As some of you know, along with Sebastian O’Brien (or Sebastian OB to you forum regulars) I program and host Friday Night Frights at The Cinefamily theater in Los Angeles. LA is jam-packed with cool art house and repertory theaters, but in its short five-year rise to glory operating out of the classic Silent Movie Theater in West Hollywood, the Cinefamily has set itself apart as more than just a movie theater — it is a cultural hot spot, an orgy of all media. They showcase everything from silent films, to contemporary films, to animated shorts, to TV, to forgotten films and found footage, to live comedy, live music, mixed media, retrospectives, and cast reunions (Seb and I staged a deliciously weirdo cast-crew reunion for Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest earlier this year). In a time when home-theaters are getting better and better, The Cinefamily has been upping the standard in regards to the “theatrical experience.” In short, they are giving Los Angelenos a great reason to abandon their comfy domiciles and sit in a dark room with a hundred other people.
The Cinefamily is a non-profit. We’re all here for the love of the game. And to keep doing what we do best, on December 15th-16th, the theater is staging the 2nd Annual Fantastic, Elastic, 24-Hour Holiday Telethon to help upgrade the ol’ Silent Movie Theater for the 21st-century and get our asses a state of the art digital projection system and get our literal asses some desperately needed new seats (anyone who has attended a marathon at the theater knows what I’m talking about). Here, I’ll let the great Shadow Stevens give the pitch in a much cooler voice than mine:
Here is the Kickstarter for the fundraiser.
Anyone who lives in LA and gives a shit about movies should toss a few bucks into the Kickstarter and attend the Telethon. But what is the relevance of any of this to those of your who live elsewhere? Well, the 2nd Annual Fantastic, Elastic, 24-Hour Holiday Telethon is going to be streaming LIVE on the interwebz for all to see! Keep checking back to that link for updates on the line-up, but we’ve just confirmed the first round of entertainment, with much more to come…
* ROBERT DOWNEY JR. will open a time capsule left for him by loving fans tens years ago and recently discovered underneath the projection booth.
* “My Dinner With Schwartzman”: programmer Bret Berg catches up with old friend JASON SCHWARTZMAN over a nice meal on stage.
* An interview with MARK MOTHERSBAUGH of Devo, via satellite — “a disembodied discussion with the demigod of devolution.”
* Performances and presentations by some of Cinefamily’s FAVORITE HUMANS EVER, including NICK OFFERMAN and NEIL HAMBURGER — and JOHN HAWKES playing guitar!
* Screenwriting guru ROBERT MCKEE skyping in for an hour and answering audience questions. He will be on the big screen like the great and powerful Oz!
* Cinefamily’s annual animation festival ANIMATION BREAKDOWN presents Cloud Eye Control’s MIWA MATREYEK’s gorgeous, world-renowned live animation performance
* PHIL LORD (director of 21 Jump Street, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs and the upcoming LEGO movie) presenting amazing LEGO FAN FILMS
* A very special live “NITE OWL” late-night talk show featuring CUT CHEMIST, ERIC WAREHEIM, GUY MADDIN, UDO KIER, TEARIST, JOHN HAWKES and more.
* Simpsons director DAVID SILVERMAN’S FLAMING TUBA
* Cracked Out with JON DALY & BRETT GELMAN, and their new doc by JASON WOLINER
* FYF FEST presents a special “greet the sun” concert including a series of live scores at dawn by YACHT
* A FOUND FOOTAGE PARTY with ROB SCHRAB and DAN HARMON, featuring a sneak peak at EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE’s completely nuts X-MAS SPECIAL
* TRAILERS FROM HELL, with top Hollywood directors and writers giving live commentary to their favorite trailers.
* Cult Films with DUNCAN TRUSSEL
* A special X-mas show by the BOB BAKER MARIONETTE THEATER
* A special presentation of “Madvertising”, featuring title sequence designer and commercial-making genius PABLO FERRO
* A tribute to the classic ’70s children’s’ education phenomenon “FREE TO BE YOU AND ME”
