The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

Laemmle’s 2016 Predict the Oscars Contest Winners

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Every year we award movie passes to our customers who most accurately predict the Oscars in all 24 categories and every year we stress the importance of the tie-breaker question. For the second year in a row there was a five-way tie! Yes, five people correctly predicted 19 out of 24 categories. Placement on our imaginary podium was then determined by how accurately they predicted the length of the Oscar ceremony (217 minutes). Best Picture, Supporting Actor, and Animated Short proved to be the most difficult categories to predict.

Fourth and fifth place will also receive a premiere card– it wouldn’t feel right to send them away empty-handed after coming so close!


Congratulations to the winners!

1st) Joel B. – $150 Premiere Card
2nd) Raymond W. – $100 Premiere Card
3rd) Dan K. – $50 Premiere Card
4th) Gideon L. – $40 Premiere Card
5th) Leslie L. – $25 Premiere Card

Francophiles, allez voir ces films! A plethora of new French movies coming to Laemmle Theatres in March and April

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Francophiles and French expats, in the coming weeks we will have a wealth of French movies on our screens for you. Valérie Donzelli’s Marguerite & Julien opens at the Royal on March 4 and the Playhouse and Town Center on March 11. The film is based on the true story of Julien and Marguerite de Ravalet, son and daughter of the Lord of Tourlaville, whose childhood bond veered into a voracious, scandalous passion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlwcOgZga8

Julie Delpy stars in the comedy Lolo, which she also directed and co-wrote. She plays Violette, a 40-year-old workaholic with a career in the fashion industry who falls for a provincial computer geek, Jean-Rene (Dany Boon). But Jean-Rene faces a major challenge: he must win the trust and respect of Violette’s teenage son, Lolo (Vincent Lacoste), who is determined to wreak havoc on the couple’s fledgling relationship and remain his mother’s favorite. We open Lolo on March 25 at the NoHo, Playhouse and Monica Film Center.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpQiWG5O-zw

Another comedy is Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite, starring the delightful Catherine Frot. Set in 1920’s Paris, Frot plays Marguerite Dumont, a wealthy music lover who loves to sing for her friends, although she’s a ghastly singer. Both her friends and husband humor her and perpetuate her fantasy that she has talent. The problem begins when she decides to perform for a real audience. We open Marguerite on March 18 at the Playhouse and Town Center and March 25 at the Fine Arts, Monica Film Center and Claremont 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XB3bB7ktMI

On March 25 at the Playhouse and Town Center we’ll open My Golden Days, writer/director Arnaud Desplechin’s rich and extraordinary new feature. An epic yet intimate portrait of youth in all its terrifying beauty, Mathieu Amalric reprises the role of Paul Dédalus from Desplechin’s My Sex Life…or How I Got into an Argument in My Golden Days, the character’s origin story. Paul, now an anthropologist, prepares to leave Tajikistan and reflects on his life. He has a series of flashbacks that unfold in three episodes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4D7XhKZoTg

On April 1 at the Royal we’ll open Guillaume Nicloux’s Valley of Love, a mysterious and beautiful examination of a broken family starring acclaimed actors Isabelle Huppert and Gerard Depardieu. They play thinly disguised versions of themselves as a separated couple who journey to Death Valley after receiving a mysterious letter from their dead son in the expectations that he will appear to them at a certain place and time in the desert. An official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, Valley of Love opens this year’s Rendezvous in French Cinema Film Festival.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xHh1nCDLc

Also opening April 1 at the Royal: Emmanuelle Bercot’s Standing Tall, starring Catherine Deneuve. Abandoned by his mother (Sara Forestier) at the age of 6, Malony (Rod Paradot) is constantly in and out of juvenile court. An adoptive family grows around this young delinquent: Florence (Deneuve), a children’s magistrate nearing retirement, and Yann (Benoît Magimel), a caseworker and himself the survivor of a very difficult childhood. Together they follow the boy’s journey and try unfailingly to save him. Then Malony is sent to a stricter educational center, where he meets a young girl who gives him hope. Here’s the French (un-subtitled) trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGUN70CSpdc

March Mobness: Classic Mob Films Every Throwback Thursday in March at the Laemmle NoHo!

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Join Laemmle and  Eat|See|Hear for March Mobness, a month-long Throwback Thursday (#TBT) celebration  of classic Mob films! For tickets and our full #TBT schedule, visit laemmle.com/tbt!

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March 3: GOODFELLAS

Martin Scorsese brilliantly explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi’s best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill. Set to a terrific rock soundtrack, the story follows Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian New York kid who grows up idolizing the “wise guys” in his Brooklyn neighborhood. Buy Tickets.

tbt-millers

March 10: MILLER’S CROSSING

Joel Coen’s and Ethan Coen’s third film is a dark, moody gangland epic. The typically complex Coen plot centers on the machinations of Leo (Albert Finney), the tough Irish mob boss, and his partner-in-crime Tom (Gabriel Byrne). Buy Tickets.

tbt-city

March 17: CITY OF GOD

A shocking, disturbing and utterly compelling look at life in the slums of Rio de Janiero. Stretched over 15 years, from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the story focuses on two boys who grow up taking very different paths. Buy Tickets.

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March 24: SCARFACE

Brian De Palma’s blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee’s rise to the top of Miami’s cocaine business is referenced in rap songs, subsequent gangster movies, and quoted the world over. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire. Buy Tickets.

tbt-gf2

March 31: THE GODFATHER PART II

Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary sequel to his landmark 1972 film The Godfather parallels the young Vito Corleone’s rise with his son Michael’s spiritual fall, deepening The Godfather’s depiction of the dark side of the American dream. Buy Tickets.

#TBT runs every single Thursday night at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased online at http://laemmle.com/tbt or at the Laemmle NoHo 7. As with regular screenings, discounts are available for children, seniors, and Laemmle Premiere Card holders. Films begin promptly at 7:30pm.

Watch the trailers for all March Mobness movies:

Dazzling Japanese Animation THE BOY AND THE BEAST Comes to Five Laemmle Venues in Early March

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THE BOY AND THE BEAST, which we’ll open March 4 at the Playhouse, Town Center and Fine Arts and March 11 at the Monica Film Center and Claremont 5, is the latest feature film from award-winning Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, both of which we will soon be screening at the Fine Arts): When Kyuta, a young orphan living on the streets of Shibuya, stumbles into a fantastic world of beasts, he’s taken in by Kumatetsu, a gruff, rough-around-the-edges warrior beast who’s been searching for the perfect apprentice. Despite their constant bickering, Kyuta and Kumatetsu begin training together and slowly form a bond as surrogate father and son. But when a deep darkness threatens to throw the human and beast worlds into chaos, the strong bond between this unlikely family will be put to the ultimate test—a final showdown that will only be won if the two can finally work together using all of their combined strength and courage.

https://vimeo.com/147398376

Writing in the L.A. Times, animation expert Charles Solomon called the film “a dazzling blend of drawn and CG animation” and Hosada “one of the most interesting writer-directors working in Japanese animation.” In Variety Peter Debruge declared the film “an action-packed buddy movie that strategically combines several of Japanese fans’ favorite ingredients: conflicted teens, supernatural creatures and epic battles.”

 

Laemmle’s Umpteenth Annual Oscar Contest

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UPDATE: Winners Announced!

oscars-bgIt’s that time again! The person who most accurately predicts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s choices in all 24 categories, from the shorts to Best Motion Picture, will win fabulous prizes (free movies and concessions at Laemmle)!

First place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $150. Second place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $100. Third place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $50. Entries are due by 10AM the morning of the awards ceremony on February 28th.

Not sure what a Laemmle Premiere Card is? Think of it like a prepaid gift card for yourself! Use it to pay for movie tickets and concessions. Plus, Premiere Card holders receive $2 off movie tickets and 20% off concessions. To find out more, visit www.laemmle.com/premiere-cards.

We’ve got some smart cookies for customers so we have a tie-breaker question: you also have to guess the show’s running time. HINT: Take the tie-breaker seriously!

Take a crack at it! Good luck!

Enter Here

‘GKIDS Animated 8’ Retrospective Features Eight Oscar-nominated Animated Films and a Chance to Win an Amazing Animated Film Prize Package

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Animated8_finalWe are pleased to present the GKIDS ANIMATED 8 series at our Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. From February 12th through the 18th, we will screen eight Academy Award-Nominated animated feature films including two of this year’s nominees, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE. Rounding out the eight are THE SECRET OF KELLS, SONG OF THE SEA, THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA, ERNEST & CELESTINE, A CAT IN PARIS, and CHICO & RITA. Click here to see the full schedule and to purchase tickets.

Thanks to our friends at GKIDS, we’re giving away TWO amazing prize packages sure to excite any fan of animated film. Earn contest entries by completing the tasks below. The more tasks you complete, the more chances you have to win!

'GKIDS Animated 8' Blu-ray Set and Collectibles Giveaway

PRIZES:

One Runner up will receive a GKIDS MOVIE PACK which includes BluRay/DVDs of The Secret of Kells, A Cat in Paris, Chico & Rita, Ernest & Celestine, Song of the Sea, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and When Marnie Was There.

One Grand prize winner will receive the GKIDS SUPER-FAN PACK which includes the GKIDS MOVIE PACK plus:

  • Limited Edition Song of the Sea Print signed by director Tomm Moore
  • Song of the Sea T-Shirt
  • The Tale of Princess Kaguya Folder
  • The Tale of Princess Kaguya Bamboo Keychain
  • When Marnie Was There Notebook & Pencils
  • When Marnie Was There Necklace
  • When Marnie Was There/The Tale of Princess Kaguya Postcards
  • Ernest & Celestine Sticker Sheets
  • Ernest & Celestine Coloring Book
  • Ernest & Celestine Temporary Tattoos

Best of luck and enjoy!

Filmmakers in Person for the Intense Horror Anthology SOUTHBOUND

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SOUTHBOUND is an acclaimed horror anthology with five short stories involving travelers on a highway at night. The segments were directed by David Bruckner, Roxanne Benjamin, Patrick Horvath, and the film collective known as Radio Silence. SOUTHBOUND made its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

The SOUTHBOUND directors will participate in Q&A’s after the following screenings: Feb. 5 – Fine Arts 7:30; Feb. 9 – NoHo 7:30; Feb. 10 – Monica Film Center 7:30; Feb. 11 – Playhouse 7:30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm2XvmVHwOg

“There are monsters in SOUTHBOUND that are among the best I’ve seen onscreen in a long time.” (Luke Thompson, The Robot’s Voice)

“This anthology of five horror tales is the rare group effort without a dud, as it cruises through variations on the genre with style and confidence.” (Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment Magazine)

Anniversary Classics: February Screenings include LA DOLCE VITA in Santa Monica, WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with George Segal in West LA

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We’re celebrating Oscar season with screenings of two Academy Award powerhouses in our continuing Anniversary Classics Series.

La Dolce VitaFirst, we offer a 55th anniversary screening of LA DOLCE VITA, one of the most influential of foreign films, and the recipient of 4 Academy Award nominations in 1961 – Best Director and Original Screenplay for Federico Fellini, Art Direction and Costume Design (an Oscar winner for Piero Gherardi). Fellini’s sardonic take on the decadence of Rome in the 1960s reverberated throughout modern film history, and heavily influenced the 2013 Oscar foreign-language winner THE GREAT BEAUTY. So cruise along the Via Veneto with Marcello Mastroianni, then take a dip in the Trevi Fountain with the voluptuous Anita Ekberg, and see it all at the sleekly elegant, newly re-opened Monica Film Center!

LA DOLCE VITA will screen on Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM at the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica. Tickets on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Next, we look back 50 years to celebrate one of the most provocative films in cinema history – WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966). The film adaptation of playwright Edward Albee’s scathing dissection of a marriage was brought to the screen with most of its graphic dialogue intact due to the relaxation of the censorious Production Code in its fading, final gasp. VIRGINIA WOOLF garnered a near-record 13 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director for tyro film director Mike Nichols, winning 5 Oscars including Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress) and Sandy Dennis (Supporting Actress). The rest of the 4 character cast were also nominated: Richard Burton (Best Actor) and our special guest, George Segal (Supporting Actor) who will join us for a Q & A after the screening.

We are also presenting this screening as a tribute to the late Haskell Wexler who died late last year at the age of 93. Wexler won his first Oscar for filming VIRGINIA WOOLF in glorious black and white, an art form endangered by the mid-sixties.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? with special guest George Segal will screen on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM at the Royal Theater in West LA. Tickets are on sale now at laemmle.com/ac.

Join the conversation in our Anniversary Classics Facebook Group.