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Greg Laemmle on NPR: “We…see some real problems in the idea that someone lurking in the shadows can shut down the release of material they don’t like.” THE INTERVIEW in Theaters Starting Christmas Day.

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It was truly troubling when craven hackers punched holes in Sony Pictures Entertainment, data dumping private email and employees’ personal information for anyone with an Internet connection to peruse, but when the so-called Guardians of Peace successfully got Sony to shelve THE INTERVIEW, it was shocking. Fortunately, the nation’s independent cinemas stepped up, offering a couple hundred screens in defiance of the terrorists. The latest Seth Rogan/James Franco comedy/bromance is not in Laemmle Theatres’ wheelhouse, but of course we feel rather strongly about the First Amendment and are pleased to open THE INTERVIEW at the Music Hall on Christmas Day, the NoHo 7 on January 31 and the Playhouse 7 on New Year’s Day.

Greg Laemmle has been speaking with the media, including NPR, about this extraordinary turn of events. “Do we as art house theaters have a particular axe to grind with North Korea? No. Do we have a particular reason to support raunchy, R-rated comedies? No. But we do see some real problems in the idea that someone lurking in the shadows can shut down the release of material they don’t like.”

What’s more, the excellent Korean fusion food truck Rice Balls of Fire will be at the Music Hall Christmas Day. They are also going to cater our Sing-Along FIDDLER ON THE ROOF screening tonight at the Playhouse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj3uHftd5FQ

Fiddler Sing-Along Hosts Announced for Next Week!

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Fiddler Sing-Along Hosts Announced for Next Week!

 

This coming Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Broadway production with our 7th Annual Fiddler On the Roof Sing-Along!

Join us (at any of our venues) for our traditional, yet non-traditional Christmas Eve experience as we sing along with Tevye and the shtetl to iconic favorites like “Tradition”, “If I Were a Rich Man”, “Matchmaker”, “To Life”, “Sunrise Sunset” and many others.

GET TICKETS to the event before it sells out!

In addition to movie and song, the audience will be regaled with Fiddler history and trivia, with prizes being awarded to Fiddler buffs with the quickest recall. In this “anything goes” event, attendees are encouraged to come dressed up as their favorite characters.  Who knows, perhaps the host will award prizes for best costume as well!

Speaking of the host, each location will feature an emcee that will lend their distinctive personality to the proceedings. Here’s the rundown:

– NoHo 7 will be hosted by our very own GREG LAEMMLE, originator of the Fiddler Sing-Along tradition!

FOOD ALERT: The Deli Doctor food truck will be outside the NoHo 7 to satisfy all your cravings!

– The Royal will be hosted  by award-winning arts journalist and author BARBARA ISENBERG.  Barbara’s most recent book (just released by St. Martin’s Press) happens to be Tradition!Fiddler Sing-Along Hosts Announced for Next Week!, a definitive history and account of the Fiddler phenomenon.  You won’t want to miss Barbara and her stories!

BOOK ALERT: Barbara will be signing copies of TRADITION! at the Royal, where they will also be for sale.  Plus, we will be giving away a signed copy of the book at each of the locations as a Trivia Prize.

– Town Center audiences will laugh along with comedian and cantor KENNY ELLIS from Temple Beth Ami in Santa Clarita.  Kenny has performed around the globe and can also be caught locally at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood.

– The Playhouse will be treated to the incomparable DEBRA LEVINE, a journalist and publisher of the popular cultural blog, “arts•meme“.  With a special interest in dance and choreography, Debra offers unique insight into the staging of both the film and musical.

FOOD ALERT: Asian food truck RICE BALLS OF FIRE will be joining us at the Playhouse!

– Claremont 5 attendees will enjoy the 2nd straight appearance of PAUL BUCH, cantor Temple Beth Israel in Pomona. Cantor Buch draws on a 25 year TV and film career to provide a uniquely entertaining evening.

– Music Hall will feature dynamic husband and wife duo of Doug Petrie and Alexa Junge.  Doug and Alexa come to us from the congregation of IKAR, a community well-respected (among other things) for knowing how to throw a good party!

In sum, those looking for an alternative Christmas Eve experience need look no further.  “This is your once-a-year chance to be the star of the shtetl,” observes Greg Laemmle.  “Join voices with friends and neighbors and sing your heart out alongside Fiddler’s screen legends,” he continues.  “And it’s okay if you haven’t memorized all the songs. We provide the lyrics.”

As in years past, Fiddler on the Roof Sing-Along takes place at all Laemmle locations on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) starting at 7:30pm.  Reserve your tickets now before it’s too late!

LIFE INSIDE OUT Q&A’s this Weekend at the NoHo

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LIFE INSIDE OUT tells the story of Laura, the mother of three teenage boys, and her youngest son Shane, the family misfit and a disappointment to his father. When Laura stumbles upon her long forgotten guitar, she is taken under its spell and rediscovers her love for song writing.

LIFE INSIDE OUT director Jill D’Agnenica and lead actress Maggie Baird will participate in Q&A’s after the 11 AM screenings at the NoHo on Saturday and Sunday, December 13 and 14. Producer Tessa Bell will join them for the Sunday screening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScMka0aKN3s&feature=youtu.be

See the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online

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The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced January 15th but Oscar completionists can get a head start on the Documentary Features category thanks to the Academy’s 15-film shortlist and Laemmle Theaters.

See the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and OnlineThe Academy’s Documentary Branch narrowed the field to 15 from 134 submissions. While we’ve already screened many films, some are still in theaters, and five will play as morning shows over the next few weeks. By the time nominations are announced, every film on the shortlist will have played at one or more of our theaters… for those keeping track! For those not located near our theatres, thankfully, a few streaming sites are showing some of these films. However, there are usually different location restrictions on some of these sites, such as Netflix. Of course, one of the most common ways to watch films that are restricted is by purchasing a VPN. Some are better than others, but there are reviewing websites online allowing users to read more about some of the best VPNs out there. That being said, alongside using a VPN, you can also use a proxy server to access geographically restricted content. For more information about using a proxy to access websites such as The Pirate Bay that feature films and TV shows, check out the Avoid Censorship website. Did you also know that you can use a VPN to enjoy TV shows and movies using Kodi? For more information about some of the most popular VPNs for Kodi users, head to the makeawebsitehub website. Anyone located near our theatres can keep reading to see if they’ll be able to come and watch these Academy Award nominees.

Weekend morning shows in Claremont, North Hollywood, Pasadena, and West LA:

12/13 – 12/14 ART AND CRAFT
12/20 – 12/21 THE KILL TEAM
12/27 – 12/28 KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
01/03 – 01/04 LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM
01/10 – 01/11 THE OVERNIGHTERS

See the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online

Still in theaters:

CITIZENFOUR in Pasadena. Coming 12/19 to North Hollywood.
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE returns on 12/12 to Beverly Hills.
THE SALT OF THE EARTH at the Royal. This week only!
TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER in Pasadena. This week only!

Where to see the rest:

THE CASE AGAINST 8: Not available
CITIZEN KOCH: AmazonSee the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online | Netflix
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER: AmazonSee the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online | Netflix
THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY: AmazonSee the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online
LIFE ITSELF: AmazonSee the Films on the Oscar Documentary Shortlist at Laemmle and Online
VIRUNGA: Netflix

Watch all 15 trailers:

A “Lost-and-Found Delight,” THE KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD Finally Restored and on U.S. Movie Screens

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A animated classic, Paul Grimault’s THE KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD, written by Grimault and legendary poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert, has been restored and after many decades finally getting a theatrical release in the United States. Based on a Hans Christian Andersen story, this wildly satirical film follows a chimney sweep and shepherdess on the run from a tyrannical king. A masterpiece of traditional hand-drawn cell animation, THE KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD is credited by celebrated Japanese animators Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as inspiring the creation of their own studio, the now world-famous Studio Ghibli. Its influence can also be felt in such films as Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant.

Read Ben Kenigsberg’s recent New York Times review of the restoration:

The French animated film “The King and the Mockingbird” has been more influential than known or seeable, at least in the United States. The movie is belatedly opening here in a subtitled restoration, with special dubbed showings for children.

Released in France in the 1950s in a version that the animator Paul Grimault called “an impostor” and completed, after an overhaul, in 1979, “The King and the Mockingbird” is commonly cited as an influence on Studio Ghibli, from Japan. Yet in its humor, its fairy tale origins and the characters’ rounded features, it plays more like a vintage Disney work, only nimbler and freer.

Adapting a Hans Christian Andersen story, Mr. Grimault wrote the screenplay with Jacques Prévert (“Children of Paradise”). The film takes place in Tachycardia, where King Charles XVI — the numbers are tallied aloud whenever his name is spoken — is an avid if inept hunter. That hunting makes him a nemesis of the hero, a showman of a mockingbird.

With its muted rose and yellows, the angular animation is classical but inventive, even surreal. Tachycardia collapses periods, combining an ostensibly medieval setting with a futurist streak. When the king rides a rocket-­shaped elevator to his secret apartment on the 296th floor, you could easily see it as a gag on “The Jetsons.” A giant automaton with spotlight eyes seems the source of the key design in “The Iron Giant.”

Still, a catalog of the movie’s pleasures barely does justice to this lost-­and-found delight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMnV6KCfOqQ&feature=youtu.be

THE IMMORTALIST Q&A’s at the NoHo

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THE IMMORTALISTS is the story of two eccentric scientists struggling to discover medical breakthroughs to create eternal youth. And yet they fight to gain support for their cause in our world, which they call a world “blind to the tragedy of old age.” Bill Andrews is a lab biologist and famed long-distance runner racing against the ultimate clock. Aubrey de Grey is a genius theoretical biologist who conducts his research with a beer in hand. They differ in style and substance, but are united in their common crusade: to cure aging or die trying. They publicly brawl with the old guard of biology who argue that curing aging is neither possible nor desirable. As Andrews and de Grey battle their own aging and suffer the loss of loved ones, their journeys toward life without end ultimately become personal.

THE IMMORTALISTS filmmakers David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg and subjects Bill Andrews and Molly Sheridan will participate in Q&A’s at the NoHo after the 7:30 PM screenings Thursday-Saturday, December 11-13. Executive producer Chuck Braverman will join them for the Thursday screening.

http://vimeo.com/43515949

BEFORE I DISAPPEAR Q&A’s at the NoHo 7

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A troubled young man and his straight-laced niece embark on a thrilling odyssey through New York City in the heartrending drama BEFORE I DISAPPEAR, based on an Oscar-winning short. As his life hits rock bottom, twenty-something Richie decides to end it all, only to have his half-hearted suicide attempt interrupted by an urgent request from his sister to baby-sit her precocious daughter. So begins a madcap tour of Manhattan after dark, as uncle and niece find unexpected bonds in the unlikeliest of places.

BEFORE I DISAPPEAR actor Paul Wesley will participate in a Q&A after the 1 PM screening at the NoHo on Sunday, December 7. Producer Terry Leonard will participate in Q&A’s after the 8 PM screenings on Friday, December 5 and Sunday, December 7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bosMzZh916I