Half-Hour Original Series Premieres September 30 at 10:30 PM ET/PT
Guests Include Martin Scorsese, Daniel Day-Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg
and Kevin Kline
Show Based on Legendary NYU Course Taught by Professor Richard Brown
LOS ANGELES (TCA PRESS TOUR), JULY 17, 2005 In the fall of 1970, Richard Brown was a young instructor at NYU teaching a class he had invented the year before called "Movies 101." One night, a short film didn't arrive so Brown called his friend and Greenwich Village neighbor, Mel Brooks. "Mel, I have nothing to teach," Brown pleaded. "Can you come to class tonight and do an interview?" After a bit of convincing, Brooks finally agreed. That night began a tradition that has endured for 35 years, and still continues today. And now the tradition continues on AMC.
On Friday, September 30 at 10:30 PM ET/PT, AMC presents the new original series MOVIES 101 WITH PROFESSOR RICHARD BROWN, a new movie-centric interview show, hosted by the acclaimed New York University Professor. Already a popular New York University course taught by Professor Brown, AMC brings this eight-part weekly series MOVIES 101 to television viewers. Upcoming guests include Martin Scorsese, Liam Neeson, Jennifer Aniston, Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller, and Sigourney Weaver. Already taped are Daniel Day-Lewis, Kevin Kline and Whoopi Goldberg.
Prof. Richard Brown commented, "For over 35 years I have had conversations with the most gifted film artists in America. The mission of MOVIES 101 has always been to put the film lover at the very center of the motion picture experience. The opportunity now to bring the energy and insights that come out of our weekly exchanges to an audience of 86 million film lovers is absolutely thrilling. I am grateful to AMC for their support, their splendid spirit, but most of all, for the great passion which we share for movies and the gifted artists who make them."
AMC commissioned a pilot of MOVIES 101 WITH PROFESSOR RICHARD BROWN in December 2004. The episode featured a candid, revealing conversation with actor Willem Dafoe. The pilot was shot on location at the Skirball Center for the Arts in Washington Square South in New York City, in front of an audience of students and movie lovers.
Prof. Brown began teaching in 1967 and launched MOVIES 101 in 1969. Early guests included Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. It grew to be America's largest film class, drawing the most gifted film artists of this generation, including Martin Scorsese, Renee Zellweger, Ethan Hawke, Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Daniel Day-Lewis, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Steven Spielberg, Kate Winslet, George Clooney and Al Pacino. Pacino, when asked to do interviews for a three DVD package agreed, only if Prof. Brown would conduct the interviews. (The "Pacino Collection" will be released in November by FOX.) Pacino said, "There was only one choice, I wanted the best and Richard is #1."
After his recent interview, Kevin Kline commented, "The word interview does not do justice to what Richard creates. I find myself in a warm, intimate exchange having a wonderful time and invariably discovering things about my work and my approach that I didn't know when I sat down." Mr. Kline ended with the observation, "As a conversationalist, Richard is brilliant. It was immensely satisfying? and great fun!"
At the end of his taping, Daniel Day-Lewis turned to the audience and said, "The truth is, I don't like interviews and as my wife will tell you, I never do them. But years ago, Richard interviewed me in conjunction with My Left Foot. It was so unusual and the conversation was so splendid, I never forgot it. When he invited me, I accepted in a flash with the expectation that I would have a wonderful evening. In truth, it has been even better than I expected."
Martin Scorsese: "I met Richard in 1965 when we were both film students at NYU. We have been friends now for 40 years and I think he is simply terrific at what he does."
In addition to his work at New York University, where he holds a Professorship in Humanities, Richard Brown has lectured with distinction here and abroad for over a quarter-century. A visiting lecturer at Yale University and The Smithsonian, he has presented acclaimed programs on cinema at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Corcoran Gallery in Washington; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. At the United Nations' first international festival of film, Prof. Brown delivered the keynote address.
City Lights Media, based in NYC, produces the series for AMC. Producer is Dave Noll, Executive Producer is Richard Brown.
AMC, a division of Rainbow Media's Entertainment Services, which also includes WE: Women's Entertainment and IFC Companies, is a 24-hour, movie-based network, dedicated to the American movie fan. The network, which reaches over 86,000,000 homes, offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and a critically-acclaimed slate of original programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. Over the past three years, AMC has garnered many of the industry's highest honors, including 14 Emmy awards. AMC is "TV for movie people."
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
A leader in sports, news and entertainment programming, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. Rainbow owns and manages national networks: AMC, Fuse, IFC (The Independent Film Channel) and WE: Women's Entertainment, as well as on-demand services including Mag Rack and sportskool. Rainbow's other businesses include its regional programming services – Rainbow Sports Networks, News 12 Networks and Metro Traffic & Weather – in addition to the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications.