<< August 30 - September 2, 2007 >>>

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From the 1960’s through the present, a prodigious, steady stream of documentaries dedicated to all things rock has flowed into the public eye and ear. Join us for this very special weekend of new documentaries, including Rosanna Arquette’s ALL WE ARE SAYING (featuring interviews with Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello among others) and Kevin McAlester’s YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME, the much lauded real-life chronicle of Roky Ericson and his pioneering psychedelic sixties band, The 13^th Floor Elevators. We’ll also be screening a double bill of D.A. Pennebaker’s ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS and Peter Whitehead’s LED ZEPPELIN LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

Thursday, August 30 – 7:30 PM

Los Angeles Premiere! ALL WE ARE SAYING, 2005, 103 min. A compelling, personal look at what makes musicians tick. Rosanna Arquette follows up her critically acclaimed documentary directorial debut, SEARCHING FOR DEBRA WINGER, with a look into the psyches of some of the top musical artists of the day. Through a series of intimate conversations, over fifty musical legends, hot new artists and music industry insiders reveal what inspires them, their personal struggles of balancing relationships and family while working on the road and the state of the music business in the 21^st Century. Presented as an ongoing, casual conversation, the film offers a unique insight into the artists most candid and personal thoughts. A true character driven narrative, ALL WE ARE SAYING shines its spotlight on among many others talents: Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. "I love music. I love the musicians who make it. I think it’s the most powerful way to communicate. I became sad when I saw that the music business started to change in such a huge way – that the business had become more important than the artist or even the music – that it had become about the money. I just wanted to sit down with some of the people I admire and talk about what keeps them going -- the balance between art and life, the state of the art of music today and what inspires them to keep it alive. Most true artists care about the music as a pure passionate art and form of communication, and get caught in the trap of the business. In the end it’s just how important music is to us all."- Rosanna Arquette. Discussion following with director Rosanna Arquette.

Friday, August 31 – 7:30 PM

Double Feature:

ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, 1973, Pennebaker Hegedus Films, 90 min. Director D.A. Pennebaker’s filmic record of David Bowie’s brain-frying final concert as his Ziggy Stardust incarnation in July of 1973 is key evidence why Bowie was suddenly catapulted to slavish cult adoration. A bridge between cult fetish and massive popular appeal right before the record industry (and the Thin White Duke himself) homogenized the pop star’s image into something less threatening.

LED ZEPPELIN LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, 1970, Contemporary, 108 min. Acclaimed BBC TV director Stanley Dorfman was the personal choice of Led Zeppelin to film them when they performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in January 1970 – just after the release of their second album, and this film is the finest example of the band’s early days at full-throttle. Dorfman hired Peter Whitehead as cinematographer on the film and together they filmed the concert. Dorfman and Whitehead jointly edited the resulting film. No flashy camera-tricks – just pure Zeppelin. “Whole Lotta Love", "Communication Breakdown”, "I Can't Quit You Baby" and a 15-minute version of "Dazed and Confused”!  This will be a great night for Zeppelin fans! With the Aero’s 45 foot widescreen - and the speakers pumping out 20,000 watts - prepare for a Whole Lotta Zep! Director Stanley Dorfman will appear for a discussion.

MONTEREY POP, 1968, Pennebaker Films, 78 min. Directed by D.A. Pennebaker. A salute to the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival with a special screening of the digitally-restored version. Relive the world-changing excitement brought on by the likes of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, The Who and others in some of the most electrifying live performances ever committed to celluloid (including the astonishing Jimi-burns-his-guitar-onstage-sequence).

WOODSTOCK (THE DIRECTOR’S CUT), 1970, Warner Bros., 228 min. Dir. Michael Wadleigh. The Woodstock festival supremely captured the heady idealism, free-form partying and exuberant music-making of the late 1960’s. Featuring The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker, Ritchie Havens, Ten Years After, Santana, Sly & The Family Stone and many more. This is the much-extended Director’s Cut - featuring many performers and songs cut from the original release.

Sunday, September 2– 7:30 PM

Los Angeles Premiere!

YOU’RE GONNA MISS ME, 2005, Palm Pictures, 91 min. Dir. Keven McAlester. This is the story of Roky Erickson: manic frontman for the legendary band The 13th Floor Elevators, creators of psychedelic music and muse to Janis Joplin. A disturbingly intimate portrait of an imploding family and the struggle between modernized medicine and religion. Known for his colossal heroin & LSD binges, struggles with schizophrenia, and an unthinkable term at Rusk hospital for the criminally insane, Roky went missing from the world. The documentary reveals the shocking and triumphant truth behind one of rock's great mysteries. As singer, songwriter, and guitar player for the legendary Austin, Texas sixties band The 13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson had a profound impact on the pivotal evolution of the music scene when the group was formed. They were the first rock and roll band to describe their music as "psychedelic," and they spread this new concept to the West Coast. While later bands such as The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane were more rooted in traditional acoustic folk music, the Elevators’ unique brand of heavy, electric blues-drenched rock pointed to a new direction for the music of the first "hip" generation. The Elevators only had one major chart hit, the Roky-penned "You're Gonna Miss Me," but their influence reached far beyond the static world of Top 40. Discussion following with producer/director Keven McAlester.