Description
Meet the Filmmaker: Fax Bahr
“Hearts of Darkness”
Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013
Location: NY NATAS, 1375 Broadway (between 37th and 38th Streets), Suite 2103
Reception: 6:00-6:30 PM ~ Program: 6:30-8:00 PM
*Free to NY NATAS Members!
$15 for those without current NY NATAS membership.
"Hearts of Darkness"
Produced & Moderated by Sumner Jules Glimcher.
When Francis Coppola decided to make Apocalypse Now, he hired his wife Eleanor to shoot a behind-the-scenes documentary covering the production. She was given extraordinary access to both her husband and the other key creative ensemble members, throughout the entire process. By all accounts the making of the film was a war unto itself. An original 16 week production schedule ballooned to 265 days of principle photography, delayed by myriad problems including a typhoon, a heart attack suffered by lead actor Martin Sheen, struggles with financing, with Marlon Brando, and with the ending of the script. Eleanor shot over 80 hours of film on set, and recorded countless hours of audiotape. After Apocalypse Now was finally released in 1979, several attempts were made to cut the documentary. Eventually, the project was abandoned. Eleanor’s footage sat in a Zoetrope storage unit for nearly 10 years, until filmmakers Fax Bahr, George Zaloom, and Doug Claybourne secured financing, and put together the documentary. Hearts of Darkness is an insider’s view of the making of Apocalypse Now, one of the most controversial films of the 1970’s. The 96-minute film covers the extraordinary story, from pre-production through its release. Interviews with the principal creative team include George Lucas, Dennis Hopper, John Milius, Francis Coppola, Eleanor Coppola, Martin Sheen...
Director’s Statement:
“In choosing a story that transposed Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece “Hearts of Darkness” to America’s war in Vietnam, Coppola intended to probe a dark hour of US history. The upriver journey of Colonel Willard into the madness of the jungle, and into the depths of his own heart, was sure to strike a sensitive chord with the American psyche. As the production snowballed into a seemingly unstoppable catastrophe, Coppola’s personal journey began to parallel that of his main character. Hearts of Darkness is the story of the relentless pursuit of an artistic vision, an obsession that profoundly changed the lives of everyone connected to it.” Fax Bahr has written, executive produced and directed for both television and motion pictures. He wrote and directed for Fox Television’s landmark comedy series In Living Color, created Mad TV, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, as well as many other series. He co-wrote and produced Malibu’s Most Wanted. Hearts of Darkness premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won many awards, including National Board of Review Best Documentary, National Board of Canada Best Documentary, and a Best Director Emmy Award for Bahr. Gene Siskel called it “one of the best films of 1991”. Bahr has guest-lectured at University Of Southern California. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he is writing Defriended, a screenplay for Escape Artists/Sony Pictures, and a mini-series based on the life of Miguel Cervantes.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED DUE TO BUILDING SECURITY. ALL NAMES MUST BE ON GUEST LIST. Please RSVP via email info@nyemmys.org to reserve a seat. Please write “Darkness” in the subject line. Space is limited.