CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR AL

As we prepare to welcome in 2009, our thoughts and wishes go out to our good friend AL FRANKEN, who has pulled ahead of Norm Coleman in the vote recount for the Minnesota Senate seat. We're with you, Al!



Click HERE to find out more.

See you all in 2009!

IN THE SPIRIT

Happy holidays, everyone!

'THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM' IS EVERYWHERE

SCREENING @ THE 92ND STREET Y - TRIBECA (NY, NY)
The Return of The War Room will be screening at the 92nd Street Y - Tribeca on Fri, Oct 24, 2008, at 7:30pm. Click HERE to purchase tickets, for more information about the screening, or to learn about the 92nd Street Y's new downtown location.

SCREENING @ THE SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST (SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND)
The Return of The War Room will have TWO screenings at the Sheffield Film Fest in "England's Greenest City" in November. The screenings will be held on Nov. 7 at 7:50PM, and Nov. 9 at 3:50PM.

Go HERE to find out about ticket purchasing options.

Go HERE to read more about the screenings.

Filmmakers Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker will also be on hand to give a Masterclass, hosted by Nick Fraser, on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 1:45PM. Read more about that HERE.

EXCLUSIVE SUNDANCE CHANNEL WEBISODES
Can't get enough of James, George, Paul, or Dee Dee? Then you've gotta check out Sundance Channel's EXCLUSIVE The Return of The War Room Webisodes! There are 5 in all. Check 'em out HERE.

And, lastly, if you can't make it to the 92nd Street Y or Sheffield Doc/Fest screenings, you can still catch The Return of The War Room on The Sundance Channel. Check out their website for some exclusive Return of the War Room Webisodes, too (link above).

Go HERE to see when The Return of The War Room will air next and have Sundance email you a reminder so you don't miss the film.

'THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM' @ THE HAMPTONS FILM FEST

Tickets are on sale now for The Return of The War Room at the 2008 Hamptons International Film Festival in East Hampton, NY. The movie will have two screenings:

Fri, Oct 17th 8:30pm
United Artists Cinema 5

Sat, Oct 18th 7:00pm
United Artists Cinema 5

Click here to purchase tickets.

'THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM' PREMIERE TONIGHT

Pennebaker Hegedus Films' and McEttinger Films' newest release, The RETURN of THE WAR ROOM, premieres TONIGHT at the PALEY CENTER for MEDIA, at 7pm. Click here for directions, tickets, and more info.

Hope to see you there!

The RETURN of THE WAR ROOM will also be airing on the Sundance Channel on Monday, October 13th, at 9PM EST.


16 years after making THE WAR ROOM, Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker's 1992 Oscar-nominated documentary following Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, the filmmakers reunite with James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Mary Matalin, Paul Begala, Bob Boorstin, Dee Dee Myers, and others to reflect on the changes in American politics and political campaigns over the last 16 years, and to look back on the election that launched them all into the national political spotlight. The RETURN of THE WAR ROOM is a highly entertaining and in-depth look at the evolution of American politics, including commentary and insight on the current presidential campaigns.

TWO NEW FILMS

Last week, Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker presented their new film, THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM to students at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago. 16 years after they made THE WAR ROOM, Hegedus and Pennebaker's 1992 Oscar-nominated documentary following Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign, the filmmakers reunited with James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Mary Matalin, Paul Begala, Bob Boorstin, Dee Dee Myers, and others to reflect on the changes in American politics and political campaigns over the last 16 years.

Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker presenting THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM

THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM will premiere on Sundance Channel on October 13th at 9PM, followed by THE WAR ROOM.

Read more about THE RETURN OF THE WAR ROOM here and here.



Pennebaker and Hegedus also premiered the trailer for their other new film, THE COLLAR. THE COLLAR follows some of France’s best pastry chefs as they prepare for the oldest and most prestigious pastry competition in France, the “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” (Best Pastry Chefs in France). Pennebaker and Hegedus were the first people to ever be allowed to film the intense three-day competition, held only once every four years and resulting in a medal ceremony presented by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Hegedus and Pennebaker followed French-born pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer of the French Pastry School in Chicago as he returned to France to train and compete for the MOF.


Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer building a sugar sculpture.

The completed sculpture.

DEPECHE MODE: 101 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Hard to believe that today marks the 20th anniversary of Depeche Mode's concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. That show was the culmination of not one, but two wild bus tour across America - one convoy with the band, and one with a group of teenagers who'd won a dance contest to see their favorite band play their final show on the US tour. It was an amazing journey for everyone, and one of the greatest music experiences we've ever had both as fans and as filmmakers.


Watch some concert footage from the June 18, 1988 Pasadena show:

CONGRATULATIONS, AL FRANKEN

We would like to extend our congratulations to Al Franken on receiving the Democratic Party's endorsement. Franken is now the Democratic nominee for the US Senate race in Minnesota.

Click HERE to see an interview with Franken from NPR/Twin Cities Public Television.

NPR also has a cool, interactive map HERE that covers all of the 2008 US Elections. See how your candidate's doing in every state.

And, of course, check out the official AL FRANKEN FOR SENATE website.

REMEMBERING BO DIDDLEY

Like all of you, we were very sad to receive news of Bo Diddley's passing on Monday. Bo continually took the concept of being a "self-made man" one step further - as the New York Times put it, he "invented his own name, his own guitars, his own beat and, with a handful of other musical pioneers, rock ’n’ roll itself."

In 1969, D A Pennebaker went to Toronto to film the Sweet Toronto Peace Festival, which featured the 'fearsome four' of rock'n'roll: Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard - and a surprise performance by John Lennon's brand-new Plastic Ono Band. The resulting film became known as Sweet Toronto (Keep On Rockin'). Bo's electrified performance at the start of the film, getting the crowd moving and shaking. Getting them rocking. To us, that's what Bo was all about: spreading the pure joy of rock'n'roll.


Go here to read the full NY Times obituary for Bo Diddley.

1PM and 2 AMERICAN AUDIENCES @ HARVARD

1 PM


If you're in the Boston area this week, the Harvard Film Archive will screen two films made by D A Pennebaker, Richard Leacock, and Jean-Luc Godard: 1 PM and 2 AMERICAN AUDIENCES. These rare films capture a unique view of New York in 1968, a highly politicized time. We hope you'll take advantage of this great opportunity to see them at the Harvard Film Archive's new series, "Godard, Gorin, Garrel and the Grin Without a Cat."

MORE INFO, TICKETS, AND DIRECTIONS FOR: "Godard, Gorin, Garrel and the Grin Without a Cat."

PRESS RELEASE

May 2, 2008
We would like to respond to some erroneous statements made today about our film, THE WAR ROOM. These statements alleged certain remarks to Mickey Kantor that simply are not true. The transcript of the scene in question confirms this.
-Chris Hegedus & D A Pennebaker


"THE WAR ROOM" TRANSCRIPT:

GEORGE AND CARVILLE
Indiana, we're ahead.

JACQUELINE
Indiana!

GEORGE
Kentucky.

CARVILLE
Kentucky is five. Michigan is eleven, New York's done.

GEORGE
Holy shit, we're pulling away in Ohio.

CARVILLE
Oklahoma we're up.

GEORGE
Tied in Texas.

CARVILLE
Tied in Texas. It looks good. Now let's just say that. I like the text here.

GEORGE
Can you beep Wendy please? Looks pretty good. Looks pretty good.

MICKEY
Look at Indiana. Wait, wait. Look at Indiana. Forty-two, forty. It doesn't matter if we win. Those people are shitting (oh, excuse me) in the White House. How would you like to be... Look at Texas, go down to Texas.

CARVILLE
Even.

MICKEY
Yeah. Thirty-nine, thirty-nine.

CARVILLE
Perot's kind of holding, isn't he?

GEORGE
He held.

MICKEY
Yeah, he held. His numbers held. I'm sort of surprised, frankly.

FOND FAREWELLS & HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS

We're very sad to announce the passing of our close friend and collaborator, Nina Schulman, last week to metastatic breast cancer. An Emmy-award winning film editor, Nina was our editor on MONTEREY POP. Here is her obituary in the New York Times.

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Norman Mailer

On April 9th, we joined celebrities, close friends, family members and fans for a tribute to Norman Mailer's life and work. The memorial was held at Carnegie Hall and it was a beautiful and moving celebration of one of America's liveliest, most intelligent, and fascinating personalities. Norman was a great friend and a rare talent. You can read more about the touching tribute here.

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Bob Dylan

In happier news, we'd like to congratulate Bob Dylan on winning a Pulitzer! Dylan received a Special Citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power." He is the first rock'n'roll musician to be honored with a Pulitzer. For more information on this award, please visit thePulitzer Board or Forbes Magazine.

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Richard Leacock

And last but certainly not least, our longtime friend, collaborator and partner Richard Leacock will be honored at the 2008 Hot Docs Festival. Hot Docs will be honoring Leacock with an Outstanding Achievement Award Retrospective. The Festival, now in its 15th year, is held in Toronto and is North America's largest documentary film festival. For more info on the 2008 festival, an online schedule, and online ticket sales, please visit the official 2008 Hot Docs Festival website.

MOF

Flora Lazar, Chris Hegedus & D A Pennebaker in front of the Palais de l'Elysee

In January, Chris Hegedus, D A Pennebaker and Flora Lazar filmed French President Nicolas Sarkozy present the awards for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, a competition held every four years to determine the best chefs in France. Last fall the trio followed various chefs as they trained and competed for the MOF. The film is currently in post-production. Check back for more information on the MOF film over the next few months.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the MOF Competition and MOF chef Sebastien Cannone, who is featured in the new film, by listening to this Chicago Public Radio podcast.