Enough with vacation. The season’s upon the town. Pay attention:
Coming at us Sept. 28 to Oct. 15, 25 newies from the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 55th New York Film Festival. Included will be a live stage “Conversation with Oscar winner Kate Winslet.”
Chairperson and festival director Kent Jones: “Eight of the films were directed by women.”
Opening night is Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying.” A road movie, funny and heartbreaking, it reunites three who were to have been Vietnam vets and are played by Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne.
Closing night is Justin Timberlake and Kate Winslet and Jim Belushi and Juno Temple in Woody Allen’s wonderful “Wonder Wheel,” set in Coney Island. I’ve seen it and so must you.
The centerpiece is director Todd Haynes’ deeply personal love letter to a bygone era and stars everyone’s favorite Julianne Moore in a dual role.
Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, “Lady Bird” — with Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf — tells a tale of escape from one’s hometown into the beginning of adolescent love.
Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories” relives his familiar terrain of family values — pathos to comedy — with Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.
It’s films from Japan, France, Italy, South Korea, Finland, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Argentina and we get Juliette Binoche playing a middle-aged Parisian artiste hunting love in Sundance Selection’s “Let the Sun Shine In.” Plus, Isabelle Huppert in France’s “Mrs. Hyde/Madame Hyde,” based loosely on “Jekyll and Hyde” with mystery, hypnosis, uncontrollable powers, stormy nights and everything else thrown in except acne.
Also scheduled is a 24-film tribute to Robert Mitchum, whose bit player to bigshot hotshot spanned five decades and 100+ films, mostly Westerns. This would’ve been his centenary and to quote that cool dude: “I have two kinds of acting. One on a horse and one off a horse.”
Kelly gang growing
Friends are happy, mama Veronica and former police commish papa Ray Kelly are happy. Son Greg Kelly, former Marine colonel/current Rosanna Scotto Fox-TV morning co-star, is happy. He’s engaged. She’s Judith Grey. Australian. A designer. He proposed in the Hamptons. He gave her a diamond ring. Wedding’s come winter. As they sing in “Guys and Dolls”: “More I cannot tell you. More I do not know.”
Sheen-y screen
Also coming at us, by itself, on Friday, before the Film Festival, is Charlie Sheen’s thing “9/11.” It’s set in an elevator. It’s five people. To protect the innocent I won’t mention their names.
Understand, we don’t say it isn’t great. Even don’t ask whatinhell’s Charlie, a disaster all by himself, doing in a 9/11 movie. Only saying it opened in LA and the Sheen went off Charlie. He ducked the premiere. Is all I’m saying.
Bits ‘n’ boobs
With losing old friend Shelley Berman, be it known I just remembered he once wrote a play. “First Is Supper.” About 1919 Chicago. The National Jewish Theater was producing . . .
Rudy Giuliani’s annual 9/11 get-together with friends was canceled. Reason sent from his office: Recouping from surgery.
A blue-suited dude, tie and all, to a street mendicant he passed: “In a hurry now. Catch you on the way back.” Answered the one he passed: “Giving credit I lose a lot of money.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.