Virginia Film Festival planning underway
As students begin to invade Charlottesville, enjoying their last precious days free from responsibility, Media Studies professor and Virginia Film Festival artistic director Richard Herskowitz is hard at work preparing for the 21st annual festival. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, film lovers far and wide will flock to Charlottesville to experience the event that has garnered nationwide respect and visits from such Hollywood powerhouses as Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins. Inspired by the immigration issue in the upcoming election, Herskowitz chose the theme of “Aliens!” for this year’s festival, which will feature over 150 films and speakers to explore cinema’s portrayal of aliens of all shapes and sizes.
—by anne larimer hart
Late to Hogwarts — Latest Potter film rescheduled
Warner Bros. studios announced Aug. 16 that the sixth movie in the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — originally scheduled for a fall 2008 release — has been pushed back to a summer 2009 premiere. The studio explained in a statement that the release date was moved because of ongoing complications with this year’s writers’ strike as well as a desire for a more family-oriented summertime launch date. In addition, many studio bigwigs thought the sixth Potter film’s box-office grosses might be undermined by the incredible success of this summer’s The Dark Knight. Barring further changes, the movie is set to debut July 17, 2009.
—by david replogle
Nine Inch Nails coming to Charlottesville
Industrial rock giants Nine Inch Nails recently extended a second leg for their Lights in the Sky tour, and Charlottesville’s own John Paul Jones Arena is one of the many venues on the agenda. The group, which is essentially the pet project of frontman Trent Reznor, is touring in support of its excellent recent albums (Reznor’s first since striking out on his own after breaking from Interscope) — the ambient Ghosts I-IV and the more traditional The Slip. The group plans to incorporate these songs into a setlist fleshed out by old and new songs alike. Tickets will go on sale Sept. 5 at the JPJ box office, with special student pricing available for a limited time.
—by ethan hamlin
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