An Evening With…Sam Esmail

Includes a screening of The Shining and conversation with creator Sam Esmail

The cable series, Mr. Robot, now in its third season, contains multitudes. Creator Sam Esmail uses the series to comment on the loneliness and personal distance created by technology, as well as using the language of cinema in television to deal with race and gender. He employs the tools of filmmaking – and negative space — to make his narrative elastic and expansive. In other words, the impact of Stanley Kubrick is evident in Mr. Robot, as well as its creator’s first feature, 2014’s Comet (which played the LA Film Festival). Esmail will be part of this season’s “An Evening With…” program, in which artists discuss films that have affected their work. Esmail will present one of his favorites – and a film that was underappreciated upon its initial release: Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Shining, which stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd as their young son with the power and perhaps the creepiest red Big Wheel in the history of film. Though the Kubrick’s take met disapproval from King himself, the filmmaker’s subtle precision in dealing with claustrophobia and dissolution has won it a new generation of fans appreciative of the movie’s power. Chief among that group of The Shining admirers is Sam Esmail, who will point out its appeal in conversation.

The Shining
1980, 146 minutes, Color, 35mm | Written by Stanley Kubrick; screenplay by Diane Johnson; directed by Stanley Kubrick; with Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, Joe Turkel, Anne Jackson and Tony Burton

Ticketing Information

$15 for Film Independent and LACMA Film Club members. Members of these two groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, November 16. Limit two tickets per membership. Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period.

$20 for LACMA members, students with valid ID and seniors (65+); $25 for the general public. Members of these four groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, November 23. Two ticket limit.

PLEASE NOTE: Pre-reserved tickets for this event can be picked up at LACMA’s Ticket Office, located in the Hammer Building, on the day of the event—as early as 11 am. Tickets are for general, unreserved seating. Ticketed guests must be in their seat at the advertised start time of the event or seat(s) may be released. All ticket sales are final; no refunds or exchanges. Program and guest participation subject to change or cancellation without prior notice. Tickets are nontransferable and can only be picked up by the individual who purchased or reserved them.