DIRECTORIAL DEBUTS
A new series focussing on the first films of established directors.
Each film will be followed by a conversation and Q&A moderated by actor and Director, JOHN CARROLL LYNCH.
Friday, June 21
Written & Directed by John Sayles
Cast: Mark Arnott, Gordon Clapp, Maggie Cousinaeu, Brian Johnson, Adam LeFevre, Bruce MacDonald, Jean Passenante, Maggie Renzi, John Sayles, David Strathairn
Seven baby boomers with ties to the antiwar movement of the '60s get together for a weekend at the home of teachers Mike (Bruce MacDonald) and Katie (Maggie Renzi). What should be a peaceful reunion, however, is rife with drama. Longtime couple Jeff (Mark Arnott) and Maura (Karen Trott) are separating, speechwriter Irene (Jean Passanante) is self-conscious about her conservative boyfriend (Gordon Clapp), and Frances (Maggie Cousineau) has a flirtation with a local mechanic (David Strathairn).
1hr 46 mins / R
Tickets $18 / Superstar Members $16
John Carrol Lynch is an American character actor and film director. Lynch made his feature film debut in Grumpy Old Men (1993) and gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show (1997–2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of American Horror Story (2014–2019), most notably as breakout character Twisty the Clown. He also played Eastman in AMC's The Walking Dead: Season 6. His films include Face/Off (1997), Zodiac (2007), Gran Torino (2008), Shutter Island (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), Ted 2 (2015), The Invitation (2015), The Founder (2016), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). He made his directorial debut with the 2017 film Lucky.
John Sayles began reading novels before age 9. He graduated Williams College in 1972, and shunned a corporate career to work various blue-collar jobs, moving to east Boston to take a factory job. He wrote stories and submitted them to various magazines, and the Atlantic Monthly gave him the idea of publishing them in a novel--thus Pride of the Bimbos (1975) was born. In the late 1970s he worked for renowned low-budget producer Roger Corman as a screenwriter. He saved much of the money he earned from that job, got some friends together and made Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) in 25 days. Altough it was a hit, he had trouble obtaining financing for the films he wanted to make because he would not give up his right of final cut. Baby It's You (1983) was Sayles' only film made under studio control. In 1983 the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship granted him an income, this stipend and money he earned for writing such films as The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Enormous Changes at the Last Minute (1983) and Breaking In (1989) enabled him to make the kinds of films he wanted to make. Lone Star (1996) placed Sayles in the ranks of top American filmmakers. In it and his other films, a broadly appealing social consciousness emerges, showing Sayles to be concerned with what's going on with regional cultures, national values and what living in the US is like today. Image of John Sayles (by Mary Cybulski).