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Almodovar’s WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN February 21st in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series continue our Anniversary Classics Abroad program with Spanish auteur Pedro Almodovar’s international breakthrough film, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. This delightful farce was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988, and was named best foreign film that year by both the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.

Carmen Maura, who has been a frequent Almodovar collaborator and is Spain’s most honored contemporary actress, stars as a soap opera actress sent into a spiral of comic misfortune when her longtime lover dumps her.

Almodovar had been delving into the liberating sexual politics of post-Franco Spain from his debut in 1980 in a series of scandalous black comedies (Matador, Law of Desire, What Have I Done to Deserve This?). He employs a lighter touch with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and the film’s commercial success launched his most productive years on the international stage, culminating with his Oscar winners All About My Mother and Talk to Her.

Critics of the day welcomed Almodovar’s delirious comedy of manners. The Washington Post noted, “In this glossy delight, it’s as if Doris Day had been brought forward in time and confronted with the consequences of living in sin.”

The New York Times’ Vincent Canby pointed out “Mr. Almodovar sets out to charm rather than shock. That he succeeds should not come as a surprise. The common denominator of all Almodovar films, even one that winds up in an ecstatic murder-suicide pact, is their great good humor.”

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, features Antonio Banderas in one of his early roles. Also starring Julietta Serrano, Maria Barranco, Rossy De Palma, and Fernando Guillen.

The 30th anniversary presentation screens on Wednesday, February 21 at 7PM at three Laemmle locations: Royal, Town Center 5, and Pasadena Playhouse 7.

Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE presents: DAVE FOX: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

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RSVP HERE
This is a Free Event

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE proudly presents DAVE FOX: A TALE OF TWO CITIES featuring the works of artist Dave Fox. Laemmle Theatres invites the community to join Rabbi Karen Fox for an artist talk, a slideshow on the big screen and refreshments on March 7 at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre. The artwork is for sale at this free exhibit, which runs through June 2018.

About the exhibit:

Born in 1920 in Vienna, Dave Fox was a storyteller in paint, ink and clay. His art, captured in his sketchbook, his constant companion throughout his life, reflected what he saw every day wandering the Austrian countryside and what would become his new home in California. Shortly after the Nazi Annexation, Fox left Vienna because he had to choose between staying and risking his life, or escaping to freedom. He arrived in Los Angeles in 1939, served in the U.S. Army and then attended art school, a defining moment. He subsequently dedicated his life to perfecting his printmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramic skills.

Fox focused on landscapes, people and abstracts, from the Pacific Ocean to the mountains and all the streets in between. His works captured the ever-changing vistas of Los Angeles and his memories of Vienna. His body of work weaves together all the pieces of his life. His early works from the late 1940s and early 1950s captured the ever-changing vistas of Los Angeles. His body of work weaves together all the pieces of his life. Fox wanted people to stop for more than a moment to take a close look at his art and enter his life as it played out in California, oceans away from his beginnings in Vienna. Fox’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is collected by museums and private collectors. Fox passed away in 2011 at age 90 and created art until the last weeks of his life.

– Georgia Freedman-Harvey, CURATOR

Laemmle’s Royal Theatre
11523 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Wednesday, March 7, 7 pm

Refreshments  provided

RSVP HERE
This is a Free Event

 

 

 

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE presents: PAUL GRONNER: LOST IN THE HOODOS in Pasadena

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ART IN THE ARTHOUSE invites you to view our newest exhibit in Pasadena, photographer PAUL GRONNER: LOST IN THE HOODOS. All works are for sale and on display till April, 2018.


About the exhibit
Where could a more perfect place be to lose oneself than amongst the Hoodos, the stunning spire-shaped rocks that blanket Southern Utah? In this photographic exhibition by PAUL GRONNER, the arresting Hoodos of Bryce Canyon National Park is just one of the locales showcased by the artist.His majestic suite of landscapes have been arranged in a keen, painterly fashion. Each work is well-sighted and ever-present.

With an uncanny ability to sally forth into regions at once wild and otherworldly, Gronner gets lost in the raw intaglios of the earth, finding serenity in the unknown. His work summonsrare beauty, shrinks us down and raises us up, while standing in sheer awe of nature’s impeccable design. A native of Minnesota, Gronner is an avowed national parks lover who makes frequent pilgrimages to places like the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Arches National Park for reflection and shooting.

Southeast Asia has also served as inspiration, particularly Angkor Wat, the temples and ruins of Cambodia, and the jungles of Thailand and the Phillipines. Gronner began shooting quite early in life, at first with a Kodak Disc Camera,then a Pentax K1000 35mm. He studied at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Gronner’s sister, journalist C.J. GRONNER is a frequent collaborator. Their work has resulted in classic images of global music icons such as Björk, Tom Morello, Nine Inch Nails, Incubus, and Damian Marley in both still and video formats.
– Joshua Elias, CURATOR

Laemmle’s Umpteenth Annual Oscar Contest, 2018 Edition!

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It’s time for our annual Predict the Oscars Contest! The person who most accurately predicts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s choices in all 24 categories, from the shorts to Best Motion Picture, will win fabulous prizes (free movies and concessions at Laemmle)!

First place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $150. Second place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $100. Third place wins a Laemmle Premiere Card worth $50. Entries are due by 10AM the morning of the awards ceremony on March 4th

prem-blogNot sure what a Laemmle Premiere Card is? Think of it like a prepaid gift card for yourself! Use it to pay for movie tickets and concessions. Plus, Premiere Card holders receive $3 off movie tickets and 20% off concessions. To find out more, visit www.laemmle.com/premiere-cards.

We’ve got some smart cookies for customers so we have a tie-breaker question: you also have to guess the show’s running time. Take the tie-breaker seriously! In 2016, the running time question broke a tie between five entrants who correctly predicted 19 out of 24 categories!

We’ll announce the winners right here on our blog by March 5th. Good luck!

Click Here to Enter

 

 

 

 

TCM Big Screen Classics Series Starts January 14th in Encino, Claremont, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills

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Six decades of Hollywood hits come to select Laemmle Theatres in Encino, Claremont, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills as Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies present stars like Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, James Dean, Tom Hanks, Katharine Hepburn, Kim Novak, James Stewart, Gloria Swanson, John Travolta, Gene Wilder, Bruce Willis, Natalie Wood – and dozens more – in the yearlong “TCM Big Screen Classics” series.

“TCM Big Screen Classics” series will present 13 unforgettable films spanning the 1930s to the 1990s, each accompanied by insightful, specially produced commentary from favorite TCM hosts. It starts Sunday, January 14 at 7pm with THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE with an encore screening Tuesday, January 16th at 2pm.

The 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series includes:

1/14 + 1/16: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Many critics consider The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to be director John Huston’s finest cinematic offering, a gritty depiction of the cancerous effects of gold lust upon a man’s soul. From the direction of Huston, to the performances of Humphrey Bogart and Huston’s father, Walter, to the stellar camera work of Ted McCord, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre achieves an uncompromising look into the dark side of human nature. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre celebrates its 70th anniversary by leading the 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series. This 70th Anniversary event includes exclusive insight from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Tickets.

2/18 + 2/21: The Philadelphia Story
In one of her most famous roles, Katharine Hepburn plays Tracy Lord, the daughter of a well-to-do Pennsylvania family in The Philadelphia Story. The young socialite is about to embark on a second marriage and the lucky groom is George Kittredge (John Howard), a comparatively staid but extremely wealthy gentleman. Her first husband was C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), who is certainly more colorful than Kittredge, if slightly less responsible. When Dexter makes an unexpected appearance at the Lords’ home on the eve of Tracy’s wedding, it is not so much to wish her well as to shield her from the prying eyes of an overly ambitious reporter (James Stewart) assigned to cover the nuptials. Includes exclusive insight from TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. Tickets.

3/18 + 3/21: Vertigo
Dreamy, suspenseful and hypnotic – not to mention enormously influential – Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco-set thriller is a unique blend of ghost story, mystery and romance. James Stewart stars as John “Scottie” Ferguson, a detective with a crippling fear of heights who is hired to trail, but falls in love with, the mysterious Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak). When he witnesses Madeleine fall to her death, Scottie is despondent … until his paths cross with Judy Barton, a woman who seems eerily familiar. With a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, Vertigo is a cinematic milestone that has lost none of its ability to captivate audiences, even as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. Tickets.

4/8 + 4/11: Grease
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John star in the beloved classic featuring an explosion of song and dance that made an indelible impact on popular culture. Boasting a world-famous soundtrack including “Greased Lightnin’,” “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” “Summer Nights,” “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” and “Beauty School Drop Out,” the film remains an iconic, feel-good celebration that’s perfect to watch with friends or for an unforgettable date night. Tickets.

5/13 + 5/16: Sunset Boulevard
Director Billy Wilder’s cinematic masterpiece Sunset Boulevard captures the often disturbing reality behind Hollywood’s illusions with stellar performances by Gloria Swanson and William Holden. The film was nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, and won three for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Original Music Score and Best Story and Screenplay. Tickets.

6/3 + 6/6: The Producers
“Bialystock and Bloom! Bialystock and Bloom!” Writer-director Mel Brooks delivered one of the most uproarious comedies ever made with The Producers – one that almost didn’t see the light of day as the original distributor felt it was “in bad taste.” Fifty years later, The Producers not only proved to be an Oscar® winner (Best Original Screenplay) but cemented the status of Gene Wilder (Oscar® nominated for his role) as a comedy legend and inspired one of the most popular musicals in Broadway history. Newly restored by Studiocanal for its 50th Anniversary, the film stars Zero Mostel, Kenneth Mars and Dick Shawn. Tickets.

7/15 + 7/18: Big
It’s been 30 years since Josh Baskin (played by Tom Hanks and David Moscow) first met the mechanized carnival genie Zoltar and uttered: “I wish I were big” – and his ensuing adventure turned the already-popular Hanks into a mega-star. Directed by Penny Marshall, Big became a box-office sensation as audiences fell in love with the exploits of 12-year-old Josh becoming a 30-year-old man overnight. Voted by the American Film Institute as one of the 10 best fantasies in American movie history, Big is a delight for all movie lovers – big and small. Tickets.

8/5 + 8/8: The Big Lebowski
Part absurdist comedy, part noir crime drama, and utterly Coen, The Big Lebowski has continued to grow in both popularity and reputation since its first release in 1998. Loosely inspired by the writings of Raymond Chandler, The Big Lebowski is almost impossible to define — except as a modern classic. So much so, that in 2014 the Library of Congress named The Big Lebowski to the esteemed National Film Registry, citing its “tale of kidnapping, mistaken identity and bowling.” With Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi and David Huddleston, it’s a singular achievement from the singular filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen. Tickets.

8/26 + 8/29: South Pacific
It’s some enchanted evening for movie fans as director Joshua Logan’s widescreen, color-soaked adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical makes a rare cinematic return in honor of its 60th anniversary. Filled with impossibly lush scenery – shot both in Kauai and on the island of Ibiza – and memorable performances by Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi, Ray Walston and Juanita Hall, the Oscar®-winning South Pacific was a box-office smash upon release. Its soundtrack, which also set records, includes such unforgettable songs as “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening” and “Bali Ha’i.” Tickets.

9/23 + 9/26: Rebel Without a Cause
One of James Dean’s three major starring roles, Rebel Without a Cause turned an actor into a Hollywood legend when it was released less than a month after Dean’s untimely death. On its own, though, the film set off cultural shock waves as teenagers flocked to see one of the first realistic portrayals of youth Hollywood had attempted. Director Nicholas Ray catches lightning in a bottle not just with Dean’s performance, but with perfectly cast Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo as equally troubled youths and a revelatory performance by Jim Backus as Dean’s ineffectual father. Rebel Without a Cause remains as riveting as the day it was released. Tickets.

10/14 + 10/17: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Appointed on a whim to serve a vacant seat on the U.S. Senate, Boy Rangers leader Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) moves to Washington filled with enthusiasm – which quickly turns to disbelief bordering on cynicism when he sees how the nation’s political system actually works. This classic, directed by Frank Capra, with story by Lewis R. Roster and screenplay by Sidney Buchman, was a milestone of Hollywood’s “golden year” of 1939. It quickly became a lightning rod of controversy among real politicians, and a perennial favorite among moviegoers. Whether they’ve seen it a dozen times or it’s brand-new to them, audiences rally behind Jeff Smith, proving that the power of an individual to change the way of the world is an optimistic American ideal. Tickets.

11/11 + 11/14: Die Hard
Yippee-ki-yay … John McClane is back in the iconic action-thriller. In his first major movie role, Bruce Willis is a sly, sardonic combination of action-hero and wisecracker who has to single-handedly protect L.A.’s fictional Nakatomi Plaza from a team of terrorists led by the suave Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, also making his big-screen debut). Inside the 35-story high-rise, McClane can use little more than his wits to save the day. Under the assured direction of John McTiernan (The Hunt for Red October, Predator), Die Hard became a game-changing action film that remains the gold standard three decades later. Tickets.

12/9 + 12/12: White Christmas
One of the best-loved, most quintessentially American of all holiday classics, White Christmas will charm longtime fans and young audiences alike with its blend of timeless music and big-hearted emotion. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen star in the delightful musical directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), which features unforgettable songs by the legendary Irving Berlin. The 2018 “TCM Big Screen Classics” series wraps up by celebrating the season with a rare cinematic presentation of this holiday favorite that moviegoers of all ages can enjoy together. Tickets.

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE presents: BENNY FERDMAN: COOK-UP A SOUP AND OTHER TALES in Encino January 28

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ART IN THE ARTHOUSE proudly presents COOK UP A SOUP AND OTHER TALES, featuring the works of visual artist and educator BENNY FERDMAN. Laemmle Theatres invites the community to join Ferdman for an artist talk, slide show on the big screen and refreshments on January 28, 11 am at Laemmle’s Town Center 5. Most artwork is for sale at this free exhibit, which runs through May 2018.

About the Exhibit:
As a collector of materials and stories from human, natural and cultural landscapes, BENNY FERDMAN’s artwork juxtaposes and reinterprets these images and tales to reclaim wonder in everyday life. Cook-Up a Soup And Other Tales is a collection of Ferdman’s adventurous reclamation and reworking of Jewish iconography, folk motifs and works drawn from diverse narratives and East European Jewish culture, that once expressed itself in Yiddish. Raised in Los Angeles by Polish-Jewish immigrants, Yiddish was Ferdman’s first language. He has lived, studied and worked in Boston, New York, New Mexico, France, California and Israel.

As a visual artist and educator, Ferdman’s art has brought him art residencies, commissions of large scale sculptures, museum exhibitions and installations, redesigns of synagogues, design and fabrication of stage sets, and the distribution of arts-based curricula throughout North America and Israel. “Opkochen a Zup!” is about the big soup or as Ferdman says, “the soup of life into which we’ve all been tossed-and-rolled around on boiling waves, sometimes grabbing hold of a bleeding beet, riding on the back of a big bean, caressing a carrot, or poked in the eye by a prankster parsnip. In this very crowded pot, we meet and gather and then scatter, as the pot gets stirred and spilled into a bowl and consumed with a satisfying slurp!”

– Fern Wallach, Curator

ART IN THE ARTHOUSE delivers a unique, alternative art-viewing experience. At Laemmle venues around town, we give our patrons opportunities to bond with notable and emerging visual artists. We focus on local talent and the robust L.A. arts scene, and apply high curatorial standards to exhibits lasting three to four months. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Laemmle Foundation which supports a variety of environmental and humanitarian non-profits doing inspired, essential work in our community.

Artist Reception:
Encino Town Center 
Sunday, January 28 11-1pm
RSVP here
This is a Free Event

Refreshments will be provided

 

 

 

55th Anniversary Screening of Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ on January 17th in Pasadena, Encino, and West LA

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series launch our Anniversary Classics Abroad program for 2018 with one of the most influential and highly acclaimed of all foreign films: Federico Fellini’s autobiographical masterpiece, 8 ½.

8 ½ screens Wednesday, January 17 at 7pm in Encino, Pasadena, and West LA. Click here for tickets.

Fellini had already won two Oscars in the 1950s, and in 1963, 8 ½ scored the most Oscar nominations of any foreign film up to that time, with a total of five, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi). It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Piero Gherardi won for his stunning black-and-white costume design.

Marcello Mastroianni, who had starred in Fellini’s international smash, La Dolce Vita, three years earlier, plays Guido Anselmi, a film director struggling to complete his newest film while also juggling a wife, a mistress, and several other women as he meditates on sexuality, religion, and mortality.

The film is set primarily at a lavish spa, where Guido’s personal and professional turmoil is continually interrupted by poignant childhood memories and wickedly witty fantasies. Esteemed Italian novelist Alberto Moravia compared the film to James Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novel, Ulysses, and the film’s visual flourishes changed the entire language of cinema.

The New Republic’s Stanley Kauffmann wrote, “In terms of execution I cannot remember a more brilliant film… We see a wizard at the height of his wizardry.”

Writing in Esquire, Dwight Macdonald called 8 ½ “the most brilliant, varied, and entertaining movie since Citizen Kane.”

In addition to Mastroianni, the cast includes Anouk Aimee, Sandra Milo, Claudia Cardinale, Rossella Falk, and Barbara Steele. Other important collaborators include cinematographer Gianni di Venanzo and composer Nino Rota, whose jaunty circus melodies help to propel the movie.

8 ½ had a major influence on directors all over the world, including Mike Nichols, Paul Mazursky, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, and recent Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino.

Presented digitally.

Happy New Year! Enjoy the Beginning of 2018 by Seeing All the Shortlisted Foreign Language Oscar Nominees on the Big Screen.

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This year intrepid moviegoers will have a chance to see every one of the shortlisted foreign films in theaters. The Academy received submissions from around the world, 92 nations in all, and has whittled them down to these lucky nine. (Anne Thompson of Indiewire has a good breakdown about the snubs and surprises here.)

We open the Hungarian drama ON BODY AND SOUL this Friday at the Music Hall. We’ve been playing the hit Swedish comedy THE SQUARE since November. We have Fatih Akin’s IN THE FADE (Germany), starring a fierce Diane Kruger, right now at the Royal and starting Friday at the Playhouse and Town Center. (We’ll also host Mr. Akin in person for a Q&A at the Royal this Friday.) The following weekend we’ll open THE INSULT (Lebanon), and bring back FELICITE (Senegal) and THE WOUND (South Africa). We’ll have Russia’s LOVELESS in February and Israel’s FOXTROT in early March. We don’t yet have FANTASTIC WOMAN (Chile) dated but most likely will soon. Travel the world via movie theater seat. Much more affordable than the airlines, and better leg room!