Child of God, Actor Scott Haze

Child of God poster 

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Directed by acclaimed filmmaker James Franco, and based on the chilling novel by Cormac McCarthy, Child of God, tells the provocative story of Lester Ballad (Scott Haze), a dispossessed, violent man, attempting to exist outside the social order. Consecutively deprived of parents and housing and driven by famished loneliness, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller asScott Haze Child of God he falls deeper into crime and degradation. Set in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee in the 1960s, Child of God is structured in three segments with each segment describing Ballad’s ever-growing isolation of from society and social mores. Lead actor Haze join us to talk about how his approach to this breakout role.

For news and updates on Child of God go to: childofgodfilm.wordpress.com/

“Child of God is dominated by Scott Haze’s fearless performance, a theatricalized fusillade of full-throttle feral craziness loaded with blood, snot, spit, shit and bile.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Child of God showcases a jaw-dropping turn from Scott Haze as Lester Ballard, a feral pariah who rails at his oppressors” – The Guardian

“Ballard is God’s lonely man – a rustic Travis Bickle – and on-screen Haze gives an astonishing and brave performance of wildness and despair gone feral.” – Cine-Vue

Alive Inside, Director Michael Rossato-Bennett

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Alive Inside is a joyous cinematic exploration of music’s capacity to reawaken our souls and uncover the deepest parts of our humanity. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonishing experiences of individuals around the country who have been revitalized through the simple experience of listening to music. His camera reveals the uniquely human connection we find in music and how its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short. This stirring documentary follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he fights against a broken healthcare system to demonstrate music’s ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Rossato-Bennett visits family members who have witnessed the miraculous effects of personalized music on their loved ones, and offers illuminating interviews with experts including renowned neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain) and musician Bobby McFerrin (“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”). Director Rossato-Bennett joins us to talk about these inspirational and emotional stories revealed in the Winner of the Audience Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

In Person Director Michael Rossato-Bennett and social worker Dan Cohen (who is featured in the film) will appear at Nuart Theatre on Friday, August 1 for Q&As after the 5:20pm and 7:30pm shows and Saturday, August 2 for Q&As after the 3:10pm, 5:20pm and 7:30pm shows.

The director returns on Sunday, August 3 for Q&As after the 3:10pm and 5:20pm shows. Rossato-Bennett has written an exclusive letter to Landmark Film Club members about the transformative power of music. Also read Susan King’s Los Angeles Times article.

For news and updates for Alive Inside go to: aliveinside.us

Help bring music to care facilities at: musicandmemory.org/

“The results are astounding.” – Steve Greene, Indiewire

“A gloriously inspirational film documenting music’s healing power in Alzheimer patients.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Sometimes, you have to see it to believe it.” – New York Daily News

Happy Christmas, Director Joe Swanberg

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A budding novelist and her film director husband, Kelly (Melanie Lynskey) and Jeff (Joe Swanberg) and their two-year-old son live a peaceful existence in Chicago. But when Jeff’s irresponsible younger sister, Jenny (Anna Kendrick), comes to live with them after a breakup, things start to change. Jenny begins a rocky relationship with a baby sitter-cum-pot dealer (Mark Webber), and she and a friend, Carson (Lena Dunham), instigate an evolution in Kelly’s life, as her career and her relationship with her husband begin to grow in new directions. But are they welcome ones? In HAPPY CHRISTMAS, writer/actor/director Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies) explores both sibling relationships and the choices women face in young families. Using his unique improvisational technique, Swanberg creates a dramatic experience that results in a natural, relatable peek into his characters’ lives, filled with an engaging warmth and the actors’ own natural sense of humor. Director Swanberg joins us to talk about his engaging, entertaining and insightful new film.

For news and updates on Happy Christmas go to: www.magpictures.com/happychristmas

 In theatres opening July 25, 2014

Chicago, IL: Music Box

Denver, CO: Chez Artiste

Philadelphia, PA: Ritz at the Bourse

West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre

“Sweetly funny, utterly enjoyable.” – Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“Undeniably charming.” – Henry Barnes, The Guardian (UK)

“Engaging, truthful and affecting.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist

“Moving, gentle and generous. It might be Swanberg’s warmest, most easily enjoyable film to date.” – Guy Lodge, HitFix

“A dedicated focus on character development pays off with ample humor.” – Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter

Soldiers’ Stories, Director Jonathan Kitzen and Producer Nick Reed

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100 years ago the greatest battle the earth has ever seen began in the Somme region of France. More British and Canadian soldiers would die in this one single battle than in all of World War II, yet it is a relatively unknown event today. Soldiers’ Stories brings a ‘grunt eye view’ of battle to life using original, never before seen 3D stereoscopic images from the time. Painstakingly remastered for 15/70 mm film format these powerful and haunting images are brought to the screen for the first time ever. The Soldiers’ Stories is a universal and timeless story. In the film the realities of war are retold by modern combat veterans who relay their own stories of today in order to speak for the veterans of the past. Academy Award winning Producer Jonathan Kitzen and Nick Reed (The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life) have assembled an amazing film document of real time history. They join us for a conversation on the journey they took on this project has taken them on and the nature of how war, yesterday and today.

For news and updates on Soldiers’ Stories go to: ww1movie.com/soldiers-stories/

Screening:
A special free screening of Soldiers Stories in 3D to military veterans in gratitude of their service. Soldiers’ Stories in 3D honors veterans old and new alike in the 3D film commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. Soldiers’ Stories in 3D immerses audiences into a soldier’s-eye view of war with never seen before images of World War I with interviews from modern day veterans.

WHERE:
Regency Theatres Van Nuys Plant 16
7876 Van Nuys Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91402
(818) 779-0323

WHEN:
The film will play at 12:00 pm daily from 7/25 to 7/31/2014.

For news and updates on Soldiers’ Stories go to:

Boyhood, Actress Patricia Arquette

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Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason’s parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning"Medium" Press Conference with Patricia Arquette the years from Coldplay’s Yellow to Arcade Fire’s Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting. It’s impossible to watch Mason and his family without thinking about our own journey. Arquette joins us for a conversation on her role as Olivia and the remarkable journey and artistic growth that making Boyhood became.

For news and updates on Boyhood go to: ifcfilms.com/

Opening July 18th at the following theatres:

San Diego, CA, Hillcrest

Sherman Oaks, CA, Arclight

Pasadena, CA, Playhouse
Pasadena, CA,

Arclight
Woodland Hills, CA, Promenade 16

“Boyhood” is a stunt, an epic, a home video, and a benediction. It reminds us of what movies could be and – far more important – what life actually is.” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe

“As a film that dares to honor small moments and the life they add up to, “Boyhood” isn’t just a masterpiece. It’s a miracle.” – Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

Big Joy – The Adventures of James Broughton, Director Stephen Silha

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Years before the Beats arrived in San Francisco, the city exploded with artistic expressions: painting, theatre, film, poetry. At its center was the groundbreaking filmmaker and poet James Broughton. Big Joy explores Broughton’s passionate embrace of a life of pansexual transcendence and a fiercely independent mantra: ‘follow your own weird.’ His remarkable story spans the post-war San Francisco Renaissance, his influence on the Beat generation, escape to Europe during the McCarthy years, a lifetime of acclaim for his joyous experimental films and poetry celebrating the human body, finding his soulmate at age 61, and finally, his ascendancy as a revered bard of sexual liberation. Co-director Stephen Silha joins us to talk about the joyous and rewarding life of a groundbreaking artist.

For news and updates on Big Joy go to: bigjoy.org/

“I learned and stole a lot from James Broughton. Go see this movie.” – Gus Van Sant

“A wonderful movie that every independent spirit should see and be inspired by.” – Justin Vivian Bond

“Big Joy is more than a tribute to James Broughton, a remarkable film-maker and poet. Big Joy evokes an era that he helped to shape, an era that welcomed unwrapping conventions, undressing bodies, and celebrating life and eros. James combined words with images with an infectious delight that I see throughout Big Joy. – Robert A. Haller, producer of Erogeny

Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, director Joe Berlinger

The Whitey Bulger film poster 

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On June 22nd, 2011, the FBI arrested fugitive crime-boss James “Whitey” Bulger and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, in a modest Santa Monica apartment complex, where they had been hiding in plain sight for 16 years. As the number two person on the FBIʼs “Top Ten Most Wanted List” after Osama Bin Laden, Bulger had managed to escape capture for so many years that there were people who questioned how hard the FBI was looking for him. People wondered whether the FBI was afraid of what Bulger would reveal and whom he would implicate at the Bureau if captured. Many who had followed the case for years had hoped that Bulgerʼs trial in Boston, the town he brutalized for nearly three decades and where he faced a 33-count indictment, would serve as a coming to terms with Boston. They hoped that law enforcement’s sordid, entangled past with the Irish mafia would be forced to the surface and bring to light what exactly had happened during the 70s, 80s and 90s, when Whiteyʼs reign was condoned and even encouraged by members of the FBI, and possibly even the Department of Justice. In the hands of Academy Award-nominated director Joe Berlinger, WHITEY: United States of America v. James J. Bulger becomes a sweeping and revelatory documentary film that examines accusations of multi-faceted corruption within our nation’s law enforcement and legal systems.

Available on iTunes and Video on Demand

#1 film on iTunes during opening week

For news and updates on Whitey: The United States of America v. James J. Bulger go to: magpictures.com/whitey/

“Gripping and Troubling…” – A. O. Scott, New York Times

“Joins the pantheon of great crime documentaries” – Twitch

“Complicated beyond imagining, and, in the end, a genuine shocker.” – David Denby, New Yorker

Opening – 7/11/14

West Los Angeles, CA – Royal

Rhinebeck, NY – Upstate Films 2

Salem, MA – Cinema Salem 3

Scottsdale, AZ – Shea 14 Theatre

Tucson, AZ – The Loft Cinema

The Battered Bastards of Baseball, Co-directors Chapman Russell and Maclain Way

Battered Bastards film poster 

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When Portland, Oregon, lost its longtime minor-league affiliate, Bing Russell-who briefly played ball professionally before enjoying a successful Hollywood acting career-bought the territory and formed a single-A team to operate outside the confines of major-league baseball. When they took the field in 1973, the Mavericks-the only independent team in America-started with two strikes against them. What did Deputy Clem from Bonanza know about baseball? Or Portland, for that matter? The only thing uniting his players, recruited at open tryouts, was that no other team wanted them. Skeptics agreed that it could never work. But Bing understood a ballplayer’s dreams, and he understood an audience. His quirky, unkempt castoffs won games, and they won fans, shattering minor-league attendance records. Their spirit was contagious, and during their short reign, the Mavericks-a restaurant owner turned manager, left-handed catcher, and blackballed pitcher among them-brought independence back to baseball and embodied what it was all about: the love of the game. Co-directors Chapman and Maclain Way stop by for a lively conversation about their grandfather and his love for the misfits and dreamers.

Available on Netflix

“The Battered Bastards of Baseball is not just about baseball. It transcends the game and is a charming anti-establishment yarn that should delight audiences who don’t even know an r.b.i. from a balk.” – Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter

“So rife with underdog victors and hairpin twists of fortune that, if it weren’t all true, no one would believe it.” – Scott Foundas, Variety

“Vibrant, rebellious, and fun as all hell.” – Michael Nordine, Village Voice

Code Black, Director Ryan McGarry

Code Black film posterWhen do ideals die? When do our hopes fade into the realities of the system? For most everyone, we give up at least some of our naïve dreams in the steady march of our daily grind. But what of doctors, the people entrusted to help save our lives and protect our health? What happens when the will to heal and serve meets the frustrating realities of American health care? Ryan McGarry, a first time filmmaker, who is also a doctor at the hospital, directs the film. He provides a personal account of the residents who train and work at LA County Hospital as they are forced to confront the unexpected realities of life and death in a safety net, and a healthcare system at the brink of overload. Doctor and director McGarry joins us for a lively conversation on wearing two hats and what can be done to save our failing health care system.

“A vigorous companion piece to Peter Nicks’s revealing 2012 documentary, “The Waiting Room,” “Code Black” (the title describes the emergency room’s saturation point) is a keening cri de coeur.” – Jeannette Catsoullis, New York Times

“What will pull viewers in is the empathy of the healthcare workers who battle to retain their idealism in the face of staggering obstacles.” – Ernest Hardy, Village Voic

“Electrifying. A remarkably candid and kinetic documentary about emergency medicine that could have only been done by an ER doctor.” – Wall Street Journal

For news and updates on Code Black go to: codeblackmovie.com