American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre celebrates going digital

The American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre celebrates the arrival of its new state-of-the-art 4K digital projector with a summer series, In Spectacular Digital Cinema: Classics and Restorations on the Big Screen.

The festival begins Thursday evening with the 1954 Judy Garland-James Mason musical drama “A Star Is Born,” followed Friday with the digital restorations of Martin Scorsese’s seminal 1976 drama, “Taxi Driver,” and William Wyler’s 1965 thriller, “The Collector,” with Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar in her Oscar-nominated role.

The series continues Saturday evening with a digital presentation of 1939’s epic “Gone With the Wind,” which is also a tribute to the late Ann Rutherford, who appears in the film. Sunday’s late-afternoon offering is 1963’s fantasy “Jason and the Argonauts,” which features the stop-motion special effects of Ray Harryhausen, followed that evening by Luchino Visconti’s 1963 masterwork, “The Leopard.” www.americancinematheque.com

In honor of its 60th anniversary — and the Blu-rayrelease on July 17 — Turner Classic Movies is presenting a screening of the beloved musical comedy “Singin’ in the Rain” on Thursday evening — some theaters will also have matinees — at selected venues. www.fathomevents.com/classics/event/singinintherain.aspx.

Actor, director and Oscar-winning screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”) will be on hand Friday evening at the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre to sign copies of his book “The Billy Bob Tapes: A Cave Full of Ghosts” and to introduce two of his best films: Joel and Ethan Coen’s stylish 2001 film noir, “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” and Sam Raimi’s 1998 thriller, “A Simple Plan,” for which he earned a supporting actor Oscar nomination.

The Egyptian’s intimate Spielberg Theatre will present an evening of Silent Serials on Saturday. Scheduled for the bill are complete episodes of 1912’s “Grant the Reporter,” 1914’s “What Happened to Mary” and “The Perils of Pauline.”

The Cinematheque’s publicist extraordinaire, Margot Gerber, is celebrating her 20 years with the organization with a screening at the Egyptian on Saturday evening of Alan Rudolph’s 1992 “The Moderns,” a drama about a group of Americans in Paris in the 1920s. Keith Carradine and Linda Fiorentino star. www.americancinematheque.com

UCLA’s Student Chapter of the Assn. of Moving Image Archivists presents the 1950 film noir “711 Ocean Drive,” with noir icon Edmond O’Brien, and the 1995 film “Hackers,” with a young Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie (the two were subsequently married for a bit) on Friday at the New Beverly Cinema.
And the Saturday midnight screening at the New Bev is Norman Jewison’s futuristic 1985 “Rollerball,” with James Caan. www.newbevcinema.com

Grauman’s Chinese Theatres are offering 25 Cent Family Flicks on Saturday mornings at 10 at the Chinese 6. On tap for this Saturday is the original 2005 animated blockbuster “Madagascar.” www.chinesetheatres.com

Various issues kept Kenneth Longeran’s “Margaret” from opening until last fall, six years after its completion. A lot of critics panned the film, but in subsequent months its critical fortunes have risen. And on Tuesday, Lonergan and star Anna Paquin will talk about the drama when Film Independent at LACMA screens the three-hour extended cut. www.lacma.org

Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre’s Saturday evening CinemaDiscotheque presentation is the 1995 indie comedy cult hit “Party Girl,” with Parker Posey. Director Daisy von Scherler Mayer will appear in person at the event.

And on Tuesday evening, guitarist and composer Gary Lucas will perform his solo live score to the 1920 German silent classic “The Golem,” directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener. www.cinefamily.org

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