Culture Fiend Blog

Ticket Alert

Fran Lebowitz. Dan Savage. One Stage.

But is that stage big enough?

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 07, 2011 at 11:30AM Speech Bubble 3 Comments

Fran Lebowitz on aging: “At a certain point, the worst picture taken of you when are 25 is better than the best picture taken of you when you’re 45."

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Got word yesterday afternoon of an odd coupling at Benaroya Hall: Dan Savage and Fran Lebowitz will have a little unscripted chat on March 2, 2012 at 8pm, and tickets ($38–$47) are officially on sale at benaroyahall.org.

You can imagine what they might talk about: Fran was recently the subject of an HBO doc directed by Martin Scorsese, Public Speaking, and Dan has lots going on with the It Gets Better Project. But they could talk about Jane Austen and bedbugs for an hour and I’d be entertained. To wit: a few sample quotes from two endearing cranks (courtesy of a top-notch press release).

Fran on kids
Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he’s buying.
All God’s children are not beautiful. Most of God’s children are, in fact, barely presentable.

Dan on kids
Kids are like heroin, a little heroin addiction. When it’s bad, you’ve never been so miserable, but when it’s good you’ve never been so high.

Fran on “telling the truth”
Spilling your guts is exactly as charming as it sounds.

Dan on “telling the truth”
The truth is often a mixed message.

Fran on herself
Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.
My favorite animal is steak.

Dan on himself
I waver between a cop-out agnostic and principled atheism.

Fran and Dan’s conversation concludes with a Q&A with the audience—start plotting your questions now.

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Tags: Books & Talks, Celebrities in Seattle, Dan Savage

Recap

In Case You Missed Joseph Gordon-Levitt at Neptune Theatre…

I took a few notes.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Aug 25, 2011 at 10:00AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Google actor “Joseph Gordon-Levitt” and it’s not his Wiki or iMDB page that comes up first—it’s hitrecord.org, his “open collaborative production company” that I wrote about on Tuesday. Seems he’s hit a nerve with his aggregated-art approach. It defies pride and copyright, but it’s drawn thousands of wannabe writers, filmmakers, cartoonists, and musicians to online multimedia projects that might also attract the likes of Sean Lennon. Yes, you could work on a video with Sean Lennon.

Say you write a story about strawberry bootlaces and submit it to the website; someone might do a voiceover reading of that story. Someone else might add a score to it, and it actually turns out well. Then JGL might feature it during one of his live shows, like Tuesday night’s hitRECord at the Movies at the Neptune Theatre. It was the “biggest fucking show” he’d ever done with his five-year-old company—he sold the place out—but it feels like he’s on the verge of something bigger.

I also learned a bit about Seattle at the Neptune. As residents of the top tech city in the country, we are more than ready to geek out over a multimedia experiment. When JGL asked us to turn our recorders on—not off—out came a couple hundred smartphones, DSL cameras, and iPads. We weren’t scorned for tweeting during the show—we were encouraged. He asked the audience to tweet what makes Seattle a unique city in real time, then picked his four favorite responses and brought those people on stage to talk about their hometown. The winners:

The first time I saw the city at twilight, I felt a small part of something grand.

Baby got back, kung fu legend, computer genius. Need I say more?

It has the largest number of women who look like lesbians but aren’t.

Seattle is a city with the heart of a small town.

(Find more on Twitter #seattlerecords.)

And the night wouldn’t be complete unless we indulged a Hollywood guy’s request to cover Nirvana.

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Tags: Music, Film, Celebrities in Seattle, Neptune Theatre

Multitalented Celebs

TONIGHT: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and hitRECord at the Neptune

He’s more than a pretty face. He’s the head of an “open collaborative production company.”

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Aug 23, 2011 at 10:15AM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has done Disney and prime time, hacked dreams with Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception and played the romantic to Zooey Deschanel’s hardass in (500) Days of Summer. He’s been a triple threat since he was six, so don’t expect him to just step on stage at the Neptune Theatre tonight and talk about what it’s like to host Saturday Night Live. He has something else in mind.

For the past five years, Columbia grad Gordon-Levitt (or “Joe,” as he seems to prefer) has managed an open collaborative production company called hitrecord.org that brings together Hollywood and non-Hollywood types alike to work on multimedia projects, like so:

What is hitRECord?

It’s aggregated art—remember, “remix isn’t theft here”—and Joe encourages everyone to get involved, including the audience at tonight’s hitRECord At the Movies. It’s one of the rare shows where you’re asked to turn your phone/cameras on, because you never know—tonight’s recordings may be next year’s Sundance short film. You can’t be precious about your copyright; on the plus side, director Joe pitches the best films to his industry friends. If your project is sold, company and collaborators split the earnings 50-50.

Given the trippy melange of film and music at the live event, I’ll defer to this intro of one of the first hitRECord at the Movies:

This is the version we played at The Vista Theater, the first time we Hit RECord At The Movies. For our upcoming shows in Seattle and SF, I’d like to keep the audio of this one, but layer on more, different visuals. CUT TO THE BEAT.

HitRECord at the Movies with Joseph Gordon-Levitt is tonight at 8:30 at Neptune Theatre. Call 1-877-STG-4TIX or visit the box office for tickets.

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Tags: Music, Film, Celebrities in Seattle, Neptune Theatre, hitRECord, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Film Festival

How to Tackle SIFF 2011

A quick primer on navigating one of the nation’s largest film festivals.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Apr 29, 2011 at 03:00PM Speech Bubble 0 Comments

Ewan McGregor (pictured) and Warren Miller will be honored at this year’s SIFF.

I know a guy (don’t we all) who went to about 25 of the 400+ films that played during last year’s Seattle International Film Festival. That’s about one a day—and my friend’s not even in media. He’s just a cine-addict. According to SIFF artistic director Carl Spence, the average festival-goer only makes it to two to four films, and this year, there are 441 to choose from. Plus, there are so many pleasant distractions: Ewan McGregor will be in town to receive a Golden Space Needle award on May 22; Al Pacino will chat about his career on June 11 (UPDATED 5/5/11. no he won’t); the newly renovated Neptune Theater will be serving booze. Where do we start?

With the basics: SIFF 2011 runs May 19–June 12, with screenings in downtown Seattle, Ballard, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, the U District, West Seattle, Kirkland, Everett, and Renton. Individual tickets ($8–$11, $6 students) go on sale May 5, when the full lineup is announced, but gala passes are on sale now for:

Opening night, May 19 at McCaw Hall, with a screening of The First Grader (director Justin Chadwick will attend).

And Closing night, June 12 at Cinerama, with a screening of the Ridley Scott-produced Life in a Day.

Tickets to see Al Pacino at the Paramount go on sale April 30 (CANCELLED), as we noted earlier this week; you can also book to see The Importance of Being Earnest, a live-in-HD screening of the Broadway play, on June 2, 5, and 12. That’s it for now, but check back next week for more ways to plan for SIFF, including our top picks and guilty pleasures.

The 37th Seattle International Film Festival runs from May 19–June 12.

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Tags: Ticket Alerts, SIFF, Celebrities in Seattle, SIFF 2011,

Books & Talks

Russell Simmons’s Best Self-Help Quotes

The hip-hop mogul has a new book full of them—here’s a preview.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 23, 2011 at 11:00AM Speech Bubble 1 Comments

Russell Simmons’s secret to a happy life: yoga, meditation, and “staying on your grind.”

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons—who went from being a pot dealer in Queens to cofounder of Def Jam Records—isn’t afraid to share his secrets to making it big. Before he reads from his new self-help book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All, tomorrow night at Seattle Public Library, get to know some of his best tips to eternal happiness:

I define super rich as the state of needing nothing. We naturally wake up in the morning and decide on what we’re going to give as opposed to what we’re going to get. FOX Detroit

I used to think anxiety and insomnia drove me to success. But it was the stillness that let me be good at anything. When you extend the seconds of stillness, that’s when you’re able to think and learn. Express Night Out

I can say I’m mostly happy. Compared to what? Am I eternally blissful? No. But do I find moments when I’m ecstatic about being alive? Yes! And I have those moments more and more often the more I meditate, practice yoga, and live by these principles. The Aquarian

Some people talk about changing careers, what they need is a change of heart. I want to encourage people to change their heart when they go to work—do a good job, excel. It makes you happy. Seattle P-I

Happy is something that is not based on the outside forces. It’s something from inside. And when you’re calm and you’re in a state of needing nothing, it’s a place of operation and of abundance. CNN.com

Struggle is your great teacher. I’m an older person. I was a drug dealer. I was a gang member and a lot of other things. My evolution has been gradual. The Aquarian

The ideas, if they’re new, ain’t shit til you start to execute them. I’m sitting here with Jinx da Juvy, the rapper. He got shot four times total. Now he’s 24 years old, he’s finishing college, and he’s been through a lot of shit. He’s on his hustle right now, he’s bugging me right now with his new record right this minute. He’s making videos, and he’s in school and he’s here. He didn’t quit. So, how do you make it? You stay on your grind. Rolling Stone

Russell Simmons reads from Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All on Thursday, February 24, at 7pm at Seattle Public Library’s Central Library.