Matt Dillon is at Locarno this week where he will receive the festival’s lifetime achievement award, a prestigious honour that he joked comes with a unique balance of positives and negatives.
“I’m too young,” he said. “But I do this because hopefully there’s some director here that’s gonna say ‘good job’ because I’m only as good as the directors I work with.”
This year, in tribute to Dillon, the festival will screen Gus Van Sant’s 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy, for which Dillon won his first of two Indie Spirit Awards as well as his directorial debut City Of Ghosts starring James Caan, Gérard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
“I made that film on celluloid and now nobody makes movies on celluloid anymore. Everything is happening so fast,” he said.
For his latest project, Dillon has returned to the director’s seat for the first time in...
“I’m too young,” he said. “But I do this because hopefully there’s some director here that’s gonna say ‘good job’ because I’m only as good as the directors I work with.”
This year, in tribute to Dillon, the festival will screen Gus Van Sant’s 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy, for which Dillon won his first of two Indie Spirit Awards as well as his directorial debut City Of Ghosts starring James Caan, Gérard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
“I made that film on celluloid and now nobody makes movies on celluloid anymore. Everything is happening so fast,” he said.
For his latest project, Dillon has returned to the director’s seat for the first time in...
- 8/4/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Most people know Matt Dillon as an actor who grew up in front of the cameras. He won two Indie Spirit Awards for “Drugstore Cowboy” and for “Crash;” that one also yielded a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Dillon also made a strong directing debut in 2003 with moody thriller “City of Ghosts” co-starring James Caan, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
None of that addressed an all-consuming passion for world music with a vast collection of vinyl and shellac 78s (sorted alphabetically by artist or label), and making a documentary about Cuban scat singer Francisco Fellove that took him 20 years to complete. “The Great Fellove” debuted to rave reviews at San Sebastian 2020, and more recently, Telluride 2021.
in the film, Cuban rumba performer Chan Campos describes Fellove: “He was a drum from his feet to his head.” (See our clip below.) Dillon’s documentary captures the scat maestro who gave us the original “Mango Mangue,...
None of that addressed an all-consuming passion for world music with a vast collection of vinyl and shellac 78s (sorted alphabetically by artist or label), and making a documentary about Cuban scat singer Francisco Fellove that took him 20 years to complete. “The Great Fellove” debuted to rave reviews at San Sebastian 2020, and more recently, Telluride 2021.
in the film, Cuban rumba performer Chan Campos describes Fellove: “He was a drum from his feet to his head.” (See our clip below.) Dillon’s documentary captures the scat maestro who gave us the original “Mango Mangue,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Most people know Matt Dillon as an actor who grew up in front of the cameras. He won two Indie Spirit Awards for “Drugstore Cowboy” and for “Crash;” that one also yielded a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Dillon also made a strong directing debut in 2003 with moody thriller “City of Ghosts” co-starring James Caan, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
None of that addressed an all-consuming passion for world music with a vast collection of vinyl and shellac 78s (sorted alphabetically by artist or label), and making a documentary about Cuban scat singer Francisco Fellove that took him 20 years to complete. “The Great Fellove” debuted to rave reviews at San Sebastian 2020, and more recently, Telluride 2021.
in the film, Cuban rumba performer Chan Campos describes Fellove: “He was a drum from his feet to his head.” (See our clip below.) Dillon’s documentary captures the scat maestro who gave us the original “Mango Mangue,...
None of that addressed an all-consuming passion for world music with a vast collection of vinyl and shellac 78s (sorted alphabetically by artist or label), and making a documentary about Cuban scat singer Francisco Fellove that took him 20 years to complete. “The Great Fellove” debuted to rave reviews at San Sebastian 2020, and more recently, Telluride 2021.
in the film, Cuban rumba performer Chan Campos describes Fellove: “He was a drum from his feet to his head.” (See our clip below.) Dillon’s documentary captures the scat maestro who gave us the original “Mango Mangue,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
At a certain point in the 1980s, there was no bigger movie star than Matt Dillon. Exploding into the cultural stratosphere with a trio of popular S.E. Hinton film adaptations, the young actor transitioned from heartthrob to dynamic leading man in the space of a decade. Roles in Gus Van Sant’s masterful Drugstore Cowboy, Cameron Crowe’s Singles, and Tim Hunter’s The Saint of Fort Washington followed, each one wildly different from the other.
Thirty years later, Dillon finds himself at the Telluride Film Festival as the director of the breezy, illuminating documentary El Gran Fellove, which tells the story of Francisco Fellove Valdés, the underappreciated Cuban scat singer and showman. The film also highlights the “Feeling” Movement that came out of Cuba in the 1940s, a jazz-inspired musical shift of which Fellove was essential. The musician––like many Cuban artists––would soon move to Mexico, where he found an abundance of success.
Thirty years later, Dillon finds himself at the Telluride Film Festival as the director of the breezy, illuminating documentary El Gran Fellove, which tells the story of Francisco Fellove Valdés, the underappreciated Cuban scat singer and showman. The film also highlights the “Feeling” Movement that came out of Cuba in the 1940s, a jazz-inspired musical shift of which Fellove was essential. The musician––like many Cuban artists––would soon move to Mexico, where he found an abundance of success.
- 9/7/2021
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
“It’s really a film about friendship,” says Matt Dillon, about “The Great Fellove” [El Gran Fellove], his documentary chronicling the musical career of Cuban scat singer and showman Francisco ‘el Gran’ Fellove and the recording of his last album, “Fellove & Joey.”
“The whole thing started because of my friendship with bandleader Joey Altruda and our shared love of Cuban music,” says Dillon. “And then, it’s this wonderful story of how these Cuban musicians all took care of each other when they were all in exile in Mexico. That friendship between José Antonio Méndez and Fellove meant a lot to me.”
Academy-Award nominee Dillon’s second feature in the director’s chair played as a Special Screening at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it received a rousing reception.
Dillon first started going to Cuba in the early ‘90s during a time of extreme poverty for the Caribbean country following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“The whole thing started because of my friendship with bandleader Joey Altruda and our shared love of Cuban music,” says Dillon. “And then, it’s this wonderful story of how these Cuban musicians all took care of each other when they were all in exile in Mexico. That friendship between José Antonio Méndez and Fellove meant a lot to me.”
Academy-Award nominee Dillon’s second feature in the director’s chair played as a Special Screening at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it received a rousing reception.
Dillon first started going to Cuba in the early ‘90s during a time of extreme poverty for the Caribbean country following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- 9/23/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
Matt Dillon is at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival this week for the world premiere of The Great Fellove, his second feature as a director after a 17-year gap since his debut City Of Ghosts. His new film is a documentary that taps into the actor’s passion for Cuban music, telling the story of Francisco Fellove, a singer and songwriter known for his scat singing.
The film chronicles how Dillon and his friend Joey Altruda travelled to Mexico City in the late 90s to meet Fellove, who had long retreated from the limelight, and to record a final album with him (he passed away in 2013). Dillon unearthed that footage after it has spent many years on the shelf, and decided to flesh it out into a feature film, travelling to Cuba and Mexico, recording interviews with many of Fellove’s contemporaries to understand how much he influenced their musical scene.
The film chronicles how Dillon and his friend Joey Altruda travelled to Mexico City in the late 90s to meet Fellove, who had long retreated from the limelight, and to record a final album with him (he passed away in 2013). Dillon unearthed that footage after it has spent many years on the shelf, and decided to flesh it out into a feature film, travelling to Cuba and Mexico, recording interviews with many of Fellove’s contemporaries to understand how much he influenced their musical scene.
- 9/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Actor and filmmaker Matt Dillon has released two clips from “The Great Fellove” [“El Gran Fellove”], a long-gestating documentary chronicling the musical career of Cuban scat singer and showman Francisco ‘el Gran’ Fellove and the recording of his last album, “Fellove & Joey.” The film is world premiering at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is being sold by Nick Shumaker of United Talent Agency.
It is Academy-Award nominee Dillon’s second feature film in the director’s chair. In 2003 he co-wrote and made “City of Ghosts” in which he starred alongside James Caan, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Through a series of interviews, archival photos and videos, as well as new footage, “The Great Fellove” recounts Fellove’s life as a struggling musician in Cuba, his eventual success in Mexico, and the contagious love he had for music until the very end.
The Cuban soul star was born on Oct.
It is Academy-Award nominee Dillon’s second feature film in the director’s chair. In 2003 he co-wrote and made “City of Ghosts” in which he starred alongside James Caan, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Through a series of interviews, archival photos and videos, as well as new footage, “The Great Fellove” recounts Fellove’s life as a struggling musician in Cuba, his eventual success in Mexico, and the contagious love he had for music until the very end.
The Cuban soul star was born on Oct.
- 9/19/2020
- by Kaleem Aftab
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.