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Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2024 SXSW coverage. Secret Mall Apartment is now in theaters.

Shedding light on a quirky 2007 story that made national headlines, Secret Mall Apartment takes us deep into the bowels of the Providence Place Mall, centerpiece of the renaissance of Rhode Island’s capital city developed under convict mayor Buddy Cianci. Apartment residents had the advantage of private access to the theater anytime they wished.

In Secret Mall Apartment, however, the goal is a form of artistic resistance wherein Risd-trained artist Michael Townsend, his wife Adriana, and friends see how long they can stay. The mall and the transformation of Providence was incredibly disruptive, kicking artists out of exciting life, work, and exhibition spaces a few miles away with the goal of clearing the old mill district for strip malls and power centers. It was such a large project it led to...

After the relatively barren month of February and the awards season mercifully in the rearview, March finally brings the goods. From some of our favorite festival premieres charting all the way back to a few from Berlinale and Rotterdam last year to new documentaries and thrillers from accomplished directors, check out the batch of eclectic recommendations below.

15. The Empire (Bruno Dumont; March 7)

A year on from its Berlinale debut, where it picked up the Silver Bear Jury Prize, Bruno Dumont’s sci-fi feature The Empire is finally headed stateside. Rory O’Connor said in his review, “Playing his signature brand of rural French absurdity in stark counterpoint to the grandiose strains of a space opera, Bruno Dumont returns with The Empire: his Barbarella bourguignon, his dijionnaise Dune. The Empire is the story of two warring factions: one whose mothership resembles the palace of Versailles; the other’s as if someone glued together two Notre Dames,...

One of our favorite films to premiere at SXSW last year is now rolling out next month. Secret Mall Apartment retells the strange, true tale of a group of friends who created a secret apartment in the busy Providence Place Mall in the early 2000s, bringing back the participants together for the first time in nearly two decades. Directed by Jeremy Workman and executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg, the film will, very fittingly, open on March 21 at the Providence Place Mall, followed by NYC release on March 28 at the IFC Center, and April 2 at the Drafthouse LA. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has arrived.

John Fink said in his review, “Shedding light on a quirky 2007 story that made national headlines, Secret Mall Apartment takes us deep into the bowels of the Providence Place Mall, centerpiece of the renaissance of Rhode Island’s capital city developed under convict mayor Buddy Cianci.

This article contains Major Spoilers for The Penguin Episode 8, "A Great or Little Thing."

The Penguin's grounded lore created a character that transcended the canon. One scene would have confirmed Oz Cobb's transition from mob boss to the comic book villain.

Colin Farrell confirmed Oz Cobb became the iconic Batman villain in The Penguin season finale. In an interview with Cinemablend, the actor said Oz did embrace his nickname in the end, leveraging it to build notoriety as Gotham's new kingpin. "There was a scene in the eighth episode where a kid says, 'You're the Penguin, aren't you,' and then something about his mother," he explained. "And then I say to him at the end of the scene, 'You tell your mom the Penguin takes care of his own.'" Farrell did not reveal the context of that scene; it could have been a random encounter with a Crown Point street urchin.

When Shepard Fairey was a young man he gave his parents an ultimatum: let me go to art school or watch me flame out in college. Art school won.

“When we were arguing about it, I sort of bluffed and said, ‘Well, if you force me to go to liberal arts college, I’ll fail out and that’ll be more embarrassing than telling your friends that I get A’s finger painting,’” Fairey recalls.

That anecdote hints at the hard-nosed rebelliousness that has characterized Fairey throughout his career as street artist, creator of Andre the Giant “Obey” iconography and designer of the Obama “Hope” poster that defined a candidate and a presidency. The full range of his exploits—the political highs and the legal lows—are on display in the Hulu documentary Obey Giant, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker James Moll, that is now in contention for Emmy consideration.

The...

Providence, R.I. -- It was December 1979 when Emery Lucier learned the concert he was eagerly awaiting in Rhode Island by British rock band The Who had been canceled over safety concerns. The 17-year-old was so angry he knocked over a chair in his high school classroom.

"I just remember being so upset about the whole thing," he said.

Lucier, now 50, of Milford, Mass., held onto the ticket, for which he paid $25 ($12.50 for the ticket and $12.50 more for the scalper). On Tuesday, he and nine other people traded in tickets from that canceled show and got new ones for The Who's final appearance on its Quadrophenia tour in February at the Dunkin Donuts Center, the same venue it was supposed to play 33 years ago.

The venue's general manager, Lawrence Lepore, said earlier this month he would honor tickets for the 1979 show, which then-Mayor Buddy Cianci canceled after a stampede before...

Providence, R.I. — A group of hardcore fans of British rock band The Who will finally redeem tickets for a canceled 1979 Rhode Island show.

The Who's 1979 concert in Providence was canceled by then-Mayor Buddy Cianci (see-an'-see), who cited safety concerns after a stampede before a show in Cincinnati, Ohio, killed 11 people. The band hasn't been to Providence since.

Now, the band plans to end its Quadrophenia tour in February at the same venue where its show was canceled 33 years ago.

The Dunkin Donuts Center is honoring tickets for that canceled show. A handful of fans have come forward to trade in their old tickets. They'll make the trade Tuesday afternoon at the box office.

Any 1979 tickets redeemed will be donated to help raise money for the Special Olympics.

Providence, R.I. -- Fans still holding tickets for a canceled 1979 show in Rhode Island by British rock band The Who can finally use them.

The Who's 1979 concert in Providence was canceled by then-Mayor Buddy Cianci, who cited safety concerns after a stampede before a show in Cincinnati, Ohio, killed 11 people. The band hasn't been to Providence since.

The Who this week announced it will end its latest tour in Providence on Feb. 26 at the same venue where its show was canceled 33 years ago, now called the Dunkin Donuts Center.

General Manager Lawrence Lepore said on Thursday the venue will honor tickets from the canceled 1979 show. Lepore said many ticketholders got refunds for the canceled show in 1979, but others may have held on to their tickets as memorabilia.

"Somewhere, someplace, someone's got it stashed," he said. "The question is, are they willing to give that up? If they are, we're willing to take it.

Providence, R.I. -- Fans still holding tickets for a canceled 1979 show in Rhode Island by British rock band The Who can finally use them.

The Who's 1979 concert in Providence was canceled by then-Mayor Buddy Cianci, who cited safety concerns after a stampede before a show in Cincinnati, Ohio, killed 11 people. The band hasn't been to Providence since.

The Who this week announced it will end its latest tour in Providence on Feb. 26 at the same venue where its show was canceled 33 years ago, now called the Dunkin Donuts Center.

General Manager Lawrence Lepore said on Thursday the venue will honor tickets from the canceled 1979 show. Lepore said many ticketholders got refunds for the canceled show in 1979, but others may have held on to their tickets as memorabilia.

"Somewhere, someplace, someone's got it stashed," he said. "The question is, are they willing to give that up? If they are, we're willing to take it.

Providence, R.I. — Quahog, R.I., the fictional hometown of Peter Griffin and his dysfunctional "Family Guy" relatives, is coming to life.

The show will meld with reality this weekend when a local tourism council sponsors an all-day bus tour highlighting the Rhode Island institutions featured – for better or worse – on the Fox network's hit series.

Fans will get to visit the bar in Johnston known as The Drunken Clam, a "Family Guy" neighborhood haunt, and drive past a downtown Providence skyscraper off which the often clueless, almost always politically incorrect character jumps in one episode because he's "immortal."

The show, created by Seth MacFarlane, who attended the Rhode Island School of Design, pretty accurately depicts a slew of real-life Rhode Island places, including the iconic Van Wickle Gates at Brown University and the Breakers mansion in Newport. It takes generous liberties with others.

And that's part of the entertainment.

Providence, R.I. — Quahog, R.I., the fictional hometown of Peter Griffin and his dysfunctional "Family Guy" relatives, is coming to life.

The show will meld with reality this weekend when a local tourism council sponsors an all-day bus tour highlighting the Rhode Island institutions featured – for better or worse – on the Fox network's hit series.

Fans will get to visit the bar in Johnston known as The Drunken Clam, a "Family Guy" neighborhood haunt, and drive past a downtown Providence skyscraper off which the often clueless, almost always politically incorrect character jumps in one episode because he's "immortal."

The show, created by Seth MacFarlane, who attended the Rhode Island School of Design, pretty accurately depicts a slew of real-life Rhode Island places, including the iconic Van Wickle Gates at Brown University and the Breakers mansion in Newport. It takes generous liberties with others.

And that's part of the entertainment.

Despite some conflicting reports the last time out, it looks as though David O. Russell will, in fact, direct American Bullshit. How do we know? In the best possible way, actually. Deadline reports that Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna Pictures have taken an interest in the film, looking to fully finance the picture for Russell and his two, newly-announced leads, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper.

Both have already worked with the hyper-active filmmaker — Bale on The Fighter, Cooper in this fall’s Silver Linings Playbook — and, in this melding of past and future, the three would be tackling political corruption in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Written by Eric Singer (The International), the story focuses on Abscam, an actual, joint operation between the FBI and conman Melvin Weinberg, the latter of whom helped organize a sting operation wherein several politicians thought they were working in conjunction with a sheikh — for their own financial gain,...

After wrapping a little-publicized movie called The Dark Knight Rises, Christian Bale will reunite with The Fighter-director, David O. Russell for American Bullshit.  We previously reported that Russell was set to direct the picture, but this is the first we've heard of Bale being attached.  If that wasn't enough, Bradley Cooper is also reportedly in talks to star.  A drama scripted by Eric Warren Singer (The International), American Bullshit (which more-than-likely won't clear the MPAA with that title intact) is about the 1970s FBI sting known as "Abscam" that brought down a number of U.S. Congressmen.  Details are in short order as to who Bale and Cooper would play, but what is clear is who will be financing the film.  Hit the jump to find out more on American Bullshit. Deadline reports that Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures will fully finance American Bullshit to the tune of $30 to $40 million.

David O. Russell is currently engaged in the post-production phase of his The Silver Linings Playbook, starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro, which is due out on November 21st. That hasn’t slowed down the reports of what project he’ll work on next. According to the La Times, Russell has now signed on to helm the Buddy Cianci biopic. Who, you may ask is Buddy Cianci? Why he’s the twice convicted former mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, that’s who.

Although David O. Russell is typically borne aloft on the breeze, unable to be tied to anything from film projects to unsettling familial crimes, the fact that he’s nearing completion on The Silver Linings Playbook has given producer Jane Rosenthal the confidence to tether him to another longstanding Russell project: a biopic of Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci, Jr. The story of the colorful public servant—where “colorful” means “forced to resign and occasionally go to federal prison for charges ranging from assault to racketeering”—has been on Russell’s written-on-the-wind to-do list for some time, but Rosenthal tells ...

After stepping away from the video game adaptation of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, director David O. Russell has spent his time with an adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, and he just recently has been reported to direct American Bullshit, the true story of Abscam, the FBI's 1980 undercover sting operation of Congress to root out corruption which was the brainchild of the world's greatest con man. Now yet another project has been confirmed for the filmmaker's future as 24 Frames reports he's officially involved in a biopic about Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci. We heard that Russell was circling the project over a year ago when Tribeca Film Festival co-founder and producer Jane Rosenthal (Meet the Parents) had started talking about the project. She said, "Going back almost twelve years now, I've wanted to see Buddy's story as a movie." She even talked about including ...

Last we heard, it was on his "maybe" pile but 24 Frames now reports that David O. Russell is officially set to helm the gestating biopic of former Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci for Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal's Tribeca Productions.

Based on the biography 'Politics And Pasta,' the story will track Cianci's infamous 21-year stint as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, as he earns a reputation for rooting out corruption in his town, but also serves five years for racketeering himself. Here's the full Amazon synopsis of the novel:

Since his first election, Buddy rose from being the underdog to becoming the longest-serving mayor of a major American city and transforming that city into an urban model. Here he recalls elections won and lost, backroom deals and publicity catastrophes, showing how things really happen in City Hall. He also doesn't shy away from discussing why he left office.

It.s hard to spend a lot of time in Rhode Island or the greater New England area without hearing the story of Buddy Cianci Jr. One of the most famous/infamous people in the area.s modern history, the former Providence mayor who spent a great deal of his career trying to root out corruption in his home town. but was twice forced to leave office due to felony charges (yes, twice. He was, at one point, reelected and then forced out again). The fact of the matter is that you can.t title your autobiography, .Politics and Pasta: How I Prosecuted Mobsters, Rebuilt a Dying City, Advised a President, Dined With Sinatra, Spent Five Years in a Federally Funded Gated Community and Lived to Tell the Tale. without having a few stories to tell. And now David O. Russell has been hired to tell those stories. According to...

Though he’s no longer involved in adapting console game Uncharted, David O. Russell hasn’t been sitting around playing it instead. Nope, he’s been developing project after project, including a Russ Meyer biopic, comedy drama Old St Louis, an untitled film with Ice Cube and Congressional sting drama American Bullshit. Plus he’s putting the finishing touches to The Silver Linings Playbook. While you might think his diary is full, he’s now attached to yet another potential movie, a biopic of controversial former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci.He’s not exactly a household name on these shores, but Cianci has had such an intriguing life that if you look up “colourful character” in an American dictionary, there’s a chance you’ll find his smiling mug. He spent 21 years as mayor of Providence, during which he met dignitaries and celebrities, chronicling his adventures in his modestly-titled memoir,...

With The Silver Linings Playbook being fine-tuned in a Hollywood editing room at this very moment, it’s about time David O. Russell picked his next project — fortunately, he’s not afraid of putting his name on a thing or two. The list of potential follow-ups is, in all honesty, too long to even supply, so it’s good to see he’ll get cracking on a film that’s been in contention for more than a year.

The picture in question would be a biopic of Buddy Cianci Jr., controversial mayor of Providence, Rhode Island who was convicted of racketeering in 2002, serving a fairly lengthy prison sentence as a result. Robert De Niro and his frequent producing partner, Jane Rosenthal, would be issuing their support by way of Tribeca Films; financing is said to be in the works right now. [24Frames]

Scale hasn’t been expounded upon, but Russell will...

Director David O. Russell is throwing yet another project on to his “to-do” list. A little over a year ago we heard that the The Fighter director was circling a biopic of 21-year Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci. Nothing was firm at the time, but now 24 Frames reports that Russell has officially attached himself to the project, though he won’t write the screenplay. For those unfamiliar, Cianci built a career on rooting out corruption only to serve nearly five years in prison on racketeering charges. The untitled biopic will be based on Cianci’s autobiography Politics and Pasta. Russell is currently in post-production on his adaptation of The Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and recently attached himself to the 1980s-set undercover sting story American Bullshit. There’s no word on what project he’ll do next, but given that the Cianci biopic is early days...

(We’d be well-advised not to get attached to this title.) Variety reports that David O. Russell has attached himself to Sony’s American Bullshit. The movie follows a con-artist who teams up with the FBI to help solve a corruption case that has its hands in both the goings on of Washington, DC and Atlantic City.

O. Russell had a busy 2011. In addition to directing The Silver Linings Playbook, he also flirted with directing an adaptation of the PlayStation 3 game Uncharted (a project he has since left); circled a biopic of legendary schlock director Russ Meyer, another biopic that focuses on Buddy Cianci, and The Mission, a possible vehicle for Brad Pitt. That lowers his batting average when it comes to actually completing a movie, so take the news of his involvement with American Bullshit with a grain of salt; Deadline contacted O. Russell‘s reps, who apparently dismissed the story altogether.

Update: Deadline reports that the project is still in very early stages, nothing is quite official, but Russell is taking a look and Christian Bale is in very early talks to star.

Director David O. Russell has spun the project roulette wheel and has added another promising film to his big pile of stuff he might do.

Currently in post-production on "The Silver Linings Playbook," that helmer has now signed on to direct "American Bullshit," a Black List script that early last year, Ben Affleck was considering as a followup to "The Town." Written by Eric Warren Singer ("The International") the film is based on the true story of Abscam, the FBI's 1980 undercover sting operation of Congress to root out corruption, which was the brainchild Melvin Weinberg, one of the most notoriouis conmen inthe world, who was hired by the bureau to run the investigation. The operation targeted thirty-one officials...

Just like you see in the title, The Fighter helmer, David O. Russell will be in charge for the upcoming biopic of former Providence mayor and convicted criminal Buddy Cianci.

Just in case you think this sounds boring, let us correct you right here at the beginning. Cianci’s new memoir titled Politics and Pasta follows “fighting mobsters, getting charged with racketeering and bringing life back to the sagging city.” Sounds good for a start?

According to the latest reports, Jane Rosenthal will be in charge for producing this movie, and she definitely sounds quite excited about this project.

Here’s what she had to say:

“Going back almost twelve years now, I’ve wanted to see Buddy’s story as a movie. There’s nothing signed yet, but [Russell's] amazing, and we’ve been talking. Just talking. But he’s interested enough to keep talking. He’s interested enough that...

What the hell is David O. Russell doing, anyway? That’s the question I keep asking myself, which has been spurred by the director’s new habit of attaching himself to so many different films that it’s almost getting kind of annoying. I want the guy to keep working, sure, but I’d just like him to lay down one thing, definitively, so all the speculation can end for a while.

Now, Vulture is saying that the recent Oscar nominee is considering being involved in a biopic of former Providence, Ri mayor and convicted racketeer Buddy Cianci. Speaking to Jane Rosenthal, Tribeca co-founder and producer of such films as Meet the Parents, she said that O. Russell is very interested in doing a film about his life story, one that may be based off his recent memoirs, Politics and Pasta.

His interest in it seems legitimate, too, as she...

Yet another project has emerged as a potential for "The Fighter" director David O. Russell to tackle as his next film.

Vulture reports that Russell is circling a biopic of Buddy Cianci, the former Providence mayor and convicted criminal who, despite going to jail for five years for racketeering, is considering a run for his old job in 2014.

The project has been in development for over a decade and producer Jane Rosenthal says she intends to adapt some of Cianci’s new book "Politics and Pasta" for the film.

However Russell has at almost a dozen other possible projects on his place including the "Uncharted" video game adaptation, a 'Fighter' sequel, a Russ Meyer biopic, a narrative adaptation of "Cocaine Cowboys", a film adaptation of "The Silver Lining’s Playbook", the Vince Vaughn drama "Old St. Louis", the Will Smith-led contemporary Bible story "Joe" and more.

Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal said that David O. Russell is considering directing an adaptation of former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci's book Politics and Pasta, which follows the author's years of busting mobsters and landing in jail on racketeering charges. Could Rosenthal partner Robert De Niro, who reportedly made a deal with Cianci back in 2008 and may appear in Russell's Uncharted, help seal the deal -- and, perhaps, star as the notorious politician?...

In the wake of his success on The Fighter, director David O. Russell has found himself mentioned in the same breath as several developing projects, but a couple projects sound more likely than others. Now a new project fits somewhere in the middle as Vulture says the filmmaker has been talking with Tribeca Film Festival co-founder and producer Jane Rosenthal (Meet the Parents) about directing a biopic on Buddy Cianci, the former mayor of Providence, Rhode Island who has the honor of being one of the longest-serving "big city" mayors in Us history. Of course, he's also know for his racketeering crimes while in office. Rosenthal has been wanting to get this project going for awhile now saying, "Going back almost twelve years now, I've wanted to see Buddy's story as a movie." She even talks about including parts of the unnecessarily long-titled new book Politics and Pasta: How I...

David O. Russell is sure having fun discussing what projects he could direct post-Oscar nominated for The Fighter, but he doesn’t seem all that desperate to actually get anything in front of camera’s. He’s become something of the master of first dates, a guy who initially shows interest in a long commitment only to rarely call back and he certainly never takes his date home.

Vulture reports that O. Russell has become interested in directing yet another project, this time a biopic of long-time former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci who held office for a whopping 21 years in two lengthy separate terms. During that time he took down mobsters, revived the ‘dying’ Providence but went out on a conterversial note in 2002 when he was imprisoned for five years on rackeeting charges.

Jane Rosenthal, the co-founder of Tribeca Film Festival and long time business partner of Robert De Niro...

So it's been a couple weeks now, so you know what that means--another David O. Russell project attachment post! This time, Vulture reports that the Oscar-nominated director is eyeing a biopic about former Provindence, Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci. So what could possibly happen in Providence worthy of a movie? Apparently, a lot. In his new memoir, "Politics and Pasta," Cianci details fighting mobsters, getting charged with racketeering and bringing life back to the sagging city. Producer Jane Rosenthal, who is also co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, said, "Going back almost twelve years now, I've wanted to see Buddy's…...

As if there wasn't enough speculation about what David O. Russell will direct as his follow-up to The Fighter, a new project has entered the ring. Vulture reports that O. Russell is circling a biopic of former Providence mayor and convicted criminal Buddy Cianci. Producer Jane Rosenthal has been developing the project for twelve years and she plans to adapt some of Cianci's new book, Politics and Pasta, into the movie. She says that conversations are ongoing with O. Russell and that on the red carpet, he would approach her and say "Jane! I've got to talk to you about that Buddy movie." But that's a long way from any serious negotiations and Cianci still would need to sell his life rights. Furthermore, despite going to jail for five years for racketeering, he's considering a run for his old job in 2014, so a movie might complicate matters. Hit the jump...

• Americans love to hate politicians. Better yet, they love to love to hate them. However, most Americans overlook the politics of Rhode Island. Michael Corrente's based-on-a-book-based-on-a-true-story The Price of Providence appeals to the great American dream of watching a politician rise, fall, rise again, and fall even further, and Rhode Islanders will finally get the cinematic recognition they surely crave. Oliver Platt is set to star as the scandalous Buddy Cianci Jr.Co-written by David Mamet and Howard Korder, the film is about the corrupt ex-mayor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Jr. who was part urban visionary, part Tony Soprano – a flawed political genius in the mold of Huey Long and James Michael Curley. His lust for power cost him his marriage, his family, and close friendships. Yet he also revitalized the city of Providence, where ethnic factions jostle with old-moneyed New Englanders and black-clad artists from the Rhode Island

...

Anthony Quinn's friends and loved ones have paid tribute to the late, legendary, actor for using his artistic talent to help others. Quinn, an international leading man with a film career spanning six decades, died on June 3rd of respiratory failure. He was 86. And some of his famous pals remembered the two-time Oscar winner at a ceremony in Rhode island Sunday while standing under one of his paintings. Actor Edward James Olmos said, "His real gift was helping people who had no voice. His gift was creativity and giving. He created in everything he did." About 300 people attended the public service, which included a montage of still shots from many of Quinn's 100 movies. An organist played an improvisation of the theme song from Zorba The Greek, in which Quinn played the hero. Actor Franco Nero, Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci and former New York mayor David Dinkins spoke at the service, which celebrated Quinn's acting, painting and sculpting. Actor Adam Sandler also attended, and a floral arrangement and card at the back of the church read "My deepest condolences, Al Pacino."...