Federico Fellini’s 8½ Screening

In conjunction with its exhibition “Fellini’s Book of Dreams” — which is definitely worth a visit — the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a special screening of Federico Fellini’s Academy Award-winning 1963 extravaganza 8½ on Friday, April 17, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The evening will be hosted by Robert Rosen, dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
There have been homages and imitations ever since (Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz comes to mind), but no self-analytical film that I’ve seen gets even close to what Fellini accomplished in 8½, while very few films about the art of moviemaking have been nearly as artful [...]

Claudia Cardinale Remembers Luchino Visconti

At Cafebabel.com, there’s a curious chat with screen legend Claudia Cardinale and French newcomer Alexandre Styker. Here’s a brief quote from the piece:
"’I would have liked to have worked with Visconti too,’ the young man [Styker] continues to discuss his unrealised dreams. ‘Of course,’ Claudia replies, ‘the man was a genius! I made four films with him, he took me all over the world and showered me with gifts.’ So he was a real character, the legendary Italian director? ‘He used to say that I was a kitten that could be stroked, but a kitten with claws. Visconti was a man of the theatre, you couldn’t move a muscle if he didn’t want you [...]