Saving Lincoln free screenings!

[Liz Rosenthal]

(02-17-2013 06:27 PM)Salvador Litvak Wrote:  Everything has gone so amazingly well with our audiences. And yet, you've heard by now that some members of the mainstream media have not just critiqued our unique and stylized look, but actually thrashed it. One in particular, at the Village Voice, gave us a 0 out of 100. In other words, he says, Saving Lincoln has no intrinsic value whatsoever . Presumably, in this man's eyes, anyone who enjoys it is a fool. It's as if we lovingly restored a vintage roadster, and now stand accused of foisting a used car on the oh-so-naive people!

My husband and I were among those at the 7:40 p.m. showing this past Saturday night at the Quad Cinema and were excited to see the movie, shake your hand and congratulate you on the film. We thought that your use of CineCollage helped to bring us back to Lincoln's world in a convincing way, the movie was very well-acted, and the story was quite moving. At times, it had the pacing of a genuine thriller. Saving Lincoln is a wonderful achievement.

(I don't know if you remember, but I was the one who, at the Q & A, asked whether you thought that Lincoln had essentially committed suicide by assassination.)

It seems that many critics - whether they are reviewing movies, books, or theater - take sadistic pleasure out of tearing down the work of other people. This happens to movie-makers with big budgets and to prominent authors and playwrights, too, but the difference with them is that they can overcome negativity with the huge promotional resources they usually have at their disposal.

As a twice-published author whose books got almost zero promotional support from the publisher, I know how powerless one can feel when on the receiving end of undue snark and dismissiveness, although, on the whole, my books were more ignored than condemned. The bright side for you is you are getting some good mass media attention. That's far preferable to being ignored. Generally, artists and writers probably need to develop a thick skin and continue to plow forward regardless of the critical reaction or the lack thereof (and I need to take my own advice).

Anyway, my husband and I were really glad that we were able to make the trip up to see Saving Lincoln. We wish you the best of luck and hope that the movie begins to take off.