The News: German (Hearts) NY

Coming soon to a town near you: Filmmaker Florian Thalhofer (Photo: Goethe-Institut)

Some of today's movie news of note from around New York:

--Tonight on the Upper East Side, the Goethe-Institut is hosting a free party to launch its intriguing new project 1000stories. The brainchild of German filmmaker Florian Thalhofer, 1000stories will send Thalhofer on a motorcycle quest across the United States to craft a vlog about what (and who) is happening these days in America. What's the catch? Visitors to 1000stories.com will plot the director's itinerary by suggesting locations, interview subjects and other features; US filmmaker Mark Simon will embark on a similar journey through Germany. The fun starts tonight at the Goethe-Institut; naturally, New Yorkers are wanted first, so try to look presentable, will you?

--At The Film Experience, the heroic Nathaniel R. parses the 12 things he learned from Julian Schanabel's brilliantly self-promoting NYFF press conference. To wit: "Julian Schnabel would probably love seeing his name this many times in a row. I'm just sayin'." I knew I missed something.

--It took me longer than I anticipated, but I finally got a look through the 15th Hamptons International Film Festival line-up. If I were picking my priority three, I'd have to start with with Chris Eigeman's competition selection Turn the River, starring Famke Janssen in the story of a "pool-hustling mother and physically abused son hell-bent on fleeing from their terrible lives" (I'm loving the grim factor here), followed by Al Maysles' latest entry into the Beale family franchise, Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway, and critic Marshall Fine's Rex Reed documentary Do You Sleep in the Nude?, which promises a double shot of corrosive nausea not seen since the days following the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Hopefully I can avoid getting lost this time.

Posted at September 27, 2007 6:47 AM