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Remembering Gene Wilder documentary hits theaters March 15 (Gene Wilder / Photo Kino Lorber)

REMEMBERING GENE WILDER

  • By KEN WERTHER

The Producers, Silver Streak, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Stir Crazy, Hanky Panky, The Woman in Red, Haunted Honeymoon, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory … justsome of the films starring the beloved Gene Wilder. An actor, writer, and director, he died in 2016 at age 86 following a three-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Remembering Gene Wilder is a new biographical documentary film about his life, career, and his struggle with Alzheimer’s. With Julie Nimoy and David Knight serving as executive producers and directed by Ron Frank, the movie had its world premiere in May 2023 at the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival (winning the Audience Favorite and Best Film Awards). It arrives this month in movie theatres followed by home video and digital releases. 

Along with rare home videos and scenes from his films, Remembering Gene Wilder includes interviews with former cast and crew members as well as personal memories from family and friends, who share their love for his comedic genius. Among them are Mel Brooks, Wilder’s widow Karen (who supported the project and granted the filmmakers access to personal photos and home movies to incorporate into the film), Alan Alda, Carol Kane, Harry Connick, Jr., Rain Pryor, Dick Cavett, Eric McCormack, and more. Wilder’s narration, also part of the film, is taken from the audiobook version of his 2005 memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. I enthusiastically recommend that you see this film!

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Sculpted Portraits from Ancient Egypt on view through January 25, 2027 (Statue of Nakhthorheb, Egyptian, Dynasty 26, about 590 BC. Quartzite, 112 x 42 x 59 cm. British Museum, London, EA1646. / Photo Getty)

SCULPTURED PORTRAITS

  • By ARLENE WINNICK

The Getty Villa is renowned for its permanent collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities but I’ve seen them many times so imagine my delight on a recent visit to discover an exhibition of Sculpted Portraits from Ancient Egypt.  The exhibit was made possible through a special arrangement with the British Museum.

These stone sculptures are from Egypt’s 26th Dynasty (664-526 BCE), known as the Saite Dynasty, a time of intense artistic revival “in which Egyptian artists copied and adapted early sculptures in celebration of their forebears,” noted Timothy Potts, Director of the Getty Museum.

The sculptures on display fall into a category called ‘private portraits,’ meaning they represent non-royal historical individuals. The 26th Dynasty was a period in which private portraiture flourished as people wanted temple statues and tomb furnishings that expressed their identity,” commented Sara E. Cole, assistant curator of antiquities at the Gerry Villa Museum. Works portray priests and administrative officials.  Portrait statues, made of polished dark stone, and smaller works served several purposes:  placed in temples where people gathered to worship the figures; others were placed in tombs where they functioned as vessels for the deceased’s spirit. The exhibit also showcases sarcophagi or stone coffins from that era.

The exhibition’s gallery – part of the Getty program, The Classical World in Context – is devoted to the diverse cultures that interacted with and influenced the ancient Greeks and Roman.

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Wicked Little Letters releases March 29, 2024 (Jessie Buckley and Olivia Colman / Photo Sony Pictures Classics)

Wicked Little Letters

  • By AC Remler

As a huge fan of Olivia Colman (The Crown, Broadchurch), I was excited to see her in the starring role in the new British comedy crime drama, Wicked Little Letters, premiering in U.S. theaters on March 29. Comedian Jonny Sweet wrote the script based on a bizarre true story from 20th-century England.

Colman is Edith Swan, a prim and proper resident of the seaside town of Littlehampton, who accuses her neighbor–Irish immigrant and single mum Rose Gooding–of sending her anonymous letters containing foul language, such as “piss country wh***,” and the like.

Edith and her father, Edward (Timothy Spall), are convinced that the culprit is Rose–played brilliantly by Jessie Buckley (Men)–because, well, she swears with abandon. Local officials are soon trying to crack the case, including the bumbling police officers convinced of her guilt, and the tenacious lady cop Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), determined to find the real criminal.

Directed by Thea Sharrock, Wicked Little Letters is a fun film if you’re in the mood for loud guffaws. Both Colman and Buckley savor the colorful script, delivering expletives with Shakespearean panache. It’s hard not to LOL over the hilarity of demure British women breaking the norms of 1920s polite society by reading over-the-top profanity.

Also interesting are the dotted lines connecting to modern-day social media posting–often written by people pretending to be someone they’re not.

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The Neon Highway releases March 15, 2024 (Beau Bridges / Photo Freestyle)

THE NEON HIGHWAY

  • By ARLENE WINNICK

There is nothing like an uplifting movie filled with country music to brighten you day and one starring Beau Bridges is even better. In The Neon Highway Bridges plays a washed-up drunken country legend Claude Allen who still has dreams of rekindling his fame and career when he meets Wayne Collins (played by actor/musician Rob Mayes), a singer/songwriter whose Nashville career was shattered twenty years ago when a car crash ended his road to stardom.  The chance meeting rekindles Wayne’s dream and the two set off to Nashville to pitch an original song hoping that Claude’s past fame and contacts will ensure them a deal.  No such luck.  The industry has changed and no one wants their song.   The pair are devastated until Wayne figures out a way to outsmart the system and get the song out to the public, not for himself, but for Claude

Shot entirely in Georgia, The Neon Highway features appearances by recording artists Lee Price and Pam Tillis.  The movie’s theme song was written by Nashville songwriter Dallas Davidson and is performed by Lee Brice (Lamont Johnson in the film).  Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval composed the score.

Bridges, son of actor Lloyd Bridges and brother of actor Jeff Bridges, was recently seen in the hit series Lessons in Chemistry. He has appeared in more than 100 films including Norma Rae, Jerry Maguire and The Descendants.

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