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LAEMMLE LIVE presents: Project LENS November 18 in Santa Monica

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RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
This is a Free Event

Please join us for a very special event as LAEMMLE LIVE presents Project LENS for their Los Angeles debut event on Sunday, November 18, 2018. The event will be presented by LENS co-founders Ariel Mitnick and Rainer Crosett, with featured guest speaker Hillary Green-Lerman, an expert data scientist from DataCamp, the premier online educational platform for data science learning.

Every Project LENS event features thrilling performances of classical music interwoven with a presentation from a non-musical field. For their LA debut, the LENS team will be revealing the commonalities between doing data science and interpreting works of music. A musician’s aim to tell a story through music by interpreting scores in a specific way is, as they will show, not so different from a data scientist’s mission to make raw data intelligible and meaningful to others, also if that line of work interests you, look into data workshops to gain some traction in the industry. These parallel interpretative journeys often lead to conflicting conclusions among both musicians and data scientists, with disagreements over whether, for example, a work of music is fundamentally humorous or tragic, or whether drinking coffee makes you live longer or shorter. What does an honest interpretation based on deep analysis look like in both cases, and what can go wrong? Join Project LENS for this discussion and live performances of string quartets by Beethoven and Debussy!

Project LENS is a performance collaborative founded in Boston in 2014 with the mission of exploring the many ways in which music is connected to the world around it. Our events weave TED-style talks given by experts in their fields together with classical performance, revealing parallels that cast both subjects in a new light. We believe music can interact meaningfully with virtually any other discipline, and our events have featured topics as diverse as evolution, moral philosophy, neurobiology, visual art, and documentary filmography. Our featured speakers have included world-renowned psychologist Steven Pinker, painter Samuel Bak, and numerous Harvard professors and researchers.

Our musical collaborators have included the GRAMMY Award-winning Parker Quartet, and we have appeared at venues ranging from Harvard’s Paine Hall to the Oberon Theatre, the Harvard Ed Portal, and Boston’s Pucker Gallery. Our three co-founders, Ariel Mitnick, Rainer Crosett, and Alan Toda-Ambaras, met during their studies in the Harvard-New England Conservatory Joint Program, and their combined accolades include prize-winning theses and top academic honors at Harvard College, top prizes at international music competitions, and collaborations with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma.

This is a Free Event
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
Sunday, November 18, 2018
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center

 

Two Horror Classics from the Universal Studio Vaults on Tuesday, October 30 in Pasadena, NoHo, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a double feature of classic Universal studios’ horror films on the eve of Halloween, October 30, in our popular Twofer Tuesday (two films for the price of one) program. We will show a “double treat” of the 85th anniversary of THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) paired with the 70th anniversary of the horror-comedy ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948).

THE INVISIBLE MAN was a key entry in the cycle of terror films from Universal studios in the early 1930s that helped secure its reputation as the “house of horror” in the early sound era. Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., son of the studio founder, the film stars Claude Rains in his American screen debut and Gloria Stuart, and was based on the H. G. Wells’ novel, adapted for the screen by R. C. Sheriff (‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips,’ ‘The Four Feathers,’ ‘Odd Man Out’). Universal called on James Whale, the acclaimed director of ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Old Dark House’ (with ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ still waiting in the wings in the genre), to helm the project.

Rains portrays Dr. Jack Griffin, a chemist whose experiments with an obscure drug go awry, rendering him invisible and murderously insane. Rains played the title character mostly as a disembodied voice, often shown swathed in bandages, appearing only briefly on screen. He would later become one of the most recognizable of British actors working in Hollywood, garnering four Oscar nominations (‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Mr. Skeffington,’ ‘Notorious’) and dozens of notable performances in his illustrious career.

Leading lady Gloria Stuart would have to wait sixty-four years before she capped her career with an Oscar nod for ‘Titanic’ in 1997. THE INVISIBLE MAN was a major hit at the box office, and was named one of the year’s ten best by The New York Times, whose critic at the time wrote,“The story makes such superb cinematic material that one wonders why Hollywood did not film it sooner…it is a remarkable achievement.” In 2008 the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry.


ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, as noted by TV Guide, is a “hilarious spoof of the Universal horror films of the 1930s and early 40s.” Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star as railway freight handlers who unwittingly deliver the “undead” bodies of Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein’s Monster (Glenn Strange) to a wax museum, where they are revived. Lon Chaney Jr. co-stars, recreating his role as the Wolf Man, who tries to aid the comic duo. Lugosi donned Dracula’s cape in a featured role for the second and final time on the screen. The Invisible Man also makes a cameo appearance, this time with the voice of Vincent Price.

The film, directed by Charles Barton from a screenplay by Robert Lees, Frederic Rinaldo, and John Grant, was such a huge hit that it propelled Abbott and Costello onto the Top Ten Box Office Stars Poll the following year, where they would be ranked for four consecutive years. Its success also spawned a series of seven films in which the duo would “meet” more of the monsters from the Universal vaults. The film is ranked 56th on the AFI’s list of the Funniest Movies, and was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.

The Halloween Eve Twofer Tuesday double bill of THE INVISIBLE MAN and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN plays at three Laemmle locations: Royal, NoHo and Pasadena Playhouse 7 on October 30.

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN shows at 4:40 PM and 8:10 PM. THE INVISIBLE MAN shows at 6:30 PM and 9:55.

Click here to get tickets for the 4:40 PM or 8:10 PM ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN with the 6:30 PM or 9:55 THE INVISIBLE MAN included.

Click here to get tickets for the 6:30 PM THE INVISIBLE MAN with the 8:10 PM ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN included.

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE presents: SCREENINGS in NoHo October 17

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Artist Reception
Laemmle NoHo 7
Wednesday, October 17,  7-9 pm

RSVP here
This is a free event

Laemmle’s Art in the Arthouse presents SCREENINGS, a new art show in Noho based on ideas of scale, reproduction, and projection. This special exhibit features a slideshow on the big screen, artist talks and the wine, cheese, and conversation Art in the Arthouse is known for. Sales benefit the Laemmle Foundation and its support of humanitarian and environmental causes in Los Angeles.

The artists are: Brody Albert, Stephen Aldahl, Theodora Allen, Allen Brewer, Andy Brown, Jason Burgess, Pablo Carrillo, Milano Chow, Michael Dopp, Andy Faulkner, Kim Garcia, Rochele Gomez, Dustin Hodges,  Daniel Ingroff, Max Karnig, Nick Lowe, Nancy Lupo, Nevine Mahmoud, Maura Murnane, Jean Nagai, Ben Wolf Noam, Nick Perr, Paul Pescador, Pam Posey, Heather Rasmussen, Cally Robertson, Georgia Sands, Asha Schechter, Katie Shapiro, Dylan Sharp, Orion Shepherd, Augustus Thompson, Tristan Unrau, Jessica Williams, Nate Wolf, and Bruce Yonemoto.

About the Exhibit
Screenings started with a very simple idea; make an artwork in the shape of a movie screen. In order to produce an exhibition to include a range of voices, moods, and tones, we engaged a group of artists from diverse practices and offered them a uniform, structured point of departure: the widescreen format. We thought it would be fantastic to see these artworks displayed on the big screen. For the duration of screenings, the artworks are projected, silently, as part of Laemmle’s pre-show trailers. This creates a two-part viewing experience; the original artwork and its scaled-up reproduction.

The prompt to “make an artwork in the shape of a movie screen” naturally inspires thoughts about the history and context of cinema. The movie screen is probably the most iconic rectangle of all time (maybe only recently surpassed by the smartphone).  It’s compelling to see how different visual artists compose in this scenic format.  Some artists in Screenings, such as Bruce Yonemoto and Paul Pescador, work with film/video as a primary medium. Others have certainly been influenced by films in their aesthetic development. Our hope is that a moviegoer who comes to a Laemmle Theatre to see a film discovers not only the artworks on display but also a meditation on composition that enhances their cinematic experience.

   – Conor Thompson, CURATOR

Artist Reception
Laemmle Noho 7
Wednesday, October 17, 7-9pm
Refreshments will be provided


 

SUPERMAN 40th Anniversary Screening in 4K with Cast Member Q&A on Tuesday, October 9 in Beverly Hills

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 40th anniversary screening of the film that launched the comic book movie craze, the original SUPERMAN, directed by Richard Donner and starring new screen personality Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel.

Comics had inspired TV series and Saturday afternoon serials, but there had not been a big-budget attempt to capture the spirit of these fan favorites until Donner, working for producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, gambled a huge budget on a screen version of DC Comics’ favorite superhero. As this character is so popular amongst comic book fans, it was only right that a budget was found to bring fans closer to their favorite superhero. Recently, it was actually found that Superman is the favorite of the most amount of states still. This means that people are still enjoying this character’s journey to the big screen. Whether in comic books or on TV, Superman has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts. This is why the movie’s success spawned three sequels and also led to the first big-screen incarnation of another DC hero, Batman, a decade later (in the version directed by Tim Burton).

To write the screenplay, the Salkinds hired a bevy of successful writers-best-selling author Mario Puzo, acclaimed screenwriters Robert Benton, David and Leslie Newman, though the final version was reportedly crafted by Tom Mankiewicz, credited as “creative consultant.”

The film takes an epic approach to the tale of Superman, beginning with a prologue on the planet Krypton, then following Clark Kent’s childhood and adolescence in Smallville, Kansas, before he takes on his grown-up identity as the “mild-mannered reporter” at The Daily Planet in the city of Metropolis.

The all-star cast included Oscar winners Marlon Brando as Superman’s father, Jor-El, and Gene Hackman as arch-villain Lex Luthor, along with Susannah York, Glenn Ford, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine, Jack O’Halloran, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Jeff East, Jackie Cooper as Daily Planet editor Perry White, Marc McClure as cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, and Margot Kidder as Superman’s love interest, Lois Lane.

After many big-name actors turned down the title role, the filmmakers decided to take a chance on a brand new actor, Christopher Reeve, who had only a couple of TV appearances and one other feature film to his credit. Their gamble paid off and turned the brash, witty young actor into a superstar.

The creators of the original comic book, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, praised the casting. As Shuster said, “Chris Reeve has just the right touch of humor.” Oscar-winning cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth (Becket, Cabaret) had one of his last credits on the movie, and multiple Oscar-winning composer John Williams wrote the stirring score. The movie won a special Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

In addition to scoring an enormous box office success, the movie received mainly favorable reviews. Variety called Superman “a wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy.” Making an apt comparison, The New York Daily News’ Kathleen Carroll, declared, “It is this year’s answer to Star Wars, a movie that is pure escape and good, clean, unadulterated fun.” Roger Ebert wrote, “Superman is a pure delight… Reeve is perfectly cast in the role.”

Several of the supporting cast members will participate in our Q&A after the screening, including Jack O’Halloran (the 1976 King Kong, The Flintstones), Marc McClure (Back to the Future, Apollo 13), and Valerie Perrine (Oscar nominee for Lenny).

SUPERMAN screens Tuesday, October 9 at 7:30pm at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. Click here for tickets.

Format: 4K DCP

BISBEE ’17 Q&A After the Friday 7:10 PM Show at the Santa Monica Film Center.

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BISBEE ’17 filmmaker Margaret Brown will host a Q&A with Robert Greene after the Friday 7:10 PM show at the Santa Monica Film Center.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etwjMcdvxx8

LAEMMLE LIVE presents: American Youth Symphony Woodwind Quintet October 14 in Santa Monica

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RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
This is a Free Event

LAEMMLE LIVE presents a special morning of music with the debut performance of the American Youth Symphony Woodwind Quintet. The American Youth Symphony inspires the future of classical music by sharing exceptional, innovative concerts based on their landmark Fellowship program for musicians in high school through doctoral music programs, for free or significantly reduced admission.  Competitively selected, the orchestra is comprised of 100 musicians who represent extraordinary talent from all over the world. By gifting the community with remarkable concerts at world-class venues, AYS remains committed to creating access and opportunity for everyone to experience the inspiration of this beautiful art form. Musicians Elizabeth LaCoste, flute; Laura Arganbright, oboe; Sérgio Coelho, clarinet; Lieza Hansen, bassoon and Maxwell Paulus, horn will perform:

Eugene Bozza: Scherzo for Woodwind Quintet, Op.48

Charles Lefebvre: Suite for Woodwind Quintet, Op. 57

Jean Francaix: Woodwind Quintet #1

Malcolm Arnold: Three Shanties for Woodwind Quintet

Paquito D’rivera: Aires Tropicales, Contradanza

In 2016, Maestro Carlos Izcaray, one of the leading conductors of his generation, became the third Music Director in the American Youth Symphony’s illustrious history. Also Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Izcaray has been praised by international press, winning top prizes prestigious festivals around the world and appearing with celebrated ensembles across five continents. A strong believer of supporting younger generations, Izcaray has worked extensively with the world’s top talents and leading music institutions, including his country’s own El Sistema. Throughout his career, Izcaray has shown special interest and prowess in tackling some of the most complex scores in the symphonic repertoire, while also championing the historically informed approach to works from past eras. Now in his third season with AYS, Maestro Izcaray is committed to providing a platform for new voices, while maintaining the orchestra’s celebrated tradition of training the concert artists of tomorrow, while sharing the great classical masterworks with new audiences.

A significant number of AYS alumni have joined the finest orchestras in the nation. Others enjoy successful careers in recording studios or on the faculties of prestigious schools. Los Angeles and New York-based alumni include:

HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA
Tim Barr, principal bass
Gregory Goodall, percussion
Barry Newton, bass
Radu Pieptea, violin
Kaila Potts, associate principal viola

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Maia Jasper,  violin
Armen Ksajikian, associate principal cello
Connie Kupka, violin
Damian Montano, bassoon
Searmi Park, violin
Steven Scharf, violin & personnel manager
David Washburn, principal trumpet

LOS ANGELES OPERA
Tamsen Beseke, violin
Marisa Sorajja, associate principal 2nd violin
Ryan Darke, principal trumpet
Marlow Fisher, viola
Mary Gale, clarinet
Gregory Goodall, principal timpani
Jenny Kim, horn
Daniel Kelley, horn
William May, bassoon
Jayme Miller, violin
David Stenske, associate concertmaster
Andrew Ulyate, trumpet
John Walz, principal cello
Mark Zimosky, percussion

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
Kazue Asawa-McGregor, librarian
Nicole Bush, violin
Raynor Carroll, principal percussion
Richard Elegino, viola
Jerry Epstein, viola
Barry Gold, cello
Michele Grego, bassoon
David Howard, clarinet
Matthew Howard, principal percussion
Ingrid Runde Hutman, viola
David Allen Moore, bass
Peter Rofe, bass
Arthur Royval, asst. principal viola
Brent Samuel, cello
Barry Socher, violin
Lawrence Sonderling, violin

METROPOLITAN OPERA
Kari-Jane Docter, cello

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
Michelle Kim, assistant concertmaster
Roger Nye, bassoon
Cynthia Phelps, principal viola
Sheryl Staples, associate concertmaster

PACIFIC SYMPHONY
Rose Corrigan, principal bassoon
Maia Jasper, violin
Marisa Sorajja, violin

American Youth Symphony
Alice Dutton: Interim Executive Director

RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
This is a Free Event
Sunday, October 14, 2018
11:00 AM
Monica Film Center

BEYOND THE SKY filmmakers and Cast will Participate in a Q&A at the Music Hall on Sunday, September 23

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BEYOND THE SKY film introduction by producers Rebecca Berrih, Martine Melloul and director Fulvio Sestito will also participate in a Q&A with Actors Ryan Carnes, Jordan Hinson and composer Don Davis at the Music Hall following the 4:50 PM screening on Sunday, September 23.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PDj1fHugJ0

Bloody Disgusting Presents Retro Nightmares Cinema Series in Pasadena, North Hollywood, and Santa Monica!

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Bloody Disgusting presents Retro Nightmares Cinema Series brings campy fun back to theaters starting this September in Pasadena, North Hollywood, and Santa Monica.

Just in time to kick off the Halloween season, five HD digitally remastered cult horror classics–as voted online by fans–will be coming to the big screen for three nights only: The House on Sorority Row (Thursday, September 27th), Amityville: The Evil Escapes & Amityville: It’s About Time – Double Feature Event (Thursday, October 4th), and Sweet Sixteen & The Convent – Double Feature Event (Thursday, October 11th).

https://youtu.be/tD0SX_DeHFA

Many of these films haven’t been shown on the big screen in decades, so now is the opportunity for horror fans to share the experience together and enjoy exclusive in-theater content, including videos produced by Attack Media, the folks behind “The Attack” web show on Twitch and behind-the-scenes footage.

SEPTEMBER 27th

THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1983) at 7:30pm and 9:55pm
After a seemingly innocent prank goes horribly wrong, a group of sorority sisters are stalked and murdered one by one in their sorority house while throwing a party to celebrate their graduation.

Special in-theater bonus content includes Attack Media’s comedic makeover of The House on Sorority Row (1983) in a five-minute re-edit presented as a ladies’ etiquette school recruitment video.

Cast: Katie McNeil, Eileen Davidson, Janis Ward, Robin Meloy, Harley Jane Kozak, Barbara Harris

OCTOBER 4TH Amityville Double Feature

AMITYVILLE: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1989) at 7:30pm
The demonic forces that were lurking in the infamous house in Amityville for over 300 years escape to a remote California mansion by inhabiting a lamp. This evil latches onto a little girl living in the home by taking on the form of her dead father. Soon it manipulates her completely, overtaking her body to the point of possession. It’s up to a young priest to perform an exorcism and attempt to lift the curse from the desperate family.

Cast: Patty Duke, Jane Wyatt, Fredric Lehne, Lou Hancock, Brandy Gold, Alex Rebar, Aron Eisenberg, David Elliott, Peggy McCay, Robert Alan Brownem, Warren Munson, Zoe Trilling

AMITYVILLE: IT’S ABOUT TIME (1992) at 9:25pm
Widowed father Jake Sterling returns home from a business trip with an antique clock, intended as a gift to his two teenage children. Having been created by a 15th century French necromancer and belonging to the infamous haunted house in Amityville, sinister incidents begin to transpire around the neighborhood after Jake places the clock on his mantle. After a dog attack, fires, and forces that fracture the passing of time, Jake’s son and a neighbor race to uncover the history and mystery of the clock before it’s too late.

Fans will also be treated to exclusive in-theater bonus content from Attack Media, as Amityville: The Evil Escapes (1989) and Amityville: It’s About Time (1992) get the game show treatment in a five minute re-edit presented as a meme montage.

Cast: Stephen Macht, Shawn Weatherly, Megan Ward, Damon Martin, Jonathan Penner, Dean Cochran, Dick Miller, Terrie Snell, Willie C. Carpenter

OCTOBER 11TH Double Feature

SWEET SIXTEEN (1983) at 7:30pm
Big city girl Melissa Morgan (Aleisa Shirley) tries to make new friends in the small Texas town she just moved to. The only problem is, each of the boys that she spends time with ends up brutally murdered. Her sixteenth birthday is on the way, but Melissa turns out to be a suspect when it seems she’s the last person who has seen her boyfriends alive.

Cast: Bo Hopkins, Susan Strasberg, Patrick Macnee, Don Stroud, Dana Kimmell, Don Shanks, Glenn Withrow, Michael Pataki, Sharon Farrell, Steve Antin

THE CONVENT (2000) at 9:20pm
In 1960, a young woman commits a grisly massacre at St. Francis Boarding School, brutally murdering the clergy and nuns inside. Forty years later, college student Clarissa and her fickle friends break into the abandoned convent to tag it with their Greek letters before the Kappas beat them to it. Before long, the group discovers that it’s inhabited by demons that are intent on possessing them. As the group dwindles in numbers and the bodies pile up, those who remain uncover the convent’s long history with malevolent demonic forces and learn about the buried circumstances surrounding that fateful Sixties night.

In addition, fans will get exclusive new in-theater content featuring a behind the scenes and in-depth look at the filming and restoration of The Convent.

Cast: Joanna Canton, Coolio, Megahn Perry, Renee Graham, Adrienne Barbeau, Allison Dunbar, Bill Moseley, Chaton Anderson, Dorenda Moore, Elle Alexander, Liam Kyle Sullivan

Click here for tickets.