Elvis Presley The Searcher

  • FREE SOLO Leads Nominations for 3rd Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards

    [caption id="attachment_32176" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]FREE SOLO FREE SOLO[/caption] Free Solo leads the nominees for this year’s  third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards with six nominations and one honor, including Best Documentary, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi for Best Directors, Best Sports Documentary, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and a Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary honor for Alex Honnold. Recognized with five nominations are Minding the Gap and Wild Wild Country. The nominations for Minding the Gap are Best Documentary, Best Sports Documentary, Bing Liu for Best Director and for Best First Time Director, and Best Cinematography. The nominations for Wild Wild Country are Best Documentary, Chapman Way and Maclain Way for Best First Time Directors, Most Innovative Documentary, Best Cinematography, and Best Limited Documentary Series. Recognized with four nominations are Dark Money, Hitler’s Hollywood and Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The nominations for Dark Money are Best Documentary, Kimberly Reed for Best Director, Best Political Documentary and Best Editing. The nominations for Hitler’s Hollywood are Best Documentary, Best Political Documentary, Rüdiger Suchsland for Best Director, and Most Innovative Documentary. The nominations for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? are Best Documentary, Morgan Neville for Best Director, Most Innovative Documentary and Best Editing. Three Identical Strangers received three nominations and an honor, including Best Documentary, Tim Wardle for Best Director, Best Editing and an honor for David Kellman and Bobby Shafran for Most Compelling Living Subjects of a Documentary. At the gala ceremony, filmmaker Stanley Nelson will be presented with the Critics’ Choice Impact Award, and multi award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore will be honored with the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award. For the first year, the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards has introduced the Catalyst Sponsorship, a program for industry leaders to support the event. The inaugural sponsors include Focus Features, National Geographic Documentary Films, Netflix, Curiosity Stream, and others. “We are thrilled to celebrate this year’s outstanding documentary work at the upcoming event,” said Broadcast Film Critics Association President Joey Berlin. “The year 2018 has been called ‘The Year of the Documentary’ and we are so happy to give these films and shows the recognition and high praise that they deserve.” The winners will be presented their awards at a gala event, hosted by science educator and television personality Bill Nye, on Saturday, November 10 at BRIC in Brooklyn, New York. The nominees for the third annual Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards are:

    BEST DOCUMENTARY

    Crime + Punishment – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu) Dark Money – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS) Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films) Hal – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope) Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber) Minding the Gap – Director: Bing Liu (Hulu) RBG – Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media) Three Identical Strangers – Director: Tim Wardle (Neon, CNN Films) Wild Wild Country – Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way (Netflix) Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Director: Morgan Neville (Focus Features)

    BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

    America to Me (Starz) Dirty Money (Netflix) Elvis Presley: The Searcher (HBO Documentary Films, Sony Pictures Television) Flint Town (Netflix) One Strange Rock (National Geographic) The Fourth Estate (Showtime Networks) The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (HBO) Wild Wild Country (Netflix)

    BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

    30 for 30 (ESPN) American Masters (PBS) Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) Frontline (PBS) Independent Lens (PBS) Making a Murderer (Netflix) POV (PBS) The History of Comedy (CNN)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi – Free Solo (National Geographic Documentary Film) Bing Liu – Minding the Gap (Hulu) Morgan Neville – Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features) Kimberly Reed – Dark Money (PBS) Rüdiger Suchsland – Hitler’s Hollywood (Kino Lorber) Tim Wardle – Three Identical Strangers (Neon, CNN Films)

    BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR

    Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster – Science Fair (National Geographic Documentary Films) Heather Lenz – Kusama – Infinity (Magnolia Pictures) Bing Liu – Minding the Gap (Hulu) Stephen Nomura Schible – Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (MUBI) Rudy Valdez – The Sentence (HBO Documentary Films) Chapman Way and Maclain Way – Wild Wild Country (Netflix)

    BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

    RBG – Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media) Dark Money – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS) Fahrenheit 11/9 – Director: Michael Moore (Briarcliff Entertainment) Flint Town – Directors: Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper, Jessica Dimmock (Netflix) Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber) John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls – Directors: George Kunhardt, Peter W. Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt (HBO) The Fourth Estate – Directors: Liz Garbus, Jenny Carchman (Showtime Networks)

    BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

    Andre the Giant – Director: Jason Hehir (HBO) Being Serena (HBO) Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Film) John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection – Director: Julien Faraut (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Minding the Gap – Director: Bing Liu (Hulu) The Workers Cup – Director: Adam Sobel (Passion River)

    BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

    Bad Reputation – Director: Kevin Kerslake (Magnolia Pictures) David Bowie: The Last Five Years – Director: Francis Whately (HBO Documentary Films) Elvis Presley: The Searcher – Director: Thom Zimny (HBO Documentary Films, Sony Pictures Television) Lynyrd Skynyrd: If I Leave Here Tomorrow – Director: Stephen Kijak (Showtime Networks) Quincy – Directors: Alan Hicks, Rashida Jones (Netflix) Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda – Director: Stephen Nomura Schible (MUBI) Whitney – Director: Kevin Macdonald (Roadside Attractions, Miramax)

    MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECT OF A DOCUMENTARY

    (ALL LISTED IN THE CATEGORY WILL BE HONORED AT THE EVENT) Scotty Bowers – Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (Greenwich Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Starz!) Ruth Bader Ginsburg – RBG (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media) Alex Honnold – Free Solo (National Geographic Documentary Film) Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (Magnolia Pictures) Quincy Jones – Quincy (Netflix) David Kellman and Bobby Shafran – Three Identical Strangers (Neon, CNN Films) John McEnroe – John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Leon Vitali – Filmworker (Kino Lorber)

    MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY

    306 Hollywood – Directors: Elan Bogarin, Jonathan Bogarin (PBS, El Tigre) Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Film) Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber) Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda – Director: Stephen Nomura Schible (MUBI) Wild Wild Country – Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way (Netflix) Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Director: Morgan Neville (Focus Features)

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    306 Hollywood – Cinematographers: Elan Bogarin, Jonathan Bogarin, Alejandro Mejía (PBS, El Tigre) The Dawn Wall – Cinematographer: Brett Lowell (The Orchard) Free Solo – Cinematographers: Jimmy Chin, Clair Popkin, Mikey Schaefer (National Geographic Documentary Film) Minding the Gap – Cinematographer: Bing Liu (Hulu) Pandas – Cinematographer: David Douglas (Warner Brothers) Wild Wild Country – Cinematographer: Adam Stone (Netflix)

    BEST EDITING

    Dark Money – Editor: Jay Arthur Sterrenberg (PBS) Filmworker – Editor: Tony Zierra (Kino Lorber) Free Solo – Editor: Bob Eisenhardt (National Geographic Documentary Film) John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection – Editor: Julien Faraut (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Three Identical Strangers – Editor: Michael Harte (Neon, CNN Films) Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Editors: Jeff Malmberg, Aaron Wickenden (Focus Features)

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  • Music Documentary “Elvis Presley: The Searcher” Debuts April 14 on HBO | Trailer

    Elvis Presley: The Searcher,” the two-part music documentary chronicling his creative journey from childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions, will debut Saturday, April 14 (8:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO. The documentary includes stunning atmospheric shots taken inside Graceland, Elvis’ iconic home, and features more than 20 new, primary source interviews with session players, producers, engineers, directors and other artists who knew him or who were profoundly influenced by him. It also features never-before-seen photos and footage from private collections worldwide, and an original score by Pearl Jam lead guitarist Mike McCready. Among those offering insights into Elvis are: Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ ex-wife; his guitarist, Scotty Moore; childhood friend Red West; historians Bill Ferris, Bill Malone and Portia Maultsby; writers Alan Light, Preston Lauterbach, Nik Cohn and Warren Zanes; music executives John Jackson, David Porter, Ernst Jorgensen and Bones Howe; and musicians Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris and Robbie Robertson. The first part details: Elvis’ early life in Tupelo, Miss., where he soaked up both black and white gospel music, and Memphis, where he sought out rhythm and blues and country music; his initial encounter with Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, who teamed him with Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black to record the seminal hit “That’s All Right”; his early years of touring, mostly in the South, which burnished his reputation as a rising star; and his decision to sign with a national label, RCA Records, after his manager, Col. Tom Parker, bought out his Sun contract. Also featured in part one: his unprecedented rise to fame over a single year, 1956, with a string of hit records and memorable TV performances, beginning with his electrifying performances on the Dorsey Brothers and Milton Berle shows, and capped by “The Ed Sullivan Show”; his long-held desire to break into movies, and success in early films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock”; the death of his beloved mother, Gladys, just after he had purchased Graceland, a Memphis estate; and his two-year Army stint in Germany (1958-1960), during which he met his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu. The second part includes: Elvis’ return home after his Army discharge, when he was still a huge star and making hit records like “It’s Now or Never,” but facing a rapidly changing pop-music scene; Col. Parker’s efforts to pair Elvis with the likes of Frank Sinatra on TV to ensure a long and lucrative mainstream career; a seven-year period making an endless string of lightweight, music-infused movies, which stunted his musical growth and alienated many fans; and his triumphant TV comeback in 1968, a tumultuous year marked by social unrest and the deaths of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, which troubled Elvis deeply. Also featured in part two: his commitment, orchestrated by Col. Parker, to an extended Las Vegas residency punctuated by over-the-top concerts featuring dozens of musicians and singers (The Sweet Inspirations, The Jordanaires); the Aloha from Hawaii concert, which reached billions via satellite, and was Parker’s response to Elvis’ repeated pleas to tour internationally, which he never did; his declining health in the 1970s, brought on by a grueling schedule of more than 100 concerts annually and an increased reliance on prescription drugs; his emotional recording of “Separate Ways,” which preceded his 1973 divorce from Priscilla; and his decision in 1976 to stage a marathon recording session in Graceland’s Jungle Room, where he cut dozens of songs, including the memorable “Hurt.” After the Jungle Room sessions, Elvis went back on tour, a shell of his former self. He died at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977. RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release “Elvis Presley: The Searcher”, the musical companion to the documentary, on Friday, April 6. It will be available in digital and physical configurations. Director Thom Zimny’s previous HBO credits include the Bruce Springsteen documentaries “The Ties That Bind,” “Bruce Springsteen’s High Hopes” and “The Promise: The Making of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qULBo4iPV8M

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  • SXSW Film Festival Announces 2018 Features Film Lineup, Opens with John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place”

    A Quiet Place by John Krasinski
    A Quiet Place (Credit: Paramount Pictures © 2017 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.)

    The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals announced the features lineup and opening night film for the 25th edition of the Film Festival, running March 9 to 18, 2018 in Austin, Texas. During the nine days of SXSW 132 features will be shown.

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