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Recent Headlines
a la Mod:

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
for Domino online

De Palma/Lehman
rapport at work
in Snakes

De Palma/Lehman
next novel is Terry

De Palma developing
Catch And Kill,
"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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De Palma interviewed
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Tuesday, July 8, 2025
AUGUST 10 'PHANTOM' NIGHT AT POPCORN FRIGHTS IN FLORIDA
ARI KAHAN WILL PRESENT SWAN ARCHIVES EDITION, FOLLOWING 100th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF LON CHANEY CLASSIC
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/popcornfrights.jpg

On the evening of Sunday, August 10, the Popcorn Frights Film Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will host a 100th anniversary presentation of the Lon Chaney classic Phantom of the Opera, with a live original score by Slavvy. That event begins at 6pm at the Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale, and then following at 8pm, Ari Kahan will present the Swan Archives Edition of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise.

Individual tickets for each screening are availble for about $17 each, or you can get a pass for the entire festival, which runs August 7-17.

Here is the Popcorn Frights description of Phantom Of The Paradise:

DATE: Sunday, August 10
TIME: 8:00PM
VENUE: Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale

EXPERIENCE A TALE OF TWO PHANTOMS IN ONE UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT! CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA WITH A LIVE ORIGINAL SCORE, THEN ROCK OUT WITH A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME SCREENING OF BRIAN DE PALMA’S PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE!

Get ready to sell your soul for rock ‘n’ roll! Popcorn Frights is summoning all glam rock ghouls and horror hounds for a once-in-a-lifetime special presentation of Brian De Palma’s cult classic PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE—a mind-melting fusion of FAUST, FRANKENSTEIN, and glam rock fury that will leave your jaw on the sticky theater floor. This is not just another screening. This is a rare, electrifying event that will never happen again in quite this way. We’re not saying it’s legendary… but we’re also not NOT saying it.

This psychedelic rock opera fever dream features an Oscar-nominated score by the one and only Paul Williams (who also stars as the devilishly smooth music mogul Swan) and stars William Finley as the doomed and masked Phantom, plus a knockout performance by Jessica Harper (SUSPIRIA) and scene-stealing glam chaos from Gerrit Graham as Beef.

But that’s not all—this special screening will be introduced by The Swan Archives’ Principal Archivist Ari Kahan, the foremost historian and guardian of PHANTOM lore, who’s bringing exclusive insight and rare treats that will make this a screening for the ages. Trust us—you’ve never seen the film like this, and odds are you never will again.

Whether you’re a die-hard Phantom Phan or a first-time initiate into the cult, this is your chance to experience the film in its full, phantasmagoric glory.

One night only. One stage. One swan. Don’t miss your shot at cinematic immortality.


Posted by Geoff at 7:31 PM CDT
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Tuesday, June 17, 2025
'I THINK ITS TIME HAS COME!'
PAUL WILLIAMS & SAM PRESSMAN TELL MOVIEMAKER MAG THEY ARE WORKING ON A PHANTOM STAGE MUSICAL
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomoftheparadise255.jpg

An excerpt from a MovieMaker Magazine exclusive article by Tim Molloy:
Phantom of the Paradise, the cult classic 1974 Brian de Palma film that reworked Phantom of the Opera and starred songwriting icon Paul Williams as the manipulative music producer known as Swan, is being made into a stage musical by Williams and Sam Pressman, whose father, Ed Pressman, produced the original.

“I’m excited about having a chance to deliver what fans have been suggesting for years… POTP as a stage musical,” Williams said in a statement to MovieMaker. “I think it’s time has come!”

In addition to starring in the film, which De Palma wrote and directed, Williams composed the score and wrote the songs. Pressman told MovieMaker that he and Williams have spoken to multiple potential writers for the stage musical, including American Psycho and The Shards author Bret Easton Ellis — though no commitments have been made.

Pressman told MovieMaker that he, Williams and Ellis had “such an amazing dinner — Bret’s such a true fan of Phantom and of Paul, and it was awesome to introduce the two of them in person.”

Ellis has also mentioned the meeting on his podcast, though again, nothing is settled in terms of the stage musical’s writer.

Asked about De Palma’s potential involvement in the new stage play, Pressman said there were potentially “different paths… it’s just so early.”

De Palma has been considering a Phantom of the Paradise stage musical for decades. Pressman noted that he recently revisited a libretto, or book, that De Palma wrote for a prospective stage version of the film back in 1987. Pressman has also discussed the project with De Palma.

“We certainly want Brian to feel honored,” Pressman said. “I went to go see Brian last fall, to talk about the dream. Phantom was an early and significant film for him and I’d say the favorite film of my father in his career. I think the chaos and originality of the whole experience was deeply inspiring.”

Pressman noted that the plan is to open the stage play “not on Broadway” but “building to that stage.”


Ari Kahan of The Swan Archives is also quoted in the article - read the rest of it at MovieMaker.

Posted by Geoff at 10:03 PM CDT
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Thursday, May 15, 2025
'HURRY UP TOMORROW' HAS SHADES OF DE PALMA, BERGMAN
NEW MOVIE FROM THE WEEKND & TREY EDWARD SHULTS HAS "UNINTENTIONAL" NODS TO PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE & PERSONA
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/hurryuptomorrow155.jpg

The Weeknd and Trey Edward Shults talked to Entertainment Weekly's Jessica Wang about their new movie Hurry Up Tomorrow, which opens in theaters, well, tomorrow:
The trailers have not given much away, leading online sleuths to form their own theories about how that on-stage moment in L.A., which Tesfaye has attributed to psychological factors like stress, plays into the narrative. That ambiguity is "very intentional," the singer-turned-actor told Entertainment Weekly in a CinemaCon sit-down with Ortega and director Trey Edward Shults, who, along with Reza Fahim, also co-wrote the script. "With me and Trey, we romanticize the idea of giving out a trailer that doesn't give away anything."

"We never really see that anymore," Tesfaye added of that mystery. "It's always like these three-minute trailers that give out the whole plot because they want people to come to the theater. We trust the audience."

"I also think it's honest to the tone of the film," Shults added. "You can take everything at face value and go on an emotional ride with it, but also, if you want to read things in a deeper layer and infer a lot of stuff, it's pretty rich." In his own personal experience, "the least I know about films, the better," the filmmaker said. "So they can surprise me and I can interact with them."

Ortega, who also executive produces the film, did her best to tease what audiences can expect, calling it an emotional tale with themes of self-interrogation. "Speaking from Ani's perspective, she feels very neglected and unseen," Ortega said. "And she knows that she cares deeply about Abel more than anyone else ever could. It's frustrating when you feel like you're almost talking to a wall of somebody who's so unwilling to look at themselves in the mirror. And that's kind of what the film is about: the fear of having to deal with yourself and open up to yourself."

Expect nods, albeit unintentional ones, to the 1974 rock horror Phantom of the Paradise — about a disfigured composer who sells his soul — and the 1966 thriller Persona — about a famed stage actress who suddenly goes mute. "As things were evolving, we'd start connecting it to certain movies," Shults said.

"We weren't really [looking for] references for the film, it kind of just came to us," Tesfaye added.

Ultimately, Shults said, "the goal was to make something that feels fresh to us and different and unique."


Previously:
"Brian De Palma is a huge inspiration for all this" - The Weeknd talks about HBO's The Idol
Dressed To Kill - The Weeknd's current obsession

Posted by Geoff at 7:50 AM CDT
Updated: Thursday, May 15, 2025 7:56 AM CDT
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Sunday, April 6, 2025
VIDEO - 1973 NEWSCLIP FOOTAGE FROM SET OF 'PHANTOM'
AT THE MAJESTIC THEATRE IN DALLAS

Posted by Geoff at 11:44 PM CDT
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Monday, December 16, 2024
SUSAN FINLEY & MORE - 'PHANTOM' 50TH AT AERO THURSDAY
SARAH BALLANTINE & SAM PRESSMAN WILL JOIN Q&A w/ JUSTIN HUMPHREYS IN SANTA MONICA
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomparadiseballantine.jpg

Justin Humphreys will moderate a Q&A this Thursday, December 19, following a 50th anniversary screening of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California. The on-stage Q&A will include Sara Ballantine, producer Ed Pressman’s son Sam Pressman and widow of actor William Finley, Susan Finley.

 


Posted by Geoff at 11:54 PM CST
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Friday, November 8, 2024
'PHANTOM' DISCUSSION ON 'HOW I MET YOUR MONSTER' PODCAST
THE REAL MONSTERS IN THIS MOVIE "CONVINCE YOU TO SELL YOUR SOUL FOR WHAT IS ALREADY A NATURAL TALENT"

Posted by Geoff at 11:44 PM CST
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Sunday, November 3, 2024
WINNIPEG CELEBRATES PHANTOM 50TH WITH PACKED EVENTS
"IT'S VERY POWERFUL, VERY MOVING - THE MUSIC, THE LOVE, AND WHAT YOU WOULD DO FOR LOVE"
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/anotheramiel55.jpg

CBC's Artuto Chang reports from Winnipeg about this weekend's celebration of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise:
Mary-Ann Vaillancourt was 10 years old when the film premiered. She remembers coming to the now-defunct Garrick Theatre with friends to watch it.

"I stayed for two shows," she said. "And I did it again the next weekend. And I did it every weekend that I was allowed to come out."

Vaillancourt was one of the hundreds of people who showed up for the latest "Phantompalooza," a local event that, this year, marked the film's 50th anniversary.

Craig Wallace, a member of the Phantom 50th committee, said the two planned screenings of a restored version of the film sold out in a day and a half. A matinee, also featuring a Q&A with cast members, was added to meet the demand.

"Winnipeg has brought a lot of people from other provinces here, and they see what we see," said Dean Hunter, singer with Phantom tribute band Swanage, who's also on the committee.

"They might be from all over the world, but they love this movie as much as we do. And we just like to share it with them."

The celebration brought back a lot of memories for fans who attended the matinee Saturday.

Betty Moroz, from Garson, Man., was 14 when she first watched it.

"I thought it was kind of freaky back then," she said, but it stuck with her.

"It's very powerful, very moving. The music, the love and, what you would do for love. Anything for love."

"I have two copies at home," said Stephanie Starr, who came to the screening with her family.

"We love it. We've seen the movies many times before. And of course, you got to get the merchandise, right? I got a couple of buttons."

For other Winnipeggers like Tom Glenewinkel, the matinee was the first time they've actually seen the film.

"Everybody knows all the words to everything," Glenewinkel said. "It was just a great movie to watch, and just to be part of the experience of everybody enjoying it and getting into it."

Vaillancourt brought a C.D. of the movie's soundtrack to the matinee and newspaper clippings about the film she kept with her over the years. V She hoped to meet Paul Williams — star and composer in the film — who decades ago replied to her fan letter. V "'Dear Mary-Ann, thank you for your letter telling me how much you enjoyed Phantom.… P.S. I think I've only seen the movie about four times myself,'" Vaillancourt read, saying that at that point she'd seen the film about 10 times already.

"He made my whole day and my whole summer," she added. "The music is still phenomenal now, and I still listen to it if I want to just be able to sing along, every single word."



Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
Updated: Monday, November 4, 2024 12:08 AM CST
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Friday, November 1, 2024
PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE OPENED 50 YEARS AGO TODAY
WITH "FREE T-SHIRTS TO FIRST 100 PATRONS" AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE IN LOS ANGELES
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/latimesnov1st1974c.jpg

LOS ANGELES TIMES, Nov 1 1974 - "GOTHIC EXPRESSIONIST FEEL"


"I JUST GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE VIBE THAT IS BRIAN DE PALMA"

A great read over at Bloody Disgusting: "The Phantom Lives: An Oral History of ‘Phantom of the Paradise’" - including these nice bits from Paul Williams:

I had become friends with Liza Minelli. Liza was going up to Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe to play Harrah’s for a month. And she said “I want you to open for me.” I’m doing two shows a night with nothing to do during the day and I’m writing the songs. I had my road band with me. And my road band is the one that played on the Phantom soundtrack, on Bugsy Malone. We became so close that I’d walk in and start singing something and they’re playing chords behind me. And I could walk in and go “Okay, we’re doing a Beach Boys thing. Bum-ba-ba-da-bum… Upholstery.” And all of a sudden, it’s sounding like a Beach Boys record.

Because we were fans of the music that we were satirizing – certainly all of us knew it well enough to recreate it. I had never written anything like “Somebody Super Like You” or “Life at Last”. But I just became a member of a rock and roll band. I became a member of a metal glam band. And the script is the bible. And the script was very fluid and it was developing along the way, and I just got caught up in the vibe that is Brian De Palma. Something happened and it came out of me musically.


And this bit, again from Paul Williams:
It was so much fun, as you can imagine. And Brian seemed to embrace this total, very uncharacteristic for him sentimental side. I remember putting this little piano thing in when Bill is dying. And Brian said “Oh my god. There won’t be a dry eye in the house.” And my side of it is “And let’s show a really good closeup of the face in the record press.” It’s like we traded personalities during the shoot.

AMAZING HANDHELD SHOT

There's another very nice tidbit from Paul Williams included in Laurent Bouzereau's latest book, The De Palma Decade:

Larry Pizer was the great cinematographer on the film, but Ronnie Taylor, who became an Academy Award-winning DP with Gandhi [1982], was the camera operator. He did that amazing handheld shot from the point of view of the Phantom, which starts outside the Paradise, goes backstage, up the stairs, and ends inside the wardrobe storage room where he selects his leather outfit, finds the one-eyed mask, and puts it on, literally, over the lens of the camera. This was done in one shot before the Steadicam [existed], and it is spectacular.

Posted by Geoff at 12:19 AM CDT
Updated: Friday, November 1, 2024 12:25 AM CDT
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
THURSDAY - TODAY IS THURSDAY.
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/thursday145.jpg

BREAKFAST -


Posted by Geoff at 1:04 AM CDT
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Tuesday, October 29, 2024
CRITICAL POPCORN DIVES INTO 'PHANTOM' SOUNDTRACK
NICK BARTLETT: "IT's A VIBRANT, UNIQUELY ODD FILM; ONCE SEEN, NEVER FORGOTTEN"
https://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/phantomparadise335.jpg

For the 50th anniversary of Brian De Palma's Phantom Of The Paradise, Critical Popcorn's Nick Bartlett dives into the film's soundtrack, song-by-song, all composed by Paul Williams. Here's what Bartlett writes about "Somebody Super Like You" -
You could reasonably make the claim that over the course of the film Paul Williams predicted numerous trends in the music industry. With Somebody Super Like You, he seemed to pre-empt the theatre of bands like Kiss and Goth Rock. Throughout the film, Swan’s group The Juicy Fruits pop up in a variety of guises, performing variations of the Phantom’s work. For this song the group are all dressed as somnambulist Cesare from The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari, with a stage set that recreates the German expressionist mise en scene. Now called The Undead, this Frankenstein-inspired anthem celebrates an ideal man, assembled from various body parts, creating a campy, terrifying experience. The bone-chilling screams from singer Harold Oblong are incredible, as are his distinctive vocals, full of little tics – “Somebody sssssuper like you!

Incidentally, this was the highest charting song from the soundtrack. It went platinum, but curiously, only in Winnipeg!



Posted by Geoff at 12:01 AM CDT
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