Author: Ben Model

  • William S. Hart DVD of “SAND” now available

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    Ben Model

    A DVD that I scored for Unknown Video about a year ago has just been released (on Nov 15). It’s the William S. Hart film Sand (1920), mastered from a real nice, sharp color-tinted print. I did a Miditzer theatre organ score for it, as well as for the disc’s two extras – a gallery…

  • Three Musketeers @ SCFS

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    Ben Model

    Yesterday’s showing of Douglas Fairbanks’ The Three Musketeers went quite well. Much better crowd than I’d expected, as usually dramas mean a dip in audience turnout at the Silent Clowns series. Getting the Miditzer to the N-YHS and back was as much of a snap as posisble, as I’ve really gotten the packing and unpacking…

  • Westchester Magazine: “Top 5 picks”

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    Ben Model

    The December 2008 edition of Westchester Magazine has a piece on me in it. They’d contacted me about this in September; they have a profile in each monthly issue of a local (or hails-from) resident who then recommends his/her top 5 picks of something in their field. Chef recommends restaurants, golf pro recommends golf courses,…

  • Cruel and Unusual @ MoMA Nov 19

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    Ben Model

    photo of our Nov 19th class with guest speaker Eileen Bowser, MoMA senior film curator emerita. L to R: Eileen Bowser, Ron Magliozzi, Steve Massa, Ben Model Last night was our third class session for Cruel and Unusual Comedy at MoMA. The class is going really well, and we’ve got 20 people in the class.…

  • an “educational” week

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    Ben Model

    Yesterday was the Silent Clowns program of shorts released by E.W. Hammons’ Educational Pictures. We’d planned 5 shorts, but then I turned up a lost one-reeler starring Wallace Lupino on eBay a couple weeks ago, and we threw it into the program. So, our audience was the first to see this film in several decades.…

  • Spooky Silents ’08

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    Ben Model

    October is wrapping up, and I’ve just wrapped up a slew of shadowy, creepy silent films: Barrymoore’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Sun 10/26 @ Silent Clowns, on piano), the Chaney/Browning West of Zanzibar (Tues 10/28 @ C.A.C., on Miditzer VTPO), Lon Chaney in Phantom of the Opera (Weds 10/29 @ Church of St. Paul…

  • silent film poster exhibit opens at MoMA

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    Ben Model

    I played at a press screening yesterday for the new poster exhibit at MoMA organized by Ron Magliozzi and Jenny He. The posters are all one-of-a-kind hand-painted posters from the Eastman Theater in Rochester. George Eastman didn’t care for the posters the studios were sending out…so he hired Rochester artist Batiste Madalena to create posters…

  • October 2008 shows posted

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    Ben Model

    Had a great Charley Chase show at the Silent Clowns this afternoon. I have digested and recovered (mentally) from my 3-day trip to L.A. for the Ernie Kovacs project, and don’t have to get on a plane or pack for quite some time. Have just finally had a moment to post my October 2008 performance…

  • “Adventurer” in Hot Springs, SD

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    Ben Model

    My concert band score for Charlie Chaplin’s “The Adventurer” will be performed this week by the Hot Springs High School Band and Community band in the town’s original 1920’s movie theater. The school’s conductor, Truman Savery, found me online just as I was finishing up the concert band (re-)arrangement of my orch score for the…

  • photos from Cinesation

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    Ben Model

    Flight slightly delayed (weather conditions in NYC) so it turns out I have a moment or two while still in Canton/Akron to upload and post these photos… The Lions Lincoln Theatre in downtown Massillon. Wish I’d gotten a night shot because the marquee is beautiful. (search for my entry from 2007…there might be one there).…