Middleburg Festival 2017: James Ivory, Dee Rees, Greta Gerwig and More...

by Nathaniel R

Awards season is really heating up now that release dates (or lack thereof) are firming up, and various pre-Oscar honors are being announced. Last year, you may recall, The Film Experience was invited to attend the Middleburg Film Festival and we're invited for a second round next month.

The fest, now in its fifth year and closer to something like Telluride than Toronto or Cannes considering its Oscar focus and brevity, is growing each year and all takes place at one well-heeled resort. Last year they had big events for La La Land and Lion as well as very crowded talks with Cheryl Boone Isaacs on the Academy's diversity efforts as well as a fascinating discussion of US presidents and cinematic depictions with Janet Maslin and David Gergen where the danger of Trump was discussed at length (before the election - sigh). At that event they spent a lot of time on Nixon's disproportionately large place in cinema as presidents go. (Unfortunately since we're in Nixon Round Two only much more vile and, well, stupider... we can safely expect there to be many many films on Trump and Trump's corrosive effect on the nation for decades to come! "Wheeee," he squealed with much sarcasm)

More info about this year's festivities to come but for now we know this...

Special Honorees:
The legendary James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name's screenplay, Howard's End, Maurice, Room With a View etcetera)
Director Dee Rees (Mudbound)
Composer Nicholas Britell (Battle of the Sexes, Moonlight) with an orchestral concert of his work!

Opening Night: DARKEST HOUR (Ben Mendelsohn in attendance)

Saturday Centerpiece  LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig in attendance)

Sunday Centerpiece  THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI 

Other Screenings:  CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, MUDBOUND, and I, TONYA 

YNMS Quickie: Call Me By Your Name

The first trailer has arrived for Call Me By Your Name. I'm starting the book right now so pardon the brevity of this Yes No Maybe So. I'm sure you'll have more to add in the comments.

yes -Luca Guadagnino makes inarguably sensual movies. James Ivory (who did the screenplay) is an all time favorite. And gay romantic dramas getting the prestige treatment is very welcome.
no - How could it possibly live up to the hype?
maybe so - Will it be too lowkey? This lives or dies by the chemistry between the leads.

Poster for "Call Me by Your Name"

by Murtada

Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino's already wildly acclaimed gay romantic drama, was just announced for TIFF. It will probably play NYFF, too, on its way to a limited release on November 24, the sweet Thanksgiving spot for Oscar hopeful movies. And now the gorgeous poster for one of our most anticipated films of the year, has been revealed. See it in all its glory (plus more news about the film) after the jump...

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The Moustaches of 'Maurice'

by Murtada

Do you not  think that Maurice’s moustache would be the making of him?

No. It’s revolting.

This exchange about an hour into Merchant-Ivory’s 1987 classic gem Maurice, made me laugh so hard. There are so many moustaches in Maurice. It must’ve been the fashion in Edwardian England. But Hugh Grant’s Clive Durham is right, Maurice’s is revolting. But then how come later on he grows one even more revolting. In the world of Maurice, moustaches are the ultimate boner killers.

Maurice (James Wilby) and Grant’s Clive meet when they are students at Cambridge in 1909 and fall in love. Their relationship means a bit more to Maurice, he’s so smitten. And who wouldn’t be infatuated with Grant at the height of his floppy haired gorgeousness. Clive though always keeps him at an arm’s length, never succumbing to carnality. And we think that moustache is to blame.

Regrettably since this is about moustaches we can't include Rupert Graves’ Scudder. He's the real dreamboat in Maurice, partly because he keeps his upper lip clean shaven throughout the film. Check him out in the trailer or better, if you are in New York or LA, check out the gorgeous restoration that is currently playing.

How do you feel about moustaches? Has one ever deterred you? 

Interview: James Ivory on "Maurice" Turning 30

By Jose Solís.

 
Can you believe Maurice came out 30 years ago? James Ivory’s film adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel was released in the fall of 1987, a year after the Oscar winning A Room with a View. While it was never as celebrated as the former, throughout the years it’s come to be more highly regarded for its groundbreaking LGBTQ romance, and as the film that launched Hugh Grant’s screen career.

The tale of forbidden love between the title character (played by James Wilby) and a male servant (Rupert Graves) is filled with pithy dialogue, handsome actors and a then unparalleled sensuality when it comes to conveying gay romance. Its influence can be seen in countless films that came after it, yet for decades it remained the happiest of LGBTQ screen romances. That's a position I discussed with Mr. Ivory as the film is being re-released in theaters this weekend in a 4K restoration to celebrate its landmark anniversary. (If you're in NYC it's showing at the newly renovated Quad Cinema which has its own rich history of showing LGBTQ cinema).

Our interview follows:

JOSE: You’ve mentioned you enjoy watching your films...

JAMES IVORY: I enjoy watching them on the big screen, let me put it that way. What I like to do is see them big, especially after I haven’t seen them in a while.

JOSE: Have you re-discovered anything about Maurice having seen it recently?...

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