Homage to the Parkway Speakeasy Movie Theatre in Oakland California
by Jaden
Sadly, one of my favorite places in Northern California shut its doors: the Parkway Speakeasy Movie Theater on Park Boulevard in Oakland, a culturally diverse lounge style theater full of couches, tables, and chairs where you could drink beer or wine, eat pizza and popcorn, and make new friends. Depending on the night, ticket prices ranged from $2.50 to $5.00!
In honor of the Parkway Theater and Oakland (famed for its rappers like Too $hort and musician Raphael Saadiq), below are two reviews of musical films I saw at the Parkway just before it closed.
You may read the theater’s public statement below.
PURPLE RAIN (1984)
Screenplay by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn
Purple Rain, starring the musician Prince, was the last movie I saw at the Parkway.
The screening was a fundraising event put on by East Bay Innovations to assist adults with developmental disabilities to live in their own homes and to be employed in jobs of their choosing.
Due to the dramatic 1980s styles and bad acting, the audience was laughing throughout the movie, even through some of the dark serious subjects.
Mostly, Purple Rain is a concert on film with some drama weaved into it, like a theatrical musical. Watching this movie, one is reminded of Prince’s phenomenal musical abilities, and for that, the movie is priceless.
Go big when you watch this movie — it’s no small screen event. With a good sound system and a large screen, Purple Rain is an excellent choice to project during a party or for a fundraiser.
CADILLAC RECORDS (2008)
Screenplay by Darnell Martin
Sony Pictures: “In this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, “Cadillac Records” follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America’s musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.“
Shunned by many critics and the Academy Awards, Cadillac Records was enjoyed and honored in Oakland at the Parkway Theater and by the Black Reel Awards. Being the rare case that the writer / director is a woman, and an attractive one at that, it is no surprise that her cinematic achievements were dismissed.
Like most Hollywood movies, Cadillac Records is highly stylized; no one should expect a fiction film to portray the truth, yet that was the complaint of the critics.
Overlooked were the outstanding musical and acting performances, along with the stunning array of Cadillacs and fashions exhibited from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Cadillac Records is gorgeous and entertaining. When I saw it, I wondered why it went quietly to the wayside with little recognition.
Lovers of music, Cadillacs, and retro styles, put this on your birthday wish list; it is a breathtaking movie starring beauty Beyonce Knowles, Cedric the Entertainer, Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, Adrien Brody, and Eamonn Walker who plays Howlin’ Wolf and will absolutely rock your world!
PUBLIC STATEMENT
FAREWELL PARKWAY
After more than twelve years of serving the great cultural crossroad of Oakland, the Parkway Speakeasy Theater will be closing at the end of business day, Sunday March 22, 2009.
From African Diaspora to Thrillville to lesbian fashion shows and educational porn, the Parkway has offered an eclectic array of movies and events. It was the first theater in California to offer food, beer and wine service in a lounge style movie theater. With a nudge or a push from the community, there was little programming the Parkway theater would not try in order to better be a community center and a safe haven for diverse ideas.
The Parkway brought Baby Brigade for the shuttered and abandoned parents of newborns, the first international black gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender film festival and Sunday Salon, a free event for cultural and community enhancement.
We, at the Parkway Speakeasy Theater, are deeply proud of the Parkway and will profoundly miss serving its community. Thank you for your patronage.
(This decision does not affect the Cerrito Speakeasy. Most of the Parkway’s regular and special events will move over there.)
Speakeasy Theaters nurtures and grows local communities by entertaining, challenging and feeding the mind, body and soul through irreverent, respectful and whimsical entertainment and tasty, local, housemade food and drink.
Sunday Picture Post 36 — The Oxymoron
We are way overdue for a Sunday Picture Post. Hope your creative minds have replenished.
If you haven’t participated in a Sunday Picture Post, this is how it works:
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY PICTURE POST
For The Sunday Picture Post, we flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, using the image above, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
Read the comments section for Sunday Picture Post 25 to see some hilarious examples.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: THE OXYMORON
Oxymoron are two words juxtaposed against each other that normally have the opposite meaning, yet when put together somehow magically form a new and interesting meaning.
By juxtaposing two unlike things, you can easily come up with a compelling story.
Great stories rise out of contrast, conflict, and contradiction.
You make an oxymoron by putting contradictory terms in conjunction, like a name such as “Fatman Slim” or a description like “sweet stench” or a statement like “Call me when you go to sleep.”
In the case of the above photo of a highrise trailer, we have a visual contradiction, something that is specifically made to be on the road is high up in the sky. The word highrise is usually attributed to expensive penthouses and uptight offices, whereas trailers are usually attributed to lower income families and nomadic wanderers.
There could be a perfectly logical reason for this highrise mobile home: maybe there is flooding in this area?
You may either participate in the Sunday Picture Post as directed above or you may try coming up with an oxymoron of a story unrelated to this photo.
A good example of an oxymoronic story idea is the film comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) starring Bette Midler, Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, and Little Richard,which is the story of a bum in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world and the adventures that ensue as a result of that.
Good luck!
Marfa Film Festival and Writer Larry McMurty
MARFA FILM FESTIVAL
Larry McMurty, screenwriter of award-winning Brokeback Mountain and other celebrated Westerns, makes a rare appearance to be honored at the Marfa Film Festival.
PRESS RELEASE
Hello Friends,
The 2nd Annual Marfa Film Festival is coming soon and we have some great news to share with you!
Oscar and Pulitzer prize winner Larry McMurtry is coming to Marfa Film Festival to introduce a special outdoor screening of “The Last Picture Show” Saturday night (May 2nd) and answer questions about his life and career Sunday morning. Also before the screening Saturday, Marfa Film Festival (in association with the Texas Association of Film Commissions) will present McMurtry with the first ever “Texas Screen Legend” award for his contributions to the cinema-arts in Texas and beyond. (Details on the award ceremony (and tickets) will be coming soon.)
In addition to “The Last Picture Show,” for which he also wrote the screenplay, McMurtry’s work includes the novels for the classics films “Hud” with Paul Newman, “Terms of Endearment” with Shirley McLain and Jack Nicholson, and the epic mini-series “Lonesome Dove” with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. Mr. McMurtry rarely if ever appears at screenings of his films, so it’s a very special honor to bring him to Marfa. He will be joined by his writing partner, Diana Ossana, who won as Oscar with McMurtry for their screenplay to “Brokeback Mountain.”
Other night screenings this year include the 40th anniversary of “Midnight Cowboy,” starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, and the great technicolor classic “The Red Shoes,” directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. (See EVENTS at www.marfafilmfestival.org for details and descriptions of the films.) Also, the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow will be back to project the 35mm classic prints on their enormous 40 x 20 foot outdoor screen. Tickets (as well as festival and day passes) are on sale on the website
(Note: Please know that there are very few if any options left for lodging in Marfa during the festival. At this moment, the Hotel Paisano is still holding a few rooms for pass-holders only. If you’ve bought a full festival pass and would like to stay at the Hotel Paisano during the festival, please call our office 432.729.1948 as soon as possible and we’ll put you on the list.)
The festival will close this year with the annual Cinco De Mayo street party at the courthouse (Marfa Film Festival in partnership with the Rotary Club of Marfa) complete with Mariachi music, bands and DJs, turtle races, chicken**** bingo, food and fun for all. We’ll also have free Yoga again this year as well as other events happening around Marfa, so please check our EVENTS section on the website (www.marfafilmfestival.org) as the festival draws near.
We’re in the final stages of choosing the program for 2009 right now, and still watching movies day and night. The selections will be announced at noon on April 1st via Twitter (www.twitter.com/marfafilmfestival) and later that afternoon on our website, so stay tuned for details. We’ll also have news to share soon of our opening party and world premiere opening screening Wednesday night (April 29th).
Last year’s festival was a great success thanks to people like you and our wonderful sponsors, most of whom are back again this year. Patron and Paul Mitchell have again displayed enormous generosity in sponsoring the festival. That goes for King Airways, too, who’ll be flying Mr. McMurtry to town. Also Sull Ross University, Marfa Public Radio, The Hotel Paisano and Alamo Beer are helping us again. And this year friends like Ballroom Marfa and the Thunderbird Hotel have come on board with incredible energy and generosity. And companies like Fiji Water, Barefoot Wine and Kodak are sponsoring us for the first time.
Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon!
If you have any questions, please visit the site at:
http://www.marfafilmfestival.org/
Robin and Cory and the MFF family
READ more about the city of Marfa: Mother of Marfa! A Film Festival
California Independent Film Festival April 16-19, 2009
The California Independent Film Festival (CIFF) is part of an amazing worldwide community; a unique collaboration of multi-talented filmmakers showcasing their work right here in the Livermore Valley Wine Country. The Festival’s 11th Anniversary celebrates diversity, human rights, and freedom of expression through an array of dramatic and comedic feature films, shorts and moving documentaries.
The 11th Annual California Independent Film Festival will take place
April 16th – 19th, 2009 in Livermore, California. The four-day
festival features more than 75 films, including features,
documentaries, shorts, animation and music videos.
Three-time Oscar nominee Diane Ladd (mother of Laura Dern) who has 118 acting credits and the great fortune to work with unique directors David Lynch on Wild at Heart and Roman Polanski in Chinatown, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
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