Bob Geldof once asked us, “Where is the filtered excellence!?” It’s right here. Here are this weeks picks of the best things to watch, the most interesting things to do, great things to try, the best picks to read, our favorite things to listen to and more:
WATCH THIS:
Saturday Night Live 40th Season Premiere. For the 40th year in a row, we’ll be hearing the words “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night”. The sketch comedy show that has won 36 Prime Time Emmy Awards is back for its 40th season. There have been major casting changes going into the anniversary season including the addition of new cast member Pete Davidson and comedian and SNL writer Michael Che joining the Weekend Update anchor desk, plus new show announcer Darrell Hammond who is replacing the late Don Pardo. Executive producer Lorne Michaels has promised a very special tribute to Pardo during the 40th season. The host for the premiere episode is Parks and Recreation star and Summer box office king Chris Pratt with musical guest Ariana Grande. Saturday Night Live, the 40th season premiere airs Saturday (of course), September 27th at 11:30 pm et.
For more information, go to nbc.com
Advanced Style. It’s a film based on a blog. Fashion photographer Ari Seth Cohen began his Advanced Style blog in 2008 when he started approaching elegantly dressed older women in New York City and asking to photograph them. This new documentary follows seven of these seniors who dress to the nines every day. They’re ages 62 to 95 and they are all interested in making bold fashion statements in their later years. Viewers find out the passion these older women have for life and glamour. Advanced Style opens in New York City on Friday, September 26th and then rolls out across the country after that. It will also be available on Video On Demand and on DVD on Tuesday, October 7th.
For more information about Advanced Style and screenings, go to advancedstylethemovie.com
Watch the trailer for Advanced Style.
The 50 Year Argument. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of The New York Review of Books, a new HBO Films documentary looks at the storied history of the publication. The film co-directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi highlights the five decades of the magazine. It takes viewers from the start of magazine with coverage of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s to the events of the Arab Spring in Egypt. Scorsese and Tedeschi feature Review editor Robert Silvers discussing the mission of the New York Review of Books. Plus, the doc includes famous articles from the magazine over the years read by their writers. The 50 Year Argument airs Monday, September 29th at 9 pm et on HBO.
For more information about Advanced Style and screenings, go to advancedstylethemovie.com
For more information on The 50 Year Argument, go to hbo.com
Watch the trailer for The 50 Year Argument
Transparent. Jeffrey Tambor is back with a new series and in a spectacular way. Tambor stars in Transparent, a new original programming series from Amazon. He plays a husband and father who puts his family’s lives in turmoil after revealing he’s transgender. This revelation leads to even more Pfefferman family secrets coming out. Along with Jeffrey Tambor, the series stars Judith Light, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass. Transparent is available now on Amazon.com.
For more information about Advanced Style and screenings, go to advancedstylethemovie.com
For more information on The 50 Year Argument, go to hbo.com
For more information and to watch the pilot episode of Transparent, go to amazon.com
Watch the trailer for Transparent.
The Simpsons 26th Season Premiere. The 26th season of The Simpsons kicks off this Sunday and someone in Springfield is going to die. Show runner Al Jean has promised a death to start the brand new season and as he once put it – “When we kill ‘em, they stay dead”. The show debuted in 1989 as its own series and has become the longest running animated series in American television, the longest running American sitcom and the longest running American prime time scripted series. A lot of speculation that it will be Krusty the Clown being knocked off on this classic cartoon series. Only animated time will tell. The 26th season premiere of The Simpsons is Sunday, September 28th at 8 pm et.
For more information about Advanced Style and screenings, go to advancedstylethemovie.com
For more information on The 50 Year Argument, go to hbo.com
For more information and to watch the pilot episode of Transparent, go to amazon.com
For more information about The Simpsons, go to thesimpsons.com
LISTEN TO THIS:
Gary Clark, Jr – Live. The latest release from the Austin-based guitarist puts him where he best excels: On stage. If you are expecting it to be a note for note recreations of his major label debut Blak And Blu you’re going to be in for quite a shock. 11 of the 15 tracks clock in over 6 minutes – plenty of time to stretch out the studio material along with a few choice covers by B.B. King and Muddy Waters. This album doesn’t cook, it singes. Gary Clark, Jr. isn’t the next great guitar hero – he’s already there. A fantastic holdover until the next studio album. Live is available now through Amazon, Itunes and all major music retailers.
You can also go to www.garyclarkjr.com for more information.
READ THIS:
Negative: Me, Blondie And The Advent Of Punk by Chris Stein. Chris Stein was attending the School Of Visual Arts when he met aspiring singer Deborah Harry. They would form Blondie and became a key component in the punk and new wave scene that came out the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Stein put his SVA skills to work, shooting many of the images of Harry that became as iconic as the band’s music. In his new book, Stein compiles these images along with some of the shots that he took with some of the movers, shakers and influences of the scene (David Bowie, The Ramones, Joan Jett,Iggy Pop, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Hell, along with many others). There’s also essays by Stephen Fairey, Glenn O’Brien, Harry, and much more. A fitting celebration for one of the more influential music scenes in rock history. Negative: Me, Blondie And The Advent Of Punk is available now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all major book retailers. For those in the New York City area, Chris Stein will be doing a discussion and book signing at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca on Monday, September 29th at 6pm.
You can also go to www.blondie.net for more info.
DO THIS:
NEW YORK CITY: Billy & Ray. TV and film director Garry Marshall is bringing his directing skills to Off Broadway. He’s directing the play Billy & Ray at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City. The play is about the explosive relationship between writer-director Billy Wilder and novelist Raymond Chandler as they attempt to adapt the book Double Indemnity to a film version. Taking place in the 1940s, Billy & Ray shows how this process of adapting a novel to film created Film Noir. The plays stars Vincent Kartheiser of Mad Men and longtime Broadway veteran Larry Pine along with Sophie von Haselberg and Drew Gehling. Previews begin for Billy & Ray Wednesday, October 1st at the Vineyard Theater in New York City. It officially opens Monday, October 20th.
For more information on Billy & Ray, go to vineyardtheatre.org
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: 15 Now Benefit Concert starring Tom Morello. The Night Watchman Tom Morello, the guitarist from Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave will be performing a special benefit concert for 15 Now in Seattle. 15 Now is the organization started by Seattle city council member Kshama Sawant to fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage in Seattle. The proceeds from the concert at El Corazon will help benefit the cause. Joining Tom Morello is his former Audioslave band mate Chris Cornell. He’ll be performing Audioslave songs with Morello, as well as material of his own. The 15 Now benefit concert starring Tom Morello happens Friday, September 26th at 8 pm.
For more information about the benefit concert go to elcorazonseattle.com and for more information on 15 Now, go to 15now.org.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Foxy Brown at the Habana Outpost. There’s a free showing of 1974 American blaxploitation film Foxy Brown at the Habana Outpost. Pam Grier stars as the title character who is bent on revenge for the murder of her boyfriend. The film is sexual and violent and one of the films that inspired the career of director Quentin Tarantino. The Habana Outpost in Brooklyn has a large outdoor space, but get there early to get a good spot for the free screening. Foxy Brown is playing this Sunday, September 28 at Habana Outpost Brooklyn at 8 pm.
For more information, go to habanaoutpost.com
NEW YORK CITY: Tennessee Williams at the Film Forum. Starting Friday, September 26th and running through Monday, October 6th, the Film Forum will be screening films based on the work of playwright Tennessee Williams. Part of the event will be an introduction and Q&A with Williams biographer John Lahr who will be talking about his new book Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh. Throughout the week, there will be screenings of A Streetcar Named Desire, Baby Doll, The Decent One, The Bitter Tea of General Yen and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. It starts off with “Streetcar” Friday, September 26th at 8 pm.
For more information and tickets, go to filmforum.org
NEW YORK CITY: Retro Metro. The New York City subway system has been source material for movies for the better part of medium’s existence. BAMcinematek compiles some of the best rail-based classic into a 10 day retrospective Retro Metro. The series includes everything from the wistful and whimsical (Dames, On The Town, Speedy, The Clock); slice of life (Saturday Night Fever, Just Another Girl On The IRT), to the down, dirty and dangerous (The Taking Of Pellham One Two Three, Midnight Cowboy, The Warriors, The Incident). Also included are films that capture that birth of hip hop (Style Wars and Beat Street) and it’s relationship to the subway system. The series would not be complete without including The French Connection featuring the breathtaking sequence of a car high speed pursuing an elevated subway train. A great series that shows the evolution of cinema and the New York City rail system. Retro Metro runs September 26th through October 5th.
You can go to www.bam.org for a complete list of films, run times and much more.
NEW YORK CITY: Harlem Street Singer. In the rock pantheon, The Reverend Gary Davis is one of many footnotes. But in the annuals of folk music, he’s celebrated like Elvis. Filmmakers Simoen Hunter and Trevor Laurence compiled a ton of footage to tell the compelling story of how a blind, hard drinking, whip smart street corner preacher/musician played a key role in the folk and rock explosion of the 50s and 60s. Some of the archival footage is extraordinary: Davis’ fluid fretwork (sometimes with only one hand) that predates the hard rock guitar pyrotechnics by several decades; performing a hypnotic set while Pete Seeger and Donovan watch in awe, and photos that show him holding court at The Newport Folk Festival and other major events. There’s also remembrances by Davis’ disciples such as Peter Yarrow, Bob Weir, Rambin’ Jack Elliot, Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplance and Hot Tuna plus much more. A well deserved and loving tribute to an American Music master. Harlem Street Singer will be at the Ice Center Spetember 26th through October 2nd.
You can go to www.harlemstreetsinger.com or www.ifccenter.com for more info.
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