Memorial Day Weekend is the traditional start of summer movie season, and that’s true for all sorts of film organizations, not just the Hollywood studios…so we’ve got a bunch of great screenings in the area over the next few days. But also, of course, many other fun things, too.
First, what would a long weekend be without a big estate sale, and we’ve got one that starts today (Friday) and runs through Saturday at 314 S. Rimpau. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Items for sale include signed art, red vintage glassware, vintage china, sterling, cut glass and crystal; soapstone, quartz and geodes; vases, Asian items, teasets, Judaica, horse items, piano, sewing machine and sewing/knitting supplies…and more.
A popular summer Friday night tradition also kicks off this evening as the Friday night wine tastings resume for a 10th season at Barnsdall Art Park (4800 Hollywood Blvd.). Tonight’s opening event, starting at 5:30 p.m., will feature a Q&A with renowned food critic Jonathan Gold and James Beard Award-winning Chef Daniel Humm from the Make It Nice hospitality group (which includes NoMad Los Angeles,and Eleven Madison Park). The NoMad Truck will also be on-site for the event. Enjoy Barnsdall Art Park’s stunning city views while sipping a selection of boutique artisinal wines curated by Silverlake Wine, along with picnicking and watching the sunset…with music curated by KCRW DJs. Tickets are $45; ages 21 and over only.
On Saturday, get up early to catch another great bargain opportunity, a multi-family yard and garage sale (with lemonade stand!) at 527 N. Lucerne Blvd. The sale runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will include Crate and Barrel dishware, home decorations, kitchen appliances, other china and glassware, Halloween costumes, sports equipment, books, furniture, clothing of all kinds, shoes, framed art and posters, electronics, pet items…and much more!
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, join film and costume design historian Kimberly Truhler for an illustrated presentation on “Fashion & Film: The 1940s,” at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The presentation will be followed by a screening of the original “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” in which Lana Turner and John Garfield play murderous lovers in the first big screen adaptation of James M. Cain’s classic noir novel.
Later, starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, LACMA kicks off another great summer tradition, its 13th annual Latin Sounds Summer Concert Series in Hancock Park (adjacent to the museum). Saturday’s perforers will be the Boogaloo Assassins, a 12-piece Latin band with a sound and style inspired by the Latin Boogaloo, soul, salsa and funk records of the 1960s and ’70s. The concert is open to everyone and admission is free.
Just an hour later, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and just across the street at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, there will be an opening reception for two new shows, “Bamboo” and “Katherine Gray: As Clear as the Experience.” Bamboo “explores the evolution of Japanese bamboo basketry from a purely functional art form into complicated, distinctly Japanese sculptural forms of variable scale”…while Los Angeles-based artist Katherine Gray “creates conceptual installations of glass that amplify our experience of common glass forms through unusual presentations and dramatic lighting.” Admission is free for CAFAM members, $12 for non-members.
Back in the film groove, the American Cinematheque gives a nod to the Memorial Day holiday with a screening of “Saving Private Ryan” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, back at the Egyptian Theater. Director Steven Spielberg’s classic World War II drama, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, takes place on the battlefields of Europe, and follows Army captain Tom Hanks as he leads his men on a dangerous mission to retrieve a soldier whose brothers have all died in combat.
Also at the Egyptian on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m., the Cinematheque proves that incidents like those that have inspired the contemporary #metoo movement are nothing new in Hollywood, with a screening of the 1916 silent movie, “The Social Secretary.” It features Norma Talmadge, one of the silent screen’s top stars, as a young woman who makes herself up to be as physically unattractive as possible so she can work without being sexually harassed. The 52-minute film will be accompanied by a program of silent short films, and live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick.
Another great summer film series, the Rooftop Cinema Club, also returns this weekend, including a screening of the original Blade Runner atop the Ricardo Montalban Theater, 1615 Vine St., on Friday night…and a screening of the sequel, Blade Runner 2049 on Saturday. Showtime both nights is 8 p.m. Tickets are $19-21; ages 18 and over only.
There’s also another two-night film-related event this weekend, this time for fans of the 1998 cult classic, “The Big Lebowski.” Yes, it’s the Lebowski Fest 2018…and first up, starting at 7 p.m. tonight, there’s a screening of the film at the Wiltern Theater, 3970 Wilshire Blvd., with music by Kyle Gass Band (of Tenacious D) and special guests including Jack Kehler (Dude’s Landlord), Jerry Haleva (Saddam), Luis Colina (Angry Corvette Owner), Lu Elrod (Family Waitress), Jim Hoosier (Liam) and Ajgie Kirkland (Eagles Cab Driver). And then on Saturday, starting at 8 p.m., there will be a Lebowski-themed bowling party at the Fountain Bowl, featuring unlimited bowling, a costume contest, trivia contest and special guests Jeff Dowd (real-life inspiration for The Dude), Jerry Haleva (Saddam), Lu Elrod (Family Waitress), Jim Hoosier (Liam), plus an appearance by Karl Hungus’s screen-used car as seen in the opening of Logjammin.
On Sunday this weekend, we’ve got one event for the kids (and kids in all of us), and one definitely just for grownups.
First, starting at 11 a.m. at the Miracle Mile Toy Hall, you can catch a “very special sneak peek” of the new Bob Baker Marionettes show, “Enchanted Toyshop,” before its official June 16 opening. The show, “a magical vision of a toy store come to life,” was originally staged as “Toyland Review” in 1963. “This whimsical and imaginative production [is] intended to make real the fantasies of every child who has ever experienced the magic of playing with a toy. From animated cuckoo clocks to tumbling teddy bears, from jack-in-the-boxes to wooden soldiers, “Enchanted Toyshop” is a universal exploration of the childlike wonder and fantasy that kids of all ages should embrace and envision.” Tickets available at the link above.
And finally on Sunday, if you like your summer full of B-grade horror movies, leave the kids at home and head back to the Egyptian Theater for a special triple feature of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre I, II and III,” starting at 7:30 p.m. In Tobe Hooper’s landmark horror film, Marilyn Burns and friends become stranded at the rural home of a family of inbred cannibals. In Hooper’s sequel, Dennis Hopper plays a Texas lawman on the trail of the cannibal clan. And in the third installment, a California couple takes a road trip down the wrong stretch of Texas highway and into the path of Leatherface. Co-presented by the American Cinematheque, Friday Night Frights, Cinematic Void and Beyond Fest.
Have a great long weekend!
