“The Splendid Affinities”

After years of being held in suspense, praying that “The Cosmopolitans” would be picked up and revived, and watching your bootleg copy of the revered pilot, it was announced that a new television project is in the works from Whit Stillman.

“The Splendid Affinities” is the title of the new series to be written and directed by Stillman. Described as a big budget Romantic Comedy Adventure, the series will be taking place in Paris, Madrid, and London.

Via the official press release:

The Splendid Affinities is set in the present day, thirty years after the end of the Soviet era, where the fictional Baltic republic of Vronyia is again under threat – as is the life of its beloved Prince Michael, elder statesman of the country’s return to democracy. The tentacles of violence extend to London, Paris and Madrid with our heroes out to save the nation, its deposed leaders, and the world, in the most stylish – least bloody – way possible – with dreams of finding love while doing so.

Very exciting news for fans of Whit and the genre! As Mr. Stillman has commented, the adventure rom-com is “A popular genre, always rare, has become rarer: adventure with humor and romance,”

That said, there is no doubt (in this authors mind) that networks and streaming services alike will be clamoring to get their hands on this.

Stay tuned for more developments as they come along!

Source:

Deadline, The Playlist

Metropolitan at MoMA

On April 27 “Metropolitan” returns to NYC in grand fashion at the Museum of Modern Art! As part of the “Rialto at 25” film series (a showcase of the NYC Film Distributors phenomenal legacy), Whit Stillman will be on hand to discuss his highly influential film.

Tickets to the event go on sale April 13 for MoMA members, and April 20 for the general public.

Another screening will take place on May 10 with Ticket sales beginning May 3.

Visit the MoMA website for more details!

The Westerly Films Archive Remains Open!

At the end of 2020 Whit Stillman allowed access to his personal archive of film memorabilia from his company, Westerly Films. Memorabilia from all of his films – signed posters, wardrobe, props, film cells, and scripts have all been made available through The Westerly Films Archive Store & Auction page.

After over two years, the Archive remains open with new and rare items added regularly and ALL authenticated by Whit Stillman and “Damsels in Distress” Actor, Chris Angerman.

Check out some of the unique items that have been featured over the years, and visit the site to see what’s new!

Farewell, Eric

Hi, this is Phil, the original editor of this website until I passed it over to Eric Burritt more than a decade ago.

Unfortunately I’m back with some very sad news: Eric passed away in November 2021. We never met, or even chatted apart from over email. Going by the little I’ve heard about him from others he was a lovely guy, and extremely well thought of by many people.

From our point of view, he was a wonderful steward of this website for a long time, bringing his huge enthusiasm for the films of Whit Stillman, and I’m sure that even those of us who didn’t know him personally will mourn his passing.

There is a brief obituary page at dignitymemorial.com.

Win a ‘Metropolitan’ Poster

Win this poster! https://www.ebay.com/itm/184544150626 $15 off sale going on now due to the film screening. Sale ends shortly…

Win a Metropolitan Poster that was kept in the Westerly Films Archive for 30 years. Two winners will be drawn randomly sometime in the fall.

Two ways to enter:

  • 1.) Simply follow @whitstillmanunofficialdotorg (must be following at the time of the drawing) on Instagram. A random follower will be chosen and will win a Metropolitan poster.

A second winner will be chosen by following all these steps:

  • 1.) Follow @whitstillmanunofficialdotorg (must be following at the time of the drawing) on Instagram.
  • 2.) Take a screen grab of the image below and share it on Instagram (make sure the poster and web links show). Cannot be an Instagram story. Must be a regular post.
  • 3.) Tag the photo with @whitstillmanunofficialdotorg in order to be entered (it will need to show up in the tagged photo section) and use the hashtag #metropolitanpostergiveaway

The poster will only ship to the United States by UPS (No PO boxes). Winners will need to provide their mailing address. If for some reason a winner does not respond or doesn’t have a US mailing address, another winner will then be chosen at random.

Cha. Cha. Cha.