John Cameron Mitchell has signed on to produce the upcoming biopic about trans legend Candy Darling!
The 60-year-old Hedwig and the Angry Inch star will serve as an executive producer on the untitled project about the life of the Andy Warhol Superstar directed by Zackary Drucker starring Barbie actress Hari Nef as the trans icon.
Keep reading to find out more…The film follows Candy Darling’s “childhood in Long Island through her years alongside underground icons Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis in Warhol’s Factory scene, and her influence on musicians including Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. She was immortalized in popular songs including Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and The Velvet Underground’s ‘Candy Says,’” according to Variety.
Candy also starred in Warhol’s cult film Women In Revolt before she died of leukemia in 1974 at age 29.
“Legendary trans icon Candy Darling has...
The 60-year-old Hedwig and the Angry Inch star will serve as an executive producer on the untitled project about the life of the Andy Warhol Superstar directed by Zackary Drucker starring Barbie actress Hari Nef as the trans icon.
Keep reading to find out more…The film follows Candy Darling’s “childhood in Long Island through her years alongside underground icons Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis in Warhol’s Factory scene, and her influence on musicians including Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. She was immortalized in popular songs including Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and The Velvet Underground’s ‘Candy Says,’” according to Variety.
Candy also starred in Warhol’s cult film Women In Revolt before she died of leukemia in 1974 at age 29.
“Legendary trans icon Candy Darling has...
- 3/27/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Zackary Drucker will direct the upcoming biopic about Andy Warhol superstar Candy Darling starring Hari Nef. John Cameron Mitchell also joins the untitled film about the transgender icon as executive producer.
It was previously announced that Nef (“Barbie”) will star in the movie.
The film traces Darling’s childhood in Long Island through her years alongside underground icons Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis in Warhol’s Factory scene, and her influence on musicians including Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. She was immortalized in popular songs including Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and The Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says.”
Darling also starred in Warhol’s cult film “Women In Revolt” before she died of leukemia in 1974 at age 29.
“I’ve dedicated my life and career to amplifying the history of trans and queer icons, and their impact in shaping art and culture for everyone,” Drucker said in a statement.
It was previously announced that Nef (“Barbie”) will star in the movie.
The film traces Darling’s childhood in Long Island through her years alongside underground icons Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis in Warhol’s Factory scene, and her influence on musicians including Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. She was immortalized in popular songs including Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and The Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says.”
Darling also starred in Warhol’s cult film “Women In Revolt” before she died of leukemia in 1974 at age 29.
“I’ve dedicated my life and career to amplifying the history of trans and queer icons, and their impact in shaping art and culture for everyone,” Drucker said in a statement.
- 3/26/2024
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Melissa Leo and Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of “Clean-Up Crew,” an action-comedy from Yale Entertainment.
Directed by Jon Keeyes, “Clean-Up Crew” focuses on a crime scene clean-up team that discovers a cash-filled briefcase at a crime sight. The discovery pits them into battle with a crime boss, hitman and corrupt government agents searching for the cash. Meyers and Leo play the heads of the clean-up crew, while Banderas plays the crime boss looking for the briefcase.
The film shot in Ireland, and recently wrapped production. Matthew Rogers wrote the script for the film, which is produced by Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman and Michael Rothstein for Yale, Richard Bolger and Conor Barry from Hail Mary Pictures and Richard Clabaugh, Stephen Braun and Kurt Ebner. Yale’s sales banner Great Escape will handle international rights for the project, which is aiming to be sold at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
Directed by Jon Keeyes, “Clean-Up Crew” focuses on a crime scene clean-up team that discovers a cash-filled briefcase at a crime sight. The discovery pits them into battle with a crime boss, hitman and corrupt government agents searching for the cash. Meyers and Leo play the heads of the clean-up crew, while Banderas plays the crime boss looking for the briefcase.
The film shot in Ireland, and recently wrapped production. Matthew Rogers wrote the script for the film, which is produced by Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman and Michael Rothstein for Yale, Richard Bolger and Conor Barry from Hail Mary Pictures and Richard Clabaugh, Stephen Braun and Kurt Ebner. Yale’s sales banner Great Escape will handle international rights for the project, which is aiming to be sold at the Toronto Film Festival in September.
- 8/8/2022
- by Wilson Chapman and EJ Panaligan
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Hari Nef (Transparent) is set to portray transgender icon and Andy Warhol superstar Candy Darling in the as-yet-untitled biopic penned by Transparent writer Stephanie Kornick. Deadline exclusively announced the project in 2019.
Nef’s role encompasses Candy’s rise from childhood in Long Island beauty pageantry to her years alongside Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis as a member of the East Village experimental theater group, La Mama Etc., to starring in Warhol’s groundbreaking film, Women In Revolt.
Christian D. Bruun, Louis Spiegler, and Katrina Wolfe are producing alongside executive producer, Zackary Drucker. A director search is currently underway.
Although considered a cult figure by some, Candy has been a cultural touchstone for decades, inspiring the lyrics for songs by Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, and St. Vincent, as well as a featured character in Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids.
“The dream was always to play Candy,...
Nef’s role encompasses Candy’s rise from childhood in Long Island beauty pageantry to her years alongside Holly Woodlawn and Jackie Curtis as a member of the East Village experimental theater group, La Mama Etc., to starring in Warhol’s groundbreaking film, Women In Revolt.
Christian D. Bruun, Louis Spiegler, and Katrina Wolfe are producing alongside executive producer, Zackary Drucker. A director search is currently underway.
Although considered a cult figure by some, Candy has been a cultural touchstone for decades, inspiring the lyrics for songs by Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, and St. Vincent, as well as a featured character in Patti Smith’s memoir, Just Kids.
“The dream was always to play Candy,...
- 8/2/2022
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
“Nightclubbing,” the first-ever documentary about the legendary New York City nightclub Max’s Kansas City, which from 1965 through 1981 was a hotbed for the city’s rock, glam, punk and new wave scenes, has announced a series of screenings across the globe in July and August.
The film — the full title of which is “Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC” — will screen along with another doc from Chip Baker Films, “Sid: The Final Curtain,” which is a brief documentary about the late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious’ final concert, which took place at Max’s.
“Nightclubbing” is the sixth music documentary from Spanish filmmaker Danny Garcia (others include “The Rise and Fall of The Clash” and “Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Jones” about the group’s founder and original leader). It premiered at the Dock of the Bay Film Festival in San Sebastián, Spain last month...
The film — the full title of which is “Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC” — will screen along with another doc from Chip Baker Films, “Sid: The Final Curtain,” which is a brief documentary about the late Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious’ final concert, which took place at Max’s.
“Nightclubbing” is the sixth music documentary from Spanish filmmaker Danny Garcia (others include “The Rise and Fall of The Clash” and “Rolling Stone: The Life and Death of Brian Jones” about the group’s founder and original leader). It premiered at the Dock of the Bay Film Festival in San Sebastián, Spain last month...
- 6/22/2022
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Drawings by Jeff CashvanMovie-lovers!Welcome back to The Deuce Notebook, a collaboration between Mubi Notebook and The Deuce Film Series, our monthly event at Nitehawk Williamsburg that excavates the facts and fantasies of cinema's most infamous block in the world: 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. For each screening, my co-hosts and I pick a flick that we think embodies the era of all-night movie grinding and present the theater at which it premiered.We’ve had the extreme pleasure of screening Paul Morrissey’s outrageously fun horror treats Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, and we are Thrilled to learn of the new release of Dracula by Severin Films, and the upcoming restoration of Frankenstein by Vinegar Syndrome—so, we thought we’d share some thoughts on two of our favorite movies.And… once again, our 'famous' raffle - this month, a little different: four winners will...
- 6/29/2021
- MUBI
Suzanne Vega has shared a cover of her late, long-time friend Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” The rendition appears on her upcoming LP An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, out September 11th via Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl.
Accompanied by a charming video that features collage cutouts depicting the lyrics — including Andy Warhol superstars Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling — the cover stays true to the original, with Vega’s melodic, husky vocals backed by guitar. “Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets/Lookin’ for soul food and a place to eat,...
Accompanied by a charming video that features collage cutouts depicting the lyrics — including Andy Warhol superstars Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling — the cover stays true to the original, with Vega’s melodic, husky vocals backed by guitar. “Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets/Lookin’ for soul food and a place to eat,...
- 8/27/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
For our first week of home media releases for the month of July, we are starting things off with a modest assortment of titles making their way to both Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday. Vinegar Syndrome is showing some love to the gritty vampire flick Night Owl this week, and Rlje Films is unleashing Deadsight on both formats as well.
For those of you who dig action flicks, Escape Plan: The Extractors hits both Blu and DVD on Tuesday, and be sure to check out We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s haunting novel.
Other releases for July 12th include Robert Reborn, High Moon, Soul Reaper, and Nightmare Shark.
Deadsight
Mara Madigan is a pregnant police officer about to go on maternity leave. But on her last day on the job, she wakes up to a world ravaged by a nightmarish and...
For those of you who dig action flicks, Escape Plan: The Extractors hits both Blu and DVD on Tuesday, and be sure to check out We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s haunting novel.
Other releases for July 12th include Robert Reborn, High Moon, Soul Reaper, and Nightmare Shark.
Deadsight
Mara Madigan is a pregnant police officer about to go on maternity leave. But on her last day on the job, she wakes up to a world ravaged by a nightmarish and...
- 7/2/2019
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Candy and Daddy by Anton Perich (1972)
Starring: Candy Darling, Taylor Mead and Craig Vandenburgh
After living as a poet and a painter in Paris, France in the mid-1960s, Croatian-born artist Anton Perich moved to New York City where he found part-time work as a busboy at the notorious hangout spot Max’s Kansas City. There, he met and hung out with several of Andy Warhol’s “Superstars,” such as Andrea Feldman, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
Documenting the scene at Max’s, Perich took photographs and Super 8mm films, but he would become most well-known in the early ’70s as a pioneering underground videomaker.
In the book Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up by Catherine O’Sullivan Shorr, Perich notes that he didn’t speak English upon arriving in NYC, but he formed a bond with actor Taylor Mead, with whom he could speak French.
According to a...
Starring: Candy Darling, Taylor Mead and Craig Vandenburgh
After living as a poet and a painter in Paris, France in the mid-1960s, Croatian-born artist Anton Perich moved to New York City where he found part-time work as a busboy at the notorious hangout spot Max’s Kansas City. There, he met and hung out with several of Andy Warhol’s “Superstars,” such as Andrea Feldman, Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.
Documenting the scene at Max’s, Perich took photographs and Super 8mm films, but he would become most well-known in the early ’70s as a pioneering underground videomaker.
In the book Your Fifteen Minutes Are Up by Catherine O’Sullivan Shorr, Perich notes that he didn’t speak English upon arriving in NYC, but he formed a bond with actor Taylor Mead, with whom he could speak French.
According to a...
- 6/10/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It's official: Chris Rock needs to host the Oscars every year. The whole idea of other hosts has been tried, and it has failed, from the soul-withering void that was James Franco to the locust plague they call Seth MacFarlane. Why would you ever not call Rock for this gig? Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Martin are always welcome, but Rock is just the undisputed king of award-show hosts, and despite all the other things he can do, lampooning a roomful of bloated Hollywood egos is what he does best. He...
- 2/29/2016
- Rollingstone.com
You can always count on the In Memoriam part of the show to start some controversy (although, there's already been a lot of that tonight in particular). Dave Grohl gave a beautiful rendition of The Beatles' "Blackbird" during the Oscars 2016 In Memoriam TV tribute, and while viewers watched as we acknowledged all of the talent we lost this year, including David Bowie and Alan Rickman (to name a few), we watched as the montage came to an end without paying recognition to some fallen stars. Jacques Rivette and Holly Woodlawn were two names that people were quick to notice, along with Geoffrey Lewis, and his daughter, actress Juliette Lewis was quick to call it out. "My dad #GeoffreyLewis was beloved...
- 2/29/2016
- E! Online
Dave Grohl paid tribute to those in the film industry who have passed away in the last year, playing the Beatles' "Blackbird" during the "In Memoriam" segment.
The Foo Fighter gave a spare, acoustic performance of the song, paying tribute to the likes of Wes Craven, Alan Rickman, Leonard Nimoy, Holly Woodlawn, Omar Sharif, David Bowie and various other members of the industry who'd died over the last year.
Little was known about Grohl's performance prior to his appearance at the ceremony, but the list of performers did stir up...
The Foo Fighter gave a spare, acoustic performance of the song, paying tribute to the likes of Wes Craven, Alan Rickman, Leonard Nimoy, Holly Woodlawn, Omar Sharif, David Bowie and various other members of the industry who'd died over the last year.
Little was known about Grohl's performance prior to his appearance at the ceremony, but the list of performers did stir up...
- 2/29/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Transgender actress Holly Woodlawn, who became famous after starring in Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey’s 1970 films “Trash” and “Women in Revolt,” has died. She was 69. Her former caretaker and friend Mariela Huerta told the Associated Press that Woodlawn died Sunday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. Woodlawn was born Harold Danhakl and took her new name after she ran away from home at 15 and hitchhiked to New York City, where she became one of Warhol’s “drag queen superstars.” Her story was the inspiration for the first lines of Lou Reed song “Walk on the Wild Side.
- 12/7/2015
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
The New York Film Critics Online has named Spotlight best picture of 2015, Tom McCarthy best director and added best ensemble to boot. We have the complete list of winners. Also in today's roundup, video interviews with Quentin Tarantino and Alejandro González Iñárritu, a new issue of Frames Cinema Journal with articles on Guillermo del Toro, David Bowie, Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs and Sean Baker's Tangerine—and more. Plus, remembering one of Andy Warhol's superstars, Holly Woodlawn, and actor Jacques Denis, who worked with Alain Tanner, Bertrand Tavernier, Bertrand Blier, Claire Denis and Raúl Ruiz. » - David Hudson...
- 12/7/2015
- Keyframe
The New York Film Critics Online has named Spotlight best picture of 2015, Tom McCarthy best director and added best ensemble to boot. We have the complete list of winners. Also in today's roundup, video interviews with Quentin Tarantino and Alejandro González Iñárritu, a new issue of Frames Cinema Journal with articles on Guillermo del Toro, David Bowie, Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs and Sean Baker's Tangerine—and more. Plus, remembering one of Andy Warhol's superstars, Holly Woodlawn, and actor Jacques Denis, who worked with Alain Tanner, Bertrand Tavernier, Bertrand Blier, Claire Denis and Raúl Ruiz. » - David Hudson...
- 12/7/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Holly Woodlawn, a transgender actress in Andy Warhol's Factory and the inspiration behind the opening verse of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," passed away Sunday following a battle with cancer. She was 69. Woodlawn first discovered she had cancer in August and was since transferred to an assisted-living facility in Los Angeles, where she died, the BBC reports.
Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Puerto Rico in 1946, Woodlawn adopted her name from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's main character Holly Golightly as well as an...
Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Puerto Rico in 1946, Woodlawn adopted her name from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's main character Holly Golightly as well as an...
- 12/7/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Gothamist Good Morning America tries to interview Carrie Fisher. She is not as cooperative as they're used to. Hilarious. She mostly wants to talk about her dog Gary. Also...
Carrie Fisher's Dog is on twitter
/Film best and worst of Ryan Gosling on SNL
Variety Shailene Woodley, to whom I am mostly allergic, will unfortunately co-star with Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies
Boy Culture Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn has died at 69
i09 in case you can't wait until Christmas, they've released 8 clips from The Hateful Eight to tide you over
Pajiba 8 sets of celebrity dopplegangers
Today's Watch
Director Ryan Coogler talks about Creed's amazing continuous shot boxing match. So gutsy that this bravura bit comes so early in the movie and he still manages to top it later on.
List Mania
Vulture David Edelstein's top ten list is quite adventurous as it zigzags from Room to...
Carrie Fisher's Dog is on twitter
/Film best and worst of Ryan Gosling on SNL
Variety Shailene Woodley, to whom I am mostly allergic, will unfortunately co-star with Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies
Boy Culture Warhol superstar Holly Woodlawn has died at 69
i09 in case you can't wait until Christmas, they've released 8 clips from The Hateful Eight to tide you over
Pajiba 8 sets of celebrity dopplegangers
Today's Watch
Director Ryan Coogler talks about Creed's amazing continuous shot boxing match. So gutsy that this bravura bit comes so early in the movie and he still manages to top it later on.
List Mania
Vulture David Edelstein's top ten list is quite adventurous as it zigzags from Room to...
- 12/7/2015
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Transgender actress Holly Woodlawn, who enjoyed a measure of fame and notoriety as one of Andy Warhol’s circle of personalities — “superstars” — at the artist’s The Factory in early 1970s New York City, has died. Woodlawn, nee Harold Danhaki in Puerto Rico, was 69 and died Sunday after battling brain and liver cancer in Los Angeles. In addition to the scene at The Factory, Woodlawn appeared in Warhol and Paul Morrissey’s underground classic Trash with Joe Dallesandro…...
- 12/7/2015
- Deadline TV
Transgender actress Holly Woodlawn, who enjoyed a measure of fame and notoriety as one of Andy Warhol’s circle of personalities — “superstars” — at the artist’s The Factory in early 1970s New York City, has died. Woodlawn, nee Harold Danhaki in Puerto Rico, was 69 and died Sunday after battling brain and liver cancer in Los Angeles. In addition to the scene at The Factory, Woodlawn appeared in Warhol and Paul Morrissey’s underground classic Trash with Joe Dallesandro…...
- 12/7/2015
- Deadline
Holly Woodlawn, the transgender actress whose rose to fame in the early 1970s through her work with Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey, died on Sunday in Los Angeles after a long battle with cancer. She was 69.Born Haroldo Danhakl in Puerto Rico, Woodlawn grew up in Miami before running away from home at 15 to hitchhike to New York City. Her story famously inspired the first verse of Lou Reed's 1972 "Walk on the Wild Side": "Holly came from Miami, F.L.A. Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, 'Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side." After spending years in poverty in New York, Woodlawn met Andy Warhol, the man who would make her one of his "superstars," in 1968. By 1970, she starred in Paul Morriseey's Warhol-supported Trash, giving...
- 12/7/2015
- by Jackson McHenry
- Vulture
BBC Four has announced an hour-long documentary about the late Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed, who died in October at the age of 71.
Produced and directed by Chris Rodley, Lou Reed Remembered will be broadcast on the channel this Sunday, December 15 at 9pm. It will be repeated the following day at 3am.
Lou Reed 1942-2013: Obituary of Velvet Underground co-founder
"With the help of friends, fellow musicians, critics and those who have been inspired not only by his music but also by his famously contrary approach to almost everything, the documentary looks at how Reed not only helped to shape a generation but also helped to create a truly alternative, independent rock scene, while also providing New York with its most provocative and potent soundtrack," the BBC said.
Contributors to the film include Reed's former Velvet Underground bandmates Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule, Berlin guitarist Steve Hunter, novelist Paul Auster...
Produced and directed by Chris Rodley, Lou Reed Remembered will be broadcast on the channel this Sunday, December 15 at 9pm. It will be repeated the following day at 3am.
Lou Reed 1942-2013: Obituary of Velvet Underground co-founder
"With the help of friends, fellow musicians, critics and those who have been inspired not only by his music but also by his famously contrary approach to almost everything, the documentary looks at how Reed not only helped to shape a generation but also helped to create a truly alternative, independent rock scene, while also providing New York with its most provocative and potent soundtrack," the BBC said.
Contributors to the film include Reed's former Velvet Underground bandmates Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule, Berlin guitarist Steve Hunter, novelist Paul Auster...
- 12/9/2013
- Digital Spy
On a quiet street in late-1950′s suburban Baltimore – Baltimore! – an apple-cheeked upper-middle-class family moves in and two young men become neighbors by sheer coincidence. No one in their right mind could have predicted that these two boys would form a friendship that would last decades and unleash onto an unsuspecting public some of the most gloriously perverse collaborations in film history.
Then again, the world had never seen the likes of John Waters and Harris Glenn Milstead before.
The criminally entertaining new documentary I Am Divine yanks the cha-cha heels and wipes the liberally-applied makeup off of one of our true queer pop culture pioneers: Divine. Part drag queen, part vixen, part psychopath, and all woman (well, not quite), Divine subverted pretty much everything Hollywood had to say about women, sexuality, glamor, and common decency. Her face – often made up in garish, twisted masks and screaming to bring the walls down – is known everywhere.
Then again, the world had never seen the likes of John Waters and Harris Glenn Milstead before.
The criminally entertaining new documentary I Am Divine yanks the cha-cha heels and wipes the liberally-applied makeup off of one of our true queer pop culture pioneers: Divine. Part drag queen, part vixen, part psychopath, and all woman (well, not quite), Divine subverted pretty much everything Hollywood had to say about women, sexuality, glamor, and common decency. Her face – often made up in garish, twisted masks and screaming to bring the walls down – is known everywhere.
- 10/25/2013
- by Brian Juergens
- The Backlot
Divine in the cult classic “Pink Flamingos”
The documentary I Am Divine made its world premiere at this year's SXSW Film Festival and as the title suggests, it documents the life and times of the iconic Divine, the mother of all drag performers. Divine worshippers and newbies will be happy to know that this movie has all the crazy and outlandish antics expected from the late great performer, but it's also surprisingly intimate, heartfelt, and a bit somber.
All of us remember our first encounter with the lovely Divine (born Harris Glenn Milstead). More than likely, you know her from John Waters' Pink Flamingos (a.k.a. The movie where she eats dog poo). It wasn't any different for Jeffrey Schwarz, director of the film. He was in his teenage years when he started worshipping at the altar of Divine.
“I had read about Pink Flamingos before actually seeing it,...
The documentary I Am Divine made its world premiere at this year's SXSW Film Festival and as the title suggests, it documents the life and times of the iconic Divine, the mother of all drag performers. Divine worshippers and newbies will be happy to know that this movie has all the crazy and outlandish antics expected from the late great performer, but it's also surprisingly intimate, heartfelt, and a bit somber.
All of us remember our first encounter with the lovely Divine (born Harris Glenn Milstead). More than likely, you know her from John Waters' Pink Flamingos (a.k.a. The movie where she eats dog poo). It wasn't any different for Jeffrey Schwarz, director of the film. He was in his teenage years when he started worshipping at the altar of Divine.
“I had read about Pink Flamingos before actually seeing it,...
- 4/9/2013
- by Dino-Ray
- The Backlot
Directed by: Jeffrey Schwarz
Featuring: Divine, John Waters, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, Holly Woodlawn, Tab Hunter
When I was very little, I remember my mom watching the original Hairspray on VHS and I was fascinated by one particular character. She was just so loud and over-the-top, and at the end of the film she's so much larger than life. It was several years later before I discovered that the sequined, brash woman wasn't a biological woman at all, and that was my introduction to Harris Glenn "Divine" Milstead (and consequently, I've been infatuated with drag culture for as long as I can remember). So when I heard about the upcoming documentary I Am Divine, touting itself as the definitive biopic of the ultimate diva, I knew that it was a must-see on my SXSW 2013 list.
The documentary, directed by Jeff Schwarz (who also made the fantastic William Castle doc Spine Tingler!
Featuring: Divine, John Waters, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, Holly Woodlawn, Tab Hunter
When I was very little, I remember my mom watching the original Hairspray on VHS and I was fascinated by one particular character. She was just so loud and over-the-top, and at the end of the film she's so much larger than life. It was several years later before I discovered that the sequined, brash woman wasn't a biological woman at all, and that was my introduction to Harris Glenn "Divine" Milstead (and consequently, I've been infatuated with drag culture for as long as I can remember). So when I heard about the upcoming documentary I Am Divine, touting itself as the definitive biopic of the ultimate diva, I knew that it was a must-see on my SXSW 2013 list.
The documentary, directed by Jeff Schwarz (who also made the fantastic William Castle doc Spine Tingler!
- 3/19/2013
- by Amanda Rebholz
- Planet Fury
Harris Glenn Milstead, professionally known to the world as Divine, was perhaps middle America's first mainstream exposure to a drag queen. I Am Divine is a definitive documentary of Divine's life from his youth growing up in Baltimore to his death in 1988. With this movie, director Jeffrey Schwarz continues his sterling track record of in-depth, fascinating profile films such as Vito and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.
Interviews with John Waters, Jayne Mansfield, Tab Hunter, Mink Stole, Bruce Vilanch, Holly Woodlawn, Rikki Lake and finally, Divine himself, paint a fabulous picture of the man inside the dress shedding light on what was, to me, up until now a mysterious personality.
Before watching Schwarz's documentary, I could tell you little more about Divine other than that he was a 300-lb drag queen who once ate a dog turd on camera in John Waters' Pink Flamingos. Now, Divine is a...
Interviews with John Waters, Jayne Mansfield, Tab Hunter, Mink Stole, Bruce Vilanch, Holly Woodlawn, Rikki Lake and finally, Divine himself, paint a fabulous picture of the man inside the dress shedding light on what was, to me, up until now a mysterious personality.
Before watching Schwarz's documentary, I could tell you little more about Divine other than that he was a 300-lb drag queen who once ate a dog turd on camera in John Waters' Pink Flamingos. Now, Divine is a...
- 3/14/2013
- by Mike Saulters
- Slackerwood
Beautiful Darling, the haunting new documentary about the Andy Warhol superstar and pioneering drag-queen transsexual Candy Darling, includes a detail that may not seem to be that big a deal, but that began to astonish me the more I thought about it. It’s that Candy, by the early 1970s, after she’d already become a famous fixture on the downtown scene, was still impoverished, crashing on people’s couches, eating a can of beans for dinner, and — the movie strongly suggests — turning tricks to survive. Basically, she was living the desperate, scraping-through-each-day existence of just about any anonymous New York drag queen.
- 5/7/2011
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Meet the most dangerous man in America. Way before the Yes Men, Alan Abel was duping the media with all kinds of outrageous hoaxes. From trying to clothe animals to running a school for beggars to protesting against breast feeding, nobody, but nobody, could pull the wool over the public’s eyes like Abel. And, entering into his sunset years — he’s still at it! Calling radio stations, writing fake editorials, handing out outrageous flyers, Alan Abel couldn’t stop pulling hoaxes if he tried. His life and wacko career is intimately profiled in the documentary Abel Raises Cain by someone who knows his tricks and scams all too well: His daughter Jenny Abel.
This is a very loving documentary. Jenny is obviously very close to her father and her mother, so the documentary doesn’t really explore any negative aspects to Abel’s stunts, if there are any. Although...
This is a very loving documentary. Jenny is obviously very close to her father and her mother, so the documentary doesn’t really explore any negative aspects to Abel’s stunts, if there are any. Although...
- 1/30/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
A lot of hay has been made lately about the future of Netflix streaming movies over the Internet for its subscribers as opposed to their original business model of being a mail-order DVD rental service. A good recent article on the subject was written by Chuck Tryon, who waded through all the hype and arguments against to try to figure out what impact Internet streaming of movies has on the movie industry.
Well, forget about the industry for the moment. How is Netflix streaming affecting the underground filmmaker?
Personally, I’m not a Netflix subscriber, so wading through their offerings is a bit more difficult for me. However, I was still curious if the company was streaming any underground movies. To find out if they were, I ended up searching a website called Instant Watcher, which is a company independent of Netflix, but uses a Netflix developer Api to scan...
Well, forget about the industry for the moment. How is Netflix streaming affecting the underground filmmaker?
Personally, I’m not a Netflix subscriber, so wading through their offerings is a bit more difficult for me. However, I was still curious if the company was streaming any underground movies. To find out if they were, I ended up searching a website called Instant Watcher, which is a company independent of Netflix, but uses a Netflix developer Api to scan...
- 1/4/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Camille Paglia has published a long piece in the British Sunday Times Magazine in which she articulates her dislike for Lady Gaga and dissatisfaction with what she calls "Generation Gaga." Paglia is an entertaining and brilliant cultural critic, but she has a habit of throwing out too many ideas and references and in the end securely grasping only a few -- she's like an octopus determined to juggle with all eight tentacles when two would suffice. Here, in an essay that mentions everything from the old Hollywood production code to Holly Woodlawn, she principally makes the objection that Lady Gaga is not sexy. On that point Paglia is absolutely correct. Gaga's body, despite her willingness to display it, is gangly and awkward, and her dance moves are almost desperately clunky. Nor does she does look particularly alluring wrapped in yellow police tape....
- 9/15/2010
- by Tom Gliatto
- Huffington Post
Tacoma - Who could imagine making a documentary about dolphins could lead to so much trouble. When director Louie Psihoyos exposed what the Japanese locals were doing to dolphins in Taiji, Japan in The Cove, he found himself a wanted man. This sea-side community celebrates their relationship with the dolphin. But there’s a darkside when they herd dolphins into a cove, sell the prized ones to aquariums for $150,000 each. The remaining dolphins are slaughtered and given to school kids as whale meat. He found himself wanted by the Japanese law for various charges including videotaping undercover police officers.
Certain folks have defended this slaughter as cultural dining. How dare Americans protest what the Japanese eat. The falsely labeled dolphin meat has toxic levels of mercury. Remember that this is the same Japan that will shut off imports of American agriculture and livestock with the rumor of something being amiss.
Certain folks have defended this slaughter as cultural dining. How dare Americans protest what the Japanese eat. The falsely labeled dolphin meat has toxic levels of mercury. Remember that this is the same Japan that will shut off imports of American agriculture and livestock with the rumor of something being amiss.
- 12/17/2009
- by UncaScroogeMcD
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