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Anniversary Classics: Actress Blythe Danner In-Person After THE GREAT SANTINI on 10/27 at the Royal! Plus, a Pre-Halloween Double Feature 10/30 at the Fine Arts.

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After celebrating the 65th anniversary of ALL ABOUT EVE this past Tuesday, we look ahead to the two remaining Anniversary Classics events on the October calendar! Next up is the 35th anniversary of the Oscar-nominated drama THE GREAT SANTINI (1980), with special guest Blythe Danner, who played the long-suffering wife of domineering Marine pilot and Oscar nominee Robert Duvall. Danner received some of the best notices of her career this past summer for I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, a performance which is being touted for year-end awards consideration. Join us for THE GREAT SANTINI and a conversation with Blythe Danner on Tuesday, October 27th at the Royal in West LA at 7:00 pm.

santini

Then don’t forget our special Halloween program on Friday, October 30th – a retro double feature of the 80th anniversary of THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), one of the great horror classics, paired with bonus feature ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948), a scary and very funny vintage horror-comedy. Both features are from the vaults of Universal studios and to complete our trip into yesteryear are being presented at the beautifully restored and newly re-opened Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. The classic double bill (yes, two for the price of one!) begins at 7:30 on the 30th.

Tickets are now on sale for both events and can be purchased online at www.laemmle.com/ac. See you soon at the Anniversary Classics series!

A BETTER YOU Director and VEEP Star Matt Walsh and Actor/Co-Screenwriter Brian Huskey in Person Tonight at the Music Hall

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Meet Dr. Ron: Hypnotherapist. Author. Idiot. A delusional self-help guru in the midst of a mid-life crisis, Ron finds that his impending divorce and the prospect of losing custody of his children is interrupting what he considers to be a “career renaissance,” during which he has written a book and started wearing an awful toupee. Forced to reevaluate his life, he may find help in the form of Hugo, a day laborer he meets at the local hardware superstore, and a pretty new patient who may be more than just a client.

A BETTER YOU director Matt Walsh and actor/co-screenwriter Brian Huskey will participate in a Q&A following the 7:30 PM screening at the Music Hall on Friday, October 9th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUd7Rsd2Tvg

Guests for September’s ANNIVERSARY CLASSICS screenings include Bruce Dern, Cloris Leachman, Michael York, and Richard Chamberlain

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As we move into the Fall season, there are several new Anniversary Classics screenings scheduled for September, all at the Royal Theatre in West L.A.

First up on September 17th is the 55th anniversary of Director Elia Kazan’s WILD RIVER, an underappreciated gem from 1960 starring Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet, and featuring the film debut of our guest star, two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern, who will appear for a Q&A following the screening on Thursday the 17th at 7:30PM at the Royal.

Cloris Leachman will participate in a Q&A following the September 24th screening of CRAZY MAMA (1975). CRAZY MAMA was one of the early movies directed by Oscar winner Jonathan Demme.

On September 29th, we feature the 40th anniversary of Director Richard Lester’s THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (1975), with a special reunion of two of its co-stars, Michael York and Richard Chamberlain, who will appear for a Q&A at the screening at 7 PM.

Tickets for all three screenings are on sale now. Do not wait to buy tickets; these shows will sell out. For tickets and info on upcoming screenings, bookmark http://www.laemmle.com/ac.

Also, check out the Laemmle’s Anniversary Classics Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/laemmlesanniversaryclassics/

TOP SPIN: Ping Pong Exhibition and Table Giveaway!

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ts-posterAn inside look at the offbeat sport of ping pong, the new documentary TOP SPIN turns one of America’s favorite pastimes on its head and reveals a coming-of-age story where success and failure come down to mere millimeters.

Laemmle Theatres and First Run Features are planning special events for our TOP SPIN screenings, including:
– Raffle to Win an Olympic Quality Ping Pong Table!
– Live Ping Pong Exhibitions by Elite Players
– Lots of Q&A’s

Click here to buy tickets to see TOP SPIN!
 

RAFFLE

Everyone who attends ANY screening of TOP SPIN at Laemmle will be given a FREE RAFFLE TICKET to win a top-of-the-line JOOLA Ping Pong Table! This is a  tournament-tested refurbished Olympic-quality table that has been used by the pros.  JOOLA lists this item at approx. $1400.  We will have a sample table at the Playhouse from August 19 to 23.

Grand prize:
JOOLA 3000SC Table Tennis Table, the Official Table of USATT. The JOOLA 3000SC is an ITTF approved high quality centerfold table. It has four heavy-duty durable wheels serving the undercarriage, which is made of powder-coated metal and contains a 50 mm metal frame under its Olympic-quality 22 mm fast playing surface. The 3000SC also boasts adjustable, solid rubber levelers underneath each corner leg and includes a professional quality WM net.

JOOLA will ship the table directly to the winner anywhere in the continental United States.

Joola_3000SC_new_v2

Runner up prizes:

Joola Hit Set Table Tennis Set: Four JOOLA Hit rackets with eight balls.

Joola Falcon Set: High end recreational racket with a protective racket case.

For official Raffle Rules, click here.
 

PING PONG EXHIBITONS

Elite ping-pong players will be at the Playhouse 7 for Q&A’s and LIVE PING PONG EXHIBITIONS at select Top Spin screenings:

Fri. 8/21: 6:30pm – 7:00pm and 9:15pm to 9:30PM* (at the Paseo next to the box office)
Sat. 8/22: 6:30pm – 7:00pm and 9:15pm to 9:30PM* (at the Paseo next to the box office)
Sun. 8/23 – 6:30pm – 7:00pm and 9:15pm to 9:30PM* (location TBD)

* Before and after the 7:30pm screening of Top Spin

Players include 2012 Teenage Olympian ERICA WU and U.S. National Team member, GRANT LI, as well as professionals KIM GILBERT and ADAM BOBROW.

 

Clockwise, from top-left: Erica Wu, 2012 U.S. Olympian; Grant Li, 2015 U.S. National Team Member; Adam Bobrow, Professional Ping Pong Player and Actor; Kim Gilbert, Professional Ping Pong Player
Clockwise, from top-left: Erica Wu, 2012 U.S. Olympian; Grant Li, 2015 U.S. National Team Member; Adam Bobrow, Professional Ping Pong Player and Actor; Kim Gilbert, Professional Ping Pong Player

 

Q&A’S

Playhouse 7 Q&A’s: 

Wed 8/19: Filmmakers Mina T. Son & Sara Newens + Teenage Olympian Erica Wu in Person

Fri 8/21: Filmmakers Mina T. Son & Sara Newens + Teenage Olympian Erica Wu in Person

Sat 8/22: Filmmaker Mina T. Son & Teenage Olympian Erica Wu in Person

Sun 8/23: Filmmaker Mina T. Son & Teenage Olympian Erica Wu in Person

Weekday Q&A’s: 

Mon 8/24 (NOHO 7) : Filmmaker Mina T. Son in Person

Tues 8/25 (ROYAL): Filmmaker Mina T. Son in Person

Wed 8/26 (CLAREMONT 5): Filmmaker Mina T. Son in Person

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=539TOEBuPqM

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE Screenings Next Week with Q&A’s

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tombradleyBRIDGING THE DIVIDE: TOM BRADLEY AND THE POLITICS OF RACE tells the story of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, the first African American mayor elected in a major American city with an overwhelmingly white majority. His extraordinary multi-racial coalition redefined Los Angeles, transformed the national dialogue on race and set the foundation for elections of minority candidates nationwide, including President Barack Obama.

We will be hosting two screenings of this documentary about this key figure in our city’s history, two of which featuring Q&A’s:

Q&A participants in Pasadena, August 11 at 7:30pm:

  • Lyn Goldfarb, Producer, Director, Writer
  • Alison Sotomayor, Producer, Research Director, Writer
  • Robert Farrell, City Councilmember, 8th district from 1974-1991; Deputy to Councilmember Billy Mills (who represented South L.A.) during the Watts Riot.
  • Lorraine Bradley, Tom Bradley’s eldest daughter
  • Christopher Jimenez y West, Film Advisor, Assistant Professor, History, Pasadena City College

Q&A participants at the Town Center 5 in Encino, August 13 at 7:30pm:

  • Lyn Goldfarb, Producer, Director, Writer
  • Alison Sotomayor, Producer, Research Director, Writer
  • Robert Farrell, City Councilmember, 8th district from 1974-1991; Deputy to Councilmember Billy Mills, who represented South L.A., during the Watts Riot.
  • Lorraine Bradley, Tom Bradley’s eldest daughter

 
Click here to purchase tickets

STRAY DOG Q&A’s with Oscar Nominee Debra Granik this Weekend at the Music Hall

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Debra Granik
Debra Granik

Harley-Davidson, leather, tattooed biceps: Ron “Stray Dog” Hall looks like an authentic tough guy. A Vietnam veteran, he runs a trailer park in rural Missouri with his wife, Alicia, who recently immigrated from Mexico. Gradually, a layered image comes into focus of a man struggling to come to terms with his combat experience. When Alicia’s teenage sons arrive, the film reveals a tender portrait of an America outside the mainstream. STRAY DOG is a powerful look at the veteran experience, a surprising love story, and a fresh exploration of what it takes to survive in the hardscrabble heartland.

STRAY DOG director Debra Granik, an Oscar nominee for her Winter’s Bone screenplay, will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:20 PM screenings at the Music Hall on Friday and Saturday, July 24 and 25. Kirsten Schaffer of Women in Film will moderate.

https://vimeo.com/96957663

Acclaimed Drama RUNOFF Opens July 24: Q&A’s with Filmmakers Scheduled

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RUNOFFdirector
RUNOFF writer-director Kimberly Levin

In the new drama Runoff, which we’ll open at the Town Center and Claremont on July 24, the beauty of the land cannot mask the brutality of a farm town. As harvest draws near, Betty confronts a terrifying new reality and will go to desperate lengths to save her family when they are threatened with being forced from their land.

An old friend, struggling to keep his own farm profitable by any means necessary, offers Betty a way out. She refuses to get involved, but as the pressures on her family mount and they are on the brink of eviction, her husband, Frank, reveals that he is seriously ill.

How far will one to go to take care of one’s own? Recalling all that is heartland Americana, this film combines an ecological urgency with a compelling yet sensitive story.

Three-and-a-half [out of four] stars. As an experience, it’s amazing. If you want to be able to say you were there when a great American filmmaker’s career kicked off, you need to see Runoff.

– Matthew Zoller Seitz, Roger Ebert.com

Riveting… inexorably powerful… impressive… Joanne Kelly sparkles.

– Bill Edelstein, Variety

The filmmakers will participate in Q&A’s on the following schedule:

Claremont 5:

  • Saturday July 25th following the 1:20pm show: Q&A with producer Kurt Pitzer
  • Saturday July 25th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kurt Pitzer
  • Sunday July 26th  following the 1:20pm show: Q&A with writer-director Kimberly Levin & Kurt Pitzer
  • Sunday July 26th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kimberly Levin & Kurt Pitzer

Town Center 5:

  • Friday July 24th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kurt Pitzer
  • Saturday July 25th following the 1:20pm show: Q&A with Kimberly Levin
  • Saturday July 25th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kimberly Levin
  • Wednesday July 29th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kimberly Levin & Kurt Pitzer
  • Thursday July 30th following the 7:10pm show: Q&A with Kimberly Levin & Kurt Pitzer

GABRIEL Filmmaker Lou Howe in Person for Q&A’s this Weekend at the Music Hall

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GABRIEL (Rory Culkin), a troubled young man, is convinced that reuniting with his first love will bring him the stability and happiness he craves. Against his family’s wishes, he sets out to find her, but as the obstacles mount, his grip on reality begins to slip and his behavior becomes more erratic. In the end, he risks everything in an increasingly obsessive and desperate pursuit.

GABRIEL filmmaker Lou Howe will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:40 PM screenings at the Music Hall on Friday and Saturday, June 26 and 27.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAGQ8CumFYQ