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Growing up watching cartoons, laughing and learning lessons from them, is a rite of passage. Watching cartoons violently fight each other is the cherry on the top of that lesson learning sundae. Thankfully Jerry Beck’s ongoing Animation Tuesdays at The Cinefamily keeps your blood thirst for animated violence in check with tomorrow’s Cartoon Fight Club.

From La Cinefamilia:

“We’re going twelve rounds with an all-star championship card that pits against each other the toughest dudes, buffest bears and most macho mice, with epic matches in the ring, around the garden and all over the house. Cartoon historian Jerry Beck has compiled the most barbaric battles in hand-drawn animation to satisfy your testosterone-pumped, frothing-at-the-mouth bloodlust: Tom vs. Jerry, Popeye vs. Bluto, and Duck vs Fudd. Get pumped for the kind of headbanging, eye-bulging entertainment they don’t show on TV anymore; with rare 35mm and 16mm film prints (including several in Technicolor), this show will bonk your head, bash your bones and bodyslam you into next week! And remember the first rule of Cartoon Fight Club — tell everyone about Cartoon Fight Club on April 6th.”

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The Cinefamily’s continuing Comedy Death Ray series continues to kill. This time young Michael Cera presents Freebie and the Bean starring Alan Arkin and James Caan in what Cera says “has to be the best buddy-cop film of 1974″.

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Cartoon historian Jerry Beck’s ongoing animation series at The Cinefamily goes CinemaScope as rare and vintage cartoons from the 1950’s are screened in their intended widescreen format, many of which “have not been projected in their original screen ratios since their first release.”

From Jerry’s Cartoon Brew:

“Next Tuesday, at my usual monthly screening at The Silent Movie Theater, I’ll be running a great selection of 1950s cartoons in widescreen CinemaScope. I will be showing rare 35mm and 16mm prints - many in Technicolor. Among the titles being screened will be Ward Kimball’s Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom and the Donald Duck Grand CanyonScope from Disney, Tom & Jerry and Droopy cartoons from MGM, Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing from UPA, and a slew of rare Terrytoons, including Flebus, Dinky Duck in It’s A Living, and many others including R.O. Blechman’s Juggler Of Our Lady (narrated by Boris Karloff).”

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John C. Reilly’s Dr. Steve Brule character along with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, host two shows at The Cinefamily on Fairfax to make people laugh for a very good cause. Also on the evening’s agenda is a preview of two new episodes from Awesome Show’s upcoming 5th season along with a Q&A with Tim, Eric and John.

All proceeds from the evening’s show will go to help Partners In Health’s mission in Haiti.

*Shows are now sold out but tickets may be available at the door!

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The 2nd weekend of the new year brings a plethora of group shows to Los Angeles along with a Hamburger weekender.

• Gallery 1988 on Melrose has been pumping out art shows depicting some of our most recognizable pop culture heroes and villains over the years (I AM 8-BIT, Crazy 4 Cult, Lost, etc.) so it comes as no surprise that our favorite childhood muscle bound bowl-cut hero from Eternia has over 100 artists making pieces of him and his pals for the show Under the Influence: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

(Click image for more info and full artist lineup)

• You Can Heal Your Life! at the Circus Gallery on Lexington that is at their group show which features the works of Sister Corita among others. Curated by Emma Gray, the “art works in this show seek to address issues of religion, spirituality and self-help through performance, sculpture, painting, video and printmaking.“

(Click image for more info and full artist lineup)

• For animal and art lovers alike, Thinkspace in Silver Lake is putting out A Cry For Help, a group show of over 100 artists with the goal of raising awareness about the plight of animals in our modern world. *20% of all proceeds will be donated to Born Free USA.

(Click image for more info and full artist lineup)

• New Image Art on La Brea is run by some amazing women (Marsea Goldberg, Amber Abramson) so it should come as no surprise that their current group show features some of today’s powerful women photographers with the group show Put Your Finger on the Button. Included in the show are two of my favorite photographers, regardless of sex, the awesome Cheryl Dunn and lovely Deanna Templeton (who you may have both seen in our film Beautiful Losers).

(Click image for more info and full artist lineup)

• Speaking of Deanna Templeton, her husband Ed Templeton will be featured in the show for the Japanese publication Megane Zine at the HVW8 Art + Design Gallery off of Melrose. In addition to a limited edition HVW8 x Megane t-shirt designed by Ed for sale, comic zine’s will be given free to the first 20 people on January 9th.

(Click image for more info and full artist lineup)

• And finally wrap up your weekend with family, laughter and Hamburger as the Cinefamily on Fairfax extends their Comedy Death Ray series with Neil Hamburger’s tribute to Frank Sinatra, Jr. I repeat Frank Sinatra, JUNIOR. In honor of Frank Jr.’s birthday, Hamburger has assembled this evening of rare, vintage Frank Jr. TV variety specials and film appearances!

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I best remember Andy Kaufman as the comedic genius behind Tony Clifton and Latka the lovable taxi cab mechanic, but I’ll never forget his brief “wrestling” career where he would welcome women to challenge for his crown of “Intergender Wrestling Champion of the World” and where Jerry Lawler would eventually “break” his neck in the ring (and subsequent slap happy Letterman interview). Kaufman was easily as polarizing as he was provocative. To commemorate the release of  Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!, the new book which focuses on said women wrestling exploits, The Cinefamily presents “an evening of rare and never-before-seen Kaufman gold pulled from the archives of Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies (Kaufman’s girlfriend and author of the book).”

From the Cinefamilia:

“The great provocateur/comedian Andy Kaufman died 25 years ago, and tonight we celebrate his legacy with an evening of rare and never-before-seen Kaufman gold pulled from the archives of Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies (Kaufman’s girlfriend and author of the new Process book “Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!”). This treasure trove of rarities includes recently unearthed footage from Kaufman’s brief but illustrious career as “Intergender Wrestling Champion of the World,” his never-before-seen performance at LA Improv’s “Midnight Snacks” in 1975, and a video, allegedly made by a German film crew, of someone driving to the Kaufman family plot in New Jersey and exhuming Andy’s corpse. And, as a grand finale for the evening, none other than Tony Clifton has threatened to appear in his only West Coast appearance for more than half a decade. Don’t miss it!”

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Our little film that could, Beautiful Losers, is coming to DVD next week (Dec. 8th) courtesy of Adam Yauch’s (MCA of the Beastie Boys) film distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories. To commemorate the films release our trusty leader/director Aaron Rose will be coming back to LA to introduce Beautiful Losers Shorts, rare films by the artists and friends of the film. Screening at The Cinefamily on Fairfax, this special presentation features works Mike Mills, Harmony Korine, Thomas Campbell, Geoff McFetridge, Cheryl Dunn, Chris Johanson, Stephen Powers, Spike Jonze, Clare E. Rojas, Tobin Yelland, Jo Jackson and more!

Buy tickets here.

Brought to you by Oscilloscope Laboratories and Amoeba Music.

(flyer design once again creatively crafted by Keith Scharwath)

From our family at the Cinefamily:

“In celebration of the DVD release of Beautiful Losers, Aaron Rose will be showcasing short films by key artists in his critically acclaimed documentary, as well as never-before-seen interviews with artists from the scene, sharing personal stories behind one of the most influential cultural moments of a generation.”

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You remember Project Mayhem from that film where the first and second rules are to not to talk about some sort of club right? Well it seems as if mayhem is coming to Los Angeles at midnight tonight. RSVP to Project Mayhem LA here for something cheaper than a movie as well as free coffee.

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Hey did you hear there’s a movie coming out based on Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are? Yeah, I had no idea either. Luckily The Cinefamily on Fairfax, along with documentarian Lance Bangs, will be bringing us up to date with a tribute to Maurice Sendak featuring “original animated adaptations (on 16mm!) of Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, along with new short films made by Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze while the new live action adaptation of Wild Things was in production.”

More from The Cinefamily:

“Jonze had been friends with Maurice Sendak for more than five years before he began working on his feature film, and these new short films capture a sometimes melancholy but always wickedly funny Sendak as he reflects on his Depression-era childhood in the Brooklyn shtetl, a joyous day at the World’s Fair, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, his books “In The Night Kitchen” and “Higgledy Piggledy Pop!”, his two beloved Hermans (Melville, and his German shepherd namesake), and a long-buried secret.”

Where the Wild Things Are related to more content:

• What the Wild Things Sound Like
• Where the Wild Things Become Banners
• Where the Wild Things Are covered by the New York Times
• New Wild Things imagery, music, and interviews
• Where the Wild Things (Titles) are Made by McFetridge
• Where the Wild Things Are Featured in a Featurette

• Where the Wild Things Love You So

• Kubrick and Geoff McFetridge meet the Wild Things

• New Wild Things theatrical poster
  

• Where the Wild Things Are theatrical trailer and photo gallery

• One sheet poster and theatrical trailer info

• Wild Things skateboards and shoes

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Looks like Saturday is the big winner with many a good thing in this weekend’s stacked schedule of events for your cultural and social pleasures.

• The super producing couple of Meg and Jonathan Wells continue to pump out the goods as one of their most ambitious projects to date opens the Scion installation space in Culver City with the Flux Super 8. Featuring filmmakers, designers and video artists from all over the world including our ultra talented Portland pal Max Erdenberger, as well as The Blackheart Gang (Cape Town, South Africa), Saam Farahmand (London, UK); Sophie Gateau (Paris, France), Miwa Matreyek (Los Angeles, USA), Terri Timely (San Francisco, USA), United Visual Artists (UVA) (London, UK), and YesYesNo (Amsterdam, NL + New York, NY + London, UK), the promising Flux Super 8 show is sure to be the first of many more to come.

• And while you’re in Culver City hop on over to the Corey Helford Gallery and take a trip to India with the moustachioed madman Carlos Ramos as he once again dazzles with his trademark contrasty colors and sublimely shaped stable of animals. (Moustache subject to availability.)

• Giant Robot cleans out their closet with the group show Junk in the Trunk in which over 30 artists including Apak!, David Horvath and Albert Reyes among others, bust out new, old, and random pieces of art that need new homes at GR2 on Sawtelle. Bonus yard sale on Sunday too!

• The second shift Saturday night continues (or starts) in Chinatown at the Sabina Lee Gallery on Chung King Road with the group show Second Shift.

• Reform School, Home Ec, and the Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax join hands to bring you the Los Angeles premiere of the documentary on D.I.Y. culture, Handmade Nation. *Saturday’s 12pm premiere screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director, and ticket holders for this show will receive specialized gift bags and surprise giveaways! In-between the two Saturday screenings, during 2-6pm, there will be a mini-craft fair eaturing some of LA’s most talented makers, a “Handmade Nation” book signing with Faythe Levine, and hands-on make-and-takes (craft demos). Admission to the craft fair is free, and open to the general public.

• For my Bay Area brethren, Grind for the Green presents the second annual Battle for the Bang as bay area environmentally conscious youth battle with beats for cash and prizes at the Zeum in San Francisco.

• And finally end your weekend on a high musical note as Stones Throw’s finest continue to rock Amoeba Music on Sunset every Sunday in August. This weekend’s set features one of the Beat Junkies’ founding fathers, J-Rocc.

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