The Tribeca Festival in New York announced, on Friday, its line-up of Talks and Reunion Screenings with the stars and directors from iconic films, and conversations with the driving forces behind film, television, music, business, and politics.
These once-in-a-lifetime conversations will be part of the 20th Anniversary Festival celebration taking place city-wide on 9-20 June this year, the first major film festival to host in person events.
Participating talent this year includes: Wes Anderson; Alec Baldwin; Steve Buscemi; Joel Coen; Bradley Cooper; Robert De Niro; Guillermo del Toro; Danny Glover; Shira Haas; Debbie Harry; Anjelica Huston; John Legend; Frances McDormand; M Night Shyamalan; Gwyneth Paltrow; Emily Ratajkowski; Matthew Rhys; Amy Schumer; Martin Scorsese; Ali Wentworth; Luke Wilson; and Owen Wilson.
Tribeca Talks
The Storytellers part of the festival celebrates ground-breaking creators working across multiple mediums.
This year’s multi-talented group includes: Mike Jackson and John Legend of Get Lifted Film Company; Oscar-nominated actor and director Bradley Cooper in conversation with Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro; comedian and actress Amy Schumer in conversation with Emily Ratajkowski; and screenwriter Scott Z Burns in conversation with Emmy Award-winning actor Matthew Rhys.
There is also: Shira Haas, the breakout star of Orthodox and the Tribeca Festival Best Actress-winner for ASIA with actress and comedian, Ali Wentworth; and Debbie Harry, Clem Burke, and Chris Stein, of the legendary punk band Blondie.
The festival’s Directors Series features intimate conversations with renowned directors who will share memorable moments from their prestigious careers. This year’s participating directors include Doug Liman, M Night Shyamalan, and Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Additional Tribeca Talks events include Scott Rechler, CEO and Chairperson of RXR Realty, recording two new episodes of his podcast, Recalibrate Reality: The Future of NY. There will also be conversations with REDEF CEO Jason Hirschhorn about the business of entertainment and the future of podcasting.
The 2021 Tribeca Festival will also celebrate milestone anniversaries of some of Hollywood’s most iconic films.
Director Joel Cohen will be joined in conversation with stars Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning Fargo. The 30th anniversary of the critically acclaimed The Five Heartbeats will reunite stars Robert Townsend, John Terrell, Tico Wells, Leon Robinson, Harry Lennix, Michael Wright and Hawthorne James.
Meanwhile, the 20th anniversary of the classic The Royal Tenenbaums features stars Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Danny Glover, and director Wes Anderson.
Robert De Niro teams up with director Martin Scorsese to discuss creating one of cinema’s eternal masterpieces, Raging Bull. And finally, the festival will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s first feature-length film, The Kid, with a special screening event.
“Each year the Tribeca Festival gathers the most esteemed names in film and entertainment for conversations that shine a light on the creative process,” said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises and the Tribeca Festival, “This year we are particularly proud that we can once again convene these talented names for in-person conversations as we discuss new ways our world and business is being reshaped and reimagined.”
Paula Weinstein, Chief Content Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, said, “This year’s Tribeca Talks will have timely conversations about real world issues and how they affect film, television, politics and business.”
She added that the Tribeca Talks and Reunion screenings are always a big fan favourite, with the festival looking forward to the illuminating conversations that will take place during this milestone 20th Festival.
Directors Series
This conversation series showcases the careers of influential filmmakers.
- M Night Shyamalan;
- Doug Liman in conversation with Jason Hirschorn;
- Gina Prince-Bythewood in conversation with Sanaa Lathan.
Storytellers
This series celebrates the illustrious careers of today’s most innovative creators, who have broken from traditional roles and pioneered their own forms of storytelling. This year, participants include:
- Bradley Cooper and Guillermo del Toro;
- Amy Schumer and Emily Ratajkowski;
- Scott Z. Burns and Matthew Rhys;
- Shira Haas and Ali Wentworth;
- Get Lifted’s John Legend and Mike Jackson;
- Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Clem Burke and Chris Stein.
Tribeca Talks
- This year, Scott Rechler will host Recalibrate Reality: The Future of NY;
- Jason Hirschhorn will present The Business of Entertainment” and “The Future of Podcasting.
Reunions and Restorations
The Royal Tenenbaums – 20th Anniversary
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Etheline (Anjelica Huston), had three children, Chas, Margot, and Richie, before separating. Chas (Ben Stiller) started buying real estate in his early teens and seemed to have an almost preternatural understanding of international finance. Meanwhile, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) was a playwright and received a Braverman Grant of $50,000 in the ninth grade. Richie (Luke Wilson) was a junior champion tennis player and won the US Nationals three years in a row. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. The Royal Tenenbaums is a hilarious and touching study of melancholy and redemption.
- After the Screening: A live-streamed conversation with Wes Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, and Danny Glover.
Fargo – 25th Anniversary
Things go terribly awry when small-time Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H Macy) hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so he can collect ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. Once people start dying, the very chipper and very pregnant Police Chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) takes the case. Is she up for this challenge?
- After the Screening: An-in person conversation Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, and Steve Buscemi.
The Five Heartbeats – 30th Anniversary
Five friends leave their neighbourhood and head for a new type of music – Motown. Coming in on the tail end of a rhythm and blues singing group explosion, The Five Heartbeats (Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon Robinson, Harry J Lennix, Tico Wells), rise and fall within the space of seven years. Along the way, the group deals with all manner of fame and fortune distractions, as jealousy, greed, too much womanising, and drugs all take a toll. An in-person conversation with Robert Townsend, John Terrell, Tico Wells, Leon Robinson, James Hawthorne, Harry Lennix, Michael Wright moderated by Loren Hammonds.
The Kid – 100th Anniversary
Charlie Chaplin was already an international star when he decided to break out of the short-film format and make his first full-length feature. The Kid not only shows Chaplin at a turning point, when he proved that he was a serious film director, it remains an expressive masterwork of silent cinema. In it, he stars as his lovable Tramp character, this time raising an orphan (a remarkable young Jackie Coogan) he has rescued from the streets. Chaplin and Coogan make a miraculous pair in this nimble marriage of sentiment and slapstick, a film that is, as its opening title card states, “a picture with a smile, and perhaps, a tear.”
Raging Bull – Restoration
Robert De Niro teamed up with director Martin Scorsese to create one of cinema’s eternal masterpieces. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, this contemporary classic is “ambitious, violent, poetic and lyrical” according to The New York Times. De Niro turns in a powerful, Best Actor Oscar-winning performance as Jake La Motta, a boxer who’s psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty co-star with De Niro in the film. Director Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro discuss the film’s lasting legacy in a pre-recorded conversation.
