First Time Fest (FTF) – a celebration of first time filmmakers – is a new and unique film festival taking place in New York City from March 1 through 4, 2013. FTF is set to discover and present the next generation of great cinema artists.
Yesterday, acclaimed actor Michael Shannon made an appearance at the AMC Loews Village VII to take part in a panel discussion with FTF Programmer David Schwartz. The hour-long event gave Shannon’s fans an in-depth look at his life and work as an actor. Clips featuring some of the actor’s most memorable scenes from Revolutionary Road, Take Shelter, and Boardwalk Empire were used as talking points in analyzing the Academy Award nominee’s raw acting style. David Schwartz introduced some interesting talking points, questioning Shannon on his early days in Chicago theater and his first film break in the cult-comedy Groundhog Day.
Despite a successful career in film and television, Shannon returns regularly to the stage, performing at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago and more recently in the one-man off-Broadway show Mistakes Were Made. When asked what it is about the process of theatre that keeps him coming back to the stage, Shannon admitted, “I find working on a camera...can be very frustrating, because everything’s so compartmentalized. I enjoy being able to just go out and ride the wave of the story without having to stop every minute and a half.” Indeed, the unassuming actor was quick to downplay his film success and Oscar nomination: “It’s not like, instant legendary status,” he insisted. Try as he might, it will be near-impossible for Shannon to fly under the radar when the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel—in which he plays the arch-villain General Zod—hits theaters.
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