Movies on a Mausoleum

Film festivals are not the only way to enjoy classic films. If you’re looking to break out of the theater, Cinespia’s cemetery screenings are a fun, outdoor, and slightly morbid way to enjoy classic movies. Cinespia holds film screenings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a place steeped in Hollywood history and one in which many film icons are laid to rest.

On Saturday and Sunday evenings from May to September, over 2,000 visitors sit on the cemetery lawn and enjoy the picnic dinners they brought. A DJ sets the fun, laid-back tone with music before and after the feature. Once darkness falls, movies are projected onto Rudolph Valentino’s mausoleum wall.

In a 2006 interview with NPR, Cinespia’s founder John Wyatt explained why screening classic films here seems fitting.

"I feel like people coming here to see these films, and be entertained by these films, becomes almost a celebration of Hollywood film. It's very lively and very much amongst the living that these events take place,” Wyatt said.

Past screenings have included “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” and Hitchcock films such as “The Birds,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” and many more.

The 10th season of Cinespia screenings begins again in May. For more information or to look at Cinespia’s film suggestions for you to watch on your own, visit the organization’s website.

TCM Classic Film Festival

If you’re a classic movie fan, it can be somewhat tricky to experience the wonderful films of yesteryear in new and exciting ways. Turner Classic Movie channel, or TCM, provides innovative programming that breathes new life into classic cinema, but this year it is doing it big and in style. From April 22 – April 25, 2010, TCM is hosting its first Classic Film Festival in the heart of Hollywood.

The festival will include over 50 screenings with special introductions and guest appearances from actors, directors, and producers. The festival will also have various programming themes including “Essentials,” which screens must-see films that impacted popular culture, “Discoveries,” which includes films that are rare or have recently been restored, and Vanity Fair’s presentation,“Tales of Hollywood.”

One of the film fest’s highlights will be their presentation of “The Hustons: A Hollywood Dynasty.” Anjelica Huston and her brother, actor Danny Huston, will discuss the work of their late father, director John Huston, and their grandfather, Walter Huston.

TCM’s event promises to be fun and exciting with a red carpet gala on opening night and a Club TCM lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel exclusively for passholders. Unfortunately, prices for these passes are as glamorous as the event, ranging from $500 - $600. The good news is non-passholder folks can get into these screening events by buying individual tickets for about $20 each.

For more information, check out the official TCM Classic Film Festival Web site.

"Lust and Larceny": 12th Annual Noir City Film Festival

Rain-soaked melodrama, mysterious characters, and murderous cityscapes can all be found in the film noir of the 1940s. But where can you find film noir? Look no further than the Film Noir Foundation’s 12th Annual Noir City Film Festival playing at the Egyptian Theatre through April 18.
This year’s offering is titled “Lust and Larceny” and features rare films many of which are not available on DVD.
Noir City programmers “scoured studio archives to assemble a feast of film noir that can only be consumed in its original 35mm format, in the glorious darkness of a vintage movie palace!” the foundation enthuses on its website.
Sunday night’s showing is a double feature of the films “Drive a Crooked Road” from 1954 and “Walk a Crooked Mile” from 1948. One of the films’ stars, Paul Picerni, will be on hand to discuss the movies between the screenings.
Mannequinnes will take over the silver screen at the Los Angeles premiere of “Eves Necklace.” Directed by Daniel Erickson, this bizarre, modern-day film noir from 2009 will be the festival’s Wednesday night feature.
Double features and discussions of the films with some of the films’ actors will take place Thursday through the festival’s final day on Sunday, April 18.
For more information on how you can enjoy the rest of this film noir extravaganza, click on one of the links below.

LA Times Guide

American Cinematheque