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STEEL MAGNOLIAS has been added to the lineup of 12 previously announced feature films presented by their stars at Target presents AFI Night at the Movies. The 1989 film will be co-presented by Shirley MacLaine, the 2012 AFI Life Achievement Award honoree and Academy Award^®-winning actress, and Sally Field, Academy Award^®-winning actress.  Both actresses will also present one other film – TERMS OF ENDEARMENT by MacLaine and NORMA RAE by Field.

Adding to this unique night, audience members will join Field and AFI to celebrate MacLaine’s birthday prior to the screening. "What better way to celebrate...spending the evening with people who love the movies and friends who make them," commented MacLaine.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS brings together several generations of spirited Southern women in a celebration of life, laughter and love.  The chemistry of the all-star ensemble creates movie magic – a beautiful, emotional alchemy that is heartwarming and life-affirming even as it wrings tears from its audience. The title itself refers to the contrasts embodied by its complex protagonists – each of whom is as strong as steel and as delicate as a magnolia.

Tickets to STEEL MAGNOLIAS and all other screenings are $30 and include a large popcorn and soda, as well as a Magnum ice cream bar. Tickets can be purchased through the ArcLight Hollywood website (arclightcinemas.com). Tickets are also available for purchase in person at the ArcLight Hollywood box office at 6360 West Sunset Blvd starting today at 10:00 a.m. (PT).

The American Film Institute notes the passing of Jonathan Winters who died on Friday at the age of 87. The mad, mad, mad, mad world that Winters created over a 60-year movie and television career as an improvisational actor and recording artist just became a little saner and sadder. The cherubic-faced, quick-change specialist, best known for IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963) and television's MORK AND MINDY (1981-82), influenced the work of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey among others. He was a master of dialects who continued working to the very end of his life. Winters' last film THE SMURFS 2, in which he reprises his role of "Papa," is currently in post-production.

Tickets to Target presents AFI Night at the Movies go on sale to the general public today at 10 a.m. All screenings are $30 including popcorn and a soda, and can be purchased at arclightcinemas.com or in person at the ArcLight box office, 6360 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. All film programs will begin at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  Extremely high demand is expected, so don’t delay!

The complete lineup of presenters and films follows:

Kathy Bates presenting MISERY (1990)
Cher presenting MOONSTRUCK (1987)
Sally Field presenting NORMA RAE (1979)
Peter Fonda presenting EASY RIDER (1969)
Harrison Ford presenting BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT
Samuel L. Jackson presenting PULP FICTION (1994)
Shirley MacLaine presenting TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)
Demi Moore presenting GHOST (1990)
Mike Myers presenting SHREK (2001)
Sidney Poitier presenting IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)
Kurt Russell presenting THE THING (1982)
Kevin Spacey presenting THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

AFI has announced the lineup for Target presents AFI Night at the Movies, an event of extraordinary scale with a dozen classic American films spanning five decades screening on a single night – each with an introduction by the film’s star. Among those introducing films on Wednesday, April 24 will be three AFI Life Achievement Award honorees: Harrison Ford presenting BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT, Shirley MacLaine offering TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983) and Sidney Poitier introducing IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967). 

The evening’s full roster of movies and presenters includes:

Kathy Bates presenting MISERY (1990)

Cher presenting MOONSTRUCK (1987)

Sally Field presenting NORMA RAE (1979)

Peter Fonda presenting EASY RIDER (1969)

Harrison Ford presenting BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT

Samuel L. Jackson presenting PULP FICTION (1994)

Shirley MacLaine presenting TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)

Demi Moore presenting GHOST (1990)

Mike Myers presenting SHREK (2001)

Sidney Poitier presenting IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967)

Kurt Russell presenting THE THING (1982)

Kevin Spacey presenting THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

This star-studded evening reflects the promise of the American Film Institute to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. 

Tickets to Target presents AFI Night at the Movies go on sale April 11. All screenings are $30 including popcorn and a soda and can be purchased at arclightcinemas.com or in person at the ArcLight box office, 6360 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. All film programs will begin at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The American Film Institute sadly notes the passing of Annette Funicello at age 70. The singer-actress was a role model for many American teenagers coming of age in the late 1950s and ‘60s, whose appeal transcended sex to include a new and ethnically liberating standard of brunette beauty. Funicello, who never changed her Italian American surname, began her career as an original Mouseketeer with Walt Disney Television before trading her Mickey Mouse ears for a two-piece bathing suit and starring in a series of beach movies, often with co-star Frankie Avalon, including BIKINI BEACH (1964) and BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965) produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. Funicello married and was the mother of three. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the late 1980s and started the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation, which continues to fight the disease.

The American Film Institute records with sorrow the passing of Roger Ebert, film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, who received an honorary degree from the AFI Conservatory in 2004.

"Roger Ebert championed the art of the moving image," said AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale, "and by the courage of his personal example demonstrated how much movies matter."

Ebert chaired the AFI AWARDS jury of critics, filmmakers and scholars who selected the year's 10 best films in 2004. "He held the gavel that day with the same enthusiasm for excellence that made his voice a force in American popular culture," said Gazzale.

Ebert wrote BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970) for director Russ Meyer and then made his mark as a national critic on television with SNEAK PREVIEWS and AT THE MOVIES, often sharing the screen with Gene Siskel or other film critics and offering a thumbs-up or down assessment of both major studio releases and smaller independent films. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1975. In recent years, he inspired the film community by continuing to review films on his blog in spite of his courageous fight against cancer.

"On behalf of all of us who love the movies - thumbs up, Roger - for a life well lived and our heart-felt thanks for all the gifts you will continue to give us as time goes by," said Gazzale.

The 41st AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute honoring Mel Brooks will be held June 6 at Hollywood & Highland's Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards^®. AFI Premiere Circle and 5-Star members receive two tickets for a black-tie reception and the star-studded tribute. Invitations and reservation forms will be mailed this month. If you're not currently a Premiere Circle or 5-Star member, you have until May 15 to upgrade your membership and enjoy this benefit. An opportunity like this comes along only once in 2000 years. Please join us in honoring the man who gave us, THE PRODUCERS, BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, SPACEBALLS ­ and "The 2000 Year Old Man," plus so much more.

And don't forget to attend the Mel Brooks retrospective at AFI's Silver Theatre and Cultural Center from April 19 to July 2, featuring the work of this year's AFI Life Achievement Award recipient. Among the films presented will be the comedies HIGH ANXIETY and HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART I as well as such dramas from Brooksfilms as THE ELEPHANT MAN and 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD.

The latest Directors Guild of America (DGA) statistics list the percentage of working female directors as 7% in film and 11% in television, making AFI Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) an essential ladder to professional success for many women.  Since 1974, AFI has offered this remarkable, tuition free training workshop to help shape the role of women in the art form.  Each year, up to eight women participate in the three-week workshop and showcase their finished work for film community insiders, an experience that has launched the career of many working directors, including Tricia Brock (GREY'S ANATOMY), Jennifer Getzinger (MAD MEN) and Lesli Linka Glatter (HOMELAND).

AFI Premiere Circle members are invited to join us for the 2013 showcase and reception on May 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the DGA in Hollywood. Renew, upgrade or become a member at the Patron level or higher today and play a role in supporting these extraordinary female artists.

AFI Premiere Circle members, colleagues, family and friends, joined us March 14 for the AFI Conservatory Thesis Showcase 2013 at the DGA Theater in Hollywood. As a Premiere Circle member, you'll enjoy exclusive benefits and access to all that AFI offers, from the annual AFI Life Achievement Award to our top film festivals, AFI Fest and AFI DOCS – and even Target presents AFI Night at the Movies! And you'll also be there when another round of talented AFI filmmakers make their debut. Support great filmmaking by becoming an AFI member and be there when great filmmaking emerges!

Each month we introduce a member of AFI staff to readers. We paid a morning visit to Amy Campbell, AFI's Director of Special Events, at her second-floor office on the Institute's Hollywood campus. In addition to the usual AFI décor, film posters – in this case, TOOTSIE and UNFORGIVEN – there was a large bulletin board with planning details for AFI events and a list of invitees for an upcoming event on her desk. We gave up trying to read the names upside down and went straight into our 10 questions.

1. Where are you from? I am originally from Buffalo, New York. I moved to Los Angeles two weeks after my college graduation.

2. Where did you go to school? I majored in Marketing and Finance at Syracuse University and had a minor in Statistics. I can create complex graphs estimating the probability that someone will attend an event!

3. What did you do before you came to AFI? I was Director of Special Events for a charity called STOP CANCER. Before that, I worked in event marketing at Variety. We planned a series of events at major film festivals like the '10 Directors to Watch' event at Sundance and many events in Los Angeles to promote the publication's special issues. It was always very busy, but fun.

4. How long have you been at AFI? I've been here 12 years. I started working for [AFI President and CEO] Bob Gazzale in AFI Productions, doing marketing for AFI'S 100 YEARS... shows. We worked with Blockbuster and then Best Buy on DVD promotions for the films featured in the shows. With AFI'S 100 YEARS...100 SONGS, we did a tie-in with Napster, so that tells you how much things have changed. During my first year here, AFI Awards was started and I was involved with the creation of the program from submissions through the event. I also was involved in the AFI Life Achievement Award planning.

5. What do you do at AFI now? When AFI moved the 100 YEARS... shows to each decade, I transitioned to the Special Events department. And when [former Director] Tess Csiszar left her position last June, I took over as Director of Special Events. In my current position, I manage the Special Events department, which produces all the AFI events including AFI Awards, the AFI Life Achievement Award, AFI Night at the Movies, AFI Fest Gala nights, AFI Conservatory Showcases and so much more.

6. How does that affect our members? We do many membership events throughout the year. We did a special evening last year with Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick exclusively for AFI Premiere Circle members. There's usually a special member offering for most of our events.

7. What was your best day at AFI? The Life Achievement Award for Warren Beatty stands out for me. President Clinton was there and I saw him backstage. Commencement is also one of my favorite days of the year because there's so much real emotion from all of the guests. My job is really interesting because there is always something new going on. Even when its challenging, its still rewarding. During this year's AFI Fest closing night premiere of LINCOLN, we had unexpected rain. We were scrambling to put up tents, clear off the red carpet and get everybody in place. It was pretty stressful. But when it was over, I thought, 'Wow! We pulled it off!' It was a real team effort.

8. What are you working on today? Today I am working on Target presents AFI Night at the Movies and the AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mel Brooks. We have a call tomorrow with our sponsors, so I'm putting together some material for that meeting. The event will screen 10 classic films on one night at the ArcLight Hollywood with either the lead actor or director from the movie in attendance.

9. What don't your colleagues know about you? I play the piano and I'm currently taking guitar lessons.

10. What's your favorite film? THE SOUND OF MUSIC stands out as a beautiful movie with good memories. I loved watching it with my mom and sister, then watching it again with my niece, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with my daughter when she's old enough.