Landmark Theatres Film Club Q&A Podcast

Jean-Marc Vallée (director), Bryan Sipe (screenwriter) and Judah Lewis (actor) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Scott Mantz (Access Hollywood). Film synopsis: Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal), a successful investment banker, struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law Phil (Chris Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen Mareno (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son Chris (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, The Young Victoria).

Don Cheadle (writer/director/producer/actor ), with drummer/producer Vince Wilburn, Jr. (nephew of Miles Davis) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Film synopsis: Miles Ahead is a wildly entertaining and moving exploration of one of 20th century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis, featuring a career-defining performance by Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) in the title role. In the midst of a dazzling and prolific career at the forefront of modern jazz innovation, Davis virtually disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. Alone and holed up in his home, he is beset by chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, his musical voice stifled and numbed by drugs and pain medications. When a wily music reporter, (Ewan McGregor) forces his way into Davis’ house, the two men unwittingly embark on a wild and sometimes harrowing adventure to recover a stolen tape of the musician’s latest compositions. Davis’ mercurial behavior is fueled by memories of his failed marriage to the talented and beautiful dancer Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi). Working from a script he co-wrote with Steven Baigelman, Cheadle’s bravura directorial debut is not a conventional biopic but rather a unique, no-holds barred portrait of a singular artist in crisis.

Richard Linklater (writer/director), Tyler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, Glen Powell and Wyatt Russell (actors) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Scott Mantz (Access Hollywood). Film synopsis: A “spiritual sequel” to the stoner hit Dazed and Confused, the comedy Everybody Wants Some!! is set in the world of 1980 college life and follows a group of friends as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Written and directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, Before Sunrise), the film stars Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, J. Quinton Johnson, Glen Powell and Wyatt Russell.

Robert Budreau (writer/director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Film synopsis: Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Before Sunset) lights up the screen as jazz legend Chet Baker, whose tumultuous life is thrillingly reimagined with wit, verve and style to burn. In the 1950s, Baker was one of the most famous trumpeters in the world, renowned as both a pioneer of the West Coast jazz scene and an icon of cool. By the 1960s, he was all but washed up, his career and personal life in shambles due to years of heroin addiction. In his innovative anti-biopic, writer/director Robert Budreau zeroes in on Baker’s life at a key moment in the 1960s, just as the musician attempts to stage a hard-fought comeback, spurred in part by a passionate romance with a new flame (Carmen Ejogo, Selma). Creatively blending fact with fiction and driven by Hawke’s virtuoso performance, Born to Be Blue unfolds with all the stylistic brio and improvisatory genius of great jazz.

Marc Abraham (writer/director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Jenelle Riley (Variety). Film synopsis: The legendary Hank Williams was an iconic, influential country singer and songwriter of the 1940s and early 50s whose meteoric rise and fall, including his death at age 29, has become part of American folklore. Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak, Thor, Only Lovers Left Alive) gives a knockout performance—and sings—in this new biographical drama written and directed by Marc Abraham (Flash of Genius), based on the acclaimed book by Colin Escott. I Saw the Light examines Williams’ tormented creative genius and the turbulent domestic life that inspired him to write some of his best-known songs. By literally going back in time, you see Hank as he was, living his life on his terms, battling his demons and ultimately creating music for the ages. Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) co-stars as Williams’s feisty wife Audrey, an ambitious and passionate woman. Atmospheric cinematography provided by Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential).

Jeff Nichols (writer/director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Landmark Theatres’ Dan Gorski. Film synopsis: In the genre-defying thriller Midnight Special, writer/director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time. Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, 99 Homes) stars as a father who goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), and uncover the truth behind the boy’s special powers. What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the Federal Government. Ultimately his father risks everything to protect Alton and help fulfill a destiny that could change the world forever. As supernatural as it is intimately human, the film also stars Joel Edgerton (The Gift), Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Sam Shepard.

Michael Showalter (director/co-writer) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood). Film synopsis: Hello, My Name Is Doris is a witty and compassionate late-life coming-of-age-story. When Doris (Academy Award-winner Sally Field, Norma Rae, Places in the Heart) meets her company’s hip new art director John (Max Greenfield), sparks fly—at least for Doris. Her first encounter with true romance (outside of the pages of a novel) convinces Doris that she and the mostly unaware John are meant for each other. In the cluttered house she shared with her late mother, Doris mines the internet for information on her one-and-only, guided by the 13-year-old granddaughter of her best pal Roz (Tyne Daly). When Doris begins showing up at John’s regular haunts, she wins over his Williamsburg friends with her eclectic vintage wardrobe, quirky naiveté and unironic enthusiasm for their rooftop knitting circle. Her new life brings Doris a thrilling perspective, but also creates a rift between her and her longtime friends and family, who believe she’s making a fool of herself over a guy half her age.

Jonathan Gold (LA Times Food Critic) and Laura Gabbert (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Landmark Theatres’ Dan Gorski. Film synopsis: In this richly penetrating documentary odyssey, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold shows us a Los Angeles where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic portal to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America. Combing through colorful neighborhoods in his green pickup truck, Gold is sniffing out his next strip-mall discovery—whether Oaxacan grasshopper soup, hand-cut tonkotsu ramen, or a particularly unctuous pad see ew. As piping-hot platters are served up, so are stories of immigrants whose secret family recipes are like sacred offerings pledged for the opportunity to build their American Dream. With eternal curiosity, razor-sharp intellect, and existential longing, Gold is a culinary geographer taking us where no critic has gone before. Directed by Laura Gabbert (No Impact Man).

Gavin Hood (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood). Film synopsis: In the tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller Eye in the Sky, Helen Mirren stars as Colonel Katherine Powell, a U.K.-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, Powell discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” But as American pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is about to engage, a nine-year-old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of U.S. and British government over the moral, political and personal implications of modern warfare. Also starring Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox, Eye in the Sky is directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition, Ender’s Game).

Jeremy Strong (actor) and Jeremy Kleiner (producer) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Variety’s Jenelle Riley. Film synopsis: When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything. Based on the true story and best-selling book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (The Blind Side, Moneyball), with a screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay and directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers), The Big Short is a high stakes, breathless thriller. The outstanding cast includes Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt, with support from Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock and Marisa Tomei. The Big Short is nominated for four Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Best Screenplay, with two of its stars, Steve Carell and Christian Bale, also nominated for Best Actor (Comedy). The entire cast is the winner of the National Board of Review Best Ensemble award and film editor Hank Corwin was recently honored with the Best Film Editing award by the Los Angeles Film Critics.

Phyllis Nagy (screenwriter) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by film critic David Poland. Film synopsis: Cate Blanchett (Truth, Blue Jasmine) and Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) are mesmerizing as two women from very different backgrounds who find themselves feeling a forbidden attraction in 1950s Manhattan. Carol (Blanchett), an alluring older woman, is trapped in a loveless marriage; Therese (Mara) is a young working woman and aspiring photographer who dreams of a more fulfilling life. They meet at a department store sales counter, and sparks fly. As their relationship intensifies, Carol’s well-to-do husband (Kyle Chandler) begins to question her fitness as mother of their young daughter. Featuring magnificent period production design, Carol is a luscious, sexy, intelligent, breathtaking romantic drama. Adapted from the groundbreaking novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and masterfully directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There, Safe).

Tom McCarthy (director/co-writer) and Josh Singer (co-writer) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Film synopsis: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James and Stanley Tucci star in Spotlight, the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Directed by Tom McCarthy (The Visitor, The Station Agent), Spotlight is a tense investigative thriller, tracing the steps to one of the biggest crime stories in modern times.

Jay Roach (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Jeanne Wolf. Film synopsis: In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood’s top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. Trumbo (directed by Jay Roach) recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger. The film also stars Diane Lane, John Goodman, Louis CK, Elle Fanning, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

Brie Larson (actress) and Lenny Abrahamson (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Greg Ellwood from Hitfix. Film synopsis: The highly suspenseful and deeply emotional drama Room tells the extraordinary story of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a spirited 5-year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted Ma (Brie Larson, The Spectacular Now, Short Term 12). Confined to a windowless, 10-by-10-foot space named “Room,” Ma has created a whole universe for Jack, and she will stop at nothing to ensure that he is able to live a complete and fulfilling life. But as Jack's curiosity about their situation grows, and Ma's resilience reaches its breaking point, they enact a risky plan to escape, ultimately bringing them face-to-face with what may turn out to be the scariest thing yet: the real world. Based on the award-winning global bestseller by screenwriter Emma Donoghue and also starring Joan Allen and William H. Macy, Room is a unique and unexpectedly tender exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child under the most harrowing of circumstances. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Frank).

Cary Joji Fukunaga (director) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Michael Ordoña (LA Times Envelope). Film synopsis: Beasts of No Nation brings to life the gripping tale of Agu, a child soldier torn from his family to fight in the civil war of an African country. Newcomer Abraham Attah gives a stunning portrayal of Agu, while Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Prometheus, “Luther”) dominates the screen in the role of Commandant, a warlord who takes in Agu and instructs him in the ways of war. Based on the highly acclaimed novel by Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala. Written and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (director of Jane Eyre, Sin Nombre and Season One of “True Detective”).