FRASER-THON is a 4-Film Brendan Fraser Marathon with a Q&A and an introduction by Academy Award nominated actor Brendan Fraser. The American Cinematheque will be hosting this unique event Friday, February 24 at 6:00pm at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. It is a Members-Only marathon, so if you're not already a member, now's a good time to join.
The one night event will be a celebration of actor Brendan Fraser's incredible career spanning from his early dramatic role in School Ties, his iconic role in the action classic The Mummy, his romantic comedy turn in Blast From the Past, and his Academy Award nominated performance in The Whale. It's an incredible career full of every possible twist and turn any Hollywood screenwriter could imagine. The most remarkable aspect of the tale is that it's all true.
The Marathon will appropriately began with Fraser's first notable role in, School Ties. Before this film he had appeared in three TV movies and as Sailor #1 in Dogfight, a terrific independent film by Nancy Savoca featuring River Phoenix, where they didn't even spell his name right in the credits. Fraser starred in School Ties the same year he appeared as the title character in the Pauly Shore film, Encino Man. He could not have been cast in two more different films if planned by design.
Because of the success of the comedy out shining the dramatic movie, many more comedies would follow with only a very few serious roles peppered along the way. Gods and Monsters was one of those impactful exceptions. The film played with great success at the Sundance Film Festival, but failed to find an audience among film goers who only knew Fraser from his comedy roles and had yet to discover Ian McKellen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sadly, this film is not part of the marathon, but instead a film released one year later, Blast From the Past, will be played last in the four film lineup at 12:45am. I have nothing against the film, but it would be nice to shake up the variety as well as the stages of Fraser's career. After all, the third film scheduled, The Mummy, was released the same year as Blast from the Past.
Of course, the film everyone will really be coming to see is at 8:00pm; The Whale. Fraser is currently in contention for the Academy Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of the title role. He has received nothing but praise for his performance since its premier at the Cannes Film Festival. The actor was honored by the international crowd with a six minute standing ovation for his work. This has subsequently brought a lot of attention to Fraser whom many in the industry had considered virtually washed up, despite his well received supporting role in the TV show, The Professionals.
An introduction to The Mummy will be provided by Fraser, and a Q&A with the actor will follow the screening of The Whale. This is a "members only" event sponsored by the American Cinematheque, so joining the not for profit organization will be required by non-members. It's easy to do, and offers a great number of benefits to the film fan who frequents these type of viewings and wishes to support a foundation with the preservation of cinema as its top priority. Join today to help support the American Cinematheque 501(c)(3) non-profit's public film programming. Members receive benefits such as $5 off regular-priced movie tickets, priority access to events, members-only screenings and many more.