Tag: Alexander Payne

Getting better with age: “Sideways” celebrates its 10th anniversary at the Arlington

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A 10th anniversary screening of the movie "Sideways" was held at the Arlington Theater on Sunday. Attendees take in a question-and-answer session involving, from left, moderator Gabe Saglie, actress Virginia Madsen, director Alexander Payne, Hitching Post owner Frank Ostini and Kalyra Winery owner Martin Brown, also shown below. NIK BLASKOVICH / NEWS-PRESS
A 10th anniversary screening of the movie “Sideways” was held at the Arlington Theater on Sunday. Attendees take in a question-and-answer session involving, from left, moderator Gabe Saglie, actress Virginia Madsen, director Alexander Payne, Hitching Post owner Frank Ostini and Kalyra Winery owner Martin Brown, also shown below.
NIK BLASKOVICH / NEWS-PRESS

The motion picture “Sideways” celebrated its 10th anniversary Sunday with a special screening at the Arlington Theatre, which featured a post-film interview with director-writer Alexander Payne and star Virginia Madsen. It was a time to toast the cultural resonance of this humble character study, as its effects are still being felt in the Santa Ynez Valley and beyond.

Ten years ago, “Sideways” enlivened the entire county when Fox Searchlight announced it would be shooting among the many wineries that dot the area, but that was before it was released. After its premiere, and its run of film festivals, and its several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, our county realized just how important this film was to the economy, and to this day, visitors can take a tour that takes in the wineries that its lead anti-hero Miles (Paul Giamatti) and his friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) seek out.

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Bruce Dern to replace Emma Thompson at SBIFF

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Emma Thompson fans looking forward to seeing the star on the red carpet or hearing her talk about her career next week at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival found themselves disappointed late Monday when the festival announced that the star had canceled her scheduled appearance.

Ms. Thompson was due to receive the Modern Master Award on Feb. 8, but, according to a festival release, she “is required for rehearsal in London on the New York Philharmonic staging of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.”

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