Listen to interviews with Jed Dietz, Director of the Maryland Film Festival, on episodes of Maryland Morning (88.1FM WYPR). Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast is a lively mix of interviews about news, the arts, politics, science, history – all the topics and people that make Maryland such an interesting place to live and work.

 

7 February 2014

What are the best flicks of winter? Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival talk about it. And the Oscars are on March 2nd–they talk about their picks.

They also remember actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died on Sunday, February 2nd, of a suspected drug overdose.

There are also two documentaries with Maryland connections on screens around the state: 12 O’Clock Boys, by filmmaker Lotfy Nathan, follows an urban dirt bike pack in Baltimore. They call themselves 12 o’clock boys because that’s what it looks like when the pop wheelies.

And the documentary After Tiller is the next installment in the WYPR Maryland Morning Film Festival Spotlight Series. It follows four doctors in the US who perform late term abortions. Sheilah Kast will then interview one of the filmmakers, Martha Shane, who’s from the Baltimore area.

24 January 2014

It’s been said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. When the January freeze hit Maryland a week or so ago, Jed Dietz headed to the balmy clime of Park City Utah, where the temperature is a reported 38 degrees today, 30 degrees warmer than here in Charm City. Dietz is the Director of the Maryland Film Festival, and The Sundance Film Festival is part of his winter ritual every year.

Jed Dietz talks with Tom Hall about the films at Sundance, including Ping Pong Summer, which was filmed in Ocean City.

3 January 2014

What are the best flicks of fall? Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival openly discuss their personal best picks.

On the list to consider: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, starring Idris Elba, known for his work in The Wire, Lone Survivor, about the failed 2005 mission “Operation Red Wings,” and August: Osage County, based on the play by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay. They also talk about the new Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.

6 December 2014

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival talk about their favorite films for the fall.

Hit & Stay is a feature length documentary film about the Catonsville Nine who protested the Vietnam war by breaking into the Catonsville Selective Service office and burned stacks of draft records outside while they waited to be arrested.

The latest film from the Coen Brothers follows a young, struggling, folk singer in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1961called, Inside Llewyn Davis.

Nebraska is a film about an estranged father and son who travel to Nebraska to claim a one million dollar sweepstakes prize.

In Frozen, Disney and Pixar team up to tell the story of Elsa who journeys to find her sister and learn to control her power to create ice and snow.

We also mark the passing of a long-time local movie rental institution, Video American.

1 November 2013

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival talk about their favorite films for fall.

Blue is the Warmest Color is receiving a lot of attention for comments from its cast concerning the working conditions on the set, its NC-17 rating, and for the awards it has won. It received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for best director for Abdellatif Kechiche. And for the first time ever, the Palme d’Or for best actress was awarded to two actresses, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux who play the principle characters.

After Tiller is a documentary that picks up after the 2009 assassination of Dr. George Tiller who was an abortion doctor in Kansas. The film follows several of Tiller’s colleagues fighting to keep this service available in the wake of his death.

Mother of George follows a Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn who after a year of marriage are still unable to conceive a child.

Medora is a documentary that follows four boys from rural Medora, Indiana in an underdog basketball story that reminiscent of another popular basketball film, Hoosiers.

About Time is about a young man who finds that being able to travel through time doesn’t making finding a girlfriend any easier.

In All is Lost, Robert Redford plays a man lost at sea and very alone. Redford is the only actor in the film which features almost no dialogue as his character struggles to survive.

11 October 2013

The historic Senator Theater kicked off its grand re-opening yesterday with a sold-out screening of John Waters’ Hairspray with proceeds benefiting the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Their regular season begins today with Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary I Am Divine along with must-see-on-the-big-screen film Gravity.

And tonight, the Maryland Film Festival WYPR Spotlight Series and Open Society Institute present American Promise. It follows two boys from Brooklyn during their 12 years at Manhattan’s elite Dalton School.

You can also read Ann Hornaday’s piece in the Washington Post on Captain Phillips and how Hollywood is embracing docudrama here.

6 September 2013

What are the best flicks of the fall?  Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival have a debatable discussion.

Ann’s now at the Toronto International Film Festival–the movies she’s recommending include The Fifth Estate, which opens in October. It’s a Bill Condon film based on former Wikileaks spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg’s book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World’s Most Dangerous Website. They also debate Blue Jasmine, In a World, and the new Matt Porterfield film I Used to Be Darker, which opens at the Charles later this month–before its New York or Los Angeles openings.

2 August 2013

What should you make time to see for the last sultry months of summer?  Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival have insight on what is a must-see flick.

The movies they debate include Drinking Buddies, The Act of Killing, Fruitvale Station, and Blue Jasmine

8 July 2013

How did films fare over the Fourth of July box office? What should you make time to see for the remainder of the summer? For this discussion is Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival.

The movies they debate include The Lone Ranger, Despicable Me 2, Hannah Arendt, The Way, Way Back, and Twenty Feet From Stardom

7 June 2013

Is the number of female film critics declining? A new study says yes. Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival discuss the details about this issue.

They also talk about films to watch this summer, including Stories We Tell, Frances Ha, and We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. You can also catch I Am Divine, which is screening at the Creative Alliance at 9 pm tonight.

Ann has been to the Cannes Film Festival, and gives us the highlights from France–all American films.

3 May 2013

The Maryland Film Festival was held on Wednesday, May 8th and ran through Sunday, May 13th. The festival screened nearly 50 feature films and 75 short films.  These films ranged from classics to locally produced films.  Screenings include Absence of Malice, The Lost World, Mother of George, Augustine, Willow Creek, and more!

Festival director Jed Dietz and Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday joined WPR’s Tom Hall to discuss the festival.

Visit the Maryland Film Festival website for the full schedule with screening times and locations. Tickets can also be purchased 

5 April 2013

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post joins Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival and WYPR’s Tom Hall to discuss the late film critic Roger Ebert.

1 March 2013

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post joins Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival to discuss the Oscar winners–and the job Seth McFarland did as host.

8 February 2013

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post joins Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival to discuss their Oscar picks, including Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty and Ben Affleck’s Argo. You can make your own picks on an Oscar ballot, if you like.

They also give their impressions of the best of the Sundance Film Festival, including the work of Bradford Young, a cinematographer from Maryland. Ann wrote about his work in this piece.

4 January 2013

Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post joins Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival to discuss the best–and worst–of winter cinema. It includes Quentin Tarantino’s Django, Unchained, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. 

7 December 2012

From a small hobbit to an unfaithful Russian lady–there’s a lot of movies to see this holiday season. Tom Hall talks to Jed Deitz and Mike Sragow about December’s best flicks.

9 November 2012

Take this week’s weather as a sign to invest in some quality indoor activities. Here to help you is Tom Hall, Jed Deitz and Mike Sragow, with the November films that will keep you glued in front of the big screen.

5 October 2012

If you’re looking for a flick to see this month, October’s got everything from sci-fi to stopmotion. Here to help us sort through it all are our resident movie experts Jed Dietz and Mike Sragow.

7 September 2012

With the trail of summer blockbusters coming to its close, Maryland Morning‘s movie experts Jed Dietz and Mike Sragow sit down to sort  through the upcoming rush of fall flicks. And they’ve already found several standouts.

3 August 2012

Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Fesival and Mike Sragow of the Baltimore Sun team up with Tom Hall to bring you the latest on what’s best on the silver screen.

6 July 2012

Tom Hall talks with our masters of movies, our foremost flop forecasters, our predominant motion picture ponderers–that is to say Mike Sragow, former film critic for the Baltimore Sun, and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival.

2 July 2012

A few months ago, the Baltimore Sun moved film critic Michael Sragow to the copy desk, sparking an outcry in Baltimore’s film and arts community.

But what does it actually mean to lose a local film critic? We ask filmmaker John Waters, Maryland Film Festival director Jed Dietz, and National Society of Film Critics chairman David Sterritt.

The podcast may be found here, or tune into WYPR’s 88.1FM on Monday, July 2nd at 9am to catch the broadcast.

25 May 2012

Tom Hall talks with our masters of movies, our foremost flop forecasters, our predominant motion picture ponderers–that is to say Mike Sragow, former film critic for the Baltimore Sun, and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival.

Jed talks about Benh Zeitlin’s BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, which won the grand jury prize at 2012 Sundance Film Festival to be screened June 5th at MICA with screenwriter Lucy Alibar. Jed and Mike and also discuss Joss Whedon’s box office hit THE AVENGERS, based on the Marvel comic series, and BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/525123-movie-mayhem/

4 May 2012

Tom Hall talks with Jed Dietz, the director of the Maryland Film Festival, about the lineup for this year’s festival, taking place this weekend.

Jed talks about opening night of the film festival, which featured several short films, as well as films being played during film festival weekend. He also talks about the Maryland Film Festival itself as it compares to Sundance and other film festivals.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/54122/

6 April 2012

Tom Hall talks with our masters of movies, our foremost flop forecasters, our predominant motion picture ponderers, that is to say Mike Sragow from the Baltimore Sun and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival are here.

Jed, Mike, and Tom discuss the 3D re-release of James Cameron’s 1997 box office smash TITANIC, as well as the book-to-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestseller THE HUNGER GAMES starring Jennifer Lawrence.

mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/46123/

2 March 2012

Maryland Film Festival director Jed Dietz and former Baltimore Sun film critic Mike Sragow join us to talk about what sparkles on the silver screen.

Tom, Jed, and Mike discuss the 2012 Academy Awards winners and surprises. They discuss Oscar award winners A SEPARATION, THE ARTIST, HUGO, and THE DESCENDENTS

They also talk about PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, which is being screened at the Meyerhoff March 3rd with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the upcoming screening of RETURN with writer/director Liza Johnson at the MICA Brown Center.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/32123/

3 February 2012

It’s time for our monthly round of movie mayhem with an awards season flavor! We talk with Jed Dietz the Director of the Maryland Film Festival, and Mike Sragow of  the Baltimore Sun.

Tom, Jed, and Mike discuss the upcoming Academy Awards nominations. Mike discusses Demián Bichir, nominated for best actor in A BETTER LIFE as well as Asghar Farhadi’s A SEPARATION, which has been nominated for best screenplay as well as best foreign film. Jed discusses much-hyped nominated film THE ARTIST. They also talk about nominations for  best documentary as well as best actress.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/23123/

6 January 2012

Tom Hall talks with our masters of movies, our foremost flop forecasters, our predominant motion picture ponderers, that is to say Mike Sragow former film critic for the Baltimore Sun and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival are here.

The guys discuss the upcoming remake of the British TV series for play exclusively on Netflix, HOUSE OF CARDS from director David Fincher starring Kevin Spacey, which is being shot in Baltimore. They discuss how tax money and state funding is affecting film production in Baltimore and Maryland. They talk about the remake of GIRL WITH A DRAGON TATTOO with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig, as well as the upcoming silent film THE ARTIST, and MY WEEK WITH MARILYN.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/1-6-12-movie-mayhem/

9 December 2011

Jed Dietz, Director of the Maryland Film Festival, Mike Sragow, former film critic for the Baltimore Sun and Tom Hall do the diner, Barry Levinson’s DINER that is! We talk about the iconic Baltimore movie thirty years on.

The guys discuss the Baltimore films of Barry Levinson series put on by the Maryland Film Festival, celebrating the 30th anniversary of DINER. December 10th’s screening will include a discussion with Barry Levinson and the entire cast of DINER. Tom, Jed, and Mike discuss few other iconic Barry Levinson films like AVALON and THE BAND THAT WOULDN’T DIE. They talk about how buzz for DINER took off when it was released, and how Levinson’s films sparked the careers of many current top actors in their early days including Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Steve Guttenberg and Daniel Stern.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/12-9-11-movie-mayhem/

5 December 2011

A few months ago, the Baltimore Sun moved film critic Michael Sragow to the copy desk, sparking an outcry in Baltimore’s film and arts community.

But what does it actually mean to lose a local film critic? We ask filmmaker John Waters, Maryland Film Festival director Jed Dietz, and National Society of Film Critics chairman David Sterritt.

They discuss how blogging has taken up a great part of the “democratization” and current dialog on film, as well how the documentary FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES looks at the industry of film criticism and its downfall.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/125111-criticizing-criticism/

4 November 2011

Maryland Film Festival director Jed Dietz and former Baltimore Sun film critic Mike Sragow join us to talk about what sparkles on the silver screen.

Tom, Mike, and Jed discuss Pedro Almodóvar’s THE SKIN I LIVE IN (LA PIEL QUE HABITO) starring Antonio Banderas, as well TAKE SHELTER with Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE starring Elizabeth Olsen, and MARGIN CALL with Kevin Spacey and Paul Bettany.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/114114-monthly-movie-madness/

7 Oct 2011

Tom Hall talks with our masters of movies, our foremost flop forecasters, our predominant motion picture ponderers, that is to say Mike Sragow former film critic for the Baltimore Sun and Jed Dietz of the Maryland Film Festival are here.

Tom, Mike, and Jed discuss MONEYBALL starring Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt as well as 50/50 starring Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They also talk about hype for an upcoming musical production of DINER with music and lyrics by Sheryl Crowe, which will debut with a four week tryout at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre Oct. 23-Nov. 18.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/10-7-11-movie-mayhem/



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