Andrew Repasky McElhinney

Andrew Repasky McElhinney is an American film and theater producer, writer and director born in Philadelphia in 1978. McElhinney's cinema work is in the permanent collection of MoMA-The Museum of Modern Art, New York.[1]

McElhinney is an active theater and film director as well as a scriptwriter specializing in rewrites and dialogue polishes.

McElhinney holds advance degrees from The New School for Social Research (NYC) and The European Graduate School (EGS)[2] in Switzerland. In 2011, McElhinney defended his PhD dissertation, "Second Takes—Remaking America: A Psychoanalytic Reading of English Language Cinema, 1931–1998," which was subsequently published by McFarland and Company as Second Takes: Remaking Film, Remaking America, ISBN 978-0-7864-7761-6.[3] He has been an instructor at Rutgers,[4] Rowan and Temple Universities, among others, teaching Screenwriting, Cinema and American Studies.

In addition, McElhinney is the film programmer who administers the non-profit screening series The Chestnut Hill Film Group[5] at Woodmere Art Museum.[6] He is also a multimedia video installation[7] performance artist[8] and director specializing in burlesque and cabaret in addition to cinema and theater.

Early works

In 1994, while in high school, he formed "ARMcinema25.com",[9] a company devoted to producing movies.

In 1994, McElhinney released the short films, The Scream[10] and Her Father’s Expectancy".[11] A baroque tale of incest and mutilation, Her Father’s Expectancy caused controversy upon its release.

In 1995, McElhinney made a silent musical entitled A Maggot Tango.[12][13] It won Best Short at the Chestnut Hill Film Festival.

Feature films

McElhinney’s first feature Magdalen [14] was well-reviewed in 1998 for its fresh concept, black and white camerawork from cinematographer Abe Holtz [15] and its cast led by Alix D. Smith.

In 2000, McElhinney' sophomore feature was released. It was an 1807 period thriller A Chronicle of Corpses [16] starring soap opera diva Marj Dusay.

His next film was Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye[17] released in 2003. Dennis Harvey, reviewing Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye in Variety said the film was "A punk-pornocopia equivalent to Last Year at Marienbad."[18]

McElhinney's fourth feature film, Animal Husbandry (2008[19]) is a word-for-word modern dress production of a romantic comedy from the 1930s with the subtext reexamined to explore issues of race, class gender/sexual identity in contemporary America.

McElhinney's fifth feature film is Christmas Dreams (2016).[20] A children's holiday musical fantasy, the movie was a shot over six weeks entirely on a soundstage and features extensive special effects and CGI, making it the largest, independent movie ever produced in Philadelphia.

McElhinney's new film project "Casual Encounters: Philadelphia True Crime Confessions" is in post-production.

Publications

McElhinney has contributed to publications such as Ritz Film Magazine ("Ask the Ritz"), Filmmaker Magazine; San Francisco Bay Guardian; The Chestnut Hill Local; Philadelphia Weekly (aka, 'PW'); and Film International.

Between 2004 and 2009 McElhinney wrote hundred of (mostly) unsigned liner notes, essays and back cover blurbs for "Gotham Collectibles".[21]

In 2009, McElhinney contributed the monograph, "A World Destroyed By Gold: Shared Allegories of Capital in Wagner’s ‘Ring’ and Ulmer’s ‘Isle of Forgotten Sins’" to Scarecrow Press’ anthology, "The Films of Edgar G. Ulmer".[22]

In November 2013, "McFarland and Company" published McElhinney's book-length survey of 20th Century English Language Cinema, "Second Takes: Remaking Film, Remaking America."[3]

McElhinney can be heard delivering remarks on audio commentaries on several GarageHouse Pictures special edition blu-rays.[23]

Other Short Movies and Documentaries

October 6, 2006, McElhinney shot the ten-minute short, The Things We Do For Love: A Cinemagic at the Cinemagic 3 movie theater, Walnut Street, just prior to the multiplex's demolition.

McElhinney chronicled the European Graduate School's tenth anniversary in residence in Saas-Fee, Switzerland in the hour-long direct cinema documentary, "European Graduate School: Digital Video Diary-August 2008".[24]

Installation Work

In 2003, McElhinney used footage from his feature film, "Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye"[25] to create, direct and design "Untitled Video Installation#1" for the Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival.[26]

In 2003-4, McElhinney's eight-part multimedia juxtaposition of musical theater and motion pictures called "Jukebox/Peepshow" is installed in monthly sequences at The 700 Club (Philadelphia) and then The Werepad (San Francisco).[27]

In 2009, McElhinney created the video projections for Brat Production's Haunted House, "Haunted Poe"[28] and created two short films for the event, "The Tell-Tale Heart"[29] and "Poe's Last Train Ride".[30] The Philadelphia Inquirer praised his work as "Hitchcockian" on October 13, 2009.[31]

Theater Work

Since 1993, McElhinney has directed theater productions including "The Visitor" (McElhinney) – 1993, "Oleanna" (Mamet) – 1996, "The Artificial Jungle" (Ludlum) – 1997, "The Malady of Death" (Duras) – NYC 1999, "The Peek-A-Boo Revue Burlesque Show" – 2003–2007, "Who Milk Dat Was?" (Wildau) – 2007, "Death and Devil" (Wedekind) – 2009,[32] "Blue Movie: A Film By Andy Warhol" (Warhol) – 2010, "Macbeth" (Shakespeare) – 2010, "The Cowen Bridge Girls" (Giovanni/McElhinney) – 2011, "Rent" (Larson – musical staging only) – 2011, "Timon of Athens" (Shakespeare) – 2011, "Q+C" (Cook) – 2012, "Titus Andronicus" (Shakespeare) – 2013, "Troilus and Cressida" (Shakespeare) – 2015.

McElhinney is the Producing Artistic Associate at Torn Out Theater[33] which produces and promotes theatrical productions that inspire and challenge audiences to explore the questions of modern sexuality, gender, and the body politic in public spaces.

McElhinney is the director of Shakespeare in Harrowgate Park, a theater company committed to free, outdoor performances of classic theater, live music and children's theater in Harrowgate Park.[34]

References
  1. "Andrew Repasky McElhinney - MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art.
  2. "Andrew Repasky McElhinney - The European Graduate School". egs.edu. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  3. "Second Takes: Remaking Film, Remaking America (promotional webpage)". McFarland and Company.
  4. "Rutgers American Studies".
  5. Prigge, Matt. "Question - Andrew Repasky McElhinney". PhiladelphiaWeekly.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  6. "Woodmere Art Museum". woodmereartmuseum.org. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  7. "Installation Work « ARMcinema25". Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  8. "This Week's Day-by-Day Picks - June 9, 2004". SF Weekly. June 9, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  9. "ARMcinema25". Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  10. "The Scream" – via www.imdb.com.
  11. "Her Father's Expectancy" – via www.imdb.com.
  12. "A Maggot Tango" – via www.imdb.com.
  13. "Chestnut Hill Local 22 June 1995" (PDF).
  14. "Philadlephia Weekly 1996" (PDF).
  15. "Abe Holtz". IMDb. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  16. A Chronicle of Corpses, retrieved February 13, 2019
  17. Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye, retrieved February 13, 2019
  18. Dennis Harvey (June 21, 2004). "Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye, review". Variety.
  19. Animal Husbandry, retrieved February 13, 2019
  20. Christmas Dreams, retrieved February 13, 2019
  21. "OLDIES.com : Direct Source for Collectables Records & Alpha Video - Oldies, Doo Wop, Jazz, Pop, Rock Music and Horror, Serials, Thrillers, Sci-Fi, Westerns Movies". OLDIES.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  22. The Films of Edgar G. Ulmer.
  23. "Releases Archives -". Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  24. "European Graduate School: Digital Video Diary-August 2008" – via www.imdb.com.
  25. "Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye" – via www.imdb.com.
  26. Inside ARM UVI No. 1 - "Georges Bataille's Story of the Eye", retrieved February 13, 2019
  27. http://www.armcinema25.com/pdf/SFBG_BATAILLE_9-JUNE-2004.pdf
  28. "Installation Work « ARMcinema25".
  29. "Haunted Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart" – via www.imdb.com.
  30. "Haunted Poe: Poe's Last Train Ride" – via www.imdb.com.
  31. The Philadelphia Inquirer http://articles.philly.com/2009-10-13/news/25272369_1_edgar-allan-poe-roaches-labyrinth. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. Brickbat (January 19, 2009). "Brickbat Books: Saturday, FEB. 14th: Frank Wedekind's Death and Devil". Brickbat Books. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  33. "Torn Out Theater". Torn Out Theater.
  34. "Shakespeare in Harrowgate Park". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
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