Movie Star

'You Must Remember This' Jean Seberg and Jane Fonda Podcast, Parts 2&3

Parts 2 & 3 of Karina Longworth's Podcast series You Must Remember This: Jean and Jane continues.

Rolling Stone wrote of the series: Two female icons of the screen. One, a second-generation Hollywood royal, and ubiquitous for over 50 years; the other, born in obscurity, still mysterious and lesser-known today, her biography mired by tragedy and untimely death. What unites them? That's the focus of "Jane & Jean" the new season of You Must Remember This, Karina Longworth's popular and addictive podcast about 20th century Hollywood – now over three years and 100-plus episodes old – which finds an unexpected sisterhood between Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg.

Otto Preminger and Jean Seberg on-set for Saint Joan.

Part 2 focuses on Jean and Otto Preminger, and Jane in New York (July 3, 2017). Click HERE to listen to Part 2 of Jean and Jane.

Jean Seberg and Francois Moreuil's wedding in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Part 3 focuses on Jean and Jane in Paris (July 10, 2017). Click HERE to listen to Part 3 of Jean and Jane. 

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The new award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg was funded in part with grants from Humanities Iowa, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Iowa Arts Council. The Historical Society of Marshall County served as the fiscal sponsor for the documentary project. The documentary is expected to be released on DVD late 2017/early 2018, with broadcasts to follow on PBS stations.  The documentary is co-produced by Fourth Wall Films and McMarr, Ltd.

Garry McGee (McMarr LTD) is the author of “Jean Seberg: Breathless” and co-author of “Neutralized: The FBI vs Jean Seberg” and “The Films of Jean Seberg”. He received a Regional Emmy® nomination for writing the documentary The Last Wright.  Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films received a Regional Emmy® nomination for their documentaries River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT) and Country School: One Room – One Nation.

Jean Seberg's "Diamonds are Brittle" Co-Star Elsa Martinelli Dies

Jean Seberg's Diamonds are Brittle co-star Elsa Martinelli passed away in Rome at the age of 82 on Saturday, July 8th. Her daughter Cristiana Mancinelli Scotti reported her mother died from cancer.

Martinelli, an Italian fashion model turned actress, was described by The Sydney Morning Herald as “a kind of Audrey Hepburn with sex appeal.”  Her first Hollywood role was in the film The Indian Fighter with Kirk Douglas in 1955.  She went on to star in a number of films directed by top directors of the time, including Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses (1960), Howard Hawks' Hatari! (1962), Orson Welles’ The Trial (1962), Elio Petri’s The 10th Victim (1965) and Vittorio De Sica’s Woman Times Seven (1968).

Director Nicolas Gessner cast 30-year-old Martinelli in his 1965 French romantic crime film Diamonds are Brittle (Un milliard dans un billard) starring Jean Seberg and Claude Rich.

Claude Rich and Elsa Martinelli in Nicolas Gessner's Diamonds are Brittle.

Jean Seberg and Claude Rich in Diamonds are Brittle.

Today's Cinema declared Gessner's film debut "A lively, light-hearted caper that should amuse most audiences in search of cheerful, non-violent entertainment..."

La Figaro stated "And if the diversion proceeds with some lightness of touch, this is due above all to the effervescent rascality of Claude Rich...the silky charm of Jean Seberg, and the sensuous grace of Elsa Martinelli." 

For more information about Diamonds are Brittle, check out The Films of Jean Seberg by Michael Coates-Smith and Garry McGee.

For more information on Elsa Martinelli, read the New York Times article HERE. 

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The new award-winning Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg was funded in part with grants from Humanities Iowa, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Iowa Arts Council. The Historical Society of Marshall County served as the fiscal sponsor for the documentary project. The documentary is expected to be released on DVD late 2017/early 2018, with broadcasts to follow on PBS stations.  The documentary is co-produced by Fourth Wall Films and McMarr, Ltd.

Garry McGee (McMarr LTD) is the author of “Jean Seberg: Breathless” and co-author of “Neutralized: The FBI vs Jean Seberg” and “The Films of Jean Seberg”. He received a Regional Emmy® nomination for writing the documentary The Last Wright.  Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films received a Regional Emmy® nomination for their documentaries River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT) and Country School: One Room – One Nation.

JeanSebergMovie.com #JeanSeberg #ElsaMartinelli 

Rundles Celebrate Ten Years & Ten Films In Quad Cities

Filmmakers Tammy & Kelly Rundle and Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg co-producer/director Garry McGee filming in San Francisco.

March 2017 marks the 10 year anniversary of documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle’s move from Los Angeles to the Quad Cities. Ten films and three Mid-America Emmy® nominations later, their new documentary The Barn Raisers will have its broadcast premiere on WQPT-PBS on Sunday, March 26 at 9:00 p.m.  Their Emmy-nominated River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6 will air following The Barn Raisers at 10:00 p.m.  

The Barn Raisers is also an Official Selection By-Invitation at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Southern California, where 50,000+ attendees will view films from all over the world April 20-27, 2017.

“This is a great way to celebrate ten wonderful years in the Quad Cities,” said Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.  “We are always grateful and honored to have our broadcast premieres on WQPT.”

The film will air again on WQPT on Thursday, March 30 at 11:00 p.m.

The Barn Raisers tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture.  The film explores what building methods, barn styles, and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of the Nation.  The Barn Raisers is a companion film to the Rundles’ Emmy® nominated historical documentary Country School: One Room – One Nation.

"The Barn Raisers feels like a hymn to the solemn beauty and importance of these buildings, and the Rundles treat them with the reverence they deserve...” wrote Jonathan Turner, film reviewer for the Dispatch-Argus.

Linda Cook, film critic for the Quad City Times gave the film 4-out-of-4 Stars and wrote: "Great documentaries, like this one, entertain, teach us about the human condition and help us see the world in a different way."

The Rundles were surprised to hear from the Newport Beach Film Festival.

"A programmer was looking for new films on architecture for a special section of the festival called Architecture, Art + Design.  They previewed the film and we were pleased to receive word that The Barn Raisers was selected for the festival," said Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films.

“We have come full circle,” Tammy said. “We made our home in Southern California for 18 years.  To have our latest documentary screen there as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary in the Quad Cities seems fitting.”

The Rundles see a busy year ahead with production work on their Hero Street documentary series they are developing; editing their first docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder with a premiere date planned for later this year on the Putnam Museum Giant Screen in Davenport, Iowa; and releasing Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (produced with partner Garry McGee of McMarr LTD) for broadcast and on DVD early in 2018.

The Barn Raisers was partially funded by grants from Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Humanities Iowa, the Kansas Humanities Council, the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, the Ohio Humanities Council, the National Barn Alliance, and the Wisconsin Humanities Council, the Moline Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Jackson County.

The fiscal sponsors for the film project are Friends of Ohio Barns, the Kansas Barn Alliance, KPTS-PBS, and the Jackson County Historical Society.  

The Rundles are the producers of the regional Emmy® nominated historical documentaries Country School: One Room – One Nation, River to River: Iowa’s Forgotten Highway 6, and Letters Home to Hero Street (co-produced with WQPT-PBS).

To PRE-ORDER the DVD of The Barn Raisers, click here:  http://fourthwallfilms.com/dvds.htm.

Gazette Shines Light on Cedar Rapids Film Fest, Jean Seberg and Highway 6

By Diana Nollen
The Cedar Rapids Gazette
March 30, 2016

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival is all about Iowa connections on-screen and behind the scenes. And Fourth Wall Films, based in Moline, Ill., is all about preserving the Midwest's "forgotten" history.

Fourth Wall Films filmmaker Kelly Rundle is thrilled the two are again intersecting, with screenings of "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6" (Friday, April 1 at 7:50pm, Saturday at 2:50pm) and "Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg" (Friday at 6:30pm and Saturday at 1:30pm) making the cut for this year's film festival.

The event, founded in 2001, runs Friday and Saturday (April 1 and 2) at Collins Road Theatres in Marion. The 63 selected films - ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours - include a mix of features, shorts, documentaries, music videos and experimental films from students, amateurs and professionals. They compete for gold and silver Eddy awards, audience choice and Iowa connection awards.

Emmy-nominated "Movie Star" Producers/Directors Garry McGee and Kelly Rundle interviewing film historian Rich Ness.

Fourth Wall's Seberg documentary is a direct result of networking at a film festival. Garry McGee of Elma, who had conducted a bevy of interviews with the late actress' family and friends, called the Rundles in Los Angeles after reading about Midwest screenings of their Villisca film. The conversation picked back up after the Rundles moved back to the Midwest in 2007 and ran into McGee at a Mason City film festival.

Garry McGee backstage at Jean Seberg's old high school in Marshalltown in search of her theater signature.

"We're always looking for Midwestern stories that have a local or regional following but deserve a much wider audience or awareness," Rundle said. "This was obviously one of those stories."

"Movie Star" is a tale of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl beat out 18,000 actresses to play St. Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." "That leaves room for doubt," Rundle said.

"I hope that audience members, when they see that film, see their own daughter or granddaughter or niece or sister or friend. I just think the story relates to people on that level."

The Highway 6 documentary, making its first film festival appearance, travels a more nostalgic route across Iowa. Taking on the form of a classic car cruise from Davenport to Council Bluffs, it looks at the towns and stories along this forgotten stretch of highway that weaves under and over Interstate 80 in places.

Kelly & Tammy Rundle's documentary "River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6" will also show at the film festival.

Rundle hopes the film inspires viewers to take their own weekend jaunt along the route, to discover hidden gems like Ladora, home to the secret writer of the "Nancy Drew" mysteries, or Dexter, site of a Bonnie and Clyde shootout.

Read the full story by clicking HERE!

TICKETS: Advance: $8 per session (Friday evening, Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening) or $25 all-event pass; day of shows: $10 per session, $35 all-event pass; theater box office or Crifm.org/ticketinfo.html

SCHEDULE: Crifm.org/festivalschedule.html

"Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg" producers Garry McGee of McMarr, Ltd, and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films will attend the Cedar Rapids Film Festival April 1-2.

 

Jean Seberg's Nomination Remembered as 2016 Golden Globe® Awards are Presented

 
A new video clip produced by Fourth Wall Films pays tribute to Jean Seberg's 1965 Golden Globe® nomination in the 'Best Actress in a Drama' category for her role in "Lilith". 

It's Golden Globes  time and the red carpet is ready to be rolled out at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The 73rd Golden Globe® Awards airs Sunday, January 10th at 6pm (PT) on NBC. This year's nominees in the 'Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama' include the favored Cate Blanchett for her performance in Carol.

Jean Seberg and Romain Gary at the 1965 Golden Globes.

Fifty-one years ago, it was 27-year-old Jean Seberg who was among the nominees in the category for her electric performance in Robert Rossen's Lilith (1964).

According to writer/filmmaker Garry McGee (the book Jean Seberg: Breathless; the documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg) Jean highly respected Lilith director, Robert Rossen and said, "Rossen was a man who knew my insecurities and helped me with them. I think that's why a kind of liberty came across that I haven't had in many other films."

Rossen said of Seberg, "Jean is going to surprise the hell out of a lot of people. This girl is an actress. Not just a star, an actress."

Lilith co-starred Warren Beatty and Peter Fonda.  It would be among Jean's favorite films of her career.

Lilith will air on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on Tuesday, March 29th at 8:00 p.m.

Visit http://jeansebergmovie.com/ for more information on the new award-winnng documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg produced by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films and Garry McGee of McMarr, Ltd., now in the film festival circuit in 2016, with wider release anticipated later this year.

Jean Seberg 1938-1979

Actress Jean Seberg's grave at Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.

It has been 36 years since the death of 40-year-old Jean Seberg who was last seen alive on August 30, 1979 and discovered in her white Renault automobile several days later, close to her Paris apartment.

This was a time in which there was no internet, no tweeting, no emails, no cable TV in every home. News in the U.S. was learned by television, radio and newspapers.

The first reports of Jean's death were on radio in which at the top of every hour was a recap of breaking and recent news stories. The-then three networks all carried stories about Jean's death in their national evening news shows, and the following morning so did most every U.S. newspaper.

Jean hadn't made a major American theatrical film since Airport ten years earlier,  and her last American film was for ABC-Television (Mousey with Kirk Douglas) in 1974. But she was still a name and still working. In fact, she was working on a film at the time of her death.

News of her death spread throughout the world, to the sadness of her co-stars and directors, family and friends, and her fans.

It is interesting to note that in all these years following her death, fans flock to her grave in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. Gifts, notes, remembrances are left by them on the site--and are disposed of weekly to keep the area uncluttered.

Jean Seberg, Bonjour Tristesse.

"In France, Jean is still regarded as the quintessential American girl in Paris, the free spirit. Scarcely a day passes when someone doesn't stop and linger at the site, bringing an offering--and perhaps, too, another promise never to forget." (Garry McGee, Jean Seberg--Breathless)

Written by Garry McGee
Co-producer/Director Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg
Author Jean Seberg: Breathless

Watch for Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg at film festivals in the U.S., art theaters and other venues this year, and international film festivals and the DVD release in 2016.

For news and regular updates, click LIKE at the Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg fan page on Facebook.

Seberg's "Lilith" Showcased at NY City Film Archives July 17 & 18

A new article appeared in New York's Village Voice shining a light on the film and Jean Seberg's 'haunting' performance.

"Rarely screened, Robert Rossen's fascinatingly fractured Lilith (1964) centers on a theme — women, sex, and psychopathology — somewhat in vogue at the time. Two months before Lilith's release, Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie, starring Tippi Hedren as a "frigid" habitual swindler eventually cured by Sean Connery, arrived in theaters; three years earlier, Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass featured Natalie Wood being sent to an asylum, her crack-up the result of her unconsummated lust for Warren Beatty, making his feature debut.  

"Seberg — haunting and fey, eons removed from the pixieish sphinx she played in Godard's Breathless...indelibly imprints the film with otherworldliness." (Read more...)

Lilith will be screened at the NY City Film Anthology Archive, 32 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003, on Friday, July 17 at 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.  To find out more, click HERE.

To learn more about the new award-winning documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg by Garry McGee and Kelly & Tammy Rundle, visit www.JeanSebergMovie.com!

"Jean Seberg" in 2014 and Looking Ahead to the New Year

As the year draws to a close, we are grateful for the experiences we have had working on our documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg!  It has been a wonderful journey for the three of us!

The 4th Annual Jean Seberg International Film Festival took place November 21-23, 2014 in Marshalltown, Iowa at the Orpheum Theater Center.

As we make finalize our work on the documentary, we want to extend our appreciation to the many who have contributed to the project and supported us from the beginning.  We are also grateful to our fiscal sponsor the Historical Society of Marshall County, and to Humanities Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council for awarding the project grants.

 
"Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg" was included in the Hollywood in the Heartland Exhibit at the State Historical Building in Des Moines.  The exhibit has a special exhibit for Jean Seberg and a number of archival materials that were donated by her family and the Orpheum Theater.

There is still time to contribute to the film project, as we will close changes on the credits for Movie Star some time in 2015.  Until then, we are deeply grateful to you for considering making a tax-deductible contribution through our fiscal sponsor, the Historical Society of Marshall County. Just click HERE to be directed to the "How to Contribute" page.  There are various levels of support and special perks.

"Movie Star" had a special preview screening at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa in February of 2014 and was sold out.

We at Fourth Wall Films and McMarr Ltd. want to wish you happy holidays and all the best in the new year.  We look forward to seeing you at the movies in 2015!

Kelly & Tammy Rundle
Garry McGee
Producers 

Happy Birthday, Jean Seberg! Hometown Celebrates Her Legacy

Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon.

Today marks what would have been Jean Seberg's 76th birthday. Born November 13, 1938 in Marshalltown, Iowa, she became an international movie star acting in 37 films before her death in 1979. 

Some may remember her in the romantic, comedic musical Paint Your Wagon or the Hollywood blockbuster Airport or in the French new wave film that impacted the history of cinema, Breathless.

Others may recall her style, whether casual in Breathless or sophisticated as in Moment to Moment where she was dressed by Yves Saint Laurent. She developed tasteful and changing looks which have influenced major fashion designers over the years and to the present day.

Image from Onthisdayinfashion.com.

There's a good chance some young woman has borrowed a look without knowing it started with Jean Seberg!

The Jean Seberg International Film Festival takes place each year in Jean's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa near her November birthday.

On November 21 through 23, 2014 Jean will once again be honored in her hometown with the 4th Annual Jean Seberg International Film Festival. This year's theme is "Influenced. Influencing." with films and symposiums to demonstrate this side of Iowa's own.  For more information about the JSIFF, click HERE.

Happy birthday, Jean Seberg.  You continue to leave us breathless with your beauty, style, talent, humor and compassion.

Written by Garry McGee, Co-Producer with Fourth Wall Films of the documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (in release in 2015); and author of Jean Seberg: Breathless, Neutralized: The FBI vs Jean Seberg (co-authored with Jean Russell Larson), The Films of Jean Seberg (co-authored with Michael Coates-smith).  All of his books are available on Amazon.com!

Remember to LIKE Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg on Facebook!

November 7 Iowa Public Radio's "Talk of Iowa" Focuses on Jean Seberg's Life, a New Documentary, and the Jean Seberg International Film Festival

Tune in to Iowa Public Radio's "Talk of Iowa" with Charity Nebbe on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. when the program focuses on the beautiful international movie star Jean Seberg.  Click here for Iowa Station information! Or, to listen live visit IowaPublicRadio.org and click on Listen Live at the top of the page.

Guests on the one-hour program will include Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle, and Garry McGee, the producers of the new documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg.  The documentary feature film will have a gala red-carpet premiere at the IVCCD Orpheum Theater Center in Seberg's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa on November 15, 2013, beginning with a party at 6:30 p.m. and the screening at 8:00 p.m.

"Talk of Iowa" will also feature film historian Richard Ness of Western Illinois University, and Nancy Adams, director of the Jean Seberg International Film Festival, which takes place November 15-17 at the IVCCD Orpheum Theater Center.  

Talk of Iowa offers a mix of regular guests, newsmakers and interesting Iowans to talk about the arts, culture, humanities and lifestyle of our state. This IPR original brings a range of experts to the microphone to discuss a myriad of topics.

For more information about the premiere of Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg and the Jean Seberg International Film Festival's schedule/tickets, visit OrpheumTheaterCenter.com.