SOFA Fall 2009 Season Finale!

The season finale is all about happy endings as two students find love, the hosts talk (or rather sing) Disney and SOFA’s own correspondent meets some of his film idols.

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SOFA Episode 4: Exclusive Interview with the Filmmakers of Until the Light Takes Us

SOFA Correspondent Marina Pieretti learns all about Norwegian black metal in this exclusive talk with Aaron Aites and Audrey about their new film UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US (Out this weekend!)

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Sofa Fall 2009 Episode 3: Blast From the Past

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SOFA Exclusive: Broken Embraces Red Carpet

SOFA correspondents Annick Banoun and Shara Morris interview Pedro Almodovar and more at the Broken Embraces Premiere.

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SOFA Fall 2009 Episode 2: Interview with Peter Rodger, Filmmaker of OH MY GOD

SOFA correspondent Marina Pieretti sits down for an exclusive talk about the new film OH MY GOD with filmmaker Peter Roger

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SOFA Fall 2009 Episode 1

Check out SOFA’s Season Premiere!

This episode has it all–Vampires, Fashion, and Exclusive Interviews from the red carpets of “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town” and Precious! Enjoy!

 

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Reel Thoughts From Shara

Hello Columbia Students!

I know you all have been manically clicking away at our website demanding for your daily dosage of entertainment news. Well fear not because SOFA is here to satisfy your cravings. There have been so many great cultural events going on throughout the city and we hope you have been taking advantage of them all—I know I have—and I suggest you don’t miss out on the free outdoor movies through the River to River Festival, the outdoor Bryant Park films in conjunction with HBO and the list goes on … The summer is a great time to catch up on movies. After seeing some of these films or just looking at the previews, it’s clear we are gearing up for the Oscars. Let me just list a couple to give you an idea of the amazing contenders; Megan Fox really revealed her chest … I mean acting chops on the chopper in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.

Of course being a CTV correspondent gives you perks like no other to see these kinds of performances. It’s actually ridiculous how fabulous my life is right now… No wait, how fabulous I AM right now. About two weeks ago I covered the premiere of I Love You Beth Cooper and interviewed Hayden Pantierre. While she’s actually well spoken/trained and considerate, her posse of twenty something self important publicists did not go to the same finishing school. After jumping through hoops of fire, standing on the heads of the paparazzi, swimming through popcorn and soda fountains and coughing up Milk Dudds to reach the red carpet, I managed to get her attention and ask her a couple of questions. In the movie when Dennis professes his love for Beth Cooper he chooses to do so publicly with an actual platform as Valedictorian. As a public figure, Hayden has natural platform and audience as a celebrity. My question was how does she take advantage with that. Hayden had the opportunity to talk about her activism as doppelganger Captain Planet in her Save the Whales campaign. She also mentioned her work with Bristol Palin (?!) in their forums on teen pregnancy. She also advised Columbia acting students to pursue the difficult career for the right reasons—to make sure one is passionate about acting. We can always learn from someone younger than us–though I was clawing away to actually see the film at the premiere, I unfortunately missed out on the critically acclaimed production.

I also had the opportunity to attend the film premiere of Adam, the new Fox Searchlight romantic comedy starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. The film centers on Adam, a New Yorker with Asperger’s Syndrome who meets Beth (not to be confused with Beth Cooper) who has just moved into his apartment building. Their banters grow into a complex relationship—one that veers from the typical romantic comedy as they navigate through usual hurdles of relationships with their atypical situation. There were some really strong aspects and others that may not have been as effective. Hugh Dancy did an excellent job. He’s an actor who seems ‘on the rise’ so to speak, so I was interested to see how he would handle a complex role like this after seeing him in the Jane Austen Book Club and Confessions of a Shopaholic. He is very compelling as Adam and really seemed to sensitively capture someone with Asperger’s Syndrome. The film balanced very comedic and endearing moments between Beth and Adam, while also presenting the painful and emotional aspects of their unique relationship. Part of the storyline, however, seemed a bit strained to me, specifically regarding the subplot of Beth’s father. I didn’t really understand how this fully integrated or furthered the plot of the movie—it just didn’t seem to flow naturally. In all seriousness, it was a pleasure getting to interview these actors—Check out my interviews with Mista Dancy, Miz Byrne and more!

I Love You, Beth Cooper

SOFA Loves You, Hayden Panettiere

SOFA Correspondent Shara Morris hit the red carpet for Hayden Panettiere’s new movie.

Shrink Press Conference

Keke Palmer and Saffron Burrows

Keke Palmer saves Theaterific Kevin Spacey in Shrink

Reviewed by Correspondant Ali Kahn

“In the World Capital of Narcissist’s” Henry Carter played flawlessly by Kevin Spacey is a psychiatrist who is in a state of denial and self medication but is certainly not grappling with his grief, he is actually trying to do anything to avoid it and it’s only through a public service case assigned to him a high school teenager Jemma played beautifully by the young singer/actress Keke Palmer that someone starts to penetrate through his “hazy” lifestyle. Psychiatrist on the big screen have been portrayed in multitudes and different point of views although this movie is able to distinguish itself because of the place (L.A) where he practices and is able to capture a niche at the unexpected resolution that is provided to Dr. Carter through a teenager is herself is seeking escapism through cinema ironically in a witty way by director Jonas Pate in La-La Land.

Kevin set the tone of the press conference with his opening remarks at the Parker Le Meridian Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. He explains, “It’s very different in film than in theatre…. because you don’t ever really play the character, you play bits of the character…. I think unless you are playing this day after day after day…. their are times when you do a play when you are living in a character over a 2 hour period and you can feel like you got hit by a truck, there are some plays I thought I might feel that way, but then there are periods where you come down, usually during the curtain call…. but movies you rarely experience that, you really, at least I really experience that.”

To open up the usual boring character preparation questions in the press conference I asked both Keke Palmer (Jemma) and Saffron Burrows who plays Kate Amberson, a once famous actress in Hollywood seeking therapy, to describe their ideal film role. Fitting considering her background as both a singer and actress, Keke would like to play the Aliyah in biopic about the late the actress/singer. Saffron wants to play Maud Gonne, an English born Irish revolutionary feminist and actress best who had a turbulent relationship with W.B. Yeats and protested against Victoria in the late 19th century.

As a passionate film/theatre student myself, I couldn’t help but ask Spacey what advice he would offer to graduating theatre students. With fierce David Mamet-style fire in his eyes, he responded, “If you have trained that’s great, and at a place that was really about training not academic, and have learned about your instrument, your voice, my opinion, the best actors were the ones that came out of theatre, that is a fact if you go back to any period in time.”

Kevin’s has not abandoned his first love, theatre – after all, he is playing Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind at the Old Victoria Theatre in London, where he currently serves as the Artistic Director. As for me, for the remainder of the summer, I’m headed back to rehearsals The Domestic Crusaders and Leaves of Grass. See you all in the fall…. Until next time sofanites, I give Shrink 4 head nods out of possible five until I start feeling a strain.