The official blog of Laemmle Theatres
WRITE WHEN YOU GET WORK TIME film critic Stephanie Zacharek, Academy-Award winning cinematographer Robert Elswit, ASC, stars Finn Wittrock & Rachel Keller, and director Stacy Cochran will participate in Q&A following the 7:20 pm show on Friday, 12/7.
With the holidays right around the corner, why not consider giving a meaningful gift of art or simply stop by to view our galleries. No tickets required. ART IN THE ARTHOUSE connects film audiences with the visual arts all year long and our artwork is for sale. We proudly deliver a unique, alternative art-viewing experience at seven of our nine venues. You might be inspired to buy a memorable work of art for someone special.
Check out the bold, dynamic paintings and collages of Isabella Kelly-Ramirez at the Monica Film Center. Ramirez coopts images from fashion and art magazines, repurposing them to create surreal urban legends and ironic emblems of commercialism. Her show runs till early January, 2019. Or get on up to Glendale for Caley O’Dwyer’s modern mixed media works; we extended his NoHo show to our newest Laemmle theatre. O’Dwyer explores multiple selves through deft application of gouache and collage cutouts. His work is on display till February, 2019.
At Laemmle venues around town, we provide movie goers with the opportunity to bond with notable and emerging visual artists. We focus on local talent and the robust Los Angeles arts scene, applying high curatorial standards to long-lasting exhibits that allow for repeat visits and extended reflection. Contribute to the conversation and become a Laemmle patron of the arts.
Going to Encino Town Center any time soon? Take a look at Kirk Mann’s colorful nature photographs. We recently moved his show over from the Royal. With an awe and reverence for the natural world, Mann presents a unique artistic convergence of Eastern philosophy and nature’s essence. His exhibit runs till February, 2019. Please know, we proudly donate a portion of art sales to the Laemmle Foundation which supports a variety of environmental and humanitarian non-profits doing inspired, essential work in our community.
ART IN THE ARTHOUSE happily welcomes back artists DAPHNE HILL and ANNA STUMP, this time to the Royal for a festival of color just in time for the holidays. Swing by our gallery for a look at their newest work. The exhibit runs through February, 2019.
About the exhibit
Successful collaboration in the world of painting is a rare phenomenon. The duo of HILL and STUMP, known for their breathtaking floral compositions, have nourished a unique and productive partnership. In a kind of creative symbiosis, they appear to “finish each other’s sentences,” layering each piece and editing each other to create something entirely new. Stump comments, “Our process is almost egoless because we can’t, as individual artists, get attached to anything we do. Hill confirms, “We never call a piece finished unless we’re both happy with it.”
Each application of paint is separated from the next by a layer of clear resin, lending depth and brilliance to the compositions. Their work includes nods to Rococo foliage, gilt decoration, Japanese motifs, and Impressionism. Artists such as JAKUCHU, FRAGONARD and SARGENT, as well as the light and spectacle of the Southern California landscape serve as inspiration.
In this exhibit, curated for Art in the Arthouse by Tish Laemmle, the magic of the flower is utilized as a vehicle for light and form to express itself. Nothing is overlooked. Whether realized or abstracted, each individual mum, magnolia, or cactus blossom is rendered until it glows. The artists work together in their studio in San Diego and also maintain a space in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles. Hill has recently become bicoastal, returning to her childhood home of Tennessee while Stump has become involved in the blooming High Desert community. Both teach art in college and at a men’s maximum security prison.
– Tish Laemmle, curator
Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series celebrate the 60th anniversary of one of the most beloved and acclaimed musicals of all time, GIGI.
The film won nine Academy Awards in 1958, including Best Picture, Best Director Vincente Minnelli, Best Adapted Screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner, and Best Scoring by Andre Previn of the original songs by Lerner and his frequent collaborator, Frederick Loewe. At the time, that was the most Oscars ever awarded to a single film, and GIGI also has the distinction of being one of only three films in cinema history to win every Oscar for which it was nominated.
GIGI was also perhaps the last great musical created for the screen. Produced by Arthur Freed for MGM, it follows in the tradition of other original musicals sponsored by the Freed unit, including ‘Meet Me in St. Louis,’ ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ ‘The Band Wagon,’ and an earlier best picture winner, ‘An American in Paris,’ which was also directed by Minnelli and written by Lerner. After GIGI, almost all the memorable Hollywood musicals were adapted from Broadway successes like ‘West Side Story,’ ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘Oliver!,’ and ‘Cabaret.’
GIGI came about partly as a result of the phenomenal stage success of Lerner and Loewe’s ‘My Fair Lady,’ which conquered Broadway in 1956. The pair was looking for a follow-up, and that is how they happened to strike up a partnership with Freed and Minnelli, masters of the MGM musical. It was Leslie Caron, the star of ‘An American in Paris’ along with Lili (which earned her an Oscar nomination), who suggested the idea of adapting ‘Gigi’ into a musical.
Freed had a few qualms, since the source material was not exactly wholesome family entertainment (the bedrock of most MGM musicals). The 1944 novella by French author Colette told the story of a young woman groomed by her grandmother and great-aunt to be a courtesan in turn-of-the-century Paris. Censorship was just beginning to loosen in Hollywood, and Freed and Lerner felt they could mask the sordid subject sufficiently to get by with it. Adults would understand the racy underpinnings while family audiences could remain happily oblivious and enjoy the scenery and the songs.
Still, the daring subject matter undoubtedly helped to win the movie critical acclaim as well as Academy recognition. The New York Times’ Bosley Crowther wrote, “it is not only a charming comprehension of the spicy confection of Colette, but it is also a lovely and lyrical enlargement upon that story’s favored mood and atmosphere.” Leonard Maltin concurred, calling the film “exquisitely filmed, perfectly cast, with memorable Lerner & Loewe score.” Variety hailed “a very fair lady indeed… Miss Caron is completely captivating and convincing in the title role.”
Co-starring with Caron were Louis Jourdan, Maurice Chevalier (who earned an honorary Oscar that year), Hermione Gingold, Eva Gabor, and Isabel Jeans. The score includes the Oscar-winning title song, the lively “The Night They Invented Champagne,” and a memorable duet by Chevalier and Gingold, “I Remember It Well.” The film also won awards for cinematography, production design, and for the elegant costumes by the brilliant Cecil Beaton.
Our 60th Anniversary Screening of GIGI screens Saturday, December 8, at 7:30 PM at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills. Click here for tickets.
Format: Blu-ray
This December, classic disaster films are coming to the NoHo 7 by land, by sea, and by air!
Our “Disaster December” Throwback Thursday series begins on Thursday, December 6th with EARTHQUAKE! Doors open at 7pm, trivia starts at 7:30, and movies begin at 7:40pm. Check out the full schedule below!
After an earthquake destroys Los Angeles, architect Stewart Graff (Charlton Heston) tries to rescue his estranged wife (Ava Gardner), help with the ongoing rescue efforts taking place around him, and locate his girlfriend (Geneviève Bujold). Richard Roundtree and Lorne Green also star. TICKETS.
The Poseidon, an ocean liner larger than the Queens Elizabeth and Mary combined, is charting its course on New Year’s Eve. Just after midnight, Captain Harrison (Leslie Nielsen) spots the mother of all tidal waves. The ship is overturned, with only a handful of survivors. The ten lucky ones — including Mike Rogo (Ernest Borgnine), Linda Rogo (Stella Stevens), Acres (Roddy McDowall), Belle Rosen (Shelley Winters), and Manny Rosen (Jack Albertson) — led by no-nonsense minister Frank Scott (Gene Hackman), desperately attempt to climb from the top of the ship (now submerged) to the bottom (now “the top”). TICKETS.
Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin star in this hit disaster movie that began the genre. Based on Arthur Hailey’s 1968 novel of the same name, the film follows an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a snowstorm while the a Boeing 707 crew tries to safely land after a terrorist detonates a bomb on board. Also starring Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, and George Kennedy. TICKETS.
Details about January #TBT screenings are coming soon. Remember to check www.laemmle.com/tbt for updates!
UNITED SKATES Q&A’s with filmmaker Dyana Winkler, composer Jongnic Bontemps and subject Phelicia Wright following the 7:40 pm shows on Friday, 11/30, Saturday, 12/1, Thursday, 12/6 and after the 5:20 pm show on Sunday, 12/2.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE post screening Q&A’s:
Saturday Dec 1st: 4:10pm (director Hao Wu & Adrian Chen, staff writer at The New Yorker) and 7:00pm (director with a panel of Chinese online influencers).
WELCOME M1LL10NS director Milroy Goes and producer Manpreet Singh (Manna Mohie) will participate in a Q&A following the 7:00 pm show.
