MEN IN BLACK
with LEGENDARY DIRECTOR BARRY SONNENFELD in person
Returning to the Cinema with a hilarious new book and a screening of Men
in Black
Tuesday, October 8th at 7:30 PM
$50 Members | $60 Public
Tickets include a film screening of Men in Black, a copy of his new
book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career
in Hollywood, & a gala book signing reception with live musical entertainment by Lydia Sabosto
“If I went to prison and saw that Barry Sonnenfeld was going to be my cellmate, I would think ‘Oh this will be a breeze.’ “ —Jerry Seinfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld - legendary film director, cinematographer and
incomparable raconteur - wowed a packed CAC house in 2020 with his riotous (and
sometimes ribald) stories relating to his first memoir, Barry Sonnenfeld,
Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker. Now he
returns for another lively evening featuring a screening of his iconic
masterpiece that launched the award-winning mega-franchise, Men in Black,
and a discussion of his newest, hilarious book, Best Possible Place,
Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood.
Sonnenfeld directed such beloved classics as Get Shorty, The
Addams Family franchise, and the Men in Black Trilogy.
His career as a cinematographer includes working with the Coen Brothers on
Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, and Blood
Simple; with Rob Reiner on When Harry Met Sally and
Misery; and with Penny Marshall on Big. Sonnenfeld
was also Executive Producer on both the film and TV Series adaptations of Lemony
Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the TV series' The
Tick and Pushing Daisies, for which he won an Emmy, and
most recently Apple TV+'s Schmigadoon!
Film:
When Men in Black was first released, its logline was
“Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.” Since the Earth is
still here (so far) it looks like Barry Sonnenfeld’s surreal, science
fiction masterpiece, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, succeeded,
spawning sequels that have continued to keep us safe for decades. Based on a
little-read Marvel comic, the film’s title is taken from shadowy government
agents who police extraterrestrials living secretly on Earth, bent on havoc
which unfolds throughout the story to grotesque, mind-blinking and hilarious,
deadpan effect. The grizzled Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), enlists a young,
naïve cop, dubbed Agent J (Will Smith) to track down a notorious alien,
the cockroach-like “Bug” (Vincent D’Onofrio), who has crash-landed in
Upstate New York. The Bug kills a farmer and disguises himself in the bumpkin’s
skin - which he rearranges in front of the unknowing farmer’ s wife, who
understandably faints. Like other scenes in the film, the effect is grotesque,
absurd, and wonderfully unforgettable.
The film’s other stars include Linda Fiorentino, Tony Shalhoub and
Rip Torn, with a stunning array of aliens, including Al Roker, Isaac
Mizrahi, Danny DeVito, daughter Chloe Sonnenfeld, Sylvester
Stallone, Dionne Warwick, Newt Gingrich, George Lucas
- and last but not least, Barry Sonnenfeld and Steven Spielberg himself.
With an exceptional score by Danny Elfman, Men in Black
swept up 22 awards and 39 nominations, from Academy Awards and Golden
Globes to the prestigious science fiction Hugo and Saturn Awards.
(USA, 1997, 98 mins | Dir Barry Sonnenfeld.)
BOOK:
In Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career
in Hollywood, the true stories escalate from surreal to
outrageous to unbelievable. And then there’s magic hour. But you’ll never see
Hollywood the same way again.
Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time delivers a cavalcade of
sometimes baffling, often enlightening, and always funny stories about
Sonnenfeld’s many films and television shows. From battling with studio
executives and producers to bad-script-solving on set to coaxing actors into
finding the right light and talking faster, Sonnenfeld provides an entertaining
master class in how to make commercial art in the face of constant human
foible. Richly illustrated and covering over four decades in Hollywood,
Sonnenfeld regales us with stories about The Addams Family and Men
in Black; the critical favorites, Get Shorty and Pushing
Daisies; the icons, Will Smith, John Travolta, and Michael
Jackson; and the projects that got away, Forrest Gump, Ali,
and anything starring Jim Carrey.
“An illuminating, hilarious look at how the Tinseltown sausage gets made. Movie
buffs will be in heaven.” --Publishers Weekly
“The extraordinary thing about Barry is how many truly strange and amazing
chapters he’s had in his life.” —Neil Patrick Harris
Event produced by Jud Newborn
Thanks to our sponsors:
Lydia Sabosto, Keyboard and Vocals
1-800-Flowers
