Tribeca Film Festival

One of my favorite Spring traditions is attending the Tribeca Film Festival. In recent years Justin and I have screened a couple of films per year, including The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir, The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq and Whitewash. Attending the festival is always a treat, even if the films we see aren't always winners. (Whitewash for example... Not so great.) Not only do viewers get to see films before they're released on a large-scale, there is typically a question and answer session with the filmmakers and actors after each screening. For especially big premieres, there may even be a red carpet and plenty of celebs in attendance. This year we saw Live From New York! and Franny. Fortunately, we were two for two regarding our picks this go around. Live from New York! was the festival opener and it was well-attended. Fellow audience members at the Beacon's showing included Robert De Niro, Tom Brokaw, Rudy Giuliani and Grace Gummer. The movie itself was awesome. Live from New York! is a documentary about "New York institution and comedy powerhouse" Saturday Night Live. It shows a behind the scenes look of what makes Saturday Night Live so special and it features interviews with tons of SNL actors. Franny is a drama starring Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning and Theo James. Gere plays an aging and hedonistic philanthropist who ingratiates himself into the lives of newlyweds played by Fanning and James. The filmmaker, Andrew Renzi, has described Franny as "part Scent of a Woman, part Leaving Las Vegas, part Cable Guy. Whatever the components, it's a good movie, and the acting is excellent. And hearing the actors discuss their inspirations and experiences post-viewing was a highlight.

Franny Q & A

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Top image via Variety