LAist Film Calendar: John Lennon's Birthday at The Egyptian

Thousands of years ago, the pharaohs revered the scarab. This weekend, the Egyptian Theatre comes together to worship The Beatles. A Celluloid Celebration of John Lennon's 70th Birthday begins Thursday with the premiere of Nowhere Boy, a dramatization of Lennon's early life and the formation of Beatles proto-type The Quarrymen. The surviving Quarrymen still perform together 40+ years on, and cross the pond for a rare live performance. They're joined by the film's director Sam Taylor-Wood and Lennon-as-a-lad Aaron Johnson. Should you prefer the real deal, vintage documentaries and Fab Four feature Help! screen on double-bills throughout the weekend. Particularly noteworthy is Friday's feature, What's Happening! The Beatles in America. Helmed by the Maysles Brothers (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter), this backstage pass to The Beatles' first U.S. tour was shelved due to legal issues, and has never been released uncut on DVD. Note that the Nowhere Boy premiere/concert has a $25 ticket, while the other nights are standard prices.

Perhaps you'd rather hail to The King. The Cinefamily sports a weekend of Stephen King adaptations. Some of the best are from Masters of Horror Brian De Palma (Carrie), John Carpenter (Christine) and Mick Garris (Riding The Bullet), playing Friday & Saturday nights. Then Mistress of Horror Mary Lambert appears alongside her two Pet Sematary films on Sunday. But the real treat is two programs of "dollar babies". These come from budding and student filmmakers to whom King licensed his works for a single dollar. These shorts cannot be screened commercially, so this one-of-a-kind event is free, but be a sport and donate to Cinefamily at the door. For more freebies, bring out your dead! Every Sunday this month, the Echo Park Film Center's Filmmobile stalks the night, bringing free outdoor screenings to persons living and... not-so-much. Counting down to Halloween, the center joins with Ghost Hungers of Urban Los Angeles (GHOULA) to cherrypick choice haunts around the city. The series kicks off with Haunted Honeymoon, a horror-musical-comedy starring Gene Wilder (who also wrote and directed), Dom DeLuise (in drag) and Gilda Radner (in her final film role), at "Hollywood's most famous haunted landmark". Speculation abounds, but until we unearth the location, only three know the secret, and two are dead. Check GHOULA's website, EPFC's Facebook page or follow @EPFCfilmmobile on Twitter for updates.

That's all for this week. See you at the movies!

All Week

Thursday 9/30

Friday 10/1

• Across the Universe (2007) (Nuart Theatre) (Cine-Insomnia Midnight Movie)
• Automorphosis (2008) (w/ special guests) (Downtown Independent)
• Christine (1983) / Carrie (1976) (w/ Keith Gordon & Alexandra Paul) (Cinefamily @ Silent Movie Theatre) (Stephen King: Adapting the Master)
• Fists in the Pocket (1965) / China is Near (1968) (LACMA) (Weekend Series: Spotlight on Marco Bellocchio)
• The Freebie (2010) (w/ filmmaker Katie Aselton & actor Dax Shepard at 7:30pm & 9:30pm shows) (Nuart Theatre)
• The Goonies (1985) (The Bay Theatre)
• Let the Right One In (2008) (Art Theatre of Long Beach) (Mondo Fridays)
• My Brothers (2010) / Swansong: A Story of Occi Byrne (2009) (w/ directors Paul Fraser & Conor McDermottroe) (Aero Theatre) (Los Angeles Irish Film Festival)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940) (Old Town Music Hall)
• Reel Injun (2009) (free event) (Warner Grand Theatre) (Community Cinema of the Independent Lens)
• Super Fly (1972) / Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) (UCLA Film & Television Archive @ Hammer Museum) (Paint It Black: Revisiting Blaxploitation and African American Cinema of the 1970s)
• Twentieth Century (1934) / Midnight (1939) (New Beverly Cinema)
• What's Happening! The Beatles in the USA (1964) / Mighty Good! The Beatles (1976) / "Things They Said Today: Reflections on A Hard Day's Night" (2002) (Egyptian Theatre) (A Celluloid Celebration of John Lennon's 70th Birthday)

Saturday 10/2

• 13 Ghosts (1960) (Cinefamily @ Silent Movie Theatre) (William Castle's Shockers!)
• Ahead of Time (2009) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Automorphosis (2008) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Child's Play (1988) (Regency Academy) (Insomniac Cinema Midnight Movie)
• Claudine (1974) / Aaron Loves Angela (1975) (UCLA Film & Television Archive @ Hammer Museum) (Paint It Black: Revisiting Blaxploitation and African American Cinema of the 1970s)
• Cup Cake (2010) / The Yellow Bittern (2009) (Aero Theatre) (Los Angeles Irish Film Festival)
• The Devil in the Flesh (1987) / La Balia (1999) (LACMA) (Weekend Series: Spotlight on Marco Bellocchio)
• Dollar Babies Mini Film Fest (w/ director Mick Garris) (Cinefamily @ Silent Movie Theatre) (Stephen King: Adapting the Master)
• Farewell (2009) (Warner Grand Theatre) (Foreign Films in French)
• The Freebie (2010) (w/ filmmaker Katie Aselton & actor Dax Shepard at 7:30pm & 9:30pm shows) (Nuart Theatre)
• Help! (1965) / Two of Us (2000) (Egyptian Theatre) (A Celluloid Celebration of John Lennon's 70th Birthday)
• Iraq in Fragments (2006) (free event) (Getty Center) (Witnesses in Action)
• Lost Angels (2010) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Neshoba: The Price of Freedom (2008) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7)
• A Night to Celebrate: Women in Film (Korean Cultural Center)
• Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) (Regency Westwood Village Theater) (Insomniac Cinema Midnight Movie)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940) (Old Town Music Hall)
• Psycho (1960) (Laemmle's Royal Theatre) (Laemmle's October Horror and Suspense Series)
• Restrepo (2010) (free event) (Getty Center) (Witnesses in Action)
• Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (Sins O' The Flesh Midnight Show) (Nuart Theatre)
• Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) (Midnight Insanity Midnight Show) (South Coast Village Regency Theaters)
• A Shine of Rainbows (2009) (Aero Theatre) (Los Angeles Irish Film Festival)
• Standing Ovation (2010) (New Beverly Cinema) (New Beverly Midnights)
• Stop and Go Rides Again (Echo Park Film Center)
• Twentieth Century (1934) / Midnight (1939) (New Beverly Cinema)

Sunday 10/3

• Ahead of Time (2009) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Automorphosis (2008) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Automorphosis (2008) (w/ special guests) (Downtown Independent)
• Ballybrando (2009) / The Field (1990) (w/ director Jim Sheridan and special guests) (Aero Theatre) (Los Angeles Irish Film Festival)
• Cloak & Dagger (1984) / War Games (1983) (w/ screenwriter Tom Holland at 7:30pm show) (New Beverly Cinema)
• Dollar Babies Mini Film Fest (Cinefamily @ Silent Movie Theatre) (Stephen King: Adapting the Master)
• Gerrymandering (2010) (free event w/ Gray Davis, Kitty Felde, Kathay Feng, and filmmaker Jeff Reichert) (UCLA Film & Television Archive @ Hammer Museum) (Archive Documentaries)
• The Goonies (1985) (The Bay Theatre)
• Haunted Honeymoon (1986) (Echo Park Film Center) (GHOULA) (Filmmobile Screening)
• Imagine: John Lennon (1988) / The US vs John Lennon (2006) (Egyptian Theatre) (A Celluloid Celebration of John Lennon's 70th Birthday)
• Lost Angels (2010) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
• Neshoba: The Price of Freedom (2008) (weekend morning show) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7)
  
• Pet Semetary (1989) / Pet Semetary 2 (1992) (w/ director Mary Lambert) (Cinefamily @ Silent Movie Theatre) (Mistresses of Horror)
• To Do Better…Films by Kevin Jerome Everson (w/ Kevin Jerome Everson) (Egyptian Theatre) (Los Angeles Filmforum)
• War Photographer (2001) (free event) (Getty Center) (Witnesses in Action)

That's all for this week. Best worst column!