L.A. Film Festival: Live reading of ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ to close

This year’s Los Angeles Film Festival closer won’t be screened. It will be performed.

Horror auteur Eli Roth (“Cabin Fever,” “Hostel”) is to direct a live reading of the 1982 teen comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” to wrap up the fest on June 18, organizer Film Independent announced Tuesday.

Cast members for the reading will be revealed via the festival’s Twitter account. The film, written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Amy Heckerling, featured an ensemble cast that included Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Penn, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates and Nicolas Cage (then Nicolas Coppola).

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The “Fast Times” event marks the first LAFF appearance of Film Independent’s Live Read series, which has become a regular feature of the organization’s non-festival programming over the last four years.

Switching things up with a live reading rather than a conventional screening comes as the latest instance of experimentation for the LAFF, which has oscillated between showcasing scrappy independent films, populist-leaning studio movies and brainy international and documentary fare.

The 2015 gathering, opening Wednesday with Paul Weitz’s dramedy “Grandma,” is to emphasize discovery and diversity, with a slew of world premieres and films by women and people of color. The fest will also introduce the new sections Zeitgeist, dedicated to key trends, and Nightfall, showcasing genre films.

The LAFF is sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

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