Movie Night!

The Tribeca Film Festival has started. Now in its ninth year, the Festival brings hundreds of films and thousands of film industry professionals (and wanna-bes) to New York City for two hectic weeks of screenings, special events and photo ops. If you are in New York at this time of year, it is hard to ignore the Festival: Banners are hung from lampposts, local newspapers feature it in front-page headlines, local magazines make it a cover story. And every film critic in town, it seems, is writing an article with a list of "must-sees" at this year's Festival.

There are a few free events and screenings connected to the Festival (the Family Fest and Drive-In movies), but tickets to most of the films cost $16. Here's the thing, though - even though the Festival has just started, many movies (especially those on the critics' "must-see" lists) are already sold out. Yesterday I went to the main box office and tried, in vain, to buy tickets to a film I really, really wanted to see. It was impossible, so I poured over the schedule asking the ticket seller about other films. For each name I mentioned, I heard that tickets were sold out (or, that the only screenings still available were at times like midnight or 11:00 am).

Finally, I found tickets to something that sounds great (who doesn't love Renée Zellweger?) and I'm going to see it tonight. Can't wait for movie night!

My Own Love Song

Cast & Credits
Primary Cast: Renée Zellweger, Forest Whitaker, Madeline Zima, Nick Nolte, Chandler Frantz, Elias Koteas
Director: Olivier Dahan
Screenwriter: Olivier Dahan
Producer: Alain Goldman
Associate Producers: Catherine Morisse, Krisin Gore
Executive Producer: James W. Skotchdopole

Program Notes
Olivier Dahan broke into the U.S. when his last film, La vie en rose, won two Academy Awards®, and now the writer/director is boldly stretching his talents stateside with his first English-language independent feature. Under Dahan's inspired direction, an unassuming story about an ex-singer blossoms into a whimsical down-home road movie. Jane (played memorably by Renée Zellweger) and Joey (Forest Whitaker) couldn't be more different. All they have in common is solitude and a mildly contentious friendship. She is a hardened wheelchair-bound retired musician, and Joey is an endearing oddball out of step with the daily grind. When Joey learns of a secret that Jane harbors he convinces her to embark on a cross-country trip to Memphis with the hope that she will face her past. On their trip, they stumble upon a bevy of fascinating characters who begin to peel back the layers of Jane's tough exterior.

Zellweger is in top form as Jane, and her singing voice only adds to a powerful and moving performance. Talented cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream, Iron Man) beautifully captures a dreamy southern landscape. A heartwarming and magical story of friendship and redemption—with original music by Bob Dylan—My Own Love Song reflects Dahan's vision of an innocence and spirit that is distinctly American.