Star Wars—Madstone Theaters will be hosting a benefit this weekend for the Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center. The theater will be screening Arsenal of Hypocracy: The Space Program and the Military Industrial Complex on Sunday, May 16, at 3 and 5:30 p.m. This video presentation features Noam Chomsky, anti-nuclear scholar/activist Bruce Gagnon and Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell talking about the dangers of moving the arms race into outer space. The documentary includes archival footage, Pentagon documents and numerous interviews. There will be a question and answer session between shows. Tickets are a mere $5 and can be obtained at the Madstone box office at 6311 San Mateo NE.
Reel World
PMF Deadline—PMF's monthly 5-Minute Film Competition is rapidly approaching for the month of May. You have until Wednesday, May 19, to submit your short video for inclusion in this month's screening (scheduled for the weekend of May 28 and 29 at Madstone Theaters). Aspiring filmmakers are asked to shoot a five-minute short centering on this month's theme, which is … drum roll please … “Science Fiction.” It's up to you to decide what really fits into the category of sci-fi, and you've only got five minutes in which to tell your story. So get cracking! For information on how to submit your mini-masterpiece, log on to www.pmf5.com. Tell 'em I sent you.
Reel World
Burn, Washington, Burn—The increasingly timid Mouse Corporation, otherwise known as Disney, is currently doing its corporate best to bury Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore's controversial new documentary. According to industry paper Variety, Disney Studios is trying to prevent its subsidiary company Miramax Films from distributing Moore's Fahrenheit 911. Miramax studio head Harvey Weinstein has already clashed with Disney CEO Michael Eisner, and this move isn't likely to soothe relations. Fahrenheit 911 examines the period around the 2001 terrorist attacks and examines George W. Bush's family ties with powerful Saudi families, including that of Osama bin Laden. This pic was originally aiming for a release before the federal elections later this year, then talk sprang up about a possible July release. Currently, the film does not appear on Miramax's summer schedule, and the company hasn't confirmed plans to domestically distribute the film despite pushing it hard at the recent Cannes film fest. Questions have arisen as to the motivation behind Disney's decision. Obviously it isn't financial. (Bowling for Columbine cost $3 million to make and grossed about $120 million in theaters and on DVD.) Miramax says it's “looking forward to resolving this amicably.” One possibility is that another studio will handle distribution while Miramax still markets it (a la Dogma).
