ISSUE #64
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN & SPENCER EVERHART]
Hello and welcome back to an all-new installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
To start, a BIG congratulations to the winners of our OPEN PROJECTOR NIGHT event last week, and thank you to all who showcased their incredible work and attended the event.
Our SUMMER OF SEQUELS series is now underway (it even made the news!), and it continues TONIGHT at 8:00pm with Steven Spielberg’s THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK!
This screening is just the first in a very exciting lineup of events we have coming up this month, which will also feature:
Gremlins!
Robot Killing Machines!
More Gremlins!
Robert DeNiro!
Check out this full preview of everything coming up this month...
JULY 2024 PREVIEW
JULY 1st — THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
[SUMMER OF SEQUELS SERIES]
John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) summons chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) to his home with some startling information — while nearly everything at his Jurassic Park had been destroyed, his engineers happened to have a second site where other dinosaurs were kept in hiding. It seems the dinosaurs on the second island are alive and well and even breeding...and Hammond wants Malcolm to observe and document the reptiles before Hammond's financiers can get to them.
Our Summer of Sequels series continues with this bigger, darker, and messier sequel from one of cinemas most celebrated minds, STEVEN SPIELBERG.
JULY 15th — THE GODFATHER PART II
[SUMMER OF SEQUELS SERIES - 50th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING]
The compelling sequel to The Godfather, contrasting the life of Corleone father and son. Traces the problems of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in 1958 and that of a young immigrant Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) in 1917's Hell's Kitchen. Michael survives many misfortunes and Vito is introduced to a life of crime.
This one is a very special one — not just because we’re screening what is widely considered to be the greatest sequel of all time, and not just because it is the 50th ANNIVERSARY of said film, but because this event is also GRFS’ 50th FILM SCREENING!
We promise: you don’t want to miss this one.
JULY 16th - ROUGH CUT NIGHT
[FREE SOCIAL EVENT]
There’s no substitute for seeing your work on the big screen. We’ve all been there; the night of the premiere and spirits are high, but then you see that shot you would have held for a few more frames, the sound design you would have bumped a few more dB’s now that you can feel the bass in the theater.
So here’s what we’re offering:
We’re opening Wealthy’s Koning Micro-Cinema to screen any rough cut of a short film (or a scene or two of a feature) and provide a fresh audience for filmmakers to use to gauge where their film is at. For free.
While we have already filled reservations to screen work at the event, we are starting a waitlist for folks who can be on standby should anyone who has signed up is unable to attend. Join the waitlist by emailing your information to matt@snowyinaugust.com.
We encourage anyone in the community to attend and share their thoughts to help filmmakers shape their films!
JULY 24th - FILM SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE
[FREE SOCIAL EVENT]
Our signature FREE social event returns! Join like-minded Grand Rapids film fans and filmmakers for an evening of discussion and mingling.
JULY 25th - THE TERMINATOR
[ART HOUSE THEATER DAY / 40th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING]
Disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). Sent to protect Sarah is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), who divulges the coming of Skynet, an artificial intelligence system that will spark a nuclear holocaust. Sarah is targeted because Skynet knows that her unborn son will lead the fight against them. With the virtually unstoppable Terminator in hot pursuit, she and Kyle attempt to escape.
Join us in celebrating Art House Theater Day with a special 40th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING of The Terminator. The film will include an exclusive AHTD pre-recorded Q&A with director James Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd on the film's indie roots and the critical importance of art house theaters today. This conversation will play following the film and will be moderated by Amanda Salazar, Director of Programming at Vidiots, a non-profit video store and entertainment events hub for film lovers in the Los Angeles area.
JULY 29th — GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH
[SUMMER OF SEQUELS SERIES]
The magical collectibles store that Gizmo calls home has just been destroyed, and the tiny monster finds his way into a newly erected skyscraper. Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and his bride-to-be, Kate (Phoebe Cates), who have previously dealt with Gremlins run amok, discover that Gizmo and an impish legion of reptilian pals are inhabiting the downtown building. The couple tries to stop the creatures from escaping into New York City, but this new batch of beasts might be uncontrollable.
Listen. We know the first Gremlins is a classic, and you’ve probably heard a lot less (or even some negativity) about this sequel. But as our own Spencer Everhart put it in his preview of the event back in ISSUE #60:
“This is Hollywood satire at its most clever, fun, and fearless. Gremlins 2: The New Batch embraces its own absurdity, both as art and commerce, to test the limits of creative excess within the system and render it as mischievous and glorious as only Joe Dante can. It is — dare I say — the film of a free man.”
Be there!
*
Tickets for all events— and more— are available now at GRFILM.ORG!
Tell your friends.
KYLE’S CONTEXT CORNER: JEFF NICHOLS & THE BIKERIDERS
[BY: KYLE MACCIOMEI]
RE-RELEASE:
ECHOES
[BY: SPENCER EVERHART]
Echoes is an exclusively-visual column based on the MUBI Notebook series of the same name - a fun way to find the repetitions, reverberations, and recapitulations in images throughout cinema history.
We originally ran this installment of Echoes all the way back in ISSUE #8, but it felt like the perfect time to share it again!
Tombs of the Blind Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1972)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1997)
UPCOMING EVENTS
THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (Spielberg, 1997)
WHAT: THE SUMMER OF SEQUELS SERIES CONTINUES! While nearly everything at Jurassic Park was destroyed, John Hammond’s engineers had a secret second site, where other dinosaurs were kept in hiding. It seems the dinosaurs on the second island are alive and well and even breeding; and Hammond wants Ian Malcolm to observe and document the reptiles before Hammond's financiers can get to them…
WHEN: TONIGHT! Monday, July 1st, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
THE GODFATHER: PART II (Coppola, 1974)
WHAT: THE SUMMER OF SEQUELS SERIES CONTINUES with a 50th ANNIVERSARY screening of the film that is often lauded as the greatest sequel of all time. ‘Nuff said.
WHEN: Monday, July 15th, 8:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
WHAT: An all-new, FREE social event where local filmmakers will have a chance to screen rough cuts of their current projects!
WHEN: Tuesday, July 16th, 6:00pm
WHERE: Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every MONDAY (usually), and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS.
Plus, join us on social media! We’d love to chat with everyone and hear YOUR OWN thoughts on everything above (you can also hop in the comments section below).
Know someone you think will dig BEAM FROM THE BOOTH? Send them our way!
Look for ISSUE #65 in your inbox NEXT WEEK!
Until then, friends...
I wanna start a Kyle fan club