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Around town: Terrence Malick, Monte Hellman, Michael Keaton and more

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There are some directors such as Oscar winners Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood who make a new film practically every year. And then there are those like Terrence Malick and Monte Hellman, who have gone decades between projects. Thankfully for cinephiles, both of them have directed new films and are the subjects of tributes this weekend.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is heralding Malick’s return to the big screen May 27 with ‘The Tree of Life,’ starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, with ‘The Elemental Cinema of Terrence Malick.’ Sissy Spacek will be on hand Thursday evening for the screening of Malick’s acclaimed first feature, 1973’s ‘Badlands,’ in which Spacek and Martin Sheen play lovers on a killing spree in the 1950s. On tap for Friday evening is 1998’s ‘The Thin Red Line,’ Malick’s all-star World War II drama based on James Jones’ novel. One of the film’s stars, Jim Caviezel, will be on hand. Production designer and longtime collaborator Jack Fisk, who is married to Spacek, will talk about working with Malick on Saturday evening at the screening of the director’s 1978 drama, ‘Days of Heaven,’ starring Richard Gere, Sam Shepard and Brooke Adams. http://www.lacma.org

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Hellman also has made just a handful of films — his first in 21 years, the thriller ‘Road to Nowhere,’ played festivals last year and in early 2011 and has its L.A. premiere Sunday as part of the American Cinematheque’s ‘Lonesome Country: An In-Person Tribute to Monte Hellman,’ at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Hellman will appear at all three programs in the retrospective. The series opens Thursday evening with his acclaimed 1971 road movie ‘Two-Lane Blacktop,’ the only feature film starring James Taylor and the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, and his offbeat 1966 western, ‘Ride in the Whirlwind,’ starring Jack Nicholson, who penned the script, and Cameron Mitchell. Friday’s offering is a pair of Hellman films featuring Warren Oates: 1966’s ‘The Shooting,’ which also stars Nicholson, and 1974’s ‘Cockfighter.’

The Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica spotlights the work of Michael Keaton, who will be on hand Friday for a double bill of 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice,’ which marked his first pairing with director Tim Burton, and the 1996 farce ‘Multiplicity.’ Keaton and Burton reteamed for 1989’s ‘Batman’ and 1992’s ‘Batman Returns,’ both of which screen Saturday. The tribute concludes Sunday with Keaton showing his dramatic side in the 1990 thriller ‘Pacific Heights’ and 1988’s ‘Clean and Sober.’ http://www.americancinematheque.com

The UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Los Angeles Filmforum and New York University’s Orphan Film Symposium have collaborated on ‘Celebrating Orphan Films’ this Friday and Saturday at the Billy Wilder Theater. Among the projects screening are UCLA student films that were worked on by Jim Morrison and the Doors, Dan Drasin’s documentary ‘Sunday,’ celebrating its 50th anniversary, and a segment by archive head Jan-Christopher Horak on Saul Bass, a pioneer in credit sequences and poster design.

UCLA’s Richard Brooks’ festival continues Monday at the Wilder with a screening of his 1965 epic, ‘Lord Jim,’ based on the Joseph Conrad novel, starring Peter O’Toole, James Mason and Eli Wallach. http:///cinema.ucla.edu

The New Beverly Cinema kicks off the weekend Thursday evening with a double bill of Mike Leigh films — his latest, ‘Another Year,’ and 2008’s ‘Happy-Go-Lucky,’ starring Sally Hawkins. On Friday and Saturday, ‘The Hangover Part II’ screenwriter Scot Armstrong shares two of his favorite comedies: 1980’s ‘The Blues Brothers’ and the Coen brothers’ 1987 film, ‘Raising Arizona.’ The Saturday midnight flick is the 1980 thriller ‘The Island,’ starring Michael Caine and directed by Michael Ritchie.

The Sunday installment of the New Bev’s Grindhouse Film Festival presents two Italian thrillers: 1985’s ‘Demons’ and 1986’s ‘Demons 2,’ both directed by Lamberto Bava. Monday’s offering is 2004’s ‘Primer,’ the Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival; the star of the film, David Sullivan, will appear. Screening Tuesday and Wednesday are two films from noted Thailand director Apichatpong Weerasethakul: 2010’s ‘Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,’ which won the Palme d’Or last year, and 2004’s ‘Tropical Malady,’ which won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. http://www.newbevcinema.com

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The 8th annual Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival, which highlights films by and about U.S. Latinos, kicks off Friday at the Regency Academy 6 Theatres in Pasadena with the world premiere of ‘Food Stamps,’ directed by Alfredo Ramos. The festival, which continues through Sunday, will feature 10 film programs, including a documentary shorts program and a horror film program Saturday night curated by horror film writer Antonio ‘Tyger’ Olivas. http://www.reelrasquache.org

The Autry National Center’s film series ‘What Is a Western?’ showcases 1962’s ‘Lonely Are the Brave,’ starring Kirk Douglas as an aging cowboy who can’t cope with the modern world. http://www.theautry.org

The Catalina Island Museum’s 24th annual Silent Film Benefit on Saturday evening presents the 1924 swashbuckler ‘The Sea Hawk,’ directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Milton Sills. A portion of the film was shot off the coast of Catalina. http://www.catalinamuseum.org

Cinespia opens its summer film festival at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Saturday with a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor: a screening of her 1958 classic ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,’ for which she and Paul Newman earned Oscar nominations as the feuding married couple, Maggie and Brick. http://www.cinespia.org

And speaking of the late actress, ‘Lovely Tumult: A Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor’ continues at the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre on Sunday with a screening of the 1956 epic ‘Giant,’ which also stars Rock Hudson and James Dean in his final film role. George Stevens won the best director Oscar for the movie.

On Wednesday evening, the Egyptian celebrates what would have been the 100th birthday of Maureen O’Sullivan with a screening of two films she made in 1934 with director W.S. Van Dyke: ‘The Thin Man’ with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and ‘Hide-Out,’ a rarity with Robert Montgomery and a young Mickey Rooney. http:///www.americancinematheque.com

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The Art Theatre of Long Beach presents the documentary ‘Teach Your Children Well’ on Sunday evening with guest Lily Tomlin. The film deals with the issues of homophobia and violence in schools. http://www.arttheatrelongbeach.com

— Susan King

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