Film Goodness

Benedict Cumberbatch movie leads Lone Star Film Festival 2014 lineup

The Lone Star Film Festival has released the first eight films for its 2014 edition, taking place November 6-9, with movies featuring actor Benedict Cumberbatch and director Mike Leigh leading the way.

The Imitation Game, starring Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the genius British scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win World War II, is the most high-profile film of the eight. It recently won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Cumberbatch is among the early leaders to secure an Oscar nomination for his work.

Leigh, known for films like Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky, will bring his latest, Mr. Turner, to the festival. It chronicles the last 25 years of artist J.M.W. Turner's life, during which his famously eccentric personality only grew. Leigh's last film, Another Year, showed at the 2010 Lone Star Film Festival.

The festival had previously announced that artist-director Julian Schnabel will receive the Achievement in Film Directing Award. Three of his films — Basquiat, Before Night Falls, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly — will be shown as part of the festivities.

Texas Monthly film critic Christopher Kelly will present his annual Modern Cinema event as part of the festival. Seven films, including some of the ones just announced, will be part of the series running at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Other films in this initial batch include Winter Sleep, the Palme d'Or winner at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival; X/Y, a character drama directed by Ryan Piers Williams and starring Williams, America Ferrera, Melonie Diaz, Common and Jon Paul Phillips; The Great Invisible, a documentary about the fallout from the Deepwater Horizon oil leak; The Roughnecks, a documentary about a Fort Worth Pee-Wee football team's quest for a championship; and a retrospective screening of George Lucas' classic 1973 film, American Graffiti, featuring an appearance by Candy Clark, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the film.

The full Lone Star Film Festival lineup will be released in early October. Discounted early bird passes are now on sale through lonestarfilmfestival.com, with the prices increasing when individual tickets are released along with the full lineup.

The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will play at the 2014 Lone Star Film Festival.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game

Photo courtesy of Lone Star Film Festival

The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will play at the 2014 Lone Star Film Festival.

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This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas suburb ranks No. 1 for remote workers in week's top stories

Photo by Roger Robinson/Visit Frisco

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Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Dallas news of the week. Topics varied from remote work to the Super Bowl and, of course, winter weather. Read on for the five most popular CultureMap headlines of the week. And for the best things to do this weekend, consult this guide.

1. Techy Dallas suburb is No. 1 hot spot for remote workers in U.S. Even as many major companies are enacting return-to-office policies across the country, there's a stronghold in the Dallas area where remote work prevails. A new survey of cities with the biggest remote workforces has revealed Frisco is the No. 1 city with the highest share of remote workers in the nation.

2. Super Bowl FanFest debuts in 30 cities across U.S. including Dallas. A Super Bowl-themed festival is coming to 30 cities across the U.S., and that includes Dallas: Called Super Bowl FanFest, it'll take place at stadiums and venues across all 30 NFL markets on Super Bowl LIX Sunday, February 9, in a nationwide Super Bowl lovefest with food & beverages, meet & greets, local music, and interactive games.

Super Bowl FanFest is coming. Cosm Dallas

3. Dallas lawyer and one-time club owner Ray Balestri dies at 64. Dallas lawyer and investor Ray Balestri, who circulated through Dallas' media and entertainment world, died on January 4; he was 64.

4. Dallas ISD to shut down for 2 days and more winter storm cancellations. As Dallas-Fort Worth prepared for winter weather this week, the cancellations and postponements began to roll in, including Dallas Independent School District, which shut down for two days.

5. High-energy Mexican steakhouse is coming to Dallas' East Quarter. A new steakhouse is coming to town: Called Toca Madera, it's a "modern Mexican steakhouse" from Noble 33, a global hospitality group known for its high-energy restaurant concepts, and will open at 2203 Commerce St. in the East Quarter district.