One of the staples of the outdoor summer screenings in London is undoubtedly the Film4 Summer Screen season at the glorious Somerset House. Even though you’re in the middle of busy London, you’re very much away in a world of your own, well, with a few hundred other film lovers.
We’re very excited to announce the new line-up of films that’s been announced and – take note – tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am but be quick, they sell out fast! This year, also sees the World Premiere of Richard Curtis’s ABOUT TIME and two UK Premieres: THE WAY WAY BACK and PRINCE AVALANCHE.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 24 May 2013
Tickets from £14.50 available online: www.somersethouse.org.uk/film4summerscreen
There’s an extended run out there this time around, so instead of me waffling on just check out the full list here for yourself and I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s a very special one – once again:
This year, Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House is proud to present three premieres over the course of the extended 14 night programme:
- WORLD PREMIERE/OPENING NIGHT FILM: ABOUT TIME – Thursday 8 August
A magical new comedy from Richard Curtis in which Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is able to relive every moment of his life until he gets it right. Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy also star in this “new funny film about love – with a bit of time travel” – which shows that all the complications of life, love, romance and family may well get even more complicated even if you can jump through the days and years. Richard Curtis said “I’m tremendously excited about the premiere of About Time happening at Somerset House. It’s one of my favourite open spaces in London and the occasion – outdoors, in the summer – seems terribly suitable for the movie. It was shot in the summer, the key scenes happen on a big wide open beach and there’s actually a scene in the film where the leading man’s family watch a movie projected on to a wall outside their house.”
- UK PREMIERE/CENTREPIECE FILM: THE WAY WAY BACK – Tuesday 13 August
A wonderfully warm and nostalgic comedy from Oscar-winning writers of The Descendants Nat Faxon and Jim Rash which, despite its coming-of-age perspective, doesn’t shy away from more adult emotions. An awkward fourteen-year-old learns some important life-lessons during a summer vacation with mum Toni Colette and her new boyfriend Steve Carell, although he does his real growing up at the local waterpark under the watchful eye of a supremely laidback Sam Rockwell.
- UK PREMIERE/CLOSING NIGHT FILM: PRINCE AVALANCHE – Wednesday 21 August
The UK premiere of this funny and lyrical odd-couple comedy from supremely talented and always unpredictable director David Gordon Green brings Film4 Summer Screen to a close. Serious-minded Paul Rudd and irresponsible Emile Hirsch may have a tenuous family connection but they couldn’t be more different, meaning their summer together painting road-markings in the middle of nowhere threatens to be a long one. A gentle but richly resonant treat, graced by sublime landscape photography and two very memorable characters.
Beyond the excitement of the three premieres, this year’s programme contains plenty of established classics and firm favourites. There’s extreme sibling rivalry between stars of Hollywood’s ‘golden age’ Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the unsettling, blackly-comic WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (Friday 9 August), while there’s a more harmonious relationship on display between Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the buddy-comedy-cum-Western-adventure BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (Tuesday 20 August). There’s more star-power on display, albeit of a more contemporary variety, in the sweet and sexy romantic-comedy CRAZY STUPID LOVE (Sunday 18 August), which brings together the talents of Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Steve Carell and Julianne Moore in a tale of multiple interlinked love-lives.
Also in the line-up are two very different streetwise stories that bring a bit of attitude and action to the courtyard. Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra swagger onto the big-screen in the bright and romantic musical GUYS AND DOLLS (Monday 12 August), while Oscar-winning Sean Connery teaches Kevin Costner how to walk on the wild side in order to bring down Robert DeNiro in THE UNTOUCHABLES (Sunday 11 August).
Elsewhere, two enduring and essential landmarks in British cinema will make for stirring evenings in the courtyard. Director Ken Loach’s down-to-earth yet highly emotive KES (Wednesday 14 August) follows the story of a young Barnsley boy who secretly keeps and trains a kestrel, and that’s followed later in the programme by legendary filmmaking duo Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger’s bold, blazing and swoon-inducing THE RED SHOES (Monday 19 August), in which Deborah Kerr’s prima ballerina finds that success comes at quite a cost. Meanwhile, the eternal face of British drama William Shakespeare is represented in striking fashion in THRONE OF BLOOD (Thursday 15 August), in which master director Akira Kurosawa hauntingly reinvents ‘Macbeth’ for the big-screen.
Other highlights include three bumper nights of double and triple-bills to take our audiences deep into the night. A fun and fearsome triple-bill on Saturday 10 August gets darker the longer it goes on, kicking off with the Tina Fey-scripted MEAN GIRLS before Stephen King sets the stage for revenge in CARRIE. It all wraps up with a special invitation to intense prom-night horror THE LOVED ONES. The following weekend finds monsters emerging into Somerset House on Friday 16 August as Arnold Schwarzenegger takes on an invisible alien in PREDATOR, followed by the crazy live-action cartoon GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH. The night of Saturday 17 August is a celebration of the outlaw spirit as Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek play lovers on the run in Terrence Malick’s poetic debut BADLANDS, followed by Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as an odd-couple who can’t stop themselves from stealing a baby in the Coen brothers’ wild, wacky and big-hearted RAISING ARIZONA.
For the third year running, American Express’ partnership with Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House enables Cardmembers to benefit from presale and reserved tickets to all shows.
PRINT CLUB LONDON: SUMMER SCREEN PRINTS
An exhibition of editioned hand screen printed film posters to coincide with Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House with American Express®
To coincide with this year’s screenings, Somerset House and Film4 have teamed up with Dalston studios Print Club London to curate a one-off poster exhibition in the newly opened West Wing Galleries. Working with some of the biggest and best illustrators from the UK and USA, they will design and produce 17 new, original silk screen prints inspired by the roster of films screened at Film4 Summer Screen with American Express this year. Some of the illustrators include Kate Gibb (creator of Chemical Brothers album artwork) designing the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster, Anthony Burrill designing the UK Premiere film, The Way Way Back poster, Hattie Stewart designing the Mean Girls poster and Hvas & Hannibal designing the Guys and Dolls poster. Other artists include James Joyce and Michael Gillette as well as newcomer Serge Seidlitz. The prints will be editions of 200, each signed by the artist and for sale at £40.
So, there you go! If you’re still wondering getting tickets, here’s that handy link:
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 24 May 2013 and available online here: www.somersethouse.org.uk/film4summerscreen
Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House with American Express®
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2 1LA
- Tickets go on sale Friday 24 May, 10am
- To book tickets, visit somersethouse.org.uk or call Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1715
- Film4 Summer Screen runs from 8 – 21 August 2013
- Ticket prices: £14.50 plus booking fees, Double Bills: £18.50, Premieres: £22.50 plus booking fees
- Doors open 18.30, DJs from 19.00, Film starts 21.00
- For further information, please visit www.somersethouse.org.uk/film4summerscreen
