For The Love Of Movies

Welcome to “For The Love Of Movies”

admin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:51:04 +0000

“For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism” is the first documentary to dramatize the rich saga of American movie reviewing. Directed by The Boston Phoenix critic, Gerald Peary, “For the Love of Movies” offers an insider’s view of the critics’ profession, with commentary from America’s best-regarded reviewers, Roger Ebert (The Chicago Sun-Times), A.O. Scott (The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times)

We also hear from young, articulate, Internet voices, including Harry Knowles (ainitcoolnews.com) and Karina Longworth (spout.com). Their stories are entertaining, humorous, and personal. Those who hear them may gain new respect for the film critic profession, knowing the faces and voices, and also the history. From the raw beginnings of criticism before The Birth of a Nation to the incendiary Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates of the 1960s and 70s to the battle today between youthful on-liners and the print establishment, this documentary tells all. With narration by Patricia Clarkson.

Doc Channel TV premiere 2/12

admin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:47:20 +0000

“For the Love of Movies” will make it’s US TV debut on the Documentary Channel on Saturday, February 12 at 8 PM EDT (encore screening at 11 PM EDT). What could be better than to spend Valentine’s Day snuggling on the couch with your honey while watching this homage to movie love?

Documentary Channel, USA’s first 24-hour television network exclusively devoted to documentary films, is primarily available through satellite television services DISH Network (Channel 197) and DIRECTV (Channel 267).

Check out the Doc Channel trailer for “For the Love of Movies.”

Winter 2011 news

admin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:06:09 +0000

Happy New Year! In 2009 and 2010, we’ve had surprising success on the film festival and theatrical

Amy, Marilyn, Gerry at Tropic Cinema

circuit, showing at over 60 film festivals and theaters around the world. Last week, we screened to two full houses at the Tropic Cinema in Key West, Florida, and we’re premiering next week in Norway at the Tromso Film Festival. Read on for additional news!

Valentine’s Day premiere on Doc Channel

Our big national TV premiere will be on Valentine’s Day weekend on the Documentary Channel. The Doc Channel has programmed the movie on February 12 at 8 PM (encore screening at 11 PM) as an homage to “movie love.” How perfect! How romantic!

Return to Boston area – 1/29!

On January 29, we’re at the Harvard Film Archive, bringing “For the Love of Movies” back to the Boston area with a 7 PM screening and a panel discussion with prominent local film critics. We look forward to an audience of our local friends and colleagues who have missed seeing our feature documentary.

Fans of our DVD!

Our newest luminary fan is the legendary writer of teen fiction, Judy Blume, who attended a screening at the Tropic Cinema and bought a DVD after. Other on-record FTLOM admirers: filmmakers Paul Schrader and John Waters, theatre director Andre Gregory, screenwriter Jay Cocks. Novelist Jonathan Lethem ordered a DVD, and poet Anne Carson purchased a DVD for her movie-crazy uncle!

Movie Love Contest Winner!

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:20:07 +0000

We have a winner! Congratulations to Peter Demarco from Long Island, New York. Submitting a video about the Creature Features that played in the 1970s on TV, Peter explained how his love of the movies was first brought on by these creepy horror films beaming out of the set before his impressionable 10-year-old eyes.

Do you want to see our film? It’s easy to order our DVD.

Our New York Premiere – 6/1/10

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 14:35:52 +0000

For the Love of Movies: the Story of American Film Criticism, played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) three times on Tuesday, June 1. Amy and I did a Q&A at the 4:30 screening, and there was an all-star critic panel at the 6:50 screening with The Village Voice’s Jim Hoberman, Entertainmant Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum, and the very talented young web critic, Brandon Harris.

These were great screenings, but we’d still like to play Manhattan. Any ideas? Or for the three biggest cities in North America which we haven’t cracked: Philadelphia, Dallas, Toronto? Please e-mail ftlom.info@gmail.com

Also, check out Dave Kehr’s piece in his Sunday New York Times video column.

Audio Interview with KTEP/NPR

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:23:26 +0000

Check out Gerry’s interview with Charles Horak on his show, On Film. Charles and Gerry talked by phone with El Paso’s NPR Station when the film went through the Southwest last month. From the show’s website:

On Film has been on the air since 1993 and showcases the talents of local filmmakers and their work. The program provides listeners with a forum for the discussion and understanding of what makes quality films, and helps foster an appreciation for the art of cinema.

You can listen to the interview here!

Boston Society of Film Critics Honor

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:42:18 +0000

Amy and Gerry were thrilled to be honored by our peers, the Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC), for our movie “For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism.” The Awards Ceremony took place on Sunday, February 6 at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Harvard Square.

We were in excellent company, too! Jeremy Renner, star of the acclaimed Iraqi war drama The Hurt Locker, was in Cambridge to claim his Best Actor honor from the BSFC, several weeks prior to the actual Oscars. Philadelphia Cousins, niece of celebrated chef and author Julia Child, accepted the BSFC Best Actress award for Meryl Streep, for Streep’s performance as Child in Julie & Julia.

Other local honorees include: Haden Guest, David Pendleton and the Harvard Film Archive; and David Bramante of the Stuart Street Playhouse.

You can see it all on YouTube here!

We made Phillip Lopate’s list!

admin — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:30:45 +0000

Esteemed writer and film critic Philip Lopate has named “For the Love of Movies” one of the top undistributed movies of 2009. We’re in very good company with films such as “Eccentricities of a Blond Hair Girl,” “Ghost Town,” and “Min Ye.”
Check out Phillip’s 2009 list on indieWire.

That’s pretty special, man!

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:34:28 +0000

I am pleased by a great honor for “For the Love of Movies” from my distinguished peers, the Boston Society of Film Critics, who, at their annual meeting December 13, voted Amy and I a Special Commendation for “their timely, eloquent elucidation and vindication of our beleaguered profession.”

Our Commendation will be presented formally on the Brattle Theatre stage the evening of Saturday, February 6, at the Boston Society’s annual awards celebration. It’s open to the public, so come join us for a fun occasion! To read the Boston Globe announcement about all the 2009 awards, please click here.

Upcoming Screenings

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:15:02 +0000

We slowed down on purpose this fall, but still showed For the Love of Movies at selected film festivals, such as our Canadian screenings at the Montreal World Film Festival and then, 3,000 miles away, at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Gerry was at both, the receptions were great, and, for the first time, our DVD was sold at the screenings. It was amazing to see Vancouverites lined up after, and we actually ran out of DVDs!

After that, Gerry traveled with the film to the Starz Center in Denver and to the St. Louis Film Festival, and, on both occasions, he was part of a panel with local reviewers about the state of film criticism. He also returned to Boston raving about both of these livable cities, which he’d never visited before. He said: check out Denver for some fabulous used bookstores, and you haven’t lived until you’ve stood under the totally incredible St. Louis Arch.

Finally, back in New England, Gerry showed the film at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA, and joined Amy on stage for a showing at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Portsmouth venue is down the way from Amy’s home town, Hampton, New Hampshire, so the audience included Amy’s appreciative Mom and Dad.

More big news for 2009: in November, For the Love of Movies opened theatrically Nov.13-17 at both the Roxie Theatre in San Francisco and the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago, Nov.17-18 at the Smith Rafael Center in Marin County… Finally, Gerry speaks with For the Love of Movies at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, on December 11.

P.S.: What a thrill! Gerry came home one day to a message on his answering machine. It was from filmmaker John Waters saying how he’d seen our film and loved it! And there was an e-mail also from filmmaker Guy Maddin that he’s seen our movie twice, once on DVD and once bringing a bunch of friends to a screening in Guy’s native Winnepeg, He ended the e-mail saying : “I really love your movie.”

Gerry and the Buddha, Hong Kong