The Oldenburg Film Festival has picked two iconoclast filmmakers to honor for its 30th anniversary edition: French actor/director Isild Le Besco and Canadian producer Jen Gatien. Both women have carved out unique paths in independent cinema, defying conventions and expectations.
Le Besco has worked in front of the camera since she was eight, and by her early 20s was already a face of French auteur cinema, with two César nominations — for her performances in Benoît Jacquot’s Sade (2000) and Cédric Kahn’s Roberto Succo (2001) and a best actress honor in Venice for Jacquot’s L’Intouchable (2006).
Her directorial debut, 2004’s Demi-Tarif (Half-Price), the story of three young siblings, Romeo (Kolia Litscher), Launa (Lila Salet), and the youngest, Leo (Cindy David), left on their own in a rundown Paris apartment, was an unmediated look into the world of childhood and drew praise from the likes of Mia Hansen-Løve, whose review,...
Le Besco has worked in front of the camera since she was eight, and by her early 20s was already a face of French auteur cinema, with two César nominations — for her performances in Benoît Jacquot’s Sade (2000) and Cédric Kahn’s Roberto Succo (2001) and a best actress honor in Venice for Jacquot’s L’Intouchable (2006).
Her directorial debut, 2004’s Demi-Tarif (Half-Price), the story of three young siblings, Romeo (Kolia Litscher), Launa (Lila Salet), and the youngest, Leo (Cindy David), left on their own in a rundown Paris apartment, was an unmediated look into the world of childhood and drew praise from the likes of Mia Hansen-Løve, whose review,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Alig, the flamboyantly costumed “King of the Club Kids” in late 1980s and early ’90s Manhattan whose involvement in the sordid murder and dismemberment of his drug dealer was chronicled in the 2003 feature film Party Monster, died early this morning of a suspected heroin overdose. He was 54.
Alig was found unconscious at his Washington Heights apartment in Upper Manhattan by a friend shortly before 3 a.m. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. The death was first reported by the New York Daily News.
Alig, who reigned over the Manhattan club scene as a party promoter for Peter Gatien’s immensely popular Limelight and Palladium dance clubs, was already infamous outside the city’s lushly attired demimonde even before the murder, having made frequent designed-to-shock Club Kid appearances on daytime talk shows such as The Joan Rivers Show and Geraldo.
The seemingly all-for-fun facade of the Club Kid scene...
Alig was found unconscious at his Washington Heights apartment in Upper Manhattan by a friend shortly before 3 a.m. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. The death was first reported by the New York Daily News.
Alig, who reigned over the Manhattan club scene as a party promoter for Peter Gatien’s immensely popular Limelight and Palladium dance clubs, was already infamous outside the city’s lushly attired demimonde even before the murder, having made frequent designed-to-shock Club Kid appearances on daytime talk shows such as The Joan Rivers Show and Geraldo.
The seemingly all-for-fun facade of the Club Kid scene...
- 12/25/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Michael Alig — the infamous nightlife legend, “King of the Club Kids,” and murderer — has died by apparent overdose in his Upper Manhattan home on Christmas Day, the New York Daily News reports from official sources. He was 54.
According to reports, Alig was doing heroin shortly before he lost consciousness around 3 a.m., his boyfriend told police, and medics found him dead at the scene.
In the Nineties, Alig was a notorious impresario of Peter Gatien’s nightclub empire (which included Limelight, the Palladium, and the Tunnel) and a “Pied Piper to young clubbies,...
According to reports, Alig was doing heroin shortly before he lost consciousness around 3 a.m., his boyfriend told police, and medics found him dead at the scene.
In the Nineties, Alig was a notorious impresario of Peter Gatien’s nightclub empire (which included Limelight, the Palladium, and the Tunnel) and a “Pied Piper to young clubbies,...
- 12/25/2020
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
In the mid-1990s, Peter Gatien owned four mega clubs in New York CIty: Limelight, Tunnel, Club USA, and Palladium, as photographer Steve Eichner tells Rolling Stone, he worked for the King of Clubland as the house photographer: “Up all night going from club to club, photographing celebrities at play to be published worldwide and garner publicity for his club empire. He believed in throwing the best parties by promoting diversity and nurturing creativity in music, art, sexuality, and design.”
In the new book, In the Limelight, Eichner collects electric...
In the new book, In the Limelight, Eichner collects electric...
- 11/15/2020
- by Griffin Lotz
- Rollingstone.com
If there’s any truth to the old William Blake line about the road of excess leading to the palace of wisdom, then Peter Gatien may be the wisest cat in New York.
At least, he was the wisest one in the lobby bar of the Bowery Hotel one Saturday afternoon in mid-March. But then, we did have the place to ourselves. The coronavirus had claimed its first New Yorker that morning and the usually jumping East Village boîte was barren. Gatien, 68, once the undisputed king of nightlife in the city known for excess,...
At least, he was the wisest one in the lobby bar of the Bowery Hotel one Saturday afternoon in mid-March. But then, we did have the place to ourselves. The coronavirus had claimed its first New Yorker that morning and the usually jumping East Village boîte was barren. Gatien, 68, once the undisputed king of nightlife in the city known for excess,...
- 4/1/2020
- by Shawn McCreesh
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Amazon Studios has set Alfonso Gomez-Rejon to direct Limelight, a feature being written by Nick Pileggi & J.J. Sacha about the reign and fall of Peter Gatien, the 1990s king of Gotham nightlife who owned the hip clubs Limelight and The Tunnel.
Jen Gatien (his daughter) will produce through Deerjen with Christopher Donnelly of Lbi. Gatien, a dashing Canadian with an eye patch to cover a youthful hockey accident that gave him seed money for his first club, worked his way into the nightclub world opening Limelight clubs in Florida, Atlanta and finally New York. The New York version of Limelight — housed a converted Episcopalian church — was the hottest club in town, where Shirley MacLaine’s 50th birthday was held, where notorious Party Monster club kid Michael Alig was arrested and later convicted of dismembering a fellow club kid, and where a scene from Basic Instinct was filmed. Gatien became...
Jen Gatien (his daughter) will produce through Deerjen with Christopher Donnelly of Lbi. Gatien, a dashing Canadian with an eye patch to cover a youthful hockey accident that gave him seed money for his first club, worked his way into the nightclub world opening Limelight clubs in Florida, Atlanta and finally New York. The New York version of Limelight — housed a converted Episcopalian church — was the hottest club in town, where Shirley MacLaine’s 50th birthday was held, where notorious Party Monster club kid Michael Alig was arrested and later convicted of dismembering a fellow club kid, and where a scene from Basic Instinct was filmed. Gatien became...
- 4/12/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
It was the summer of 1995. Bill Clinton was president, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, and Oj Simpson was on trial. That summer’s youth-oriented movies included Pixar's first movie Toy Story, the Disney musical Pocahontas — and Kids, in which wayward, stoned teens fuck each other senseless and head-stomp random strangers.
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
- 7/16/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Michael Alig, the subject of Party Monster who murdered his roommate Angel Melendez in 1996, was one of the last people that former Limelight owner Peter Gatien would have imagined killing and butchering someone.
Peter Gatien On Michael Alig
“When I heard about it, if someone came up to me and was like listen Peter one of your staff killed somebody in their apartment last night, who do you think it is? Michael Alig might have been the 995th person on my list,” Gatien, who employed about 1000 people at the time, told uInterview exclusively in 2011. “I mean he was small, non violent. It's not like he carried a knife or a gun, or ever gotten into a fight.”
When Alig killed Melendez, who had been hitting him up for drug debts, with the help of fellow scenester Robert “Freeze” Riggs, he was at the height of his drug use. By his own account,...
Peter Gatien On Michael Alig
“When I heard about it, if someone came up to me and was like listen Peter one of your staff killed somebody in their apartment last night, who do you think it is? Michael Alig might have been the 995th person on my list,” Gatien, who employed about 1000 people at the time, told uInterview exclusively in 2011. “I mean he was small, non violent. It's not like he carried a knife or a gun, or ever gotten into a fight.”
When Alig killed Melendez, who had been hitting him up for drug debts, with the help of fellow scenester Robert “Freeze” Riggs, he was at the height of his drug use. By his own account,...
- 5/14/2014
- Uinterview
Peter Gatien, a striking man made slightly more intimidating by an eye patch he sports after losing an eye playing hockey in his youth, is the subject of Billy Corben's (Square Grouper) warts-and-all documentary Limelight, produced in part by Gatien's daughter Jen. Gatien masterminded several famous nightclubs, though the doc takes a look at Limelight, built on the site of a former Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion. Sold off to a drug rehab program and then to Gatien, Limelight blossomed into one of the hottest spots in town. The founder overlooked the introduction of new musical styles into the mainstream and the rise of the club kids, one whom happened to be Michael Alig. Alig's murder of Andre Melendez cast media attention on the club and certainly aided its final shuttering, one of several attempts to close down the spot in the 1990s.
Read more...
Read more...
- 3/21/2012
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- JustPressPlay.net
DVD Playhouse—February 2012
By Allen Gardner
To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Robert Mulligan’s film of Harper Lee’s landmark novel pits a liberal-minded lawyer (Gregory Peck) against a small Southern town’s racism when defending a black man (Brock Peters) on trumped-up rape charges. One of the 1960s’ first landmark films, a truly stirring human drama that hits all the right notes and isn’t dated a bit. Robert Duvall makes his screen debut (sans dialogue) as the enigmatic Boo Radley. DVD and Blu-ray double edition. Bonuses: Two feature-length documentaries: Fearful Symmetry and A Conversation with Gregory Peck; Featurettes; Excerpts and film clips from Gregory Peck’s Oscar acceptance speech and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award; Commentary by Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 2.0 mono.
Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza (Magnolia) After a brief hiatus from his signature oeuvre of Japanese gangster flicks,...
By Allen Gardner
To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition (Universal) Robert Mulligan’s film of Harper Lee’s landmark novel pits a liberal-minded lawyer (Gregory Peck) against a small Southern town’s racism when defending a black man (Brock Peters) on trumped-up rape charges. One of the 1960s’ first landmark films, a truly stirring human drama that hits all the right notes and isn’t dated a bit. Robert Duvall makes his screen debut (sans dialogue) as the enigmatic Boo Radley. DVD and Blu-ray double edition. Bonuses: Two feature-length documentaries: Fearful Symmetry and A Conversation with Gregory Peck; Featurettes; Excerpts and film clips from Gregory Peck’s Oscar acceptance speech and AFI Lifetime Achievement Award; Commentary by Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 2.0 mono.
Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza (Magnolia) After a brief hiatus from his signature oeuvre of Japanese gangster flicks,...
- 2/26/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
DVD Release Date: Jan. 24, 2012
Price: DVD $26.98
Studio: Magnolia
New York City nights come alive in Limelight.
The 2011 documentary film Limelight chronicles the career of Peter Gatien, the undisputed king of the 1980s New York club scene and owner of such famed Gotham hotspots as Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA.
At the pinnacle of Gatien’s success, thousands of partygoers lined up each night outside the doors of his venues hoping for entry. Influencing such future icons as Madonna, The Beastie Boys and Moby, Gatien’s clubs engendered such influential musical genres as pop, punk, techno and acid house.
But Gatien’s phenomenal success put his venues on the radar of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s infamous crackdown on drugs and crime in the 1990s, and Gatien and his clubs soon became law enforcement’s number one target. Years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by Giuliani...
Price: DVD $26.98
Studio: Magnolia
New York City nights come alive in Limelight.
The 2011 documentary film Limelight chronicles the career of Peter Gatien, the undisputed king of the 1980s New York club scene and owner of such famed Gotham hotspots as Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA.
At the pinnacle of Gatien’s success, thousands of partygoers lined up each night outside the doors of his venues hoping for entry. Influencing such future icons as Madonna, The Beastie Boys and Moby, Gatien’s clubs engendered such influential musical genres as pop, punk, techno and acid house.
But Gatien’s phenomenal success put his venues on the radar of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s infamous crackdown on drugs and crime in the 1990s, and Gatien and his clubs soon became law enforcement’s number one target. Years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by Giuliani...
- 12/7/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Billy Corben is a bit of a badass in the documentary game. Through his Miami-based media studio Rakontur, he produces down-and-dirty docs on everything from college sports to cocaine. His latest, Limelight, chronicles the astronomic rise and fall of New York nightclub kingpin Peter Gatien. I really dug it, and you will too, so see it at New York's Landmark Sunshine Cinema while you still can.
I was an Nyu student, I graduated in 2008. I never lived in Palladium, but I had several friends who did. I remember hearing, "Oh, it used to be a night club," but the cultural significance was never really expressed to me. Do you think the university has tried to downplay the importance of the location?
Well, they do still call it The Palladium. It's just a Google away. I believe that was the venue, when Peter owned it, that was the site of Moby's first ever solo gig.
I was an Nyu student, I graduated in 2008. I never lived in Palladium, but I had several friends who did. I remember hearing, "Oh, it used to be a night club," but the cultural significance was never really expressed to me. Do you think the university has tried to downplay the importance of the location?
Well, they do still call it The Palladium. It's just a Google away. I believe that was the venue, when Peter owned it, that was the site of Moby's first ever solo gig.
- 10/3/2011
- by Benny Gammerman
- Filmology
Read our exclusive interview with director Billy Corben, whose newest documentary, ‘Limelight.’ is set to hit theaters on September 23, 2011. The film tells the story of legendary nightclub owner Peter Gatien, who rose to fame with his New York City nightclubs Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA in the 1980s and ’90s. While Gatien initially served as the figurehead for New York nightlife for a generation and defined the image of an era, he was eventually brought down during Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s determined crackdown on clubs. ‘Limelight’ features interviews with notorious players of the 1980s and ’90s club era, key informants in Gatien’s tax evasion trials and the nightclub...
- 9/26/2011
- by karen
- ShockYa
"For a decade starting in the late 60s, the Kashmere Stage Band — a funk-infused outfit rooted in a poor, predominantly black neighborhood in northeast Houston — built a reputation as the most formidable high school band in the country." Scott Tobias for NPR: "Under the leadership of Conrad O Johnson Sr, a prodigious musician in his own right (he once played with Count Basie), the band zigged where others zagged, embracing the sounds (and moves) of James Brown and Otis Redding while its peers were mimicking the ossified standards of 40s big bands. In competition — and on recordings — the contrast was clear: The Kashmere Stage Band was lively, exuberant, spontaneous and contemporary, and the also-rans were square nostalgists."
"Three decades after graduation, members reunite to honor their beloved 93-year-old bandleader, teacher and role model," writes Eric Hynes in Time Out New York. "Amid its celebrations of black power, ambitious Afros and fly female trombonists,...
"Three decades after graduation, members reunite to honor their beloved 93-year-old bandleader, teacher and role model," writes Eric Hynes in Time Out New York. "Amid its celebrations of black power, ambitious Afros and fly female trombonists,...
- 9/25/2011
- MUBI
Documentary filmmaker Billy Corben and his films talk a mile a minute. He's prone to running off on tangents, and it's hard to keep up, but luckily, that's not the case with his new film "Limelight," a slick, fast-paced and intelligent documentary on the rise and fall of Peter Gatien, the legendary New York nightclub owner. The director behind "Cocaine Cowboys" sat down with indieWIRE to discuss the new project. ...
- 9/24/2011
- Indiewire
Documentary filmmaker Billy Corben and his films talk a mile a minute. He's prone to running off on tangents, and it's hard to keep up, but luckily, that's not the case with his new film "Limelight," a slick, fast-paced and intelligent documentary on the rise and fall of Peter Gatien, the legendary New York nightclub owner. The director behind "Cocaine Cowboys" sat down with indieWIRE to discuss the new project. ...
- 9/24/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Documentary filmmaker Billy Corben and his films talk a mile a minute. He's prone to running off on tangents, and it's hard to keep up, but luckily, that's not the case with his new film "Limelight," a slick, fast-paced and intelligent documentary on the rise and fall of Peter Gatien, the legendary New York nightclub owner. The director behind "Cocaine Cowboys" sat down with indieWIRE to discuss the new project. ...
- 9/24/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Documentaries, Movie News, New Releases
In the 1980s and 90s, metropolitan club owner Peter Gatien was such an influential taste-maker that he was once dubbed "the king of New York City nightclubs." His crown jewel was Limelight, a midnight haven that welcomed thousands of enthusiastic patrons -- celebrities, drag queens, dancers -- and blasted innovative electronic tunes until sunrise. All walks of life were welcome in the Studio 54 of the 1990s, until Mayor Rudolph Guliani's crime crackdown descended onto Gatien. His clubs were raided, he was arrested on tax evasion charges and deported to Canada.
Continue Reading...
In the 1980s and 90s, metropolitan club owner Peter Gatien was such an influential taste-maker that he was once dubbed "the king of New York City nightclubs." His crown jewel was Limelight, a midnight haven that welcomed thousands of enthusiastic patrons -- celebrities, drag queens, dancers -- and blasted innovative electronic tunes until sunrise. All walks of life were welcome in the Studio 54 of the 1990s, until Mayor Rudolph Guliani's crime crackdown descended onto Gatien. His clubs were raided, he was arrested on tax evasion charges and deported to Canada.
Continue Reading...
- 9/24/2011
- by Eric Larnick
- Moviefone
Summary: A requiem for the New York nightlife that once was.
Many a time did I walk past the church on 6th Avenue and 20th Street whilst studying at New York University, never giving it a moment's considering. These days, that location is the mighty Limelight Marketplace, a luxury shopping and dining destination... but it wasn't always so. The shame I now feel for my local historical ignorance is profound. How could I have been unaware that not even ten years ago stood perhaps the most infamous and culturally progressive nightclub in New York? Why did no one tell me?
Good thing director Billy Corben cleared that up. Billy is a bit of a badass in the documentary game. In just ten years, the man has produced six films that scour the dark underbelly of the American justice system. Though his topics range from rape to football, Corben clearly has...
Many a time did I walk past the church on 6th Avenue and 20th Street whilst studying at New York University, never giving it a moment's considering. These days, that location is the mighty Limelight Marketplace, a luxury shopping and dining destination... but it wasn't always so. The shame I now feel for my local historical ignorance is profound. How could I have been unaware that not even ten years ago stood perhaps the most infamous and culturally progressive nightclub in New York? Why did no one tell me?
Good thing director Billy Corben cleared that up. Billy is a bit of a badass in the documentary game. In just ten years, the man has produced six films that scour the dark underbelly of the American justice system. Though his topics range from rape to football, Corben clearly has...
- 9/23/2011
- by Benny Gammerman
- Filmology
Title: Limelight Directed by: Billy Corben Starring: Peter Gatien, Moby and Michael Alig People’s views and opinions on controversial subjects often are linked to their experiences. This is certainly seen in the new Magnolia Pictures documentary ‘Limelight,’ which tells the story of well-known New York City nightclub owner Peter Gatien. The film’s director, veteran documentary helmer Billy Corben decided not to focus solely on Gatien’s side of why he was ultimately charged with tax evasion; he also featured account of events from witnesses and government officials to explain why the former King of New York Clubs was targeted. ‘Limelight’ chronicles the rise and fall of Gatien, one of the city’s...
- 9/23/2011
- by karen
- ShockYa
Billy Corben's documentary Limelight, about the rise and fall of Peter Gatien's empire, also illuminates the shopping mall-ification of NYC over the last decade. The best documentaries work in roundabout fashion; they seem to be about subject A, and very directly so - but in their depiction of subject A, what you really learn about is subject B, of which subject A is one small piece. We saw it earlier this year with Cindy Meehl's Buck, a documentary about psychologically damaged horses and the horse whisperer who heals them; in actuality, the film is about how to deal with psychologically damaged people. Limelight (which premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival) is another such film. Directed by Billy Corben, who documented Colombian cocaine dealers in Cocaine Cowboys, Limelight is ostensibly about the rise and fall of New York nightlife king Peter Gatien. Gatien, who at one point ran...
- 9/22/2011
- TribecaFilm.com
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, Documentaries
Peter Gatien has been no stranger to media coverage over the years, but he has become notoriously shy since his infamous ouster from the United States earlier this decade. He opens up about his complex battle with New York City politicians for the first time in the new documentary 'Limelight,' which hits select theaters this week.
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Peter Gatien has been no stranger to media coverage over the years, but he has become notoriously shy since his infamous ouster from the United States earlier this decade. He opens up about his complex battle with New York City politicians for the first time in the new documentary 'Limelight,' which hits select theaters this week.
Continue Reading...
- 9/21/2011
- by Annette Bourdeau
- Moviefone
Sneak Peek a new poster supporting the documentary "Limelight", directed by Billy Corben.
Opening in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, September 23, 2011, from Video Services Corp. (Vsc), "Limelight", is the 'coke-and-dagger' feature, documenting the rise and fall of New York's greatest nightclub empire, founded by Canadian-born Peter Gatien:
"...As the owner of legendary drugs and sex dance hotspots like 'Limelight', 'Tunnel', 'Palladium' and 'Club USA', Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980's New York City club scene.
"The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by New York Mayor Giuliani’s determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-’90s led to Gatien’s eventual deportation to Canada,...
Opening in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, September 23, 2011, from Video Services Corp. (Vsc), "Limelight", is the 'coke-and-dagger' feature, documenting the rise and fall of New York's greatest nightclub empire, founded by Canadian-born Peter Gatien:
"...As the owner of legendary drugs and sex dance hotspots like 'Limelight', 'Tunnel', 'Palladium' and 'Club USA', Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980's New York City club scene.
"The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by New York Mayor Giuliani’s determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-’90s led to Gatien’s eventual deportation to Canada,...
- 9/12/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
A version of this review ran as part of our coverage of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.
Billy Corben is the drug documentary kingpin of indie film. He's made two docs about cocaine, one about marijuana, and now "Limelight," about New York City's ecstasy soaked club scene in the 1990s. His particular specialty are films that ape their subject's pharmacological effects: "Cocaine Cowboys" is twitchy and paranoid; "Square Grouper" is mellow and easygoing to a fault. "Limelight" sends us tripping on a relentless 100-minute roll.
The man who leads us on this journey is Peter Gatien, a one-eyed club empresario from Canada who moved to the Us and started opening upscale discos all along the Eastern seaboard. New York, Miami, Atlanta, and then back to New York where he created his crown jewel: Limelight, a massive dance complex housed in a former Episcopal church. The AIDS epidemic of the mid-1980s nearly killed his business,...
Billy Corben is the drug documentary kingpin of indie film. He's made two docs about cocaine, one about marijuana, and now "Limelight," about New York City's ecstasy soaked club scene in the 1990s. His particular specialty are films that ape their subject's pharmacological effects: "Cocaine Cowboys" is twitchy and paranoid; "Square Grouper" is mellow and easygoing to a fault. "Limelight" sends us tripping on a relentless 100-minute roll.
The man who leads us on this journey is Peter Gatien, a one-eyed club empresario from Canada who moved to the Us and started opening upscale discos all along the Eastern seaboard. New York, Miami, Atlanta, and then back to New York where he created his crown jewel: Limelight, a massive dance complex housed in a former Episcopal church. The AIDS epidemic of the mid-1980s nearly killed his business,...
- 9/12/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Everyone loves movie trailers; we can’t get enough of them here in The City of Films. It’s an art form that stands alone from the film itself and has a remarkable power to move us. Trailers can give us chills, laughs, goose bumps and some even anger us. We can’t always post them all, so here’s where we play catch up; watch More Trailers:
Flying Sword of Dragon Gate
Release Date: December 2011 (China) IMAX 3D
Synopsis: The story of the struggle between a Ming Dynasty general (played by Jet Li) and his rival, a powerful eunuch (played by Chen Kun). Tsui Hark directed and also wrote the script, which is a retelling of the story of his 1992 classic New Dragon Gate Inn.
Toast
Release Date: September 23, 2011
Synopsis: Based on the bittersweet story of food writer Nigel Slater’s childhood, and set to the songs of Dusty Springfield,...
Flying Sword of Dragon Gate
Release Date: December 2011 (China) IMAX 3D
Synopsis: The story of the struggle between a Ming Dynasty general (played by Jet Li) and his rival, a powerful eunuch (played by Chen Kun). Tsui Hark directed and also wrote the script, which is a retelling of the story of his 1992 classic New Dragon Gate Inn.
Toast
Release Date: September 23, 2011
Synopsis: Based on the bittersweet story of food writer Nigel Slater’s childhood, and set to the songs of Dusty Springfield,...
- 8/22/2011
- by Graham
- City of Films
Video Services Corp. (Vsc) presents "Limelight", the 'coke-and-dagger' film from director Billy Corben ("Cocaine Cowboys"), documenting the rise and fall of New York's greatest nightclub empire, founded by Canadian-born Peter Gatien:
"...As the owner of legendary drugs and sex dance hotspots like 'Limelight', 'Tunnel', 'Palladium' and 'Club USA', Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980's New York City club scene.
"The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by New York Mayor Giuliani’s determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-’90s led to Gatien’s eventual deportation to Canada, and the shuttering of his glitzy kingdom..."
"Limelight", acquired by Vsc from Magnolia Pictures,...
"...As the owner of legendary drugs and sex dance hotspots like 'Limelight', 'Tunnel', 'Palladium' and 'Club USA', Peter Gatien was the undisputed king of the 1980's New York City club scene.
"The eye-patch-sporting Ontario native built and oversaw a Manhattan empire that counted tens of thousands of patrons per night in its peak years, acting as a conduit for a culture that, for many, defined the image of an era in New York. Then years of legal battles and police pressure spearheaded by New York Mayor Giuliani’s determined crackdown on nightlife in the mid-’90s led to Gatien’s eventual deportation to Canada, and the shuttering of his glitzy kingdom..."
"Limelight", acquired by Vsc from Magnolia Pictures,...
- 8/19/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
You may be familiar with Billy Corben. The prolific Cocaine Cowboys director premiered his marijuana doc Square Grouper: The Godfathers of Ganja at SXSW and has Dawg Fight coming later in the year, but in between he premiered Limelight at the fitting Tribeca Film Festival. His latest documentary follows Peter Gatien, better known as the “King of New York Clubs.”
In our Tribeca review I praised the film for its “exhilarating Goodfellas-esque approach on the fame, money, and lifestyle that came with opening the four biggest clubs in NYC.” Our director introduces a set of “real-life eclectic characters that could easily be found in Scorsese’s masterpiece. With a focus on the 80s and 90s club scene, specifically Limelight, we learn how Gatien climbed the ladder and was then hit with legal trouble due to the drug-fueled frenzy in the clubs.” We can now get a glimpse at the madness...
In our Tribeca review I praised the film for its “exhilarating Goodfellas-esque approach on the fame, money, and lifestyle that came with opening the four biggest clubs in NYC.” Our director introduces a set of “real-life eclectic characters that could easily be found in Scorsese’s masterpiece. With a focus on the 80s and 90s club scene, specifically Limelight, we learn how Gatien climbed the ladder and was then hit with legal trouble due to the drug-fueled frenzy in the clubs.” We can now get a glimpse at the madness...
- 8/17/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival continued into its opening weekend and another one of its titles landed with a buyer. Magnolia Pictures acquired all world rights to the documentary Limelight, the story of New York nightclub owner and Onatario native Peter Gatien from director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) and producer Alfred Spellman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Corben revealed how Gatien, complete with his trademark eyepatch, dominated New York nightlife in the ‘80s as the owner of Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA.
- 4/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival continued into its opening weekend and another one of its titles landed with a buyer. Magnolia Pictures acquired all world rights to the documentary Limelight, the story of New York nightclub owner and Onatario native Peter Gatien from director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) and producer Alfred Spellman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Corben revealed how Gatien, complete with his trademark eyepatch, dominated New York nightlife in the ‘80s as the owner of Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA.
- 4/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival continued into its opening weekend and another one of its titles landed with a buyer. Magnolia Pictures acquired all world rights to the documentary Limelight, the story of New York nightclub owner and Onatario native Peter Gatien from director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) and producer Alfred Spellman. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Corben revealed how Gatien, complete with his trademark eyepatch, dominated New York nightlife in the ‘80s as the owner of Limelight, Tunnel, Palladium and Club USA.
- 4/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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