Three Screenings of Blue Valentine Scheduled for 2011 Dietrich Film Festival

The schedule for the 2011 Dietrich Film Festival in Tunkhannock has been announced, and the film Blue Valentine (filmed in and around the Scranton area--including the Reference Department at Scranton Public Library) will be screen three times. So if you didn't have the opportunity to see it on the big screen when it played in Moosic or Wilkes-Barre, this will be your last chance to see it locally.

Blue Valentine will be shown at the festival:

Saturday, April 9th at 9:30 PM
Wednesday, April 13th at 4:30 PM
Thursday, April 21st at 2:15 PM

Information on prices and purchasing tickets online can be found here.

Blue Valentine will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10th. Albright Memorial Library will have copies of the film in both format to borrow. To place a hold on the DVD, click here.

www.DietrichTheater.com

"You & Me" Video from Blue Valentine Features Scene Shot at Scranton Public Library

The makers of Blue Valentine released the official video for You & Me by Penny & the Quarters, a classic song that the characters Cindy (Michelle Williams) and Dean (Ryan Gosling) pick as "their song."

1:09-1:14 of the video features the scene filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library in May 2009.

Unfortunately, the film will finish its local run at Cinemark on Thursday, March 3rd, but it will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10th (the library is getting both formats to check out).

For more on the video and the song's usage in Blue Valentine, click here.

ALSO, if you got to the 1:47 mark of this Blue Valentine fan video, you will see a scene where Michelle Williams is riding a bus as Albright Memorial Library passes in the background.

Blue Valentine To Be Released on DVD and Blu-Ray May 10, 2011

According to Blu-Ray.com, the film Blue Valentine (filmed in Carbondale and Scranton, with a scene filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library, will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on May 10, 2011. Albright Memorial Library will carry both formats in the circulating collection.

Blue Valentine Opens in Wilkes-Barre Friday, February 4th; Will Be Held Over at Cinemark This Weekend

It has been announced that the film Blue Valentine will be opening at the R/C Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 on Friday, February 4th. For showtimes, click here.

The film will also be held over this weekend at Cinemark.

www.bluevalentinemovie.com

Full Program of John Updike's Pennsylvania, Filmed At Albright Memorial Library in Scranton, Available On YouTube

For those who were unable to catch PCN's airings of John Updike's Pennsylvania (filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library) when it originally aired on Humanities On The Road, the complete episode is available (in 4 parts) on YouTube, which is embedded below. Part 1 features a really nice overview of the Albright Memorial Library building; furthermore, the Periodicals Room was also the filming location for a key scene in the critically acclaimed film Blue Valentine.

You can also purchase a DVD of John Updike's Pennsylvania by clicking here.

Awesome Article on The Filming of Blue Valentine in Scranton In This Week's Weekender (Vol. 18, Issue 10, January 19-25, 2011)

This week's issue of The Weekender (Vol. 18, Issue 10, January 19-25, 2011) features a cover story on the filming of the acclaimed film Blue Valentine, which was filmed in Scranton and other areas of NEPA (including the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library). The article, written by Amy Longsdorf, features exclusive interviews with director Derek Cianfrance and stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling about filming in Scranton, Carbondale, and other areas in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

My favorite quote is at the end of the article, where Michelle Williams talks about her experience sharing a house with Ryan Gosling near Carbondale, PA for a month to prepare for the film's scenes charting the crumbling of their relationship:

"I feel like it’s a place that I’ve lived. I would include that in my stops through life, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I lived outside of Scranton for a couple of months.’”

Click here to read the full article or pick up an issue today.

Blue Valentine (2010)

On January 5th, I took a day trip to New York City to see Blue Valentine; at the time, the film was playing in a total of 4 theaters nationwide (NYC and Los Angeles) but has slowly been expanding. Since I am more familiar with midtown/uptown Manhattan (it was also playing at the Angelika Film Center downtown on Houston Street), I opted to see the film at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on Broadway and 62nd Street. The 3:30 matinee was packed, and the actual screen size was on the smaller side and some of the image went above the white screen (more on that later).

Blue Valentine is a love story that intercuts between the beginning and (possibly?) end of the relationship between house painter Dean (Ryan Gosling) and nurse Cindy (Michelle Williams). And I thought the film was absolutely superb. Not only did the performances blow me away, but the story just ripped my heart out.

The scene filmed in the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library on May 13, 2009 appears about an hour, 10 minutes into the film during one of Cindy's "past" sequences. Dean had previously given Cindy his business card with a personal message written by him on the back. While seated at the table with classmates in the Periodicals Room (you can recognize the chairs, tables and even magazine holders--or Princeton Files--in the background), Cindy's on-off boyfriend Bobby (Mike Vogel) snatches the card out of her hand. I mentioned the framing issue previously because I did not see any of the stained glass windows of the Albright Memorial Library building--but maybe I just missed them out of sheer excitement.

The exterior of the Albright Memorial Library building itself also appears in the background of a scene about 30 minutes into Blue Valentine. As Michelle Williams is riding the bus alone to meet Bobby, you distinctly see Albright Memorial Library as it passes through the bus windows. At first I wasn't 100% positive that it indeed was the library, so I asked Dan Flosdorf, who was responsible for the sound design, sound editing, and the re-recording mixing of Blue Valentine, via Dan's Twitter and he told me via a tweet, "I believe it is."

As of Friday, January 14th, Blue Valentine was only playing in limited release in 230 movie theaters nationwide, but it is expected to expand wider (most likely including Cinemark in Moosic, which plays a lot of art films in its CineArts series) as the critically acclaimed film gains well-deserved momentum during awards seasons.

www.bluevalentinemovie.com
twitter.com/danflosdorf

According to New Issue of Entertainment Weekly, Blue Valentine Expands Release January 14, 2011

This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly (#1136, January 7, 2011) features not only a rave review of Blue Valentine (pps. 50-51) but also takes the #1 spot on this week's "The Must List"--which also states that the film (partly shot in Scranton, with a pivotal scene filmed at Albright Memorial Library on May 13, 2009) will expand to a wider release on Friday, January 14th. So if you can't get to NYC (now playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinema) or LA to see Blue Valentine in its limited release, it will more than likely be playing at Cinemark in Moosic in about 2 weeks.

www.twitter.com/BlueVMovie
www.bluevalentinemovie.com

Uh Oh! "Blue Valentine," Filmed Partly In Scranton Public Library's Reference Department, Slapped With NC-17 Rating

It is being reported that Blue Valentine, the critically acclaimed film that was the toast of this year's Sundance Film Festival and an official selection for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, has been given an NC-17 rating by The Motion Picture Association of America, reportedly for some strong sexual content.

What does this mean? Well, Blue Valentine will have to either be re-cut or appealed to the MPAA to lower the rating to an R; many large U.S. theater chains, such as Cinemark in Moosic, have stated they will not screen NC-17 rated films.

Blue Valentine, starring Oscar nominees Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, tells the gripping story of a young couple who fall in and out of love over a span of several years.

The film has garnished HUGE raves at various film festivals around the world; ever since its premiere at Sundance, there has been Oscar buzz for both the film and the two lead performances, which are said to be truly magnificent.

Filming locations included both Honesdale, PA and Scranton, PA. Back on May 19, 2009, the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library was used as a filming location for several pivotal scenes.

As a matter of fact, on page 18 of the film's official press release, both Scranton Public Library and Jack Finnerty, Library Director of SPL, are given "Special Thanks" in the film's closing credits, which is VERY cool :)

For more information on Blue Valentine's NC-17 rating, click here. For a previous blog entry on the exciting day scenes were filmed in our Reference Department, click here.

Below is the just-released official theatrical trailer for Blue Valentine, which is still scheduled to open in limited release on December 31, 2010. Note that Albright Memorial Library DOES NOT appear in any scenes in the trailer.

UPDATE 10/14/10: The Weinstein Company, who acquired the distribution rights to Blue Valentine, have officially appealed the NC-17 rating and are hoping for an R rating without any cuts. For more information, click here.

www.bluevalentinemovie.com

Scenes From "Blue Valentine" Filmed in Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library (Wednesday, May 13th, 2009)

On Wednesday, May 13th, 2009, the Reference Department at Albright Memorial Library was used as a location to film scenes for the upcoming independent film Blue Valentine, starring Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) and Ryan Gosling (The Notebook). Director Derek Cianfrance really loved the library building and selected it as a setting for pivotal scenes in the film.


Incentive Filmed Entertainment is financing Blue Valentine; Silverwood Films’ Lynette Howell and Hunting Lane Films’ Jamie Patricof and Alex Orlovsky are the producers. Also of note is that Hunting Lane Films is the same production company that produced 2006's Half Nelson, which earned Ryan Gosling an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Yes, both Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were in the Reference Department for the filming.

Now the big question...did you meet them?

No...and yes. Because the Reference Department needed to be private and silent for the filming, the Reference staff were relocated to the computer lab for the duration of the filming. When we were permitted to return to the department, the crew was busy removing film equipment, etc. As we were getting ready to reopen the department to the public, we looked out the window behind the Reference Desk and there, in front of our library, were both Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling talking to the crew at the main gate of the library. Seconds later, Michelle Williams returned and came up the steps to the Reference Department. The staff said Hi to her and she, in turn, said, "Hi." Then I asked, "How are ya?" and she smiled and responded, "Fine."

And that was it. But I can now officially cross "Exchange pleasantries with Oscar nominee" off my list of Things to Do Before I Die.

Also check out page 22 of the May 18, 2009 issue of People Weekly (the one with "Kirstie Alley's Weight Saga" on the cover), which features a photo of Michelle Williams in a wheelchair in Scranton filming a scene; to see the pic online, click here.

One final note: when they finished filming in Reference, a crew member for Blue Valentine told us not to be surprised if various weird objects turn up scattered in the department, left over from filming. A few days later, one of our student assistants found (of all things) a clothes hanger left over from filming. I kept it, just for the heck of it--after all, it is an authentic Blue Valentine filming artifact and, at worst, it will come in handy if I ever find myself feeling all Joan Crawford (NO WIRE HANGERS!!!!!!)

Blue Valentine is currently in post-production and is tentatively scheduled for a 2010 release.