For the bean-counters of Hollywood, there could hardly be a sweeter word in the English language than “sequel.” These rehashes, reruns, and re-imaginings come preloaded with backstory and developed characters—or at least they should—and as any Star Wars fan can tell you, they often come with a built-in audience that will crowd theaters no matter how bad the film might be.
And yet there is a word still sweeter, capable of making a mere sequel look like child’s play. That word is franchise.
Garrison Keillor is his own franchise. The raconteur, song-and-dance man and mild-mannered comedian has long been a presence in the entertainment world, popping up here and there in places familiar and unexpected alike. His tent pole is A Prairie Home Companion, the long-running radio variety show that has become synonymous with public radio across the country. (Robert Altman directed a film version a few years ago; most fans seemed confused by the fictionalization, and happy to return to listening in their living rooms.) But Keillor, whose signature program went off the air for a bit in the late ’80s, has always spread himself out, taking voiceover work, publishing literary collections, and even opening his own independent bookstore in Minnesota.
So it was no surprise when Keillor decided to try out cinecasting. The still-new technology has taken off in opera circles, where the Met uses it to beam its productions into movie theaters everywhere, but it’s also used for big-ticket fights and live theater events—a perfect fit for APHC, whose touring show regularly fills local halls. An inaugural broadcast in February was so well received that Keillor started planning a follow-up; that show hits theaters in our area this Thursday, October 21 at 8 p.m. The usual Prairie Home fare—”Guy Noir, Private Eye,” “The News from Lake Wobegon”—will be supplemented with visits from musicians Old Crow Medicine Show, Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), and honky-tonk legend Joe Ely.
In the afterglow of that first February show, Keillor floated the idea that “next time we’ll sing some songs with the audience. I like the idea of people standing in multiplexes around the country and singing ‘America the Beautiful’ and ‘My Girl.'”
Whether or not he follows through, crowds get the chance to sing this Tuesday when Cinemark brings in The Sound of Music Sing-Along Event to celebrate the film’s 45th anniversary. Featuring a fully restored version of the film, the sing-along includes a clutch of old favorites—”My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and the title track among them. Perhaps more compelling is the news that the seven von Trapp children, now in their 50s and 60s, will reunite for an interview in Salzburg for the first time since the film wrapped.
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Also this week: Amherst Cinema is threatening to take over your entertainment schedule this week with a particularly robust bit of programming. First out of the gate is Waking Sleeping Beauty, a documentary look at a volatile period at the Walt Disney animation studios. Caught between old and new, the studio, in the mid-1980s, produced a string of flops before righting the ship and embarking on a new era heralded by films like The Little Mermaid.
A more sobering look at children’s lives is provided by Waiting For Superman, a surprise sensation that dissects our public education system. Following five children whose stories mirror the national debate over No Child Left Behind, director Davis Guggenheim asks hard questions about what needs to be done to truly provide for our kids.
If you need some lighter fare after that, try Modern Times, the 1937 Chaplin classic screening at the theater on Sunday and Wednesday. Strangely up to date, the film follows the Little Tramp through a series of misadventures as he tries to find that rarest thing: a paying job.
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.
