Trivia time
Friday, Nov. 6 — Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we’ve got something new for you to partake in. We’re debuting Scene Trivia!
Every time I play trivia somewhere (quite frequently), I wish I could be on the other side of the mic. I’ve always loved the thought of hosting movie trivia somewhere – so, we’re taking that kernel of an idea and making it digital! Each week, I’ll give you a trivia question to answer, and in turn, you’ll impress me with your big, beautiful, cinema-filled brains. Keep scrolling for the first question!
Without further ado … Action!
🪦 The 19th annual Buried Alive Film Festival, championing underground horror, sci-fi, and thriller movies, continues at the Plaza Theatre through Nov. 8.
🎖️ “Soul Patrol,” a documentary about the Vietnam War’s first Black special ops team, will screen on Veterans Day at theaters across the metro area.
🍎 ATL Jewish Film will host its Student Lens Showcase at SCADshow on Nov. 18, celebrating films made by metro Atlanta high school students. Tickets can be purchased here.
📱 After a few last-minute changes, the Mobile Movie Makers Youth Film Festival (M3) is coming to Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute on Nov. 13.
🎭 “Cyrano de Bergerac” will run at Oglethorpe University on various dates from Nov. 13-22.
🤖 The 2026 edition of Disney’s Accelerator program is made up of entirely AI startup companies.
🐭 Disney is also planning for thousands more layoffs, with some managers being asked to find up to 20% in annual cost savings, via Bloomberg (subscription required).
💰 The New York Times is reportedly in advanced talks to buy Letterboxd, the social media app for cinephiles, for roughly $330 million.
💸 California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to raise California’s film and television tax incentive from $750 million to at least $1 billion a year.
🙅♂️ Regal and Cinemark are refusing to play David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino’s new film “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” on their IMAX screens, putting a dent in Netflix’s foray into theatrical waters.
This week, we’ve got our new trivia game, some news on Fox Gives grants, a review of the Jimmy Stewart biopic “Jimmy,” and a look at what’s in theaters this week. Plus, a deeper dive into the art I’m into lately, and some reading and listening recommendations for your lunch break.
Thanks for reading!
Sammie
🍽️ Three chefs. Multiple local farms. One roof. Our 3rd annual Slow Food Atlanta Snail Trail Dinner on Mon., Nov. 9 brings them together for an unforgettable multi-course meal. Seats are limited, grab yours now. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Fox Gives awards $500,000 to historic Georgia theaters and landmarks
💸 Fox Gives, the philanthropic arm of the Fox Theatre, has announced 12 single-year grants totaling $500,000 for historic theaters and partner organizations in Georgia.
Eight organizations will receive Preservation & Facilities Grants to engage community-wide participation and support for local preservation and facilities projects while fostering a sense of communal pride and ownership. Four grantees will receive Technical Services Grants, providing direct access to professional experts and resources to address specific organizational, operational and strategic needs.
The organizations include Augusta’s Imperial Theatre, Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, and the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta.
🍿 Learn more about the grants here.
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👉🏼 Explore our current listings.
‘Jimmy’ is a cartoonishly bland biopic of a classic Hollywood actor
WEEKLY FILM REVIEW
🎖️ There’s a scene in “Jimmy” where the actor James Stewart (KJ Apa) goes on a little rendezvous with Lady Julia (Kara Killmer), an aristocratic Brit he’s met while fighting for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
They take refuge under a bridge while it rains, trading secrets and lightly flirting well into the night. At one point, Lady Julia asks James – Jimmy, if you will – if the real James Stewart is as earnest, dear, and courageous as the characters he plays in movies.
There’s a lot to suggest that the real James Stewart, who is among one of the most popular classic Hollywood actors of all time, might have been as likable as his pre-war movie persona would lead you to believe (post-war is a different story – the James Stewart of “Vertigo” is very different from the James Stewart of “The Philadelphia Story”). But there’s also a heck of a lot to suggest that he – like any human being – was complicated. And “Jimmy” is absolutely uninterested in that complication, preferring to keep the man a myth – or, more accurately, a cartoonish, bumbling superhero.
🎥 Read my full review here.
🍽️ Three chefs. Multiple local farms. One roof. Our 3rd annual Slow Food Atlanta Snail Trail Dinner on Mon., Nov. 9 brings them together for an unforgettable multi-course meal. Seats are limited, grab yours now. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Welcome to Scene Trivia
🍿 Surprise! We’re launching a new weekly feature where you can test your film history knowledge. I’ll be coming through your inbox with a different cinema trivia question each week, related to something in that week’s newsletter. You’ll make your guess, and I’ll reveal the answer in next week’s edition of Scene. Think you’ve got what it takes? Go ahead and click through to the survey below.
🍻 And, if movie trivia is something you’d be interested in doing in person – maybe at a bar, with friends, and beers – make sure you let us know!
At the Movies!
If you’re looking for a movie to see in theaters this weekend, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to!
Movies releasing this weekend (or early next week):
🪖 “Jimmy”
🗿 “Wild Horse Nine” (pictured)
🦎 “Godzilla Minus Zero”
🐈 “The Cat in the Hat”
🦽 “Being Heumann”
👻 “Ghost Soldier”
🇮🇳 “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend”
Special Events:
😈 “The Devils” in 4K @ The Plaza (Saturday-Thursday)
🎭 National Theatre Live: “Golden Boy” @ The Tara (Saturday-Sunday)
🥊 “Rocky” 50th Anniversary @ Multiple Theatres (starting Saturday)
What I’m reading … and watching … and listening to
🐍 Reading: I’m playing a little catch up, so I’m almost done with Donna Tartt’s “The Little Friend.” I’ve read both of Tartt’s other novels, and I’m still trying to figure out where this fits for me in her oeuvre (right now, I’m leaning solidly in the middle). But I’m quite enjoying myself. This one feels very much akin to “To Kill a Mockingbird” – just slightly darker and broader in scope.
🐴 Watching: You’ve heard of Noirvember, but have you heard of Period Film Fall?! Probably not, considering I just made it up. I recently watched the new “Sense and Sensibility” (pictured), which easily wins the award for most “horse girl” movie of the year (not necessarily a bad thing – I enjoyed myself). But it got me in the mood to watch a few period films I love this month, and catch up on some I haven’t seen. First on the list? Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park” and the 1992 adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.”
🪕 Listening to: I’ve been listening to a lot of Georgia’s own Katie Pruitt these days, and that led me to a new-to-me band called Next of Kin. If you like singer-songwriters and ’90s country, I encourage you to check both of them out. From Pruitt, I love “Matching Tattoos” and “Blackout,” and Next of Kin’s “Dimestore Jesus” is a bop.
Lights, Camera, Action!
💸 I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a huge data person – when it comes to movies (and most things), I prefer to lead with my feelings. That’s what I like so much about Stephen Follows’ Substack – he gets into the nitty gritty with data and how it relates to the film industry. Check out his most recent piece on everything that’s wrong with film finance here.
🎸 We lost a great one last week – Sir Patrick Stewart was a huge part of my life, as I’m sure he was for so many people. Recently, critic Roxana Hadadi wrote about one of my favorite of his later performances in “Green Room,” where he plays the terrifying leader of a group of neo-Nazis. Check out her piece here.
🎙️ Tracy Letts joined the hosts of the Big Picture this week to discuss the great Gene Hackman and build out his Hall of Fame. Take a listen to the episode here. If “The Royal Tenenbaums” isn’t on there, we riot.
🖊️ Today’s Scene was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
