Screening room: Gregory Peck, Sam Peckinpah and a fresh ‘American in Paris’
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The late Oscar-winning actor Gregory Peck’s postage stamp will be unveiled at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Thursday morning. The ceremony will feature clips from his career as well as tributes from his friends and family. Sharon Stone will be the host. Laura Dern and Morgan Freeman are expected to be among the guests. The event is sold out, but there will be a stand-by line. www.oscars.org
Turner Classic Movies’ second annual TCM Film Festival opens Thursday evening at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood with a 60th anniversary presentation of the Oscar-winning film ‘An American in Paris.’ This is the premiere of the new digital restoration of the Vincente Minnelli-directed musical starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron and Oscar Levant that features the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. Caron will be in attendance. There will be about 70 films screening through Sunday as well as appearances by such cinematic legends as Kirk Douglas, Peter O’Toole, Mickey Rooney, Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, Warren Beatty, Angela Lansbury and Hayley Mills. www.tcm.com/festival/index/html
The American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre continues its tribute to controversial director Sam Peckinpah on Thursday with the violent 1974 ‘Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia,’ with Warren Oates, and his whimsical 1970 western, ‘The Ballard of Cable Hogue,’ with Jason Robards. On tap for Saturday is his 1969 masterwork, ‘The Wild Bunch,’ as well as his poorly received ‘Convoy’ from 1978 with Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw. Sunday’s offering is 1971’s ‘Straw Dogs’ with Dustin Hoffman and his underrated 1972 drama, ‘Junior Bonner,’ with Steve McQueen and Robert Preston. Scheduled for Friday at the Aero is a double bill of films directed by Michael Powell: 1947’s haunting Technicolor drama ‘Black Narcissus,’ which features the Oscar-winning cinematography of Jack Cardiff, and his last feature, 1969’s ‘Age of Consent,’ with James Mason and Helen Mirren in her first feature. www.americancinematheque.com
The New Beverly Cinema shines the spotlight on two films from indie director Jim Jarmush on Thursday and Friday: 1986’s ‘Down by Law’ and 2003’s ‘Coffee and Cigarettes.’ www.newbevcinema.com
The Korean Cultural Center presents a free screening of the 2010 action-comedy ‘Woochi’ on Thursday evening. www.kccla.org
Filmmaker Jim Granato will be in attendance Thursday evening at the Echo Park Film Center for a screening of his movie ‘D Tour,’ about an indie rocker with a failing kidney. Friday evening at the center, Matthew Corey will present his latest documentary, ‘Son of Steal This Book,’ which focuses on Abbie Hoffman’s oldest son, Andrew. Corey and special guests will be in attendance. www.echoparkfilmcenter.org
Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzman, whose latest film, ‘Nostalgia for Light,’ opened last Friday, will be in attendance Friday for the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s tribute to him at the Billy Wilder Theater. Screening Friday is the first two parts of his three-part 1975 cinema verite examination of the fall of Salvadore Allende’s government by a coup in 1973. Part three screens Saturday along with his 1997 film, ‘Chile, Obstinate Memory.’
UCLA’s Richard Brooks’ retrospective features his rarely screened 1969 drama, ‘The Happy Ending,’ Sunday evening at the Wilder. Brooks’ then-wife, Jean Simmons, received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of an alcoholic Denver housewife. John Forsythe and Shirley Jones also star. Michel Legrand penned the score that includes the Oscar-nominated tune ‘What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?’ co-written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. www.cinema.ucla.edu
Cinefamily’s Mondo Superhero festival continues Thursday at the Silent Movie Theatre with the obscure fantasy film, ‘The Lords of Magick.’ Friday’s double bill consists of the ‘Marvel Comics Mondo Mix’ and the 2008 film, ‘Punisher: War Zone.’ The ‘Superhero Saturday Marathon’ features 2004’s ‘Hellboy,’ with costar Doug Jones appearing in person. That will be followed by a presentation by Jerry Beck on the history of the animated superhero and a showing of 1977’s ‘Abar, the First Black Superman.’ Sunday’s offering is a ‘Superman’ triple bill with Richard Donner’s 1978 blockbuster, ‘Superman: The Movie,’ as well as Donner’s cut of 1980’s ‘Superman II,’ followed by 1983’s ‘Superman III.’
On Tuesday at the Silent Movie Theatre, animation historian Beck will present a program of Max Fleischer animated shorts, including some Betty Boop classics made before Hollywood’s Production Code was implemented in the 1930s. And on Wednesday, Cinefamily presents a restored version of the 1923 Mae Murray comedy ‘Jazzmania,’ which also stars Rod La Roque. www.cinefamily.org
This week’s Friday midnight movie at the Nuart is Gaspar Noe’s controversial, adults-only 2002 drama, ‘Irreversible.’ www.landmarktheatres.com
The Japanese American National Museum presents the Brainbridge Film Festival Saturday afternoon, a one-day look at the island near Seattle that attracted immigrants from all over the world, including Japan. www.janm.org
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Monday seminars at the Linwood Dunn Theater continue next week with production designers and set decorators presenting ‘Memorable Images: Production Designers and Set Decorators Choose Their Favorites.’ On Wednesday, iconic beauty Sophia Loren will participate in the academy’s sold-out tribute to her at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Besides film clips from her six-decade career, which includes such films as ‘Two Women’ (for which she won her Academy Award), ‘El Cid,’ ‘Houseboat’ and ‘Nine,’ the evening will feature remarks from friends and colleagues, plus a conversation with Loren herself. There will be a stand-by line that evening. www.oscars.org
REDCAT examines the smallest objects in the world when it presents the 2007 film ‘Specs of Existence: Hartmut Bitomsky’s Dust’ on Monday evening. Bitomsky will appear. www.redcat.org
The Cinematheque’s Egyptian opens its ‘Suspense Account: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock’ celebration Wednesday evening with the two films he made with the late actor Farley Granger: 1951’s ‘Strangers on a Train,’ with Robert Walker, and his 1948 thriller ‘Rope,’ which also stars Jimmy Stewart and John Dall. www.americancinematheque.com
BloodyDisgusting.com, the Collective and AMC Theatres have joined together to bring horror and thrillers to AMC theaters. Each title will screen twice a week for a month. Opening Wednesday at the AMC at Universal Citywalk is the German zombie film ‘Rammbock: Berlin Undead.’ www.bloodydisgusting.com
— Susan King
