<<< January 2003 >>>

Sunday, January 5 – 5:00 PM

Screening and Booksigning with author Kevin Murphy - !

To celebrate the publication of his hilarious chronicle of non-stop moviegoing in America, A Year At The Movies, we’ve asked author and "Mystery Science Theater 3000" alumnus Kevin Murphy to pick a program of his own favorite flicks:

FORGOTTEN SILVER, 1995, First Run, 53 min. Rarely seen on the big screen, FORGOTTEN SILVER is a rum testament to the craft and character of New Zealand filmmaking beyond the current Hobbit orgy. Directors Peter Jackson (LORD OF THE RINGS, HEAVENLY CREATURES) and Costa Botes successfully do what many others have failed to do: create a heartfelt and genuinely funny satire of movie history. And as if that’s not hard enough, they did it in the oft-abused "mockumentary" form. Here is Colin Mckenzie, the brilliant troubled Kiwi film pioneer, who invented—long before he ought to have—color film, synch sound, the tracking shot, and who made a lost four-hour masterwork, "Salome," which accordingly threatened to ruin him. The film’s formal accuracy is uncanny, more complete in its conceit than the lovely ZELIG; in fact when originally shown on New Zealand TV, it convinced many, even though we are invited into the film’s ruse from the very outset. But beyond this it’s a portrait of the New Zealand archetype, a naturally heroic band of loonies who as a nation are bigger than they seem to be, because they calmly accept that they are.

Plus the short "The Heart Of The World," 2000, Zeitgeist Films, 6 min. Director Guy Maddin’s "The Heart Of The World" has been circulating through the alternative film world like a really good drug, which it is: essence of cinema, extracted from Russian roots, compounded with ultramodern technique and delivered at a death-metal pace. In short, the densest and most thrilling five minutes of film of the past ten years. And it’s fun to boot!

Plus the short "Rabbit Of Seville," 1950, Warners, 7 min. Dir. Chuck Jones. "Rabbit Of Seville," even more than "What’s Opera Doc?", culminates the leitmotiv of Wabbit v. Hunter by summoning all of Chuck Jones’ and Michael Maltese’s powers into a breathtaking wordless ballet set to Rossini’s boom-boom huck-jam overture, and consequently thrusts audiences into embolic, lung-stopping fits of pure wahoo glee. Oxygen is available on request.

There will be a special booksigning with author Kevin Murphy of his new book A Year At The Movies at 4:00 PM in the Lobby of the theatre prior to the screening.

Monday, January 6 – 7:30 PM

ONE HOUR PHOTO, 2002, Fox Searchlight, 96 min. Dir. Mark Romanek. Isolated by loneliness, photo developer Sy Parrish, played by Academy Award-winner Robin Williams (GOOD WILL HUNTING), spirals headlong into obsession with the private lives of long-time customers the Yorkins. Through years of developing the Yorkins’ snapshots, Sy deludes himself into believing that he is a member of the family that barely knows he exists. The fine line between Sy’s fantasies and reality begins to blur as he injects his presence into the various family members’ lives. When the Yorkins face a crisis that threatens to tear them apart, Sy catapults into action, driven by a need to preserve his picture-perfect family. Williams stars as deluded photo developer Sy Parrish who turns his obsession on the Yorkin family, played by Connie Nielsen (Gladiator, Mission to Mars) as Nina, and Michael Vartan (Never Been Kissed, The Next Best Thing) as Will Yorkin. Sy’s link to the Yorkin family photos is cut off when he is fired by Owens, played by Gary Cole (The Gift, Office Space); an act that begins Sy’s meltdown. ONE HOUR PHOTO is written and directed by Mark Romanek who is well known for his groundbreaking, multiple award-winning music videos for such artists as Madonna, Nine Inch Nails, Fiona Apple, Beck, Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray, David Bowie, R.E.M., Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. Special Ticket price $15 general; $12 student/senior; $10 members.

Discussion following with actor Robin Williams and writer/director Mark Romanek (schedules permitting).

Tuesday, January 7 – 7:30 PM SOLD OUT (any available tickets will be sold at the door the night of the event.)

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, 2002, Miramax, 115 min. Dir. George Clooney. "My name Is Charles Hirsch Barris. I have written pop songs, I have been a television producer. I am responsible for polluting the airwaves with mind-numbing puerile entertainment. In addition, I have murdered thirty-three human beings."

Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND is the story of a legendary showman’s double life - television producer by day, CIA assassin by night. Young, energetic, and focused on a top career in the growing television industry, Chuck Barris finds himself being followed by a suspicious character who quickly lures him into a secretive and dangerous world: that of a CIA operative. While Barris gains notoriety as a dynamic television producer – creating such innovative and popular game shows as "The Newlywed Game" and the self-hosted "The Gong Show" – he regularly executes assassinations for the United States government. As ratings rise, Barris incorporates his shows into his secret life: winning couples on "The Dating Game" find themselves shipped off to "fabulous Helsinki" and "romantic West Berlin" for their dream dates – it isn’t Paris, but it provides chaperone Barris a cover for his covert missions. As Barris basks in the glamour of his two worlds - entertainment and espionage - his life begins to spiral out of control. He is torn between the woman who loves him and the mysterious woman of his fantasies. He receives mass criticism from the public who accuses him of contaminating the airwaves…and he finds himself marked for death by a traitor operative. Barris must regain control of his life. Both of them.

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND stars Sam Rockwell in a breakthrough performance as the legendary Chuck Barris. The film marks the directorial debut of George Clooney, from a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ADAPTATION.) Also starring are Drew Barrymore as Barris’s girlfriend Penny, Julia Roberts as an international operative known as Patricia, Rutger Hauer as secret agent Keeler, and Clooney as C.I.A. agent Jim Byrd. Andrew Lazar is the film’s producer. Steven Soderbergh is executive producing, along with Rand Ravich. Special Ticket price $15 general; $12 student/senior; $10 members.

LAUGH IN THE NEW YEAR: 2^ND ANNUAL COMEDY SHORTS PROGRAM

Wednesday, January 8 – 7:30 PM

Our 2^nd Annual look at some of the funnier shorts we have seen in the past year. Last year’s program was a great success and we plan to continue on that path. Learn how to behave in a Japanese restaurant in "Sushi"; laugh at the tussle between religious training and hormones in the award-winning "Backslide"; see what lengths men will go to enlarge their egos in "Quest For Length". There are five more great, diverse shorts in this comedic program and 5 of the filmmakers will be there to answer your questions after the screening.

Keith Davidson’s "Charlie Noir" (9 min, Beta). A loving spoof on film noir; don’t miss the comical credits. Junji Kojima’s "Sushi" (8 min, Beta). Satirical, critique of Japanese society by way of a sushi bar. "Mitchell Rose’s "Learn to Speak Body" (6 min, Beta). Double-edged instructional video on body language by an alumni of Comedy Shorts from 2002. Andre Sevigny’s "Easy Pickings" (23 min, 35 mm). Hare-brained outlaw thinks a group of elderly Cajun’s are "easy pickings". Surprise! Benjamin Goldman’s "The Pickle Jar" (7 min., 35 mm). Animated story of love, showers and stinkbugs. Charming and humorous. Gene Rhee's "The Quest For Length" (17 min., 35 mm). Television critic Richard Roeper calls this painfully funny,docu-comedy "damn funny". We think you will agree! Terry Rietta’s "Crank Calls" (10 min., 35 mm). Follow a man, in this dark comedy, as he transforms himself from a victim to a master in a wicked tale of revenge. Rick Ross’s "Backslide" ( 8 min., 35 mm). Award-winning story of two teenagers, who try to balance their religious upbringing with their hormones.

Discussion to follow screening with Mitchell Rose ("Learn to Speak Body Talk"), Andre Sevigny ("Easy Pickings"), Benjamin Goldman ("The Pickle Jar"), Terry Rietta ("Crank Calls") & Rick Ross ("Backslide").

Monday, January 13 – 7:30 PM

A Night at the Egyptian with Nicole Kidman and THE HOURS - ! SOLD OUT (Last minute available tickets will be sold at the door)

THE HOURS, 2002, Paramount. Dir. Stephen Daldry. Starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. Three eras, three stories, and three women coalesce into a continuum that flows through the heart of THE HOURS. Each woman is joined to the other like links in a chain, unaware that the power of a single great work of literature is irrevocably altering their lives. First there is Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), in a suburb of London in the early 1920s, battling insanity as she begins to write her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Over two decades later, Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) is a wife and mother in Los Angeles at the end of World War II, who is reading Mrs. Dalloway and finding it so revelatory that she begins to consider making a devastating change in her life. And then, in contemporary New York City, there is Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep), a modern version of Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, in love with her friend Richard, a brilliant poet dying of AIDS. Their stories intertwine and finally come together in a surprising and transcendent moment of shared recognition. Inspired by Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway, Michael Cunningham wrote The Hours over 75 years later. Now The Hours has been made into a film, the result of an inspired collaboration by some of the most creative and accomplished talents working in film today. A Paramount Pictures and Miramax Films presentation, THE HOURS is directed by Stephen Daldry and produced by Scott Rudin and Robert Fox. The screenplay is by David Hare and based upon the novel by Michael Cunningham. Executive produced by Mark Huffam, the film also stars Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, Allison Janney, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Eileen Atkins and Linda Bassett. Special Ticket price $15 general; $12 student/senior; $10 members.

Discussion following with actress Nicole Kidman (schedule permitting).

Tuesday, January 14 – 7:30 PM

Special Sneak Preview – New Bollywood Cinema!! Actress Madhuri Dixit and Director Sanjay Bhansali In Person!

DEVDAS, 2003, Eros Entertainment, 181 min. Dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The first Bollywood musical to screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and India’s official submission for the upcoming Academy Awards, DEVDAS is the gloriously tragic story of a love beyond all else, even life. Shahrukh Khan stars as Devdas, who finds blissful happiness with his impoverished childhood sweetheart, Paro (Aishwarya Rai) – until he’s forced by his family to turn his back on her. Unable to bear the agony of a life without Paro, Devdas makes alcohol his constant companion – along with a beautiful prostitute named Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit). The insanely lavish, diamond-studded costumes and glittering palaces are worth the price of admission alone, in this heartbreakingly romantic pageant. (Eros Entertainment will release DEVDAS in early 2003 in Los Angeles and New York.) Actress Madhuri Dixit and Director Sanjay Bhansali will appear for discussion following the film.

Wednesday, January 15 – 7:30 PM

UNFAITHFUL, 2002, 20^th Century Fox, 124 min. Dir. Adrian Lyne. Edward and Connie Sumner are a wonderfully-maintained middle-aged couple living the American dream. Together with their eight-year-old son, a dog and a housekeeper, they share an enviable life in the suburbs of New York City. But no life goes unchallenged: this happy marriage, dampened by the routines of affluence, falls prey to an outsider when Connie has a fateful collision with a stranger on a Soho street. It’s an encounter which assaults her with mystery, spontaneity, charm – and risk. It will pull Connie into an affair which will become her obsession. When Edward innocently learns that his wife has lied to him, suspicion propels him to uncover the devastating details of her infidelity. Tormented by the knowledge, he confronts her lover, only to discover a level of rage within himself that he could never have imagined. Can a marriage so infected by deceit, guilt and anger find a way to recover? Director Adrian Lyne spins a web of passion and pain in UNFAITHFUL, which he describes as "an erotic thriller about the body language of guilt." Richard Gere, Diane Lane and Olivier Martinez star. Lyne also produces with G. Mac Brown. The screenplay is by Alvin Sargent and William Broyles, Jr. Executive producers are Pierre-Richard Muller, Lawrence Steven Meyers, and Arnon Milchan. Discussion following with actress Diane Lane (schedule permitting).

Thursday, January 16 – 7:30 PM

A Night at the Egyptian with Director Rob Marshall and CHICAGO - ! SOLD OUT

CHICAGO, 2002, Miramax. Dir. Rob Marshall. Everyone loves a legend, but in Chicago, there’s only room for one. Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) burns in the spotlight as a nightclub sensation. When she shoots her philandering husband, she lands on Chicago’s famed murderess row, retains Chicago’s slickest lawyer, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), and is the center of the town’s most notorious murder case, only increasing her celebrity. Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), seduced by the city’s promise of style and adventure, dreams of singing and dancing her way to stardom. When Roxie’s abusive lover tries to walk out on her, she, too, ends up in prison. Billy recognizes a made-for-tabloids story, and postpones Velma’s court date to take on Roxie’s case. Infamy is Roxie’s ticket to stardom. Billy turns her crime of passion into celebrity headlines, and in this town, where murder is a form of entertainment, she becomes a bona fide star – much to Velma’s chagrin. As Roxie fashions herself as America’s sweetheart, Velma has more than a few surprises in store, and the two women stop at nothing to outdo each other in their obsessive pursuit of fame and celebrity.

A new interpretation that takes the award winning Broadway show into fresh and expansive cinematic realms, director Rob Marshall’s CHICAGO shifts adroitly from the reality of intrigue, rivalry and betrayal to spectacular fantasies of music and dance, offering tongue-in-cheek commentary on the cult of celebrity and the scandalous lengths to which people will go to attain it.

Discussion following with Director Rob Marshall and available cast and crew (schedules permitting).

Tuesday, January 21 – 5:00 PM

THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, 1968, Warner Bros., 123 min. Alan Arkin was nominated for an Academy Award for his heart-wrenching performance as Singer, a deaf-mute who lives in a world of his own – until he befriends an introverted teenaged girl (Sondra Locke, in an equally astonishing performance.) Beautifully directed by Robert Ellis Miller (THE BUTTERCUP CHAIN), based on Carson McCullers’ acclaimed novel. Discussion following with Alan Arkin (schedule permitting).

Tuesday, January 21 – 8:15 PM

Double Feature:

13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING, 2002, Sony Classics, 94 min. Dir. Jill Sprecher. 13 CONVERSATIONS weaves five contemporary stories together into a single tale that examines the dramatic impact people have on one another. A man approaching middle age decides to change his life. A rising young attorney’s plans are thrown into disarray as the result of a single act. A woman faces her husband’s infidelity. An envious businessman seeks revenge on a cheerful co-worker, and an optimistic young cleaning woman awaits a miracle. Starring Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Clea DuVall and Amy Irving.

THE IN-LAWS, 1979, Warner Bros., 103 min. Dir. Arthur Hiller. Giant tse-tse flies, the Bay of Pigs, dictators with talking hands, and flames on your car: one of the laugh-out-loud funniest movies of the past 25 years stars Alan Arkin as a middle-class dentist who finds himself thrown together with delusional CIA agent Peter Falk when their children decide to get married. Serpentine, Shel, serpentine!!

Alan Arkin to introduce screening (schedule permitting.)

Thursday, January 23 – 7:00 PM

Special Hitchcock Screening, Slideshow and Booksigning! Tippi Hedren and Patricia Hitchcock O’Connell In Person!!

THE BIRDS, 1963, Universal, 119 min. Hitchcock’s love affair with northern California (begun in SHADOW OF A DOUBT and continued in VERTIGO) climaxed with this stunning shocker about the residents of picturesque coastal town Bodega Bay – who find themselves targeted by a murderous invasion of birds. Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy and Veronica Cartwright.

Introduction to screening by Patricia Hitchcock O’Connell, Alfred Hitchcock’s daughter. Discussion following film with actress Tippi Hedren.

Also prior to the screening is a slide show, presented by Footsteps In The Fog: Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco authors Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal.

There will be a booksigning of Footsteps In The Fog: Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco by authors Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal at 6:00 PM in the Lobby, prior to the screening.

Tuesday, January 28 – 7:30 PM

Andre de Toth Memorial Screening – Free Event

We’re deeply saddened by the recent death of director Andre de Toth, a longtime friend of the American Cinematheque and a member of the Board of Trustees, who passed away at his home in Burbank on October 27^th. In an industry known as much for compromise as for achievement, Andre was one of those rare artists who really stuck to his guns – he continually made films about dark, disturbing subjects such as adultery (PITFALL), drug addiction (MONKEY ON MY BACK), spiritual and physical violence (DAY OF THE OUTLAW), the sheer insanity of war (PLAY DIRTY), without ever talking down to his audience, or attempting to sugarcoat the painful reality of the subject at hand. A born storyteller, gifted with a natural camera-eye and a wicked sense of humor, Andre will be sorely missed by all of us. To remember him, we’re pleased to present his last film, and one of his personal favorites:

PLAY DIRTY, 1968, MGM/UA, 117 min. Here, De Toth pushes his pragmatism and cynicism to their furthest extremes: Michael Caine stars as an inexperienced officer leading his team on a very eccentric and deadly mission to blow up German fuel dumps in North Africa. A film about the sheer mechanics of survival in alien territory (against sand-storms, land-mines, your own commanding officers), PLAY DIRTY is so sharp and nasty you could cut your hand on it. Co-starring Nigel Davenport. There is no admission charge to this screening. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis the night of the event.

Thursday, January 30 – 7:00 PM

Alternative Screen Independent Film Showcase

Los Angeles Theatrical Premiere! 

Discussion Following with the filmmakers, director Kenneth Bowser, producers Josh Braun and Rachel Talbot and interviewees from the film, subject to their availability. Scheduled to attend: Dennis Hopper; Peter Bart (Editor in Chief of Variety); Jon Taplin (producer); Jennifer Salt (Actress); Mardik Martin (screenwriter); Joan Tewkesbury (screenwriter/producer/director); John Milius (screenwriter); Leonard Brady (assistant to Mr. Milius); Roger Corman (producer/director); Karen Black (actress); Michael Phillips (producer); Jerome Hellman (producer); David Picker; Carl Gottleib.

Produced by The Fremantle Corporation and Submarine Entertainment, Kenneth Bowser ("Frank Capra's The American Dream") is the writer/director with Rachel Talbot ("Hollywood DC: A Tale of Two Cities") and Josh Braun serving as producers. The two hour documentary is scheduled to make its premiere broadcast on the Popular Arts Channel TRIO, an Entertainment Cable Television Channel, on Sunday, March 9 at 9:00 p.m., ET/ 6:00 p.m., PT. (www.triotv.com) To see photos click here: