THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 r
AFI
Continued from Page A-13 Accompanying the movie on Sunday afternoon will be an eight-minute Warner Bros. cartoon, “Cracked Ice,” featuring a pig who sounds like W.C. Fields scheming to get into the cask of booze carried by a Saint Bernard who rescues people. Also showing will be a 1938 newsreel, with footage of that year’s huge East Coast hurricane, the Japanese incursion into China and the Nazi takeover of Austria. Tickets to the first-come, first-served screening will be available when the box office opens late Sunday morning, Barry said. “Four Daughters” is part of a six-day run featuring four other 1938 movies running several times each day from Friday through Wednesday. For $5 a ticket, movie lovers can sit back and watch the dashing Errol Flynn in “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” as well as a goofy Cary Grant with Katharine Hepburn and a roving leopard in “Bringing Up Baby.” Other films include Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood looking for a lost woman on a train in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” as well as Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire sharing their first screen kiss in “Carefree” featuring Ralph Bellamy. AFI is inviting moviegoers to email their memories of the theater through today for an ongoing celebration this year of the 75th anniversary. Built in 1938, the 1,000 seat theater owned by Warner Bros. served as the anchor for the then-new Silver Spring Shop-
OCTOBER
Continued from Page A-13 help. He checked into a rehab facility in Nashville. “I’m actually very well [now],” Furstenfeld said. “I would have to say that I’m very grateful and I’m very blessed to be where I’m at today. I’m still pretty shocked and in awe of how well I am doing.” Healthy and, for the first time in a long time, happy, Furstenfeld and Blue October are on tour promoting their new album, “Sway.” They will be making a stop at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Fillmore Silver Spring. Whereas previous albums were used to lash out at others, “Sway,” takes the band into new territory. “’Sway’ is a lot different,” Furstenfeld said. “After putting ‘Any Man in America’ out, there was really nowhere to go but up. I’ve always known myself to just be brutally honest no matter what I was going through. For some reason in the past, there was always some sort of huge turmoil going on. All of our past records reflected that. … The No. 1 rule of this new album — and I wanted to challenge myself — there can’t be one song about how hard Justin’s got it. There can’t be one song about how hard life is and there can’t be one song that just centers around me-me-me-me-me.” “Any Man in America,” which was released when Furstenfeld was going through a bitter divorce with his first wife and custody battle over his daughter, Blue, was heavy with name calling, finger-pointing and accusations. While Furstenfeld feels the album needed to be made for the sake of his daughter, as he has called the record a push for parental rights, he realizes he’s in a much better place now. “It’s hard to explain the transition, but I’d rather enjoy my life and take it very honestly, simply and humbly,” Furstenfeld said. “In the past, when my ego and depression took over [it was different]. Now, I’m in a really good place. “‘Sway’ was a lot harder to make, to be honest with you, because it’s easy to write about sadness. It’s really easy to write about how bad you’ve got it. When it comes to happiness, peacefulness and when it comes to serenity … there’s a fine line between bubble-gum cheesy and honest and sincere. There was a lot of editing that went on and a lot of thinking. And work, work … if I can say one word, it was work!” As with most new releases, artists have to tour to promote their work. Blue October is no exception. The band is currently on a massive tour that will cover the United States and parts of Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. Being on the road can be stressful for anyone — espe-
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AFI SILVER 75TH ANNIVERSARY n When: Friday through Wednesday n Where: AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring n Tickets: $5 (Free screening of “Four Daughters” at 2 p.m. Sunday) n For schedule, information: 301-495-6700 afi.com/silver
ping Center, one of the first centers to provide off-street parking in a lot. “At the time Silver Spring barely qualified as a suburb,” said Barry about the almost rural surroundings of the time. Designed by Romanianborn architect John Eberson, the Art Moderne (a late form of Art Deco style) building was intended to evoke thoughts of an ocean liner, with a tall silver smokestack on the roof above the entrance and other nautical touches. Inside were murals of tropical birds, wave-like patterns on the walls and wall sconces with “porthole” lights intended to make patrons feel as they had boarded a ship bound for exotic locales. Using old photos, restorers were also able to reconstruct the lobby to look almost exactly like it did in the 1930s. “They identified the original carpeting pattern,” said Barry. “It’s pretty authentic.” The busy regional shopping center thrived during the 1950s, but in 1960, a new center opened in Wheaton and began to draw business away. The owners closed the
AFI
The AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a free, one-time showing on Sunday of “Four Daughters,” the movie that opened the new Art Moderne theater in 1938. From left are Lola Lane, Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, Claude Rains and Rosemary Lane. The Oscar-nominated film also featured John Garfield in his debut role. building in 1985 and planned to knock it down in the 1990s, when movie-lovers, preservationists and county officials mobilized to save it. “The key was finding the right operator,” said Jim Mooney, who at the time was working with County Executive
Douglas Duncan to revitalize downtown Silver Spring. At the same time, the American Film Institute, which had been screening films at the Kennedy Center, happened to be thinking about moving to the suburbs. AFI’s Jean Firstenberg, CEO and president of the group
at the time, paid a visit. “As soon as she saw it, she appreciated the potential,” said Mooney. With AFI at the helm, the theater reopened in 2003, now with three screens, as the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, offering a year-round program
of movies, videos, talks and festivals. “It’s been 75 years — it seemed noteworthy,” said Barry about marking the first showing of “Four Daughters” with a second. vterhune@gazette.net
BLUE OCTOBER n When: 7:30 p.m. Friday n Where: Fillmore Silver Spring, 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring n Tickets: $26 n For information: 301-9609999; fillmoresilverspring.com
cially someone who is a recovering addict. Furstenfeld, however, said he’s excited about the tour. “If you were to have asked me about a year ago, I would have said I was nervous,” Furstenfeld said. “I finished a book and did a solo spoken-word tour earlier this year to kind of get my feet wet and back into touring in a different space. In the past, I would just drain all this darkness on stage and drama. So I wanted to see if I could still do it with just as much impact and just as much passion if I was talking about enjoying life. I’m really excited. Plus my wife goes with me on tour and my daughters. I’m just blessed to be able to do what I do for a living.” One of the tracks on the new album, “Bleed Out,” is a powerful song that focuses in on the pain a man has caused for a woman. While writing songs such as “Bleed Out,” is cathartic for Furstenfeld, he said the memories of the past still haunt him. “That one was written in the eyes of my wife,” Furstenfeld said. “Just the hell I put her through. She needed that. I needed to honor her by telling the whole truth, not just ‘Oh, look at me! I’m clean and sober! Pat me on the back!’ No, that’s not something you pat someone on the back for. It should have been done a long time ago. I should have manned up a long time ago. ‘Bleed Out,’ is my song to her. Every time I hear it now, it’s just sadness when I listen to it — but it’s this rebirth. It’s almost like I’m proud of myself for putting that together because it needed to be done. The memories that come along with it are hard to think about, but the fact that I’m owning it and celebrating the new-found freedom that we have together is quite powerful.” Furstenfeld said he hopes fans take to heart the messages in “Sway.” “The light at the end of the tunnel is now,” Furstenfeld said. “We can sit around and dwell on our problems all day long, but I’ve found — just personally, me — I’ve found that it just doesn’t get me anywhere. After awhile, people don’t want to see you doing that. People don’t want to watch someone circling the drain over and over again for years. They get sick of it. … You’ve got to live up every single moment you’ve got. Life’s short.” wfranklin@gazette.net
MICHAEL DOYLE
Comedian and producer Dan Frigolette performing at Caroline’s on Broadway.
LAUGHS
Continued from Page A-13 and Hell in Adams Morgan on Friday night. The tour has enjoyed a 19-city run and showcases aspiring comedians in states across the country. This weekend, D.C.’s best kept secrets are Martin Montana, Gordon Baker-Bone and New York comedian and producer Dan Frigolette. “These are the funniest guys you haven’t heard of yet,” Frigolette said. “The idea is to get some exposure for these guys who haven’t popped yet.” Just last year, Amini was one of those guys. Born and raised in Silver Spring, Amini attended John F. Kennedy High School and graduated from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda. After graduation, he earned a degree in entrepreneurship from the business school at the University of Maryland. Amini moved out to San Francisco after college with the intention of going to law school. But it wasn’t long after taking his LSATs that Amini said he realized it wasn’t the career he wanted and decided to move to Los Angeles. “I moved out to L.A. to pursue something,” Amini said. “I wasn’t sure what ...” During his first year in L.A., Amini lived with his cousin, comedian Max Amini. It was Max who initially suggested Amini check out the entertainment industry. “He asked me, ‘What do you plan on doing?’” remembered Amini. When Amini told his cousin he was thinking of using his background in busi-
COMEDY’S BEST KEPT SECRET n When: 9 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 8 p.m. n Where: 2327 18th St., NW, Washington, D.C. n Tickets: $15 pre-sale, $20 at the door n For information: bestkeptsecret. brownpapertickets.com
ness to open a hookah lounge, Max told him: “But then you’ll just be a hookah lounge owner.” “[He said], ‘L.A. is the entertainment capital of the world. You could do anything,’” Amini said. “And that’s when he planted the seed.” Amini soon started promoting his cousin’s shows and eventually landed an internship with Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Productions. After earning some experience through jobs with other local production companies, Amini bought a camera and headed out on the road with his cousin, filming his comedy acts. It was his first real exposure to the world of stand-up comedy. “[Max] caters to a Middle Eastern audience and I remember watching him sell out shows ... and saying, ‘I wish I could come back to my community and do that,’” Amini said. Last summer, Amini moved back to Montgomery County to do just that. He started doing stand-up with District Comedy, a booking production company started by local comics Ralph
Cooper and Brad Ryan. “I started off just talking about myself,” Amini said. “What works for most comics is they talk about their own experiences. I started immediately just making fun of myself ... and it worked.” It worked so well, in fact, that Amini admits the early success went to his head. “I thought, ‘Aww, man, I’m a natural,’” he said. “I was a little cocky ... the second time wasn’t nearly as funny as the first and the third and fourth sucked, too.” But after a few humbling experiences in the beginning, Amini seems to have found his footing. He now runs the Martin Amini & Friends Comedy Show at Heaven and Hell every Friday night. His open mics and showcases at Brass Monkey, also in Adams Morgan, earned Amini mention in DCist’s Best Comedy Clubs in D.C. Amini has also started his own production company, Silver City Productions, named for his hometown. He earns a living shooting commercials and promotional material for D.C. clubs. With Amini’s experience in L.A., and Frigolette’s in New York, the producers’ expectations for the Best Kept Secret Tour are understandably high. But both say they haven’t been disappointed in the D.C. comedy scene. “There are a lot of guys doing a lot of great comedy in D.C.,” Frigolette said. “Being in L.A. ... I was spoiled a bit,” Amini said. “But coming back to D.C., the talent level of D.C. comics is through the roof.” chedgepeth@gazette.net