They were discovered by Michael Jackson’s choreographer while freestyling at a Southern California club. Then they skyrocketed to dance fame. Brothers Rich and Tone Talauega have since danced with Madonna, Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, The Backstreet Boys, Gwen Stafani and Black Eyed Peas, among others. They are probably most famous for rocking Madonna’s Super Bowl XLVI halftime show at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2012. On April 26, the Taluegas will present highlights and give a live demonstration of their choreography at the Museum of the Moving Image. Their performance is part of Spectacle: The Music Video, an exhibition celebrating the art and history of the music video.
Sumner M. Redstone, a film and media industry pioneer and Executive Chairman of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corporation, has made a $3 million gift to the Museum of the Moving Image, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. In recognition of the gift from the Sumner M. Redstone Charitable Foundation, the Museum’s state-of-the-art main theater will be named the Sumner M. Redstone Theater beginning in May 2013. The announcement was made today by Museum of the Moving Image Board Chairman Herbert S. Schlosser and Executive Director Carl Goodman.
Mr. Schlosser said, “The naming of the Sumner M. Redstone Theater will forge a permanent bond between a visionary entertainment industry leader, whose contributions to the advancement of film and media are unrivaled, and the Museum, which is the nation’s only cultural institution devoted to educating the general public, including 50,000 middle and high school students per year, about the art, history, and technology of film and digital media. Mr. Redstone’s gift will allow the Museum to advance and expand its important mission as we enter our 25th year. We cannot thank him enough for this transformative gift.”
Mr. Redstone said, “I am proud to support the work of this iconic cultural center which so skillfully melds my two lifelong loves—of entertainment and learning. The moving image in all its forms has a deep connection for me, from my lifelong love of film and television; to my family’s theatrical exhibition business, National Amusements; to my role as Chair of two of the top global media entertainment companies, CBS and Viacom, whose Paramount Pictures is Hollywood’s oldest motion picture studio. It is a great honor for me to add my name to all the distinguished patrons of the Museum as it continues to spread the art of film and media.”
Video killed the radio star! Get all the details at the Museum of the Moving Image. On April 3, the world famous Astoria/LIC cultural venue will launch Spectacle: The Music Video, an exhibition featuring more than 300 videos, presented alongside artifacts and interactive experiences, in the 4,000-sq.-ft. changing exhibitions gallery, amphitheater gallery and other on-site spaces. Patrons will get behind the scenes via a mixture of interactive installations, projections, video, objects and immersive environments. Of course, Madonna (above in “Express Yourself” mode) will be there in spirit. Ditto David Bowie, the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails and even Lady Gaga. As part of the fun, there will be SONOS PLAYGROUND, an immersive music visualizer, as well as a series of special events with invited artists, including music video releases and conversations, in the Fox Amphitheater.
Prepare to be inspired without the Hollywood ending. The ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival is part of the country’s largest showcase on the lives, stories and artistic expressions of those living with disabilities. Now in its fifth year, ReelAbilities mixes movies and documentaries by — and about — people with disabilities with post-screening discussions, presentations, speeches and other programs. On March 9 & 10, Queens-based activities will take place at the Museum of the Moving Image and the Central Queens Y with award-winning international short documentaries about people dealing with such maladies as Down syndrome, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, deaf-mutism and blindness. On March 11, the Central Queens Y’s program will feature Anita Hollander (pictured above), who has performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center despite losing a leg to cancer three decades ago. Her musical performance and talk will emphasize her survival guide for life’s catastrophes.
Come see movies from around the world and around the corner…with buffs from around the world and around the corner. Tonight, the Queens World Film Festival kicks off at Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image with shorts from Italy, Belgium, Australia, Croatia, Brooklyn and Queens. In total, the six-day extravaganza will exhibit 104 flicks, including ones by 19 locals, along with industry panels, special screening events and popular youth-oriented educational initiatives. Awards will be presented to narratives, documentaries, animation and LGBT films, and the winners will play again at encore screenings on March 10 at LIC’s Secret Theatre. The organizers, spouses Don and Katha Cato, have informed that they chose challenging films that aren’t easily available to moviegoers for this third annual festival.
It’s known as the Sundance of its industry, and this year it commemorates the video game’s 50th birthday. On February 15-17, the Museum of the Moving Image will host IndieCade East, the greatest show on earth for independent gamers. Considered appropriate for ages eight and up, this extravaganza features 20 playable games — from digital to physical, multiplayer to single player, active to meditative, playful to serious –drawn from IndieCade’s October 2012 festival competition. Also scheduled are presentations from designers, academics and journalists including Kris Piotrowski (Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP) and Doug Wilson (Johann Sebastien Joust), seminars and workshops for budding game makers led by industry experts, an arcade tournament and a festival-long game jam. And if that’s not enough, the museum will offer an exhibit on the video game’s first half century, Spacewar! Video Games Blast Off, on view through March 3.
IndieCade East
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria
Friday, February 15, to Sunday, February 17
10am – 6pm | $80 for full festival pass
The TV miniseries Roots is based on an historical novel by Alex Haley, who traced his family’s history from Western Africa through slavery in the U.S. past post-Civil War emancipation. First aired in 1977, the groundbreaking show broke Nielsen ratings records and received 36 Emmy Award nominations. The final episode had more than 100 million viewers. On February 4, several of the stars — LeVar Burton, Ben Vereen, Lou Gosset Jr. and Leslie Uggams — will participate in a discussion about the show’s legacy at the Museum of the Moving Image. As this event is presented in collaboration with the PBS series Pioneers of Television, Donald Thoms, vice president of programs at PBS, will moderate.
He predicts that he’ll be remembered mostly for playing Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy, but Paul Williams was a cultural icon in the 1970s and 1980s as a singer, songwriter, actor and Tonight Show with Johnny Carson regular. A Hall of Fame songwriter who has won an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe, his songs have been recorded by everybody from Ella Fitzgerald to David Bowie to Tony Bennett to Kermit the Frog. Williams also wrote the song scores to films such as Bugsy Malone and A Star is Born, as well as the currently touring musical Happy Days. The Nebraska native’s career, including his recent comeback, will be showcased at the Museum of the Moving Image, and he will be present for all screenings. Consider the schedule: Phantom of the Paradise, Jan. 25, 7 pm; The Muppet Movie, Jan. 26, 3 pm; Paul Williams: Still Alive, Jan. 27, 3 pm; Ishtar, Jan. 27, 6 pm.
Martin Luther King Jr. does not need an introduction, but a refresher. Civil Rights icon, Nobel Peace Prize winner, orator, clergyman, activist, martyr, leader, inspiration to all and one of the few Americans who deserves a national holiday in his honor. On January 21, the Museum of the Moving Image will honor King’s legacy with a special program, Tongues Untied, True Tales Told: African-American Women Changing the Picture in Film and Television. Queens native Barbara Montgomery, a veteran actress-turned-director, will screen excerpts from her upcoming film Mitote, which shares the stories of three African-American women who live in New Mexico, circa 1900. Each has a story to tell, based on a unique historical incident. After the movie, filmmaker and MMI trustee Warrington Hudlin will lead a discussion on African-Americans in film with Montgomery and cast members, S. Epatha Merkerson (Law and Order, Lincoln) and screen legend Ruby Dee.
This revolution will be televised! Peter Burr is a “DIY Underground” cartoonist and musician. The Portland-raised video and performance artist plies his trade tonight at the Museum of the Moving Image with Special Effect, a live “television show from the future” inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 Russian film Stalker. The production, a recent smash hit in Australia, features screenings of 20 short (roughly 30-second) animations from underground video label Cartune Xprez, original experimental music from Lucky Dragons and Seabat and a live performance by Burr, replete with laser beams, green screens and a hacked Kinect camera.
Special Effect, U.S. Premiere
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria
Friday, January 18
7pm – 9pm | $15
