Author: Ben Model

  • Slapsticon days 1 & 2

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    Ben Model
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    Have now slid through the first two days of Slapsticon, and am having a blast. Have seen a load of great comedy shorts, and am enjoying the Harry Langdon and Larry Semon entries. Tonight UCLA Film & TV’s new restoration of the Semon feature Spuds (1928) was screened (with yours truly at the piano) on…

  • Slapsticon on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi show

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    Ben Model
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    Here we all are, kibitzing before going on-air for our segment, which lasted about 25 minutes. You can listen to our interview right here. http://www.silentclowns.com/podcast-audio/KojoNnamdi-slapsticon.mp3

  • Slapsticon “pre-glow” weds 7/18

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    Steve Massa and I arrived in DC bright and early, completely missing the big storm in NYC that delayed a number of peoples’ flight etc. Here I am outside the LOC building, right near the Capitol bldg, where Steve and I spent the day screening comedy shorts. At left you see the interior of the…

  • on the road to Slapsticon 5

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    Ben Model

    Well, I’m off (via Amtrak) this morning to Arlington, VA for the fifth annual Slapsticon where I’ll spend 4 fun-filled glorious days and nights watfching — and playing for — classic comedy shorts and features from the ’10s, ’20s and ’30s. I’ve been one of their accompanists every year since the fest started, along with…

  • Peg O’ My Heart (1922) with Laurette Taylor

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    Ben Model

    Played for Peg O’ My Heart at MoMA last night, and will play for its repeat on Thursday. Print is MoMA’s, acquired from Filmoteca Española, Madrid. Titles were all in English, possibly made by the archive as part of their preservation work, as they looked newer than the film. The film is basically complete, with…

  • The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) – MoMA 6/2

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    Ben Model

    The 6pm show of The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), plus the 1975 Sunday, Too Far Away was introduced by Paolo Cherchi Usai, of the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia, the archive that restored these films. Paolo told of the efforts to preserve and find the pieces of the Kelly film, the…

  • Cabiria (1914) – MoMA, June 2

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    Ben Model

    Cabiria, in a new preservation by Cineteca di Bologna, MoMA et al was screened with live theatre organ accompaniment by me. While the running time listed in the catalog was 180 mins, the picture ran closer to 2 hrs 20 mins at our show; same for the press screening I played for (NY Times) on…

  • news: MoMA to add theatre organ to its silent film accompaniments

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    Ben Model

    Well, it’s happened. MoMA purchased all the necxessary hardware – keyboard, stand, organ pedals – for the Miditzer VTO (virtual theatre organ) this week. What this means is that when I am asked to play for a silent film at MoMA and want to use a theatre organ instead of piano…I can. For the last…

  • My summer of silents

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    Ben Model

    On June 1st I begin a rather busy two months of silent film accompaniment, both on piano and on theatre organ. 16 dates in June and 13 in July, several of which have two (or three) shows on the same day. Some of these bookings just came in over the past week, and some were…

  • Safety Last at the Paramount (Peekskill, NY)

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    Ben Model

    Well, last night’s show of Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last (1923) was a blast. If you’re within driving distance of the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill…go see something there. It’s a beautifully restored 1930 Paramount Publix Theater. It originally seated 1500 or thereabout, but several rows had been removed in order to build a…