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Interview: Marshall Fine
We speak to the noted film critic about hosting the Symphony Space’s new film program
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Symphony Space announced a new venture for its film program: The Thalia Film Club, hosted and produced by Marshall Fine, noted film critic and author. Fine, film critic for The Huffington Post and Star magazine, will select the films, introduce each screening and conduct a question-and-answer session with surprise special guests following each screening. Encore sat down with him to discuss the new series.
What will be the special highlights of this season’s series?
This is a new series, so I hope we have many highlights. I’m excited about all of the potential films I’m looking at and negotiating for. Part of the excitement, of course, is that we don’t announce the titles ahead of time. The audience finds out what it’s seeing when it arrives at the theater; in that way, they can experience the film with a fresh eye, without preconceived notions.
Why do you think it has been such a success?
People love movies and they love getting in on a movie before everyone else. They also have what seems to be an insatiable appetite for inside information about how movies are made. So the post-screening Q&As, which often involve filmmakers, producers, writers and actors, provide the opportunity to get the scoop on the film they’ve just seen.
Which screening are you personally looking forward to the most?
The first one! It’s really exciting to get the opportunity to launch a program like this, working with an organization as prestigious and beloved as Symphony Space, in a theater with as much history as the Thalia.
Who are some of the special guests attending this season?
I don’t announce the guests ahead of time for a couple of reasons. For one thing, plans can change at the last minute. For another thing, I like to think that the series is about the films—and the guests are a bonus.
What makes this film series so unique?
It’s the only series in New York City that’s hosted by a working film critic. I like to think that my decades of experience as a critic and entertainment writer give me an insight to the films, and that my interviewing skills mean that I’ll ask the questions that the audience wants the answers to from our guests.