🍿 ‘The Wedding Banquet’ hits theaters

Please don’t make me chicken jockey

Apr. 19 — The success of “Minecraft” is one of the first major things that has made me feel like I’m aging out of a certain demographic (I’m only 30 – don’t @ me). But nothing – nothing – has made me feel older than a certain internet trend surrounding “Minecraft.”

If you’ve never heard the words “chicken jockey,” I’m so sorry for what I’m about to share with you. During the “Minecraft” movie, when Jack Black’s character says those magic words, theater-goers (mostly, it seems, teenage boys) throw their popcorn into the air. And their icees. And their water bottles. And their salsa. You get the picture. 

As you might imagine, this is not only a problem for other movie-goers, but the poor theater workers who have to clean everything up between screenings. It’s gotten so bad that Regal Cinemas has gone so far as to announce special chicken jockey screenings. Godspeed.

Without further ado … Action!

🎟️ The Atlanta Film Festival starts next week on April 24 with an opening screening of David Fortune’s “Color Book.” I’ll have an interview with Fortune publishing next week, and you can grab your tickets for the festival here.

💼 The film festival also just announced the lineup for this year’s Creative Conference. Learn more about those panels and discussions here.

🐎 On April 22, the Plaza Theatre is hosting a special screening of the film “Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus.” The documentary is about the life and music of singer/songwriter Diane Luckey (also known as Q Lazzarus), and the screening will feature a Q&A with director Eva Aridjis.

📽️ The Cannes Film Festival has announced the lineup for its 2025 event, including new movies from Wes Anderson and Kelly Reichardt. 

✍️ The Writers Guild of America released a new report last week stating that writing jobs on television declined by 42 percent over the 2023-24 season. 

🎭 Over the past few weeks, I interviewed three actors in the national touring productions of “Peter Pan” and “Shucked” to see what life is like on the road. You can learn about their schedules and travel hacks here.

This week’s newsletter includes a conversation with the resident “SNL” photographer, a look into a new documentary about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and Jim Farmer’s interview with the members of the creative team of the new film “The Wedding Banquet.” Plus, a review of the Ryan Coogler movie “Sinners,” what’s filming in Georgia this week, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break. 

Thanks for reading!
Sammie

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Andrew Ahn, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran talk reimagining ‘The Wedding Banquet’

💒 Ang Lee’s film “The Wedding Banquet” was the first gay movie filmmaker Andrew Ahn ever saw. Now, Ahn has directed a modern version of the 1993 classic.

The new “The Wedding Banquet” is co-written by Ahn and screenwriter James Schamus, who also co-penned the original. In the film, Min (Han Gi-Chan) is a Korean gay man living in Seattle, upset that his boyfriend Chris (Bowen Yang) will not marry him. They live in the guest house of their best friends, lesbian couple Lee (Lily Gladstone) and Angela (Kelly Marie Tran), who are trying to have a baby. When he realizes his student visa is almost up and he might have to go back to Korea, Min has an idea – he and Angela can marry to get a green card, and in return he can pay for Lee’s IVF treatments. 

Ahead of the film’s release this weekend, Jim Farmer spoke with Ahn, Gladstone and Tran about the making of the movie for the Georgia Voice.

🍿 Check out that interview here.

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Let’s celebrate Spring at Town Brookhaven next Thursday!

SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN

🎉 Join us on Thursday, April 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. for Spring Festival on the Town at Town Brookhaven!

🧑‍🧑‍🧒 A variety of family-friendly springtime activities will take place on the green space, including a petting zoo, two Earth Day-themed DIY craft activities for kids and adults, unique market vendors, face painting, lemonade, popsicles, a photo area, music, games, and more!

✅ Merchants are offering promotions – get more information here!

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‘The Games in Black & White’ and the partnership at the center of the 1996 Olympics

🏅 The 1996 Atlanta Olympics has been covered extensively by news media and historical documents alike. Whether that be coverage of amazing athletic feats, of the terrible terrorist attack in Centennial Olympic Park, or of activists’ opposition to the Games in Atlanta, numerous stories and perspectives have been shared through the years. 

With “The Games in Black & White,” filmmakers Bob Judson and George Hirthler aim to shine a light on the partnership that brought the Olympic Games to Atlanta in the first place – that between businessman Billy Payne and Civil Rights icon Andrew Young.

The film is playing at this year’s Atlanta Film Festival on April 26 at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

🤝 Check out my conversation with Hirthler and Judson here.

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In conversation with ‘SNL’ photographer Mary Ellen Matthews

📷 Mary Ellen Matthews has been the resident photographer at “Saturday Night Live” since 1999. Now, she’s sharing her famous portraits in a new book. 

Released in conjunction with the sketch comedy show’s 50th anniversary, “The Art of the SNL Portrait” features a collection of photos taken by Matthews during her tenure with the show – think the photographs that pop up of the host or musical guest when the show transitions from a commercial break back to live programming. 

Matthews was in Georgia this week for a book signing, and I spoke to her about her career and the creation of the book. 

🍸 Check out that conversation here.

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‘Sinners’ is a B-level extravaganza with A-level idea

WEEKLY FILM REVIEW

🎸 “The devil’s music” is a phrase that has been weaponized about many genres – rock ‘n’ roll, jazz – throughout history. When Pastor Jedidiah (Saul Williams) uses the phrase to his son, Sammie (Miles Caton), he’s referring to the blues. 

Given that “Sinners” – Ryan Coogler’s new vampire movie – opens with Sammie covered in blood, clutching a sharp, sawed-off guitar neck mighty close to his preacher father’s back while Jedidiah begs him to leave evil in the dust, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Coogler is setting up a story that rests on a confrontation between vampires (evil) and religion (good). As Sammie shakes and sobs in his father’s arms, we’re left wondering if he’ll be able to overcome whatever malevolent force has left him in such a state.  

Except, that’s not quite where we’ll end up. “Sinners” does not have such an easy definition of good and evil, or even of freedom and repression – the typical map of which so many vampire stories have laid upon. A messy, sexy, grotesque extravaganza that feels as much like a southern gothic as it does a slasher, “Sinners” also has more complex ideas about liberation, particularly Black liberation and how the past and the future connect, than you might expect.

🧛 Read my full review here.

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What’s filming in Georgia?

Here’s a closer look at what’s filming in and around your neighborhood.

😨 “Cape Fear,” a new thriller TV series from Apple TV+ starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem – who is also executively producing the series alongside Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg – has started filming this week in Atlanta, according to a casting call.

💊 “Clean Hands,” a feature film about the true story of a drug cop who became a recovery advocate, started filming in the state recently, according to the Georgia Film Office. The film stars Zach Braff and Esther McGregor (both pictured above). 

👸 Lifetime’s new TV movie “Teen Beauty Pageant” started filming this week as well, according to the Georgia Film Office. There’s not a ton of information about the film out there besides what can be found on the Film Office’s website.

👉🏼 For a look at everything else filming in Georgia, take a look at the Georgia Film Office’s production list.

Crash Zoom: Cannes 2025 lineup and an ‘Anora’ PVOD success

🇫🇷 Welcome to Crash Zoom, a podcast where we take a deep dive into film and entertainment industry news!

Each week, join me and my cohost indie filmmaker Aaron Strand as we explore how things happening at the highest level trickle down and affect the independent artist. This week, we discuss the lineup for the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the new stunt category coming to the Academy Awards, and more.

🎧 Check out the new episode here!

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Lights, Camera, Action!

🎙️ When it comes to movies, television, music – whatever it may be – it’s easy to get stuck inside of your comfort zone. It’s easy to avoid certain pieces of pop culture because you think they’re “just not for you.” But, the best feeling in the world is finding something that surprises you and changes your mind. On a recent episode of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, the hosts discuss the pop culture that changed their mind. Listen here.

🕴️ If you, like me, feel bad about David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, and you wish to feel worse about the state of everything he’s doing, Michael Wolff’s Intelligencer article about the unlikely movie mogul is the profile for you. Check it out here.

🦖 “Jurassic Park” is, no surprise, my favorite Steven Spielberg movie. I was a kid obsessed with dinosaurs, and there is no dino movie better than “Jurassic Park.” On last week’s episode of Blank Check, Sean Fennessey joins hosts David Sims and Griffin Newman to discuss Spielberg’s blockbuster masterpiece. You can listen to that episode here.

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