Movie based on the trails of Allen Ginsberg to hit theaters in October.

In case you haven't heard, Fort Worth Opera will be doing Hydrogen Jukebox as part of the 2011 Festival. Hydrogen Jukebox explores a topic of historical significance: the social revolution that began after World War II. We may not approve of all the "freedoms" that social revolution championed (drugs, sex, etc), but the impact on our country can not be denied. You can read more about Hydrogen Jukebox and the reasons we picked it here (click on "Synopsis").

We recently learned that there is a movie coming out in October that touches on the same subject. Talk about relevant opera! Howl will star James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, one of the most prominent of the post WWII beat poets and the librettist for Hydrogen Jukebox.

Ginsberg was relatively unknown until his poem, Howl, landed him on trial for obscenity. His "free speech" defense eventually triumphed, and ironically the trial turned out to be a great publicity vehicle for both Ginsberg and his poetry, catapulting him to fame. Sounds like great movie material to us too.

It also turns out that the Hydrogen Jukebox composer, Philip Glass, is a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts honoree for lifetime achievement in opera.

Fort Worth Opera, NEA, and now Hollywood. Coincidence? Maybe. But we won't correct you if you say it was an absolutely genius move on our part. ;-)