Category: Film News

Willie Nelson, President of FarmAid, has created a benefit concert for family farmers who are being treated unfairly and forced to leave their farm land due to federal policy. Farm Aid is the longest running such festival in America. They have raised over 45 million dollars with their all-day music and food festival over the past 28 years. "In North Carolina and across the Southeast, family farmers have struggled to stay on the land, but they have also pioneered new roads to economic sustainability," Farm Aid president Willie Nelson said.

According to FarmAid.org, “Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized their first concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms, and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land.” Back in 2001, Dave Matthews also joined these board of directors and concert headliners that are dedicated to helping family farmers, informing local communities about the importance of local farming, supporting farmers during crisis, and promoting a fair farm system.

Willie Nelson also wrote to President Obama thanking him for what he has done in support of family farmers, saying: “I look forward to working with you to make this vision of a family farm system of agriculture a reality.”

This years Farm Aid will be on September 13, 2014 at Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tickets went on sale August 1st with an artist lineup of Tim Reynolds, Jack White, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jamey Johnson, North Carolina’s own Delta Rae, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Carlene Carter, Pegi Young & The Survivors, and Insects vs. Robots.

Willie Nelson has always been supportive of local farmers and can be seen protesting to save South Central Urban Farm in Los Angeles in the World Wide Motion Pictures documentary Welcome To Eden where local farmers fought to preserve a plot of urban farm land against its owner/developer's desires. Daryl Hannah and Joan Baez are also featured in the film which is coming soon to Indie Movie Store!

“It takes courage to make a fool out of yourself.”- Charlie Chaplin

Recently, it has been announced that Charlie Chaplin’s home in Vevey, Switzerland will become a museum. At a projected cost of $45 million dollars, it is expected to open in 2016. It’s not every day that someone has their house converted into a museum, so why Chaplin?

Charlie Chaplin is most recognized today as the man with a bowler hat and toothbrush style mustache from the silent-film era, more so than just the iconic characters that he portrayed, he is considered to be a legendary comedic actor of the 1910’s and 1920’s. He won many awards to show testament to his work, including an Honorary Academy Award, an Academy Award for Best Original Score and others.

Born in London, England in April 1889, Charles Spencer Chaplin didn’t seem to have the most accommodating lifestyle growing up since his father had abandoned Chaplin and his family soon after his birth, leaving his older half brother and his mother to fend for themselves. Growing up working from small job to job, Chaplin slowly made a living and climbed his way to success.

By 1914 Chaplin made films such as Make a Living and Kid Auto Races at Venice. A pivotal fact in Kid Auto Races at Venice was the development of the memorable character “The Tramp” which would become an iconic character of Chaplin. “The Tramp” was seen as a good hearted character overall, with a childlike and bumbling demeanor - a poor man, but nevertheless always having manners and dignity. Chaplin portrayed this character as a useless idiot with a sad face while teaching us, by combining pity and humor, that laughing at our own misfortunes can actually be helpful. Today, the Tramp has inspired many of the luckless clown characters still featured in today’s big comedies.

 

Some of his memorable films from the 1920’s include The Kid (1921), The Pilgrim (1923), and A Woman in Paris (1923). Chaplin himself has said that the film he wanted to be remembered for was 1928's The Circus. More acclaim came in 1936 with the silent/sound film Modern Times, where has been recognized as one of his greatest achievements and to this day remains one of his most popular films. The film that marked the last appearance of “The Tramp” and exemplifies the world’s economic and political infrastructure with the use of…? You guessed it, comedy!

If you would like to see some of his original comedy sketches, check out World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation classic feature collection today!