The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

They flew through the air with the greatest of ease: Trapeze artists and the director of THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC in person for Q&A’s

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THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC, a fascinating look at the world of the flying trapeze, centers on one of the greatest acts in circus history, The Flying Gaonas. First performing on a trampoline, the Gaonas went on to become the star attraction for the best circuses in the world, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Long-time Broadway director (and trapeze flyer) Tom Moore brings their story to life through interviews with family members and colorful archival material.

Meet them and the THE FLIGHT FANTASTIC filmmaker in person:

Monday, 20th, NoHo
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup (partner), Jose Gaona, Alex Gaona, Masha Nordbye, Corinna Gamma (Photographer) and DIR Tom Moore.
On Tuesday, 21st, Pasadena
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup, Jose Gaona, Masha Nordbye, and DIR Tom Moore
On Wedesday, 22st, Santa Monica
Richie Gaona & Mercedes Gallup, Jose Gaona, Corinna Gamma, Masha Nordbye, and DIR Tom Moore

Enjoy a Car-Free Day Exploring the Gold Line from South Pasadena to Azusa at 626 GOLDEN STREETS on June 26th

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626-logoExplore the San Gabriel Valley and celebrate the opening of the Foothill Gold Line extension at 626 Golden Streets, a car-free event on Sunday, June 26th from 8am to 2pm!

Modeled after other “open streets” programs like CicLAvia, 626 Golden Streets will temporarily open stretches of roadway from South Pasadena to Azusa for people to walk, jog, skate, bike, and more.

Communities participating include South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa. Speaking of Azusa, head one block south of Azusa Downtown Station and you’ll find the future home of a Laemmle theater in Azusa! It’s the lot at the southeast corner of East Foothill Boulevard and North Azusa Avenue.

Seek out Activity Hubs along the 18+ mile route for free fitness classes (Zumba, yoga), activity booths, live music, food trucks, professional chalk artists, drum circles, cyclocross, Gabe the Sasquatch, and more!

626-yoga

Seven Tips for Enjoying 626 Golden Streets:

  1. Golden Streets is a FREE event! But bring at least a few dollars to patronize local businesses, sample some of the SGV’s food, drink, and ride the Foothill Gold Line.
  2. YOU get to decide where you start and finish.
  3. All forms of non-motorized transportation are permitted. So if you’re thinking you’re about to look at what’s the best electric skateboards suitable for long-distance, have a think about bringing your old skateboard just for this instead!
  4. Golden Streets is NOT a race. There are no finisher medals or awards. Only smiles and miles of open streets.
  5. Share the road. Please exercise caution so everyone can have a safe, enjoyable day.
  6. Gold Line Station Activity Hubs will remain open until at least 3pm (South Pasadena hub to 4pm).
  7. Don’t forget to stop, enjoy, and take a picture! Share your best snapshots on social media with the hashtag #626GoldenStreets for a chance to win special one-time-only Golden Streets swag!

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For more information, visit: http://www.626goldenstreets.com!

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Anniversary Classics in June: William Friedkin with THE FRENCH CONNECTION and Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris (Bernardo and Riff!) with WEST SIDE STORY

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I love New York in June. How about you? Well, this month we have two superb New York movies as part of our Anniversary Classics and some of the key talent behind them in person to talk about it.

William Friedkin
William Friedkin

This year marks the 45th anniversary of THE FRENCH CONNECTION, the gritty and gripping police thriller that won five Academy Awards in 1971, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Gene Hackman, Best Screenplay and Best Director for our special guest, William Friedkin. One of the key figures in the American cinematic renaissance of the 1970s, Mr. Friedkin has directed such films as The Birthday Party, The Boys in the Band, the enormously successful The Exorcist, Sorcerer, To Live and Die in L.A., Rules of Engagement, and the more recent Killer Joe.

We’ll screen THE FRENCH CONNECTION on June 18 at the Fine Arts Theatre. Beyond its adrenaline-fueled chase scenes, the movie boasts acute characterizations and potent social commentary about the moral compromises that may be endemic to police work. It also stands as one of the most vivid renditions of a decaying New York City ever committed to celluloid. Roy Scheider and Bunuel favorite Fernando Rey (as the suave European criminal kingpin) co-star. Reviews were ecstatic. Judith Crist called it “a movie-movie supreme.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that THE FRENCH CONNECTION was “a slam-bang, suspenseful, plain-spoken, sardonically funny, furiously paced melodrama.” Even highbrow Stanley Kauffmann, writing in The New Republic, hailed “the most exciting picture I’ve seen since Z.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwBbkSTfKa8

riffJune 29 won’t be just any night, because we’ll be celebrating the 55th anniversary of WEST SIDE STORY at the Fine Arts with Bernardo and Riff themselves, George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn. NOTE: Unfortunately, George Chakiris had to cancel for health reasons. One of the most honored and commercially successful of all movie musicals, WEST SIDE STORY earned a near-record 10 Academy Awards in 1961. The film version of the groundbreaking stage musical that re-imagined Romeo and Juliet in contemporary New York City retained and deepened the play’s emotional impact by bringing together a show business all-star team. The show’s director and choreographer, Jerome Robbins, worked with veteran filmmaker Robert Wise to transform the theatrical experience into electrifying cinema. Robbins and Wise reworked the classic Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score and came up with fresh casting ideas for this ever timely story of racial prejudice and conflict. The stars of the movie included Natalie Wood, Oscar nominee Mr. Tamblyn, Oscar winner Mr. Chakiris, and Oscar winner Rita Moreno.

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

Our screening will be followed by a Q&A with the charismatic leaders of the movie’s rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Mr. Chakiris (Bernardo) had been a dancer in several 1950s musicals, including Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and White Christmas. Following his Oscar-winning performance in WEST SIDE STORY, he appeared in such films as Diamond Head with Charlton Heston, Flight from Ashiya with Yul Brynner, and the Jacques Demy musical The Young Girls of Rochefort, co-starring Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly. He also has extensive credits in theater and television.  West-Side-Story-DI-3-1

George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn
George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn

Russ Tamblyn (Riff) played Elizabeth Taylor’s younger brother in Father of the Bride in 1950. He displayed his dance abilities in such musicals as Hit the Deck and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and earned an Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in the 1957 film, Peyton Place. His later work includes The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, the horror classic, The Haunting (also directed by Robert Wise), David Lynch’s cult TV series, Twin Peaks, and a cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Both Q&A’s will be moderated by Los Angeles Film Critics Association president Stephen Farber.

Azusa City Council to RECONSIDER the Laemmle Theatre Mixed-Use project for Block 36 on Monday, June 6th at 7PM!

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UPDATE (6/6/16 at 11PM): The Azusa City Council voted 5-0 in favor of moving forward with our proposal for Block 36 in Downtown Azusa at the southeast corner of Azusa Avenue and Foothill Boulevard! We couldn’t have done it without the support of Azusa’s passionate and determined residents. Thank you!

Follow Laemmle Azusa on Facebook and on Twitter @LaemmleAzusa!

Amazing news everyone! The Azusa City Council is reconsidering the Laemmle Theatre Mixed-Use project for Block 36 at the upcoming Council meeting on Monday, June 6th at 7 pm!

The amount of support we’ve received from Azusa’s passionate arthouse audience is humbling. Thank you.

We also want to thank the council members. It takes courage and strength to reconsider a previous decision.  We applaud the council for taking these steps.

We still need community support at the meeting! All speakers should arrive before 7PM to sign the blue speaker card.

Location: 213 E. Foothill Blvd., Azusa, CA 91702 (map)
Date: Monday, June 6th, 2016
Time: 7PM

The City Council will vote on an action to “CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO PRIOR DIRECTION REGARDING DEVELOPMENT ON BLOCK 36 LOCATED AT SOUTHEAST CORNER OF AZUSA AVENUE AND FOOTHILL BOULEVARD TO DIRECT STAFF TO NEGOTIATE EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATING AGREEMENTS WITH BOTH CHARLES COMPANY AND SERRANO DEVELOPMENT GROUP FOR BLOCK 36 AND OTHER CITY OWNED PROPERTIES”. Refer to the Agenda Item D http://www.ci.azusa.ca.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4157

Oh, and look for Greg Laemmle at the meeting. He wants to personally thank people for their efforts!

azusa2

If music be the food of love, play on! Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yo-Yo Ma and Unlocking the Truth coming soon.

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We’ve got four very cool music films coming up: On June 16 we’ll screen Iggy Pop: Live in Basel 2015 at five of our venues, the Fine Arts, Claremont 5, NoHo 7, Playhouse 7 and Monica Film Center. We’ll open The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble for week-long engagements on June 17th at the Playhouse and Town Center and a week later at Monica Film Center and Claremont. On July 1 we open the rock doc Breaking a Monster at the Monica Film Center. And finally we’ll feature Nick Cave and Bad Seeds’ One More Time with Feeling at the Fine Arts, Claremont, NoHo, Playhouse and Monica Film Center on September 8.

Iggy Pop: Live in Basel 2015 features this outstanding artist known for his outrageous and unpredictable stage antics as he performs at the Baloise Session in Basel, Switzerland, where he was honored with a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. This fantastic October 2015 show features all of Iggy’s classics, including “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” “The Passenger,” “Lust for Life” and many more.

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

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is by the director of the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically acclaimed Best of Enemies. It tells the extraordinary story of the renowned international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, the diverse group of instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SShFP7QfSCg&nohtml5=False&nohtml5=False#t=150.03675

For something quite different but no less inspiring, Breaking a Monster begins as the three members of band Unlocking the Truth are all in 7th grade, spending their weekends playing a blend of heavy metal and speed punk in Times Square, often drawing substantial crowds. They take on a manager: a 70-year-old industry veteran. With his guidance they are soon on their way to a 1.8 million dollar record deal and a precarious initiation into the music industry.

BAM
A scene from BREAKING A MONSTER courtesy of Abramorama Entertainment.

A unique one night only cinema event directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly), One More Time With Feeling will be the first ever opportunity anyone will have to hear Skeleton Tree, the sixteenth studio album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The film will screen in cinemas across the world on 8th September 2016, immediately prior to the release of Skeleton Tree the following day.

Originally a performance based concept, One More Time With Feeling evolved into something much more significant as Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. Interwoven throughout the Bad Seeds’ filmed performance of the new album are interviews and footage shot by Dominik, accompanied by Cave’s narration and improvised rumination.

Filmed in black-and-white and color, in both 3D and 2D, the result is fragile, raw and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness.

Image courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.
A scene from ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING. Image courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.

 

Join us this Thursday Night at the Playhouse for the Opening of the PASADENA ART SHOW 2016

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ArtHouse_Logo_08mhART IN THE ARTHOUSE invites you to experience The Pasadena Art Show 2016 featuring stunning and diverse works from 23 talented, local artists.

RSVP BELOW to the opening reception this Thursday, June 2, 6-9pm at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Theatre in Pasadena. The celebration includes the exhibit, curator talk, and artist presentation/slide show on the big screen!

Curator’s Statement:
We are honored to feature a spirited array of local artists in this, our second annual Pasadena community show. The cord that binds these diverse talents is more lyrical than stylistic. In a time when reason, logic, and subtlety fall prey to spectacle this group leads with clarity of vision and purpose, through stories that are often poetic in the telling. Shifting fields of Pasadena mise-en-scenes, ranging from the containment of the Metro to the expansiveness of the cosmos, usher us through our everyday journeys and refocus us to the present moment. We are delighted by a magnificent bloom, intrigued by a photo offering serenity in the face of divergent paths, moved by the elegance of a classic face, and charmed by visits to ‘the pastoral.’ Laemmle’s Art in the Arthouse was created to build community through artistic dialogue. This skillful collective fulfills that objective with panache, talent, and grace.

– Joshua Elias

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About The Pasadena Art Show:
The Pasadena Art Show is produced by artist, author, and local impresario Lynn Chang. The multi-faceted Chang has enlisted Laemmle and specifically its “Art in the Arthouse” program to act as venue and host for the now annual exhibit.

Art in the Arthouse arose in early 2014 out of a desire by Laemmle president Greg Laemmle to engage the fine arts community and bring quality works to the movie-going public. Since then, Laemmle has created unique gallery spaces within its venues by reclaiming wall space vacated by printed movie posters, like the ones found on the Fine Art America posters website (since replaced by rotating digital displays). With visionary input from curator Joshua Elias, Art in the Arthouse has bridged the worlds of fine art and fine cinema through over 20 exhibits, featuring mostly local and emerging talent. Proceeds from the sale of art benefit the activities of the Laemmle Charitable Foundation.

RSVP

RSVPs are now closed for this event. Catch you at the next one!

Contest: Win Tickets to See TOP GUN with L.A. Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats!

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latheaterLast Remaining Seats presents a contest straight outta 1986! Enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to see TOP GUN June 4th at the beautiful Los Angeles Theater in Downtown LA!

Last Remaining Seats is the Los Angeles Conservancy’s annual program that combines classic film with L.A.’s historic theatres. Top Gun  is this year’s opening film. Visit the L.A. Conservancy’s website for the full schedule of screenings.

Top Gun was the highest-grossing film of 1986, due in part to the action-packed aerial scenes that were a huge hit with audiences. It earned both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song, the unforgettable “Take My Breath Away” performed by Berlin. Top Gun was released thirty years ago in 1986. Not coincidentally, this is the thirtieth annual season of Last Remaining Seats!

Entering the contest is easy. Just fill out the form below to signup for Laemmle’s weekly email newsletter. The deadline to enter is 5PM on Thursday, June 2nd. Two winners will be selected and announced Friday morning at 11AM.  Already a newsletter subscriber? Go ahead and re-enter your email address (don’t worry, you won’t get extra email).

Prizes:
– Two VIP Tickets (reserved seating) to the 2pm screening of Top Gun (June 4)
– Two General Admission Tickets to the 8pm screening of Top Gun (June 4).

This contest is now closed!  Good luck to all entrants.

Summer Camp: Every Throwback Thursday in June at the NoHo 7

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mommie-dearestJoin Laemmle and  Eat|See|Hear for Summer Camp at the NoHo 7 in North Hollywood! Every Thursday in June our Throwback Thursday (#TBT) series presents some of our favorite intentionally (and unintentionally) campy films from the last sixty years! It all starts Thursday, June 2nd with VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Check out the full schedule below. For tickets and our full #TBT schedule, visit laemmle.com/tbt!

June 2: Valley of the Dolls

A cinematic take on a 1960s best-seller, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS traces the ups and downs of three young women as fame, booze, pills, and men consume their lives. Well-bred, small-town Anne Welles (Peyton Place star Barbara Parkins) arrives in New York eager for fame but settles for a job assisting theatrical attorney Henry Bellamy (Robert H. Harris). The job leads her to cross paths with Helen Lawson (Hollywood veteran Susan Hayward), the grand dame of Broadway musicals, and Neely O’Hara (Patty Duke), an up-and-coming performer whom Lawson unceremoniously boots from her latest show. As the pressures of fame and failed romance take their toll on all three women, they take refuge in food, sex, liquor, and pills — especially Neely, who becomes downright monstrous (the titular “dolls” are the uppers and downers to which she becomes hopelessly addicted). BUY TICKETS.

tbt-summer-camp-posters

June 9: Female Trouble

A riotously funny bad-taste epic from director John Waters, Baltimore’s “Prince of Puke,” FEMALE TROUBLE tells the depraved life story of obese criminal Dawn Davenport (Divine), from her bad-girl youth as a go-go dancer on Baltimore’s infamous Block to her death in the electric chair. Mink Stole is terrific as Dawn’s bratty daughter Taffy, conceived following a romp on a junkyard mattress with a fat derelict in soiled underpants (also played by Divine). Mary Vivian Pearce and David Lochary co-star as crazed owners of a beauty-parlor who are convinced that “crime equals beauty,” and they take Dawn under their wings, forcing her to mainline liquid eyeliner to enhance her appeal. Edith Massey steals the film as Dawn’s obsessive neighbor, Ida, who wants her nephew to be gay because heterosexuals lead “sick and boring lives.” A hilariously appalling film, Female Trouble is just as disgusting and far funnier than Waters’ previous Pink Flamingos, if not as notorious. BUY TICKETS.

June 16: Mommie Dearest

MOMMIE DEAREST, best-selling memoir turned motion picture, depicts the abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, movie star Joan Crawford. One thing is certain: You’ll never look at a wire hanger the same way again! BUY TICKETS.

priscilla-posterJune 23: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

In THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, the usually menacing British actor Terence Stamp does a complete turnaround as Bernadette, an aging transsexual who tours the backwaters of Australia with her stage partners, Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Adam/Felicia (Guy Pearce). Their act, well-known in Sydney, involves wearing lots of makeup and gowns and lip-synching to records, but Bernadette is getting a bit tired of it all and is also haunted by the bizarre death of an old loved one. Nevertheless, when Mitzi and Felicia get an offer to perform in the remote town of Alice Springs at a casino, Bernadette decides to tag along. The threesome ventures into the outback with Priscilla, a lavender-colored school bus that doubles as dressing room and home on the road. Along the way, the act encounters any number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while Bernadette becomes increasingly concerned about the path her life has taken. BUY TICKETS.

June 30: Auntie Mame

AUNTIE MAME began as a novel by Patrick Dennis (AKA Ed Fitzgerald), then was adapted into a long-running Broadway play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. In this 1958 film version, Rosalind Russell recreates her stage role as Mame Dennis, the flamboyant, devil-may-care aunt of young, impressionable Patrick Dennis. Left in Mame’s care when his millionaire father dies, young Patrick (Jan Handzlik) is quickly indoctrinated into his aunt’s philosophy that “life is a banquet–and some poor suckers are starving to death.” Social-climbing executor Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark) does his best to raise Patrick as a stuffy American aristocrat, but Mame battles Babcock to allow the boy to be as free-spirited as she is. In 1974, Auntie Mame was remade as the musical Mame starring Lucille Ball. BUY TICKETS.