Open letter takes aim at ‘The Shape of Water’
THE MOVIE “The Shape of Water”
THE DEAL David Zindel has written an open letter explaining the pre-Oscar timing of his copyright infringement lawsuit against director Guillermo del Toro, Fox Searchlight and others involved in the acclaimed film “The Shape of Water.” Zindel is the son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel, whose 1969 play “Let Me Hear You Whisper” was about a cleaning woman in a government facility who falls in love with a dolphin and helps it escape using a laundry cart — a plot with similarities to del Toro’s film. “Since mid-January we gave Fox every opportunity to resolve this matter before we filed,” David Zindel wrote in his letter. Del Toro, who co-wrote the film, has said he has never seen or read the play. “I really cannot stomach the timing of this accusation,” he told Deadline earlier this week.
THE MOVIE “That Summer”
THE DEAL A long-lost film project about “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale and “Little Edie” Beale, the eccentric aristocrats at the center of the Maysles brothers’ iconic 1975 documentary “Grey Gardens,” will be released in theaters in May. “That Summer” centers on a film initiated by artist Peter Beard and New York socialite Lee Radziwill that focused on her relatives, the two Edies, who lived in the decrepit Grey Gardens mansion in East Hampton. Shot partially by the Maysles (who later returned on their own to make “Grey Gardens”), the footage captures not only the two women but Beard and members of his Montauk-based artists community. “That Summer” is directed by Göran Hugo Olsson and includes footage directed by Andy Warhol and Jonas Mekas.
THE EVENT The Hamptons Arts Weekend Festival
THE DEAL Known by its acronym, the first-ever THAW Festival will be held March 23-25 at venues throughout the South Fork. Launched by the newly formed Hamptons Arts network, which includes the Bay Street Theater, the Hamptons International Film Festival and Guild Hall, the festival features a number of screenings (including the animated children’s film “The Breadwinner” and the documentary “I Know a Man . . . Ashley Bryan,” about the African-American artist) along with live music, art exhibits and guided tours of local institutions. For more information, go to hamptonsartsnetwork.org