Tag Archives: Athenian Corner Restaurant Lowell

Celebrate Opening Night of the Lowell Film Festival! – Thursday, April 8

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Opening Night of the Lowell Film Festival
Thursday, April 8  | 5:30 – 6:45 PM
Athenian Corner Restaurant
207 Market Street, Lowell
Special Guests: Senator Steven Panagiotakos
and Anita Walker (Mass Cultural Council)

Suggested donation: $10 to support the Lowell Film Festival
Come dressed in your 1930′s BEST!

Music! Food! Cocktails! And a night of thanks and recognition — all of this awaits you at Thursday’s Lowell Film Festival Opening Night Soiree at Lowell’s own Athenian Corner restaurant. Come help us kick off this year’s fabulous theme of Hollywood and the Great Depression by coming dressed in your most fancy (or most Depression-era inspired) 1930′s garb. It was truly a cinematic time of big-budget musicals, sweeping epics, and political commentary. Our country hungered for escape as the nation plummeted into financial crisis. It’s no wonder that films like Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” (being screened Saturday), “Gone with the Wind,” and “The Wizard of Oz” all made impacts at the box office or in filmmaking history. Additionally, Walt Disney premiered his very FIRST feature-length animated film in 1937 with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (also screening Saturday) — its success led to Disney Studios’ decision to move full forward with producing full-length animated films for the masses. “Grand Hotel,” Hollywood’s first “ensemble cast” film, came to the screen in the 1932 starring Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Berry. If you haven’t seen “Grand Hotel,” put it in your queue ASAP. The ongoing action and character portraits are absolutely compelling.

All of these are just some of the reasons we’re paying homage to this incredible era in movies. The parallels to our current economy and that of the 30′s are distinguished not just by financial numbers, but by movie-going: the 1930′s saw a spike in film attendance just as the past two years have seen large spikes in box office sales. People escape to the theaters when times get tough, and Hollywood quickly answers the call!

We hope you’ll come out and join us on Thursday for our Film Fest kick-off at Athenian Corner — afterwards, we’ll head across the street to the National Park Visitor Center for the Festival’s Opening Night Film, “Jezebel” starring the irresistible Bette Davis in one of her most seductive roles. But before you leave Athenian Corner, don’t forget to sample their special Lowell Film Festival cocktail, Zorba’s Dance (inspired by the fabulous final scene in “Zorba the Greek!”)

Bigelow, Bullock and Bridges … BRILLIANT!

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Well, folks, the 82nd Academy Awards have come and gone. They started with music and dance with none other than Doogie Howser and ended with Tom Hanks‘ quick flip of the envelope. There were upsets (sorry, Avatar) and memorable moments (Martin and Baldwin’s Paranormal Activity spoof), and wow — a salute to horror films! Gotta love that.

We suspect that Avatar’s sweeping of the top two Golden Globes may have contributed to the Academy’s giving The Hurt Locker the big nod, but who’s really to say. We’re just glad that Bridges and Mo’Nique got their due and yes, that history was made with Kathryn Bigelow‘s directorial steal. All good stuff. And all the stuff of Hollywood.

As always, I watch the Academy’s and sadly remark to myself that there is just too little time to watch all the fantastic film that’s painstakingly produces throughout the world. Someone somewhere is just now ending a shoot, rounding up some extras, or sitting in a makeup chair. It’s all very thrilling to think about.

The Oscars, of course, aren’t the be all end all to judging great film. But they’ve become what people watch the most. So until the Academy’s 83rd year, try to get out and enjoy all the great film 2010 has to offer!

And in the meantime, hopefully you’ll join US for some upcoming events of our own, including our special April 5 screening at Athenian Corner of the Marx Brothers classic, A Night at the Opera in celebration of the Lowell Film Festival. Last November, the Lowell Film Collaborative did in fact screen Food, Inc., which turned out to be one of this year’s Oscar-nominated films. Hopefully this is a good sign that the LFC has its finger on the pulse of great cinema!

Thanks for all your support, and see you at the movies!