Bonnaroo has announced another groundbreaking lineup for the 2014 Bonnaroo Cinema. From highlighting the career of the Farrelly Brothers, who will also appear in person, to a spotlight program with Harry Shearer featuring two of his classic films as well as an in-person conversation to all-star musical performances, screenings of new narrative films, documentaries and interactive experiences, the 2014 lineup is unprecedented in its breadth and scope.
A consistent highlight of the Bonnaroo fan’s weekend over the years, the Bonnaroo Cinema is a seated, air-conditioned digital experience presenting an eclectic visual feast for the entire weekend. Brand-new independent features before they are released are shown along with mind-bending documentaries, ridiculous comedies, cult classics and fun live interactive happenings as well as live sporting events, the cinema is open 24 hours and features live Q&A sessions with special guest filmmakers and actors and unique cinematic performances with musicians and comedians.
A breakdown of what is being shown at the Cinema is below:
FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHTS
Recognized worldwide for their distinct comedic sensibility, Peter and Bobby Farrelly will sit down for an in-depth conversation about their work and present two films: their classic bowling comedyKingpin and a 20th anniversary screening of their first smash success, Dumb & Dumber. Their upcoming sequel Dumb & Dumber To will be released this fall.
Harry Shearer will appear in person for a special spotlight program, which will feature conversation and screenings of two modern classic films about the music industry: This Is Spinal Tap (30th Anniversary!) and A Mighty Wind, both of which feature collaborations with longtime comedic partners Christopher Guest and Michael McKean.
David Wain, co-creator of The State and Stella, will appear to present a screening of his brand new film They Came Together, a hilarious and irreverent subversion of the romantic comedy genre, starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Cobie Smulders and Bonnaroo veteran Ed Helms.
NEW NARRATIVE FILMS
Dear White Peoplefollows the stories of four black students at Winchester University, where a riot breaks out over a popular ‘African American’ themed party thrown by a white fraternity. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in ‘post-racial’ America while weaving a universal story of forging one’s unique path in the world.
In Ping Pong Summer, the year is 1985. Rad Miracle is a shy 13-year-old white kid who’s obsessed with two things: ping pong and hip-hop. During his family’s annual summer vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, Rad makes a new best friend, experiences his first real crush, becomes the target of rich local bullies, and finds an unexpected mentor in his outcast next-door neighbor. Ping Pong Summeris about that time in your life when everyone around you treats you like an alien, even though you know deep down you’re as funky fresh as it gets.
FUNNY + INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES
Bonnaroo is pleased to welcome Comedy Central’s “Drunk History” with Derek Waters & Friends Live. “Drunk History,” created by host Derek Waters and director Jeremy Konner, presents historical reenactments of great moments in history by A-list talent, as told by inebriated storytellers.
Comedy Central’s “Brickleberry” will visit the farm with co-creators (and series voice actors) Roger Black and Waco O’Guin. Executive produced by Daniel Tosh, “Brickleberry” is an animated series about Brickleberry National Park’s impending closure, and the attempts of a group of dysfunctional and crazy park rangers to keep the park running.
The hilarious Craig Robinson (The Office; Hot Tub Time Machine) will introduce a special screening of 2013’s smash hit This Is The End, the riotous apocalyptic comedy from writer-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
Two interactive theatrical experiences, Point Break Live! and Terminator Too: Judgment Play, will be debuting this year. Point Break Live! is a live-action stage show that has been a smash hit in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hailed as “so over the top that you can’t stop laughing” by LA Weekly, Point Break Live! is a spoof of the 1991 blockbuster starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. But the best part? FANS CAN BE KEANU! At each performance, the lead role is played by an unrehearsed volunteer chosen directly from the crowd and voted for by the rest of the audience. Called “sharply funny” by the New York Post, Terminator Too: Judgment Play is the hilarious spoof of the 1991 classic action movie Terminator 2. And that’s right, FANS CAN BE ARNOLD! You’ll help save the human race as everyone’s favorite robot vigilante. Complete with super-soakers and fake blood, both shows are wet, interactive, loud, extreme, and awesome.
The Action Pack presents four special interactive events hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse’s Henri Mazza. First up, returning for the third year running is the wildly popular R. Kelly masterpiece, theTrapped in the Closet Sing-Along. This Sing-Along event will takeTrapped in the Closet and give it the full Rocky Horror experience, with subtitles on screen to make it easy to sing-along and props like Barettas, rubbers, spatulas and more to help make the magic moments on screen come alive in the theater.
This year the Action Pack is also setting up a special Big Screen Yacht Rock Smooth Jamz Karaoke Party where fans get to take the stage and wow everyone in the Cinema Tent with their amazing singing talent.
MJ may be gone, but his legend is eternal. Join the Action Pack’s Music Video DJs for a Michael Jackson Sing-Along Dance Party.
The Bonnaroo Cinema is also presenting the Pulp Fiction 20th Anniversary Quote-Along. Fans’ favorite quotes will be up on the screen for the audience to quote along with karaoke style, and the festival is also making this thing a shoot-along by handing out cap guns for a bunch of folks in the theater.
Festival organizers are also helping to ensure that no fan misses his or her cat videos for too long with The First and Probably Last Intergalactic Feline Film & Video Festival For Humans hosted by Mike Keegan and Jay Wertzler. In May of this year in San Francisco, the Intergalactic Feline Film and Video Festival for Humans attempted the impossible and condensed a two-week film festival into 12 hours. Now, in the air-conditioned confines of the Cinema Tent, they will further condense that 12 hours into one hour, jam packed with totally astounding cat videos, special guests, and an award show.
MUSIC + THE MOVIES
Take Me to the Riveris a feature documentary film celebrating the inter-generational and inter-racial musical influence of Memphis in the face of pervasive discrimination and segregation. The film brings Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians together, following them through the creative process of recording a historic new album, to re-imagine the utopia of racial, gender and generational collaboration of Memphis in its heyday. After the film, director Martin Shore will answer questions and present an all-star live concert featuring Stax legend William Bell, Grammy nominee Bobby Rush, Academy Award winner Frayser Boy (formerly of Three 6 Mafia), Critics Choice Award winner Al Kapone, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Jerry Harrison (formerly of the Talking Heads and Modern Lovers), Gospel singers the Norman Sisters, rapper Ify, Stax Music Academy students and alumni, and a 13-piece house band with The Hi Rhythm Section, Ben Cauley and the Royal Memphis Horns and musical director and producer Boo Mitchell.
Iconoclastic guitarist and composer Marc Ribot will perform his score to Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid.No guitarist has traveled a more circuitous path than Marc Ribot, a major force on Manhattan’s downtown music scene. This performance features Ribot’s delicate and at times haunting score that contemporizes the classic Chaplin film The Kid to a story relevant to the economic and social conditions of today.
For the Love of Music: The Story of Nashvillewill screen followed by a panel discussion on the Nashville music scene featuring singer-songwriters and residents Brett James and Amy Stroup and moderator Butch Spyridon of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau.For over 130 years, Nashville has evolved into the world’s premier Music City. From the 1800s when the Fisk Jubilee Singers travelled across continents spreading their music, to Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and so many others building the foundation of America’s most vibrant music scene. Today, the evolution continues as artists like The Black Keys, Eric Church and Kings of Leon break new ground in the city they all call home.
Finding Fela proves that no individual better embodies African music of the 1970s and ’80s – and its pivotal role in postcolonial political activism – than Fela Kuti. Within the past decade, a resurgence of interest in his work has posthumously repopularized Kuti, culminating in the massively successful Broadway show FELA! Fela’s son, acclaimed musician Seun Kuti, will appear after the film for a special Q&A.
The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir is the first authorized documentary on the Grateful Dead. Reaching beyond concert footage, the film examines Bob Weir’s story, and his early days with the band. It’s an intoxicating blend of interviews and rarely seen archive footage that takes you directly to the days on The Haight, Deadhead experiences on tour, and intimate stories with Weir’s family and friends. In Weir’s distinctively styled words: “You have to see it to see it.”
OPEN YOUR MIND WITH DOCUMENTARY FILM
Green Screens Presented by Rock The Earth returns with another slate of mind-expanding documentaries to entertain, educate and provoke dialogue about the issues facing our environment.
The Human Experiment lifts the veil on the shocking reality that thousands of untested chemicals are in our everyday products, our homes and inside of us. Simultaneously, the prevalence of many diseases continues to rise. From Oscar® winner Sean Penn and Emmy® winning journalists Dana Nachman and Don Hardy. Scott Banbury from the Sierra Club will participate in a Q&A following the screening.
DamNation is a powerful film odyssey across America that explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Musician Andrew Bird will introduce the screening and there will be a Q&A with Sub-Genre Films’ Morgan Beard afterward.
Above All Else is an intimate portrait of a group of landowners and activists in East Texas who tried to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a $7 billion dollar project slated to carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Executive producer Paul Bassis will take questions after the film.
CULT CLASSICS
The comedic genius of the late great Harold Ramis will be celebrated with late night screenings of three of his classic hits: Ghostbusters (30th Anniversary!), Caddyshackand Groundhog Day.
In the wee hours of the night, the Cinema will screen some of the festival organizers’ favorite comedies and cult classics including The NeverEnding Story (30th Anniversary!), the originalFriday the 13th(screened late night on Friday the 13th!), The Warriors (35th Anniversary!), Road House (25th Anniversary!), Revenge of the Nerds (30th Anniversary!) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension (30th Anniversary!).
SPORTS
The Bonnaroo Cinema would not be complete without rowdy live presentations of the NBA Finals.Fans can come root for their favorite team in the air-conditioned comfort of the cinema.
http://www.bonnaroo.com/activities/cinema
