Spotlight on Journalism

This just in. Seven Days is hosting "Spotlight on Journalism" — a media movie marathon on Saturday, March 19, at The Main Street Landing Film House. Admission is FREE! Come watch classics from the archive and investigate new films with your pals at Seven Days. Films include: His Girl Friday — 11 a.m. This 1940 screwball comedy masterpiece is actually a remake of an older journalism movie — The Front Page — but instead of a man in the role of reporter, it’s a hard-charging, wisecracking woman who chases down a hot story about a convicted murderer. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell star in this battle of the sexes set in an old-fashioned newsroom full of smoking journalists, rapid-fire word play, sexual innuendo and manual typewriters. Shattered Glass — 1 p.m. Based on a true story, this dramatic 2003 film chronicles the slow unraveling of a young, hotshot reporter who made up half the stories he wrote for the New Republic. It’s a great inside look at the craft of journalism, from the fierce competition to find good stories to the complicated relationship between writers and editors. Peter Sarsgaard, Hayden Christensen, Chloë Sevigny and Hank Azaria get it right. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson — 3 p.m. Johnny Depp narrates this stylized 2008 documentary about the outlaw inventor of “gonzo” journalism, an approach that eschews objectivity for a creative mix of fact and first-person adventure. More often than not, it led gun-wielding, drug-addled Thompson to the truth. Here, some of his subjects — including Pat Robertson, Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe and George McGovern — fire back. Broadcast News — 5:30 p.m. Holly Hunter plays a smart but stressedout female television producer in this 1987 rom-com drama that gently satirizes tube-fed news. She’s torn between a smart, cynical reporter and a handsome but vapid anchorman who famously likens the “rhythm” of their back and forth via headsets during a big breaking story to “great sex.” William Hurt and Albert Brooks compete for her — and our — hearts and minds. Capote — 8 p.m. The mass murder of a Kansas family moved the real Truman Capote to do his own investigation. The result? His “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood, one of the most gripping accounts of a violent crime in America. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the author in this 2005 re-creation of the “story” that led him to the verge of madness, complete with the intimate jailhouse interviews that have made it a case study in questionable ethics. Catherine Keener plays Capote’s longtime friend, Harper Lee. Almost Famous —10:15 p.m. What’s the difference between loving a band and writing about it for Rolling Stone? An assignment from the magazine launches a 15-year-old boy’s rock-reporting career — and a coming-of-age road trip with an “almost famous” band called Stillwater. In this 2000 pic fueled by the teenage journalistic adventures of the writerdirector, Patrick Fugit captures young William’s evolution as a keen observer. And Philip Seymour Hoffman plays music critic Lester Bangs, who wisely advises, “You cannot make friends with a rock star.”