‘Lord of Rings,' ‘Company' among special summer showings
If the likes of "Monte Carlo" with Disney starlet Selena Gomez and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" don't float your boat in 3-D or any other dimension, you're probably a tad older than the young demographic that Hollywood courts year-round but especially in the summer.
But take note non-Bieber-ites: A growing number of special screening presentations that attempt to engage more mature audiences are coming to area megaplexes this summer, ranging from one-night stands to extended cultural series. From encore screenings of the full "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in expanded versions to a staging of Stephen Sondheim's "Company," these showings are being presented via National CineMedia's Fathom, a digital in-theater network.
NCM launched Fathom in 2002 as a test in a handful of theaters, and the network has mushroomed to more than 600 locations nationwide, including many links in the AMC and Regal chains. Here are some of the presentations coming to metro Atlanta theaters (a handful to more than a dozen, depending on the title) this summer. For locations and tickets, go to www.fathomevents.com:
- "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy will be featured in an exclusive series of one-night-only screenings this month: "The Fellowship of the Ring" shows June 14; "The Two Towers," June 21; and "The Return of the King," June 28. Show time for all three is 7 p.m.
Audiences will view nearly an hour of additional feature footage per film with extra and extended scenes that were selected under director Peter Jackson's supervision. In addition, Jackson, taped on the set of "The Hobbit," will introduce each film.
The presentations are a prelude to Warner Home Video's release of all three adventures in their extended versions on June 28 as a 15-disc Blu-ray package.
- The Metropolitan Opera is being featured in encore performances from the series "The Met: Live in HD": Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" screens June 15; Donizetti's "Don Pasquale," June 22; Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra," June 29; Donizetti's "La Fille du Régiment," July 13; Puccini's "Tosca," July 20; and Verdi's "Don Carlo," July 27. Show time for each is 6:30 p.m.
- Sondheim's "Company," starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone along with the New York Philharmonic, will be presented at at varying times/days starting June 15.
- The opening weekend of the 2011 Drum Corps International Tour, featuring eight top marching music ensembles from the competition at Round Rock, Texas, will be highlighted at 6:30 p.m. June 20.
- "Dudamel: Let the Children Play," described as "an inspirational evening showcasing music as a universal right and the role it can play in shaping a person's future," will be shown at 7 p.m. June 23. It features Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor who is a proponent of the Venezuelan music education program El Sistema. The two-hour event will also include "Crescendo: Why Music Is Life," a 20-minute CNN en Español report.
- A four-part series of classical Shakespeare, taped in 2010 at London's Globe Theatre, is also on tap this summer: "The Merry Wives of Windsor," June 27; "Henry IV," Part 1, Aug. 1; "Henry IV," Part 2, Aug. 18; and "Henry VIII," Sept. 15. Each performance begins at 7 p.m. and will include a look at the Globe's history, the famed theater's reconstruction, its work today and a behind-the-scenes segment on each production.
- Carmike Cinemas, which recently joined the Emerging Pictures network for special cinematic presentations, will present "Macbeth" from the Royal Opera House at 2:30 p.m. June 13 and 7:30 p.m June 19 at select theaters. Also coming this summer: the Paris Opera Ballet performing "Children of Paradise" at 1:30 July 9 and 7:30 p.m. July 20; and the opera "Nabucco" from Italy's Taormina Arte Festival, Aug. 9 (time to be announced) and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 17. Information: www.carmike.com.
