On Tuesday, January 16 join us for a Q&A with screenwriter Brian Helgeland, as he discusses his work on the 1997 crime film L.A. Confidential. A modern-day noir that pays loving homage to ‘40s detective films while giving it a distinctly modern sensibility, L.A. Confidential takes James Ellroy’s bestseller and adapts its labyrinthine plot into something more digestible yet no less complex and compelling. For their adaptation, Brian Helgeland and his co-writer Curtis Hanson (who also directed), won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and for her performance, Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress. Editor Peter Honess, ACE, was nominated for Best Film Editing. Hard-hitting and ruthlessly intelligent, L.A. Confidential is neo-noir at its finest and the kind of mid-budget, adult-oriented film rarely seen anymore. This event will be a Zoom webinar on Tuesday, January 16 at 8PM ET/5PM PT.

Tune in on Thursday, January 18, to watch a Q&A with editor Nick. Houy, ACE, as he discusses the editing of the 2023 hit Barbie. After the one-two punch of Lady Bird and Little Women, filmmaker Greta Gerwig took on her biggest project yet: Barbie. A triumph of imagination, Barbie cleverly uses the eponymous character and Ken to explore the roles of women in society and the challenges they face. Cut by longtime Gerwig editor Nick Houy, ACE, the film moves at a breakneck pace, perfectly in sync with Gerwig’s unique rhythms. Both the highest grossing and one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2023, Barbie is destined to influence the next many years of cinema, but it will be hard to replicate the infectious energy of the inimitable original. This event will be a Zoom Webinar on Thursday, January 18 at 8PM ET/5PM PT.

Picturehouse 441 and ACE are proud to be partnering on a series of live virtual Q&As as part of our mutual efforts to promote film literacy.
Join us for a Q&A with screenwriter Hampton Fancher, as he discusses his work on science fiction film Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Upon its release in 1982, Blade Runner opened to mixed reviews and middling box office in a cut that reeked of studio intervention. A decade later, Ridley Scott released a director’s cut that more closely aligned with his vision, and it was immediately hailed as a landmark work of cinema (this was followed by the 2007 final cut, Scott’s preferred version). A potent mix of film noir, science fiction, and dystopian drama, Blade Runner is an uncommonly intelligent work, written by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples and edited by Terry Rawlings, ACE, and Marsha Nakashima, that asks major philosophical questions about what makes human beings human. The event will be a Zoom Webinar on Tuesday, January 23 at 8PM ET/5PM PT.

Join us for a Q&A with screenwriter William Wisher, as he discusses his work on 1991 science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The Terminator was a landmark of sci-fi cinema, but like with his previous film, Aliens, filmmaker James Cameron wanted to outdo the original with his sequel. A bigger badder better Terminator film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day ups the ante in every way, taking risk after risk and paying every one off in spades. With Arnold Schwarzenegger as a heroic terminator, Linda Hamilton in full badass mode and editing by Conrad Buff, ACE, Mark Goldblatt, ACE, Richard A. Harris and Dody Dorn, ACE (Special Edition), T2 delivers brains and brawn in equal measure while single-handedly revolutionizing cinematic VFX. Chock-full of brilliant one-liners and given a big heart by Cameron and co-writer William Wisher, T2 stands as one of the great American action epics that has lost none of its power. The event will be a Zoom Webinar on Monday, January 29 at 8PM ET/5PM PT.

*ACE Members and Newsletter subscribers, please check your email for the registration link.*