The Art Directors Guild (ADG) Film Society and the American Cinematheque are co-hosting the annual 2019 Screening Series “Production Design: Designers On Design” highlighting the work of renowned Production Designers and their creative collaborations. The monthly series will run from April through August at the Egyptian (6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood) with all screenings starting at 5:30 pm. Moderating the screenings are Production Designers THOMAS A. WALSH ADG, JOHN MUTOADG, and JOHN IACOVELLI ADG. The screening series is sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter. For tickets, go to: www.americancinematheque.com
The 2019 Art Directors Guild Film Society Screening Series schedule is as follows:
MARY POPPINS (1964) – A TRIBUTE TO THE ORIGINAL OSCAR®WINNING DISNEY MASTERPIECE
Sunday, April 28, 5:30 PM at the Egyptian Theatre
The ADG Film Society’s 2019 Screening Series will launch with the original Oscar-winning Disney masterpiece MARY POPPINS. Besides being an enduring motion picture classic, Mary Poppins was a celebrated creative and technical milestone for the Walt Disney Studio. The program will celebrate the visual magicians behind the scenes by sharing untold stories and a unique perspective of the film, its artisans, and their creative legacy. For this special event we will be screening the 50th Anniversary Remastered Edition of the film.
Participating in the panel will be Tony Walton the film’s Costume and Design Consultant; VFX Artist Harrison Ellenshaw ADG, the son of Peter Ellenshaw, the film’s special effects and master matte artist; and writer-director-producer Theodore Thomas, son of Frank Thomas, one of Disney’s revered nine-old men and the animator behind the dancing penguins. Moderating the panel will be Production Designer and Film Series co-chair Thomas A. Walsh, ADG and author/historian Jeff Kurtti.
THE 10TH VICTIM (1965) – EXPLORING A FUTURISTIC OP-ART CLASSIC
Sunday, May 19, 5:30 PM at the Egyptian Theatre
THE 10th VICTIM is a futuristic Italian socio-political sex-and-murder action comedy starring the impossibly glamorous Ursula Andress and Italian megastar, Marcello Mastroianni. Anticipating the rise of out-of-control reality TV by 50 years, the film matches the pair by computer as hunter and victim in The Big Hunt, a deadly game designed to stifle human aggression by offering individuals the opportunity to kill or be killed, earning status, fame, and money on live TV. Directed by Elio Petri (Investigation of A Citizen Above Suspicion), the film is written by Tonino Guerra (Blow Up) and designed by Piero Poletto (Red Desert). THE 10TH VICTIM takes place in a future Rome, mixing classical architecture with ultramodern Op Art design, retro-glamorous haute-couture, and pulsating electro pop jazz by Piero Piccioni.
Panel discussion will include FRANCES ANDERTON, host of KCRW's DnA: Design and Architecture, and PROFESSOR NICHOLAS J. CULL of USC's Annenberg School and author of "Projecting Tomorrow." Moderating the discussion will be Production Designer JOHN MUTO ADG, Film Society Founder and Co-chair.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) – A TRIBUTE TO PRODUCTION DESIGNER JOE ALVES ADG
Sunday, June 23, 5:30 PM at the Egyptian Theatre
Ray Bradbury declared Close Encounters of the Third Kind as the greatest science fiction film ever made. Joe Alves, ADG the film’s Production Designer, began his career as an animator on the 1956 MGM classic, Forbidden Planet.A master Close Encounters, Mr. Alves will be in attendance to share highlights from his long career as a motion picture Designer and Illustrator. Close Encounters was written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object (UFO). Director Jean Renoir compared Spielberg’s storytelling to that of Jules Verne and Georges Méliès. Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Spielberg’s landmark film, a special Digitally Remastered 4K version of the Director’s Cut will be shown.
Production Designer JOE ALVES ADG, will be interviewed by moderator THOMAS A. WALSH ADG, Production Designer and Film Series Co-chair.
THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO (1985) – A TRIBUTE TO EMMY®-WINNING PRODUCTION DESIGNER STUART WURTZEL ADG
Sunday, August 4th at the Egyptian Theatre
Production Designer STUART WURTZEL ADG created a valentine to classic Hollywood and the films of the depression era. The film’s movie-with-in-the-movie is an RKO-style screwball comedy set in a glittering Manhattan penthouse. The outer world of the film is set in New Jersey amid the dreams of a simple housewife, Mia Farrow, whose world is turned upside down when the hero of the film, Jeff Daniels, steps out of her neighborhood movie theater’s screen and into her real-life world. A beloved film by many, the expert blending of the film’s fiction and reality blur the lines between fantasy and romance in memorable ways. It’s “perfect-pitch” Production Design by a master of the New York school and a visual delight for all to behold.
Emmy winning Production Designer STUART WURTZEL ADG will be interviewed by moderator JOHN IACOVELLI ADG, Production Designer.
*Film Schedule subject to change
FOR FLYER AND ARTWORK: click here
Representing the Art Directors Guild is Debbie Patton. Working with Patton are the American Cinematheque’s Gwen Deglise, Margot Gerber and Grant Moninger.
General admission: $12. American Cinematheque members: $8. Students/Seniors with valid ID: $10. All screenings start at 5:30 p.m. 24-hour ticket information is available at 323-466-FILM (3456). Advance tickets can be purchased on Fandango.com. Search by zip code (Egyptian Theatre 90028) to locate respective theatre listings. Tickets are also available at the Box Office at the theater.
About THE ART DIRECTORS GUILD
Established in 1937, the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents 2,700 members who work throughout the world in film, television and theater as Art Directors; Set Designers and Model Makers; Illustrators and Matte Artists; and Scenic Title and Graphic Artists. The ADG’s ongoing activities include a Film Society screening series, annual “Excellence in Production Design Awards” gala, bimonthly craft magazine (PERSPECTIVE), figure drawing and other creative workshops, extensive technology and craft training programs and year-round Gallery 800 art exhibitions. For the Guild’s online directory and website resources, go to www.adg.org.
About THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE
Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque is a non-profit viewer-supported public film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all of its forms. At the historic Egyptian and Aero Theatres, the Cinematheque presents regular film and digital programming, which ranges from the classics of American and international cinema, to sneak previews of new independent and studio films, pop culture gems and cult cinema in all genres. Fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. Exhibition of rarities, archival 35mm prints and special formats such as 70mm and nitrate highlight the programming. The American Cinematheque's membership program provides additional benefits for film lovers.
The American Cinematheque renovated and reopened (on December 4, 1998) the historic 1922 Hollywood Egyptian Theatre This includes a state-of-the-art 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman's first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922.
In early 2005 the American Cinematheque expanded its programming to the Westside with the January 5th re-opening of the 1940 Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. For more information about American Cinematheque, visit the website at http://www.americancinematheque.com.
