The Academy Celebrates 40th Anniversary Of 'Young Frankenstein' With Mel Brooks

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a 40th anniversary screening of "Young Frankenstein" with special guests Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr and executive producer Michael Gruskoff on Tuesday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Film historian Leonard Maltin will introduce The Comedy classic and host a live onstage discussion with Brooks, Leachman, Garr and Gruskoff.

"Young Frankenstein," Brooks's 1974 homage to the Golden Age of monster movies, features a large ensemble cast including Leachman, Garr, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars and Gene Hackman. It earned Oscar nominations for Adapted Screenplay (Wilder, Brooks) and Sound (Richard Portman, Gene Cantamessa).

Additional Academy events coming up in September at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles are listed below, with details at www.oscars.org/events:

"Let There Be Fright: William Castle Scare Classics"
The Academy pays a centennial tribute to William Castle, one of the most popular and prolific filmmakers in fantastic cinema, with double features, ghoulish giveaways and frightful freebies every Friday in September.

September 5, 7:30 p.m. "The Tingler"
September 5, 9 p.m. "Hollywood Story"
September 12, 7:30 p.m. "House on Haunted Hill"
September 12, 9 p.m. "13 Ghosts"
September 19, 7:30 p.m. "Mr. Sardonicus"
September 19, 9:10 p.m. "The Night Walker"
September 26, 7:30 p.m. "Strait-Jacket"
September 26, 9:15 p.m. "Homicidal"

"Why Be Good?"
September 6, 7:30 p.m.
The Academy presents the U.S. restoration premiere of Colleen Moore's final silent film, in which she plays a wild flapper with a dubious reputation who finds herself romantically linked with her boss's son. "Why Be Good?" features a Vitaphone soundtrack with sound effects, hot jazz and Twenties dance music.

"Animation Masters: John Canemaker Celebrates Winsor McCay and Walt Disney"
September 13
In this three-part presentation, animation historian and Oscar-winning animation director John Canemaker examines some of the art form's most remarkable early achievements.

Gertie the Dinosaur and the Birth of Personality Animation - 6 p.m.
Long before any princesses wandered across the screen, animation's first female personality was spunky Gertie the Dinosaur, who celebrates her 100th birthday this year. Canemaker hosts a salute to Gertie and her creator, the prolific comic strip artist and animation pioneer Winsor McCay.

The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney's Movie Magic - 7:30 p.m.
Canemaker, who is the author of The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and the Secrets of Walt Disney's Movie Magic, explores the fascinating mechanical and optical processes that enabled the Disney artists to delight the eye with dancing snowflakes, erupting volcanoes and other visual treats, described in a recently discovered notebook by photographer and effects specialist Schultheis.

"Fantasia" - 8:45 p.m.
Walt Disney took one of his boldest gambles with this dazzling 1940 feature, for which his top animators scaled the heights of imagination to provide visuals for some of the most beloved pieces of classical music, conducted by maestro Leopold Stokowski. The film's many highlights include Mickey Mouse starring in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and the haunting imagery of "Night on Bald Mountain."

"The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova)"
September 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Academy presents a new digital restoration of artist, poet and groundbreaking filmmaker Sergei Parajanov's1968 masterpiece, a kaleidoscopic biography of the 18th century Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova.

"Two Sides of George Stevens"
September 27
As part of the Academy's long-standing George Stevens Lecture series on directing, "Two Sides" juxtaposes two romantic dramas from cinematographer-turned-director George Stevens. Both films in the series are new restorations by the Academy Film Archive.

"Laddie" - 5 p.m.
Eight years before receiving his first Oscar nomination for "The More the Merrier," Stevens directed this 1935 black-and-white feature based on Gene Stratton-Porter's novel. This rarely seen film will screen from a newly restored print.

"A Place in the Sun" - 7:30 p.m.
Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Richard LaGravenese will introduce this classic, based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel An American Tragedy. Starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, "A Place in the Sun" earned six Oscars, including Stevens's first for Directing.

Tyrone Power Centennial
The Academy celebrates the centennial of one of Hollywood's most handsome and charismatic stars of the Golden Age, Tyrone Power, with matinee screenings of some of his most beloved films.

September 2, 1 p.m. "Marie Antoinette"
September 9, 1 p.m. "The Mark of Zorro"
September 16, 1 p.m. "The Black Swan"
September 23, 1 p.m. "The Razor's Edge"
September 30, 1 p.m. "Nightmare Alley"

For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org/events.

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