Kristin's List: A Guide to Cultivated Los Angeles

Meet legendary filmmaker and one of my personal heroes, Werner Herzog, for the signing of his recently released English translation of “Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo.” Though Herzog once remarked, “Film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates,” he managed to write a diary from 1979-1981 filled with poetry and prose about the excessive and insane process of shooting “Fitzcarraldo.”

WHEN: 5:00pm
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: Book Soup
ADDRESS: 8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
WEBSITE: www.booksoup.com
PARKING: Limited parking behind store & street parking

Screening films in the locations they were shot, the Filmmobile is pulling up in front of Silver Lake’s Music Box Steps to celebrate the legacy of “the fat guy and the skinny guy,” also known as Laurel and Hardy. Featuring the 1932 Oscar winning short “The Music Box” and other Laurel and Hardy gems, the Echo Park Film Center offers its viewers the surreal experience of sitting by the actual 133 step stairway while watching the comedy duo make their infamous piano delivery.

WHEN: 8pm
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: The Echo Park Film Center’s FILMMOBILE
ADDRESS: Filmmobile will be parked at 923-935 Vendome Street (off Sunset Blvd. at Del Monte Drive, west of Silver Lake Blvd)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ECHO PARK FILM CENTER: www.echoparkfilmcenter.org
NOTE: bring a chair or a blanket to sit on

Pulling up in Silver Lake for a special screening, the Filmmobile joins forces with the Echo Park Time Bank to present “Coming Home: E.F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy.” The 2009 documentary, inspired by E.F. Schumacher’s 1973 book “Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered,” traces the work of communities that reinvent their local economies. Most notably known for their creation of the “BerkShare,” the nation’s most successful local currency, these communities give us insight into rethinking the power of local resources. Get started on your own sugar-based economy by coming early for the dessert potluck!

WHEN: 7pm dessert potluck, 8pm screening
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: The Echo Park Film Center’s FILMMOBILE
ADDRESS: Filmmobile will be parked by the Silver Lake Reservoir on the corner of W. Silver Lake Drive and Westerly Terrace
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: www.echoparktimebank.com/echoparktimebank/News_and_Events/Entries/2009/7/7_Film_Screening_July_26th.html
NOTE: bring a chair or a blanket to sit on

A design movement meets cinema meets the wardrobe department. Join the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles for an afternoon of exploring how the looks of such iconic film stars as Joan Crawford, Mae West and Gloria Swanson were influenced by Art Deco. Showing rare footage of Erte dressing Lucille LeSueur (later Joan Crawford) and color clips from 1920s “Fashion News,” fashion aficionado Louise Coffey-Webb examines the origins of Art Deco and its influence on the Golden Age of Film.

WHEN: 2:00pm
ADMISSION: $10 General/$8 Seniors & Students/$7 Members
WHERE: Egyptian Theatre
ADDRESS: 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
THEATRE WEBSITE: www.americancinematheque.com

Even though movie critic muppet Waldorf claims he has “seen detergents leave a better film than this,” the folks at Cinespia are taking cinematic risks and screening “The Muppet Movie.” Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and other old friends for the “somewhat fictionalized” tale of finding stardom and the rainbow connection in our hometown. Bring a blanket and get ready to sing along at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s outdoor screening of Jim Henson’s inspiring live-action musical on its 30th anniversary.

WHEN: 7:00pm gates open, 8:30pm film
ADMISSION: $10
WHERE: Hollywood Forever Cemetery
ADDRESS: 6000 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038
WEBSITE: www.cinespia.org

The time has come to out the summer’s best kept secret: the Echo Park Film Center’s free outdoor screenings on the Filmmobile. As part of its program to show films in the locales they were shot, the Filmmobile will be parked by Echo Park Lake for “A Salute to Edendale.” The celebration of the 100th anniversary of Echo Park’s first film studio will include such gems as Charlie Chaplin’s “Mabel’s Married Life,” Harold Lloyd’s “Lonesome Luke” and the Keystone Cops in “A Muddy Romance.” These locally filmed classics will be brought to life with live musical scores by Professor Cantaloupe, The Grizzly Owls and Magic Gas. The evening will be topped off with free snacks, bingo, a giant bunny and general Echo Park Film Center tomfoolery.

WHEN: 7pm
ADMISSION: Free
WHERE: The Echo Park Film Center’s FILMMOBILE
ADDRESS: Filmmobile will be parked at the north end of Echo Park beside the lake
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ECHO PARK FILM CENTER: www.echoparkfilmcenter.org
NOTE: bring a chair or a blanket to sit on

With a hand-held Leica and an outsider’s take on American society, photographer Robert Frank took over 20,000 photos, chose 83 of them to be published in “The Americans” and forever changed our national self-image. The L.A. Film Forum, in conjunction with MOCA’s current Robert Frank exhibit, presents four short films by and about this great photographer. Beginning with the documentary “Fire in the East: A Portrait of Robert Frank,” which includes interviews with collaborators Allen Ginsberg and Jonas Mekas, the series ends with three of Frank’s own works about intimacy, art and anonymity.

WHEN: 7:30pm
ADMISSION: $10 General/$8 Seniors & Students/$7 Members
WHERE: Egyptian Theatre
ADDRESS: 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
THEATRE WEBSITE: www.americancinematheque.com
EVENT WEBSITE: www.lafilmforum.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/july-19-films-by-and-about-robert-frank

Set in Santiago, Chile, during the Pinochet regime, the film “Tony Manero” follows the desperate and violent life of a “Saturday Night Fever” obsessed middle aged low-life. As he sits in matinees watching the 1977 disco epic, Manero attempts to learn John Travolta’s every move in hopes of winning a TV talent show. While he is not absorbing U.S. pop culture, Manero is unabashed about killing anyone who gets in his way. “Tony Manero” is a study in the co-existence of Hollywood glamour exported to a country riddled with state sponsored violence backed by the CIA.

WHEN: Friday, July 17 - Thursday, July 23
ADMISSION: $10
WHERE: Laemmle’s Music Hall 3
ADDRESS: 9036 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
WEBSITE: www.laemmle.com

Afros, comedy sketches, jumpsuits and dance routines were the stuff of which “The Jacksons” TV variety show was made. Rare footage from the short-lived CBS series is being screened at the Paley Center for Media to pay tribute to the early days of Michael’s genius. Created as competition for ABC’s “The Osmonds,” CBS pushed the surreal button with such bits as Ed McMahon playing W.C. Fields across from Janet Jackson’s Mae West, and Sonny Bono expounding on tabloid culture.

TIME: 3:00pm daily (July 2-12)
ADMISSION: Free, $10 suggested contribution
WHERE: The Paley Center for Media
ADDRESS: 465 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
WEBSITE: www.paleycenter.org/michael-jackson-the-legend-in-the-making

With an all female Icelandic 10-piece brass section, a church organist and Sonic Youth’s Chris Corsano in tow, Bjork’s latest album “Voltaic” and accompanying tour film will hit the streets on June 23rd worldwide. Making its L.A. debut at the bizarre product placement “Nike Theatre,” the multi-media documentary, “Voltaic: The Volta Tour” compiles footage from the visually fetching Paris and Reykjavik shows.

WHEN: Reception 7:00pm, Screening 8:00pm
ADMISSION: Free, reservations suggested: flux.net/cinema-tuesdays-voltaic-los-angeles
WHERE: Nike Montalban Theater
ADDRESS: 1615 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028
WEBSITE: flux.net/cinema-tuesdays-voltaic-los-angeles

Accompanied by Philip Glass’s sweeping and haunting orchestral score, the cinematic meditation known as “Koyaanisqatsi” celebrates its 25th anniversary screening. Taken from the Hopi word meaning “life out of balance,” “Koyaanisqatsi” is a wordless gaze at the discord between technology and the environment. Unfortunately director Godfrey Reggio’s message that “we don’t live with nature any longer, we live off of it” is still quite timely. 1982, MGM, 86 min.

Following “Koyaanisqatsi,” director Godfrey Reggio’s “Evidence” (1995, 8 min) and “Anima Mundi” (1992, 28 min) will be screened. There will be a discussion between the films with Reggio.

WHEN: 7:30pm
ADMISSION: $10 General/$8 Seniors & Students/$7 Members
WHERE: Aero Theatre
ADDRESS: 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403
PHONE: (323) 466-3456
WEBSITE: www.americancinematheque.com

‘All Kurosawa, all the time’ could be the Academy’s motto for its triple-header evening dedicated to director Akira Kurosawa. A screening of the newly restored 1950 masterpiece, “Rashomon,” will be followed by a panel discussion hosted by LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan featuring Kurosawa’s collaborators, friends and son Hisao Kurosawa. The affair will close with the unveiling of the Academy’s new exhibition, “Akira Kurosawa: Film Artist.” Drawing on materials from his seven-decade career, the extensive retrospective will include more than 100 original pre-production drawings, calligraphy, hand-painted costumes, annotated screenplays, photographs, correspondence and film clips.

The Academy’s three-month salute to Akira Kurosawa will continue with screenings of five more of the director’s Academy Award®-nominated and winning films: “Kagemusha,” “Seven Samurai,” “Ran,” “Yojimbo” and “Dersu Uzala.”

WHEN: 8pm
ADMISSION: $5 General/$3 Members & Students
TICKETS: www.oscars.org/events/kurosawa/index.html
WHERE: Samuel Goldwyn Theater
ADDRESS: 8949 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
PHONE: (310) 247-3600
WEBSITE: www.oscars.org

Having a nervous breakdown on the set and being asked to wear the same chartreuse suit for an entire film would make any actress run from a past production. Not Tippi Hedren. At the Edison’s 45th anniversary screening of Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” meet Hedren along with co-star Rod Taylor. Hopefully the pre-screening signature cocktails will prepare both you and Hedren for a screening of what Hitchcock described as “the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made!” 1963, 119 min.

WHEN: 6pm
ADMISSION: $20
TICKETS: www.edisondowntown.com
WHERE: The Edison
ADDRESS: 108 W 2nd St #101, Los Angeles, CA 90012
PHONE: (213) 613-0000
EDISON WEBSITE: www.edisondowntown.com

Part film noir, part expressionism, Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Conformist” takes a stab at Italy’s fascist past thru the lens of one man’s political cowardice and its inextricable link to sexual repression. Stunningly shot by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, the 1970 epic, with its invisible Hollywood editing and “fascist” film aesthetics, left its visual mark on everything from “The Godfather” to “Apocalypse Now.” 1970, 110 min.

“The Conformist” will be followed by the screening of “Eva (a.k.a. Eve),” ”a spellbinding example of the director Joseph Losey’s ever-attentive eye to the relationship between architecture and character.” Presented in English and Italian dialogue with English subtitles. 1962, 103 min.

WHEN: 7:30pm
ADMISSION: $9 General/ $10 Advance Online
TICKETS: www.cinema.ucla.edu
WHERE: UCLA Film and Television Archive
ADDRESS: Billy Wilder Theater @ The Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
PHONE: (310) 206-8013
WEBSITE: www.cinema.ucla.edu

In the 1950s the seminal Ferus Gallery created an LA art scene out of a loose band of visionary beatniks. With rare footage and a soundtrack that includes Charles Mingus and the Velvet Underground, the documentary “The Cool School” traces how artists such as Ed Kienholz, Ed Moses and Robert Irwin became founding members of LA’s uber-hip modern art movement.

Owned by Walter Hopps and Irving Blum, the Ferus Gallery was also a launching point for New York artists Andy Warhol (hosting his first Soup Can show), Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein. 2008, Arthouse Films, 86 min.

WHEN: 7pm
ADMISSION: $8 General/$4 Senior/Free Students & Members
WHERE: Norton Simon Museum
ADDRESS: 411 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105
PHONE: (626) 449-6840
WEBSITE: www.nortonsimon.org