A Message from Steve Railsback Star of THE STUNT MAN and ED GEIN

I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT AN HONOR IT IS TO BE INVITED BY AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE TO SCREEN TWO OF MY FAVORITE FILMS: THE STUNT MAN AND ED GEIN. I'M THRILLED TO SHARE THE STAGE WITH RICHARD RUSH; HE IS ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC DIRECTORS IN HOLLYWOOD.

ONE OF THE GREATEST EXPERIENCES OF MY ACTING CAREER WAS CO-STARRING IN THE STUNT MAN WITH PETER O'TOOLE AND BARBARA HERSHEY. I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET TO THE SET DURING THE 5 MONTHS OF FILMING, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT SOMETHING EXCITING AND CREATIVE WAS GOING TO HAPPEN EVERY DAY. WORKING WITH RICHARD RUSH WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST HIGHLIGHTS OF MY CAREER.

Note: This classic motion picture received rave reviews from Time, Newsweek and critics nationwide. It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and was the first American motion picture to win "Best Film Award' at the Montreal Film Festival. Railsback was nominated for Best Actor by "The Golden Globes" and won that honor at the Dallas Film Festival.

PORTRAYING CHARLES MANSON IN HELTER SKELTER AND THE TITLE CHARACTER IN ED GEIN, WERE TWO OF THE MOST DIFFICULT AND REWARDING CHALLENGES OF MY CAREER. ED GEIN WAS THE TOTAL OPPOSITE OF MANSON; AN EXTREMELY PASSIVE MAN, WHO GREW UP IN WISCONSIN IN THE 1950's, AND SOUGHT HIS DECEASED MOTHER'S PERMISSION BEFORE HE COULD DO ANTHING. HE WAS ANTI-SOCIAL, A SCHIZOPHRENIC AND A MURDERER.

Steve Railsback, October 8, 2009

Note: This haunting motion picture, based on a true story, was produced by and starred Steve Railsback. Feature films PSYCHO and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS were based on Ed Gein's lost and tortured soul. Railsback won "Best Actor" for ED GEIN and the movie won "Best Feature Film" at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain in 2000. He was also awarded "Best Actor" at the Film Festival in Rome in 2001.

Steve Railsback will appear in person for a double feature of THE STUNT MAN and ED GEIN at the Aero Theatre on Sunday, October 25. For details click here.

The "Girls in the Band" will Appear in person with SOME LIKE IT HOT

All 5 Girls in the Band, Marilyn Monroe's band in SOME LIKE IT HOT will come down to the Egyptian tonight to reminisce about making the film with Monroe, Curtis and Lemmon. Still a favorite, the film celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and to commemorate it, Curtis penned a tell-all volume with the help of Mark Vieria. Vieria will sign books and tell some stories along with a screening of this timeless classic about the days when Jazz was HOT and Men were sometimes Girls, but it all worked out in the end.

Thursday, October 8 – 8:00 PM COMEDY

50th Anniversary! SOME LIKE IT HOT, 1959, MGM Repertory, 119 min. Dir. Billy Wilder. Musicians Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon take it on the lam from the Chicago mob, cross-dressing to blend in with an all-girl band and creating a situation where luscious Marilyn Monroe doesn’t know if she’s falling for a playboy (Curtis) or a playgirl. Hosted by Mark Vieria who wrote The Making of "Some Like It Hot" with Tony Curtis. Viera will relate some previously untold behind-the-scenes stories from the book. Book siging at 7 PM in the lobby. Discussion following with the girls from Sugar Kane's (Marilyn Monroe) band including Marian Collier (Olga, the clarinet player) and Marie Foley, Sandra Warner, Joan Layne and Tracy Ross.

Tickets are available in advance on www.fandango or at the Egyptian Theatre box office prior to the show. The booksigning will start at 7PM.

View this event on the Cinematheque website.

Gabriel Byrne ("In Treatment") will join us IN PERSON for the opening night of the Irish Film Festival at the Aero on Thursday. He will speak following a documentary about him - GABRIEL BYRNE: STORIES FROM HOME - so you can hear from the on...screen Byrne and the in person Byrne and then compare and contrast. Byrne's doc is on a double feature with PEACEFIRE and a short that sounds pretty cool - there is NOTHING better than tongue in cheek claymation in our book!

PEACEFIRE
2008, Goldcrest Independent/mayFLY Entertainment, 87 min. Dir. Macdara Vallely. Colin (John Travers, SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY) is a joy-riding hood who couldn’t care less about the local political situation. But a chance encounter with a ruthless detective (Gerry Doherty) turns him into an informer for the so-called forces of law and order and a target for retribution for his father’s old mates in the Irish Republican Army. "... (M)uch of its dramatic power comes from quiet, visually poetic moments." – Peter Brunette, The Hollywood Reporter. Trailer

Plus "Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty" (Ireland, 2008, 6 min.) Dir. Nicky Phelan. A seemingly sweet old lady loses the plot as she tells her version of Sleeping Beauty to her terrified granddaughter.

Click here to get the details on the attending the screening.

Exotic Entertainment Added to Tiki Night at the Egyptian

The allure of the South Seas comes to Hollywood this weekend with a Tiki themed weekend which will sprinkle the enchantment of the Islands in the Egyptian Theatre Courtyard. In addition to the previously announced Tiki movies and Luau featuring a Polynesian Dinner, Musical Entertainment from King Kukulele and His Friki Tikis, Ukele Davey, the Polynesian Paradise Dancers, Vendors of Tiki-ana and miscellaneous exotica - we have more special guests - and for those who missed the fabulous Scopitone program last weekend, these Technicolor (slightly risque) 60s music videos are back with Tiki themed versions:

MORE from the "Scopitone: Carousel of Stars" Archive! Princess Leilani & Alex "Keep Your Eyes On The Hands" April Stevens & Nino Tempo "Land of A Thousand Dances" Princess Leilani & Alex "Smoldering Drums" Joi Lansing "The Web Of Love" All 4 presented in 16mm Dye Transfer Technicolor!!! Total Run Time - 10 minutes

Special Guest: Wally Boag In Person - The Voice of the Jose character in Disneyland's Tiki Room and a participant in many other Disneyland attractions. For more information on Wally click here.

Tickets to the Luau will be sold until noon on Friday. After that its first come, first served at the door. About 50 tickets will be sold at the door.

'In the Loop' Screening Canceled

We regret that the Aero Theatre screening of the new Brit comedy IN THE LOOP has been canceled. If you purchased tickets you can go to the box office any time on or before July 15, 2009 to get a refund.

'Beaches of Agnes' Sneak to Highlight In Person Retrospective of the work of Filmmaker Agnes Varda

Agnès Varda, one of the founding members of the French New Wave will appear In Person at the Aero Theatre with a Sneak Preview of her latest film, plus a mini-retrospective of highlights of her long career as a filmmaker (including a 'Los Angeles' night featuring work from Varda's stay in LA in the 1960s. All this takes place at the Aero Theatre from June 24 - July 1. Learn more & see a film schedule.

A gifted and outspoken feminist and one of the most acclaimed directors anywhere in the world, Agnès Varda could be considered the prototype of today’s independent filmmaker. Varda is a survivor, a stubborn and patient observer of her time and her people, like the pop singer in CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7, the lovers in LE BONHEUR (HAPPINESS) or the drifter in VAGABOND. "I have fought so much since I started … for something that comes from emotion, from visual emotion, sound emotion, feeling, and finding a shape for that," Varda has said.

Varda directed her first feature, LA POINTE COURTE, in 1954, with no formal training in filmmaking. The movie has often been identified as the film that started the French New Wave ("and a famous flop," as Varda has wryly noted). Along with Alain Resnais and Chris Marker, she made up the so-called "Left Bank Group" of the early 1960s, distinct from other New Wave directors for their interest in both documentary and fiction and their passion for both political and social filmmaking. Her marriage to Jacques Demy (1931-1990) made her one-half of the most beloved filmmaking couple of their day, and her tribute to Demy, JACQUOT DE NANTES, is one of her finest films.

In 1962, Varda directed the legendary CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7, a French New Wave classic about two hours in the life of a pop singer. The film’s sense of profound realism crossed with lyrical visual poetry pointed the way toward much of Varda’s later work, which would alternate between acclaimed documentaries and romantic but naturalistic fiction features. Capable of crafting both gritty cinematic time capsules and expressionistic mood pieces like LES CREATURES, the breadth of Varda’s talent is nearly as astonishing as its depth. For more than 50 years, she has continued to experiment and innovate, creating one of the first digital video masterpieces (THE GLEANERS AND I) as well as timely portraits of cities from L.A. (LIONS LOVE) to Paris. She has worked in nearly every form of filmmaking that exists, from shorts to documentaries to a delightful celebration of film history (ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS), and has mastered them all.

As if that weren’t enough, Varda also helmed one of the greatest French films of the 1980s, VAGABOND, and published a highly acclaimed autobiography. Recent years have seen no slowing down of her output and no lessening of her talent: Her latest film, THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS, won the Cesar (the French equivalent of the Academy Award) for best documentary. Varda has been quoted as saying that she wants "to illuminate women’s lives—not only their hardships, although they’re important, but also the light, the transparency, the pleasure of being a woman." While Varda has certainly accomplished this, the range of her work is more expansive than perhaps even she knows—it is not enough to label her a feminist filmmaker, or a New Wave filmmaker, or a political filmmaker. She is simply one of the greatest living directors in any country, working in any language, in any form.

Agnes Varda's official website.
Senses of Cinema Article on Agnes Varda

See a Trailer for Beaches of Agnes

The Cinematheque is proud to present a sneak preview of THE BEACHES OF AGNÈS along with a series of Varda’s masterpieces, with the director herself live and in-person.

American Girl Silent Screen at the Egyptian Theatre