The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

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

 

 

 

 

Double Feature: THE WAY WE WERE and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE on February 13th in NoHo, Pasadena, and West LA

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Twofer Tuesdays return just in time for Valentine’s Day. Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a double feature of two all-time romantic favorites, THE WAY WE WERE and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE.

Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford demonstrate matchless chemistry in THE WAY WE WERE, which received six Oscar nominations in 1973, including a nod for Streisand as Best Actress. The picture won two Oscars, for Marvin Hamlisch’s memorable score and Best Song, written by Hamlisch, Marilyn and Alan Bergman.

Streisand plays a college radical who falls in love with the apolitical campus jock, who also happens to be a gifted writer. The film follows their tumultuous romance over two decades from the 1930s to the 1950s and reaches its climax in the era of the Hollywood blacklist, which destroyed families and careers. Arthur Laurents (West Side Story, Gypsy, The Turning Point) provided the screenplay, and Sydney Pollack, a master of movie romance, directed. The supporting cast includes Bradford Dillman, Viveca Lindfors, Patrick O’Neal, and Lois Chiles.

Pauline Kael wrote of the film, “It’s hit entertainment, and maybe even memorable entertainment…The movie is about two people who are wrong for each other, and Streisand and Redford are an ideal match to play this mismatch.” The finale, in which the lovers meet several years after their divorce and contemplate what might have been, has had audiences weeping for decades.

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE from 1993 also boasts a tearjerking finale that packs a wallop. In the Oscar-nominated screenplay by director Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, and Jeff Arch, geography is the main obstacle keeping the star-crossed lovers apart. Tom Hanks plays an architect from Seattle who is still grieving over his dead wife. His son (Ross Malinger) decides that he needs to find a new mate and helps to orchestrate a radio confessional that attracts the attention of Meg Ryan, a journalist living in Baltimore.

Ephron, a celebrated journalist, novelist, and screenwriter, came into her own as a director when this rom-com became a surprise summertime smash. Ryan, who had starred in Ephron’s screenplay for When Harry Met Sally, demonstrated perfect rapport with Hanks, and they reteamed in Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail five years later. Rosie O’Donnell, Bill Pullman, Rob Reiner (the director of When Harry Met Sally), Rita Wilson, and Gaby Hoffmann as Malinger’s pint-sized co-conspirator contribute delicious cameos. Despite all the prodding and plotting, the potential lovers keep missing each other until a meeting atop the Empire State Building offers them a last chance at connection.

The New York Times’ Vincent Canby wrote, “Not since Love Story has there been a movie that so shrewdly and predictably manipulated the emotions for such entertaining effect.” The rousing soundtrack, which included a series of romantic standards performed by unexpected singers (including two numbers by Jimmy Durante), rose to the top of the pop charts and contributed to the movie’s success.

The double feature screens Tuesday, February 13th at our North Hollywood, Pasadena, and West LA venues.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 5pm screening of SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE with admission the the 7:10pm THE WAY WERE included.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 7:10pm THE WAY WE WERE with admission to 9:30pm SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE included.

Format: Both films on DCP

SURFER Q&A’s with the Filmmaker February 17 & 22 at the Music Hall.

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SURFER filmmaker Douglas Burke will participate in Q&A’s at the Music Hall after the 7:20 PM screenings on Saturday, February 17 and Thursday, February 22.

https://youtu.be/s1JqtDDOgwU

THE GREAT ESCAPE 55th Anniversary Screening Saturday, February 10 at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills

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Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a 55th anniversary screening of one of the best loved adventure movies of all time, John Sturges’ all-star production of THE GREAT ESCAPE.

Adapted from a nonfiction book by Paul Brickhill, the film told the mainly true story of the successful escape from one of the Nazis’ top-security POW camps during World War II. The screenplay was written by James Clavell (King Rat, To Sir, With Love, Shogun) and W. R. Burnett (High Sierra, This Gun For Hire, The Asphalt Jungle).

In reality the prisoners were almost all British, but the producers decided to add some American characters to beef up the film’s box-office potential. This decision was shrewd since it allowed for the casting of up-and-coming American actors Steve McQueen (who became a superstar largely as a result of this film), James Garner, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson. They were joined by British actors Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Donald, and David McCallum. Because of his love of motorcycles, McQueen asked that a spectacular motorcycle jump be added to the escape sequence, and it became one of the iconic scenes in the film, even though it never really happened.

Released in the summer of 1963, the film emerged as one of the year’s biggest box-office hits, and most reviews were ecstatic. Time magazine wrote, “Producer-director John Sturges has created classic cinema of action… The Great Escape is simply great escapism.” Leonard Maltin called it “Rip-roaring excitement with marvelous international cast.” Sturges was known for his direction of other action classics, including Bad Day at Black Rock and The Magnificent Seven, the latter of which also featured McQueen. Oscar winning cinematographer Daniel Fapp shot on location in Germany, and Elmer Bernstein provided the memorable score. Ferris Webster was nominated for an Academy Award for his taut editing.

The film’s reputation has not dimmed over the years. In 2001 Esquire magazine called The Great Escape “the greatest boys’ movie of all time.” Writing in the Los Angeles Times to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary in 2003, Michael Sragow declared, “It is an escape, and it is great: It renders vividly and fully an experience that encompasses a panorama of emotions—fear, audacity, loyalty, panic, giddiness, intransigence, and fortitude.”

THE GREAT ESCAPE screens Saturday, February 10th at 7:30pm at the Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills. Click here for tickets.

Format: DCP

Vampire Movie LIVING AMONG US Q&A Opening Night at the Music Hall.

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LIVING AMONG US filmmaker Brian Metcalf and cast members Andrew Keegan, Jessica Morris, Chad Todhunter will participate in a Q&A after the 7:20 PM show at the Music Hall on Friday, February 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_qHlAQ5mE0

PLEASE STAND BY Q&A’s with the Director this Weekend at the Ahrya Fine Arts.

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PLEASE STAND BY director Ben Lewin will participate in Q&A’s at the Fine Arts on Friday, January 26 after the 7:30pm screening and after the 2:30 PM show on Saturday, January 27.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzQe4sqjZT8
PLEASE STAND BY director Ben Lewin.

February in NoHo: The Highly Curated Throwback Thursday Series in Honor of Marijuana Awareness Month

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In celebration of Marijuana Awareness Month, we proudly present ‘The Highly Curated‘ film series every Throwback Thursday in February at the Laemmle NoHo 7! Our crop of films includes WAYNE’S WORLD, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, FANTASTIC PLANET, and HALF BAKED. Help us spread the word and tell your buds! Many people enjoy the effects of marijuana through its various forms, like hemp-derived oils, especially when it helps them to overcome various ailments like anxiety. Do you use CBD oil to combat your anxiety? If so, you might want to make the most of a cbdistillery coupon to help you cut the costs! It is no secret that there are also people who love to smoke marijuana recreationally too. Some friends of mine even like to smoke cannabis by using cool bongs. However, that being said, smoking cannabis is not without its risks. For example, sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where you have to prove that your body is free of any substances and there might even be consequences to face if your test comes back positive. In some cases, failing a drug test can even cost you your job. Nonetheless, something that people do to combat this is to look into detox pills, like the ones found here, in order to pass such a test. So, words of warning to one side, let us now get on to our marijuana-themed movie marathon…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdI2q1KxToM

February 1: Wayne’s World

A wacky, irreverent pop-culture comedy about the adventures of two amiable, aimless metal-head friends, Wayne and Garth. Starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Robert Patrick, and Tia Carrere. Format: DCP. Click here for tickets.

February 8: The Big Lebowski

Way out west there was this fella… fella I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. Mr. Lebowski, he called himself “The Dude”… Format: DCP. Click here for tickets.

February 15: Fantastic Planet

Based on the 1957 novel Oms en série by French writer Stefan Wul Fantastic Planet is an utterly trippy French/Czech allegorical animation about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them pets. Format: DCP. Click here for tickets.

February 22: Half Baked

The story of three not so bright men who come up with a series of crazy schemes to get a friend out of jail. Starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, and Guillermo Díaz. Format: DCP. Click here for tickets.

Our weekly #TBT series is a joint production with Eat|See|Hear. Visit www.laemmle.com/tbt for details.

SHOT IN THE DARK Q&A’s February 2 & 3 at the Music Hall.

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SHOT IN THE DARK director Dustin Nakao Hadier and producer Derek Doneen will participate in Q&A’s at the Music Hall after the 7:10pm screenings on Friday 2/2 and Saturday 2/3.