanwhile, Battleship , which launched April 11 in the UK, has dropped from first to sixth place, taking in the rough equivalent of $811,000 from 436 locations — a 61-percent decline from the previous weekend. Rounding out the British theatrical top five, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen took in £1.08m ($1.75m) from 417 sites, The Hunger Games followed with just over £744K ($1.2m) from 398 locations, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists landed at number four with nearly £664K ($1.07m) at 511 theaters, and The Cabin in the Woods closed the top five with almost £562K ($911K) at 383 locations. [ The Guardian ]
The Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled its lineup of nearly 200 features, shorts and more today. This year’s event, which comprises work from 30 countries, will open with the North American premiere of Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love ( as previously announced ), while the world premiere of Warner Bros.’ Magic Mike by Steven Soderbergh will close out the festival, which runs June 14 – 24 at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. Other gala events include Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World , Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. And Dreamworks Pictures’ People Like Us will have its World Premiere in LAFF’s Summer Showcase screenings. Directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jody Lambert, and the film stars Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall D’Addario, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Duplass, Michelle Pfeiffer, and centers on a 20-something fast talker who is tasked to fulfill his estranged father’s last wishes. LAFF’s lineup below include 30 World, North American and U.S. premieres, 19 of which are in competition. The festival’s International Showcase spotlight narrative and documentary selections from outside the U.S., while Summer Showcase are advance screenings set for release this summer. Narrative Competition (10) (with LAFF descriptions): All Is Well – Portugal (Director Pocas Pascoal, Producer Luis Correia, Cast Cheila Lima, Ciomara Morais) – Strangers in a strange land, two beautiful Angolan sisters fleeing a civil war in their homeland struggle to survive in Lisbon. Pocas Pascoal’s deeply personal saga shows us the face of exile with quietly stunning power. North American Premiere Breakfast with Curtis – (Director/Writer/Producer Laura Colella, Cast Theo Green, Jonah Parker, David Parker, Virginia Laffey, Aaron Jungels, Yvonne Parker, Adele Parker, Laura Colella, Gideon Parker) – A balmy eastern summer and a lush, rambling backyard are the perfect settings for this mirthful tale of unlikely friendships and rekindled neighborliness amongst a quirky and charming cast of bohemians. World Premiere The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man – Mexico (Director/Writer Arturo Pons , Producer Ozcar Ramírez González, Cast Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez) – A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico. North American Premiere Crazy and Thief – (Director/Writer Cory McAbee, Producers Cory McAbee, Scott Miller, Cast Willa McAbee, John McAbee, Gregory Cook, Graham Stanford) – With only a homemade “Star Map” and their own imagination to guide them, a brother and sister take a fantastical journey through the real world in this ode to being a little kid from cult director Cory McAbee. North American Premiere Dead Man’s Burden – (Director/Writer Jared Moshé, Producer Veronica Nickel, Cast Barlow Jacobs, Clare Bowen, David Call, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Richard Riehle) – This tense, classically crafted indie Western, set in the aftermath of the Civil War, starts with a startling act of violence: a daughter shoots down her father on the open range. Then her long lost brother returns. This is not going to be just any old family reunion. World Premiere Four – (Director/Writer Joshua Sanchez, Producer Christine Giorgio CAST Wendell Pierce, Emory Cohen, Aja Naomi King, EJ Bonilla) – Over the course of a steamy 4th of July night, a father and daughter, each trapped in loneliness, reach out for sexual connection — he with a self-hating teenage boy, she with a smooth-talking wannabe homeboy — in this psychologically complex, beautifully acted drama. World Premiere A Night Too Young – Czech Republic (Director Olmo Omerzu, Writers Bruno Hájek, Jakub Felcman, Olmo Omerzu, Producer Jiří Konečný CAST Martin Pechlát, Jirí Cerny, Natálie Rehorová, Vojtech Machuta, Jan Vasi) – On New Years Day, two innocent 12-year-old boys score vodka for three strangers and get invited to an adult party they’ll never forget. This darkly comic tale by gifted 26-year-old Czech director Olmo Omerzu upends the conventions of the coming of age movie. North American Premiere Pincus – (Director/Writer/Producer David Fenster, Cast David Nordstrom, Paul Fenster, Christi Idavoy, Dietmar Franosch) – An anchorless carpenter returns to his Miami home to help his ailing father. To escape the burden of his responsibilities, he seeks comfort in women, weed and his otherworldly German friend Dietmar. World Premiere Red Flag – (Director/Writer/Producer Alex Karpovsky, Cast Alex Karpovsky, Onur Tukel, Jennifer Prediger, Caroline White, Keith Poulson, Dustin Guy Defa) – Writer/director/star Alex Karpovksy reveals his sterling comic chops playing an indie filmmaker named Alex Karpovsky who, unexpectedly dumped by his girlfriend, takes to the road for a misbegotten mini-tour of film screenings and overly ardent groupies. World Premiere Thursday till Sunday – Chile (Director/Writer Dominga Sotomayor, Producers Gregorio González, Benjamin Domenech, Cast Santi Ahumada, Emiliano Freifeld, Francisco Pérez-Bannen, Paola Giannini) – With uncommon beauty and style, this Chilean road movie finds a family at a crossroads, as the daughter slowly realizes the divide between the adults in the front seat and the kids in back. North American Premiere Documentary Competition (with LAFF descriptions): 25 to Life – (Director Mike Brown, Producers Mike Brown, Yvonne Shirley) – William Brawner contracted the HIV virus through a blood transfusion as a toddler and kept it a secret as an adult while living a promiscuous, womanizing life. 25 years later, he comes clean, and this unflinching, sure-to-be-controversial documentary records his struggle for redemption. World Premiere A Band Called Death – (Directors Jeff Howlett, Mark Covino, Producers Matthew Perniciaro, Scott Mosier, Kevin Mann, Jerry Ferrara FEATURING David Hackney, Bobby Hackney, Sr., Dannis Hackney) – Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and inspiring family chronicle, this is the captivating and little known story of the Hackney brothers and their band Death, the best punk band the world almost never heard. World Premiere Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives – (Directors Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore, Producers Kate Roughan, Zachary Mortensen, Sara Lamm, Mary Wigmore FEATURING Ina May Gaskin, Stephen Gaskin, Pamela Hunt, Farm Midwives past and present, Kristina Kennedy Davis) – Ina May Gaskin and the courageous midwives of the Farm commune inspired the modern midwifery movement. This beguiling documentary tells their empowering story with depth, intelligence and wit. World Premiere Call Me Kuchu – (Directors Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Producer Malika Zouhali-Worrall) – To be openly gay in Uganda is to risk imprisonment and death, yet brave men like David Katos, the country’s first openly gay activist, have fought back. This heartbreaking and stirring documentary takes us inside this life and death struggle for human rights. US Premiere Drought – Mexico (Director Everado González, Producer Martha Orozco) – Contrasting the lives of a cattle-ranching community with the arid northeastern Mexican landscape that surrounds them, this cinema vertité documentary paints a poetic portrait of a community on the verge of extinction. US Premiere The Iran Job – USA/Germany/Iran (Directors Till Schauder, Producers Sara Nodjoumi, Till Schauder FEATURING Kevin Sheppard, Leah Sheppard, Hilda, Laleh, Elaheh, Abdullah, Zoran “Z” Milicic, Kami Jamshidvand, Ali Doraghi, Mehdi Shirjang, Gholamreza Khajeh, Asadollah Kabir, Fereidoon Reisi, Mohammad Ahmadi, Ehsan) – An American pro basketball player signs up for a season with upstart Iranian Super League team A.S. Shiraz. This sports documentary takes a surprising turn when this gregarious charmer meets three strong Iranian women fighting the repressive regime. World Premiere Sun Kissed – (Directors Maya Stark, Adi Lavy, Porducers Jocelyn Glatzer, Maya Stark, Adi Lavy) – With remarkable strength of spirit, a husband and wife examine their lives and why their children and others have been struck with a rare genetic disorder in this powerful portrait of a small Navajo community. World Premiere Vampira and Me – Director/Producer R. H. Greene) – Before Elvira there was Vampira, the playfully ghoulish host of a local L.A. late night horror movie show who became a national celebrity, then disappeared. This loving, personal portrait reveals the remarkable woman behind the chalk-white mask. World Premiere Words of Witness – Egypt/USA (Director/Producer Mai Iskander, Featuring Heba Afify) – Updating your Facebook status is a political act in this street-level documentary depicting the recent Egyptian revolution as seen through the eyes and social network accounts of a young female journalist working for an English language newspaper. US Premiere International Showcase (15): Bestiaire , Denis Côté – Canada Bunohan: Return to Murder , Dain Said – Malaysia (Oscilloscope Pictures) Canícula , José Álvarez – Mexico The First Man , Gianni Amelio – France – US Premiere The Last Elvis , Armando Bo – Argentina Neighboring Sounds , Kleber Mendonça Filho – Brazil (The Cinema Guild) On the Edge , Leila Kilani – France/Morocco/Germany P-047 , Kongdej Jaturanrasamee – Thailand Return to Burma , Midi Z. – Taiwan/Myanmar Sister , Ursula Meier – Switzerland (Adopt Films) – North American Premiere The Strawberry Tree , Simone Rapisarda Casanova – Canada/Cuba/Italy Summer Games , Rolando Colla – Switzerland Teddy Bear , Mads Matthiesen – Denmark (Film Movement) Unforgivable , André Téchiné – France (Strand Releasing) Without Gorky , Cosima Spender – UK Summer Showcase (16) : About Face , Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (HBO Films) Beauty Is Embarrassing , Neil Berkeley Big Easy Express , Emmett Malloy Celeste and Jesse Forever , Lee Toland Krieger (Sony Pictures Classics) Gayby , Jonathan Lisecki (Wolfe Releasing) Gimme the Loot , Adam Leon (IFC Films) The House I Live In , Eugene Jarecki It’s a Disaster , Todd Berger – World Premiere La Camioneta : The Journey of One American School Bus, Mark Kendall – USA/Guatemala Neil Young Journeys , Jonathan Demme (Sony Pictures Classics) An Oversimplification of Her Beauty , Terence Nance – USA/France People Like Us, Alex Kurtzman (Dreamworks Pictures) – World Premiere The Queen of Versailles , Lauren Greenfield (Magnolia Pictures) Reportero, Bernardo Ruiz Robot and Frank , Jake Schreier (Samuel Goldwyn Films) Searching for Sugar Man , Malik Bendjelloul (Sony Pictures Classics)
The actor tells MTV News he expects to play the superhero ‘for a long while.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan Robert Downey Jr. at the “Avengers” premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday Photo: Getty Images With the Avengers finally assembling next week, Marvel Studios and the stars behind the heroes have already begun to look ahead to the next films set in the comic-book universe. At the closing night celebration of the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday night (April 28), Robert Downey, Jr. spoke with MTV News about the future of his character, Iron Man, and addressed recent talk about other actors playing the role in the future. At CinemaCon last week, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige mentioned to Badass Digest that when it came time for Downey to leave the role of Tony Stark behind, a new actor could pick up right where he left off, like in the James Bond films. But Downey told MTV News on the red carpet that he wasn’t so thrilled about the idea of someone else playing Tony Stark. “I would really hate for someone else to think they could step into my shoes,” he said. An infamous jokester, he couldn’t help but ask, “I wonder who’s playing Tony Stark next. Is it you? Is that what you’re here to tell me?” But Downey can’t be Iron Man forever, and while the 42-year-old actor couldn’t say for sure how many movies he has left in him, he made clear he’ll be interested as long as they remain good films. “I know things are looking like that they could go on for a long while,” Downey said. “As usual in my book, it’s all about quality control and delivering a product that you can have this kind of reaction to. If they keep doing that, maybe I’ll keep showing up.” In Downey’s immediate Marvel future, there’s next year’s ” Iron Man 3 .” The past few weeks have seen actors like Sir Ben Kingsley , Guy Pearce and Jessica Chastain potentially joining the cast, and Downey said that he could not wait to work with “any or all of them.” “It’s funny. Sometimes you have to call for a good old-fashioned British invasion,” Downey said. “‘Iron Man 3’ is really shaping up to be something special. We start in a couple weeks. I’m sure I’ll be leaking secrets to you as we move ahead.” What secrets, you ask? Well, it was recently announced that “Iron Man 3” would be co-produced in China. As for whether any filming would take place in the East, Downey was less forthcoming. “I’d like to tell you all my secrets,” he said,” but I forget them.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Avengers.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘The Avengers’ Take On Tribeca Film Festival Assemble Yourself For ‘Avengers’ Sneak Peeks Related Photos ‘Avengers’
‘The magma of Rambo is coming to the surface,’ he tells MTV News. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Sylvester Stallone in “Rambo II” Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/ Getty Images Any day is a good day to chat with action hero Sylvester Stallone , particularly when the topic of conversation turns from the highly anticipated “Expendables” sequel to the always-anticipated “Rambo” sequels. The last time we checked in with Stallone about the future of his famed Vietnam vet John Rambo , it seemed as though there might not be any more story to tell and that the hero needed “to stop running” and take a rest . Thanks to our recent run-in with the main man at CinemaCon, it seems as if Rambo’s rest has come to an end and we might see him rise again. “There’s a volcanic eruption [brewing]. The magma of Rambo is coming to the surface,” Stallone said when asked about his thoughts on bringing the character back to the big screen. So is there another story to tell? “I know there is,” he said definitively. “It’s one thing where you lay down the final culmination of your life where you can articulate it, but also act on it where he realizes what his destiny really is,” Stallone said, speaking for the character and how he might take a moment to reflect on his life and realize his work isn’t finished. “It’s not to be a farmer, it’s not to be obscure; it’s to go out in a blaze of glory in a heroic fashion. But is he really doing it for himself or is he doing it because that’s just his id? That’s who he is. “I like the whole Mexican situation, what’s going on down there,” Stallone continued, hinting at the film’s possible setting and building the plot around the real-life conflict in Mexico. “So I’m working on a formula for it right now.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: CinemaCon 2012
‘We will stand behind it 100 percent and if that means it’s an R, then so be it,’ Fox chief Tom Rothman tells MTV News. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Michael Fassbender as David 8 in “Prometheus” Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Fresh off the release of a visually stunning new “Prometheus” featurette — which we can’t stop talking about here at MTV News — comes this excellent tidbit from Fox studio chief Tom Rothman regarding the film’s still-to-be-determined rating, which could very likely be an R. “The rating board has not opined yet and it will go in to the board soon,” Rothman told us on the press line for the studio’s CinemaCon panel. “This I can tell you and I can tell all the fans, not one frame will be cut. The movie will be what it should be. We will not cut a frame of the film,” he promised. “We will stand behind it 100 percent and if that means it’s an R, then so be it, because not an ounce, not a percentage are we going to compromise the film.” Rothman went on to say that the film does indeed live up to the hype surrounding it and that he genuinely couldn’t wait to see each and every new cut, visual effect and element added to the film during it’s post-production. “When we first saw the movie in 3-D, it’s breathtaking,” he said. “So I hope [it lives up to the hype]. I think so, I believe so.” The excitable studio chief also explained his reasoning behind the title “Prometheus” and why they chose to leave the word “Alien” out of it altogether. “I think the easy thing would have been to make an ‘Alien’ prequel and that’s where it started as an idea, but it evolved,” he said. “Ridley’s ideas are much bigger than that and it really is a brand-new film, and this is the man who made ‘Blade Runner.’ He hasn’t made a science-fiction film in 30 years, and to be honest, I didn’t want to undersell it. ‘Prometheus’ is an ambitious title I hope everybody knows — it’s the name of the ship in the movie but also [based on] the god who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man and paid a serious price for it, so be careful what you do. The cautionary guy, Prometheus,” he joked. Rothman said “Prometheus” is not just a movie for “Alien” fans. “It’s a big, bold new-idea movie and we want it in the title because people know [that] this movie stands on its own,” Rothman added. “If you’re a fan of ‘Alien,’ great. But if you’re not, it’s entirely self-contained and full of new ideas.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Prometheus.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos Talk Nerdy
Charles Foster Kane had his newsreel, and now Sacha Baron Cohen’s General Aladeen gets his in this look at the first scene of Paramount ‘s The Dictator , which opens wide May 16. There’s plenty of fresh stuff as well as that clever track and field bit from the film’s previous trailer . Related: Sacha Baron Cohen Steals Show At CinemaCon ‘The Dictator’ Spills “Kim Jong Il’s Ashes” On Oscar Red Carpet… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Deadline | Hollywood Discovery Date : 26/04/2012 08:32 Number of articles : 2
Director also opens up on ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel and whether he’d return to ‘Batman.’ By John Mitchell, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Johnny Depp in “Dark Shadows” Photo: Warner Bros Fans of the classic late-’60s soap “Dark Shadows” were surprised when the trailer for the film made it seem like director Tim Burton had reimagined his subject matter as a farcical comedy rather than the dark, Gothic soap opera fans remembered. Since then, there have been whispers that the film is far darker than it is being marketed, so we went straight to the source to find out what is really up with the buzzed-about film. At CinemaCon 2012, MTV News asked Burton if he felt the trailer is reflective of his film, which hits theaters May 11, and while he admits there are humorous elements to the film, he said he doesn’t believe it can be classified as a comedy. “Everything that’s in [the trailer] is in the movie,” Burton told MTV News. “It’s a funny film for me, because I never considered it a comedy. I was always trying to capture the weird vibe of ‘Dark Shadows,’ which is a weird thing to try to capture. It was a weird daytime soap opera.” Burton, a longtime “Shadows” fan who said he “recalls the show affectionately,” said that whatever humor is in the film is there because the situation Barnabas is in when he is unearthed 200 years after being buried is innately humorous. “It’s not like I’m being campy with it or anything,” Burton said. “The guy’s been locked in a box for 200 years, and [when] he comes out … something weird is going to happen.” As for comparisons to his previous films, most notably “Edward Scissorhands,” Burton said he can see the link, but confessed that there are many subtle differences between Barnabas Collins and any other character he’s put onscreen. “Edward Scissorhands was more of a naive character. Barnabas has been around the block a few times,” Burton told MTV News with a laugh. “There is something about a character who doesn’t quite fit into the world, which is similar, just in this case, he’s been around a long time.” Burton also gave us up-to-date news on one project many of his biggest fans are very excited for: “Beetlejuice 2.” The film is being written by “Shadows” scribe Seth Grahame-Smith, and for Burton, that’s as far as things have gotten. “He’s working away on it,” the director said of Grahame-Smith, “so I’m just waiting to see what he does.” As for whether we can expect him to make a return to “Batman,” the film franchise he started with the original 1989 blockbuster, he was straight to the point, saying, “I think I have enough on my plate.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Dark Shadows.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: CinemaCon 2012 Related Photos Five Key Scenes From The ‘Dark Shadows’ Trailer
Sad news out of Manhattan: Amos Vogel, whose championing of foreign and independent film changed the direction of modern cinema over the last half-century, has passed away. He was 91. Vogel’s Cinema 16 events, introduced in 1947, battled censors and opened viewers’ eyes to the likes of Roman Polanski, Yasujirō Ozu, Robert Bresson, John Cassavetes and scores of other auteurs — in some cases before the word “auteur” meant anything. He also co-founded the New York Film Festival, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary as the city’s leading light of movie culture. Over at the Web site of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which as recently as last fall hosted Vogel to kick off a countdown to this year’s milestone NYFF, Eugene Hernandez offers a nice look back at the film firebrand’s life — including a statement by Vogel devotee Martin Scorsese: “If you’re looking for the origins of film culture in America, look no further than Amos Vogel. Between Cinema 16 (which he ran with his beloved wife Marcia and which opened our eyes to Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Kenneth Anger, Cassavetes’ Shadows, and hundreds of other visionary films and filmmakers), The New York Film Festival (which he co-founded with Richard Roud), and his book Film As a Subversive Art , Amos opened the doors to every possibility in film viewing, film exhibition, film curating, film appreciation. He was also unfailingly generous, encouraging and supportive of so many young filmmakers, including me when I was just starting to make my first pictures. No doubt about it – the man was a giant.” Vogel, who turned 91 a week ago today, passed away surrounded by family in the Greenwich Village apartment he shared with his late wife Marcia, who died in 2009. Paul Cronin’s 2004 documentary about Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16 , is viewable in its entirety below. R.I.P. [ FSLC ; Photo of Amos Vogel: The Sticking Place ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The film : Strange Fruit: The Beatles’ Apple Records (2012), available on DVD via Chrome Dreams Why It’s an Inessential Essential : Clocking in at a mammoth 162 minutes, Strange Fruit: The Beatles’ Apple Records is an exhaustive new documentary about the short-lived record and film label that the Beatles used to release such artists as Badfinger and James Taylor. And while the absence of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney and the lack of archival interview footage of the Beatles is striking (John Lennon only chimes in around the 135-minute mark), that’s also sort of liberating: The film takes a semi-critical look at why Apple, a label that was meant to have established artists promote new artists, never really took off. One could easily accuse talking heads like The Iveys’ bassist Ron Griffiths of having an axe to grind. Griffiths bad-mouthed Apple and said he was disappointed in their non-existent promotion of the band. But others, like Mojo Magazine’s Park Paytress, Apple biographer Stefan Granados and Beatles biographer Chris Ingham, all clearly know their stuff and hold no grudges. They also all have their own unique takes on the artists and history of the Beatles (Paytress is especially fond of Yoko Ono’s debut album Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band). Ultimately, Strange Fruit works because the filmmakers don’t have to be beholden to the Beatles’ sides of the story. That approach is almost immediately rewarding, too: The film quickly establishes that part of the reason why Apple was created was to help the Beatles pay less tax money than they otherwise would have had to. Apple Records’ financial failure is, after all, mostly due to creative mismanagement. It’s great to see Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland defuse tension by saying that he’s not mad at the Beatles but rather at the music industry in general. But it’s also more directly the Fab Four’s fault for not following through on their ideas and leaving almost all of their new artists in the lurch by not properly promoting them. How the DVD Makes the Case for the Film : There’s an interesting supplementary feature on the DVD where Stephen Friedland (aka: Brute Force) provides an emblematic example of why Apple artists like himself never really had a chance. Friedland was mystifyingly approached by George Harrison in 1968 to release “King of Fuh,” a bratty and deliberately button-pushing song that Friedland thought, at the time, was a sign of his “genius.” Along with McCartney, Harrison at the time was the only Beatle to take Apple’s mandate to discover and develop new talent seriously. But, after basically stumbling upon Friedland’s album thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend, Harrison casually called up Friedland, saying, “‘Hello, this is George Harrison. Just want you to know that you have a record on Apple Records.’” Because of the song’s risqué nature (Geddit? “Fuh King?”), both the BBC and FCC refused to play it. So as the documentary filmmakers relate through intertitles, even though Harrison “add[ed] string arrangements from the London Philharmonic,” EMI, the Beatles’ own record label, “refused to press or distribute [the single],” and, “it remained unreleased for years except for a small pressing by Apple of 3,000 copies.” Other Interesting Trivia : Of Strange Fruit ’s many interesting anecdotes, some of the most interesting are the ones about the artists that crossed paths but didn’t make establish any kind of working relationship with Apple or the Beatles. For example, apparently David Bowie and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were both considered to be Apple acts but didn’t quite make it that far. In the long run, that may not be such a bad thing… PREVIOUS INESSENTIAL ESSENTIALS The Last Temptation of Christ The Sitter Citizen Ruth The Broken Tower Dogville Night Call Nurses Simon Abrams is a NY-based freelance film critic whose work has been featured in outlets like The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Vulture and Esquire. Additionally, some people like his writing, which he collects at Extended Cut .
