Drinks and a Movie

I love the times when you get to sit in a movie theater and drink a beer or cocktail. It makes it all more civil (or more hilarious, if you are attending the Grindhouse Film Festival - but more on that later).

Well, the ArcLight in Hollywood has periodic "21+ Screenings" and in the month of April, they have a fun looking series. Figured I'd spread the word! Behold:


April is ArcLight's "SHARE THE EXPERIENCE" celebration, and as part of the fun we have scheduled a series of special Monday night "21+" screenings featuring some favorite "I watch them over and over" films picked by our ArcLight crew. Experience these films on the big screen while enjoying your favorite cocktail. Remember, "21+" screenings are exclusively for our guests age 21 and over. (Valid proof of age is required for addmittance.)

BILL & TED's EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (PG) 1989

Monday, April 2, 8pm

"Bill & Ted" are teenagers in San Dimas, California who are in danger of flunking out of high school. A guitar-playing guru named Rufus arrives from a future San Dimas to help them pass a vital history test, because their garage band holds the key to world peace and ultimate truth. However, they will not achieve this destiny if the duo fail the exam and Ted's authoritarian father carries out his threat to ship him to Oats Military Academy in Alaska. Rufus lends them a time machine disguised as a phone booth, which they use to meet—and "collect"—various historical figures: Napoleon Bonaparte, Socrates, Billy the Kid, Sigmund Freud, Beethoven, Genghis Khan, Joan of Arc, and Abraham Lincoln, to help them with their vital history presentation. Directed by Stephen Herek. Stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin.

THE WARRIORS (R) 1979

Monday, April 9, 8pm

A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100,000; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and tonight they're after the Warriors-a street gang blamed unfairly for a rival gang leaders death. This contemporary action-adventure story takes place at night, underground, in the sub-culture of gang warfare that rages from Coney Island to Manhattan to the Bronx. Members of the Warriors fight for their lives, seek to survive in the urban jungle and learn the meaning of loyalty. Directed by Walter Hill. Stars Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler, David Harris.

THE GOONIES (PG) 1985

Monday, April 16, 8pm

A thrill-a-minute adventure film. When brothers Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin) learn that greedy developers are forcing their family to move, they and their friends decide to have one last, precious adventure together. With the help of a treasure map they've found in the attic, the group, known as the Goonies, go in search of buried gold hoping against hope that if they find it, Mikey and Brand will succeed in keeping their home. Directed by Richard Donner. Stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman.

MONTH PYTHON and the HOLY GRAIL (PG) 1975

Monday, April 23, 8pm

This classic Monty Python comedy, directed by Pythons Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, is a hilarious send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen. Directed by Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones. Stars Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, John Cleese.

Tags: movies, ArcLight

Get Schooled!!!

Some of you may remember a post from the early days of this blog, in which I discussed my buddy Brooks' decision to change the title of his film in reaction to another film with the same name.

Well, he made the film, after thrashing the script out with our writing group, and has had a few small-scale screenings for cast, crew, friends, family, etc. But now he's been accepted into the Method Fest! Plus, Schooled is one of only two films (I believe) that are true indies at the fest, with no real established actors or anything. So it is quite an honor for him.

The film is an unflinching look at the world of alternative schools, seen through the eyes of a troubled teacher at a more traditional school. If you have any interest in the subject matter, or just like to support indie film in general, I recommend that you go catch this flick! Here is the info:

http://www.schooledthefilm.com/

WORLD PREMIERE at THE METHOD FEST!!
7:15pm, Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Louis B. Mayer Theatre
Motion Picture & Television Fund
23388 Mulholland Drive
Woodland Hills, CA 91371
www.tinyurl.com/2lc6o3

FOR TICKETS: www.tinyurl.com/3dmbb8
or CALL: "Brown Paper Tickets" 1.800.838.3006
They cost $10 + $1.24 (stupid service charge) = $11.24

RECEPTION:Native Cafe & Gathering Grounds
www.nativecafecalabasas.com/
23536 Calabasas Rd (Cross Street: El Canon Avenue)
Calabasas, CA 91302
(818) 223-9600

Tags: Schooled, Brooks+Elms, Method+Fest, independent+film

An Ending in Sight

I'm not even going to say anything about not posting in forever.

But what I will say, is that there is an ending in sight to a semi-long running saga of this blog. The story of Sheila Hanahan-Taylor, formerly of Zide-Perry and currently of Practical Pictures. A quick recap first, and then I'll describe the approaching end. It all started HERE, when I quoted something that Sheila said in an interview on Done Deal.

Then over time, I found that a lot of people were landing on my blog following searches for info on Sheila. I felt bad that my little second-hand quote was basically no help at all for these poor searching souls. So I tried to help out. I posted THIS, asking for anyone who knew anything about Sheila to speak up and post about her. I figured that if anyone searched again, they might find that page. Well, that didn't help much.

So then, last October, I was at the Screenwriting Expo. I saw that Sheila was supposed to be on a panel and I thought I finally had a solution. But as I wrote HERE, that was not to be either. So I just figured I'd have to wait for another day.

Well, at the end of January I got a surprising email. The subject line read, "hey! Sheila Hanahan Taylor here," and apparently she had stumbled onto my blog. She was so friendly and we started emailing. I realized that we actually work about 4 blocks from each other, so we decided to have lunch and meet up.

Well, Sheila and I had lunch today and shared the funny stories of how I was searching for her and how she found me. We talked about people we knew in common, about the scripts I've worked on or read, and about the projects she and Practical Pictures have in development. It was a lovely time, and she agreed to answer some questions for the blog.

So once I write them up and send them over to her, we'll be that much closer to providing my faithful readers (and believe me, I appreciate your faithfulness if you're still reading after the myriad times I go stretches without a new post) with something they might be searching for!

Thanks for reading and for sticking around, and I hope to have the Sheila Hanahan Taylor interview up here in not too long a period of time!

Tags: Sheila+Hanahan+Taylor, Practical+Pictures, movie+producers