In a city that lives and breathes movies, the film series “Reel Talk with Stephen Farber” is a simultaneously educational and entertaining option for Los Angeles cinephiles.
Reel Talk is a weekly film program on Mondays held at the Wadsworth Theatre in nearby Brentwood for 12 weeks in the fall. Movie screenings are followed by a Q&A with some of the filmmakers. Individual tickets are $20.
The current fall series, which ends on Dec. 10, has screened such movies as “Rendition,” “Reservation Road” and “The Kite Runner.” Upcoming screenings include the hotly-buzzed festival hit “Juno,” with the Tim Burton-directed “Sweeney Todd” as the season’s finale.
Moderator and curator Stephen Farber ““ a film historian and critic who writes for Movieline and has contributed to both The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ““ hopes to provide programming that can broaden viewers’ horizons and introduce them to films they normally wouldn’t watch.
“(The programming) is pretty diverse and eclectic,” said Rich Willis, owner-operator of Richmark Entertainment, the producers of Reel Talk. “(Farber) goes to Cannes and Sundance and Toronto Film Fest. He really has his finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the movie world.”
Farber’s series gives the public a chance to see films before the official release date.
“People like the idea of seeing a movie … before all the press has come out on a movie,” Farber said. “People can form their own opinions on something before reading a lot of stuff that’s digested for them.”
Aside from the allure of seeing a film before its nationwide release, because of his connections in the industry, Farber has been able to draw important actors and filmmakers to the series. Past guests have included Forest Whitaker, Edward Norton, Sydney Pollack and “Dreamgirls” director Bill Condon.
“It’s a chance to learn a little something from the people who are behind the scenes of the movies,” Farber said. “When we have movies that are difficult for people, it really helps to hear from the filmmakers because it can put it into some perspective.
“Sometimes we have a film editor or a cinematographer, so we like to show different aspects of the filmmaking craft that people can get a deeper understanding about.”
Actors are the most visible members of the production, but Farber explained that, perhaps counterintuitively, they often make the most lackluster guests as they have less insight into the process of filmmaking.
“In theory, people like the idea of meeting some of the members of the cast, but it doesn’t always work in practice,” Farber said. “It is not always as illuminating as meeting the director or the writer.”
The producers of Reel Talk are aware that the program may be a hard sell to busy college students, as it is not located on campus.
“We try to make a ticket price that’s affordable for UCLA students, but it’s a bit of an uphill struggle with the younger audience,” Willis said. “There are so many distractions and so many things to choose from.”
The program still yields a healthy number of attendees, many of whom have been with Farber’s program since its beginnings.
“The first time we did it, we had about 120 to 130 people. Now we’ve grown to close to 800 people,” Farber said. “It’s a big growth in just a few years, so it’s very satisfying.”
The Wadsworth Theatre in Brentwood generally hosts Broadway theater and other special events, but the venue is well-adapted for screenings. Originally built in the 1940s, one of the theater’s purposes was to screen films to veterans. Recently the 1,400-seat theater has been outfitted with Dolby Stereo Sound to enliven the cinematic presentation.
“Some of the filmmakers enjoy seeing their movies in such a big auditorium with such a big audience. There’s a certain thing about it that becomes an event when you can have a movie on such a big screen,” Farber said.
But as with any Q&A, the discussion can lead to personal tirades.
“Sometimes people do just want to pontificate a little bit,” said Farber. “We’ve had situations where people have been very hostile, where people really hate a movie and want to let you know.”
However, the unpredictability of the quality of guests and the responses to the film are part and parcel with Reel Talk.
“I think that’s one reason that people enjoy the experience,” Farber said. “You never know exactly what’s going to happen.”