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Before Hollywood, there was Fort Lee. A new Blu-ray set, Made in New Jersey: Films From Fort Lee, highlights the town’s role as the birthplace of American cinema. Curated by Barrymore Film Center historian Richard Koszarski, the two-disc release features 14 early films and two documentaries made in Fort Lee and nearby towns between 1908 and 1918, including works by D.W. Griffith, the earliest surviving Robin Hood, and a restored Cossacks in Exile. Fort Lee was once home to the early studios that became Universal, Fox, and Paramount.
At the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, innovation is redefining what it means to be a modern movie theater. In an era where independent cinemas struggle to compete with streaming giants, the BFC has positioned itself as more than just a place to watch films - it’s a cultural hub. By hosting live comedy, musical performances, filmmaker Q&As, and cinema education programs, the center ensures that every visit is an experience, not just a screening. As independent theaters across New Jersey close, the Barrymore Film Center stands as a model of innovation, proving that the future of cinema lies in community and engagement.
During the period just before and after the first World War, Fort Lee, NJ, served as an incubator, home to the first concentration of motion picture studios in the United States. While the stars and studios eventually went West, Fort Lee is where the movies outgrew their roots and emerged as both an art and an industry.
Is it love that makes the world go round? Or is it money? Either way, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Hollywood superstars who were also shrewd producers and devoted soul mates, set it spinning. They were the first of that now-familiar species: the Power Couple.
On July 14, 2023, the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center will kick off the 22nd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), with 60+ new and classic titles, a greatly expanded selection of short films, and an exciting slate of celebrated guests from Asia and the diaspora. The festival runs from July 14–30, 2023 at Film at Lincoln Center (FLC), with a special weekend of screenings (July 21–23) at a new venue, the historic Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, New Jersey, the birthplace of the motion picture industry in America.
In a red box at the center: John Barrymore, the vaunted actor of stage and screen. Born in 1882, he would become one of the pillars of America’s first Hollywood — Fort Lee. In a golden box off to the left: John’s granddaughter Drew Barrymore. The actor, born in 1975, is now a talk show host and social media sensation known for taking great joy in the little things, like running into the rain. The $16 million Barrymore Film Center, a new 21,500-square-foot cultural space in Fort Lee with a 260-seat movie theater and museum that opened Friday, is a tribute to the borough’s status as the birthplace of the United States film industry.
The new $16 million Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, finally opening Oct. 21 after two years of COVID-related delays, is a lot of things. It's a museum. It's a 267-seat repertory film theater. It's a reception space. It's a tribute to Fort Lee's role, 120 years ago, as the birthplace of the movie industry. It's also a monument — the greatest since Joyce Kilmer — to a tree.