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Lots of great stuff happening in LA tonight, including a film slate that includes classic B movies like Kingdom of the Spiders with William Shatner; or how about Debbie Reynolds making an appearance at a double feature of Singin’ in the Rain and the Unsinkable Molly Brown? Also: Hear pitches from startup tech companies, listen to Tom Sizemore read from his memoir or check out LA architecture in a couple of new exhibitions opening today. Read on for all the details.
B MOVIES
Tonight, the Grindhouse Film Festival at the New Beverly presents a tribute to director John "Bud" Cardos, with a screening of two of his sci-fi films. At 7:30 pm is Kingdom of the Spiders with William Shatner and Tiffany Bolling. It’s followed at 9:50 pm by The Dark with William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel and Casey Kasem. There’s a Q&A in between films with Cardos, Tiffany Bolling and producer Igo Kantor. Tickets: $8+ service fee.
TECH
Local LA entrepreneurs gather to hear the stories of local startups at Technori Pitch LA, tonight from 6-9 pm at Cross Campus Santa Monica. The keynote presentation will be delivered by Noah Kagan, a blogger and founder of several social gaming and web apps, from AppSumo to Kickflip (now Gambit). Making pitches tonight are startups: AdoptTogether, Artkive, BloomNation, CapThat and Codewars. The $20 ticket price includes the networking and afterparty.
ART*
The Getty opens two exhibitions today as part of the Pacific Standard Time Initiative: Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990 and In Focus: Ed Ruscha. The former explores the buildings, freeways and architectural structures (through drawings, models, photographs, animations and films) that make LA, well, LA. The second exhibition shows LA through the eyes and photography of Ed Ruscha.
FILM
Tonight at 7:30 pm, the Downtown Glendale Association, Glendale Arts and Prospect House Entertainment continue its James Bond 007 50th Anniversary Series with a screening of Octopussy (1983) at the Alex Theatre. Roger Moore takes on the 007 role and the film also stars Maud Adams and Louis Jourdan. Event includes a Q&A with an appearance by Adams and Kristina Wayborn (Magda). Tickets: $15.
MOVIES
Actress, singer, dancer and producer Debbie Reynolds, who just authored her memoir, A Hollywood Life: The Unsinkable Debbie Reynolds, makes an appearance at the Egyptian tonight during a screening of two of her films. The double feature includes the movie that made her a star—Singin’ in the Rain—opposite Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. It’s followed by the musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown, for which she earned an Oscar nom. Tickets: $11.
COMEDY
The comedy/improv troupe Los Chupacabras (Jim Eshom, John Falchi, Matthew Hoffman and William Norrett) returns toZombie Joe’s Underground Theatre tonight at 8:30 pm for Zero Dark Forty...ish. Tickets: $15.
BOOKS
We know that actor Tom Sizemore has stories to tell. Hear him tell a few live tonight at 7 pm when he reads from and signs copies of his new memoir By Some Miracle I Made It Out of There at Book Soup. The book is a “harrowing journey into the heart of addiction, told in riveting and often shocking detail--a terrifying cautionary tale for anyone who's peered over the abyss of drug abuse. By turns gritty and heartbreaking, it is also one man's look at a particular moment in entertainment history--a window into the drug-fueled spotlight that sent Robert Downey, Jr., to jail and killed River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, and Chris Farley and many others far before their time.”
*Pencil pick of the day
Want more events? Follow me on Twitter (@christineziemba). Or follow Lauren Lloyd—who takes care of Pencil on Wednesdays (@LadyyyLloyd).
