<<< March 2009 >>>

Also see Outfest Wednesdays!

PARASOMNIA (DREAMS OF THE SLEEPWALKER)¸ 2008, Rising Storm Productions, 103 min. Director William Malone (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, FEAR DOT COM, "Masters of Horror") helms this macabre twist on the Sleeping Beauty legend. This gripping peril-packed love story not only taps into the zeitgeist of dark yet edgy romance-driven fantasies, but also pushes the familiar slasher film landscape into the more unique world of the surreal. Art student Danny Sloan (Dylan Purcell) falls in love with the innocent and beautiful Laura Baxter (Cherilyn Wilson), a young woman with the sleep disorder Kleine-Levin Syndrome. In her treacherous forays in and out of reality, she encounters a mentalist and serial killer, played by menacing Patrick Kilpatrick (MINORITY REPORT, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS). He tries to bend her fragile mind to his will, using an array of hypnotic weaponry manifested through his unsuspecting hosts in the real world, as well as the dangerous, deadly creatures he commands on the dark imagined plane. In addition, the film features characters played by genre legends Jeffrey Combs (RE-ANIMATOR) and Kathryn Leigh Scott (THE GREAT GATSBY, "Dark Shadows"), Golden Globe Award nominee and gravitas-bringing Timothy Bottoms (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) and the sublime and notorious Sean Young (BLADE RUNNER), to name but a few. This is also director Malone’s homage to the late Polish Surrealist Zdzislaw Beksinski, which uses the artist's work as the inspiration for the dream world throughout the film. The filmmakers’ proceeds from this screening will be donated to arts organization MOCA for its continued support in providing arts education programs to the public and support for new artists. Valdemar Plusa, owner of the Belvedere Gallery and Beksinski's longtime friend and agent, will introduce the program. A panel discussion moderated by Richard Elfman (THE FORBIDDEN ZONE) on how art shapes and enriches the filmmaker’s vision, past and present, will precede the film, with director William Malone as well as legendary filmmakers Tobe Hooper, Mick Garris, Wes Craven and Stuart Gordon. (Please note actual film will not start until approximately 9:00 PM.) More | Official Website

A TRIBUTE TO FORREST J ACKERMAN (1916 - 2008), 120 min. A tribute to one of the most Famous Monsters of them all, celebrating his memory, friendship and the legions of fans. Join us for testimonials from those who knew and loved Forry, plus film clips, slides, performances and more! Profiles in History will display a few of the Forrest J Ackerman auction items they are handling, including some Bela Lugosi Dracula costumes and the robot from METROPOLIS. Guests confirmed to date include Ray Bradbury, James Warren (publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, Guillermo Del Toro, Rick Baker, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Tim Sullivan and John Landis. All guests subject to availability.  Reception preceding the tribute starting at 3:00 PM. FREE ADMISSION!

Forry Links:
Myspace
Time Magazine Obit | LA Times Obit | Cinema Retro Magazine

FAMOUS MONSTER: FORREST J. ACKERMAN, 2007, Roadhouse Films, Inc., 48 min. Dir. Michael McDonald. The documentary FAMOUS MONSTER takes a fast-paced, colorful look at the life of science fiction's greatest fan -- Forrest J. Ackerman, whose 85-year love affair with the genre helped bring it into the mainstream and shape the way we view science fiction today. Through archival footage, film clips and interviews with Ackerman and the fans and filmmakers he inspired, we follow Ackerman as he grows from a kid reading Amazing Stories magazine and watching movies like METROPOLIS and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, to a literary agent for some of the biggest names in fantasy writing, to the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, a magazine that inspired generations of filmmakers. More

THE TIME TRAVELERS, 1964, MGM Repertory, 82 min. Writer-director Ib Melchior is renowned for his work on some of the most imaginative science-fiction films of the 1950s and 1960s, including THE ANGRY RED PLANET, ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, REPTILICUS and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, along with "The Outer Limits" TV series. THE TIME TRAVELERS is one of his most ingenious concoctions, as a group of scientists (including Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders and John Hoyt) experimenting with a time portal are catapulted into a post-nuclear apocalyptic future. Look for Forry in a cameo. More Discussion in between films with FAMOUS MONSTER filmmakers Michael Macdonald and Ian Johnston.

THE CAKE EATERS, 2009, 95 min. Actress Mary Stuart Masterson's directorial debut is a light-hearted, bittersweet romantic drama set in a small town where the intimate secrets and tensions of two families force them to come to terms with life, love and death. Written by Jayce Bartok (who also co-stars), with a dynamic ensemble cast featuring Kristen Stewart (TWILIGHT), Aaron Stanford (X MEN: THE LAST STAND), Bruce Dern (BLACK SUNDAY, COMING HOME), Talia Balsam ("Mad Men"), Elizabeth Ashley (RANCHO DELUXE, HAPPINESS) and Melissa Leo (Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for FROZEN RIVER). Original music composed by Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik. Discussion with Bruce Dern, Aaron Stanford and various other cast members after the film. Review

For most emerging filmmakers, the goal of launching a film on the film festival circuit begins with one singular dream: SUNDANCE! But what lies beyond Sundance for you and your film? In this informative seminar, film festival programmer/film consultant Thomas Ethan Harris (former Director of Programming, Los Angeles Film Festival and Palm Springs International Short Film Festival) offers filmmakers practical skills to navigate the world of film festivals to maximum effect. What are the most significant film festivals and showcases you should be considering right now before that ultimate Sundance dream fades and you are left with a very good film with no place to show it? For more details click here. Seminar Tickets: $20 General Admission, $15 Student/Senior with valid I.D.; $12 Members of the Cinematheque.

[Spielberg Theatre] RADICAL FAERIES PROGRAM Approx. 75min. Various short films from radical faeries, featuring: DANCES SACRED AND PROFANE (1985, an excerpt running approx. 40 min.) Dir. Mark & Dan Jury. In honor of the 30th anniversary of Radical Faeries, Rick Castro is proud to present this program. In August 1979 a group of gay men met in the Arizona desert. Frustrated with the limitations of the urban environment, gay men of all ages and backgrounds began exploration of themselves and sexuality in more organic forms. Various factions of Radical Faeries continue to this day. This program and exhibition explore the movement’s roots and where may be going in the future. DANCES SACRED AND PROFANE introduced Fakir Musafar, the grandfather of the Modern Primitive movement, to the world. Fakir Musafar has lead an extraordinary life. Since the age of 14 he has been creating self-portrait photographs of his own body modifications, (in some cases in his mother’s bedroom while they were away for the weekend) and life exploration of body play ceremonies. Along with Jim Ward, (who opened the first piercing studio, The Gauntlet in 1970) Fakir performs -- for real --the first ever filming of the Sioux Sundance ceremony, which Richard Harris immortalized in simulation in the film A MAN CALLED HORSE. Included is extraordinary footage of Fakir hanging suspended from flesh hooks that have been pierced through his chest. Fetish photographer Charles Gatewood is also periodically featured as the program’s commentator. Various short films inspired by Radical Faeries will also be presented. This program features graphic imagery, including simulated bloody rituals involving sexual cannibalism and is not for those who are squeamish or easily offended. After the screening, the FFN Audience is invited to discuss this remarkable film, and visit Antebellum gallery for a viewing of Radical Faeries featuring images by Fakir and many faerie artists. This will be a very special event! FFN is once-monthly series hosted by Rick Castro of Antebellum Gallery: www.antebellum.us.ms

Each screening will be followed by an informal discussion and debate with the audience. All screenings for this series will have fetish as the main theme and subject matter. Rick Castro is an independent curator, filmmaker and photographer working and living in Los Angeles his entire life. Castro explores the worlds of fetish and subculture. Rick’s photography is in the permanent collections of the Alfred Kinsey Institute. His books and magazines are archived at the UCLA Library and the Leather Museum in Chicago. See www.antebellum.us.ms and www.rickcastro.com for more information.) This series is for audiences 18 and over. Discussion following the film with the audience and Fakir Musafar moderated by Rick Castro.

From Yukon prospector to Hollywood impresario, Egyptian (and Chinese) Theatre founder Sid Grauman (born March 17, 1879) led a colorful life. In honor of his 130th birthday, Mark Simon will give a special, illustrated presentation, followed by a very abbreviated tour of Sid’s first Hollywood Boulevard movie palace, the Egyptian Theatre (home of the first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922).
For the total “Old Hollywood” experience take a docent-led tour of the legendary 1922 Egyptian Theatre. See what it would have been like to be in a Grauman stage show with a visit to the dressing rooms and singers' boxes. Check out our state-of-the-art projection booth and more! Discover the painstaking restoration work and the marriage of modern technology with a landmark of Hollywood history. Tours will start promptly at 10:30 AM at the box office. Tours are approximately 60 min. Wear your walking shoes! You will see the old dressing rooms, the singer's boxes and the projection booth (not normally included on our tours). Reservations are not required, we have room for everyone. You can check our website or our voicemail for emergency cancellations. Tours will be held rain or shine.
Tickets: Tour & movie: $10.

For the total “Old Hollywood” experience take a docent-led tour of the legendary 1922 Egyptian Theatre. See what it would have been like to be in a Grauman stage show with a visit to the dressing rooms and singers' boxes. Check out our state-of-the-art projection booth and more! Discover the painstaking restoration work and the marriage of modern technology with a landmark of Hollywood history. Tours will start promptly at 10:30 AM at the box office. Tours are approximately 60 min. Wear your walking shoes! You will see the old dressing rooms, the singer's boxes and the projection booth (not normally included on our tours). Reservations are not required, we have room for everyone. You can check our website or our voicemail for emergency cancellations. Tours will be held rain or shine.
Tickets: $5. Tour & movie: $10.

For most emerging filmmakers, the goal of launching a film on the film festival circuit begins with one singular dream: SUNDANCE! But what lies beyond Sundance for you and your film? In this informative seminar, film festival programmer/film consultant Thomas Ethan Harris (former Director of Programming, Los Angeles Film Festival and Palm Springs International Short Film Festival) offers filmmakers practical skills to navigate the world of film festivals to maximum effect. What are the most significant film festivals and showcases you should be considering right now before that ultimate Sundance dream fades and you are left with a very good film with no place to show it? For more details click here. Seminar Tickets: $20 General Admission, $15 Student/Senior with valid I.D.; $12 Members of the Cinematheque.

Sunday, March 29 – 5:30 PM

Art Directors Society Tribute to Robert Boyle

Robert Boyle has served as production designer on more than 90 theatrical motion pictures. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards for THE SHOOTIST, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, GAILY, GAILY and NORTH BY NORTHWEST. In 1997, Boyle was voted a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Art Directors Guild (ADG), which was presented to him during the Guild’s first annual ADG Awards. In 2008, Boyle was presented with an honorary Academy Award in recognition of one of cinema's great careers in production design. In addition, Boyle designed THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, PRIVATE BENJAMIN, MAME, PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, IN COLD BLOOD, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE BIRDS and the original CAPE FEAR. In his long and distinguished career, Boyle was the production designer on multiple films directed by Alfred Hitchcock and Norman Jewison and also served as production designer on films for such directors as Tom Mankiewicz, Penny Marshall, Joe Dante, Sylvester Stallone, Hal Ashby and Arthur Hiller. For many years, Boyle has devoted a great deal of his time to sharing his wealth of knowledge with Fellows at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles, where he is a Distinguished Lecturer and the guiding spirit of the production design department.

Double Feature:

THE WOLF MAN, 1941, Universal, 70 min. Dir. George Waggoner. "Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." Although Universal had already released a bang-up werewolf movie (WEREWOLF OF LONDON) in the early 1930s, this is the one that is best remembered. It also represents the last release from Universal of an A horror picture for many years to come (horror became almost exclusively B level post-1940) and proudly reigns, along with FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and THE MUMMY, as part of Universal’s classic horror quartet. Graced by the high-caliber performances of Lon Chaney as tragically cursed Larry Talbot and Claude Rains as his father, one of the prime reasons the film looks so good – i.e., an A picture – is the superbly atmospheric art direction and production design by Jack Otterson and associate Robert Boyle. The remake -- with Benicio Del Toro as Larry Talbot! -- will be released this coming November.

GAILY, GAILY, 1969, MGM Repertory, 107 min. Beau Bridges stands in for famed screenwriter Ben Hecht in Norman Jewison’s whimsical adaptation of Hecht’s memoirs of his youth working on a newspaper in early 20th century Chicago. Melina Mercouri (NEVER ON SUNDAY, TOPKAPI) is the brothel madam who feels protective toward the innocent Bridges, and Brian Keith is Bridges’ alcoholic newspaper editor mentor. With Hume Cronyn, George Kennedy and the debut of a young Margot Kidder. Robert Boyle was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction. NOT ON DVD   Discussion in between films with art director Robert Boyle.