FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: July 1, 2000
Contact: Margot Gerber
Tel.: 323.461.2020 x 115
E-mail: amcin@msn.com
THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE AND THE L.A. WEEKLY CELEBRATE THE DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL CONVENTION IN LOS ANGELES WITH A
POLITICS IN FILM SERIES
In-person appearances include producer/director Torrie Rosenzweig
(SMOKE AND MIRRORS), director Arthur Dong (LICENSED TO KILL) and
screenwriter George Axelrod (MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE)
August 11 - 13, 2000
HOLLYWOOD – The American Cinematheque and the L.A. Weekly present
POLITICS
IN FILM (August 11 - 13, 2000), a selection of films that take a look at
American politics. To coincide with the Democratic National Convention in
Los Angeles, the film critics at the L.A. Weekly have selected a short
series of films – both features and documentaries -- that look at the
American political process. These films reflect our own combination
of
hope, anxiety, paranoia, anger and excitement at the thought of choosing
yet
another President. Special guests during the series include:
producer/director Torrie Rosenzweig (SMOKE AND MIRRORS), director Arthur
Dong (LICENSED TO KILL) and screenwriter George Axelrod (MANCHURIAN
CANDIDATE). Actress Tippi Hedren will introduce THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE as
an actress working for the studios at the time this film was made. Rob
Reiner will introduce SMOKE AND MIRRORS subject to his availability. All
guests subject to their availability. All screenings are at the newly
renovated Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the historic Egyptian (6712 Hollywood
Boulevard between Highland and Las Palmas) in Hollywood.
One of the great myths about American filmmaking is that our movies aren’t
political. In truth, almost all American films are political, from
the
Westerns of John Ford to the bleak, post-war noirs of the 1940’s and
1950’s,
to supposedly “escapist” fantasies like STAR WARS and JURASSIC
PARK (which
reflect their culture and politics as surely as MR. SMITH GOES TO
WASHINGTON.) One of the most famous images in American film, Orson
Welles
as Charles Foster Kane standing beneath a massive, demagogue-like campaign
poster, could easily stand in for all the political campaigns of the past
century. Even when American films aren’t trying to be
consciously
political, they are – Paul Brickman’s RISKY BUSINESS was either
the best
advertisement, or the best satire, of the Reagan era made in Hollywood
(depending on your point of view.)
Friday, August 11, 2000
7:00 PM SMOKE AND MIRRORS: A HISTORY OF DENIAL,
2000, Rosenzweig Co., 74
min. Alternately chilling and perversely entertaining, director
Torrie
Rosenzweig’s SMOKE & MIRRORS is a superb study of the growth of
the tobacco
industry in America, and a stunning indictment of the ways Big Tobacco has
used advertising, the media and even patriotic fervor to influence the
public. (During WWI, the industry virtually created a generation of
smokers
by shipping one billion free cigarettes to soldiers overseas.) A kind
of
companion piece to Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER, SMOKE & MIRRORS is
essential
viewing for anyone interested in the politics of control and deception.
Discussion following with producer/director Torrie Rosenzweig. Rob Reiner
to
introduce screening subject to availability.
9:15 PM THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, 1962,
MGM/UA, 126 min. Dir. John
Frankenheimer.
Ex-prisoner-of-war Frank Sinatra tries to connect the dots when decorated
comrade Laurence Harvey starts acting strange only to have a nightmarish
labyrinth unravel in his lap. Korean War brainwashing, Harvey’s rich
control
freak mother (Angela Lansbury), her right-wing candidate hubby (James
Gregory in a savage parody of Sen. Joseph McCarthy) and an assassination
plot mesh in this suspenseful adaptation of Richard Condon’s satirical
thriller. With Janet Leigh. Discussion following with screenwriter
George
Axelrod. Tippi Hedren to introduce the screening.
Saturday, August 12, 2000
5:00 PM THE WAR ROOM, 1993, USA Films, 93 min.
“I’m a political
professional, and I’m proud of it,” grins spin-meister supreme
James
Carville, in directors D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus’
ridiculously
entertaining portrait of the men who ran Clinton’s 1992 Presidential
campaign. Together, Carville and cohort George Stephanopoulos hustle,
cajole, threaten (“If you do this, you’ll never work in
Democratic politics
again!”) and do major damage control, as they navigate the campaign
through
Gennifer Flowers, Ross Perot and George Bush, on the road to victory.
“THE
WAR ROOM presents these two as tireless new-breed strategists whose fast,
aggressive tactics helped to reshape their party’s political thinking
…” –
Janet Maslin, N.Y. Times.
Next on the same bill: THE CANDIDATE, 1972, Warners, 110
min. Dir. Michael
Ritchie. Idealistic, supposedly lame-duck candidate Robert Redford
surprises everyone, including his cynically manipulative handlers, when he
turns out to be more politically savvy than expected in this trenchant
satire that cuts even closer to the bone today than when it was released
nearly thirty years ago. With Melvyn Douglas, Peter Boyle. LA Weekly
Executive Editor and political writer Harold Meyerson to introduce the
films.
9:30 PM MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, 1939,
Columbia, 139 min. Dir. Frank
Capra. Naïve, straight-shooting idealist Mr. Smith (James Stewart)
is
elected to Congress then used and eventually framed by his corrupt mentor
Claude Rains and fatcat Edward Arnold. A still incredibly topical
slice of
Americana with unflinching insights into how easily a free enterprise
system
can be debased and exploited by ruthless profiteers. Smith pleading his
case
before a cold-hearted unbelieving Congress sends chills down the spine and
remains one of the most moving sequences in the history of cinema. Jean
Arthur is the worldly cynic who has her heart melted when she realizes
Smith
is the real thing. With Thomas Mitchell.
Next on the same bill: ADVISE & CONSENT, 1962,
Columbia, 139 min. Using
the Allen Drury bestseller as a springboard, director Otto Preminger blazed
new trails of frankness in this skewering of American politics, pulling
back
the curtain to reveal the behind-the-scenes skullduggery and cutthroat
scandal-mongering endemic to the system. A smorgasbord of delicious
performances by such greats as Henry Fonda, Franchot Tone, Charles
Laughton,
Walter Pidgeon, Gene Tierney, Lew Ayres and, of special note, Don Murray as
a bisexual politician outed with tragic results.
Sunday, August 13, 2000
3:00 PM LICENSED TO KILL, 1996, 79 min.
Dir. Arthur Dong. Winner of the
Audience and Best Director Awards at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival,
director Arthur Dong’s unflinching portrait of violence directed at
gay men
features interviews with six convicted killers, all of whom targeted
homosexuals. Slowly, with almost unbearable honesty, the film examines both
the killers themselves, and the larger political body of religious
hypocrisy, police indifference and societal hostility that condoned this
type of violence for far too long. “They’re not
monsters. They’re human
beings who kill gay men. They’d kill me. I wanted the
audience, including
victims, to see these people, to understand something about them.”
– Arthur
Dong. Discussion following with director Arthur Dong.
5:15 PM ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, 1976, Warners, 138
min. Dir. Alan
Pakula. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman shine as Washington Post
investigative reporters Woodward and Bernstein, the pair responsible for
uncovering the shocking truth behind the Watergate break-in. A tense
real-life detective saga demonstrating what a courageous free press can
accomplish. With a sterling supporting cast that includes Jason Robards,
Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Jane Alexander, Hal Holbrook and F. Murray
Abraham.
BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST If you would like
artwork
e-mailed to you please send an e-mail to amcin@msn.com.
CALL FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS WITH OUR VARIOUS GUESTS
WE DO NOT HAVE GUARANTEED PRESS PASSES TO PUBLIC SCREENINGS. IT IS
RECOMMENDED THAT YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ADVANCE PRESS SCREENINGS ON
TAPE.
A complete calendar/flyer listing of these films has been mailed to you.
MANY FILMS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON VIDEOTAPE (NTSC) IN OUR OFFICES. CALL TO
SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THEM. LOCAL VIDEO STORES MAY ALSO HAVE
SOME
TITLES. PLEASE CALL FOR A LIST OF TITLES ON VIDEO TAPE.
REQUESTS FOR PRESS TICKETS TO PUBLIC SCREENINGS MUST BE IN WRITING. FAX TO
323.461.9737 ATTN: MARGOT GERBER, 24 HOURS PRIOR TO SHOW TIME. FRIDAY AT
NOON IS THE ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY SCREENINGS.
JOURNALISTS
WISHING TO AUDIO OR VIDEOTAPE DISCUSSIONS MUST ALSO SEND A WRITTEN REQUEST.
THE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee (Burbank) Walk in only no phone.
Jerry’s Video (1904 Hillhurst, Los Feliz - 323.666.7471)
Rocket Video (726 N. La Brea - 323.965.1100)
Cinefile (11280 Santa Monica Blvd. - Corner of Sawtelle Ave. -
310.312.8836)
Vidiots (302 Pico Blvd, Santa Monica - 310/392-8508)
Tickets are $7.
Our permanent daily attraction film FOREVER HOLLYWOOD is now open. For
press
passes to see it for review purposes, please call Margot Gerber at
323.461.2020, ext. 115.
.
American Cinematheque, 1800 North Highland Avenue, Suite 717, Hollywood, CA
90028
(tel) 323.466-FILM - (fax) 323.461.9737 On the web: http://www.egyptiantheatre.com
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