Q&A’s for HIGH TIDE:10/25 – In-Person Q&A at the NoHo with Actor/Executive Producer Marco Pigossi and Actor James Bland of HIGH TIDE following the 7:10 pm performance.10/26- In-Person Q&A at the NoHo with Writer/Director/Producer Marco Calvani, and Actor/Executive Producer Marco Pigossi of HIGH TIDE following the 7:10 pm performance.
“If You See Only One Beaver Movie This Year …” HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS are coming!
This week and next we’re delighted to show the sui generis farce Hundreds of Beavers. The March 14 Hundreds of Beavers screening at the Royal, March 15 & 16 late shows in Glendale, March 18 at the NoHo, and March 19 in Claremont will feature Q&As with the filmmakers plus a beaver or two.
The screenings have become something of a phenomenon, so much so that the New York Times posted a story about them last week. It begins:
“Last week, a bonkers low-budget movie that was shot in black and white and has no Hollywood stars, packed a 200-seat theater on a one-night engagement at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Additional screenings were added.
“Mike Cheslik, the film’s director, and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, its leading man, don’t have Hollywood connections or sacks of cash. What the two 33-year-old friends do have that helped their film make a splash with its New York debut is a secret weapon that would make a shrewd old-school movie pitchman like William Castle tingle with envy.
“We’re talking beavers. Big ones.
“Two life-size beavers, actually — plus a horse, all played by humans — who took selfies with passers-by on the sidewalk and high-fived audience members in their seats before a screening of Cheslik’s frolicsome farce Hundreds of Beavers.
“At a time when Hollywood and scrappy filmmakers alike are stressing over how to get butts into seats, Cheslik and Tews are counting on a live make-believe beaver fight — a marketing gimmick dressed like a vaudeville act — to sell their movie.” Read the rest of the article here.
The filmmakers and distributor have a genius for marketing, as evidenced by some of the parody posters they’ve assembled:
However, this is not just hype; Hundreds of Beavers is good. As of this writing, it’s at 98% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
“A soulful silliness pervades the rootin’, tootin’ live-action cartoon Hundreds of Beavers from Milwaukee filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, merry pranksters who deploy a gleefully inventive lo-fi madness to their gag-stuffed wilderness comedy. Pitting a lovestruck fur trapper against a bucktoothed horde, this underground festival hit is a feverish fit of creative buffoonery — you haven’t experienced anything remotely like it.” ~ Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
“On paper, it would hardly be expected to remain funny for eight minutes, let alone 108. But this ingeniously homemade lark never runs out of steam.” ~ Dennis Harvey, Variety
“Hundreds of Beavers starts strange, gets stranger, and yet remains resolutely adorable.” ~ Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org
APOCALYPSE NOW: THE FINAL CUT 45th Anniversary Screening Sunday, March 3.
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Vietnam War movie, ‘Apocalypse Now,’ in the director’s approved version restored in 2019: ‘Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut.’ When it was originally released in 1979, it scored at the box office and earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. It won two Oscars, for the striking cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and for Best Sound.
The screening is at the Royal on Sunday, March 3, and will start promptly at 6:00 PM with an introduction by actress Colleen Camp, who played Miss May in the film. Afterward we’ll have a special Q&A with Ms. Camp and author Sam Wasson, who just published The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story. He will also be selling and signing copies of his book.
Loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad’s enthralling novel ‘Heart of Darkness,’ the ‘Apocalypse Now‘ screenplay was by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr (a journalist who wrote the acclaimed book about the war, ‘Dispatches’). The main character, Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen), is ordered to travel through Vietnam and track down Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando), who has gone rogue and established his own savage regime in Cambodia. Willard’s orders are to assassinate Kurtz to save the military from disgrace.
The supporting cast includes Robert Duvall (who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the surf-loving Colonel Kilgore), Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest, Scott Glenn, Sam Bottoms, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, and Colleen Camp. Although the troubled production went way over budget on location in the Philippines, it won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979 and earned strong reviews from many critics. Kathleen Carroll of the New York Daily News wrote, “Certainly no movie in history has ever presented stronger proof that war is living hell.” Amy Taubin of the Village Voice added, “’Apocalypse‘ has the expressive extravagance of a Wagner opera—and not merely because the swooping helicopter scene is set to the ‘Ride of the Valkyries.’” Roger Ebert considered it one of the greatest films ever made.
Author Sam Wasson did extensive research, with special access to Coppola’s private papers, to write his new book, ‘The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story.’ The New York Times praised it as “a marvel of unshowy reportage,” and Publishers Weekly declared, “Movie buffs won’t want to miss this.” Wasson has also written the acclaimed books, ‘The Big Goodbye’ (about the making of ‘Chinatown’), ‘Fifth Avenue 5 AM’ (about ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’) and ‘Fosse.’ He will be selling and signing his book at the screening.
Colleen Camp has an extensive list of credits over the last 50 years, including ‘Valley Girl,’ ‘Clue,’ ‘Wayne’s World,’ ‘Die Hard With a Vengeance,’ Peter Bogdanovich’s ‘They All Laughed,’ Alexander Payne’s ‘Election,’ David O. Russell’s ‘American Hustle’ and ‘Joy,’ and many TV series as well.
DRUGSTORE JUNE Q&A schedule.
Drugstore June Q&A at the Laemmle Noho: 3/2 – 7:10PM Moderator, Nick Rutherford, Nicholaus Goossen, Jenn McClaren and Jordan Ellner; 3/5 – 7:10PM Moderator, Jonnie “Dumbfounded” Park, Nick Rutherford, Brandon Wardell, Britany Furlan, Nicholaus Goossen, and Jordan Ellner; 3/7 – 7:10PM Moderator, Jon Gabrus, Nicholaus Goossen, and Jordan Ellner
HOUSE CALLS 45th Anniversary Screening Wednesday, November 8 at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre with Actor Richard Benjamin in Person!
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series pay tribute to the late, great Glenda Jackson with a screening of one of her most successful movies, ‘House Calls‘ from 1978. Over the course of her long acting career, before she chose to segue to politics as a member of the British Parliament, Jackson triumphed in many different genres. She won two Oscars—one for the dramatic adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s ‘Women in Love’ (1970) and a second for the romantic comedy ‘A Touch of Class (1973).’ She also earned Oscar nominations for the groundbreaking 1971 drama ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday’ and for the 1975 film ‘Hedda,’ adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, ‘Hedda Gabler,’ a role that Jackson had also played on stage. Other outstanding performances include ‘The Music Lovers,’ ‘Stevie,’ ‘The Romantic Englishwoman,’ ‘Nasty Habits,’ and ‘The Rainbow.’
‘House Calls‘ teamed her with fellow Oscar winners Walter Matthau and Art Carney, along with our special guest at this screening, Richard Benjamin. Matthau plays a doctor at a poorly run urban hospital who is still grieving the death of his wife as he explores the dating world with fairly disastrous results. When he meets Jackson, a patient at the hospital, he begins to form a more meaningful connection. Carney plays the increasingly senile chief of staff at the hospital, whose ineptitude contributes to the pressures on the entire beleaguered staff. Benjamin plays a fellow doctor who tries to aid Matthau with his professional and romantic challenges.
Howard Zieff (‘Hearts of the West,’ ‘Private Benjamin’) directed the script by Alan Mandel and Charles Shyer, from a story written by veterans Julius J. Epstein and Max Shulman. Candice Azzara co-stars as a widow who also has her eye on Matthau. Multiple Oscar winner Henry Mancini composed the score.
Leonard Maltin called ‘House Calls‘ a “laughing-out-loud contemporary comedy” and added, “Carney is hilarious as the addle-brained head of surgery at Matthau’s hospital.” The movie was successful enough to spawn a TV series that ran for three seasons on CBS. And Matthau and Jackson re-teamed for the comedy adventure film, ‘Hopscotch,’ in 1980.
Richard Benjamin has been one of the most frequent and generous supporters of our Anniversary Classics Series over the last several years. He joined us to reminisce about ‘The Sunshine Boys,’ ‘Goodbye, Columbus,’ ‘The Last of Sheila,’ and his highly acclaimed directorial debut, ‘My Favorite Year.’ His other films as an actor include ‘Diary of a Mad Housewife,’ ‘Westworld,’ ‘Catch-22,’ ‘Love at First Bite,’ and ‘How to Beat the High Cost of Living.’ He also directed ‘Racing with the Moon’ (starring Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, and Nicolas Cage), ‘The Money Pit’ with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, ‘Mermaids’ with Cher and Winona Ryder, and ‘Little Nikita’ with Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix. Mr. Benjamin will join us for a Q&A before the screening on November 8.
RUNNING ON EMPTY 35th Anniversary Screening with Actors Christine Lahti and Judd Hirsch in Person October 24.
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 35th anniversary screening of the potent Oscar-nominated drama Running on Empty, written by Naomi Foner and directed by Sidney Lumet in one of his late-career highlights. Christine Lahti, who was named best actress of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance, Judd Hirsch, River Phoenix, and Martha Plimpton star in one of the few movies to examine the consequences of the revolutionary movements that swept America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The film earned two Oscar nominations in 1988, for Foner’s original screenplay and for Phoenix as Best Supporting actor. We’ll screen Running on Empty at the Royal on October 24 at 7 pm with Ms. Lahti as our special guest.
Lahti and Hirsch play a married couple who were part of a 1960s revolutionary group, probably modeled on the Weather Underground, who participated in the bombing of a napalm laboratory that resulted in the serious injury of a janitor who was not supposed to be on the premises. Since then, they and their two sons have been on the run from the FBI, constantly changing their identities and moving when the authorities seemed close to locating them. An added complication arises when their teenage son, played by Phoenix, begins to demonstrate extraordinary gifts as a pianist, and the parents realize that their unsettled lives could hinder the development of his talent. At the same time, Phoenix falls in love with the daughter (Plimpton) of his music teacher and feels compelled to reveal his true identity to her.
Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Verdict), who received an honorary Oscar late in his life, brought his characteristic dramatic vigor and emotional intensity to the film. A highlight is the meeting between Lahti and her long estranged father, played by Steven Hill, that is one of the most wrenching scenes in any film of the period. Most critics recognized the film’s achievements. Roger Ebert called it “one of the best films of the year,” and Newsweek’s David Ansen called it “emotionally overpowering.” Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “Sophisticated, uncompromising and refreshingly original, it is one of those rare films which is likely to mean as much to teens as it does to their parents.”
Christine Lahti made her film debut opposite Al Pacino in 1979 in …And Justice for All. She went on to co-star in Whose Life Is It Anyway? opposite Richard Dreyfuss, The Doctor with William Hurt, Just Between Friends with Mary Tyler Moore, Bill Forsyth’s Housekeeping, and, more recently, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks. She earned an Oscar nomination when she co-starred with Goldie Hawn in Swing Shift. Later she won an Oscar for a live action short film that she directed, Lieberman in Love, in 1995. Lahti won an Emmy for her starring role in the hit TV series, Chicago Hope, and also had a recurring role in Law and Order SVU. In 2001 she directed her first feature, My First Mister, starring Albert Brooks and Leelee Sobieski.
Judd Hirsch has received two Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor—for the Oscar-winning best picture of 1980, Ordinary People, and for his performance just last year in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed memory piece, The Fabelmans. He also won two Emmy Awards for his performance in the critically acclaimed and immensely popular TV show of the late 1970s, Taxi. Among his other notable feature film credits are Independence Day, A Beautiful Mind, The Meyerowitz Stories, and Uncut Gems. Hirsch co-starred in several other TV series—Dear John, Damages, Superior Donuts, and The Goldbergs.
SOYLENT GREEN 50th Anniversary Screening September 13 with Special Guest Leigh Taylor-Young.
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 50th anniversary of the prophetic sci-fi classic, ‘Soylent Green.’ The sole surviving cast member, Leigh Taylor-Young, will join to share memories of making this powerful movie. This still-timely film, set in New York in 2022, was one of the first to address issues of pollution, global warming, overpopulation, and an epidemic of homelessness. In many ways it predicted the dark future imagined in ‘Blade Runner,’ made a decade later.
The script was adapted by Stanley R. Greenberg from an acclaimed novel, ‘Make Room! Make Room!,’ by Harry Harrison. The director, Richard Fleischer, was no stranger to science fiction, having made the hit movies ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ and ‘Fantastic Voyage,’ along with a wide range of films in many different genres. Charlton Heston portrays a police detective trying to solve the murder of an executive at the mysterious Soylent Corporation, which leads him to uncover a diabolical conspiracy. In addition to Leigh Taylor-Young, the supporting cast includes Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, and Paula Kelly. But the most memorable performance is given by Edward G. Robinson, in his final screen appearance.
The Hollywood Reporter declared that the film “conjures a terrifying vision of the future.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times called the film “a clever, rough, modestly budgeted but imaginative work.” ‘Soylent Green‘ won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film of the year.
Actress Leigh Taylor-Young first came to prominence on the popular “Peyton Place” TV series of the 1960s. She made her feature film debut in the hit 1968 comedy, ‘I Love You Alice B. Toklas,’ starring Peter Sellers, written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker. Her other film roles include ‘The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight,’ which marked one of the first screen roles for Robert De Niro, and ‘Jagged Edge,’ starring Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges. She also co-starred in many popular TV series, including “Dallas” and “Picket Fences,” for which she won an Emmy. In recent years she has also been active in humanitarian and spiritual activities for the United Nations and other organizations.
The movie’s trailer posed the question, “What Is the Secret of Soylent Green?” If you don’t know the answer to that question, be sure to attend our 50th anniversary screening. And even if you do know, you will be startled by the movie’s timeliness and engaged by the conversation with our delightful guest speaker.
EXPERIMENT IN TERROR 60th Anniversary Screening with co-star Stefanie Powers in person December 7
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present the 60th anniversary of director Blake Edwards’ neo-noir suspense thriller Experiment in Terror, one of the noteworthy films from the milestone movie year 1962. Stefanie Powers, who has a key supporting role, will appear for a Q&A after the film. The one-night-only screening will play at the Laemmle NoHo theater on Wednesday, December 7 at 7 PM.
The story deals with vicious criminal Red Garland (Ross Martin), who terrorizes San Francisco bank teller Kelly Sherwood (Lee Remick), forcing her to steal $100,000 for him. Although he threatens to kill her and her teenage sister Toby (Stefanie Powers) if she goes to the police, Remick contacts the local FBI office, where agent John Ripley (Glenn Ford) undertakes a manhunt for Garland. To ensure Kelly’s full cooperation, Garland kidnaps Toby and a race against the clock ensues. Filmed on location in San Francisco, the film notably climaxes in the Bay City’s mid-century landmark, Candlestick Park.
Blake Edwards, known primarily as a comedy specialist, followed the biggest hit of his early career, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with a complete change of pace in this taut suspenser adapted by the Gordons from their novel “Operation Terror.” He took advantage of the genre change by utilizing a full range of stylistic flourishes, superbly assisted in exploring the neo-noir format by cinematographer Philip Lathrop, filming appropriately in sharp-edged black and white, and composer Henry Mancini, contributing a striking, eclectic score. Edwards, Remick, Lathrop, and Mancini would all reunite later in the year for the memorable drama Days of Wine and Roses.
Critics of the day appreciated the investigative protocol, mystery elements, and the convincing, unsentimental acting and storytelling. Later reviewers embraced Edwards’ directing approach, with Time Out stating, “Edwards’ classical feel for pure cinema remains unalloyed.” Emmanuel Levy noted, “this stylish noir thriller is one of Edwards’ best films and one of the genre’s highlights.” The movie also greatly influenced filmmaker David Lynch, particularly his acclaimed Twin Peaks. Richard Brody, film critic of The New Yorker, wrote in 2015 that Experiment in Terror is “a movie about movies, a very early American reflection of the methods and moods of the French New Wave, realized as a mainstream Hollywood film…the exaltation of the ordinary into something extraordinary by means of the power of cinema itself.”
Our special guest Stefanie Powers is still actively enjoying her seventh decade in show business, starting as a teenager under contract for Columbia Pictures at the end of the studio era. In 1962 she co-starred in three popular movies, If a Man Answers, The Interns, and Experiment in Terror. Later in the decade she starred on television as The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., followed by over 200 appearances on weekly TV series and miniseries, culminating in the hit show Hart to Hart (1979-84), in which she co-starred with longtime friend Robert Wagner. In 1982 she founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation in Kenya after the 1981 death of her life partner Holden. She remains involved in wildlife conservation and environmental activism in addition to her acting career.
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