Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/85092
VIEW FROM THE TOP The festival's advanced screening room is dubbed Film Land. continued from page 49 For Kutza, it all comes back to a passion for fi lm. eight years old." By the time he was 20, Kutza had won an award at Cannes for his 15-minute film Emanon. With a mentor in former silent film star Colleen Moore (to whom Kutza was introduced by legendary Sun-Times columnist Irv Kupcinet), the idea for the Chicago festival was born. From the start, says Kutza, the goal was simple: "Let's go find the new me's all over the place—the brand-new directors around the world." And find them he did, from a then-unknown Martin Scorsese in '67 (with the world premiere of his debut feature, Who's That Knocking at My Door) to more recent picks like Danny Boyle (with festival winner Slumdog Millionaire). These days, the CIFF receives more than 3,000 entries from 60 countries each year and also selects from the best of the other major international festivals. Over the years, Kutza and his team have generated buzz aplenty for the festival, with everything from the stylish logo designed by Kutza himself to festival posters of hard-bodied nude models shot by legendary Chicago photographer Victor Skrebneski. Outreach programs like free film screenings at the Chicago Cultural Center keep the CIFF in the public eye all year long. Kutza can count on two weeks of sold-out screen- ings, and the stars come out in full force to attend the Festival's gala premieres (this year's opening night feature, Stand Up Guys, stars Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, and Julianna Margulies, all of whom will walk the red carpet). And after nearly 50 years, Kutza's legacy in the Chicago cultural pantheon is assured: In 1996, a stretch of South Michigan Avenue was named "Michael J. Kutza Way," and in 2009 Kutza was The corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress is named after Kutza; LEFT: Honorary Hugo Award, 2009. declared an official "Legendary Landmark" by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois. For Kutza, it all comes back to a passion for film. He may watch four films a night for the festival, but he'll watch movies to relax, too. And though books of film criticism line his office shelves, he's not a reader. Says the film festival founder with a smile, "I wait for the movie." MA CREDITS ROLL Michael Kutza shares what it's like to be a film addict. *MOVIE RITUAL "I have popcorn, and I sit in the third row, on the right. The popcorn and a small Coke costs $10, more than the movie. But what can I say? I'm hooked." *COMING ATTRACTIONS "I'm curious about Cloud Atlas, which has everyone in it from Tom Hanks to Halle Barry and Hugh Grant. It's like The Tree of Life—it jumps from past to present to future—and it's directed by the Matrix [duo] plus German director Tom Tykwer. It's epic, futuristic, prehistoric—everything." *STARSTRUCK "I really am impressed with Brad Pitt. This guy gets better. And Anne Hathaway is so cool. I forgot she could sing. Have you seen any of the stuff from [December film release] Les Misérables? She's a doll." *MORNING ROUTINE "I wake up at 7:30 AM. Feed my Kutza's collectables, such as Buzz Cola from The Simpsons. saltwater fish—very calming friends! I eat breakfast (the major meal for me), and I am in the office before 10." 50 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM