The official blog of Laemmle Theatres
3 GEEZERS! filmmaker Michelle Schumacher and actor J.K. Simmons will participate in a Q&A after the 7:40 PM screening at the Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, May 22.
Follow actor J Kimball (Juno, Spider-Man, Up In the Air) as he researches what it’s like to be old for a role in an upcoming movie. When he meets the residents at The Coconuts convalescent home, he quickly discovers that his perceptions of the elderly may be off from today’s reality.
The always lovely Butterfly Pavilion is open at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park now through September 2.
From the NHM:
“More than 53 different butterfly and moth species,” including this kind, the California Dogface:
“and an array of plants take up residence every summer for our much-anticipated seasonal exhibit, the Butterfly Pavilion. Wander through a unique changing ecosystem, witness free-flying creatures interacting with plant life, and emerge with a better understanding of the environment needed for the survival of these spectacular animals.
The Butterfly Pavilion showcases the fascinating dance between butterflies, moths, and the plants that surround them, an interaction that has been refined over the course of millions of years. See up close how butterflies use their tubular mouthparts to obtain nectar and witness caterpillars feed on leaves and go through the process of their transformation into adults. Various butterflies are present at different points during the season and the plants will grow and change. This means that each visit to the Butterfly Pavilion throughout the summer can be a different experience!
Some butterflies in the exhibit mate and lay eggs, however we regularly fill the pavilion with butterflies from all across the United States. Over half of the species we exhibit are oft-seen locals such as the monarch, mourning cloak, and California dogface. Some of the more exotic butterflies are shipped in from all across the country.”
STATE 194 producer Elise Pearlstein will participate in a Q&A tonight, May 20, after the 7:30PM screening at Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills.
One of the best films we played last year was the Iranian domestic drama A SEPARATION. It was devastating in its depiction of a marriage in crisis and fascinating as a look into Iranian society far more nuanced and up close that what we get in the news media.
That’s why it’s exciting to hear that the director’s follow-up film is being screened at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. This weekend the L.A. Times’ Kenneth Turan published a piece about Asghar Farhadi and THE PAST. Read it here and know that you’ll very likely see the film at your local Laemmle theater later this year.
THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY director Paul Bunnell will be at the Playhouse 7 for the Friday (May 17) show, along with cinematographer Francisco Bulgarelli and actor Jed Rowen (“Sluggo”). And at the Music Hall 3 on Friday (May 17) will be actors Will Keenan (“Johnny X”) and Les Williams (“Chip”) and costume designer Kristina West. They’ll have free JOHNNY X comic books to give away at both screenings while supplies last.
Paul Bunnell’s 1950s throwback dials up the weirdness of the already surreal genre of sci-fi B movies with show-stopping musical numbers, over-the-top dialogue, and hilariously hokey special effects.
The VALENTINO’S GHOST filmmakers will participate in a Q&A after the 2:10 screening at the Playhouse 7 on Saturday, May 18.
VALENTINO’S GHOST explores the ways in which America’s foreign policy agenda in the Middle East drives the U.S. media’s portrayals of Arabs and Muslims.
Mondo, which creates limited edition screen printed posters for thier favorite classic and contemporary films, always far more interesting than the poster produced by movie studios, just released a series of posters for the films of one of the best contemporary American filmmakers, Paul Thomas Anderson. And their for sale at relatively affordable prices! See them here.
Q&A with THE SECOND MEETING director Zeljko Mirkovic following the 12:20pm show on Saturday, May 18, at the Playhouse 7.
THE SECOND MEETING is about the first two encounters of former American pilot Dale Zelko and former Yugoslav missile officer Zoltan Dani. The first was on radar in 1999, when Dani shot down Zelko’s F-117A stealth attack plane – the only one ever downed in combat — during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The second was 12 years later, during peacetime, when they decided to meet face to face as civilians and friends.