Live Read | |
---|---|
Show type | Staged Reading |
Location | Bing Theater, LACMA Los Angeles, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts |
Creative team | |
Creator | Jason Reitman |
Director | Jason Reitman (2011-2016, 2018) Guest directors (2013-present) |
Host | Elvis Mitchell (2011-2019) Rachel Bleemer (2019-present) |
Official website |
Live Read is a monthly live staged reading of a film script and a part of the Film Independent at LACMA film series at the Bing Theater directed by Jason Reitman and hosted by Elvis Mitchell from 2011 to 2016. In 2019, Film Independent brought the series back as part of Film Independent Presents... at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, produced by director of programming and events, Rachel Bleemer. A guest director reads the stage directions in the scripts while images from the film would be projected behind the cast. The script is typically announced days before the event and while some actors were announced beforehand, full cast lists and the role each actor would play were kept secret until the event itself. The actors do not rehearse ahead of time.
The readings are one-night-only and are not recorded due to rights issues. Because of this, tickets for the 500 seats, go on pre-sale to members of Film Independent one week ahead of the general public, and sell out almost immediately.
The series is to show audiences how actors create characters. [1] [2]
Jason Reitman directs and reads the stage directions unless otherwise noted. Many of the actors play multiple supporting roles. Specific roles are stated only when information is known.
The Breakfast Club by John Hughes [3]
The Apartment by Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond [4]
The Princess Bride by William Goldman, based on the novel by Goldman [6]
Shampoo by Robert Towne and Warren Beatty [7] [8]
Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino. [9] [10] [11] [12] Reitman assembled an all-black cast to play roles originally played on screen by white actors.
The Big Lebowski by the Coen brothers. [13] [14] Due to the huge turnout, speakers were set up outside to allow those without tickets limited access to the proceedings. [15]
The Apartment by Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond at The New York Times Center. This was the first of the Live Read series to take place outside of Los Angeles [16]
American Beauty by Alan Ball at the Toronto International Film Festival. [17] [18] [19]
Woody Harrelson was originally slated to play Colonel Fitts while Nick Kroll would play Buddy Kane, [18] but when Harrelson was stuck in Hawaii, Kroll played Fitts and Paul Scheer played Kane. [19]
Manhattan by Woody Allen [20] [21] [22]
Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. [23] [24] Jason Reitman's father Ivan Reitman directed the original film.
His Girl Friday by Charles Lederer, based on the play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur [25]
Guest director: Fred Savage
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet, based on the play by Mamet. [26] [27] [28] Reitman assembled a cast of women to read the all-male script.
The Usual Suspects by Christopher McQuarrie [29]
The pilot of Breaking Bad by Vince Gilligan. [30] This was the first television episode performed at the readings.
Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson at the Toronto International Film Festival [31]
Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson [32] [33] [34]
Tootsie by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal [35] [36]
Guest director: David Wain
Raising Arizona by the Coen brothers [37]
Guest director: Patton Oswalt
American Pie by Adam Herz. Reitman gender-swapped the cast, with women playing the male roles and men playing the female roles.
Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino [38] [39]
Guest director: Evan Goldberg
Groundhog Day by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Reitman chose this reading as a tribute to Harold Ramis, who died the previous month. He also chose an earlier draft of the screenplay rather than the final shooting script. [40]
April 17: The Graduate by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb. [41]
April 19, special event: The Hateful Eight by Quentin Tarantino at the United Artists Theater at the Ace Hotel Los Angeles. Unusually for the series, this script had not been filmed prior to the reading. After a script leak in January, Tarantino considered dropping the film, but decided to hold a reading of the first draft of this script. [42] [43] [44]
Guest director: Quentin Tarantino
American Beauty by Alan Ball. All cast members starred in Jason Reitman's 2014 film Men, Women & Children . [45]
Diner by Barry Levinson. All cast members have appeared in a lead or recurring role in the FX show The League .
The Empire Strikes Back by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, story by George Lucas. [46]
Goodfellas by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese. Based on Wiseguy by Pileggi.
Sideways by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett. [47]
Dazed and Confused by Richard Linklater. Most actors except Travis Tope also played various freshmen. [48] [49]
Guest director: Joe Manganiello. In a departure from Live Read tradition, Manganiello did not read the stage directions, but instead played a character. He cast sportscaster Rich Eisen as the narrator. [50]
The first-season finale of Mad Men , "The Wheel" by Matthew Weiner and Robin Veith. The reading was held on the same day as the premiere of the series finale and was followed by a screening of that episode. [51] [52]
Fast Times at Ridgemont High by Cameron Crowe based on book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story by Crowe at the Los Angeles Film Festival [53] [54]
Guest director: Eli Roth
The Big Lebowski by the Coen brothers at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal [55] [56]
Fassbender, Lawrence, and Munn would all appear in X-Men: Apocalypse . Miller and Starr appear on the series Silicon Valley , created by Judge.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman, based on the novel by Goldman at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. [57] [58] [59]
Garcia Bernal was late for the show due to a delayed flight, so Catherine Reitman filled in until he arrived. [60]
Ferris Bueller's Day Off by John Hughes
Guest director: Scott Sternberg
True Romance by Quentin Tarantino
Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern & Peter George. Based on the novel Red Alert by Peter George.
Guest director: Mark Romanek
The Maltese Falcon by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.
Guest director: Laurence Fishburne. [65] LACMA curator and event host Elvis Mitchell read the stage directions.
Stand by Me by Bruce A. Evans & Raynold Gideon. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King. [67] Like the Glengarry Glen Ross reading, the all-male script was read by all women.
Thank You for Smoking by Jason Reitman. Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley. For the first time, Reitman staged a performance of one of his own scripts.
Reitman announced that this reading would be the last of the series. [70]
For the first time since April 2016, Reitman directed another live read, featuring an all-female cast, of Casablanca , by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch. The reading was sponsored by Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.
Film Independent Presents, the producers of the Live Read series, resumed again with (what was supposed to be) My Dinner With Andre by Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn with comedy stars Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. Hosted by Elvis Mitchell, the evening veered into a comedy put-on by Kroll and Mulaney, as the reading was staged with Michael Keaton and Paula Pell doing the main roles from the original script, heavily interrupted by Kroll and Mulaney's Oh, Hello characters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, respectively. [72]
When Harry Met Sally... by Nora Ephron.
Guest director: Randall Park. Park assembled a cast entirely of Asian-American actors. Film Independent curator and event host Elvis Mitchell read the stage directions.
This was Elvis Mitchell’s final night at the helm of Film Independent's signature screening series, which would continue under the purview of director of events Rachel Bleemer.
Singles by Cameron Crowe.
Guest director: James Ponsoldt. Ponsoldt read the stage directions and acted as the host encouraging the audience to "wear their flannel."
A nice treat leading into evening's main event was an email from Crowe, which Ponsoldt read to the audience. "The movie came from a special time in my life," Crowe said. "I'd fallen in love with Seattle, and so many of the soulful members of the community." He went on to acknowledge the late Soundgarden frontman, who has a cameo in the film, saying: "Love live Chris Cornell!"
Guest directors: Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, the creative team behind The Climb .
A live string quartet provided musical accompaniment.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman from a story by Kaufman, Michel Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth
Guest director: Brett Haley
Bringing Up Baby by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde from a story by Wilde
Guest director: Paul Feig
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Film Independent Presents hosted their first virtual live read event.
Sunset Boulevard by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman Jr.
Guest director: Marlee Matlin
Guest director: Marvin Lemus
Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund
Guest director: Ruben Östlund
Jennifer's Body by Diablo Cody
Guest director: Karyn Kusama
Back to the Future by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
Guest director: Ben Schwartz
Stage directions were read by Scott Aukerman.
Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
Guest director: Justine Triet
Stage directions were read by Franklin Leonard
On March 23, 2014, Jensen Karp assembled a cast to read Space Jam by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles. [75] The event was in many ways a parody of Reitman's series. While the scripts Reitman chooses are from well-received and occasionally Academy Award-winning films, Space Jam is a children's film that received, at best, mixed reviews. In addition, LACMA's Bing Theater is a large auditorium, while the UCB Theatre is a small comedy club. The cast included:
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American fantasy adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, and Christopher Guest. Adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel of the same name, it tells the story of a swashbuckling farmhand named Westley, accompanied by companions befriended along the way, who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. The film preserves the novel's metafictional narrative style by presenting the story as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson.
Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.
Mae Whitman is an American actress. She first became known as a child actor, starring in the films When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), One Fine Day (1996), Independence Day (1996) and Hope Floats (1998), and the television series Chicago Hope (1996–1999) and JAG (1998–2001). She earned mainstream recognition for her performances in the Fox sitcom Arrested Development, the NBC drama series Parenthood (2010–2015)—for which she was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award—and the NBC crime comedy series Good Girls (2018–2021). She also had roles in the films Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and The DUFF (2015), the latter earning her a Teen Choice Award nomination.
Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunker as diamond thieves whose heist of a jewelry store goes terribly wrong. Kirk Baltz, Randy Brooks, and Steven Wright also play supporting roles. The film incorporates many motifs that have become Tarantino's hallmarks: violent crime, pop culture references, profanity, and nonlinear storytelling.
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film A Few Good Men, Jacob Goldman in Grumpy Old Men and its sequel Grumpier Old Men; Todd Hockney in The Usual Suspects, Phillip Green in Martin Scorsese's Casino, and Bobby Chicago in End of Days.
Paul Christian Scheer is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. Scheer is best known for his roles in FX/FXX's The League and Showtime's comedy series Black Monday. Scheer also co-created and starred in MTV's Human Giant, and Adult Swim's series NTSF:SD:SUV::, and has had recurring roles on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat and HBO's Veep.
The Comedians of Comedy is a stand-up comedy tour featuring comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden. After Zach Galifianakis left the tour, he was replaced by comedian Eugene Mirman.
Jason R. Reitman is a Canadian–American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), Young Adult (2011) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). He has received one Grammy Award, one Golden Globe and four Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director. Reitman is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. He is the son of director Ivan Reitman, and known for frequently collaborating with screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Human Giant is a sketch comedy show, starring writer/performers Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer, and directed primarily by Jason Woliner. The show ran for two seasons on MTV. In interviews, the group has mentioned that they were offered a third season by MTV but were unable to complete it due to Ansari's commitments to the hit NBC show Parks and Recreation, while Ansari mentioned on Howard Stern that the show's end was more because it is hard to keep a sketch show consistently funny over several seasons. The group has stated that MTV has left the door open for the group to complete a third season at a later date or to produce a special for the network. In 2010, Ansari, Huebel and Scheer reunited to do a skit for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.
The Ghostbusters franchise consists of American supernatural comedies, based on an original concept created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984. The plot ostensibly centers around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate, encounter, and capture ghosts, paranormal manifestations, demigods and demons. The franchise expanded with licensed action figures, books, comic books, video games, television series, theme park attractions, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products.
The 6th St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards were announced on 15 December and awarded on December 21, 2009.
Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate company founded by Ullrich, to form Midroll Media. Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired Midroll Media, which includes Stitcher Radio and Earwolf, for $325 million.
Jason Mantzoukas is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League, and as one of the three co-hosts of the podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael.
The Hateful Eight is a 2015 American Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern, as eight dubious strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the American Civil War.
How Did This Get Made? (HDTGM) is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mockery of outlandish and bad films.
Travis Tope is an American film and television actor, known for playing Chris Truby in the film Men, Women and Children, Nick Strain in The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Joe Harper/Tommy Darmody in the series Boardwalk Empire, and Kevin McClain in the Netflix mockumentary American Vandal.
Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics is a 2020 documentary film directed and written by Emmy winning producer, writer, and director Donick Cary and hosted by Nick Offerman. The documentary revolves around celebrities telling anecdotes about hallucinogenic drug usage. It is among the final film appearances of Fred Willard, Anthony Bourdain, and Carrie Fisher.
Home Movie: The Princess Bride is an American comedy television miniseries directed by Jason Reitman, a "fan made" recreation of the 1987 film The Princess Bride. Produced while the participating actors were isolating themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, it is filmed in a deliberately DIY fashion, with an ensemble cast recording their scenes on their own smartphones, and multiple actors playing the most prominent roles. It features the final screen performance of Carl Reiner, the father of the original film's director Rob Reiner. It premiered in short installments in June and July 2020, on Quibi.
On September 13, 2020, most of the original cast members of the 1987 film The Princess Bride took part in a virtual live dramatic reading of the film script to support Wisconsin Democrats. The returning cast included Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, and Carol Kane, with additional performances by Rob Reiner as the Grandfather, Josh Gad as Fezzik, Eric Idle as the Impressive Clergyman, Whoopi Goldberg as the Ancient Booer and the Mother, and Jason Reitman as the narrator, among others. Norman Lear joined the Q&A session at the end, which was hosted by Patton Oswalt. Cast members promoted the event beforehand using the hashtags "#PrincessBrideReunion" and "#DumpTrumperdinck." More than 110,000 viewers donated a dollar or more to Wisconsin Democrats to view the livestream, which raised $4.25 million and received widely positive reviews, with special praise for Patinkin's performance.
The first season of Big Mouth, an American adult animated coming-of-age sitcom created by Andrew Goldberg, Nick Kroll, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett, premiered on Netflix on September 29, 2017. The series centers on teens based on Kroll and Goldberg's upbringing in suburban New York, with Kroll voicing his fictional younger self. Big Mouth explores puberty while "embrac[ing] a frankness about the human body and sex."