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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

Fiddler Sing-Along Hosts Announced for Next Week!

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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!, 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

WE ARE THE GIANT Q&A at the Music Hall Tonight

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WE ARE THE GIANT transports viewers to the front lines of the Arab Spring through the courageous stories of six extraordinary people grappling with the dilemma at the heart of all struggles for justice and freedom: whether to take up arms and fight, or to advocate change through peace and non-violence.

WE ARE THE GIANT director Greg Barker will participate in a Q&A moderated by Los Angeles World Affairs Council president and former foreign correspondent Terry McCarthy after the 7:20 PM screening tonight at the Music Hall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1-5zbBqU8E

Danny Glover and Filmmakers at the Music Hall for CONCERNING VIOLENCE Q&A’s

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From the director of The Black Power Mixtape, CONCERNING VIOLENCE is a bold and fresh visual narrative on Africa, based on newly discovered archive material covering the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in the late ’60s and ’70s, accompanied by text from Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth.

CONCERNING VIOLENCE co-producer Danny Glover will participate in a Q&A after the 7:20 PM screening at the Music Hall on Friday, December 12. Robin Kelly, the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History of UCLA, will moderate. Professor Kelley’s most recent book, Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times, explores the relationship between jazz and Africa in the era of decolonization and Civil Rights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK7kXlMI7iI

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.

The 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

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: Amazon | Netflix
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER: Amazon | Netflix
THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY: Amazon
LIFE ITSELF: Amazon
VIRUNGA: Netflix

Watch all 15 trailers:

100 DAYS Q&A’s this Weekend at the Playhouse

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When a cold fish telecommunications executive returns to his small island town for his estranged mother’s burial, he learns about the Taiwanese tradition that mandates him to marry within 100 DAYS so that the parent’s spirit can transition peacefully. When a typhoon leaves him stranded for three days, he rekindles a romance with his free spirited childhood sweetheart, who is engaged to marry a local villager.

100 DAYS director Henry Chan, and Emmy winner for A to Z, Scrubs and Moesha, along with the 100 DAYS producers, will participate in Q&A’s after the 7:30 and 9:55 PM screenings on Friday, December 12 and after all screenings on Saturday and Sunday, December 13 and 14.

http://vimeo.com/108748331

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

Get Your Kicks with Woody Guthrie’s Guitar, a Pollock Landscape, Kerouac’s Original ON THE ROAD Scroll Manuscript and Much More: Route 66 Exhibition at the Autry Ends Soon

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There are just a few more weeks to catch an impossibly cool exhibition at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Route 66: The Road and the Romance ends January 4.

“Discover the facts and the fiction surrounding the Mother Road through more than 250 extraordinary artifacts that trace the history of the route and its impact on American popular culture.

“Connecting Chicago to Los Angeles, the 2,400-mile-long highway was a witness to history and a symbol for America on the move. Route 66: The Road and the Romance travels the iconic road from its inception in 1926 through the drama of the Great Depression to its heyday as a travel destination and the route’s eventual displacement by the Interstate Highway System. The exhibition concludes with a contemporary look at the road and the movement for its preservation.

“Route 66 presents historical artifacts from institutions and private collections across the United States, many never before displayed together. See the oldest existing Route 66 shield, an early Jackson Pollock landscape painting, a ten-foot twin visible gas pump, the handwritten page from The Grapes of Wrath manuscript that introduces the “Mother Road,” renowned Dust Bowl–era photographs, Woody Guthrie’s guitar, the original typewritten scroll of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, a classic 1960 Corvette, and countless objects adorned with the Route 66 moniker or acquired along the route.”