Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 8, 1993 TAG: 9301080138
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Chris Gladden
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SCREENING TO KICK OFF FUND-RAISER
Film, of course, has many purposes. The Roanoke campaign committee of the United Negro College Fund and Total Action Against Poverty have discovered one of the worthiest. The committee is establishing scholarships for area students to Virginia Union University and St. Paul's College. To kick off the fund-raising, a screening of "Carmen Jones" will be presented along with an informal reception Jan. 12 at Roanoke College's Olin Theatre. Tickets are $20 a person, $30 a couple."Carmen Jones" is Otto Preminger's 1954 adaptation of Bizet's opera, "Carmen." The stars include Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll, who makes her screen debut.
The reception begins at 7 p.m. For more information, call Victor Cardwell at 983-7600.
The Virginia Festival of American Film will again be held on Halloween weekend. 1993's edition of the festival will take place in Charlottesville Oct. 28-31. A theme hasn't been announced yet. The festival reports an 8 per cent increase in ticket sales for the 1992 festival over those of the previous year.
That's no surprise. Screenings of even the most obscure movies were filled and lines were routine. By the end of the festival huge piles of T-shirts featuring art by folk artist Howard Finster were completely sold out.
I don't usually find myself reading two books about the movie business at the same time. Fascinating as the business may be, it's easy enough to reach overload.
But I've recently broken this unwritten rule and immersed myself in two movie books. Each is engaging in its own very different way.
Ray Bradbury is associated more with science fiction literature than movies. However, Bradbury has also worked as a scriptwriter.
"Green Shadows, White Whale" is the third in a series of Bradbury books that combine fiction and autobiography. In the 1950s, Bradbury traveled to Ireland to collaborate with director John Huston on the script of "Moby Dick," a much underrated movie. Huston was a fascinating man whose excesses were as large as his talent. His exploits are legendary. Bradbury weaves sentimental and lyrical Irish stories that have previously been published into the chronicle of his association with Huston. The combination makes for entertaining reading.
I really didn't expect to be spellbound by "Life Is Too Short," the autobiography of Mickey Rooney. Surprise! Rooney is frank about his own life and experiences with the vast array of stars and moguls that he met while a contract player at MGM. He also gives a compelling first-hand account of how the studio system, according to the gospel of Louis B. Mayer, operated.