Its been a blast for my debut coverage of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival! Here’s a recap of events and films I’ve witnessed. I hope to return next year!
The Screening Room Part 2: List of films I’ve seen
“Angel” (Animated film about a girl and a bird)
“Fry Day” (About the execution of murderer Ted Bundy)
“Nobody's Watching” (About an Argentinian film star who tries to make it in America)
“Under An Arctic Sky” (Documentary film about Iceland)
“Skull and Bone” (About Northside skull and bone gang in New Orleans)
“Revolving Doors” (About a fugitive who keeps returning to prison for selling drugs)
“Bobbi Jene” (A documentary film about a dancer named Bobbi-Jene Smith, originally from Iowa, who leaves America for Israel to join the Batsheva Dance Company, and has a romantic relationship with a man from Israel named Or Schraiber)
'The Godfather' 45th Anniversary Screening Parts I & II, and panel discussion
The Tribeca Film Festival went out with a bang on its final closing night at Radio City Music Hall on April 29th with a screening of “The Godfather” parts I & II to commemorate the film’s 45th anniversary.
The panel included director Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Talia Shire, (Francis’ sister) Robert Duvall, James Caan, Diane Keaton, and Al Pacino. “The Godfather” has been called Coppola’s crime film masterpiece. The audience was filled with celebrity fans including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mayor Bill De Blasio, Peter Fonda, Alessandro Nivola, Whoopi Goldberg, Julian Schnabel, as well as family members Robert Schwartzman and Sofia Coppola.
Coppola discussed the film in great detail. He said he was disappointed in the book when he first read it and he thought it was very long. He was attracted to it at first because it was a foreign author and an intellectual book about power. The first film was made for about $6.5 million.
The second, was made for $11 or $12 million and it would never get the green light to film today. He also said that the studio did not want Marlon Brando cast in the film, because he was considered to be a "financial liability." He also stated that he was sure Al Pacino fit the role of Michael Corleone, but the studio wasn’t convinced.
The reason he cast Diane Keaton to play the role of Kay, was because he thought she was eccentric. James Caan said Francis knew who the characters were and had incredible insight. Al Pacino credited Francis for his livelihood and said he wouldn’t be where he is without him. Francis admitted he forgot about making the films and found it an emotional experience to see his films again.
