It’s not summer in Austin without the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series. Yet even though the Paramount Theatre is closing for renovations, the series will continue, with a complete schedule now announced with the screenings starting at the Paramount before moving next door to the State and making a special debut on Austin’s biggest screen, the Bullock Museum IMAX Theatre.
Of course, the first wave has already been announced, with that special double bill of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, in addition to the previously announced Austin edition of Bleak Week. the Paramount has also already confirmed a 25th anniversary screening of Spy Kids, a celebration of the 2006 Paramount premiere of the Nobelity Project’s Nobelity, and a night of camp horror with Sleepaway Camp: The Midnight Mass Experience with star Felissa Rose, Peaches Christ, and queer horror expert Michael Varrati. Now the rest of the lineup is here.
With that big renovation beginning in June, this year’s Summer Classics has two big endings. First, the Paramount run will say a brief farewell to the Grand Dame of Congress Avenue with Crowd Pleasers, including Creed, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Singin’ in the Rain. Then the season proper will come to an end with (More) Crowd Pleasers: Mamma Mia!, Father of the Bride, and Jerry Maguire.
But before then, there’s a packed program that will bring together themed blocks. Take Affairs to Remember, which presents two of the best from Baz Luhrman with a special 35mm 25th anniversary screening of Moulin Rouge!, and a 30th anniversary celebration of Romeo + Juliet, then there are more modern looks at romance with The Worst Person in the World and Pillion. Plus, the Paramount teams up with Austin Asian American Film Festival for In the Mood for Love.
The Paramount will also celebrate Texas and Austin’s own cinematic history with Shot in Texas, featuring that Spy Kids screening, John Sayles’ Lone Star, The Last Picture Show, and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Plus, proving that Texas cinema can’t be contained to one category, UT grad Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket is part of Debuts, a trio of perfect first films also including Boyz N the Hood and Reservoir Dogs.
For those of you whose film love springs from the post-millennium Disney Channel Original Movies, there’s DCOM Double Features, where your small screen faves are paired with the films that inspired them. It’s your chance to see how Josie and the Pussycats was the big sister to The Cheetah Girls, while High School Musical screens with the original high school musical, Grease.
But it you’re looking to introduce your own children to classic kids cinema, there are discount tickets for anyone 12 and under with the ever-popular Family Film Series: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Coco, and Monsters, Inc. are just part of the animated programming including Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away and the live-action fusion, Space Jam. There’ll also be a chance to catch The Princess Diaries and its sequel, plus the ever-timely drama of To Kill a Mockingbird. And for anyone looking for pure escapism, don’t miss the return of The Goonies and a special 40th screening of Labyrinth.
Speaking of favorites from the series, there’s the return of Hitchcock Month, with big anniversary screenings for Notorious and Strangers on a Train, but the master of suspense also appears in the lineup of We’re Being Watched, with Rear Window joining The Truman Show and a special pairing of Blow Up and Blow Out, just to add to your paranoia.
For the rest of the lineup, including a host of special anniversary screenings from Charlie Chaplin’s anti-capitalist classic Modern Times to Citizen Kane and beyond, visit the Paramount Theatre website.
