The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

Back by Popular Demand: Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet! What’s more, Orson Welles as Falstaff in CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

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Last month the thought of seeing Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the most exciting British actors of his generation, starring in the new West End production of Hamlet, crowded our theaters with people eager to see him take on the ultimate role in English-language drama. Thus, some encore screenings are in order. We’ll screen it again at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, January 27 at our Fine Arts, Claremont, Playhouse and Town Center venues. Click here to purchase tickets.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet.

Writing in the New York Times, theater critic Ben Brantley wrote of Cumberbatch, “For the monologues…he is superb, meticulously tracing lines of thought into revelations that stun, elate, exasperate and sadden him. There’s not a single soliloquy that doesn’t shed fresh insight into how Hamlet thinks.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5JZbeFvTZA

Equally exciting news for fans of the Bard: on February 3rd at those same theaters we’ll have Janus Films’ beautifully restored version of Orson Welles’s Chimes at Midnight.  The crowning achievement of his later film career, Chimes has been unavailable for decades. This brilliantly crafted Shakespeare adaptation was the culmination of Welles’s lifelong obsession with Shakespeare’s ultimate rapscallion, Sir John Falstaff, the loyal, often soused childhood friend to King Henry IV’s wayward son Prince Hal. Appearing in several plays as a comic supporting figure, Falstaff is here the main event: a robustly funny and ultimately tragic screen antihero played by Welles with towering, lumbering grace. Integrating elements from both Henry IV plays as well as Richard II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor, Welles created an unorthodox Shakespeare film that is also a gritty period piece, which he called “a lament . . . for the death of Merrie England.” Poetic, philosophical, and visceral—with a kinetic centerpiece battle sequence as impressive as anything Welles ever directed—Chimes at Midnight is as monumental as the figure at its center.

Jeanne Moreau as Doll Tearsheet and Orson Welles as Falstaff. Courtesy of Janus Films.
Jeanne Moreau as Doll Tearsheet and Orson Welles as Falstaff. Courtesy of Janus Films.

Dean of film criticism Pauline Kael wrote of the film, “[Welles] has directed a sequence, the Battle of Shrewsbury, which is unlike anything he has ever done, indeed unlike any battle ever done on the screen before. It ranks with the best of Griffith, John Ford, Eisenstein, Kurosawa—that is, with the best ever done.” And Welles was very proud of Chimes, saying, “If I wanted to get into heaven on the basis of one movie, that’s the one I would offer up. I think it’s because it is, to me, the least flawed . . . I succeeded more completely, in my view, with that than with anything else.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAs2bL4Sasw

New Year’s Resolution: See More Movies, Spend Less Money

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‘Spend less money’ always ranks high on those annual lists of top resolutions for the New Year. And, no matter how many films we see here in Laemmle-land, ‘see more movies’ always sits atop our list. Using a bit of our own movie magic we’ve combined these seemingly incompatible resolutions and outlined how you can see more movies at Laemmle for less money!

premiere-cardLaemmle Premiere Card
With a Laemmle Premiere Card you receive $2 off movie tickets and 20% off concessions. Plus, every Thursday Premiere Card holders get a free medium popcorn. You can buy a Premiere Card online or at the box office for $100. Use it for all your Laemmle purchases and when it’s running low, reload it for as little as $50. Think of it as buying a gift card for yourself! For more information and the full list of card-holder perks, click here.

Senior Wednesdays
One of our most popular discount programs is Senior Wednesdays. If you’re 62 or over, all tickets before 6PM on Wednesdays are $5. Yes, five dollars. We also offer a Senior Concessions Combo (Small Popcorn & Fountain Drink for $4.50) that’s available ANY TIME.

Student Sundays
Catching a flick may not be an ideal study habit, but you sure can learn a lot from the movies. Students with a current ID can nab $8 tickets and a $1 small popcorn every Sunday for films that start after 6PM.

Frequent Movie-Goer Tickets
Pay only $7.50 per admission when you purchase a block of 20 tickets. Our new Frequent Movie-Goer Tickets are now available at theater box offices and online.

Group Activity Tickets
Many local organizations use our Group Activity tickets to reward their members but there’s nothing keeping you from participating in this amazing deal. Pay only $6 per admission when you buy a block of 100 tickets! Group Activity Tickets can only be purchased online.

To learn more about ALL our discount programs, visit www.laemmle.com/discounts.

Certain restrictions apply. Specific terms are detailed on each program’s web page.

Kenneth Turan in today’s L.A. Times: “John Ford-directed ‘Rio Grande’ to get the big-screen treatment in West Los Angeles”

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rioposterIf you haven’t been keeping up with our Anniversary Classics Series, you’ve been missing out! Last week’s screening of YOUNG CASSIDY honoring legendary film editor Anne V. Coates was a prime example of how film history lives and breathes. The youthful 90-year old Coates passed on the wisdom of her more than sixty year career (and still going strong!) to an appreciative audience of admirers. More importantly, it demonstrated how vibrant industry veterans can be in our youth obsessed culture and film industry.

Now there’s another chance to celebrate film history and those witness to it with our tribute to the late Maureen O’Hara in our 65th anniversary screening of John Ford’s RIO GRANDE.

In today’s L.A. Times, Kenneth Turan wrote, “John Ford is the acknowledged master of the western, and his Cavalry trilogy one of the highpoints of his career, but “Rio Grande” the third film of the group (after “Fort Apache” and “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”) is not revived as often as the other two.

“Now, in honor of its 65th anniversary, the 1950 film will get a big screen appearance on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Laemmle’s Royal in West Los Angeles, a location that is sure to flatter the picture’s expansive Monument Valley setting. More than that, costar Claude Jarman will make an appearance and participate in a Q&A after the screening.

“Jarman played Trooper Jefferson “Jeff” Yorke, assigned to the command of the father he hardly knows, Lt. Colonel Kirby Yorke, gruff as only John Wayne knew how to be. Adding spice to the story is the appearance of the trooper’s mother and Yorke’s estranged wife, played by Maureen O’Hara in the first of five on-screen pairings with Wayne. Sparks, as they say, will fly.”

Los Angeles Film Critics Association President Stephen Farber will moderate the Q&A with Mr. Jarman.

RIO GRANDE is part of our Anniversary Classics Series. For tickets, details, and more, visit:
www.laemmle.com/ac.

CONTEST: Win an ANOMALISA poster signed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson!

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ANOM-SOS-BANOMALISA, the latest from Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) opens January 7th in Pasadena and later this month in Claremont and NoHo! We’re excited to offer our customers a chance to win an ANOMALISA poster signed by filmmakers Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson (Moral Orel, Frankenhole).

For ANOMALISA tickets and showtimes, click here.

Enter to win the signed poster using the form below (no purchase necessary). The more tasks you complete, the more you help us spread the word about the film, and the more chances you have to win. The winner will be selected at random and announced on February 1st. Special thanks to Paramount Pictures for making this contest possible!

Win an ANOMALISA poster signed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson

ANOMALISA is the tender and absurdly humorous story of a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. He discovers a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming sales rep who may or may not be the love of his life. ANOMALISA features the voices of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan, and David Thewlis. Its stirring strings-based score by Carter Burwell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQkHA3fHk_0

Win a poster signed by Kenneth Branagh and see THE WINTER’S TALE 1/18 & 1/19 at select Laemmle locations

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We’re excited to screen the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s production of THE WINTER’S TALE as part of our Culture Vulture series January 18th and 19th at select Laemmle locations.  To celebrate we’re giving away a poster signed by Kenneth Branagh himself!

THE WINTER’S TALE screens Monday, January 18th at 7:30PM and on Tuesday, January 20th at 1PM at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills, The Town Center 5 in Encino, the Claremont 5 in Claremont, and the Playhouse 7 in Pasadena. Click here for tickets.

Enter to win the signed poster using the form below (no purchase necessary). The more tasks you complete, the more chances you have to win.

Win a poster signed by Kenneth Branagh and see THE WINTER'S TALE 1/18 & 1/19 at Laemmle Theatres

Shakespeare’s timeless tragicomedy of obsession and redemption is re-imagined in a new production co-directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh. The Winter’s Tale stars a remarkable group of actors, featuring Judi Dench as Paulina, alongside Tom Bateman (Florizel), Jessie Buckley (Perdita), Hadley Fraser (Polixenes), Miranda Raison (Hermione) and Kenneth Branagh as Leontes.

Win this poster for THE WINTER'S TALE signed by Kenneth Branagh. Background persian rug not included =)
Win this poster for THE WINTER’S TALE signed by Kenneth Branagh. Background persian rug not included =)

Anniversary Classics – 2015 Wrap-up, John Ford’s YOUNG CASSIDY to Kickoff 2016

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Our Anniversary Classics Series closed out 2015 in grand fashion with a sold out 35th anniversary screening of SOMEWHERE IN TIME at the Royal on 12/15. This romantic fantasy cast its spell once again to an appreciative crowd, many of whom had not seen their favorite on the big screen since its original opening in 1980. Through the years it has developed a cult following and after viewing again last night its easy to see why.

Jane Seymour with Michael McClellan and Stephen Farber at the 35th anniversary screening of SOMEWHERE IN TIME.
Jane Seymour with Michael McClellan and Stephen Farber at the 35th anniversary screening of SOMEWHERE IN TIME.

The film’s co-star Jane Seymour and director Jeannot Szwarc entertained the audience with remembrances about making the film and even a few heretofore unknown secrets. Some fans came dressed in period costumes so altogether it was quite a memorable evening!


We will have many more memorable screenings in 2016, and to start the new year off we feature the 50th anniversary of John Ford’s YOUNG CASSIDY, starring Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith and Julie Christie. Our special guest is the film’s Oscar-winning editor, Anne V. Coates, the recipient this year of a lifetime achievement award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. This screening takes place on January 6, 2016 at 7:00 pm at the Royal in West LA.

More about this and other Anniversary Classics events for 2016 very soon. For the latest updates visit www.laemmle.com/ac or join our Facebook group! Happy Holidays!

The Laemmle Charitable Foundation’s Year in Giving, 2015

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We’re pleased to report that the Laemmle Charitable Foundation contributed $145,300 to local non-profit organizations in 2015. The upward trend continues this year with a nearly 10% increase over 2014 giving.

This year we continued our sponsorship of the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition‘s OPERATION FIREFLY at the $10,000 level. This program runs from November through February, setting up bike light distribution points throughout LA County. Free light sets are distributed to riders who are caught out at night without this vital safety equipment. Since many people are riding out of economic necessity, they are unable to afford lights, or can not afford to replace stolen lights. This program helps make our streets safer for the most vulnerable road users.

Tree-People_01_p

We believe that water conservation is going to be a long-term issue for Los Angeles, and Tree People has been the leading voice in the community for years on this matter. In addition to our $10,000 donation to Tree People, we continue to support a number of local environmental groups that are helping to make Los Angeles more sustainable. Included here are organizations such as Friends of the Los Angeles River, Heal the Bay, and The Trust for Public Land – Parks for People LA.

Homelessness has become a greater and greater problem.  We hope that it is not a chronic issue (as may be the case with the drought), but it is something that needs to be addressed immediately. Chrysalis and OPCC are two terrific organizations working to address this crisis, and we are proud to offer additional support at this time of increased need …along with our support of Union Station Homeless Services and LA Family Housing.  Also great organizations.

Los Angeles is a great place to live. But it can be better, healthier, more sustainable, and more just. We feel that these organizations are working hard everyday to address the problems that face our community. We are proud to be able to support them with our grants and we invite you to join us and make a year-end, tax deductible contribution.

In 45 YEARS, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay give a master class in screen acting.

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On December 23rd we’ll be opening one of the most acclaimed films of the season, 45 Years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.  The veteran actors were both awarded Silver Bears for Best Actor and Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year and this month the Los Angeles Film Critics Association voted to name Ms. Rampling Best Actress of the Year. The film was directed by a relative newcomer, Briton Andrew Haigh, whose perfectly realized 2011 romance Weekend played to great acclaim all over the world. His follow-up feature is 45 Years, a moving, profound and superbly performed look at a marriage and its secrets. The story opens one week prior to Kate Mercer’s (Rampling) 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband (Courtenay). The body of his long-lost first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

In Time Out London Dave Calhoun wrote, “It’s a film of small moments and tiny gestures that leaves a very, very big impression.” In the New York Post Lou Lumenick mused that “Rampling has never received an Oscar nomination, but she deserves one for this performance. Courtenay, who has two Oscar nods under his belt, rates another one for helping Rampling reach this peak.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg5cpiX18TA

We are thrilled to open 45 Years on December 23rd at the Royal and New Year’s Day at the Playhouse 7 and Town Center 5.