Pages tagged “allen ginsberg”

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Howl review

Writer/Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman Cinematographer: Edward Lachman Starring: James Franco, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels, David Strathairn Studio: Oscilloscope Pictures If there’s one thing that characterizes a howl, it’s a sense of focus. It’s a sustained, dedicated outburst of emotion that Allen Ginsberg captured so well in his now iconic 1955 poem. The just-released film _Howl _explores many of the same themes of restraint and expression that carried the poem, but it does so in a more sporadic and less connected way. What ends up on the screen turns out to be more a collection of inspired...  read more

Watch Two Clips from Allen Ginsberg Biopic, Howl

A couple of clips have emerged from the interestingly-cast Allen Ginsberg biopic, Howl....  read more

Watch the Howl Trailer

If the trailer released for Howl is any indication, James Franco as Allen Ginsberg is proving to be a match made in Beat heaven. The film, written and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, brings a talented cast to chronicle Ginsberg’s obscenity trial that followed _Howl_’s controversial publication in 1957....  read more

Jon Hamm joins James Franco in Howl

Jon Hamm, the eminently likeable actor who is the face of Mad Men, has gone in the past couple of years from relative obscurity to one of the most sought-after talents around. After his side gigs as Tina Fey’s beau on 30 Rock and as a faux Lex Luther, he’s signed on for a supporting part in Howl, the indie drama about the obscenity trial of Allen Ginsberg (to be played by James Franco). ...  read more

Upcoming biopic to examine Beats' dark beginnings

Lucien Carr, now famous for his volatile mentorship of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, died without ever clarifying the murky details of his early life. Carr was convicted for the manslaughter of David Kammerer in 1944, and though he was pardoned, a haze of uncertainty still surrounds the incident. However, director John Krokidas and producer Christine Vachon hope to shed some light on Carr's life in their upcoming biopic Kill Your Darlings....  read more

James Franco, many more cast in Allen Ginsberg biopic

In the grand tradition of attractive Hollywood stars portraying iconic literary figures (think Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf, Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen, Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare, etc.), James Franco has been cast as groundbreaking beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg in the biopic Howl....  read more

Celebrate 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg trial

In an era before Britney Spears, things – and indeed, great things – were labeled “obscene.” Fifty years ago, the pre-Britney era started to come to a close. On October 3, 1957, a court found that Allen Ginsberg’s legendary poem “Howl” was not obscene because it had “redeeming social importance.” And though we may ask ourselves whether it wouldn’t be a great time to reconsider whether “redeeming social importance” actually applies to Ms. Spears’ antics, now is the time to celebrate Ginsberg’s legacy. San Francisco-based Fantasy Records, now part of Concord Music Group, offers two ways to pay tribute to...  read more

Artemis to Release Ginsberg Poetry Reading

Artemis Records will release a rare performance of Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Wichita Vortex Sutra" on Oct. 5. Recorded in 1994 at the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in New York City, the poem features Ginsberg and a cast of musicians including Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith), Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Philip Glass, Marc Ribot, Arto Lindsay, Michael Blair (Elvis Costello, Tom Waits) and David Mansfield (Bob Dylan). “Wichita Vortex Sutra” is Ginsberg’s 1966 epic poem about the Vietnam War. Ginsberg published countless books of poetry and prose as well as compendiums of letters and journals before his...  read more