Around town: Special screenings and more this weekend
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Sam Rockwell, the critically acclaimed actor most recently seen as the villainous Justin Hammer in “Iron Man 2,” is to appear in person Saturday evening at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre for a screening of his upcoming drama “Conviction,” in which he plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. The event is part of a celebration of Rockwell’s eclectic career, kicking off Friday at the Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica with a double feature of 2002’s “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” the George Clooney-directed film in which the actor portrays game show guru Chuck Barris, and 2009’s “Moon,” featuring Rockwell as an astronaut alone on Earth’s satellite. Set for early Saturday evening at the Egyptian is 1996’s “Box of Moonlight,” directed by Tom DiCillo.
Production designer Robert Boyle, who earned Oscar nominations for his work on “North by Northwest,” “Gaily, Gaily,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Shootist” and was the recipient of the 2008 honorary Oscar, will be feted by the Art Directors Guild Film Society and the Egyptian on Sunday with a 5:30 p.m. screening of William Richert’s underrated “Winter Kills.” Boyle, who died Aug. 2 at age 100, designed the sets for this unusual 1979 mystery-comedy, which was based on the novel by Richard Condon and stars Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins and Eli Wallach. www.americancinematheque.com
Abstract filmmaker Amy Halpern will appear Sunday at the Los Angeles Filmforum’s program “Assorted Morsels: New 16mm Films by Amy Halpern” at the Egyptian. Among her films screening are several world premieres, including 2010’s “Injury on a Theme,” “By Halves,” “Palm Down,” “Cheshire Smile” and “3 Minute Hells.” www.lafilmforum.org
With Halloween on the horizon, the New Beverly Cinema is throwing its third annual all-night horror show and fundraiser Saturday. The 12-hour event kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will feature Dario Argento’s “Tenebrae” and Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell,” in addition to “The Evil” and “The Giant Claw.” www.newbevcinema.com
Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre fetes director Herschell Gordon Lewis on Tuesday with a screening of 1964’s “Two Thousand Maniacs!” and the new documentary “Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore.” The doc’s director Frank Henenlotter and producer Mike Vraney will do a Q&A between the screenings. www.cinefamily.org
Beyond Baroque presents the “Los Angeles Film Festival: The Art of Film Recognized,’ Thursday through Sunday. Described as a “new wave film festival,” the four-day event showcases and honors new voices in both American and international cinema. The festival will concludes Sunday afternoon with a garden art festival. www.laifilmfest.com
Presented by the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles, the ID Film Fest presents Asian/Asian American films that have never been seen locally. The festival, which begins Friday and concludes Sunday at the museum, opens with the Kit Hui’s “Fog,” starring Terrence Yin and Eugenia Wan. Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Air Doll” is the festival’s centerpiece and Ian McCrudden’s “The Things We Carry” closes the programming. www.marginfilms.com/idff/2010.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Film Foundation, the organization founded by director Martin Scorsese to preserve and restore classic films, features two terrific film noirs Friday evening. Directed by Joseph H. Lewis, 1955’s “The Big Combo,” stars such noir icons as Cornel Wilde and Richard Conte and features a scene-stealing performance by Brian Donlevy as an aging gangster. David Raksin supplied the evocative jazz score.
The 1947 English thriller “They Made Me a Criminal,” directed by Alberto Cavalcanti (“Dead of Night”), stars the always dependable Trevor Howard as a former RAF World War II hero who falls in with a group of black marketeers. www.lacma.org
The Aero Theatre hosts the 2nd annual Lady Filmmakers Film Festival Saturday and Sunday, which showcases short and feature films created by women. There will also be a writing and producing panel on Saturday morning. www.ladyfilmmakers.com
Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater presents the second annual “Pajama Party” for women Saturday evening. Screening will be 1996’s “The Craft” with Neve Campbell, Rachel True and Fairuza Balk as Catholic schoolgirls who become obsessed with Wicca, as well as 1989’s campy musical “Teen Witch” with Robin Lively, older sister of actress Blake, and Zelda Rubenstein of “Poltergeist” fame. www.cinefamily.org
The ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, Pasadena and Sherman Oaks are getting into the All Hallow’s Eve spirit with their “Halloween Horror” festival. Screening Monday evening in Hollywood is Robert Wise’s truly terrifying 1963 film “The Haunting,” with Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Harris and Richard Johnson. On tap for Tuesday at the Sherman Oaks theater is 1981’s “Halloween II,” which stars “Halloween” leads Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence. And on Wednesday, the Pasadena ArcLight features Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. www.arclightcinemas.com
As part of its 30th anniversary celebration, the Independent Film & Television Alliance selected the 30 most significant indie films from around the world produced over the past three decades. One of their selections, 1989’s “sex, lies and videotape,” screens Wednesday at the Aero Theatre. The film heralded the arrival of writer-director Steven Soderbergh, who received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay. Andie McDowell, Peter Gallagher, James Spader and Laura San Giacomo star. www.americancinematheque.com
-- Susan King
