Last screening at 3:45pm Thurs
Starring Robert DuVall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray
For advance tickets visit www.movietickets.com
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First performance Live from Royal Opera House
Cosi Fan Tutte
Friday September 10th 2:00PM
Sunday September 12th 11:00AM prerecorded
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Sept 9th 8:30pm
See new release Leonard Cohen on our screen before the dvd is available for sale. SONGS FROM THE ROAD, a dozen of Cohen’s most famous songs from that world tour, the best of Cohen’s performances at auditoriums, arenas, and stadiums from Tel Aviv to London
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Special screenings of
BEHIND THE HEDGEROW
a look inside the private world of aristocratic Newport
September 7th-September 16th limited showtimes
HELD OVER FOR ANOTHER WEEK UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16TH. Filmmaker David Bettencourt will be at the theater for q and a on September 8th.
Admission $10, members $6
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EVENING BRINGS OUT THE STARS FOR ITS RI DEBUT
Police blocked off lower Touro Street as hundreds lined up for a 7 p.m. screening at the Jane Pickens Theater...
NEWPORT - Newport turned out in force Saturday night for the Rhode Island debut of "Evening," filmed largely in Newport and Tiverton last fall.
Police blocked off lower Touro Street as hundreds lined up for a 7 p.m. screening at the Jane Pickens Theater and a 7:30 screening at the Opera House. The shows were sold out a few weeks ago, but those on hand Saturday gobbled up a few stray tickets just before the screenings.
Turning out were actresses Claire Danes and Mamie Gummer, who co-star in the movie as the young Ann Grant and young Lila Winterbottom, respectively, and director Lajos Koltai, producer Jeff Sharp and screenwriter Michael Cunningham.
Gummer said she vividly recalls her time in Newport. "It was after high season, after the tourists had left, and we pretty much had the town to ourselves.
"I just remember all the bright shimmering colors, which were so beautiful," she said. "That's why I wore a blue dress tonight. It reminds me of the ocean."
Danes had a very specific memory unrelated to the movie. "I think of pumpkins," she said. "We went out to get pumpkins at Sweet Berry Farm (in Middletown). It was so much fun. It was that time of year."
Gummer and her mother, Meryl Streep, both play the Lila Winterbottom character, decades removed. Gummer said the two didn't give each other much feedback about their approach.
"Not really," Gummer said. "We kind of let it be what it was and left it at that."
Dignitaries arrived early, including Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and his wife, Sue, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, Steven Feinberg, director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, and Mayor Stephen C. Waluk, though Waluk lined up with the regular movie-goers outside the Pickens.
Director Koltai said he has seen "Evening" - the story of a woman on her deathbed (Ann Grant, played by Vanessa Redgrave), looking back 50 years on her one true love - about 100 times. He was unsure if he'd watch it again in front of a live audience.
"I need to walk around," he said. "I can't just sit down. I worry that there'll be some failure in the projection booth or something."
Screenwriter Michael Cunningham collaborated on the script with Susan Minot, who wrote the novel "Evening." He said it was his first time in such a partnership and there were occasional disagreements.
"But I had the chance to work with a writer I greatly respect," he said. "And I knew I'd be butting heads with someone who is wonderfully talented. I had to do a lot of cutting and I told her. And she said, 'Of course, you're going to have to cut.'
Filming largely went on at a private house in Tiverton owned by John Foley and Elizabeth Finn and at the Howard Cushing estate "The Ledges" near the Ocean Drive in Newport. Freddy Cushing, Howard's brother, spent considerable time on the set.
"It was tough for the actors during the night scenes," Cushing said Saturday as he stood outside the Pickens. "It would get so cold. But I got to meet a lot of the people. I had a wonderful conversation with Vanessa Redgrave at Hazard Beach. I can tell you, she's quite a charmer."
Several extras from the movie lined up Saturday, hoping their scenes didn't get chopped. Daniel Murray of Portsmouth worked as a production assistant, his first job in movies. He now works for director Mike Nichols.
"My first job was right here at home and I was living at home, not starving on the streets of New York," he said. "This led to a second job and now my current job. It all started with this movie."
For Danes, Rhode Island is in her blood, though she hadn't visited until last year. "My parents are artists and met at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)," she said. "I'd never been to Rhode Island, but it's a big part of my history."
By James J. Gillis, Daily News staff
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