Double pass giveaways

I have two double passes up for grabs for the silent film screening at the Film Archive tomorrow night – the 80th Anniversary of The Bush Cinderella – Rudall Hayward’s fourth and final silent feature.

First and second person to email me at anna.dean@nzfa.org.nz and tell me the name of Rudall Hayward’s wife, who worked closely alongside him on his film projects, gets tickets to tomorrow night’s rare event with live piano accompaniment.

Let them eat antipasto platters!

Sometimes a fly likes to take time out from frequenting the fine bars of this city to spend some time in the fine cinemas of this city.

But when one buzzes into a cinema foyer, one does not expect to find that one has walked into a staff meeting, especially when one is in the posh section of the cinema – the part that charges $31.50 a ticket.

Yet there I was, trying to procure tickets to Mamma Mia for me and mi amore, when I found myself the unintentional audience of a manager who was loudly announcing some important news to staff: the posh $31.50 tickets would soon no longer come with free popcorn and soft drink.

That’s loco, crazy-insane, I thought. Popcorn and soft drink cost cents to make – surely they can afford to give it away to customers paying $31.50 a ticket.

The problem was, the manager explained to his charges, that punters were filling up on the free popcorn and drinks and not buying any of the food offered on the menu. It was, after all, a business that needed to make a profit. And not, one presumes, a food bank.

Now I don’t want to go reading too much into this, but I can’t help but wonder if management is taking the wrong approach here. I suggest they start with not holding staff meetings in public areas, and then consider how many people just take the free food because it’s there, rather than because they’re hungry/thirsty.

I was planning a romantic night at the posh lounge cinema seeing the Dark Knight, but instead I’m switching to some nibbles at Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, followed by a private screening of the 1966 Batman movie ($9.99 from the Warehouse).

Photo courtesy of Aim and Shoot!‘s Flickr photostream.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

In an age of whizz bang graphics and fancy camera techniques, it’s a real treat to be able to watch a silent film with speech titles such as: “Where Mary was concerned Sammy, the hired hand, had the soul and ardour of a fifth century poet” ??WTF!? and all with live piano accompaniment.

On Wednesday 20 August, 7pm The Bush Cinderella is screening, a presentation by the Friends of the Film Archive, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of this Rudall Hayward film.

Starring Miss New Zealand Dale Austin, “who combines Hollywood experience and technique with a faultless photogenic face.” – The Sun, 1928.

No New Zealander Should Miss It! A Triumph of Dominion Enterprise, Filled with the Familiar Sentiments, the Typical Humour, and the Glorious Scenery of God’s Own Country.
Tickets $8 / $ 6

No Socks Required

September is the month for dance lovers – whether observational or more involved – with the Dance Your Socks Off festival running all month.

The festival is a celebration of contemporary dance and dance theatre, and to kick it off there are two interactive events organised by DANZ. The lead-in is on August 26th from 5:30 – 7pm with a (free) forum at the Film Archive, featuring performers and producers of festival shows talking about their work and sharing ideas with interested observers and people within the industry alike. It looks like the perfect introduction to the festival if you’re unsure where to start after looking at the program here. Then on September 6th there’s a contemporary dance workshop at Toi Poneke (aka the Wellington Arts Centre at 61 Abel Smith Street), only $5 on the door, with tutor Anita Hutchins. Aimed at beginners aged 15 and up, the promo says you should wear non restrictive clothing with bare feet or soft dance shoes, and take your lunch! Call (04) 802 0536 for more info about either of these events, or check the Feeling Great website for the extensive line-up of Dance Your Socks Off events and workshops.

All the news that’s fit to drink

There have been a few recent (re)openings on the hospo scene recently, and a few more are either imminent or rumoured. A quick round-up of drinkie and foodie news, including drunken pigs, an Italian invasion and a touch of cinnamon, after the jump.

Crafting at Pataka

Tomorrow why not pop out to the very lovely PATAKA in Porirua for the Day.

Because as well as their very lovely Japanese garden you can have a bit of a shop and a browse at all sort of Crafty goods.

Why? Well it just so happens that from 10am till 2pm Crafting is being held.

Think fun, funky, unique and you’ve got an idea of the range of crafty things for sale at CRAFTING.

There will be jewellery, crochet, dolls, stuffed toys, cushion, clothes, badges, bags Russian dolls, and all sorts great things for sale from a bunch of crafty types from around the wellington region.

You can find PATAKA on the corner of Norrie and Parumoana St, Porirua.

And heck I bet if nothing else you’ll find some great inspiration for entering our competition to win a phone from Vodafone.

Win a new phone! Go mobile in Wellington thanks to Vodafone

As a website for people who are constantly on the go around Wellington, we recently got contacted by Vodafone who wanted us to know that they’re changing the way their mobile internet works.

Vodafone is making it even easier for people to connect to the internet – wherever they are – with the launch of revamped mobile data pricing and a smart backend that reformats webpages for easy viewing on a mobile screen.

Now, for up to just $1 a day on the days you use it, casual users of the mobile internet can browse the world wide web easily and inexpensively… without committing to a fixed monthly data contract.

The new $1 a day casual rate gives customers up to 10MB of data.

And how do we know this is actually true? Because we’ve got a new Nokia 6121. And even more excitingly, we’ve got one to give away, so you can have a chance to find out for yourself too. Find out how after the jump.

If you like movies, quizzes and the Paramount, boy do we have a deal for you!

Are you still in withdrawl from the Film Festival? Are you trying to come up with any reason to head back to the theatre, even if it’s just for the ice cream?

Guess what? From this Thursday onwards, the Paramount Theatre is starting a weekly movie quiz “A quiz in 60 minutes” at 9pm in the Paramount Bar.

Movie fans will be invited to take part in this unique and free quiz night to compete for a chance to win a fortnight’s free movies for two people and a number of other spot prizes.

“There are a lot of very knowledgeable movie fans out there; we are really looking forward to offering something a bit different. I don’t think any other cinema has done this before in Wellington” say Kate Larkindale, Manager of the Paramount.

“After the success of the film festival this year, we are excited about this quiz night. People will be able to see a movie at after work and then have a drink and stretch their brains for an hour”.

The quiz night will be only 60 minutes long, covering all areas of film, and all decades. Movie quotes, Oscar winners, theme tunes, Movie taglines, actors, directors – it’s all in there!

Check out the Paramount website for more information.

As promised

Here’s some info about This is Experimental – also kicking off tomorrow eve…..

A festival of experimental film and film makers (talk about niche-y) If you know someone who’s into avant-garde film, please do let them know.

Highlights include a screening and workshop by Guy Sherwin, one of the pre-eminent British film artists of the last 40 years; Free Radical: The films of Len Lye, a programme which screened to overwhelmed audiences in the USA last year; and a collection of 1980s Super 8 Movies from Canada, NZ and USA presented by film maker Martin Rumsby.

Image: Len Lye, Stills Collection; New Zealand Film Archive

Plus The Michael Nicholson Studio Visual Music Project Stage 3: Ops 1–4 video installation – see below….

Video synthesizer

Opening this Thursday at the Film Archive at 5:30pm, an exhibition by 92-year old Wellington painter, sculptor, artist Michael Nicholson.

If that’s not impressive enough this work, The Michael Nicholson Visual Music Project: Stage 3. Op.s 1-4, was originally created on a “Scanimate” machine in Australia in the 1980s; the same machine that early Star Wars, Sesame St and The Electric Company animations were made on. Nicholson worked with the Film Archive to restore the original U-matic tapes and edited them together as ‘Visual Music’ with the assistance of editor Diane McAllen.

Michael Nicholson first came to New Zealand in the 1950s to work at the Elam School of Fine Art. His latest work is inspired by the abstract expressionist paintings of Wassily Kandinsky. It’s hypnotic, fascinatingly beautiful and on display for the next month in the Pelorus Trust mediagallery.

This event launches an Experimental Film Festival too but more about that soon!

Still images: Screen grabs from The Michael Nicholson Visual Music Project: Stage 3. Op.s 1-4