Latest news with #TheLittleTheatre
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
INSIDE LOOK: Docu on Ani DiFranco's career to screen at The Little next week
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — For nearly 35 years, musician Ani DiFranco has graced the world with her music. With more than 20 albums released to date, the Buffalo native has used her platform to back causes including abortion rights and LGBTQ+ visibility. This month, a documentary highlighting DiFranco's captivating life story is being brought home. Titled '1-800-ON-HER-OWN,' two screenings will take place at The Little Theatre on East Avenue on Thursday, May 15, and Saturday, May 17. Director Dana Flor sat down with News 8's Gio Battaglia to discuss the film and the inspiration that brought it to life. News 8's Gio Battaglia: Tell me about the documentary. What made you want to do this project? Dana Flor: '1-800-ON-HER-OWN' is a documentary about Ani DiFranco. I had the opportunity to meet her, and I was really captivated by her amazing life story. I was also really captivated by her persona. She's so incredibly sort of cinematic and an incredibly honest person with an amazing tale. It was an untold story. So, I'm always kind of drawn to stories like that. News 8's Gio Battaglia: Tell me about how the documentary takes viewers into DiFranco's life. Dana Flor: The film is a mixture of her past and her present. And I had the good fortune to meet Ani at a very specific time in her life where a lot of things were happening. And one of the things that did happen was COVID. So, we sort of ride out that, and we also reflect back on her past as a young teenager growing up in Buffalo, New York, and forging her own record label and all that. It is sort of intermixing of the past and the present. News 8's Gio Battaglia: How did DiMarco react when you wanted to make a film about her life? Tell me about her involvement in the film. Dana Flor: She obviously was present during the whole thing. Towards the end of the film, she was really busy with Hadestown, so probably not a lot of involvement, but she sort of gave me free reign to tell her story. I was really fortunate to have a lot of trust on her part, and spent a lot of time with her. It was quite a few years there. I started it in 2019, and this film premiered and Tribeca last year. So, it's a real labor of love. Took a long time, but we're really proud of it. News 8's Gio Battaglia: What were the fans reactions at the Tribeca Film Festival? Dana Flor: Tribeca was one of the most amazing screenings I had ever been at. It was wild. I mean, I think that her fans are very particular, and they're very passionate. And they were wild, they laughed, they cried. It felt a little like 'Rocky Horror Picture Show.' It was very participatory. We have done a theatrical rollout through the country, and we found that it's been like this a lot. Her fans are super involved and super receptive, and they also have a tendency to drag people who don't know Ani to the film. So that's been really, really fun. News 8's Gio Battaglia: It is so amazing that this film focuses on a Buffalo native. I am so excited that it is showing at The Little. Dana Flor: It really is, I'm really glad to be able to sort of bring the film home. Obviously Upstate New York, Buffalo, was truly formative and who Ani was and is. So, it's great. And I bet there's a lot of people who are going to come out that can say, 'Oh, I remember in 1993 I thought…' I think that'll be really fun. News 8's Gio Battaglia: What else should viewers know going into the film? Dana Flor: This is a timely story. Ani's real North Star is her activism as a feminist. And again, another thing that happened during the filming was the Dobbs decision. So, you know, the death of Roe versus Wade. So, I think her work as a feminist, as an activist, is really central to who she is. It's central throughout the film, and it's sadly, incredibly timely right now. Tickets to '1-800-ON-HER-OWN' are available on The Little's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Two historic Roc theaters host Lyttle Lynch Series honoring iconic late filmmaker David Lynch
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Movie lovers have a range of options to soak in the silver screen in the Rochester area, after all motion pictures wouldn't be where they are today without the influence and technology of Kodak. But even for non-movie lovers – there are new and exciting experiences to explore film history and impact. When iconic filmmaker David Lynch passed away in January, two historic art houses teamed up to give way to an expansive tribute, ergo, A Lyttle Lynch Series. From 'Eraserhead' to 'Mulholland Drive,' 'Lost Highway,' 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me,' and 'Blue Velvet,' David Lynch is known for his surrealist and experimental style as an artist who has spanned decades and media. The impact of his film and art is described as 'immeasurable.' Now through the next several months, the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman Museum on Park Ave. and The Little Theatre around the corner on East Ave. will take turns showcasing films from this resounding and legendary artist. 'We've gotten a lot of feedback from Lynch fans who are excited for this series but it's also a great opportunity for anyone who has not seen any David Lynch movies but is curious to come out and check them out for the first time,' says Scott Pukos, Director of Communications at The Little Theatre. Where possible, the films are show in their true intended format: 35 mm print. Part of the work done at the George Eastman Museum not only covers conservation of these prints, but also preservation and restoration, as explained by Anthony L'Abbate, Preservation Manager of the Moving Image Department at the George Eastman Museum. 'If the film was originally on nitrate or acetate films which both decompose, then we're putting it on a more stable film stock, which now is polyester; and then we could also, from these new film elements make scans to have a digital version of the film that could be shown in theaters that can no longer show and exhibit films,' L'Abbate says. The prints are stored in what's called 'The Vault' which has specific conditions set to ensure longevity. '40 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% relative humidity — cool and dry which will slow down any of the aging process and any of the decomposition,' L'Abbate specifies. In a world where digital is often king, the effort of preservation and restoration are essential to documenting history so it can be shared with future generations. 'You can't have a streaming if you don't preserve or restore the film – you still need to go back to a source that gets transferred somehow. To make digital files you have to have an original and you want to keep those around as long as possible, even for like a 100 year old film that's on nitrate stock that has the potential of burning or exploding – we don't throw it away, because if its still in good shape, even if we preserved it 15 years, 25 years down the road, there might come along something that is a better way of preserving it then, then we have now,' adds L'Abbate. The delicate nature of working with film requires meticulous attention to detail, especially when it comes to the final stop before the print is showcased. Enter Sheryl Smith: the Chief Projectionist at the Dryden Theater. She outlines the lengthy procedures required before any type of screening can be accomplished. 'That inspection is to make sure that the print is going to make it through the projector safely and also we're gathering information and filling out a report: what will the projectionist need to know in order to project the film and have a great show — which is identifying sound tracks, identifying aspect ratios and cue-marks have to be at a certain place so we have to make sure those measurements are correct. And also there's a countdown at the beginning of each film and that needs to be measured into a certain way so that when we do the changeovers the countdown timing and the changeover cues are matching up with the film,' Smith says. 'Being a projectionist is great because you're at the final finale of everything that went in to make that film and you're able to share it with an audience and communal experience and that part of film preservation is really exciting for me – that's what I enjoy – sharing what we do with the community on the big screen,' she adds. The first showing in the series already happened featuring 'Eraserhead' (an original print the George Eastman Museum acquired in the 80's from a collector) and had a turnout of more than 250 audience members. Next up, it's The Little's turn – with e a presentation of 'Mulholland Drive' on Saturday, April 12th at 7:30 p.m. 'There are reasons that people still go to the Louvre to see the paintings, there are reasons that people still go to Statue of Liberty to touch it. There's something about being in the same space as that iconic object, that piece of art that still makes the cinematic experience special,' says Jared Case, Curator of Film Exhibitions. The remainder of the film series presentations (with 35 mm specifics) listed below: The Short Films of David Lynch (Various, 55 min, DCP)Saturday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at The Little Theatre Wild at Heart (David Lynch, US 1990, 125 min, 35mm)Wednesday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dryden Theatre Lost Highway (David Lynch, US 1997, 134 min, 35mm)Friday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Dryden Theatre The Straight Story (David Lynch, US 1999, 112 min, 35mm)Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30 p.m. at The Little Theatre Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sci-fi story goes from page to screen, with a Rochester twist
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Hitting the box office March 7, 'Mickey 17' – based on the novel 'Mickey 7,' which has a direct connection to Rochester. The sci-fi story follows space colonist Mickey Barnes, who signs up to be an expendable, taking on the most dangerous tasks. If these tasks kill him, worry not, a clone of himself will take his place. The author of 'Mickey 7,' Edward Ashton, grew up in West Virginia before moving to Rochester 35 years ago. He says that writing novels has always been his dream. 'I've wanted to be an author as long as I can remember wanting anything,' Ashton explained. 'I started writing stories when I was a really young child, seven or eight years old. I wrote my first novel when I was 12, 220 pages long, written out in pencil on thick lined notebook paper.' Ashton published his first novel in 2015. His debut novel had some success, but after his second book failed to sell, his agent told him that his third project would be his last shot. 'Mickey 7' was then born. Just 22 days after publication, the project was optioned for a film by Warner Brothers Motion Pictures, and just a few months after that, Ashton was contacted by Bong Joon-Ho, a award winning director, best know for his work on the 2020 film 'Parasite.' Before he knew it, Ashton was watching the premiere of 'Mickey 17,' starring Robert Pattinson, at The Little Theatre here in Rochester. 'Being at the Little and seeing 270 people in a packed house and knowing that probably 200 of them were my friends,' Ashton said. 'I can't describe how that filled my heart with joy.' Ashton draws inspiration from many places, but most of the time, he says it begins with an image that gets stuck in his head. 'In the case of this book, the image that was stuck in my head, was a man, trapped, injured, freezing at the bottom of an icy crevasse,' Ashton said. 'I don't know who he is, I didn't know how he got there, I didn't know what was going to happen to him.' The major difference between the film and the book can be seen in the titles. Ashton says that he was told the switch came because director Joon-Ho wanted a longer death montage scene. In the novel, the reader is introduced to Mickey 7 right away, but in the film, the viewer gets to see Mickey's 1 through 16 die in tragic and comedic ways, hence the name 'Mickey 17.' 'It is different than the book, and I knew it would be different from the book. Film is different than literature, there is just no way around that, but he (Bong Joon-Ho) really did capture the heart of the book,' Ashton explains. 'The heart is a relationship between Mickey Barnes and Nasha, who is his love interest. Mickey has a really unique life, because his job is to die, and he dies over and over again. That is really hard for him, but it's really hard for someone who loves him as well.' Webster Park lodge renamed to honor slain Cleveland officer and Webster native 'Mickey 17' topped the box office in its opening weekend. The novel, 'Mickey 7,' along with its sequel, 'Antimatter Blues,' are available for purchase at most major book retailers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
