Dennis Hopper/John Philip Law Q&A excerpt

We were saddened to hear of John Philip Law's recent passing on May 13th; the eternally young actor had just been a guest of our theatre in April, to watch a film he'd had a small role in, Dennis Hopper's "The Last Movie" (1971).

Cinefamily friend Howard Berger was also in attendance that night, and managed to film part of Hopper's Q&A session, catching Law calling out from the audience to ask a question (and their subsequent reunion after the screening) in what might be Law's last public appearance.

Double-Barrelled Dose of Dynamite Directors!

Here's Quentin Tarantino's Q&A with his honored guest Italian cult movie director Enzo Castellari from our May 6th screenings of Enzo's rarely seen BATTLE SQUADRON and his groundbreaking poliziotteschi HIGH CRIMES. A rockin good time!

CALLING ALL MOVIE MANIACS!

Ain't It Cool Newsflash:

LA Area AICN Readers! Rest Up This Weekend, Because Monday Night’s An All-Night Movie Party!

Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.

You guys know who Nicky Katt is?

You do, even if you’re not sure you do. He’s an omnipresent character actor whose deadly sense of timing has been well-utilized by directors like Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY, GRINDHOUSE), Steven Soderbergh (THE LIMEY) and Richard Linklater (DAZED & CONFUSED).

He’s also a full-blown film freak like many of us, and he’s recently started programming a regular line-up at the Silent Movie Theater, one of two great venues here in Los Angeles to recently embrace the revival scene. He does a regular trailer festival, but on this coming Monday night, May 12, it’s Nicky’s birthday, and he’s inviting you to come help him celebrate.

How? Oh, man, this is gonna be good.

Here’s the description from the official website:

Nicky Katt's Mug Melter Monday

Nicky Katt’s been in over 40 movies, and counting. He’s also a movie maniac. Here at the Cinefamily, we’re movie maniacs. So this Monday, we’re sending out an all-points bulletin — calling all movie maniacs! — we’re getting together to watch movies, all night long. And not just any movies, we got some flicks that's melt your ugly mug off, they're so nuclear. The back patio will be open, and we’ll have our grill fired up (BYOHD: Bring Your Own Hot Dogs),so join us as while we kick back a few beers, eat some meat and watch movies one after another after another after another. We’ll be showing a mixture of 35mm and 16mm prints, bootleg videos and whatever else we feel like throwing on the screen. Some teasers? How about a beautiful 35mm print of BABY, THE RAIN MUST FALL? Or the melted mug of Mickey Rourke in the underrated Walter Hill thriller JOHNNY HANDSOME? That's just a taste. If you came out for Nicky’s “Trailer Park Tuesday,” you know it’s good shit.

I think JOHNNY HANDSOME is the very definition of an underrated movie, and although I’m a big fan of Steve McQueen, BABY THE RAIN MUST FALL has so far eluded me, so I’m thrilled that my frist viewing of it will be on the bigscreen.

When Nicky called me about this and asked me if I’d invite all the LA area readers to join him for his birthday party, he told me that he’d even bring a Shiner Bock for each of you. All you have to do is say “Ain’t It Cool” when you arrive, and you qualify for that beer.

So seriously... what else are you going to find on a Monday night to compare to this? And before you start whining about work on Tuesday, this is more important than work. This is a chance to hang out with the hardest of the hardcore film fans in Los Angeles, celebrate the birthday of another film fan, and support the revival community in LA, all at the same time.

Sounds pretty damn good to me. See you there!



This monster will be rearing it's head too:



Yes, it is cool.

THIS SUN: The Man Who Laughs (with live accompaniment by Plastic Crimewave, Ariel Pink and Jimi Hey)

Co-Presented by Arthur Magazine

Arthur proudly presents live scores to both the classic 1928 German expressionist film The Man Who Laughs and Georges Méliès’ classic turn-of-the-century silent short A Trip To The Moon. Based on the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is a moody masterpiece by director Paul Leni, a tragic melodrama starring Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) as an abandoned 17th-century British aristocrat disfigured at a young age by gypsies to have a freakish eternal grin. Performing the soundtrack will be an ensemble of Chicago’s own Plastic Crimewave aka Steve Krakow (who also writes and draws the Galactic Zoo Dossier magazine for the Drag City label), and locals Jimi Hey (former drummer for Beachwood Sparks) and Ariel Pink, the lo-fi pop wunderkind behind Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Also DJing before and after the films will be Frankie Delmane of the Teenage Frames.
The Man Who Laughs Dir. Paul Leni, 1928, DVD, 110 min.
Tickets - $12/ $8 for members



Plastic Crimewave Sound
Ariel Pink
arthur magazine

SOLID GOULD!

Our Gould-a-thon continues this Fri @ 7:30 with the wife-swap classic BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE.

Elliott discusses shooting the film's foursome scene among other topics...

The Folk Art Films of Phil Chambliss

There is only one Phil Chambliss, and The Cinefamily was very proud to present the first Los Angeles presentation of his singular work. A lively Q&A ensued...



Phil Chambliss is America's first folk-art filmmaker. He's lived his entire life in Calhoun County, Arkansas. He never went to film school or college, never took a class or read a book on filmmaking. The films he managed to see - Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More, the entire Peyton Place television special, and a particular episode of The Rifleman in which Lee Van Cleef plays Johnny Drago - led him to take the 95 bucks his then-wife had saved for a new icebox, and spend it instead on a movie camera. With camera in tow, he wrangled some friends into acting, and went on to create a body of work that includes dozens of bizarre, brilliant, idiosyncratic films, shot over the course of several decades. Phil's films are a revelation, full of unexpected humor, complex social commentary, and a strong, almost suspended, sense of time and place.

Dark Hand & Lamplight

Enjoy these snaps that capture just a fraction of last week's beautific event at The Cinefamily...

Toronto-based visual artist Shary Boyle aka Dark Hand and musician Doug Paisley aka Lamplight first came together as an opening act for Will Oldham's 2006 tour of California (under his Bonnie “Prince” Billie moniker.) For the project, Lamplight wrote a collection of new songs, which Dark Hand used as the basis for a new series of artwork. Then, Dark Hand created artwork that Lamplight next used as the basis for new instrumental compositions and improvisations. In a live setting, the duo’s collaborative performance features Lamplight singing and playing guitar while Dark Hand creates live drawings and animates pre-drawn images on an overhead projector. Choreographed to the lyrics and music, Dark Hand projects her artwork onto a screen, the wall, Lamplight, and other available surfaces.

http://www.sharyboyle.com/

This Tues: Enzo Castellari in Person!

Enzo Castellari Double Feature: Battle Squadron & High Crime

One of the the kings of Italian action movies, Enzo G. Castellari, who ruled ‘70s drive-ins with his amped-up spins on futuristic sci-fi, spaghetti westerns and war epics, will be here in person to introduce two of his testoserone-drenched pictures, both unavailable on DVD and making a rare big-screen U.S. showing. First up, Enzo shows off one of his biggest budgets in the aerial combat spectacular Battle Squadron, a feisty film with Van Johnson (post-MGM), square-jawed Frederick Stafford, and Francisco Rabal (Viridiana) in the story of German saboteurs trying to infiltrate Merry Olde England and kicking off World War II’s Battle of Britain. Next, Franco Nero’s a tough cop who discovers High Crime thanks to a ring of vicious Continental drug dealers. Generally acknowledged as the first poliziottesco (a violent and popular type of Italian cop thriller), the film also features a rip-roaring soundtrack from the incredible Guido & Maurizio De Angelis.

Battle Squadron Dir. Enzo Castellari, 1969, 35mm, 100 min.
High Crime Dir. Enzo Castellari, 1973, 35mm, 100 min.
Tickets - $12/ $8 for members

Don't sleep on this, as Enzo will be doing a Q&A after screenings! Will no doubt be a blast. The action gets in gear at 8pm.

Harmony Korine Q&A for MISTER LONELY screening

Harmony Korine answers questions after the west coast premiere screening of his new film MISTER LONELY at The Cinefamily.