The HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary

The HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary

Citi Returns to Join HBO in Presenting Free Outdoor Classic Film Series
June 18 - August 20

NEW YORK, NY, June 18, 2007- Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Paul Newman ... and of course, Bogart and Bergman. An all-star film legends line up celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, presented with Citi, in association with the Bryant Park Corporation.

Continuing the popular tradition of presenting "stars under the stars," the free outdoor festival will return for the 15th season with screenings each Monday evening at sunset, beginning June 18 and running through August 20. This year's opening night film, "Annie Hall" celebrates its 30th Anniversary and the spirit of New York City. Starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, the film won Oscars for Best Picture, Director, and Script. The festival will end with a fright when the Hitchcock masterpiece "Psycho" (1960) hits the big screen.

The films will be projected in 35mm onto a screen 20 feet high by 40 feet wide. Bryant Park is located at 42nd Street and the Avenue of the Americas. Food and refreshments will be available at Bryant Park concession stands, which will remain open throughout the evening. Each presentation will show on Monday evenings starting at sunset. The lawn opens at 5pm. Classic animation provided courtesy of Warner Bros.

For more information, call the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival hotline at (212) 512-5700. For film series information, visit the festival's website at http://www.aolcityguide.com/newyork/hbobryantparkfilm/ presented by AOL(R) CityGuide or go to AOL(R) Keyword: Bryant Park Film Festival.

2007 HBO BRYANT PARK SUMMER FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTED WITH CITI

JUNE 18 ANNIE HALL (UA/Provided by MGM)

Turning 30 this year, "Annie Hall" appears as fresh as ever. Neurotic N.Y. comic Alvy Singer looks back at various aspects of his life, including the women he has known. Annie may have been his one great love, but the relationship wasn't meant to be. For most fans, this is Woody Allen at his peak. "Annie" took Oscars for Best Picture (beating out "Star Wars"), Best Director (sorry Mr. Spielberg) and Best Script (a little California bashing is always fun). Diane Keaton, at her "la-di-da" finest, won a statuette too. Lobsters anyone? 94 Min. (1977)

JUNE 25 THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (RKO/Provided by Warner Bros.)

"Keep watching the skies!" Things start to sizzle at the North Pole after a team of scientists and military personnel unearths a freeze-dried alien being. According to Hollywood gossip, producer Howard Hawks had a heavy hand in the direction of this legendary sci-fi thriller filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant. In the title role, big James (Matt Dillon on TV's "Gunsmoke") Arness reportedly complained that his monster make-up made him look like an oversized carrot. 87 min. (1951)

JULY 2 PAPER MOON (Paramount)

The teaming of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal is inspirational in Peter Bogdanovich's delightful, depression-era comedy. Father and daughter portray an unlikely couple of Great Plains grifters selling Bibles to recently widowed women. In her screen debut, as the precocious Addie Loggins, 10-year-old Miss O'Neal won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Madeline Kahn and P.J. Johnson, as foxy Trixie Delight and her companion Imogene, provide the most hilarious backup imaginable. Nailing the period feel, the b&w cinematography of Laszlo Kovacs is on the money. 102 Min. (1973)

JULY 9 WAIT UNTIL DARK (Warner Bros.)

Poor Audrey Hepburn! When last seen in "Charade," goons were menacing her all over Paris. Now, she's a poor blind lady fighting off goons in her Greenwich Village (scenic exteriors on St. Luke's Place) apartment. Alan Arkin is way over-the-top as the nastiest of villains, while the ever-classy Hepburn scored a Best Actress nomination for her more restrained effort as the plucky and exceedingly resourceful heroine-in-distress. The lights-out climax of this jittery chiller is jump-out-of-your-skin scary. Let the screaming begin. 108 Min. (1967)

JULY 16 TO SIR, WITH LOVE (Sony/Columbia)

Respect and civility make up the lesson that distinguishes this "British Invasion" entry in the "dedicated-teacher-whips-cheeky-students-into-shape" genre. Sidney Poitier is Mark Thackeray, an engineer from Guyana who can't find a job in his chosen field. Out of necessity, he enters the blackboard jungle, taking on a class of dead-end kids in London's East End. Call him, SIR! Pop singer Lulu's rendition of the title song was a smashing success. Also featured are groovy tunes by a group from Manchester, the Mindbenders. Remember them? 105 Min. (1967)

JULY 23 THE STING (Universal)

The "Butch and Sundance" team is reunited for fun and scams. Robert Redford, Paul Newman and director George Roy Hill generate more high-voltage chemistry in this light-hearted (yet complex), overtly nostalgic look at 1930's Chicago con men. A great commercial success, the movie won seven Oscars including Best Picture. Robert Shaw, who would later turn up in "Jaws," is the boo-hiss villain. Marvin Hamlisch was responsible for the memorable music, though the Scott Joplin-inspired ragtime somewhat predated the movie's time period. 129 Min. (1973)

JULY 30 ALL THE KING'S MEN (Sony/Columbia)

Nothing much has changed since Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning morality tale was brought to the big screen. Power corrupts and politics can be a dirty business. Burly Broderick Crawford won a Best Actor trophy for his larger-than-life portrayal of Willie Stark, an honest man who gets ethically sidetracked on his way to the governor's mansion. "Men" collected enough votes to win both an Oscar and a Golden Globe as Best Picture of 1949. Forget the recent remake and stick with the superior original. 109 Min. (1949)

AUGUST 6 BUS STOP (Fox)

Even though her Actor's Studio roots may have been showing, Marilyn Monroe finally delivered a performance that convinced doubters she could act. Based on a play by William Inge, she's the barroom "chantoozie" who becomes romantically involved with a brash rodeo cowboy (Don Murray). Fresh off the ranch, he is marriage-minded. Convincing his lady of choice to say "I do," however, is a dang sight more complicated than roping a runaway heifer. Marilyn's distinctive rendition of "That Old Black Magic" is, well, magical. 96 Min. (1956) CinemaScope

AUGUST 13 CASABLANCA (Warner Bros.)

You must remember this ... Rick's Cafe, "play it, Sam," the usual suspects, "here's looking at you, kid", Bogart and Bergman, "of all the gin joints," the Marseillaise, "we'll always have Paris," Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet. The timeless melodrama of love, valor and compassion during WWII hasn't dated one whit. Everyone's favorite Hollywood romance is barely #2 behind "Citizen Kane" on the AFI list of America's Greatest Movies. A return appearance celebrates the 15th year of the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. My, how time goes by. 102 Min. (1942)

AUGUST 20 PSYCHO (Universal)

"Jaws" kept millions of moviegoers out of the ocean. Alfred Hitchcock's model shocker kept even more scardey-cats out of the showers. Janet Leigh is the unfortunate lady-on-the-run who checks into the remote Bates Motel ("12 cabins, 12 vacancies"). As you probably know, she won't be around at checkout time. Anthony Perkins, playing creepy Norman ("a boy's best friend is his mother") Bates, created a signature role so indelible that it would last an entire career. Be honest. Would you rent a room from this man? 109 Min. (1960)

Press Contact: Suzanne Pinto, HBO

212-512-1904

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Source: HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

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