San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Advertising Napoleon then #2
by Admin on Feb.19, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
February Film Tonight
by Admin on Feb.17, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Wednesday, February 15
SF in SF presents
Impossible Dreams
Harlan Elison – Dreams With Sharp Teeth
Impossible Dreams is a short film based on Tim Pratt’s Hugo Award-winning short story, “Impossible Dreams”.
Author appearance! Tim Pratt will be present to introduce the film himself!
Harlan Elison – Dreams With Sharp Teeth — (96mins.) an amazing documentary on speculative fiction writer and essayist Harlan Ellison.
The first film is about 20 mins. long; there will be no intermission between films.
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM
Film begins at 7:00PM
Refreshments and candy are sold at the bar — as always FREE POPCORN!!
Suggested – donation at the door benefits Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California!
No need to RSVP – seating is limited, and first come, first seated. Cash bar will be open for the reception hour before the films.
The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104
Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking (.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.
Silent films among those named to 2011 National Film Registry
by Admin on Feb.09, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Recognized as a key work that both reflected and contributed to the pre-World War I child labor reform movement, the two-reel silent melodrama The Cry of the Children takes its title and fatalistic, uncompromising tone of hopelessness from the 1842 poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The Cry of the Children was part of a wave of “social problem” films released during the 1910s on such subjects as drugs and alcohol, white slavery, immigrants and women’s suffrage. Some were sensationalist attempts to exploit lurid topics, while others, like The Cry of the Children, were realistic exposés that championed social reform and demanded change. Shot partially in a working textile factory, The Cry of the Children was recognized by an influential critic of the time as “The boldest, most timely and most effective appeal for the stamping out of the cruelest of all social abuses.”
Largely forgotten today, actor John Bunny merits significant historical importance as the American film industry’s earliest comic superstar. A stage actor prior to the start of his film career, Bunny starred in over 150 Vitagraph Company productions from 1910 until his death in 1915. Many of his films (affectionately known as “Bunnygraphs”) were gentle “domestic” comedies, in which he portrayed a henpecked husband alongside co-star Flora Finch. A Cure for Pokeritis exemplifies the genre, as Finch conspires with similarly displeased wives to break up their husbands’ weekly poker game. When Bunny died in 1915, a New York Times editorial noted that “Thousands who had never heard him speak…recognized him as the living symbol of wholesome merriment.” The paper presciently commented on the importance of preserving motion pictures and sound recordings for future generations: “His loss will be felt all over the country, and the films, which preserve his humorous personality in action, may in time have a new value. It is a subject worthy of reflection, the value of a perfect record of a departed singer’s voice, of the photographic films perpetuating the drolleries of a comedian who developed such extraordinary capacity for acting before the camera.”
John Ford’s epic Western The Iron Horse established his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished directors. Intended by Fox studios to rival Paramount’s 1923 epic The Covered Wagon, Ford’s film employed more than 5,000 extras, advertised authenticity in its attention to realistic detail, and provided him with the opportunity to create iconic visual images of the Old West, inspired by such master painters as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. A tale of national unity achieved after the Civil War through the construction of the transcontinental railroad, The Iron Horse celebrated the contributions of Irish, Italian and Chinese immigrants although the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country legally was severely restricted at the time of its production. A classic silent film, The Iron Horse introduced to American and world audiences a reverential, elegiac mythology that has influenced many subsequent Westerns.
Charles Chaplin’s first full-length feature, the silent classic The Kid, is an artful melding of touching drama, social commentary and inventive comedy. The tale of a foundling (Jackie Coogan, soon to be a major child star) taken in by the Little Tramp, The Kid represents a high point in Chaplin’s evolving cinematic style, proving he could sustain his artistry beyond the length of his usual short subjects and could deftly elicit a variety of emotions from his audiences by skillfully blending slapstick and pathos.
February Events
by Admin on Feb.09, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Our February Reading takes place this coming Saturday (Feb. 11th) and features three much loved West Coast writers: K.W. Jeter, Jay Lake & Rudy Rucker. We are delighted to have them all together. Doors will open at 6:00pm, with the readings starting at 7:00pm. Q&A and signing will follow.
K. W. Jeter is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. Jeter attended college at CSU Fullerton, where he became friends with James P. Blaylock and Tim Powers, and through them, Philip K. Dick. Jeter was actually the inspiration for the character named Kevin in Dick’s novel, Valis. Many of Jeter’s books focus on the subjective nature of reality in a way that is reminiscent of works by Dick.
Jeter wrote an early cyberpunk novel, Dr. Adder, which was enthusiastically recommended by Philip K. Dick. Jeter was also the first to coin the term “Steampunk,” in a letter to Locus magazine in April 1987, to describe the retro-technology, alternate-history works that he published along with Blaylock and Powers. His steampunk novels were Morlock Night and Infernal Devices. In addition, Jeter has written novels set in the Star Trek and Star Wars universes, and a number of authorized novel sequels to the 1982 film, Blade Runner, which in turn was adapted from Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. He currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Geri; we are delighted beyond words to welcome him to SF in SF!
Jay Lake: Joseph E. Lake, Jr. is a science fiction and fantasy writer, born in Taiwan, and grew up there and in Nigeria. In 2003 he was a quarterly first place winner in the Writers of the Future contest. In 2004 he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction. He lives in Portland, Oregon and currently works as a product manager for a voice services company. Jay has appeared in numerous publications, including Postscripts, Realms of Fantasy, Interzone, Strange Horizons, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Nemonymous, and the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. He is an editor for the Polyphony anthology series from Wheatland Press, and was also a contributor for the Internet Review of Science Fiction.
His created universes have garnered him a strong following, both as readers, and as followers of his blog, Jay Lake-Writer. His novels include the City Imperishable books, the Mainspring trilogy, Green, and Endurance. These and his singular short story collections, such as Greetings from Lake Wu and The River Knows Its Own, all mean that many people follow him around at conventions wearing Hawaiian shirts. Jay has also become an icon in another way by publishing his uncompromisingly honest experiences of living with, and surviving, cancer. A complete list of over 700 posts is available online here. We are delighted to welcome Jay back to SF in SF.
Rudy Rucker is a writer and a mathematician who worked for twenty years as a Silicon Valley computer science professor, and published a number of software packages. He is regarded as contemporary master of science fiction, twice receiving the Philip K. Dick Award. His thirty published books include both novels and nonfiction books on the fourth dimension, infinity, and the meaning of computation. A founder of the cyberpunk school of science-fiction, Rucker also writes SF in a realistic style known as “transrealism.” His 2006 Mathematicians in Love is an example of a transreal novel. His early cyberpunk 4-book series was republished in 2010 as The Ware Tetralogy. Rucker’s 2007 novel, Postsingular, and its sequel, Hylozoic, were both a return to the cyberpunk style.
Rucker’s autobiography, Nested Scrolls, was published in 2011, as was his novel of the afterlife, Jim and the Flims. In his spare time, he is also a talented artist, with several exhibitions to his credit, and also is the editor for the science fiction webzine Flurb. It comes as no surprise to learn he is the great-great-great-grandson of the philosopher G. W. F. Hegel.
There is also a local flavor to our February movies. On Wednesday Feb. 15th we will be showing Impossible Dreams, based on the Hugo Award winning story by Tim Pratt. Tim will be present to introduce the film. The backup feature is Harlan Ellison: Dreams With Sharp Teeth, a biographical documentary staring Harlan Ellison as himself. The supporting cast includes Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman. Doors will open at 6:00pm, with the films starting at 7:00pm.
Both events take place at The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104
Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking (.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.
Silent era screenwriter Frederica Sagor Maas dies at age 111
by Admin on Feb.08, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
January Reading
by Admin on Feb.08, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Saturday, January 28
Ryan Boudinot & Ayize Jama-Everett
It’s debut novel drink night! One of our few traditions is to serve a special, fabulous cocktail whenever we have a novelist appearing with a debut work — so join us at the bar, with benefits to Variety Children’s Charity!
Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson. Booksigning and schmoozing follows in the lounge, and books will be for sale, courtesy of Borderlands Books
6:00PM – doors and cash bar open
7:00PM – event starts
Suggested – donation at the door benefits Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California – to date, we’ve helped raise over ,000 for the kids in our community! Learn more at www.varietync.org
Ryan Boudinot is appearing with SF in SF for the first time, with his new Slipstream novel, Blueprints of the Afterlife, now out from Grove-Atlantic. Ryan Boudinot is also the author of the novel Misconception, a finalist for the PEN/USA Literary Award; and The Littlest Hitler, a Publishers Weekly Book of the Year. His work has appeared in McSweeney’s, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Monkeybicycle, Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy, Opium, Hobart, Los Angeles Review, Black Book, Don’t You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes, Torpedo, The Lifted Brow, and many other places. Ryan is on the faculty of Goddard College’s MFA program in Port Townsend, Washington. He blogs about film in a column called The Eyeball at The Rumpus. He has also been a Writer in Residence at Seattle’s Richard Hugo House, where he continues to teach and lead writing retreats. A graduate of Evergreen State College, he holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Bennington College, and a BA from The Evergreen State College (the fighting bivalves!!). He now lives in Seattle. Acclaimed author Paul di Filippo reviewed the book for Barnes & Noble.
Ayize Jama-Everett is also appearing with SF in SF for the first time, with his debut novel The Liminal People. We are delighted to welcome this local author to the series. Born in 1974 and raised in Harlem, New York, he has traveled extensively in Northern Africa, New Hampshire, and Northern California, and holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a Master’s in Divinity. He teaches religion and psychology at Starr King School for the Ministry when he’s not working as a school therapist at the College Preparatory School. When not educating, studying, or beating himself up for not writing enough, he’s usually enjoying aged rums and practicing his aim. Originally a self-published novel, Small Beer Press picked up the rights and published his debut novel, the science fiction thriller The Liminal People, on January 10, 2012. You can find out more about the book at the author’s website.
“Ayize’s imagination will mess with yours, and the world won’t ever look quite the same again.” – Nalo Hopkinson, author
“You’ll be sucked into a fast-paced story about superpowered people struggling for control of the underground cultures they inhabit … The novel is a damn good read . . . will entertain you while also enticing you to think about matters beyond the
physical realm.” – Annalee Newitz, io9
The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104
Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking (.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.
Unveiling the New Napoleon Poster
by Admin on Feb.05, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Posterswill be available for sale during all four NAPOLEON performance days at theOakland Paramount (March 24, 25, 31, April 1) and online prior to theevent.
2012 Schedule
by Admin on Feb.02, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Our 2012 readings schedule is starting to fill up. You can see what we have planned this far on our Forthcoming Readings page.
January Movie – Attack the Block
by Admin on Jan.29, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
Thursday, January 26th
Attack The Block! Inner City vs. Outer Space
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM – free popcorn!
Film begins at 7:00PM
Suggested – donation at the door benefits Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California — to date, we’ve helped raise over ,000 for the kids in our community! Learn more here.
SF in SF will be presenting Attack The Block as our first film for 2012. If you liked Shaun of the Dead, you’ll love this fast, funny film pits an inner city teen gang against an invasion of aliens, turning a London housing estate into a sci-fi playground. It’s garnered an impressive list of awards for an indie SF flick, including Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Film (Midnights) at SXSW 2011. It also received Special Mention at the 2011 Black Film Critics Circle Awards, which noted that “Attack The Block is a genre film that defies a number of conventions, not only by having a primarily black cast but portraying each character with a dignity seldom seen on screen and even more rarely in a science-fiction film.”
No need to RSVP – seating is limited, and first come, first seated. Cash bar will be open for the reception hour before the film
We will occasionally be bringing you double features during 2012, and our first film festival! Stay tuned…
The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104
Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking (.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.
Le Petit Caporal – Napoleon
by Admin on Jan.25, 2012, under San Francisco Cinemas/Movies
In conjunction with the showing of these Napoleon-related films, TCM has announced it will be serving as the official sponsor for The San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s presentation of Abel Gance’s 1927 masterpiece Napoleon on March 24, 25, 31 and April 1st at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre.
For more information, read the official press release.
