FilmWeek’s 22nd Annual Academy Awards Preview Show

In this episode, our guide is How to LA producer Victoria Alejandro is taking us to a midnight movie at the historic Nuart Theatre.

The Nuart Theatre's art deco marquee lights up Santa Monica and Sawtelle — so head west with us to a screening of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and discover cult cinema past and present. 

Guests: Austin Fresh and Nina Minnelli, performers in the Nuart's "Rocky Horror" shadow cast; longtime, retired Nuart film programmer Mark Valen; president of Landmark Theatres Kevin Holloway; and theater historian Ross Melnick.

Read her love letter to LA's indie theaters: https://laist.com/news/how-to-la/revival-house-movies-hollywood-essay

The Oscars are just around the corner! And that means it’s time for our yearly deep dive into the Oscar nominees. This year, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” takes the lead with a total of 13 nominations, including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Cillian Murphy), Best Director, and Best Picture. It’s followed closely behind by Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” with 11 nominations, Martian Scorecees’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” with 10 nominations, and last year’s surprise billion-dollar box office hit “Barbie,” directed by Greta Gerwig, with eight nominations. With a tight race for several of the categories, including Best Picture and Best Actress, the 96th Academy Awards looks to be a thrilling show spotlighting the best cinema has to offer!

Today on FilmWeek, Larry Mantle is joined by the FilmWeek critics live at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown LA as they highlight the best of each Oscar category, dive into what films they felt were snubbed a nomination, and deliberate over which film will take home the illustrious Academy Award for Best Picture. You can find the full list of nominees here.

How To LA is kicking off a new 10-part series we’re calling Revival House.  We are going to take you inside these spaces — the vintage spots and some newer ones — to explore their past and their present…and help you connect with some indie theaters in YOUR neighborhoods.

Independent movie theaters are having a moment. Many just turned — or are turning —  100 years old and several have reopened after extensive remodels.

This matters because movie history is LOS ANGELES history. Some of these older venues can tell us a lot about the early days of Hollywood and this city. But what’s cool is that they continue to create spaces for community, to come together and watch a film on the big screen.

So today we’re kicking off a new 10-part series we’re calling Revival House.  We are going to take you inside these spaces — the vintage spots and some newer ones — to explore their past and their present…and help you connect with some indie theaters in YOUR neighborhoods.

Our guide is How to LA producer Victoria Alejandro. our Los Feliz girly who loves to explore entertainment and the arts in LA. 

In this episode, she talks about she wants to put the spotlight on all these places, from The Vista to The Nuart to Braindead Studios, housed in The Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax 

Read her love letter to LA's indie theaters: https://laist.com/news/how-to-la/revival-house-movies-hollywood-essay

Guests: How to LA producer Victoria Alejandro with tape from film theater historian Ross Melnick and programmer for The New Beverly Cinema, Jules McLean, plus moviegoers from all over L.A. 

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Lael Loewenstein and Tim Cogshell review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms:

• Dune: Part Two (in wide release)
• Problemista (in select theaters, expands March 22) “Spaceman” Streaming on Netflix
• Cabrini (wide release March 18)
• Love Lies Bleeding (Los Feliz Theaters in Los Feliz on March 3, expands to select theaters March 15)
• The Reverend (streaming on The Criterion Channel)
• Amelia’s Children (Laemmle Glendale + available on video on demand)
• Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate (streaming on Peacock)
• Silver Haze (Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills, available on video on demand March 12)

The Best International Feature Film category for this year’s Academy Awards is stacked with films touching on everything from the monotony of depravity to the hope we carry within our dreams. Today on FilmWeek, LAist film critics Tim Cogshell, Lael Loewenstein, Christy Lemire, and Wade Major review the Oscar-nominated International films and dive in on their favorites from the category, what they thought should have been nominated, and what they believe is destined to win.

Poor Things is a 2023 science fantasy directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara. It stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef. Based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, the plot focuses on Bella Baxter, a young woman living in Victorian era London. After being resurrected by a scientist named Godwin Baxter, following her suicide, she runs off with a debauched lawyer, played by Mark Ruffalo, to embark on an odyssey of discovery and liberation. Today, Larry Mantle sits down with “Poor Things” screenwriter Tony McNamara to talk about the Oscar-nominated film and the process behind adapting the screenwriting.

Filmweek is sponsored by Universal’s Oppenheimer. See it back in theaters, IMAX and IMAX 70 millimeters now.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Christy Lemire and Manuel Betancourt review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms:

“Dune: Part Two” Preview
“Drive Away Dolls” Wide Release
“Ordinary Angels” Wide Release
“The Arc of Oblivion” Laemmle NoHo 7 [North Hollywood]
“About Dry Grasses” Laemmle Royal [West LA]
“Io Capitano” In Select Theaters
“Ennio” Laemmle NoHo 7
“Veselka: The Rainbow On The Corner At The Center Of The World” Laemmle NoHo 7
“Stopmotion” In Select Theaters
“As We Speak: Rap Music On Trial” Streaming on Paramount+ Feb. 27th

Filmweek is sponsored by Universal’s Oppenheimer. See it back in theaters, IMAX and IMAX 70 millimeters now.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Wade Major and Amy Nicholson review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms:

“Madame Web” Wide Release
“This Is Me… Now: A Love Story” Streaming on Amazon Prime
“Players” Bay Theater [Pacific Palisades] | Streaming on Netflix
“Drift” Laemmle Monica Film Center | Expands In Select Theaters Feb. 23rd
“Bleeding Love” Laemmle Center 5 [Encino] | Available on VOD Platforms
“Land of Bad” In Select Theaters
“Here” Los Feliz 3 | Expands to Lumiere Music Hall [Beverly Hills] Feb. 23rd
“Down In Dallas Town” Streaming on Amazon Prime Feb. 19th
“Monolith” Laemmle Monica Film Center | Available on VOD Platforms
“Lights Out” Lumiere Cinema [Beverly Hills] | Available on VOD Platforms

Filmweek is sponsored by Universal’s Oppenheimer. See it back in theaters, IMAX and IMAX 70 millimeters now.

“Anatomy of a Fall” is a French drama directed by Justine Triet who co-wrote the screenplay with her husband, Arthur Harari, during the pandemic lockdown. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival last May, where it won the prestigious Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the festival. It has gone on to win many more awards and receive five Oscar nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Editing. Today on FilmWeek, Larry Mantle sits down with Oscar-Nominated Actress Sandra Huller to talk about the making of the film and her critically acclaimed role.

Filmweek is sponsored by Universal’s Oppenheimer. See it back in theaters, IMAX and IMAX 70 millimeters now.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms:

“The Taste of Things” Laemmle Royal [West LA]| Expands Wide Release Feb. 14th
“Bob Marley: One Love” Wide Release
“Out of Darkness” Wide Release
“Lisa Frankenstein” Wide Release
“Suncoast” Streaming on HULU
“The Monk and the Gun” In Select Theaters
“The Space Race” Streaming on NatGeo, Disney+, and HULU on Feb. 12th
“Float” Lumiere Cinema [Beverly Hills] + Available on VOD
“Disco Boy” Laemmle Glendale + Laemmle Royal [West LA]

Filmweek is sponsored by Universal’s Oppenheimer. See it back in theaters, IMAX and IMAX 70 millimeters now.