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Dear Laemmle Fans

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A letter from Greg Laemmle about the closing of the theaters sent on March 20.

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Dear Laemmle Fans,

My family has been in this business in Los Angeles since 1938. I’ve been doing my job for over 30 years. During that time, we’ve had fires, earthquakes, a couple very serious instances of civic unrest, a major terrorist attack on our country, and countless other threats and instances of adversity. But even when curfews curtailed our hours of operation, we managed to be open and showing movies. Even if most people didn’t want to get out, there were always those who found solace and escape in getting out to the movies. And we wanted to be there for them.

The word “unprecedented” gets thrown around a lot. But what we are all living through today definitely fits the bill. And adjusting to this new reality, and accepting that it is going to be with us for at least a month if not more, is a challenge.

As much as movies and the business of showing movies is important to me and all the employees at Laemmle Theatres, we recognize that there is a more important societal issue at stake here. We understand that we need to shut down so that we can do our part to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus. We hope that you will do your part as well by staying safe at home, washing your hands, maintaining recommended social isolation distancing, and generally following best practices. Together, we can flatten the curve so that the contagion spreads as slowly as possible, and we don’t overburden our medical infrastructure. That’s #1.

Second, even though we won’t be opening new movies for a while, we hope that you’ll still stay engaged with us via email, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. We don’t have much to tell you today, but we should have some announcements in coming weeks that we think you’ll find interesting, including how to bring some of the best of Laemmle into your home.

And finally, if you have the means, it does help if you buy a Gift Card or a Premiere Card. These funds will help us get by in the immediate period. There’s a lot of discussion about doing something for impacted businesses, but nothing (as yet) actually happening. So until then, every bit helps. And is MUCH appreciated!

It’s hard to stay positive right now. But if we all look ahead to the day when we can return to our favorite theatre and enjoy a great arthouse film coupled with popcorn (would you like butter on that?) and a beverage, it will make this period a little easier to endure.

Stay safe, and hope to see you all soon.

Sincerely,
Greg Laemmle

All Laemmle Venues Temporarily Closed.

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Dear Laemmle Family,

In accord with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s executive order and in efforts to “flatten the curve,” we have temporarily closed all of our venues including those in municipalities not covered by the Mayor’s order.

We will contact ticket holders via email with refund instructions for tickets purchased in advance.

We appreciate your patience as we navigate this unprecedented situation.

Visit laemmle.com for updates.

Please take care of yourselves and those most at risk. Hope to see you soon.

– Team Laemmle

EAST/WEST 20th Anniversary Screenings March 18 in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A.

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present this month’s film in our popular Anniversary Classics Abroad program: Regis Wargnier’s compelling and increasingly timely thriller, East/West. Wargnier had won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his earlier historical epic, Indochine. The Oscar-nominated star of that movie, Catherine Deneuve, collaborated with him again in another fascinating historical drama with an exotic backdrop.

Inspired by true events, East/West tells a story of Russian émigrés living in Paris who were lured back to the Soviet Union after the end of World War II. Russian dictator Josef Stalin promised these refugees a complete pardon if they returned to their homeland. But when they actually returned, many of these refugees were executed or sent to labor camps or forced to live in squalor. The main characters in the story are a doctor (Oleg Menchikov) with a French wife (Sandrine Bonnaire). Deneuve has a vivid supporting role as a visiting French actress who ultimately plays a key role in helping the married couple.

At a time of increasing oppressiveness under the Putin regime in Russia, this reminder of harsh living conditions under the rule of an earlier dictator takes on renewed relevance. Wargnier wrote the screenplay for East/West with Louis Gardel and two Russian writers, Rustam Ibragimbekov and Sergei Bodrov. Bonnaire, the star of earlier French films Vagabond, La Ceremonie, and Monsieur Hire, confirmed her enormous appeal in this picture. Oscar-nominated composer Patrick Doyle (A Little Princess, Sense and Sensibility, Gosford Park), who had worked with Wargnier on Indochine, again contributed a vibrant score.

The Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Thomas declared, “East/West has the scale and rich period atmosphere of Indochine while gradually evolving into an acutely suspenseful thriller.” Writing in Movieline magazine, Stephen Farber paid tribute to the director: “Regis Wargnier has a gift for making sweeping popular entertainment,” and he added, “Sandrine Bonnaire gives a marvelously expressive performance.” The New York Times’ A.O. Scott called East/West a “sumptuous, moving new film,” and Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald hailed it as “a suspenseful and hugely engrossing drama.”

Our 20th anniversary presentation of EAST/WEST screens Wednesday, March 18, at 7pm in Glendale, Pasadena, and West L.A. Click here for tickets.

Format: DVD

12th GlobeScreen Conference L.A. with Greg Laemmle in Person March 5.

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Attend the 12th GlobeScreen Conference L.A. and hear from Film & Television executives as they discuss the latest industry trends. Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle, the keynote speaker, will chat with Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Andrew Wallenstein.  Subsequently, cocktails. Click here for more info.

LAEMMLE LIVE Cancelled: Samohi Chamber Orchestra March 15 in Santa Monica

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CANCELLED: We regret to inform you that this Sunday’s Laemmle Live concert featuring Samohi Chamber Orchestra has been cancelled. This is in line with the school’s decision to cancel other large public gatherings. We appreciate your understanding of the situation.

LAEMMLE LIVE proudly welcomes back our hometown band – Samohi Chamber Orchestra. Orchestra Directors are Joni Swenson and Jason Aiello. Santa Monica High School, fondly referred to as Samohi, is a large urban public high school.  Founded in 1891, Samohi has an enrollment of 3,000 diverse students and is situated on a twenty-six acre campus just a short walk from the Pacific Ocean. 

The Santa Monica Orchestra was founded in 1903, making 2020 its 117th anniversary.  During this time, the program has grown to include seven orchestras at Samohi. The Santa Monica High School Chamber Orchestra is comprised of twenty-two talented and dedicated young musicians who are leaders in the Samohi Symphony Orchestra.  In past years, the Santa Monica High School Chamber Orchestra has performed in Carnegie Hall in 2009, at the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Kansas City, Kansas in 2011; at the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Portland, Oregon in 2013 and in 2017, and in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2015.  Last year, the Samohi Chamber Orchestra performed in New York City at the National Orchestra Cup Festival held at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center where they received the best string ensemble in the festival.  The Chamber Orchestra is delighted for its fourth performance in the Laemmle Live Concert Series. 

1st Violin

Rubani Chugh
Kielor Tung
Gina Kim
Ryan Lee
Sarah Michlin

2nd Violin

Anouk Jouffret
Emily Taylor
Chloe Schwartz
Isabella Miele-Okada
Lily Rafat
Janet Yang

Viola

Layla Shapouri
Dyllan Zhou
Grace McFalls
Naomi Villafana

Cello

Kaya Ralls
Lily Stern
Giulia Trevellin
Shoshanah Israilevich

Bass

Weston Kerekes
Alec Raymond
Silas Garcia-George

Samohi Orchestra Parents Association
Ann Raziel, President

Santa Monica High School
Dr. Antonio Shelton, Principal

Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District

Sunday, March 15, 2020
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center
1332 Second Street
Santa Monica

 

2020 Oscar Contest Results!

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It was an unprecedented Oscars for foreign language cinema, with “Parasite” taking not only Best International Film but Best Director and Picture. Laemmle Oscar Contest participants who correctly guessed the Academy would break with tradition and choose a foreign film over an English-language film won our contest. First place garnered a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $150 and the two second place winners get Laemmle Premiere Cards worth $100. The winners’ prizes are on the way.

23 correct: 1st Place) Jared N. of Pasadena.

22 correct: (205 mins) 2nd Place tie) So Jin C. of L.A.

22 correct (205 mins) 2nd Place tie) Megan M. of Pasadena.

We had a sole first place winner this year with 23 out of 24 categories correctly selected! The first place winner only missed one category, Best Director, by incorrectly selecting Todd Phillips from “Joker” instead of eventual winner Bong Joon Ho from “Parasite.”
The two 2nd place winners missed two categories out of 24, both choosing “1917” to win Best Sound Editing instead of eventual winner “Ford v Ferrari.” One incorrectly chose “Parasite” for Best Editing instead of eventual winner “Ford vs. Ferrari,” and the other chose  “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” instead of eventual winner “Little Women” for Best Costume. They both chose the exact same and closest to actual run-time of 205 minutes on the tie-break question resulting in two 2nd place winners!
Best Picture winner “Parasite” was selected by only 18% of entries but nearly 90% for Best Foreign Film. “1917” received nearly 50% of the votes for Best Picture. No one picked “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” to win Best Picture. Sam Mendes had 50% of the Best Director votes for “1917,” no doubt because he won the DGA award. “American Factory” had 50% of the votes for Best Documentary. “Toy Story 4” had 50% of the vote for Best Animated Feature. Best Adapted Screenplay winner “Jojo Rabbit” and fellow nominee “LIttle Women” both received a good portion of the votes at 35% each. Joaquin Phoenix did not receive a unanimous vote for Best Actor but he did receive the second highest vote tally, after Parasite for Best Foreign Film, at 84%.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all for playing!

LAEMMLE LIVE presents: Mixtape Quartet February 16 in Santa Monica

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LAEMMLE LIVE puts a fresh spin on chamber music this month and proudly introduces Mixtape Quartet.

Mixtape Series draws inspiration from how friends share music. We curate our favorite musical moments to share a feeling. And to tell a story. We love the nostalgic and intimate quality of personalized cassettes. And we value the abundant diversity of music available on today’s streaming platforms. Mixtape combines the best of both. But Pandora and Spotify are no match for human instinct. Our handcrafted playlists connect pieces in ways no algorithm could hope to think up! We seamlessly thread together selections of the best moments in the classical repertoire (and beyond!) into themed concerts. The audience experience is akin to leaving all your music on shuffle, except somehow, no matter how diverse the pieces are, the music always fits together perfectly. Watch their video here.

Juan-Salvador Carrasco, Michael Siess, and Misha Vayman, Co-Artistic Directors Email: [email protected]

Artists:

Misha Vayman & Michael Siess – Violins

Nao Kubota & Hyemi Choi – Violas

Juan-Salvador Carrasco & Sarah Kim – Cellos

Program:

Sun selections

Ysaye Violin Sonata No. 5, “L’aurore”

Beethoven String Quartet in A major, Op. 132, mvt 3

Janacek String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters,” mvt 1

Debussy Quartet, mvt 3

Moon selections

Bartok String Quartet No. 4, mvt 3

Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht

Borodin String Quartet, mvt 3

Clair de Lune

Sunday, February 16, 2020
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center
1332 Second Street
Santa Monica

 

Our Filmic Cup Runneth Over: Drink Deep of the Oscar-Nominated Foreign Features and Documentaries.

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Now is the time to enjoy fantastic films from around the world. All five of the Oscar-nominated documentary features — THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, THE CAVE, FOR SAMA, AMERICAN FACTORY and HONEYLAND are in theaters now, before the awards show on February 9. Four of the five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature — LES MISÉRABLES, PAIN AND GLORY, PARASITE and HONEYLAND (deservedly, it’s nominated twice!) are now in theaters.

We hope to open the Polish drama CORPUS CHRISTI, the fifth foreign film nominee and the dark horse in the race, on March 6 at the Monica Film Center, Playhouse and Town Center.

The film is about 20-year-old Daniel, who is released and sent to a remote village to work as a manual laborer after spending years in a Warsaw prison for a violent crime. The job is designed to keep him busy, but Daniel has a higher calling. While imprisoned he became deeply religious and now aspires to join the priesthood, but his criminal record makes it impossible. When Daniel arrives in town, one quick lie allows him to be mistaken for the town’s new priest, and he sets about tending to his newfound flock. An international sensation with an electrifying lead performance by a previously unknown actor, CORPUS CHRISTI is the twelfth Polish film to earn an Oscar nomination. Only one of them has taken home the prize, IDA in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B27ORUHlp6E&t=4s