<<< March 2003 >>>

Monday, March 3 – 7:30 PM

Sneak Preview – Gaspar Noé In-Person!

IRREVERSIBLE, 2002, Lions Gates, 95 min. IRREVERSIBLE is a demanding and audacious but thoroughly rewarding cinematic experience that has been thrilling audiences since its world premiere in Cannes and its North American debut screenings at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals earlier this year. Even for a director that has been known to invite controversy in films such as "Sodomites" (1998), SEUL CONTRE TOUR (I STAND ALONE) (1998), and "Carne" (1991), Gaspar Noé’s IRREVERSIBLE can still be considered the ultimate in bravura filmmaking. An emotional odyssey that unspools in reverse from gut-wrenching violence to sweetly observed moments of sublime tenderness, the film stars Monica Bellucci and real-life husband Vincent Cassel as a couple whose story is told over the course of a fateful evening in a series of long takes. The film features two unsettling and graphic scenes of violence and sexuality that are difficult to watch. However, these grim sights are nestled within a carefully constructed -- although unconventional -- narrative which serves as a counterpoint to moments of striking tenderness, and the film is in some ways a study of darkness and light. IRREVERSIBLE, starring Monica Bellucci (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, MALENA) and Vincent Cassel (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, THE CRIMSON RIVERS, BIRTHDAY GIRL), has also screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the San Sebastian Film Festival. Bellucci’s upcoming work includes Antoine Fuqua’s MAN OF WAR (March 2003) opposite Bruce Willis, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS and THE MATRIX RELOADED, as well as the role of Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION. The film will be released by Lions Gate Films on March 7, 2003. Discussion following with director Gaspar Noé (schedule permitting).

Tuesday, March 4 - 7:30 PM

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, screenwriter Bill Condon, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and other guests. (schedules permitting).

Thursday, March 13 – 7:30 PM

Alternative Screen Independent Film Showcase

Festival award-winner GLISSANDO (2002, 72 min., USA), is based on a story by acclaimed American novelist Robert Boswell. Set in the early 1970’s in a desolate Arizona desert town, the film is a glimpse at people who drift through their own lives, trying both to find, and to escape from their pasts. This tale of a father and son, and the woman (Petra Wright, XX/XY) who comes between them is directed by Chip Hourihan. "The bittersweet tone of GLISSANDO, with fine thesping found in offbeat desert locations makes it a small gem... Highly literate... pitched just right... striking debut for talented helmer-scripter..." -- Ken Eisner, Variety The short "Back Up, Please," (2002, 12:15 min., USA) will precede the feature. This drama examines four people sliding toward tragedy when two cars block each other on a narrow street and neither driver will back up to let the other pass. "Building up about as much drama and tension as 12 minutes of celluloid could possibly contain--yet in a deceptively subtle way--Back Up, Please resounds with the jolt of a thunder clap on an otherwise serene day...A grand achievement." --Warren Curry, CinemaSpeak Directed by Douglas Horn. Discussion following with directors of both films.

Wednesday, March 19 - 7:00 PM

Due to KPCC's committment to cover world events, this event is postponed until further notice.

KPCC RADIO REMOTE

8:00 - 9:00 PM - FilmWeek, reviews of the week's new releases and a special Academy Awards Preview with local film critics including Peter Rainer, New York Magazine; Jean Oppenheimer, New Times; Charles Solomon, animation critic for amazon.com; Andy Klein, New Times. Audience discussion to follow.

Saturday, March 22 – 10:00 AM

"INVISIBLE ART, VISIBLE ARTISTS" Seminar

Presented by American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.)

You saw their names in the opening credits. Then you saw their names in Variety. Now discover how they went from dailies to Oscar-nominated films. An open discussion with all of this year's Oscar-nominated editors:

Martin Walsh (CHICAGO); Thelma Schoonmaker, A.C.E.( GANGS OF NEW YORK); Peter Boyle (THE HOURS); Michael Horton (THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS ) and Hervé de Luze (THE PIANIST). Admission is free, first come, first served.

Tuesday, March 25 – 7:30 PM

Special Sneak Preview! Director Steve James In-Person!!

STEVIE, 2003, Lions Gate, 140 min. Steve James, Academy award nominated director of the widely acclaimed documentary HOOP DREAMS, brings you a moving film about James’ relationship with an adult suffering the after effects of extreme childhood neglect. Acclaimed upon its world premiere at the recent Toronto Film Festival, the film was also recently screened in competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2003. When James was in grad school he became a Big Brother to a disturbed but endearing boy named Stevie Fielding. James tells us quite candidly that a boy as troubled as Stevie was not what he had signed up for when he decided to become a Big Brother; he envisioned taking on a young boy without a father with whom he could play sports with. This is not what he got. As a child, Stevie had been placed and removed from every foster home in Southern Illinois and as an adult, he was arrested for a wide range of criminal acts. Having lost touch for 10 years, James revisits the friendship with the now mid-twenties Fielding. During the course of filming, Stevie is arrested for a horrifying crime. James struggles between his affection for Stevie and the reality of the crime he has committed while exploring the forces that shaped Stevie’s life. STEVIE is ultimately a film about the humanity and compassion that can be found in even the darkest and most unlikely places. The film was produced by Steve James, Adam Singer and Gordon Quinn and executive produced by Gordon Quinn and Robert May. A Production of SenArt Films and Kartemquin Films. A Lions Gate Films Release, Stevie will open in New York and Los Angeles on March 29, 2003. Discussion following with director Steve James (schedule permitting).