Actresses Ann Rutherford & Julie Adams In Person at Film Noir Festival

Julie Adams, star of SIX BRIDGES TO CROSS (shown in a new 35mm Print) will appear in person for the Sunday, April 5th 7;30 PM screening. Adams appears in this 1955 bank heist film from director Joseph Pevney, who based it on an actual Boston Brinks heist. Co-starring Tony Curtis. The second film on this double bill is NOCTURNE (1946), starring George Raft as a mama's boy detective investigating a Hollywood composer's murder and a missing woman. Lots of great 1940s LA ambience. Adams will appear for q & a between the films. Julie Adams is perhaps best known as the bathing suited beauty from THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954). She also appeared in films with Elvis Presley, Jimmy Stewart and Rock Hudson (BEND OF THE RIVER).

Actress Ann Rutherford (GONE WITH THE WIND, the Andy Hardy series) will appear in person with the Film Noir selection TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE (1945) co-starring Tom Conway (who appeared as The Falcon in RKO's The Falcon series and in several Val Lewton pictures) on Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 PM. TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE, an Anthony Mann directed delight about a cabbie (played by Rutherford) who picks up an amnesiac fare (Conway) who turns out to be a murder suspect! With a pre-OUT OF THE PAST appearance by 20-year old Jane Greer. TWO O'CLOCK plays on a double bill with DESPERATE (1947), another Anthony Mann noir with Raymond Burr. Neither film is on DVD so don't miss this rare opportunity to see this double feature with Ann Rutherford IN PERSON!

The 11th annual Film Noir Fest (quite possibly the Cinematheque's most popular annual series) kicks off Thursday, April 2nd with OUT OF THE PAST (starring Jane Greer and Robert Mitchum) on a double bill with the rare THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS (1951) starring Jane Greer as an ex-con and Lizbeth Scott as her parole officer! On Friday, all members who purchase tickets for the 7:30 PM double feature of rarity ALIAS NICK BEAL & FLY-BY-NIGHT, will be invited to a private reception with the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller and Alan K. Rode. Trivia contest, prizes, noir beverages... Every year someone sits through every film. Will it be you? Let us know how many you see. There are 26 films in all and 19 that are NOT ON DVD! The full schedule is posted here.

A Chance to Win the Ultimate Matrix Collection on Blu-Ray

Audience Members attending the MATRIX Triple Feature at the Aero Theatre on Saturday night (3/28) will have a chance to take home more MATRIX than they can fit in 'the spoon!'

Warner Home Video and Village Roadshow Pictures will be giving away 5 sets of the recently released The Ultimate Matrix Collection. This seven-disc collection contains the complete Matrix Trilogy in high definition video and lossless high definition 5.1 audio (Dolby TrueHD) - each with hours of special features including WHV's ground-breaking In-Movie Experience. The Animatrix, the nine-part anime film, is also included for the first time in high definition. Three additional bonus discs include more than 35 hours of additional features and a digital copy of The Matrix (for use with Windows Media and iPod portable devices) that even further immerses consumers into the ultimate Matrix experience. Next week, The Matrix, the film Entertainment Weekly called the #1 Sci-Fi Film of the past 25 years and a staple on countless other Top Ten Sci-Fi lists, celebrates its 10th Anniversary with a new single Blu-ray book release on March 31 from Warner Home Video and Village Roadshow Pictures. The film will be released as The Matrix 10th Anniversary Blu-ray(tm) Book, packaged in a collectible bonus book that includes 37 pages of insightful essays, trivia and photos.

Saturday, March 28 at 5 PM
Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403

The Matrix triple feature is in honor of the 10th Aniversary of the first MATRIX film and will be populated with special guests who worked on the movies. For details click here.

Sunday is LA Heritage Day at the Enchanting Heritage Square

The Cinematheque will have a booth at Heritage Square's LA Heritage Day event on Sunday, March 22 from 11 AM - 4 PM, so come on down and check out the event and swing by and say hi to our staff and volunteers! We will be exhibiting along with 60 other organizations on Sunday, March 22nd when we come together at Heritage Square Museum to present our collective histories at LA Heritage Day. Come and view a wide range of groups, from the California Art Club to the Culinary Historians of Southern California and see how they present their own particular take on the history of our great region. Last year the Culinary Historians made cookies from a 19th century recipe and Venice Historical Society touted some unknown early community builders. It is all kinds of fun if you love local Los Angeles area history. Plus you get to tour some of the last of LA's Victorians - moved to Heritage Square for preservation. Sitting amongst the vintage structures on the rolling green will make for a heavenly early Spring Sunday in the sun (or shade depending on which way the weather goes)!

We will have some books for sale and flyers for upcoming events. This event is free with a printable flyer available at this link ($5 without) http://www.heritagesquare.org/LAHD_Flyer.pdf and is made possible thanks to Project Restore, the Spectra Company, Preservation Arts, Councilman Ed Reyes and Supervisor Gloria Molina. For the most recent list of participating groups, please visit this link.

The event has something for everyone - kids can learn how to make a birdhouse out of popsicle sticks, color one of our historic homes or participate in a scavenger hunt and adults can listen in on interesting panel discussions on preservation or philanthropy. Food will be available for purchase.

"This was supposed to be a love-fest..." - David Carradine

David Carradine may believe that the performance of his career was as the iconic folk singer in Hal Ashby's Woody Gutherie biopic BOUND FOR GLORY, but Wednesday night at the Aero, the actor gave the audience that turned out to see the film revived on the big screen, one hell of a show when he appeared in person for a post-screening discussion of the film with film critic Kevin Thomas, host of the monthly series: "Kevin Thomas' Favorite Films."

BOUND FOR GLORY may go down in LA cinema history as one of Kevin Thomas' most infamous, "favorites" of the series (last month he interviewed the more docile members of the "girl band" from SOME LIKE IT HOT.) On this night, there was mayhem interspersed with musical numbers, sing-a-longs, accusations and plenty of mudslinging from a cast of characters that hadn't forgotten the trials and tribulations of exactly how they suffered through making a movie together 34 years ago!

Veteran cinematographer Haskall Wexler (who won an Oscar for his work on BOUND FOR GLORY) and actor Ronny Cox (who gives a spirited performance as Ozark the singing union organizer) happened to have heard the film was playing and came down to revisit it on the big screen after 30+ years. Kevin Thomas invited them on stage to join he and Carradine to, presumably partake in pleasant reminiscences of making BOUND FOR GLORY.

As it turned out, Carradine, guitar case in hand, arrived a bit early for the q & a and started doing live commentary from the back of the theatre. It didn't go over too well from the sound of the "sshhhh's" and "that's enough" from audience members. This was not unlike Lawrence Tierney's interruption of an early Film Noir presentation of one of his films at the Egyptian Theatre. Although the Aero has been presenting a Live Commentary series (Wes Craven will take a crack at it on March 29 with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), Cinematheque audiences apparently are NOT fans of impromptu live commentary. Clearly they prefer to hear from actors ONSCREEN, more than off -- at least while the movie is actually running. Tierney, getting on in years at the time of his unwelcome during-screening ranting, suffered from a bladdar problem. He punctuated his interference by urinating in a Prince of Egypt cup volunteered by none other than Film Noir expert Eddie Muller (full story at www.noircity.com).

The fluid spilled at this event was definitely (figurative) blood.

Let's just say that things got interesting when audience members began to heckle Mr. Carradine as the conversation turned to a discussion of unions and how Mr. Carradine felt they needed to change. Cries of "You aren't Woody Gutherie, you're an actor" rang out. While this revelation was washing over certain audience members, Carradine continued espousing beliefs on the downfall of the American system and insinuated that we (the American People) were reliving the Great Depression. The "dissenter" rose loudly and exclaimed, "You know nothing about Unions," to which Carradine revealed that he was a card-carrying member of SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) and that he was once on the board. When the Cinematheque's publicist turned around to see who the "agitator" was in the audience something flew at her head.

Carradine's MICROPHONE!

Was he offering it to the dissenter or trying to throw a mic on a short cable at her from halfway across the room? It was unclear. But in the excitement that followed Carradine leapt down from the stage to profusely apologize, a volunteer brought a cup of ice over and long time friend Kevin Thomas expressed visible concern over a potential head injury. No head injury was sustained and even her bluetooth earpiece remained unscathed. When the melee died down the "Unions Expert" came towards the front of the house to continue her tirade. Carradine thought it was important for her to speak her mind. She did and then left as Carradine called after her, "You hate me, but I love you." Ronny Cox made a run for the door at this point, vanishing into the night, while Wexler stuck it out for combat.

Kevin Thomas, always the model of decorum ended the evening by thanking the guests (who were left) for giving him "new insight into the collaborative process of filmmaking."

Want to know more? You should have been there. Don't miss another Cinematheque q & a - they truly can be once in a lifetime experiences. What happens at the Cinematheque stays at the Cinematheque - although Joe Moe wrote a long piece on Forrest J Ackerman's tribute at the Egyptian on March 8 on www.dreadcentral.com which even includes Forry's last words in a video clip he made in his final days. And who knows, more on this GLORious q & a may appear on a blog somewhere on the internet!

Photos Top to Bottom: David Carradine leads the audience in a rousing rendition of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND including a verse that was sung by Pete Seeger at the Obama inauguration. (L-R) Haskall Wexler (who won the Academy Award for Cinematography for BOUND FOR GLORY) and actor Ronny Cox who played Ozark. (L-R) Kevin Thomas and David Carradine. Photos: Margot Gerber

Film Noir Festival Schedule Revealed Exclusively in Blog Post

Dear Faithful Blog Readers:
Here is your first blog exclusive: the anxiously anticipated Film Noir 2009 schedule unveiled.

Probably more exciting to some of you than the opening of the envelopes at the Oscars and certainly the most queried about series! You waited patiently and now here it is in all its glory, 13 nights of films primarily NOT ON DVD. So block out the nights between April 2 and 19 for a night time journey into the dark and sinister streets of Noir City! This year, there is a special members only reception to kick off the series so make sure your American Cinematheque membership is up to date!

Keep your eyes on this column for a chance to win tickets to see some noirs for free!

Noir City here I come!

Hey, we just found out that David Carradine is coming to the Aero on Wednesday, March 18 for the 7:30 PM screening of BOUND FOR GLORY (1976). In a very pre-KILL BILL performance, he stars as folk musician Woody Gutherie (who got a little publicity during the I'M NOT THERE release due to his influence on Bob Dylan). Anyone attend the great Skirball exhibit on Bob Dylan last year? The Gutheries were all over that too. Including son Arlo of ALICE'S RESTAURANT FAME. Film Critic Kevin Thomas will preside over the festivities. Carradine is going to discuss the film with Kevin Thomas following the screening. So start singing THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, THIS LAND IS MY LAND and head down to the Aero for a hootenany with the one and only David Carradine. P.S. The film is directed by Hal Ashby and shot by Haskall Wexler, you can't beat that!
Click here for details. Trailer

Book Signing at this Weekend's Warner Bros Films

Author John Gloske (pictured here with Frankie Darro) will sign copies of his book, Tough Kid: The Life and Films of Frankie Darro starting at 6:30 PM at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday, March 21 (screening LITTLE CAESAR & MAYOR OF HELL Saturday night) and Sunday, March 22 (screening LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT & WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD).

So who was Frankie Darro? As a child actor he appeared in many silent adventure, western, and serial pictures of the 1920s, and became a very prolific actor as an adolescent. His convincing delivery of dialogue and his obvious comfort before the cameras kept him steadily employed. His most important role of the 1930s was the lead in Wild Boys of the Road, director William Wellman's indictment of aimless teens vagabonding across America during the Depression. Darro remained popular in serials, and co-starred with Gene Autry in Autry's first starring film, The Phantom Empire. He was born into a family of circus performers! He passed away at the age of 59 in 1976.

All four of these films sound like "must-sees." Barbara Stanwyck - tough prison chick - what more could you ask for? All teens should definitely check out WILD BOYS ON THE ROAD (there are girls in it too) to see what life might be like for them in the "new" Depression. This film was made in the 1930s during the actual Great Depression and is about teens who take to the road to find jobs to help support their families. Of course in 2009 you would take to the road in your 4-wheel drive vehicle with MP3 player docks and iphones and all manner of gadgets, but back then you might not be able to contact your family for months or at all if they moved while you were away! It was dangerous out there. Your family may not have a telephone at all even if you found a phone at a roadhouse somewhere. See Frankie Darro in the 1941 film THE GANG'S ALL HERE.

Sid Grauman's 130th Birthday

His name is on the Egyptian Theatre and its Chinese sister-venue just west, down the Walk of Fame, but who was Sid Grauman? Mark Simon is going to answer that question with a 130th birthday illustrated talk and tour of Sid's first Hollywood movie palace (that would be the Egyptian Theatre in case you couldn't guess) on Saturday, March 14th.

Sid Grauman: Yukon Prospector (yes, as in, THE Gold Rush), master showman, inventor of the immortalization of movie stars via sticking their hand and footprints (and sometimes their animal sidekicks) in wet cement, close friend to Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, supreme prankster, cross-dresser, impresario extraordinaire...

Last night at Hollywood Heritage's Adrian lecture Sid's prologue for Charlie Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH (which premiered at the Egyptian in 1925) was mentioned because Adrian designed one of the costumes worn on stage which brought him to the attention of Cecil B. DeMille who had recently established his own studio following his departure from Famous Players-Lasky -- the same stage where Valentino discovered Myrna Loy (a Venice High School grad) dancing in the chorus!

Following the lecture at DeMille's barn (the Hollywood Heritage HQ) last night, Aaron Epstein (owner of the adorable Artisan's Patio courtyard of shops on Hollywood Boulevard) whose family owned Pickwick Books (also on the Boulevard) mentioned that Sid used to come into the bookstore to shop. As a young teen he recalled his father pointing out -- "that's Sid Grauman!" when he came in to browse. When asked if he remembered anything in particular about Grauman sixty some years later (Grauman died in 1950), Epstein recalled that "he had curly hair" SO, we are guessing he must have been nice and polite, because ordinarily you remember the bothersome customers. Another attendee said she worked for Sid part-time at the Chinese in the late 1940s as an usherette. "He always called us into his office before we went out on the floor to make sure we looked perfect," she said. "He was a very nice man. A real gentleman. He wasn't leacherous like a lot of the men in Hollywood."

What's this about a stage at the Egyptian? What were these prologues Sid created that were sometimes more lavish than the film productions themselves? And why wasn't he interested in the many beautiful young usherettes and starlets who passed through his lobbies?

Find out at the Sid Grauman birthday celebration talk/tour on Saturday at 10:30 AM at Sid's pad, the Egyptian Theatre. The film FOREVER HOLLYWOOD, about the history of Hollywood will follow.

Sid's actual birthday is March 17th but we're celebrating early! After all he would have been 100 years old!

The Man In the Moon Tribute to Robert Mulligan Features Cast & Crew

Our tribute to the late director Robert Mulligan at the Aero on Friday won't be introduced by Reese Witherspoon as we previously announced (due to unforeseen schedule changes), but we are pleased to have several cast and crew members as guests to speak about Mulligan and making little Reese's early film THE MAN IN THE MOON. Yep, believe it or not, the "child" in the photo is little Reese Witherspoon!

Attending are:
Gail Strickland, Actress
Bill Borden, Producer
Shari Rhodes, Executive Producer & Casting Director
Beverlee Dean, Casting Associate

On our website we have a link to a nice article about making the film based on interviews with Robert Mulligan.

And we have just confirmed Joe Bologna as a guest for COPS AND ROBBERS, showing on Thursday, March 12 as the second part of a double feature that starts with THE HOT ROCK. Bologna was in COPS AND ROBBERS as a New York city cop who gets involved in an ingenious securities rip-off in an effort to get out of a financial rut.

The Cake Eaters Sneak Preview

A Sneak Preview of THE CAKE EATERS starring Kristen Stewart is scheduled for Wednesday at the Egyptian. Actors Bruce Dern and Aaron Stanford (X MEN) are scheduled to speak at the screening of Mary Stuart Masterson's directorial debut. (Do we all remember her from BENNY AND JOON?) We have been in receipt of some e-mails here at the Cinematheque asking if Kristen might show up. We have no reason to believe that Kristen will be in attendance, but sometimes we do have surprise guest appearances. Robert Downey, Jr. popped in to speak with his IRON MAN director Jon Favreau at a sneak of that film last year at the Aero. And speaking of Jon Favreau, Cinematheque members will be treated to a sneak of a new film he appears in as an actor. Join now and get invited.

Forry's Farewell

The Forrest J Ackerman tribute at the Egyptian on Sunday was overwhelming. From the sheer volume of Forry fans and friends (over 630!) bustling into the Egyptian Theatre to caterers' "melons in orbit," to the display of an atom-sized amount of Forry's once enormous collection of movie memorabilia courtesy of auction house Profiles in History, to Guillermo Del Toro's journey from New Zealand straight from the airport to attend the tribute (he quipped, "I have not always made it to events for blood family, but I had to come to this"), to the tears of Ray Bradbury and others at the loss of a friend and inspiration to legions of genre fans who were part of the Ackermonster's community - to the song Joe Moe and company sang at the end and finally the message from Forry that Joe taped in the last weeks of his life, that ended the evening. But wait, there was more at a second program puncuated by a Theremin performance (by Michael Gough) in the courtyard. Then we all filed back into the theatre for a double feature of THE TIME TRAVELERS (featuring a Forry cameo) and Candian Filmmakers Michael Macdonald and Ian Johnston shared their documentary FAMOUS MONSTER: FORREST J ACKERMAN at the film's US Premiere screening (it was made for Canadian Television), so we all got to spend a little more time with Uncle Forry, telling stories about former client L. Ron Hubbard and director Ed Wood (who John Landis recalled, came with Forry to his industry screening of his first film SCHLOCK!) and his early days with pals Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury. The filmmakers told a wild story about coming home from visiting Forry's grave at Forest Lawn Glendale and logging onto Facebook back in the hotel, only to find that the cryptic code they were given for authentication was "Ackerman0." A voice from beyond the grave? Perhaps. Forry will live on forever was afterall, the cry of the evening.

The inner Forry circle left the Egyptian for more reminiscences of Dr. Ackula and a David Marchant photo cake. No one could bear to eat Forry's face, but the cake did disappear from underneath the frosted photo likeness of a dear man who Joe Dante said, "Taught film history through the pages of Famous Monsters Magazine."

When we get more photos we will post them!

Carl Reiner to Appear in Person at the Aero Theatre

Carl Reiner obviously had such a good time at the Aero Theatre Friday night, he is coming back on March 11th for another in person appearance! We can all use a little chuckle these days so see two great films and the comic master behind them all for a mere 10 bucks unless you are a Cinematheque Member and then its only $7.


Wednesday, March 11 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature:

ENTER LAUGHING, 1967, Sony Repertory, 112 min. Carl Reiner's first feature is an astonishingly assured debut, with a visual polish (thanks largely to veteran cinematographer Joseph Biroc) and a deep sense of personal expression (it was based on Reiner's autobiographical novel of the same name). Reni Santoni plays a young Jewish man who dreams of becoming a comedian during the Depression. Needless to say, his parents think that working in the family drugstore is a safer bet. Even in this early film, Reiner shows his skill at casting secondary roles, with a supporting cast that includes Shelley Winters, Elaine May, Jose Ferrer, Jack Gilford, Janet Margolin and Michael J. Pollard. More

THE COMIC, 1969, Sony Repertory, 94 min. Dir. Carl Reiner. Dick Van Dyke plays an aging silent film clown who has seen better days, but whose ego prohibits him from accepting the truth about his life and career. An impeccable fidelity to the art of silent movies (seen in films-within-the film), combined with a rich, dark performance by Van Dyke, make this one of Reiner's most affecting and original efforts. With Mickey Rooney. More Discussion following with director Carl Reiner.

Added Guests for Forrest J Ackerman Tribute Sunday

A TRIBUTE TO FORREST J ACKERMAN
Sunday, March 8 - 4:00 PM
Reception at 3 PM

Join us in remembering one of the most Famous Monsters of them all, at an event 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 at the theatre Forry frequented since the age of 6! Forrest J Ackerman was one of science fiction's most ardent spokesmen and promoters, providing fodder for active imaginations for over seven decades. A magazine editor, writer, literary agent, founder of science fiction fandom and possibly the world's most avid collector of genre books and movie memorabilia, Uncle Forry as he was affectionately known, touched the lives of young future giants of the genre such as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Steven Spielberg to name just a few. Born in 1916, Forrest J Ackerman passed away on December 4, 2008 in Los Angeles.

Guests confirmed to date include Ray Bradbury, Guillermo Del Toro, Rick Baker, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Tim Sullivan, James Warren (publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine and John Landis. All guests subject to availability. Updates on speakers and more information on the Cinematheque website. FREE ADMISSION!

At the tribute there will be a preview display of items from Forrest J Ackerman's collection, to be auctioned by Profiles in History: Bela Lugosi's Dracula Ring, Cape, Costume From The Raven; Bram Stoker / Lugosi Signed First Edition Dracula Book and the "Maria" Robot and Fritz Lang's Monocle From Metropolis to be Displayed at Ackerman Tribute.

Following the tribute is a double feature of a documentary on Forry and THE TIME TRAVELERS (featuring a Forry camero).

Read more about Forry.

On the subject of Warner Bros by Michael Schlesinger

“J.L. Shall Hear Of This!”


When I was a child, I was certainly aware of all the big Hollywood studios, but I was naturally too young to pick up on their differences (with the obvious exception of Buena Vista). Came adolescence, and the classic Universal horror movies arrived on television and broke Uncle Carl’s baby out of the pack. But when my appreciation of film began in earnest, it became abundantly clear that one studio had become my one-and-only: Warner Bros. (Yes, “Bros.” It hasn’t been spelled out since the silent era.)

Oh, it wasn’t At First Sight. There had been numerous TV shows—77 Sunset Strip and its brethren, Maverick and its cousins, all constantly reminding us that they were WARNER BROS. PRODUCTIONS!!!—and of course that triple-platinum library of cartoons (to this day, I can’t help but break into a big, goofy grin whenever I hear that opening guitar glissando). But as house styles began to crystallize for me, it was clear that the Burbank lot’s output, with its rat-a-tat pace, smart-ass dialogue, real-world behavior and non-pareil roster of stars and character actors, seemed as fresh and lively as it did when it first hit the screen. And not just THE BIG SLEEP and THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD; even simple B-pictures like SMART BLONDE (the first “Torchy Blane” movie) and SILK EXPRESS (a race-against-the-clock thriller set almost entirely on a train) felt alive and vibrant in a way that was almost superhuman.

I could program the Egyptian with Warner Bros. pictures for six full months before descending to the merely “excellent.” But until that glorious (and insane) day arrives, the upcoming festival which runs from the 12th through the 22nd makes a lovely sampler. There’s a brand-new documentary, “The Brothers Warner”—it’s okay to spell it out when you’re talking about the guys themselves—written and directed by Cass Warner (Harry’s granddaughter), which focuses on the lives of the four siblings who began the company. And there’s a goodly selection from the glory years of the 30s and 40s: star-making classics like CAPTAIN BLOOD and THE PUBLIC ENEMY, torn-from-the-headlines dramas like I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG and WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (which had become totally forgotten until clips appeared in a documentary on director William Wellman), trademark crime thrillers like LITTLE CAESAR and HIGH SIERRA, literary adaptations like KINGS ROW and THE SEA WOLF, such pre-Code obscurities as LADIES THEY TALK ABOUT (Stanwyck in the slammer!) and THE MAYOR OF HELL, and more. And while DVDs are nice, nothing beats seeing these pictures in a theatre with an audience, where the snappy dialogue take on a life of its own as laughter ricochets around the auditorium.

When it comes time for me to cash in my chips (which, with my luck, will be the day before someone discovers the secret of immortality), I think I’d like to be buried on the Mt. Sinai hillside overlooking the studio, where my earthly remains will always be able to keep watch on the studio that has brought me so much joy. And hopefully, in true Tex Avery fashion, one of my friends will leave a little sign sticking out of the plot that reads, “Sad, isn’t it?”


Michael Schlesinger is a trustee of the American Cinematheque and a consultant at Sony Pictures. Which he also loves dearly.

Ashton Kutcher at the Aero!

We just got word that Ashton Kutcher will join his PERSONAL EFFECTS director David Hollander at the Sneak Preview at the Aero on Thursday!

Thursday, March 5 - 7:30 PM

Sneak Preview!

PERSONAL EFFECTS, 2008, Insight Films, 105 min. Dir. David Hollander. Seeking vengeance for the murder of his sister, a young man arrives in town only to be sidetracked by a beautiful older woman with wounds very similar to his own. Through this bond, an unlikely and beautiful romance blooms. How do you heal a wound the world can’t see? With love. . With Ashton Kutcher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates. Discussion following with director David Hollander, Ashton Kutcher and other actors to be confirmed. Click here to go to our website.