AMC Theaters to show 5 Best Picture nominees in a row for $30
February 12th, 2009 by Scott Marks
This reporter has done more than his fair share of Oscar® bashing over the years and rightfully so. Repeating: Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Cary Grant never took home Oscars®, but Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Red Buttons did. I rest my case.
No matter how loud I bitch, I haven’t missed an Oscarcast® since I was seven. It’s the one night of the year the Academy invites itself into your living room. Next to THE Telethon, it is the only night of the year when you can’t pry me away from my television set.
With one exception (The Lord of the Rings) I have seen every film ever to win Best Picture® and the same can be said for most of the nominated films. There are a handful from the 1930s that I have yet to see:The Racket (1927), Alibi (1928), The Patriot (2928), East Lynne (1930), Cavalcade (1931), The White Parade (1933) and Dark Victory (1938). Only two films from the 1940s have managed to escape my gaze:The Pied Piper (1942) and Wilson (1943). After that, the only other films that were nominated for best picture that I have never seen are Elizabeth (1997), Apollo 13 (1994) and the other two LOTR pictures.
Those who tune in just to see what the celebs are wearing are not my kind of people. What is the point of devoting over three hours of your life to watching clothes? The only way to make the show even remotely interesting (or tolerable) is to see all of the nominated films and play along at home. For those of you slackers out there, here is a marathon chance for you to play catch up with this year’s crop of Oscar® favorites.
On Saturday, February 21, 97 AMC theatres in 42 North American markets will present all five nominated films back-to-back. (As they say, check your local listings for show times). Guests can purchase an exclusive AMC Best Picture Showcase All-Day Pass for only $30, or just $25 for AMC MovieWatcher® members. In addition to seeing all five Oscar®-nominated “Best Picture” films AMC will throw in a large popcorn with unlimited refills for the entire day.
In case you have already forgotten, the films are: “Milk,” “The Reader,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Frost/Nixon.” Instead of a traditional ticket, guests will receive an all-day pass in the form of a souvenir lanyard, which will feature artwork from the five nominated films and give guests the freedom to come and go throughout the event as they please. Watch two movies, take a dinner break and come back for the rest.
Showtimes are as follows:
Milk - 10:30 a.mm
The Reader - 1:05 p.m.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 3:45 p.m.
Slumdog Millionaire - 7:15 p.m.
Frost /Nixon - 9:45 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now. To find out if your local multiplex will be running the Oscat-thon®, visit www.amctheatres.com.
To download a complete list of every film (and all the nominees) to be nominated in every catagory, click here.
Tags: 5 nominated movies, AMC Theaters, AMC Theatres, Best Picture Nominees, Best Picture Showcase, complete list of oscar nominees, complete list of oscar winners, see nominated movies, ShowtimesFiled Under News
Emulsion Compulsion curates SDMA’s SCREEN ON THE GREEN
July 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Let’s Get Together!
For the second year in a row, the San Diego Museum of Art was gracious enough to ask me to curate their annual Screen on the Green series.
Five weeks out of the year, SDMA transforms Balboa Park into a gorgeous outdoor theatre. Admission is free (San Diegans love free), so even though all of the movies are older, most are even in primitive black and white, we manage to attract a huge crowd. If you are planning on attending, I suggest you get their early with your lawn chairs, blankets and picnic baskets in tow.
All of the films are family friendly (sadly, no Russ Meyer) and if I do say so myself, this year’s lineup offers a great escape for the next five Thursday evenings. The schedule is as follows:
July 31 Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
August 7 Billy Wilder’s Sabrina (1954)
August 14 David Swift’s The Parent Trap (1961)
August 21 Sing along with George Sidney’s Bye, Bye Birdie (1963)
August 28 Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon (1973)
As is my habit, each feature will begin with a vintage cartoon. Screen on the Green: Summer Movies at Balboa Park plays every Thursday at 8 pm through August 28. The screening is located on the East Lawn, near the Botanical Building and Casa del Prado. For more info, call 619-232-7931 or visit the SDMA website.
Screen on the Green is brought to you through the generous support of Phil and Lyn Gildred. Hope to see you all there!
Tags: balboa park, Movies, outdoor movies, San Diego, san diego museum of art, Scott Marks, screen on the green, sdma, ShowtimesFiled Under News
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