Queer Propaganda
July 10 — Happy Friday! Hope you had a good Fourth of July and a good break from Scene. But we’re back, and with more film and entertainment news than ever!
Out on Film may not be ’til the fall, but the LGBTQ+ film festival has already announced its theme for the 2025 festival. The theme will be “Queer Propaganda,” chosen as a way to help Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community reclaim their story through film. The festival hasn’t revealed its full lineup yet, but the first selection is Garrett Abdo’s “Exit Interviews,” a movie about a gay man exploring his past failed relationships.
Out on Film runs from Sept. 25-Oct. 5, and passes are already on sale. You can find out more information here.
Without further ado … Action!
⚖️ Derek Dixon, the actor who accused Atlanta entertainment mogul Tyler Perry of sexual harassment and assault in a June 13 lawsuit, recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his experience. Dixon alleges that Perry made unwanted advances against him, and that Perry has a pattern of exploiting male actors in his productions. A lawyer for Perry has denied the claims.
🤠 Atlanta Pride is partnering with Out on Film for a special screening of Andy Warhol’s “Lonesome Cowboys” along with a community summit. The event will take place from Aug. 1-2 in Decatur.
🧺 Jodie Mack’s “The Grand Bizarre” will play at the film series Off the Wall @ 725 on July 18 and 19.
💔 Two local Atlanta filmmakers, Kat Belinfante and Jennifer Zahlit, are premiering their new film “Friend Divorce” on Saturday at Pace Academy.
😹 On July 18, the Trilith Institute will host Sketchy Business, a live comedy showcase full of original sketch comedy, short plays, improv, and comedic shorts.
🎥 A new Netflix comedy show called “Free Bert” has started filming its first season in Georgia.
💸 ICYMI (although I’m sure you didn’t), Paramount Global paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ interview on CBS, perhaps paving the way toward Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media.
🇨🇳 An English-language version of “Ne Zha 2,” the Chinese animated film that rocked the box office to become this year’s top-grossing film, will open up in the United States in August.
This newsletter contains an interview with local jazz pianist Joe Alterman about his new radio show, an interview with British filmmaker Rebecca Lenkiewicz about her film “Hot Milk,” and a review of the new “Superman” movie. Plus, what’s playing in theaters this weekend, new episodes of my podcast Crash Zoom, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
💡 Eddiver Rodriguez’s path from a Work-Based Learning student to apprentice to future journeyman with Georgia Power is more than one success story. It’s a model of how schools and industry can partner to solve workforce gaps while helping students who might otherwise struggle to find their path after high school. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Joe Alterman lands new jazz show at WABE
🎹 Like many native Atlantans, jazz pianist Joe Alterman has been listening to H. Johnson’s jazz show on WABE for years.
“The most exciting thing to me about getting my driver’s license when I was 16 was the fact that I could go somewhere on a Saturday night, and then leave that place and drive around listening to H,” Alterman said. “He turned me on to so much music that has changed my life.”
Now, Alterman has the opportunity to do the same thing. On July 12, the first episode of Atlerman’s new radio show “The Upside of Jazz” will premiere on WABE. The show will play on Saturday evenings at 7 p.m.
🎙️ Learn more about the show here.
Movies on the Town Continues in July!
SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN
🎬 Movies on the Town, an annual summer movie series at Town Brookhaven, continues on Thursdays through July 24!
🍿 Gather on the green space for this family-friendly activity with movies beginning at dusk. Bring a blanket or chair, order dinner from one of our restaurants, and bring it out to the green space. The series includes movies perfect for family nights, date nights, girls’ nights, or nights out with a few friends! Look for a DIY movie-themed craft activity and face painting before our screening on July 17! Popcorn is provided by LOOK Dine-In Cinema while supplies last.
➞ Don’t forget, you can shop or visit service-oriented merchants before the movies, too. Learn more here!
Rebecca Lenkiewicz talks adapting and directing ‘Hot Milk’
🇪🇸 Think Spain in the summer. It’s beautiful, of course. But it’s also oppressively hot. You don’t really know anyone. The dog next door won’t stop barking. And your co-dependent mother won’t let you breathe.
This is the set up for “Hot Milk,” the feature directorial debut from British playwright and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz. Based on Deborah Levy’s novel of the same name, the film stars Emma Mackey as Sophia, a young woman who takes care of her wheelchair-bound mother, Rose (Fiona Shaw). It’s unclear what exactly ails Rose, but one summer the duo set off for Spain to meet with a doctor (Vincent Perez) who might be able to help. At the same time, Sophia meets the beautiful and mysterious Ingrid (Vicky Krieps), and strikes up a love affair.
I spoke with Lenkiewicz about what drew her to the book and why she felt like she wanted this film to be her feature directorial debut.
🥛 Check out our conversation here.
‘Superman’ is fun, but lacks an emotional core worthy of its hero
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🦸 There’s a core tension at the center of James Gunn’s Superman that you can find at the center of any good Superman movie – he’s a man stuck between two worlds, and in this case, he’s going up against a villain (Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor) who firmly believes that he should go back to his own planet.
Superman has always been an allegory for the immigrant experience, and Gunn has been more than open about the fact that this version is no different (and if you were confused, the way Luthor spits out the word “alien” should clear things up).
Gunn’s “Superman” has a sincere heart, and as Superman himself, David Corenswet embodies that earnestness through and through. But, as endearing and entertaining as “Superman” is, it tends to shoot for platitudes and allegory over character, lacking an emotional core worthy of its hero.
🍿 Read my full review here.
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this week, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend:
🦸 “Superman”
🏚️ “Skillhouse”
Special Events:
⚾ Atlanta Braves Presents: “A League of Their Own” @ The Plaza (Friday)
🍜 “In the Mood For Love” (pictured) in 4K @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
🦈 “Hotspring Sharkattack” @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
☀️ Sundance Shorts @ The Plaza (Friday-Thursday)
🇮🇪 “Barry Lyndon” in 4K @ The Plaza (Saturday-Thursday)
👭 “3 Women” @ The Plaza (Saturday-Thursday)
🐅 Silver Screen Spookshow: “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🌭 Atlanta Braves Presents: “The Sandlot” @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🔫 “Thomasine & Bushrod” @ The Plaza (Saturday)
🌊 Reel Friends: “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” in 35mm @ The Plaza (Sunday)
💃 “Shall We Dance” @ The Tara (Friday-Thursday)
💥 The Superman Cartoons of Max Fleischer @ The Tara (Friday-Sunday)
🥊 Cineprov: “Rocky IV” @ The Tara (Saturday)
🎸 “This is Spinal Tap” 41st Anniversary @ The Tara (Saturday-Tuesday)
💡 While his classmates were filling out college applications, Eddiver Rodriguez was learning to splice underground power cables with Georgia Power. He’s an example of how Georgia’s Work-Based Learning program connects students to careers before they graduate. Learn how here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Crash Zoom: AI in South Korea and film school
🇰🇷 Welcome to Crash Zoom, a podcast where we take a deep dive into film and entertainment industry news!
On this podcast, my cohost Aaron Strand and I explore how things happening at the highest level trickle down and affect the independent artist. But moving forward, we’ll be switching up our format. Each week, we’ll be releasing two shorter episodes, one on Wednesday and one on Friday.
Instead of covering multiple different news items, we’ll be diving deep on two stories. This week’s Wednesday episode covers the Korean company CJ ENM and their new AI show “Cat Biggie.”
🎥 Listen to both episodes here!
Lights, Camera, Action!
🇪🇬 One of my favorite podcasts, TCM’s “The Plot Thickens,” is back next week with another killer season. This time, Ben Mankiewicz and the folks at TCM are tackling “Cleopatra,” the 1963 film starring famed lovers Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and one of the most complicated, storied productions in Hollywood history. IndieWire has a preview of the season here.
🩸 Blank Check, my favorite movie podcast, has ended its series on the films of Amy Heckerling and is starting a new director series this Sunday! First up for the Coen Brothers? “Blood Simple.” You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
💌 If you saw “Materialists,” or read my review of the film from a few weeks ago, you know that the movie isn’t really a traditional romantic comedy in any meaningful sense of the term. The romantic comedy, it seems, is in a constant state of evolution, and on a recent episode of Critics at Large from The New Yorker, the hosts discuss that evolution and how artists are interested in depicting modern love.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
