Pioneer Theater

Posts tagged with "musician movies"

Attention Supergeeks: Lawrence Lessig coming to the Pioneer

Saturday, 22. April 2006, 04:15:30

non-fiction, serious, site-specific cinema, filmmakers in person ...

The Pioneer continues its quest to be the geekiest movie theater on earth with next week's ALTERNATIVE FREEDOM, a sexy documentary about the free culture movement and open source software. It stars hot middle-aged men Lawrence Lessig and Richard Stallman. Though it also stars DJ Danger Mouse, the man behind the "Gray Album" which fused the Beatles' White Album with Jay-Zee's Black Album.

And, yes, Lawrence Lessig himself will be in the house, for the 9pm show next Saturday the 29th. Ladies, please, don't throw your underwear.

Seriously, though, the free culture movement is really important.

Yes, we're charging a price for tickets.

Check it out.

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Andrew W.K. speaks!

Wednesday, 1. February 2006, 02:42:18

musician movies, filmmaker statements, non-fiction

Hi. This is Andrew W.K. On Sunday night, February the 5th, at 11PM, I will be showing my new live-concert movie, "Who Knows?", at The Pioneer Theater. The manager, Ray, was kind enough to let me share my thoughts about the upcoming night. Firstly, it's been nothing but a pleasure to work with each and every person who made this film screening possible. That includes everyone who came to the concerts, danced like a dancer, and stood on ground. I will also stand on ground, and I will sit in chair and watch movie. On Sunday night, I'm not going to do anything except watch movie, in chair. In fact, I'm not going to watch it, I'm going to see it. This Sunday night, I'm going to be in theater, at 11PM, and I'm going to see movie, on screen, sitting in chair. Anything more than that is going to be up to the other people in chair and the other people on screen. But each one of these other people, both on screen and in chair, will also be in theater with me, this Sunday night, seeing movie. So... please come down, put yourself in chair, so we can see each other there.

Your friend,

Andrew W.K.

Buy tickets for Sunday

Andrew W.K.'s website

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GROUNDHOG DAY and Andrew W.K. (February is the strangest month)

Tuesday, 31. January 2006, 19:50:53

horror, musician movies, site-specific cinema, silly ...

Everybody knows February is a strange month. However, this year we're making it even stranger. But to be nice, let's not say strange but special. Yes, that's right, the Pioneer presents a very special February, with many very special events.

Early February means Groundhog Day, and, in celebration of that, on Wednesday, Groundhog Day Eve, we're showing GROUNDHOG DAY, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, directed by Harold Ramis. Best groundhog costume wins a delicious salad of vegetables, nuts, and insects, and seats reserved for Murray, MacDowell, and Ramis, if they decide to show up. Weds Feb 1, 7pm.

On Groundhog Day proper, our terrific, monthly Croatian series continues with SORRY FOR KUNG FU - a satire on Croatian xenophobia. (Thurs Feb 2, 7pm.) This Croatian program, presented with the Doors Art Foundation, has been a staple in the growing Central and Eastern European presence at the Pioneer, continued later in the month by the ass-kicking Serbian-American drama LOVE, directed by Vladan Nikolic. Later this spring, look for an entire month focused on Central and Eastern Europe. This will probably be one of the most daring and ambitious programs the Pioneer has ever attempted.

From Eastern Europe to the world of rock. This weekend we have three shows of ANDREW W.K.: WHO KNOWS?, a rockumentary about and made with the rock superperformer. The shows are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all at 11pm. After the Friday and Saturday shows, W.K. will perform solo on the keyboard. Tickets for those shows are sold out; however, tickets for Sunday, which will still be a rocking good time, can be smuggled out here.

And back to Eastern Europe. Sort of. On Monday, Malcolm McDowell is coming to the Pioneer for EVILENKO, a movie about a notorious Soviet Serial Killer. The screening is presented by our friends from Fangoria, in association with TLA. Mon Feb 6 6:30pm.

February is customarily saddled with many themes; perhaps the most famous is Valentine's Day. Around Valentine's Day, we're doing a "Love-A-Thon," with many romantic or at least erotic movies. The idea is, you have already seen these movies a zillion times, and you really just want to make out during the movie anyway. So come see ANNIE HALL, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, or, um, LAST TANGO IN PARIS, GAY SEX IN THE 70s, or DEEP THROAT. Come and make out, but, please, don't take it too far. We don't want anyone arrested.

A Bizarro Monday falls on February 13, the day before Valentine's Day, so naturally we'll take the Valentine's love theme to even further abstraction. FearsMAG's "One Dark and Stormy Night" promises a bunch of short films about horrific love. (Mon Feb 13 7pm.) Later that evening we screen PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, set on Valentine's Day 1900. Mon Feb 13 9pm.

February is also Black History Month (and as more than one comedian has noticed, of course Black History Month is the shortest month of the year. . .) Partially to recognize that and partially because we want to show the film again, we're doing two more screenings of ARISTIDE and the Endless Revolution, the film that tore up our boxoffice earlier this year. Those shows are Sat Feb 18 5pm and Sun Feb 19 5pm.

Later on, there is that uncomfortable holiday of President's Day. As Loudon Wainwright III put it a few years back, "for me it's blue Monday on President's Day." But we have to confront the current state of the Presidency. So, we're doing an "un-President's Day" screening of BUSH'S BRAIN, about Karl Rove. Best Karl Rove impression wins a copy of the Satanic Bible, by Anton Lavey. That's February 20 7pm.

February 21, we celebrate Mardi Gras prematurely by one week, with the movie MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA. The ultimate downer, but still a very good movie, MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA shows where and how Mardi Gras beads are made. Following the screening is a Mardi Gras-themed beer & pizza reception, starring Two Boots' "Bayou Beast" pizza. Tues Feb 21 7pm.

There's so much more going on; it's hard to keep up. And this post has veered a little off the general purpose of this blog: that is, to comment specifically on events rather than to do basic announces. I'll hope you'll forgive me for that, this time, and take into consideration just how special, and strange, the events are.

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Andrew W.K. and Malcolm McDowell coming to the Pioneer (but not together)

Friday, 13. January 2006, 19:03:16

musician movies, site-specific cinema, horror

Exciting news. Andrew W.K. and Malcolm McDowell are both coming to the Pioneer in early February. Not together, no, but just a few days apart.

ANDREW W.K.: WHO KNOWS?
Operatic rock super-performer Andrew W.K. will present the new movie ANDREW W.K.: WHO KNOWS? at the Pioneer, for two shows only, February 2 and 3.

W.K. knows how to put on a great show. Even though these shows will be motion-picture based, they will still kick ass. W.K. is personally paying a lot of attention to the details, and everybody at the Pioneer is excited.

Tickets for Friday February 3, 11pm.
Tickets for Saturday February 4, 11pm.

Inhouse description of ANDREW W.K.: WHO KNOWS?:
At the beginning of 2000, a man calling himself Andrew W.K. seemed to appear out of nowhere in an explosion of soaking-white electricity. He presented a performance designed to inspire new levels of raw excitement, pure energy, and complete confusion. Riding high on this promise of pleasure, A.W.K. hit the world stage with an unprecedented level of intensity. Combining an unmistakably unique sound with a confounding straight-ahead image, W.K. enthralled audiences across the globe, and was quickly named "the king of party music." This film documents his first four years and includes narration by Andrew W.K. himself.

Song Titles:
Violent Life, Victory Strikes Again, Long Live The Party, Ready To Die, It's Time To Party, Take It Off, Make Sex, Totally Stupid, Girls Own Love, She Is Beautiful, Tear It Up, I Love NYC, I Get Wet, Never Let Down, Party Hard

Malcolm McDowell in EVILENKO
A few days after W.K., Malcolm McDowell (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, CALIGULA) will swoop in to present EVILENKO for a Fangoria Monster Monday show on February 6.

Tickets for EVILENKO, Monday February 6, 6:30pm.

Inhouse description of EVILENKO:
The chilling story of the Soviet Union’s most notorious serial killer: this riveting, haunting film explores the mind of a true monster; a man who mutilated and devoured more than 50 children. For years, Andrei Evilenko (Malcolm McDowell) eluded the obsessive Detective Lesiev (Marton Csokas, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, xXx, AEON FLUX) and the psychiatric profiler Aron Richter (Ronald Pickup). Spurred on by his rabid fury at the gradual crumbling of his precious Soviet Union, Evilenko is a man who will live, die and kill as a communist. The haunting melodies of composer Angelo Badalamenti (TWIN PEAKS, MULHOLLAND DRIVE) and writer-director David Grieco’s stark imagination have created a portrait of a serial killer that will resound in the psyches of us all.

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And what have you done?

Thursday, 8. December 2005, 03:53:36

Mormonsploitation, musician movies, non-fiction, tech geek

Now playing, occasionally, in the down time between shows.
Thanks to Starfire

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Ambiguous criticism

Thursday, 3. November 2005, 22:14:15

musician movies, non-fiction, coverage

Today, Stephen Holden of the NEW YORK TIMES wrote about DERAILROADED: INSIDE THE MIND OF WILD MAN FISCHER, which we're opening tonight. Wild Man Fischer is the eccentric outsider artist / musician, who is, to say the least, quite a handful.

I'll take it. Thank you, Mr. Holden, and thank you NY TIMES. Thank you as well to V.A. Musetto in the POST, Raven Snook and Damon Smith in TIME OUT NY, Bilge Ebiri in NEW YORK MAGAZINE, Scott Tobias in THE ONION, and, I guess, also to Drew Tillman in the VOICE.

But I have to say Holden's review is a strange piece. It's not very evaluative; it's more descriptive. I can't find many adjectives to pull from it - yes, I did try - other than "this sad, disturbing film," which I think is sort of a mixed descriptor. I also can't find any particular slams of the movie, though Holden does mention that, in the film's portrait of Wild Man Fischer:

"The dreaded word 'genius' is trotted out. Be assured, there's no sign of that."

Perhaps Mr. Holden means that there's no sign of genius in either the film or its subject, which is certainly a defendable claim, though that doesn't mean you can't still find value in the movie and shouldn't come see it. Later, comparing the film to THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON, another "outsider" musician portrait, Holden says: "That film showed how easily pity can masquerade as adulation," suggesting but not explicitly claiming that the same could be said of DERAILROADED.

That claim has been trotted out before about DERAILROADED; the film's co-directors respond to it in the film section feature article in this week's TIME OUT NY. I buy their response, which is that they are trying to expose Fischer, his music, and his story to a larger audience. However, I suspect the decision to make the movie was also motivated by a desire to try to understand this howling, whirlwind persona who suddenly appeared in their lives. Sometimes it feels the filmmakers have a sort of numb awe for the Wild Man. Yet they clearly don't take seriously all his claims about being abused by the music industry. Nor do they always have some sort of condescending pity / adulation for him, as it becomes clear that at some points they got really tired of the Wild Man's endless phonecalls and acting out. Their relation to the Wild Man is complicated, it's not just pity, and in making this movie they have brought out the ambiguity of their relationship to this larger-than-life, stronger-than-death persona. Similarly, Holden's review suggests an ambiguous relationship to the film, valuing its merits and (to my eye) not damning it with faint praise, but still struggling to get a grip on the movie. Like the directors, and like many others over the years, it seems Holden is also trying to get a grip on the Wild Man.

Try to get a grip on the movie, and on the Wild Man, by clicking here.

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Eccentric musicians

Tuesday, 1. November 2005, 17:48:05

non-fiction, musician movies, the Balkans, post-Communist world

Perhaps we should start an ongoing program called "eccentric musicians."

One of the biggest hits of this last year was the Flaming Lips movie, THE FEARLESS FREAKS FEATURING THE FLAMING LIPS. FEARLESS FREAKS is also probably one of the best movies we've shown over the last few years.

Other eccentric musician movies have included:

YOU THINK YOU REALLY KNOW ME, about Gary Wilson, eccentric 70s psychedelia musician who now works in a dirty bookstore in San Diego
STRANGER: BERNIE WORRELL ON EARTH, about the mind-blowingly great keyboardist from Parliament / Funkadelic (presented a few months ago with Slamdance)
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER: BRIAN WILSON AND THE STORY OF SMiLE, about the most important of the Beach Boys (presented last year with CMJ)
LOW IN EUROPE, about the Mormon mood rockers from Duluth, Minnesota (read some big news about them here

. . .and I know there have been some others in there as well, and others still are in the works for the future.

Starting this Thursday, we're adding to that robust tradition with a movie called DERAILROADED: INSIDE THE MIND OF WILD MAN FISCHER. A one-time protégé of Frank Zappa ("protégé" in the original French sense of "someone protected by" Frank Zappa), Fischer was / is a street performer who howled songs at passersby, threatened his mother with a knife, and has been in and out of mental institutions his whole life. DERAILROADED spends an extended period of time with Fischer and his clan, getting to know the man in all his demented glory and genius while simultaneously documenting his history. It's a moody and powerful movie; the Wild Man himself is infinitely fascinating (and dangerous).

A note though: please don't show up expecting DERAILED. That's the Jennifer Aniston movie opening elsewhere some time soon, distributed by the Weinstein company. (Un?)fortunately, Jennifer Aniston makes no appearance in DERAILROADED. The nearly simultaneous scheduling / titling was, at least on our end, completely coincidental.

So DERAILROADED is the featured movie this coming week. But Thursday night, at 7pm, we're running another movie featuring an eccentric musician, albeit in a different way. Yes, that's right, I'm talking about the rapper Coolio, making his European acting debut in A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT. This is the first in a monthly series of Croatian movies, taking place the first Thursday of every month, presented with the Doors Art Foundation. I'm excited about this series, and I look forward to the films. Sadly, though, I suspect this will be the only one featuring Coolio.

DERAILROADED: INSIDE THE MIND OF WILD MAN FISCHER
A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT
Coolio

A picture of Coolio in A WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT: