2018, 71 minutes, B&W, DCP | Written by Sally Potter; directed by Sally Potter; with Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Timothy Spall
Includes a conversation with writer/director/actor Sally Potter
Writer/director Sally Potter (Orlando, The Tango Lesson, Ginger & Rosa) returns to the big screen for her newest film, a comedy of manners about a group of primarily ill-mannered people. All sorts of hitherto closely held secrets are revealed at a gathering meant to celebrate several events for a small group of intensely opinionated and equally voluble friends—the ascension to a cabinet post for the host, Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas), and impending parenthood for Jinny (Emily Mortimer) and her partner, Martha (Cherry Jones). As more information is revealed—or rather, unleashed—the party goes further off the rails. The revelers include Janet’s husband, Bill (Timothy Spall), her fast-trigger embittered friend April (Patricia Clarkson), guru (Bruno Ganz), and the profusely sweaty Tom (Cillian Murphy). The filmmaker keeps the dialogue and the characters in motion in a scenario where the conversation moves from imminent birth to death. And the talented Potter will be in attendance for a post-screening conversation.
In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA
LACMA | Bing Theater
Film Independent and LACMA Film Club members can reserve tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, January 18. | Free; limit two tickets per membership. | Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period. | Reserve Tickets
LACMA member and general-admission tickets can be reserved starting at 12 pm on Thursday, January 25. | Free; limit two tickets. | Reserve Tickets
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening 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 seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
2018, 90 minutes, Color, DCP | Written by Anna Deavere Smith; directed by Kristi Zea; executive produced by Gary Goetzman and Anna Deavere Smith; with Anna Deavere Smith and Marcus Shelby
Includes a conversation with writer/executive producer/performer Anna Deavere Smith
The newest showcase from writer/executive producer/performer Anna Deavere Smith (Twilight: Los Angeles), a version of her most recent stage production recorded for HBO and directed for the screen by Kristi Zea takes a hard and unflinching look at the gaping open wound that lies in the heart of institutional racism. Smith takes on a variety of roles in her show, a collection of voices with different but still potent powers of observation about the struggle for racial equation, a battle very much still in progress. She essays roles from the mayor of Stockton, to a Yurok fisherman, and later a Yurok judge, to civil rights stalwart John Lewis. The impact of Notes from the Field comes early on when, portraying minister Jamal Harrison Bryant, Smith invokes the names of families of those who’ve suffered racist brutality and speaks a name that has become a recent victim of collateral damage. After the screening of this epic performance piece, Smith will be onstage to discuss the creation of her latest effort.
In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA
LACMA | Bing Theater
Film Independent and LACMA Film Club members can reserve tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, January 18. | Free; limit two tickets per membership. | Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period.
LACMA member and general-admission tickets can be reserved starting at 12 pm on Thursday, January 25. | Free; limit two tickets.
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening 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 seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
1988, 94 minutes, Color, 35mm | Written by Ray Nelson; screenplay by John Carpenter; directed by John Carpenter; with Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster
In 1988, master horror/suspense filmmaker John Carpenter (The Thing, Escape from New York and, most importantly, Halloween) made an action thriller about aliens surreptitiously taking over the Earth by planting subliminal messages everywhere and turning humans into mindless consumers. Thirty years later, the impact of that film, They Live, is still being felt—Shepard Fairey adapted the graphic style of the pernicious sales message for his art. Under the pseudonym Frank Armitage, Carpenter adapted the Ray Nelson short story “Eight O’clock In the Morning” into a rousing, hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable commentary on consumer culture starring wrestling star turned actor Roddy Piper and Keith David—a lesson that awes still on its 30th anniversary. They Live plays the way it was intended to be seen—in a 35mm print.
In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA
LACMA | Bing Theater
$5 for LACMA Film Club and Film Independent members. Members of these two groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 14. Limit two tickets per membership. Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period. | Purchase Tickets
$7 for LACMA members, students with valid ID, and seniors (65+); $10 for the general public. Members of these four groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 21. Two ticket limit. | Purchase Tickets
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening 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 seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
1973, 110 minutes, Color, 35mm | Written by George Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck; directed by George Lucas; with Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and Paul Le Mat
Includes a screening of American Graffiti and conversation with director Rian Johnson
Lead Sponsor: Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Before he completed the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, writer-director Rian Johnson made his name with three independent features that teemed with activity and menace. His debut film Brick, a film noir set in the halls of a high school, made a star of the filmmaker (and finally put the lead, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, on the map). Their second collaboration was the post-apocalyptic thriller Looper, in which Leavitt played a younger version of Bruce Willis. For our “An Evening With…”, Johnson selected a film that had an informative impact on him, and it’s a George Lucas film that isn’t Star Wars: 1972’s American Graffiti, which is packed with characters and events. After Graffiti plays, Johnson will explore Lucas’s influence beyond a long time ago, in a world far, far away.
In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA
LACMA | Bing Theater
$15 for LACMA Film Club and Film Independent members. Members of these two groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 14. Limit two tickets per membership. Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period. | Purchase Tickets
$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, December 21. Two ticket limit. | Purchase Tickets
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening 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 seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
2018, 60 minutes, Color, DCP | Based on the short stories of Philip K. Dick; with Gumuliaukas Vaclovas, Dominc Capone, and Juke Hardy
An exceptional group of executive producers, including Emmy Award-winner Bryan Cranston, is behind this international anthology series of hour-long episodes based on the works of the futurist paranoiac Philip K. Dick, whose daughter Isa Dick Hackett is also an executive producer on this Amazon program. The author’s fiction has become the basis of such memorable projects as Blade Runner (from Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which likely inspired the show’s umbrella title), Total Recall(from Dick’s short story “I Can Dream It for You Wholesale”) and Amazon’s adaptation of The Man in the High Castle. The Dreams episodes include an adaptation of “The Commuter,” starring Timothy Spall as a railroad employee running into a charming potential passenger who comes and goes, leaving questions in her wake while he tries to cope with his teenaged son’s emotional disorder. “The Father Thing” has ben turned in an installment, in which a boy finds himself frightened of his dad (Greg Kinnear)—is it because of the marital issues the kid may sense, or something else? The dread—and discovery—that hangs over families that so fascinated Dick can be seen shows featuring such cast members as Vera Farmiga, Mireille Enos, Terrence Howard, Anna Paquin, Juno Temple, Janelle Monae and, yes, Cranston.
In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA
LACMA | Bing Theater
LACMA Film Club and Film Independent members can reserve tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 14. | Free; limit two tickets per membership. | Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period. | Reserve Tickets
LACMA member and general-admission tickets can be reserved starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 21. | Free; limit two tickets. | Reserve Tickets
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening 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 seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
Includes a screening of Light Sleeper and conversation with actor Willem Dafoe.
What do Kathryn Bigelow, Tony Scott, Walter Hill, William Friedkin, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese have in common? How about the fact that comprise only the 1980s filmography of Film Independent Spirit Award winner and Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe? This protean performer has moved so effortlessly from hero to villain, supporting character actor to leading man, comedy to drama and independent landmark to studio classic that his talent has kept him working with the most in-demand – and demanding – filmmakers since her started his career in 1982. Dafoe – whose 21st century work includes The Grand Budapest Hotel and Nymphomaniac and this year alone, Justice League, Murder on the Orient Express and The Florida Project – is the latest to become of the “An Evening with…” series which means he’ll discuss his breadth of his career after a twenty-fifth anniversary screening of Light Sleeper, the first film he made with writer/director Paul Schrader. Light Sleeper follows a drug dealer pushing through the streets New York, a man who sells pleasure but is himself incapable of receiving it, a project in which Dafoe’s works shine and which he can ably address.
Light Sleeper
1992, 103 minutes, color, 35 mm | Written by Paul Schrader; directed by Paul Schrader; with Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon and Dana Delany
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.
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.
Includes a conversation with writer Steven Rogers
Who would take a real-life incident that sounded as much like a slapstick caper as a mean-spirited act of revenge, and make a movie of it starring Harley Quinn with the director from Lars and the Real Girl? The people behind the based-on-a-true-story I, Tonya, which brings Margot Robbie into the mix playing Tonya Harding, the tough-as-a-blade-sharpener ice skating competitor who saw a chance to knee-cap her main rival, Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver) and took it. Sebastian Stan acts as Jeff Gilooly, Harding’s knuckle-dragging ex-husband and Alison Janney is Harding’s growling Mama Bear, LaVona. Director Craig Gillespie keeps a tone best described as farcical melodrama, a mood that nods but doesn’t wink.
2017, 119 minutes, color, DCP | Written by Steven Rogers; directed by Craig Gillespie; with Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Mckenna Grace, Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale, Julianne Nicholson and Caitlin Carver
Ticketing Information
Film Independent and LACMA Film Club Members can reserve tickets starting at 12:00 pm on Thursday, November 16. | Free; limit two tickets per membership. | Proof of Member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period.
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 Bing Theater seating. Ticketed guests must be in their Bing Theater seat 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seat(s) may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. 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.
KCRW Member Perk
