Movies Til Dawn

The week has practically vanished, and so did I. Apologies and whatnot. Welcome, readers of this mornings terrific LA TImes article which makes some pretty heady predictions for "City Island". We couldn't be more pleased with John Horn and his Word Of Mouth piece, which describes the gradual groundswell our movie is experiencing. If you're a vet of this little experiment in self-promotion 21rst century-style (i.e. this blog) and don't usually read the LA Times, allow the above link to take you into the world of one of the country's best newspapers. Want more? Click here to read my latest Salon article --the penultimate one, as I've decided to only post one more which will go up this weekend (so I'm told). Bored? Interested? Killing time waiting for a bus? Click here to watch a video we made that's going on the DVD extras disc --a conversation (over Italian food, natch) between me and the cast. Present among them are Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulie...

We passed the million dollar mark at the beginning of the weekend and appear to be doing extremely well in both old (continuing) markets and new markets. Next week, 4/30, "City Island" expands exponentially to a few hundred theaters and if things hold up--people keep going in old markets and word of mouth travels in new markets--we will have a certifiable "sleeper hit" on our hands. Or, perhaps it'll be "hello HBO" time...either way, the movie's being talked about and much of it comes as a result of you good readers of this blog and your efforts to get the word out. Keep coming back. It works if you occasionally work it...   Subscribe in a reader

Below, part two of my Backstage interview. Oh, and by the way, there was a Volcano that exploded somewhere...or so I've heard...   Subscribe in a reader

I blog. I blog about my film. I blog about myself. I post articles about me and my film. And now, just in case the solipsistic nature of this weblog hasn't been fully understood, I offer... ...an interiew with myself. Forgive me. I can't help it...   Subscribe in a reader

Above, dig the drink specialties of the house at the very nice bar adjacent to the theaters in the Westside Pavillion where "City Island" is playing in west LA. Yesterday afternoon I stopped in for a "Rizzo On the Rocks". Very nice. Twelve bucks. Below is the rest of the interview which I posted yesterday--Andy Garcia in Dallas--a very nice, relaxed conversational vibe. He talks about "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" which I remember quite liking back when I saw it in '95. And of course the "boat drinks" reference--his characters verbal picture of the paradise that awaits him if only he could get out of the "life"--fits nicely with the City Island cocktail offerings...   Subscribe in a reader

Click here to view some of the most deeply, persuasively, fabulously hip, slick and hot shots of the dame of all dames, Julianna Margulies. These are from W magazine and are quite something. The accompanying article isn't half bad either.(Rather like that it references this blog and names the names of the actresses who very fortunately turned down the part that became--thank God--Julianna's.) Guess what? "City Island" is expanding to more screens this weekend (see twitter link on your right--or go to the Facebook page to find out where) with an even more ambitious expansion program planned for the following weekend, 4/30. And as long are you're killing time reading this silly blog, why not click here and read my new Salon.Com article which posted yesterday? The subject is...oh, hell, if I tell you you probably won't read it. But I promise that its one of my better efforts. Now for a really shameless plug. Are you a reader based in LA? Doing anything Friday n...

Anchor Bay’s “City Island” - starring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies - continued to be an under-the-radar success story. Going from 45 to 57 screens, the film grossed $259,000. That made for a 30% increase, seeing its per-theater average actually rise despite a higher screen count ($4,544 vs. $4,422 last weekend). After five weeks, “Island” has taken in $842,858, and should soon become the first $1 million grosser young Anchor Bay’s history. Indiewire Our fifth weekend has continued our pattern of successful expansion and I can only say that all of us--the film's makers, producers and distributors--are humbled and thrilled at what is clearly happening. Which is what? "City Island" is proving itself to be the people's movie. Those of you who followed the making of the film and the long, arduous process of getting it sold and released over the past year, are the true winners here. Your perseverence and non-stop good will and interest were felt in the "air tha...

A large plot point in "City Island" (no spoiler, no worries) has to do with an acting class that Andy Garcia's character is attending and the assignment for the week, which is for the actors to think of their worst personal secret and turn it into a monologue for the class to hear. In due course, Andy does so. But so did the other acting students. So, in due course, I filmed monologues--mostly improvised by the actors--with the intention of showing bits of them strung together, leading up to Andy's big moment. Guess what? IT ALL GOT CUT. All of it. The below edited "class monologues" sequence once again proves the futility of trying to anticipate what should be dropped from the script prior to shooting; I actually fought hard for all of the actors seen below to be hired, insisting that the sequence was of dire importance to the climax of the movie. Frankly, it didn't even make it past the first assembly--as soon as I saw it (and at that time the film w...

Anchor Bay's Andy Garcia starrer "City Island" added 18 theaters for a total 45 and grossed $211,000. That represented a sturdy $4,689 per venue ahead of a scheduled expansion to 60 sites, with cume now sitting at $522,896. Hollywood Reporter.com And now for a song. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy biiiirrrrrthday dear... Happy birthday to you... (It was April 12th.) More screens being added this weekend for CIty Island: the new markets are: San Diego, Phoenix, Austin, Charlotte, Detroit, Hartford, Kansas City and Palm Springs. Palm Springs? Why do I dig this so much. The desert heat, the retirees mixing with the young swingers...Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra...or have I lost track of time? Hm...maybe I'll drive down for the day and check it out...   Subscribe in a reader

"City Island" opens in another pile of theaters today as we enter weekend four-- http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=377498184404" target="_blank">click here for a complete listing of cities and theaters. We did strong business all last week (just got the B.O. report) but one keeps ones fingers crossed as the weekend approaches: after all, there is "Date Night"... Still, our tortoise seems to be winning the race and this morning the Washington Post gave us what's known in old show-biz circles as a "money notice"; the last line will explain why. Cheers to you, John Anderson--glad you enjoyed the pic. Isolated in a sea of secrets By John Anderson Friday, April 9, 2010 The real City Island is a fishing village in the Bronx, which makes it almost as unlikely as the characters who populate Raymond De Felitta's dark-edged comedy. No man is an island? In this story, everyone, man or woman, is a walled fortress of paranoia, secrecy...

Recent alternative fare entries including Greenberg and Chloe already appear to be losing traction while The Runaways skidded off the cliff. However, the slow, steady build of City Island has been working and the big winner in multis is unquestionably Swedish thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Movie City News, 4/4/10 Well all right then. And whatnot. Our next weekend has more theaters being added and can I tell you exactly which ones and where? Certainly not! But go to our fabulously updated theater listings section of our Facebook page and dig. And have a look at a perfectly lovely review of the film , this from the on-line Big Hollywood site, and written by Carl Kozlowski. And now lets dip a toe into the production waters of the past. This returns us to the blogs primary purpose--the documenting of the films actual making. Much is made on DVD's these days of deleted scenes. Why are they cut? What would the movie have been like if they'd kept such and such a scene in?...

From Indiewire: Finally, Anchor Bay’s “City Island” - starring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies - continued a promising expansion. Going from 7 to 26 screens, the film grossed $144,000. That made for a whopping 197% increase in grosses, hanging on to a very sizable portion of its per-theater average. After three weeks, “Island” has grossed $256,387, making it the highest grossing film in young Anchor Bay’s hist ory. Well, what a surprise. The movie continues to pack houses--firsthand reports from San Francisco, Miami, LA and the New York suburbs plus the actual numbers which we received over the weekend point to what appears to be possibly a genuine groundswell--not a movie that is going to be in the top ten, but a movie that is going to stay around a good long time. Who knows, maybe long enough to get into the top ten? On Box Office Mojo we've jumped from #41 (on three screens) to #32 on ten. And many more are coming. By the way, did anybody bother reading A.O. ("they ca...

"City Island" is on 27 screens starting today in a total of 10 markets. The new markets added this week are: Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco. For more theater info, go to the movies ubiquitous Facebook page. It's link can be found in the right column of this blog...yeah, over there...keep going...it says "City Island's Facebook page..." You got it! Good reviews are coming in from each city and more theaters have been added in the New York and LA suburbs. But instead of linking to a bunch of reviews (best ones, if you're interested, are Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times, Time Out Chicago, Boston Herald and Minneapolis Pioneer Press), allow me to print one in full that particularly pleased me. In the San Francisco Chronicle. Amy Biancolli wrote such a nice goddam review, that I feel like printing it out rather than just linking to it. Clearly the movie surprised her--and hopefully her fine words will roust her local San Franciscans out to the...