

ASPEN FILM ANNOUNCES SELECTIONS FOR THE 16TH ANNUAL ACADEMY SCREENINGS

November 17, 2006 (Aspen, Colo.) – When snowflakes start to fall that means one thing for sure: the Oscar™ race is heating up! Make way for the grand two-week film extravaganza that is the 16th annual Aspen Film Academy Screenings. Running December 18 – January 1 at Harris Concert Hall, this “festival of a film series” offers a sneak peek at features, documentaries and top talent that will have everyone talking this Academy Awards© season.

Many of the twenty-three films in this year’s Aspen Film Academy Screenings series have already garnered critical attention, as well as significant Oscar™ buzz. Highlights include a mix of eagerly anticipated releases like The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith and Thandie Newton, Steven Soderbergh’s The Good German starring Cate Blanchett and George Clooney, The Painted Veil (based on W. Somerset Maugham’s novel) with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, Miss Potter – the story of beloved author Beatrix Potter – with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and Breaking and Entering with Jude Law and Juliette Binoche. Families will enjoy the latest live action and 3D-animated Arthur and the Invisibles, starring Freddie Highmore featuring voices by Madonna, Snoop Dogg and David Bowie. Bringing contemporary war issues to the fore is Home of the Brave with Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Biel.

In addition, many of the films that made indelible impressions on the festival circuit will also be screened: Emilio Estevez’s Bobby, with an extraordinary ensemble cast (Harry Belafonte, Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, just to name a few), the visually splendid Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst, Golden Door (winner of Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion), Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver with Penélope Cruz and Days of Glory (both leading ensemble casts won top acting awards at the Cannes Film Festival).

Performances from big-time talent also turning heads for award consideration this season include Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal), Peter O’Toole (Venus), Brad Pitt (Babel), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Kate Winslet (Little Children), Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist), and Helen Mirren (The Queen).

Taking place during Aspen’s high-profile holiday season, the program boasts a handful of highly absorbing official foreign language submissions for Academy Award© consideration, including Curse of the Golden Flower (China), Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico), Days of Glory (Algeria), Volver (Spain) and Golden Door (Italy). Two terrific documentaries will also liven-up the screen: Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck’s Shut Up and Sing with the Dixie Chicks (2006 Aspen Filmfest Audience Favorite Documentary Award winner), and the awe inspiring God Grew Tired of Us by Christopher Quinn.

For more information and a complete Aspen Film Academy Screenings program, visit www.aspenfilm.org starting December 1st. Tickets go on sale December 8th through the Wheeler Box Office 970.920.5770 or at the door at Harris Concert Hall. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and associated guilds should RSVP to Aspen Film at 970.925.6882 x101.


2006 Aspen Film Academy Screenings Program At-a-Glance

Mon Dec 18 | 5:30 PM
The Pursuit of Happyness
Gabriele Muccino directs. Will Smith, Thandie Newton star. (Columbia Pictures)
 
Tue Dec 19 | 5:30 PM
Babel
Alejandro González Iñárritu directs. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett star. (Paramount Vantage)
 
Wed Dec 20 | 5:30 PM
The Queen
Stephen Frears directs. Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen star. (Miramax Films)
 
Thu Dec 21 | 5:30 PM
Marie Antoinette
Sofia Coppola directs. Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman star. (Columbia Pictures)
 
Thu Dec 21 | 8:15 PM
Home of the Brave
Irwin Winkler directs. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel star. (MGM)
 
Fri Dec 22 | 5:30 PM
The Illusionist
Neil Burger directs. Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti star. (Yari Film Group Releasing)
Fri Dec 22 | 8:15 PM
Days of Glory
Rachid Bouchareb directs. Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri star. (MGM & The Weinstein Company)
 
Sat Dec 23 | 5:30 PM
Shut Up and Sing
Barbara Kopple & Cecilia Peck direct. With the Dixie Chicks. (The Weinstein Company)
 
Tue Dec 26 | 5:30 PM
Bobby
Emilio Estevez directs. Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone star. (MGM & The Weinstein Company)
 
Tue Dec 26 | 8:15 PM
Volver
Pedro Almodóvar directs. Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura star. (Sony Pictures Classics)
 
Wed Dec 27 | 5:30 PM
The Good German
Steven Soderbergh directs. Cate Blanchett, George Clooney star. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
 
Wed Dec 27 | 8:15 PM
Curse of the Golden Flower
Zhang Yimou directs. Chow Yun Fat, Gong Li star. (Sony Pictures Classics)
 
Thu Dec 28 | 5:30 PM
The Last King of Scotland
Kevin Macdonald directs. Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy star. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
 
Thu Dec 28 | 8:15 PM
Little Children
Todd Field directs. Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson star. (New Line Cinema)
 
Fri Dec 29 | 5:30 PM
The Painted Veil
John Curran directs. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts star. (Warner Independent Pictures)
 
Fri Dec 29 | 8:15 PM
Pan’s Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro directs. Sergi López, Maribel Verdú star. (Picturehouse)
 
Sat Dec 30 | 5:30 PM
Breaking and Entering
Anthony Minghella directs. Jude Law, Juliette Binoche star. (MGM & The Weinstein Company)
 
Sat Dec 30 | 8:15 PM
Notes on a Scandal
Richard Eyre directs. Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett star. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
 
Sun Dec 31 | 3:30 PM
Arthur and the Invisibles
Luc Besson directs. Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow star. Voices by David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Madonna. (MGM & The Weinstein Company)
 
Sun Dec 31 | 6:00 PM
Venus
Roger Michell directs. Peter O’Toole, Vanessa Redgrave star. (Miramax Films)
 
Mon Jan 1 | 3:15 PM
God Grew Tired of Us
Christopher Quinn directs. (Newmarket Films)
 
Mon Jan 1 | 5:30 PM
Miss Potter
Chris Noonan directs. Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor star. (MGM & The Weinstein Company)
 
Mon Jan 1 | 8:00 PM
Golden Door
Emanuele Crialese directs. Charlotte Gainsbourg stars. (Miramax Films)
 

One of Colorado's most active film arts organizations, Aspen Film presents festivals, film series and youth education programs year-round. Aspen Film Academy Screenings is made possible in part by the generosity of The Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation, The City of Aspen, Town of Snowmass Village, The Aspen Times, The Little Nell, Men's Journal, Sentient Jet Membership, Aspen Sojourner, and Reel People: The Friends of Aspen Film. For more information on Aspen Film and its programs, please contact 970.925.6882 or visit www.aspenfilm.org.


--
Jennifer Slaughter
Communications Manager
p: 970.925.6882 x 103

Aspen Film
110 E. Hallam Street, #102
Aspen, CO 81611
www.aspenfilm.org

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