September 7
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ELVIS PRESLEY &
THE BEST OF
SUN RECORDS
Featuring Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis
Tuesday, September 7 - 7:30pm
Carte Blanche Members – FREE / Members - $6 / Students & Seniors - $8 / Nonmembers - $10
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ABOUT THE FILM: You won’t want to miss this showing of Elvis Presley clips and never-before-seen footage of the King of Rock and Roll from his early years in the 1950’s to his Las Vegas performances and tours in the 1970’s. Along with this send-up for Elvis (“Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I’m All Shook Up,” “Love Me Tender,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “In the Ghetto,” and “Suspicious Minds”) will be the celebration of Sun Records and its other famous recording artists, including Johnny Cash (“I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “Ring of Fire”), Roy Orbison (“Pretty Woman,” “Crying,” “Dream Baby,” “Only the Lonely,” and “Blue Bayou”), Carl Perkins (“Blue Suede Shoes,” “Match Box,” and “Honey, Don’t”) and Jerry Lee Lewis (“Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”), all musical geniuses in their own right.
The 1950’s & 1960’s come alive again in this rare showing of newly discovered films, concert performances and television shows starring the Kings of Sun Records.
(Show is 90 minutes)
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ABOUT BILL SHELLEY/SHELLEY ARCHIVES: As a filmmaker, William Shelley has been shooting professionally since the 1970’s when he captured on film and video bands such as The Stray Cats, Twisted Sister, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts playing in small bars and clubs before they became famous. Shelley later associated with rap group Public Enemy (PE), then known as Spectrum City, going on to direct a number of their videos and become an honorary member of PE’s African American Media Network cable television studio. Shelley Archives was started in 1985. After working with Readers Digest Entertainment in 1990, the company’s end product was nominated for an Emmy in 1993 for the three part series “Legends of Comedy.” The program was broadcast on the Disney cable network, and home video sales exceeded a record breaking one million copies sold. Today the company has over 100,000 reels of original 35mm and 16mm films in its archives and over 10,000 hours of rare concerts, television shows (from Europe & USA), promos, interviews, out-takes, and home movies, from a wide-ranging variety of subjects. The company has licensed them to numerous documentary and commercial projects throughout the world. Preservation of films and music clips is a main focus of the organization, as well as the desire to compensate the artists. |
Stay tuned for more Legends of Rock Live from Shelley Archives this Fall!
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September 14
The Avon Theatre Presents
DECONSTRUCTING THE BEATLES:
A TRIP THROUGH STRAWBERRY FIELDS
A multimedia lecture hosted by Beatles expert Scott Freiman
Tuesday, September 14 - 7:30pm
Carte Blanche Members – Free / Members - $6 / Students & Seniors - $8 / Nonmembers - $10
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ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Join Beatles expert Scott Freiman for a live multimedia presentation that reveals the revolutionary techniques used during the production of the Beatles masterpieces “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Penny Lane,” and “A Day in the Life.” Using anecdotes, history, and rare audio and video, Freiman will make you feel like you’re in Abbey Road Studios, seeing and hearing the recordings progress from the first take to the finished product. He will also discuss the songs’ lasting influence on popular music and their place within the Beatles’ career. For more information and to see a trailer, please visit http://www.beatleslectures.com |
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ABOUT SCOTT FREIMAN: Scott Freiman combines his love of the Beatles with his experience as a composer, producer, and engineer to deliver unique lectures about the Beatles.
He holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Music from Yale University and a Masters of Music Composition from New York University.
Scott’s original music has been featured in award-winning films and has been performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
Mr. Freiman is the owner of Second Act Studio, a state-of-the-art music and video studio for composition, recording, and production.
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September 16
Avon Theatre’s Cult Classic Series
In collaboration with "The Witch's Dungeon"
& "Legends Of Film & Fantasy" present
THE AURORA MONSTERS - THE MODEL CRAZE THAT GRIPPED THE WORLD
Live presentation before the show with
director,
writer & producer Cortland Hull,
and associate producer Bill Diamond,
along with an appearance by "Gorgo," the co-host of the documentary.
THURSDAY, September 16
Special Showtime - 8:00pm
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ABOUT THE FILM: This colorful documentary is a tribute to "The Aurora Monster Kits", and the talented people responsible for bringing them to life during the "Monster Craze" of the 1960's, starting with the 1957 release of the classic horror films to TV called "Shock Theatre". Join legendary horror host, "ZACHERLEY, The Cool Ghoul" and sidekick "GORGO", as they discover the fun and excitement of model building. A visual two hour documentary, featuring in-depth interviews, a wax sculpture demonstration, rare photos, sketches & promotional material related to Aurora and the 1960's "Monster Craze" never seen before by the public. Including interviews with Aurora's James Bama (cover artist), Ray Meyers (sculptor) and Andrew Yanchus (project developer). Also featuring Daniel Roebuck and Jeff Yagher, Tom Gilliland & Mat Falls from Sideshow Collectibles, Daniel Horne (illustrator), Frank Winspur (Moebius Models), and the artists of "MAD GEPPETTO," who share their thoughts and memories of those endearing models that have left an indelible impression, earning a special place in Americana.
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CORTLAND HULL with props from "The Witch's Dungeon"
BILL DIAMOND and puppets of "MonsterTVNetwork.com"
Zacherley The Cool Ghoul & Gorgo hosting the documentary
Zacherley & Gorgo experiment on an Aurora Model
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ABOUT CORTLANDT HULL: An artist and filmmaker, Hull has produced several documentaries and short subjects on fantasy films. He has taught film & makeup at colleges & universities, as well as lecturing on the subject at various film conventions across the country. Cortland has also created life-size figures for Universal Studios in Florida. Hull began his museum on classic horror, "The Witch's Dungeon", in 1966 at the age of 13. The museum is now considered the longest running attraction on the genre in the country. www.preservehollywood.org
ABOUT BILL DIAMOND: An artist, producer and director, his studio Bill Diamond Productions has produced numerous shows for cable television. Recently, Bill branched out to a weekly Internet TV series on www.monstertvnetwork.com featuring an array of character puppets based on vintage horror films. Bill was formerly a puppeteer with Jim Henson & "The Muppets" and worked on the films, "Dark Crystal" & "Labyrinth." |
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September 22
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COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
Post-film Q&A with Dr. Stephen Myers, President of Greenwich Forum on War and Peace,
and Dr. John Burroughs, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York
Wednesday, September 22
Reception - 6:30pm
Film - 7:30pm
Carte Blanche – FREE / Members - $6 / Students/Seniors - $8 / Nonmembers - $10 |
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ABOUT THE FILM: Countdown To Zero traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident. Written and directed by acclaimed documentarian Lucy Walker (The Devil’s Playground, Blindsight), the film features an array of important international statesmen, including President Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pervez Musharraf and Tony Blair. It makes a compelling case for worldwide nuclear disarmament, an issue more topical than ever with the Obama administration working to revive this goal today.
ABOUT Dr. STEPHEN MYERS: Dr. Stephen Myers is the president of the Greenwich Forum on War and Peace, a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization dedicated to exploring and expanding the ways of peace and non-violence throughout our nation and the world. Dr. Myers is a physicist with long-standing interests in nuclear and related defense issues ranging from the “star wars” space-based missile defense system of the Reagan era to current concerns about nuclear weapons and nuclear power. He has written letters and opinion pieces and presented talks on these topics. He graduated from Renssaleer Polytechnic Institute in 1958 and received a PHD in physics from New York University in 1976. He is a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, The Federation of American Scientists, Arms Control Association and Peace Action. He speaks and writes on nuclear issues at public forums and in magazines and newspapers. Steven was born in Stamford, Connecticut, attended the public schools there, and graduated from Stamford High School in 1954. He and his wife, Naomi, have been residents of Greenwich for thirty four years. They have a daughter, Lauren, and one grandchild who live in Evanston, Illinois.
ABOUT JOHN BURROUGHS: John Burroughs is executive director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York (www.lcnp.org). Dr. Burroughs represents LCNP in Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review proceedings and the United Nations. He is co-editor of Nuclear Disorder or Cooperative Security? U.S. Weapons of Terror, the Global Proliferation Crisis, and Paths to Peace (2007).
He has published articles in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the World Policy Journal. An interview with Dr. Burroughs, "The Disarmament Debate: The Fate of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," is in the Harvard International Review, Summer 2005. He is co-editor of Rule of Power or Rule of Law? An Assessment of U.S. Policies and Actions Regarding Security-Related Treaties (2003), and author of The Legality of Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons: A Guide to the Historic Opinion of the International Court of Justice (1998). He also is an adjunct professor of international law at Rutgers Law School, Newark.
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September 30
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Jean-Pierre Melville’s
DIRTY MONEY (UN FLIC)
Thursday, September 30 – 7:30 PM
Carte Blanche Members – FREE / Avon & AFG Members - $6 /Students/Seniors - $8 /
Nonmembers - $10
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ABOUT THE FILM: A bank robbery in a small town goes awry, ending with one of the robbers being wounded. But the loot from the robbery winds up being an asset for an even more spectacular heist. Ultimately, Simon (Richard Crenna), gang leader and Paris nightclub owner, must deal with police comissaire Edouard Colemane (Alain Delon), who also happens to be his good friend.
Also starring Catherine Deneuve, the final movie made by legendary writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville (Army of Shadows, Le Cercle Rouge, Le Samouraï, Bob Le Flambeur) finds him once again exploring the heist/gangster genre in a highly accomplished work of film noir.
All of the master’s trademarks are on display - terrifically dark colors, a brooding atmosphere, and quiet, taciturn gangsters who find themselves challenged when things don’t go according to plans. |
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October 6
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Favorite film selections from the metro area’s film critics
Jean-Luc Godard’s
BREATHLESS
Wednesday, October 6 – 7:30 PM
Carte Blanche Members – FREE / Avon & AFG Members - $6 /Students/Seniors - $8 /
Nonmembers - $10
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ABOUT THE FILM: “To become immortal. And then...die." Lip-stroking pug Jean-Paul Belmondo’s on the run, shooting cops and stealing cars — as well as cash from the handbag of thickly-Iowa-accented, Herald Tribune-hawking girlfriend Jean Seberg; with the typically Gallic undertone of femmes vs. hommes as the couple engage in boudoir philosophy, staring contests, sous blanket tussles, and plenty of le smoking. Erstwhile Cahiers du Cinéma critic Godard’s début feature turned a sketchy outline from critical confrère François Truffaut into one of the benchmarks of the New Wave, seemingly reinventing the cinema itself, and immediately rocketing Belmondo (in his ninth film) and Seberg (here beginning her European eminence following two Preminger flops in a row) to world stardom, and beginning Godard’s decade of supreme hipness, of seemingly compulsive, and often outrageous innovation. The pace is non-stop — a better translation of the title is “out of breath” — thanks to the startling, then-revolutionary use of jump-cutting (when the first edit came in at 3 hours, New Wave godfather Jean-Pierre Melville — seen here as novelist “Parvulesco” — advised losing the subplots, but JLG instead did the unheard of: cutting freely within shots); while the “je m’en fous” attitude of both protagonist and film proved the prototype of movie cool that every would-be cinéaste still aspires to. This new 35mm restoration, with freshly revised subtitles by Lenny Borger, is the first in Breathless history.
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| ABOUT THE CRITIC: Joe Meyers writes about movies for the Connecticut Post. A native of Chicago, Joe did most of his schooling in Philadelphia and studied journalism at Penn State. The former editor of the (now sadly defunct) Delmarva News, he spent two wonderful years in the late 1970s running the first (and only) arthouse movie theater on the Delmarva Peninsula, where he learned many valuable lessons about the differences between commerce and art. A collection of Joe's pieces about film stars of the past - "Whatever Happened to..." - went through several printings. |
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October 12
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Tuesday, October 12
Reception – 6:30pm / Film – 7:30pm / Q&A to follow
Carte Blanche Members – Free / Members & Educators - $20 / Nonmembers - $35
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ABOUT THE FILM: Lip-Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland play two sets of identical twins who are mismatched at birth shortly before the French Revolution.
One pair is reared as royalty; the other is raised as the children of peasants. The plot in this film by Bud Yorkin is a wonderful mishmash of Dumas, Victor Hugo, and Molière, with the peasant brothers joining the revolutionaries while their bizarrely foppish siblings eat cake and ignore the events around them.
Wilder and Sutherland are joined by a who's who of British comedy stars, including Billie Whitelaw, Hugh Griffith, Victor Spinetti, and a cameo by Orson Welles – this film became a cult item among college students of the period. --Marshall Fine
ABOUT GENE WILDER: One of America’s most iconic and beloved stage and screen actors, Gene Wilder is an equally accomplished screenwriter, director, and more recently an author. In addition to his memoir Kiss Me Like A Stranger, My Search For Love And Art, Wilder has written the novels My French Whore, The Woman Who Wouldn’t, and the collection of short stories What Is This Thing Called Love?. Wilder is a long standing member and supporter of the Avon’s film advisory board. He has appeared at the Avon on many previous occasions to present some of his favorite classic films, as well as many of the unforgettable titles from his amazing body of work. He and his wife Karen are long time residents of Stamford, and remain actively involved in numerous local philanthropic activities. |
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October 20
Documentary Night Presents
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: THE RADIANT CHILD
Post-film panel discussion with Basquiat’s inner circle and former collaborators…
Wednesday, October 20 - 7:30pm
Carte Blanche Members – FREE / Members and Educators - $10 / Nonmembers - $15 |
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ABOUT THE FILM: In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a phenomenon. He became notorious for his graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side scene, sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200, and became best friends with Andy Warhol. Appreciated by both the art cognoscenti and the public, Basquiat was launched into international stardom. However, soon his cult status began to override the art that had made him famous in the first place.
Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat's own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.
Featuring interviews with Julian Schnabel, Larry Gagosian, Bruno Bischofberger, Tony Shafrazi, Fab 5 Freddy, Jeffrey Deitch, Glenn O'Brien, Maripol, Kai Eric, Nicholas Taylor, Fred Hoffmann, Michael Holman, Diego Cortez, Annina Nosei, Suzanne Mallouk, Rene Ricard, among many others. |
Mallouk and Basquiat (1981)
Michael Holman, Suzanne Mallouk and Kai Eric
Photograph by Ute Thon
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ABOUT THE GUEST PANELIST:
Suzanne Mallouk (artist/psychiatrist/ex-girlfriend of Basquiat)
Suzanne Mallouk moved to New York City in 1980 at the age of 20, to be a painter, after art school. She was extremely drawn to the East Village’s vibrant cultural flowering of music, dance, theatre, art and the avant-garde. In 1981 she met the artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat. They fell in love and remained on and off again companions until his death in 1988. He took her to Club 57 and the Mudd Club, where they became regulars, often going out every night. As an artist, singer and fashion model for Marc Jacobs and other designers, she became one of a small creative community of people that were instrumental in making the New York City 1980s club/art scene legendary.
Suzanne’s relationship with Basquiat gave her both an intimate and deep understanding of the artist and his work, that few others possess. She watched him go from living on the streets to becoming a world famous artist and a millionaire in the span of two years. She is often referred to as his “muse”. Their intense and symbiotic relationship has been portrayed in films and books about Basquiat. She has been interviewed for numerous publications, TV and radio, both in Europe, Japan and in the United States and is now considered an expert on the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat. After Jean-Michel’s death in 1988, Suzanne went to college, then on to Medical School. She is now a Board Certified Psychiatrist in private practice in New York City, specializing in addiction and in treating patients in the arts.
Michael Holman (artist/musician/screenwriter of Basquiat)
A New York resident since 1978, Michael Holman grasped the importance of the cultural Renaissance taking place in downtown New York City during the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. An artist on the “Downtown New York Scene,” Holman, along with famed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, formed the experimental band “Gray,” producing layered experimental music. Gray performed at such legendary night clubs, such as, CBGB’s, Hurrah’s, Club USA and The Mudd Club. He was also an integral part of the burgeoning Hip Hop movement, is credited as the first writer to officially use the term Hip Hop in publication, and managed the famous dance crews, The Rock Steady Crew and The New York City Breakers.
Holman wrote the screenplay to Miramax’s feature film, “Basquiat,” and has taught screenwriting at Howard University, The New School For Social Research and other institutions of higher learning. Today, Holman is active as an artist and lecturer in the field of contemporary urban culture and art, and Holman’s band Gray stays busy producing music and is preparing for a debut album release in 2010. Michael also exhibits his pop art paintings worldwide and continues to write and direct film.
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November 4
The Avon Theatre and Vassar Club of Fairfield County present
the Connecticut premiere of
KEEP EYE ON BALL:
THE HASHIM KHAN STORY
Post-film Q&A with director Josh Easdon
Thursday, November 4 - 7:30pm
Carte Blanche Members - FREE / Avon & Vassar Club Members - $6
Students/Seniors - $8 / Nonmembers - $10 |
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ABOUT THE FILM: Keep Eye on Ball: The Hashim Khan Story traces the extraordinary life of Pakistan’s first national hero, the father of modern squash and a proud Pashtun. In 1951, four years after the partition of India and Pakistan, 37-year-old Hashim was permitted to enter the British Open. Virtually unknown at the time, he upended the elite squash world by winning the first of his seven British Open titles. He went on to create the “Khan Dynasty” — teaching his brother, cousins and sons the game, and turning them all into champions. Hashim started out as a ball boy at the open-roofed courts of the Peshawar British Officers’ Club. A bare-footed Hashim spent hours perfecting the skills that would carry him to international fame, granting him entry into the most exclusive private clubs in England and the United States.
Keep Eye on Ball is more than the remarkable story of this squash legend. It goes beyond the four walls of the squash court, tracing Hashim’s story from a turbulent moment in the history of three nations — England, India and Pakistan — to his life as a Muslim in post-9/11 America. The documentary includes rare footage of the Khyber Pass and the remote Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: Josh Easdon is a documentary filmmaker and squash teaching professional who brought his passion for squash and filmmaking to this project. Josh’s most recent film, Inside Dyslexia, has been acclaimed for its unique perspective on the lives of three learning disabled youngsters. Josh received a BA from Vassar College, where he was an All-America squash player, and a Masters in Media Studies from The New School.
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