The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

UNLOCKING THE CAGE’s Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker on KCRW’s Press Play

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Unlocking the Cage, which we open today at the Monica Film Center and tomorrow at the Playhouse 7, follows animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans, by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform a chimpanzee from a “thing” with no rights to a “person” with legal protections. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as “a crisp and convincing doc” and Indiewire “eye-opening.”

The filmmakers, Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker, were interviewed on Madeleine Brand’s KCRW show Press Play yesterday. You can listen to it by clicking here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOq7fbe2PZI&nohtml5=False

“I love reality’s ability to surprise until life often seems like an unrealistic movie, and reality itself acts like a wonderland.” Shemi Zarhin’s THE KIND WORDS Opens July 1st

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On July 1st we’ll open the quirky, wry dramedy The Kind Words at the Royal and Town Center. Nominated for 12 Israeli Academy Awards, the film follows three Jewish Israeli siblings – Dorona and brothers Netanel and Shai – who, in the wake of their mother’s death, learn the man who raised them is not their biological father. The revelation sends them on a trip from Israel across France to discover the truth about their real dad. The sixth feature from writer-director Shemi Zarhin explores an unraveling family secret and the bittersweet journey of self-discovery that follows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JVwN5E2BPk

Zarhin wrote of his film: “I love stories where life is lived ‘on the edge.’ I love reality’s ability to surprise until life often seems like an unrealistic movie, and reality itself acts like a wonderland. I especially love the protagonists’ amazed, stunned expressions every time they are faced with a new, extreme turn of the plot. These expressions reveal the exaggerated, childish confidence they have in their day to day routines, as well as their distress in the face of any change or discovery. It makes me laugh, it makes me sad, and mainly it makes me love them very much.

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“But it also makes me worry: What will happen when they find out that the truth they are looking for is a pile of lies and prejudice? What will be their fate when they discover there is no consolation in the facts of the past, which only imprison the present and enslave the future? And love, even though it exists and is deep, is not always enough? And whether eventually they will realize that their lives and their identities depend solely on their desire?

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“A strange thing happened to me: the production of The Kind Words is long over and I find that I am still worried about the characters who have become my immediate family. Maybe it expresses concern that I have for my kids, myself, and for the place where I live. Dorona, Natanel and Shai, three little liars, three young Israelis who do not know how to love and do not realize that it was time to say goodbye to the past in order to reconcile and live in peace with the present and the future. True, they are blind and desperate, but they have courage, humor and a bit of hope. So although I am concerned I trust them. They are three very Kind Words.”

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Win a Signed Copy of “Be Here Now” and See the Hit Doc DYING TO KNOW

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It comes as no surprise that DYING TO KNOW, Gay Dillingham’s documentary has been held over at three Laemmle locations (Monica Film Center, Playhouse 7 and Claremont 5). After all, it chronicles the intriguing friendship between TIMOTHY LEARY and RAM DASS, two of the 60s most fascinating luminaries. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the film has been playing to great critical and audience acclaim.  To wit, check out this short video clip featuring audience footage from the film’s premiere at the Royal last week.

To celebrate this sleeper hit, we’ve procured a copy of Ram Dass’ seminal book BE HERE NOW signed by the great mystic himself!

ENTER BELOW for your chance to win this singular prize … and don’t forget to catch Dying to Know in theaters this weekend.

Update: Congratulation to BE HERE NOW contest winner Lycia Naff of Los Angeles!

The contest is now closed.

They flew through the air with the greatest of ease: Trapeze artists and the director of THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC in person for Q&A’s

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THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC, a fascinating look at the world of the flying trapeze, centers on one of the greatest acts in circus history, The Flying Gaonas. First performing on a trampoline, the Gaonas went on to become the star attraction for the best circuses in the world, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Long-time Broadway director (and trapeze flyer) Tom Moore brings their story to life through interviews with family members and colorful archival material.

Meet them and the THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC filmmaker in person:

Monday, 20th, NoHo
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup (partner), Jose Gaona, Alex Gaona, Masha Nordbye, Corinna Gamma (Photographer) and DIR Tom Moore.
On Tuesday, 21st, Pasadena
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup, Jose Gaona, Masha Nordbye, and DIR Tom Moore
On Wedesday, 22st, Santa Monica
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup, Jose Gaona, Corinna Gamma, Masha Nordbye, and DIR Tom Moore

Enjoy a Car-Free Day Exploring the Gold Line from South Pasadena to Azusa at 626 GOLDEN STREETS on June 26th

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626-logoExplore the San Gabriel Valley and celebrate the opening of the Foothill Gold Line extension at 626 Golden Streets, a car-free event on Sunday, June 26th from 8am to 2pm!

Modeled after other “open streets” programs like CicLAvia, 626 Golden Streets will temporarily open stretches of roadway from South Pasadena to Azusa for people to walk, jog, skate, bike, and more.

Communities participating include South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa. Speaking of Azusa, head one block south of Azusa Downtown Station and you’ll find the future home of a Laemmle theater in Azusa! It’s the lot at the southeast corner of East Foothill Boulevard and North Azusa Avenue.

Seek out Activity Hubs along the 18+ mile route for free fitness classes (Zumba, yoga), activity booths, live music, food trucks, professional chalk artists, drum circles, cyclocross, Gabe the Sasquatch, and more!

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Seven Tips for Enjoying 626 Golden Streets:

  1. Golden Streets is a FREE event! But bring at least a few dollars to patronize local businesses, sample some of the SGV’s food, drink, and ride the Foothill Gold Line.
  2. YOU get to decide where you start and finish.
  3. All forms of non-motorized transportation are permitted. So if you’re thinking you’re about to look at what’s the best electric skateboards suitable for long-distance, have a think about bringing your old skateboard just for this instead!
  4. Golden Streets is NOT a race. There are no finisher medals or awards. Only smiles and miles of open streets.
  5. Share the road. Please exercise caution so everyone can have a safe, enjoyable day.
  6. Gold Line Station Activity Hubs will remain open until at least 3pm (South Pasadena hub to 4pm).
  7. Don’t forget to stop, enjoy, and take a picture! Share your best snapshots on social media with the hashtag #626GoldenStreets for a chance to win special one-time-only Golden Streets swag!

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For more information, visit: http://www.626goldenstreets.com!

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Anniversary Classics in June: William Friedkin with THE FRENCH CONNECTION and Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris (Bernardo and Riff!) with WEST SIDE STORY

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I love New York in June. How about you? Well, this month we have two superb New York movies as part of our Anniversary Classics and some of the key talent behind them in person to talk about it.

William Friedkin
William Friedkin

This year marks the 45th anniversary of THE FRENCH CONNECTION, the gritty and gripping police thriller that won five Academy Awards in 1971, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Gene Hackman, Best Screenplay and Best Director for our special guest, William Friedkin. One of the key figures in the American cinematic renaissance of the 1970s, Mr. Friedkin has directed such films as The Birthday Party, The Boys in the Band, the enormously successful The Exorcist, Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A., Rules of Engagement, and the more recent Killer Joe.

We’ll screen THE FRENCH CONNECTION on June 18 at the Fine Arts Theatre. Beyond its adrenaline-fueled chase scenes, the movie boasts acute characterizations and potent social commentary about the moral compromises that may be endemic to police work. It also stands as one of the most vivid renditions of a decaying New York City ever committed to celluloid. Roy Scheider and Bunuel favorite Fernando Rey (as the suave European criminal kingpin) co-star. Reviews were ecstatic. Judith Crist called it “a movie-movie supreme.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that THE FRENCH CONNECTION was “a slam-bang, suspenseful, plain-spoken, sardonically funny, furiously paced melodrama.” Even highbrow Stanley Kauffmann, writing in The New Republic, hailed “the most exciting picture I’ve seen since Z.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBbkSTfKa8

riffJune 29 won’t be just any night, because we’ll be celebrating the 55th anniversary of WEST SIDE STORY at the Fine Arts with Bernardo and Riff themselves, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn. NOTE: Unfortunately, George Chakiris had to cancel for health reasons. One of the most honored and commercially successful of all movie musicals, WEST SIDE STORY earned a near-record 10 Academy Awards in 1961. The film version of the groundbreaking stage musical that re-imagined Romeo and Juliet in contemporary New York City retained and deepened the play’s emotional impact by bringing together a show business all-star team. The show’s director and choreographer, Jerome Robbins, worked with veteran filmmaker Robert Wise to transform the theatrical experience into electrifying cinema. Robbins and Wise reworked the classic Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score and came up with fresh casting ideas for this ever timely story of racial prejudice and conflict. The stars of the movie included Natalie Wood, Oscar nominee Mr. Tamblyn, Oscar winner Mr. Chakiris, and Oscar winner Rita Moreno.

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

Our screening will be followed by a Q&A with the charismatic leaders of the movie’s rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Mr. Chakiris (Bernardo) had been a dancer in several 1950s musicals, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and White Christmas. Following his Oscar-winning performance in WEST SIDE STORY, he appeared in such films as Diamond Head with Charlton Heston, Flight from Ashiya with Yul Brynner, and the Jacques Demy musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, co-starring Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly. He also has extensive credits in theater and television.  West-Side-Story-DI-3-1

George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn
George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn

Russ Tamblyn (Riff) played Elizabeth Taylor’s younger brother in Father of the Bride in 1950. He displayed his dance abilities in such musicals as Hit the Deck and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and earned an Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in the 1957 film, Peyton Place. His later work includes The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, the horror classic, The Haunting (also directed by Robert Wise), David Lynch’s cult TV series, Twin Peaks, and a cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Both Q&A’s will be moderated by Los Angeles Film Critics Association president Stephen Farber.

Azusa City Council to RECONSIDER the Laemmle Theatre Mixed-Use project for Block 36 on Monday, June 6th at 7PM!

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UPDATE (6/6/16 at 11PM): The Azusa City Council voted 5-0 in favor of moving forward with our proposal for Block 36 in Downtown Azusa at the southeast corner of Azusa Avenue and Foothill Boulevard! We couldn’t have done it without the support of Azusa’s passionate and determined residents. Thank you!

Follow Laemmle Azusa on Facebook and on Twitter @LaemmleAzusa!

Amazing news everyone! The Azusa City Council is reconsidering the Laemmle Theatre Mixed-Use project for Block 36 at the upcoming Council meeting on Monday, June 6th at 7 pm!

The amount of support we’ve received from Azusa’s passionate arthouse audience is humbling. Thank you.

We also want to thank the council members. It takes courage and strength to reconsider a previous decision.  We applaud the council for taking these steps.

We still need community support at the meeting! All speakers should arrive before 7PM to sign the blue speaker card.

Location: 213 E. Foothill Blvd., Azusa, CA 91702 (map)
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2016
Time: 7PM

The City Council will vote on an action to “CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO PRIOR DIRECTION REGARDING DEVELOPMENT ON BLOCK 36 LOCATED AT SOUTHEAST CORNER OF AZUSA AVENUE AND FOOTHILL BOULEVARD TO DIRECT STAFF TO NEGOTIATE EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATING AGREEMENTS WITH BOTH CHARLES COMPANY AND SERRANO DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR BLOCK 36 AND OTHER CITY OWNED PROPERTIES”. Refer to the Agenda Item D http://www.ci.azusa.ca.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4157

Oh, and look for Greg Laemmle at the meeting. He wants to personally thank people for their efforts!

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If music be the food of love, play on! Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yo-Yo Ma and Unlocking the Truth coming soon.

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We’ve got four very cool music films coming up: On June 16 we’ll screen Iggy Pop: Live in Basel 2015 at five of our venues, the Fine Arts, Claremont 5, NoHo 7, Playhouse 7 and Monica Film Center. We’ll open The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble for week-long engagements on June 17th at the Playhouse and Town Center and a week later at Monica Film Center and Claremont. On July 1 we open the rock doc Breaking a Monster at the Monica Film Center. And finally we’ll feature Nick Cave and Bad Seeds’ One More Time with Feeling at the Fine Arts, Claremont, NoHo, Playhouse and Monica Film Center on September 8.

Iggy Pop: Live in Basel 2015 features this outstanding artist known for his outrageous and unpredictable stage antics as he performs at the Baloise Session in Basel, Switzerland, where he was honored with a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. This fantastic October 2015 show features all of Iggy’s classics, including “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” “The Passenger,” “Lust for Life” and many more.

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

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is by the director of the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically acclaimed Best of Enemies. It tells the extraordinary story of the renowned international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the diverse group of instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SShFP7QfSCg&nohtml5=False&nohtml5=False#t=150.03675

For something quite different but no less inspiring, Breaking a Monster begins as the three members of band Unlocking the Truth are all in 7th grade, spending their weekends playing a blend of heavy metal and speed punk in Times Square, often drawing substantial crowds. They take on a manager: a 70-year-old industry veteran. With his guidance they are soon on their way to a 1.8 million dollar record deal and a precarious initiation into the music industry.

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A scene from BREAKING A MONSTER courtesy of Abramorama Entertainment.

A unique one night only cinema event directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly), One More Time With Feeling will be the first ever opportunity anyone will have to hear Skeleton Tree, the sixteenth studio album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The film will screen in cinemas across the world on 8th September 2016, immediately prior to the release of Skeleton Tree the following day.

Originally a performance based concept, One More Time With Feeling evolved into something much more significant as Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. Interwoven throughout the Bad Seeds’ filmed performance of the new album are interviews and footage shot by Dominik, accompanied by Cave’s narration and improvised rumination.

Filmed in black-and-white and color, in both 3D and 2D, the result is fragile, raw and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness.

Image courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.
A scene from ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING. Image courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.