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Recent Headlines
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Domino is
a "disarmingly
straight-forward"
work that "pushes
us to reexamine our
relationship to images
and their consumption,
not only ethically
but metaphysically"
-Collin Brinkman

De Palma on Domino
"It was not recut.
I was not involved
in the ADR, the
musical recording
sessions, the final
mix or the color
timing of the
final print."

Listen to
Donaggio's full score
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De Palma/Lehman
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in Snakes

De Palma/Lehman
next novel is Terry

De Palma developing
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"a horror movie
based on real things
that have happened
in the news"

Supercut video
of De Palma's films
edited by Carl Rodrigue

Washington Post
review of Keesey book

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Exclusive Passion
Interviews:

Brian De Palma
Karoline Herfurth
Leila Rozario

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AV Club Review
of Dumas book

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Friday, March 8, 2024
'I KIND OF CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING'
FANGORIA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PHIL NOBILE JR. IS BUZZED ABOUT UPCOMING 'PHANTOM' EVENT AT OVERLOOK
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/monstrousmusings.jpg

In today's weekly Fangoria email sent out to email subscribers, Fangoria's editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr. shares his anticipation for the upcoming Phantom Of The Paradise screening event at the Overlook Film Festival:
Anyway, it’s incredibly fun to come up with an evening’s entertainment for my comrades in kino, and those fleeting moments have fueled a low-key jealousy of the friends and acquaintances I have who get to do it full time (-ish). So you can imagine my elation when a phone call I made to Landon Zackheim, co-founder of the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans, during which I pitched him a special screening for the 50th anniversary of The Phantom of the Paradise, was received so well.

I’m a pragmatic sort, so I pitched a scalable event, with removable parts and contingency plans, in the hopes that if we got a “no” on one front, we’d get a “yes” elsewhere, and end up with SOME version of this event for the fest. But yesterday The Overlook announced their lineup to the world, and I’m excited to say the Phantom event is the ultimate version Landon and I dreamed of.

First off, there’ll be an entertaining, informative and often hilarious presentation on the history, trials, tribulations, and persistence of Brian De Palma’s 1974 glam rock horror musical, given by Ari Kahan of The Swan Archives; next, a screening of the classic film itself, giving some Overlook audience members their first-ever chance to see the movie on the big screen (at the beautiful, historic Prytania Theatre, no less); and finally, an in-person conversation with the great Paul Williams, Phantom’s villainous star and composer. I kind of can’t believe it’s actually happening.

And to be clear: I did NONE of the work. I had an idea of how *I* would love to see the film presented, pitched it, connected a person or two to the fest, and Landon and his team made it happen. (Then, no less crucially, Fango agreed to sponsor it.) And my understanding is that Phantom is a film that the Overlook’s late artistic director Doug Jones had been hoping to screen at the fest for some time, so I humbly recognize that I’m just a small part of the universe’s larger plan here. But the excitement in Landon’s voice upon hearing my pitch, and the incrementally growing excitement in his voice with each new update — man, that’s a buzz I could get used to. And it’s a buzz I’ll be riding right up to the moment this screening ends… and let’s be honest, probably for a couple weeks afterward.

This screening will likely be the culmination of my 40-plus-year relationship with this movie, sure, NBD, but at its core it’s just a bigger version of showing people you like a movie you love, which is an attainable and relatable buzz for all of us. I think that tradition has been diminished in recent years as we text and DM each other links all day, and maybe fewer folks are sitting down to actually watch the thing you’re recommending (I know firsthand that folks will do anything to NOT leave the platform on which you’re sharing an external link with them). But it does still happen; Shudder and Screambox are basically platform-sized versions of this, with passionate movie lovers finding and sharing with us films they absolutely love. Certainly Joe Bob Briggs is the role model for this activity, championing lost classics on his show and converting his congregation to one new-to-them title or another every episode.

I bet the film fest programmers, the streaming programmers and Mr. Briggs alike would agree that curating films for our tribe is, on any level, a buzz worth chasing on both sides of the transaction. It’s probably tied to our innate desire to share and tell stories; maybe that’s what that dopamine hit I’m feeling right now is about. But, and not to put too much pressure on the next Blu-ray you loan out, it’s also ultimately how the movies we love gain immortality. It’s important and it’s needed. So fire up those recs, those links, those discs, get out there and spread the good word.


Posted by Geoff at 11:46 PM CST
Updated: Friday, March 8, 2024 11:58 PM CST
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Wednesday, March 6, 2024
'PHANTOM' 50th AT OVERLOOK FEST IN NEW ORLEANS APRIL 7
PAUL WILLIAMS IN PERSON FOR "A VERY SPECIAL SCREENING" PRESENTED BY SWAN ARCHIVES & FANGORIA
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomoverlook2024.jpg

Paul Williams will be there in person for "a very special screening" of Phantom Of The Paradise on April 7 at the 2024 Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans. The screening is presented by The Swan Archives and Fangoria. In the Fangoria announcement, Scott Wampler writes:
The Overlook Film Festival is one of the country's best genre fests, an annual party that combines some of the most exciting new horror films, rep titles and special guests with wholly unique immersive experiences that you simply won't get anywhere else. Today, the fest has announced this year's full lineup, and ... phew, they've really outdone themselves this time! The 2024 Overlook Film Festival lineup is possibly the best it's ever been.

A special point of pride for us this year: FANGORIA is presenting a 50th-anniversary screening of Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, with none other than Paul Williams in attendance, as well as a special lecture about the film's history by Swan Archives' Ari Kahan. We couldn't be more excited to be bringing this special event to the Overlook.


The Overlook Film Festival runs April 4 - April 7.

Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CST
Updated: Thursday, March 7, 2024 12:10 AM CST
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Tuesday, February 27, 2024
EVERY MOMENT MORE INVENTIVE THAN THE LAST
'PHANTOM' INCLUDED IN "SQUATTERS' CINEMA" SERIES THIS MARCH AT THE BEACON IN SEATTLE
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/horrorinmirror.jpg

Phantom Of The Paradise will screen Friday, March 22, and Saturday, March 23, at The Beacon in Seattle, as part of the theater's NINE-TENTHS OF THE LAW: SQUATTERS’ CINEMA program:
One of history's most notorious squatters is the Phantom of the Opera. And the greatest film inspired by Gaston Leroux's classic story is PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE!

Of course it's also just as much an adaptation of Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray as it is Opera. In just an hour and a half, director Brian De Palma folds a ridiculous amount of narrative into PHANTOM and yet it never feels rushed or overstuffed. Every moment is more inventive than the last, and there are elements of the director's style all over: the public horror of CARRIE, the surveillance technology of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, the coked-out sleaze of SCARFACE. But it's also vastly different from anything he'd ever make again - in part because the movie is as defined by one of its stars and composers, Paul Williams, as it is by De Palma.

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is a stylistic balancing act, drifting between genres - from expressionist horror to slapstick comedy to searing melodrama - to tell the tragic saga of a passionate artist devoured by the ruthlessness of the music business. Williams, then a songwriter for acts like the Carpenters and Three Dog Night, spoofs everything from Phil Spector-produced teen pop to Alice Cooper-like shock rock on the soundtrack and in his role as villain tastemaker Swan.

The film does what all good satire does: it cuts to the truth by going beyond it. De Palma draws on the tropes and themes of classic stories and creates images that are almost mythic. The story is as much a parable as it is a parody, a fairy tale-like warning about the damage celebrity can do to the psyche, leaving one no choice but to take to the rafters in response.


Posted by Geoff at 10:30 PM CST
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Friday, December 22, 2023
'PHANTOM' 50TH NEXT NOVEMBER IN WINNIPEG
EVENING SHOW IS SOLD OUT, MATINEE TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY, DEC. 26
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/50thtix.jpg

Paul Williams, Archie Hahn, Peter Elbling and Jeffrey Comanor are all scheduled to be in attendance for the 50th anniversary celebration of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise, November 2, 2024, at the Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg. The evening show has already sold out, but they have added a matinee for the same day. Tickets for the matinee go on sale at 10am Tuesday, December 26, via Ticketmaster.

Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CST
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Wednesday, December 20, 2023
'He is home...'
Guillermo del Toro tweeted photo and caption yesterday
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/guillermoheishome.jpg

Posted by Geoff at 11:58 PM CST
Updated: Thursday, December 21, 2023 12:00 AM CST
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Thursday, November 9, 2023
PAUL WILLIAMS Q&A NOV 18 AT BERKSHIRE MUSEUM IN MA
1PM-2:30PM, AUDIENCE IS ENCOURAGED TO TAKE PART IN Q&A
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/berkshire.jpg

Paul Williams will participate in a Q&A next Saturday, November 18, at Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Here's the event description:
Join us for a rare Q&A will Paul Williams, moderated by Jesse Kowalski, Chief Curator, who will speak with Paul Williams alongside clips of his roles in movies, television series, and concerts from the 1960s to today. Film clips include his performances in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Muppet Movie (1979), and Baby Driver (2017). Williams will also be asked about his guest-starring roles on The Odd Couple (1974), The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteriesand The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1977), Fantasy Island (1981), Community (2014), and a special appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In addition, we will show rare clips of the Carpenters, Elvis Presley, the cast of Ishtar (1987), and others singing his memorable songs. The audience is encouraged to take part in the Q&A.

Posted by Geoff at 11:21 PM CST
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Friday, November 3, 2023
GUILLERMO DEL TORO WILL SOON HAVE 'PHANTOM' COSTUME
BONHAMS AUCTION ENDS FOR COSTUME SEEN ON SCREEN, WORN BY WILLIAM FINLEY
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/gdtauction.jpg

Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Saturday, November 4, 2023 1:06 AM CDT
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Wednesday, November 1, 2023
'PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE' DISCUSSED ON PODCAST
AND ON VULTURE LIST OF SCARY MOVIES SET AT AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomparadise535.jpg

Fat Dude Digs Flicks Movie Podcasts features a discussion of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise. And over at Vulture, De Palma's film is included on Matthew Jackson's list of "Showstoppers: The 15 Best Entertainment-Venue-Set Horror Movies" -
The Phantom of the Opera has inspired dozens of imitations, riffs, and reimaginings over the decades, but the best is, without question (sorry, Phantom of the Megaplex stans), Brian De Palma’s horror-comedy rock musical about a gifted songwriter forced by a deranged record executive to haunt a concert hall. William Finley is magnificent in the title role, Paul Williams is deliciously evil as Swan, and, of course, don’t forget Gerrit Graham as everyone’s favorite trend-chasing rock star, Beef. Made for the age of glam rock and concept albums, it’s as fun to watch now as it was back then, and you’ll have the songs in your head for days.

Posted by Geoff at 9:58 PM CDT
Updated: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 9:59 PM CDT
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Saturday, October 28, 2023
'PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE' AT THE PARADISE IN TORONTO
FRIDAY NOV. 24 SCREENING PRESENTED BY 'DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES'
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/dragmetothemovies2023a.jpg

Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise will screen at The Paradise Theatre in Toronto on Friday, November 24, in an interactive evening hosted by "Drag Me To The Movies" -
DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES is an interactive movie-going experience featuring drag artists, movie bingo and prizes. It is hosted by Weird Alice.

THE MUSIC MADE HIM DO IT! Join Weird Alice and special guest Continental Breakfast for the second as they rock and haunt the stage with the second annual special presentation of 1974's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE! You asked- we are bringing it back because there is no better place to celebrate Brian De Palma's epic horror-fantasy-musical-ultimate masterpiece of cult cinema than Live at the Paradise Theatre!

In this rock opera hybrid of Phantom of the Opera and Faust, fledgling singer-songwriter Winslow Leach finds himself double-crossed by the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both his music and the girl Leach wants to sing it, Phoenix, for the grand opening of his rock palace, The Paradise. After Swan sends Leach to prison for trespassing, Leach endures a freak accident which leaves him disfigured and plans his revenge on both Swan and the Paradise, thus becoming the PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

Friday November 24th, 7 PM/6:30 PM Doors

Early Bird $17.50 | General Admission $20 | Door Entry $25


Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Sunday, October 29, 2023 1:06 AM CDT
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Tuesday, October 17, 2023
VIDEO - ROSANNA NORTON REVISITS 'PHANTOM' COSTUME
PRIOR TO UPCOMING AUCTION, COSTUME DESIGNER RECALLS WORKING ON IT WITH WILLIAM FINLEY, ETC.

Posted by Geoff at 11:44 PM CDT
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