(RAHWAY, NJ) -- The Rahway City Council has adopted an ordinance updating the City's filming regulations, renewing Rahway's designation and re-certification as a Film Ready Community through the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.
(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- In its first public screening since premiering on PBS stations earlier this year, Kevin McLaughlin's Riot: From Rebellion to Redemption will show the Director's Cut at South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 7:30pm. The special edition contains 23 minutes of compelling material not included in the broadcast version, followed by a live conversation with the people behind the film.
The Competition component of the 2026 New Jersey International Film Festival has concluded! Overall, we had a good festival this year and I want to thank the hundreds of people who viewed the terrific films we screened in-person and online. I also want to thank all of the filmmakers, cast and crew who came to the in-person screenings to talk about their films with our audiences.
Biopics of musicians tend to be more interested in the musician than the music. Two of the best movies about music - Bertrand Tavernier's Round Midnight and Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People - are ironically less interested in the people who create music and more in those who promote it. Tavernier's film focusses on a jazz-loving Parisian who becomes determined to restore a faded American saxophonist to his former glory. Winterbottom's tells the story of how one man revitalised the city of Manchester by recognising and promoting its wealth of diverse musical talent.
Being a globally famous popstar is a lot like being in a romantic relationship or marriage, but instead of one spouse or partner you have millions of adoring fans. You must consider those fans before making any major decisions, just as you would your husband or wife. Artists often get stuck in a creative rut out of fear of losing their fanbase if they try something different, just as so many people stay in jobs they hate out of fear of upsetting the status quo by making their other half angry. A popstar suddenly deciding they want to make a jazz album is akin to a middle-aged husband ditching his nine to five office job to pursue his dream of opening a record store - such moves aren't likely to go down well with fans and wives.
Biopics of musicians tend to be more interested in the musician than the music. Two of the best movies about music - Bertrand Tavernier's Round Midnight and Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People - are ironically less interested in the people who create music and more in those who promote it. Tavernier's film focusses on a jazz-loving Parisian who becomes determined to restore a faded American saxophonist to his former glory. Winterbottom's tells the story of how one man revitalised the city of Manchester by recognising and promoting its wealth of diverse musical talent.
Being a globally famous popstar is a lot like being in a romantic relationship or marriage, but instead of one spouse or partner you have millions of adoring fans. You must consider those fans before making any major decisions, just as you would your husband or wife. Artists often get stuck in a creative rut out of fear of losing their fanbase if they try something different, just as so many people stay in jobs they hate out of fear of upsetting the status quo by making their other half angry. A popstar suddenly deciding they want to make a jazz album is akin to a middle-aged husband ditching his nine to five office job to pursue his dream of opening a record store - such moves aren't likely to go down well with fans and wives.
After gathering a sizeable following on YouTube with a series of short comedy skits, Curry Barker used that platform to self-release his feature film debut, 2024's found footage thriller Milk & Serial. Available to watch for free, that movie has racked up over two million views. It's no surprise then that Hollywood knocked on Barker's door, but what is perhaps surprising is how much the Blumhouse-backed Obsession feels like an indie movie rather than a Hollywood production. With an intimate cast and just a handful of locations, you suspect Barker would have made Obsession himself if the House of Blum hadn't thrown money in his direction. Unlike so many other filmmakers who have been rendered soulless by the studio system, Barker has maintained his vision here, and he even casts Milk & Serial's Cooper Tomlinson in a major supporting role.
Since coming out of his brief self-imposed "retirement" in 2017, Steven Soderbergh has been knocking out films at a rate close to two a year. He's clearly a filmmaker who cares about his legacy, but an artist doesn't get to determine their legacy. That's up to the public. Some will consider Soderbergh an unimpeachable genius. A few will label him a talentless hack. I suspect most will look back on his prolific filmography as a series of hits and misses. The Christophers, which is very much wrestling with the notion of legacy, is one of the hits.