Acting
William George Linich, known professionally as Billy Name, was an American photographer, filmmaker, and lighting designer. He was the archivist of The Factory from 1964 to 1970.
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
Inspired by a 1962 NYPD pamphlet entitled ‘The Thirteen Most Wanted [Men]’. Warhol transformed it from ‘most wanted men’ into ‘most beautiful boys’, and then began to film the very first Screen Tests, continuing to film for the series into early 1966, totalling more than 13 Screen Tests.
The documentary explores the enigma of actress and artist Mary Woronov and chronicles her colorful career trajectory as a ground breaking female performer starting from her work with Andy Warhol to Roger Corman, that sealed her reputation as a "Cult Queen".
Shot in slow motion, with tiny bits of stagy lighting that seem to crumble and flake like cookies, Billy Name gives one of his notorious haircuts--and Warhol turns it into a homoerotic performance, a dance of adoration and control, a triangle of looking and keeping-at-bay, that is a slightly dullish but finally essential contribution to Warhol's long project of bringing portraiture technologies to moviemaking.
Mexican actress Lupe Vélez's final hours as she overdoses on Seconal.
A look at avant-garde filmmaker Marie Menken.
In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's performances and films punctuate interviews with artists, critics, friends and foes to create an engaging portrait of the artist. Widely known for his banned queer erotica film Flaming Creatures, Smith was an innovator and firebrand who influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters.
Between 1964 and 1966, Andy Warhol shot nearly 500 Screen Tests, beautiful and revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, from Warhol superstars and celebrities to friends or anyone he thought had "star potential". All visitors to his studio, the Factory. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong keylight, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in slow motion, resulting in a fascinating collection of four-minute masterpieces that startle and entrance, mesmerizing in the purest sense of the word. Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, incorporated original compositions as well as cover songs to create new soundtracks for the 13 films.
The film depicts a rehearsal of The Velvet Underground including Nico, and is essentially one long loose improvisation.
Jean Harlow-lookalike Harlot (Mario Montez), Gerard Malanga, Philip Fagan, and Carol Koshinskie (with a cat) sit in a room eating bananas as the off-screen voices of Billy Name, Ronald Tavel, and Harry Fainlight discuss various topics.