By Daniel D'Addario 7/25/12 10:41am

screenings

Gina Gershon (Patrick McMullan)

Songs of the South at the Killer Joe Screening

At Monday night’s Killer Joe screening at the Tribeca Grand, hosted by The the Cinema Society and Bally, Gina Gershon went into detail about her preparations for the film–in which she plays an uncharacteristically zaftig victim of violence. Of the filming location in Louisiana (the film’s set in Texas), Ms. Gershon told us: “I love New Orleans, it’s my favorite place–lucky for me, I wanted to gain a bunch of weight, so I went to my favorite breakfast joint every day, I could eat whatever I wanted.”

“I thought she needed to be a little bit heavier,” she noted. Was it a note from director William Friedkin? “He didn’t care. But I’m living in a trailer–she’s not gonna be a skinny Minny. She felt tough, so I wanted a belly. A muffin!” Read More

By Christine Chen 7/11/12 3:45pm

red carpet

Freida Pinto, on the red carpet. (Nicholas Hunt / PatrickMcMullan.com)

Trishna Star Freida Pinto on Sexual Double Standards and Re-reading Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Last night’s Cinema Society screening of Trishna at the IFC Center began with the usual glimpses of celebrity—Meg Ryan swooped past in her hat and sunglasses, and Billy Connolly slipped by with his wife.

But actress and heroine of the film Freida Pinto took her time sauntering down the red carpet, glowing in a white Rachel Roy creation, and shared that she is currently reading the Tom Hardy classic Tess of the d’Urbervilles, of which Trishna is a modern adaptation, for the second time. “The first time I read the book, I never thought that India would be such a great setting for it,” she said. “And the second time, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I am such an idiot.’ It is so perfect!” Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 6/21/12 2:00pm

Party Report

Woody Allen (Patrick McMullan)

Woody Allen Had to Accept His Oscar, and More Notes from the To Rome With Love Premiere

Last night, Woody Allen and wife Soon-Yi Previn arrived promptly for the The Cinema Society, Piaget, and Hollywood Reporter-hosted screening of Mr. Allen’s new European romp, To Rome With Love; while star Penelope Cruz sipped a soda nearby and paparazzi-embattled star Alec Baldwin breezed past the press into the theater, Mr. Allen walked the rope line of journalists, Ms. Previn trailing closely behind.

Given the sheer volume of stars with whom Mr. Allen has worked–in this film alone, Mr. Baldwin, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, and Ms. Cruz–we asked Mr. Allen who’d done the best job of playing “the Woody Allen part.” You know, the shy young nebbish Owen Wilson played in Midnight in Paris or that Mr. Eisenberg played in this film? Mr. Allen demurred: “They’re very different! Owen Wilson is a sweet kid from Texas, speaks slowly, serves my script great! I would have played that part, but Owen played it better than I ever could have. Jesse Eisenberg is a fast mover, talks kind of like me–and he was great!

“The truth is they’re both better actors than me. I’m a writer who can play his own material. They’re actors who can play Chekhov.” Read More

By Drew Grant 5/15/12 2:29pm

Movie premieres

10 Photos

Adam Driver and Jane Lynch

Screening Soirees: Hysteria and Virginia See Same Stars

Last night was a tough call: Were we to attend Peggy Siegal‘s viewing party for Hysteria, which promised Hugh Dancy and vibrators by JimmyJane, or the Cinema Society’s screening of Virginia at the Crosby Hotel, which promised Judd Hirsch and Shiseido facial products?

Obviously, we couldn’t make such a tough call. So we chose both! Read More

By Ted Gushue 5/08/12 12:00pm

As Seen in SCENE

Priyantha De Silva

Crash and Burn

If you haven’t met Priyantha De Silva, there’s still a good chance you’ve encountered him, perhaps when he was pretending to be someone else: cherubic cocktail chaser, uncredited Academy Award-winning producer, conspicuous Condé Nast editor, philandering philanthropist, ICM agent or the creator of the Kardashians. Some say that if you put your ear to a martini, you can almost hear his overdone debonair voice: “What do you mean I’m not on the list? Don’t you know who I am?” Priyantha De Silva was that really, really sweaty guy of Sri Lankan descent who successfully crowbarred his way into progressively higher social circles, ultimately crashing down into of Manhattan’s most closely guarded venues: Rikers Island. Read More

By Ted Gushue 4/20/12 4:27pm

Party Report

5 Photos

The Cinema Society & Men's Health host a screening of "The Lucky One"

We Almost Squeezed Zac Efron’s Butt Last Night; Tony Danza: Still Awesome

Has Zac Efron ever wondered if there was more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? His resume doesn’t lend much insight: Men’s Health cover boy, professional chick-boner inducer, potential cyborg sent here to destroy us—the guy has it all. We found ourselves within point blank range of the Zef at last night’s Cinema Society screening for The Lucky One, a fact we relayed to a female friend later in the evening: Read More