North Bend Film Fest 2018: Final Slate of Films Confirmed For Inaugural Edition
This year will see the inaugural edition of the North Bend Film Fest in North Bend, WA, which was once the original shooting location for David Lynch’s iconic television series Twin Peaks. From August 23 through 26, the town, located just outside of Seattle, will host a film festival that sees genre fare from around the world. Confirmed today is the full line-up, which will see the fest bring festival darlings such as Anna and the Apocalypse, Don’t Leave Home, and Braid to the screen.
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Set in the 1990’s runaway-dominated streets of the Pacific Northwest and loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, this seminal film by Gus Van Sant (GOOD WILL HUNTING, MILK) tells the tale of a narcoleptic street kid named Mike (River Phoenix) who befriends a fellow hustler (Keanu Reeves) on his journey to find his estranged mother. Film presented in collaboration with Three Dollar Bill Cinema
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‘Absolutely kills me’: you pick your saddest movie scenes
Our writers picked their peaks of cinematic sadness and you responded with animated elephants, Christmas melancholy and emotional reunions. Spoilers ahead
Running on Empty
The end of Running on Empty when Judd Hirsch realises he needs to let River Phoenix have a better life than being constantly on the run and tells him to cycle off to his grandparents. It’s about that point where you have to leave an old life behind. The tragically early death of River Phoenix makes it even more poignant.
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‘Running on Empty’ Screening @ BFI, London
26 May @ 20:30 – Running on Empty [NFT2]
30 May @ 20:40 – Running on Empty [NFT2]
Website: here
My Own Private Idaho: Premium Collection (Blu-ray Review)
My Own Private Idaho is the sort of film that really shouldn’t work. The movie apparently came about when writer/director Gus Van Sant was working on three separate scripts and then decided to merge them all together. The result is a movie that ought to be a mess. The tone and story jump about, some of its pretty random and surreal, and its Shakespearean pretentions are a bit bizarre. However, it works. These disparate elements and tones come together, helped by an astonishing performance by River Phoenix as young hustler Mike. His character – an outsider living a marginal and disintegrating existence – is a reflection of the film itself. It ultimately becomes an unexpected masterclass of montage – where by placing seemingly disparate things side-by-side and throwing in unexpected imagery (not least the famous falling barn), it creates something unique and pulls you into a character and world in a way few other films have ever managed. Read More here
Neil Patrick Harris Put His ‘Heart’ Into His First Film in 1987
Who were your early idols or role models? As contemporaries were concerned, I thought River Phoenix was a really great actor. I always looked up to Tom Hanks too; he was kind of an everyman who didn’t need to be the hyper-romantic lothario lead to be successful. I certainly didn’t feel like the lothario at a chubby prepubescent 13, so I looked up to him a lot and his career choices.
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LGBT films hit the big screen in Nashville
Three LGBT themed films to run at the Belcourt: My Own Private Idaho
This Gus Van Sant classic, released in 1991, is a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Mike Waters (River Phoenix) is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant. Special showing at midnight on February 9. Read More here // Official Website: here
Inside the Life of River Phoenix, the Beloved Actor Who Died at 23
Tuesday marks the 24th anniversary of River Phoenix’s untimely death on Oct. 31, 1993. The actor was just 23 when he died outside the Viper Room in West Hollywood due to a drug overdose, but made his mark on the world after starring in beloved films Stand By Me (1986), Running on Empty (1988) and My Own Private Idaho (1991). His final film, Dark Blood, was completed in 2012. In Phoenix’s honor, we’re taking a look back at his quick rise to fame and the best work of the gone-but-never-forgotten star. Read More // here
Gallery Additions
New gallery additions in the magazine scans section including the following…
Details (November 1991)
Young Americans Issue 1-3
Just 17
People (15 November 1993)
Premiere (January 2001 / March 2004)
Various film related articles in the “Film Articles” category.
Check out the gallery!
New Layout
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