{"id":167969,"date":"2026-02-07T09:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/167969\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T09:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:06:18","slug":"the-new-beverly-returns-to-its-naughty-past-plus-the-best-movies-in-l-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/167969\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Beverly returns to its naughty past, plus the best movies in L.A."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello! I\u2019m Mark Olsen<\/a>. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.<\/p>\n

Movies that had limited awards releases last year are seeing their full-fledged openings this week. Top among them is \u201cPillion,\u201d<\/a> the debut from British writer-director Harry Lighton, starring Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd and Harry Melling as two men who become engaged in a dominant-submissive relationship.<\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd, left, and Harry Melling in the movie \u201cPillion.\u201d<\/p>\n

(A24)<\/p>\n

In her review, Amy Nicholson writes<\/a> of the film, \u201cThis fetishy adventure is a minimalist romantic comedy in which submissive meets dominant, and submissive explores his physical and emotional vulnerabilities. Marriage and a baby carriage are off the table; the journey matters, not the destination. \u2026 Lighton\u2019s biker BDSM rom-com might sound niche, but free yourself to see it and you\u2019ll discover it\u2019s a universal romance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily Zemler asked Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/a> about what has been guiding his decisions lately when choosing roles. As he said, \u201cPeople think there\u2019s this invisible ladder and you have to get to the next rung of the ladder. It\u2019s easy to forget to check in with yourself and ask, \u2018Well, what do I want to do?\u2019 You can get swept away. I\u2019m trying to get down the ladder to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some other notable openings this week are \u201cDracula,\u201d<\/a> \u201cScarlet,\u201d<\/a> \u201cThe President\u2019s Cake,\u201d<\/a> \u201cNatchez\u201d and \u201cThe Love That Remains.\u201d <\/p>\n

Points of interest<\/p>\n

The New Beverly reverts to its naughty past<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Sylvia Kristel in the movie \u201cEmmanuelle.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Severin Films)<\/p>\n

For most of the month of February, the New Beverly<\/a> will refashion itself into the Eros, the adult movie theater it was called throughout much of the 1970s. (There\u2019s even a commemorative T-shirt<\/a>.) Film dudes throughout the city are presumably coming up with inventive rationales and\/or excuses as to why they simply must attend some of these screenings.<\/p>\n

The programming leans into what was referred to in The Times as \u201cporn chic\u201d \u2014 movies that were meant to work as cinema, even appealing to couples, while also fulfilling the needs of the raincoat crowd. This Friday and Saturday will be a double bill of Just Jaeckin\u2019s 1974 \u201cEmmanuelle,\u201d starring Sylvia Kristel<\/a>, and Bitto Albertini\u2019s 1975 \u201cBlack Emmanuelle,\u201d starring Laura Gemser.<\/p>\n

When The Times\u2019 Charles Champlin reviewed \u201cEmmanuelle\u201d after it opened in 1975 at the Fine Arts in Beverly Hills, he noted, \u201cIt may be the first porno film designed for people who don\u2019t really want to see one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other notable titles during the New Bev\u2019s Eros month include \u201cThe Opening of Misty Beethoven,\u201d directed by Radley Metzger under the pseudonym Henry Paris, Russ Meyer\u2019s \u201cVixen\u201d (with star Erica Gavin in-person), Ingmar Bergman\u2019s \u201cSummer With Monica,\u201d Roger Vadim\u2019s \u201cPretty Maids All in a Row,\u201d \u201cThe Fireworks Woman,\u201d directed by Wes Craven (credited as Abe Snake), Nagisa Oshima\u2019s \u201cIn the Realm of the Senses\u201d and Gerard Damiano\u2019s \u201cDeep Throat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quentin Tarantino\u2019s \u201cOnce Upon a Time … in Hollywood\u201d<\/a> will be playing on Fridays at midnight, which includes a knowing line about the Eros when Margot Robbie asks, \u201cWhat\u2019s happening at the dirty movie place?\u201d<\/p>\n

A 1976 article in The Times by Barry Siegel states that there were then 47 adult theaters operating within the city limits of Los Angeles, even while charting the rapid rise and quick decline of porn-chic movies in the wake of the success of \u201cDeep Throat\u201d in 1972. <\/p>\n

\u2018sex, lies and videotape\u2019 with star Laura San Giacomo<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Laura San Giacomo in the movie \u201csex, lies and videotape.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Criterion Collection)<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. continues its 50th anniversary series at the Egyptian Theatre<\/a> on Tuesday with a screening of Steven Soderbergh\u2019s 1989 debut feature \u201csex, lies and videotape,\u201d<\/a> a key title in kicking off the independent filmmaking scene of the 1990s. Actor Laura San Giacomo, who won LAFCA\u2019s New Generation Award for her performance, will be there for a Q&A moderated by Lael Loewenstein.<\/p>\n

Soderbergh was all of 26 years old when the film premiered at what was then called the U.S. Film Festival (the precursor to Sundance), where it won the audience award before heading to Cannes, where it won the Palme d\u2019Or. (James Spader picked up an acting prize there too.) Among the film\u2019s many other accolades, Soderbergh would also be nominated for an Academy Award for original screenplay.<\/p>\n

Spader plays Graham, an enigmatic wanderer who inserts himself into the lives of his old friend John (Peter Gallagher), his wife Ann (Andie MacDowell) and her sister Cynthia (San Giacomo), drawing out all manner of confessions and revelations.<\/p>\n

In her original review<\/a> of the film, Sheila Benson called the film an \u201celectrifying psycho-sexual comedy \u2026 the funniest and saddest American movie since Jim Jarmusch landed straight in the middle of our consciousness, and it\u2019s possibly the most compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benson added, \u201cWhat is not apparent from a thumbnail description is the film\u2019s lacerating wit, its beautiful look and sound, and the bravura quality to each performance. Or the terrible vein of melancholy that Soderbergh touches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018In the Soup\u2019 in 35mm<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Steve Buscemi and Seymour Cassel in the movie \u201cIn the Soup.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Factory 25)<\/p>\n

Winner of the Grand Jury prize at 1992\u2019s Sundance \u2014 the same year \u201cReservoir Dogs\u201d premiered there \u2014 is \u201cIn the Soup.\u201d<\/a> Directed and co-written by Alexandre Rockwell, the film follows an aspiring filmmaker (Steve Buscemi) who falls in with an irresistibly charming gangster (Seymour Cassel<\/a>, who won Sundance\u2019s first acting award) as his erstwhile producer. A recently restored 35mm print of the film will be playing in L.A. for the first time Sunday at Brain Dead Studios.<\/p>\n

The cast of the film also features Carol Kane, Jim Jarmusch and Jennifer Beals, the last married to director Rockwell at the time. Reviewing the film<\/a> in November 1992, Kenneth Turan called it \u201ca charming pipsqueak of a movie, a playful film of ragged and shaggy appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Director Michael Almereyda on the \u201990s vampires of \u2018Nadja\u2019 \"A <\/p>\n

Elina L\u00f6wensohn in the movie \u201cNadja.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Arbelos Films)<\/p>\n

As much a survey of late-night diners, bars and 3 a.m. conversations, Michael Almereyda\u2019s \u201cNadja\u201d<\/a> is very much a vampire film. It is also a wonderful example of the creative freedom of the \u201990s indie boom \u2014 everything from its cast to its look to its deadpan humor.<\/p>\n

Executive produced by David Lynch (who paid for the film out of his own pocket and appears in a small role), \u201cNadja\u201d combines the 1936 horror film \u201cDracula\u2018s Daughter\u201d with Andre Breton\u2019s 1928 surrealist novel \u201cNadja.\u201d In the movie, a New York City vampire (Elina L\u00f6wensohn) looks to avenge the death of her father at the hands of Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda) while also dealing with a complicated swirl of relationships involving her brother (Jared Harris), his nurse (Suzy Amis), Van Helsing\u2019s nephew (Martin Donovan) and his wife (Galaxy Craze).<\/p>\n

Re-released by Grasshopper Film and Arbelos Films with a streaming and home video release to follow, the new 4K restoration of the film\u2019s original version that premiered at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival is a few minutes longer than what played at Sundance just a few months later. (It was there that Almereyda also made the documentary \u201cAt Sundance,\u201d interviewing filmmakers for their thoughts on the future of movies.) This new \u201cNadja\u201d is playing on Feb. 6 and 8 at the Philosophical Research Society, then at Vidiots on Feb. 21 and 22 and Frida Cinema on Feb. 25 and 26.<\/p>\n

On the phone from Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he is prepping an adaptation of Don DeLillo\u2019s 2016 novel \u201cZero K,\u201d the thoughtful and reflective Almereyda shared some of his memories of making the film.<\/p>\n

\"Four <\/p>\n

Peter Fonda, left, Jared Harris, Martin Donovan and Galaxy Craze in the movie \u201cNadja.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Arbelos Films)<\/p>\n

How did you get the idea of combining \u201cDracula\u2019s Dracula\u201d with Breton\u2019s \u201cNadja\u201d?<\/p>\n

Michael Almereyda: It was fairly spontaneous. David Lynch had offered to help me make a movie if I could come up with something that was definably genre. And I went to [NYC movie theater] Film Forum at a time when \u2014 do you remember [film historian] William K. Everson? He would show up at Film Forum unannounced to start talking before the movie. This was one time when I showed up late and he was talking and they read a raffle ticket and there was silence. And I reached in my pocket: I had won the raffle. And that was to get a book of William K. Everson\u2019s about horror movies. And so it was kind of a gift that I read about \u201cDracula\u2019s Daughter.\u201d I\u2019d never seen it and I liked the outline of the plot and I chased it down and it felt like I could retrofit a number of ideas I had about New York with that story. It felt like the two things talked to each other.<\/p>\n

One thing about vampire movies is that the best ones are always about something else. For you with \u201cNadja,\u201d what\u2019s the something else?<\/p>\n

Almereyda: It\u2019s not really a scary movie and it wasn\u2019t really designed to be. It\u2019s certainly atmospheric but the emotion of it, when I saw it again recently, had to do with both the comic aspects of being in love and the miserable aspects. It\u2019s kind of a side-winding answer, but that\u2019s partly what it\u2019s about. It\u2019s about family ties, obviously. I think I made or wrote enough scripts about tangled families that I began to sort of get over it. But we all come from these families.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

David Lynch in the movie \u201cNadja.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Arbelos Films)<\/p>\n

Did David Lynch\u2018s presence impact the tone at all? Do you feel the movie became in any way Lynchian?<\/p>\n

Almereyda: Well, David\u2019s impact on me and my whole generation of filmmaking and the generation behind us is vast. And I wouldn\u2019t want to pretend it\u2019s not, but direct influence is kind of minimal. It might be more fair to say that David\u2019s art school background rhymes with mine. And that we had similar influences. People don\u2019t really talk about how much David did or didn\u2019t know about Maya Deren and Cocteau, but it\u2019s kind of hard to miss. And there was just a certain sensibility and attitude. I felt close to David\u2019s Midwestern-ness, and you combine that with some fondness for and knowledge of French culture, including surrealism, and you\u2019re halfway to David Lynch without specifically thinking about it.<\/p>\n

I really haven\u2019t addressed this question much, but when he died, I ended up writing a fair bit of my memories and it\u2019s moving to me how much impact he had when he died. There was such a wave of mourning and celebration, too, that it felt more phenomenal than he could have anticipated. It was clear how famous he was \u2014 how recognizable he was \u2014 within the time I knew him. But the love of David Lynch is really moving to me and it\u2019s still something we\u2019re swimming in, I hope, in a dark time.<\/p>\n

For all the difficulties of being an independent filmmaker, what keeps you doing it?<\/p>\n

Almereyda: I\u2019m stumped. I was just going through my head and I know you just interviewed Ethan Hawke<\/a> and he\u2019s a true comrade that I\u2019ve been lucky to work with a few times. And he was in the interview with Rick Linklater when we did our \u201cAt Sundance\u201d movie. They had \u201cBefore Sunrise\u201d at the festival and Rick started by quoting Truffaut, talking about the future of film is the personal film. <\/p>\n

Even if it\u2019s a fantasy, even if it\u2019s a vampire movie, you\u2019re still relating to your experience and your sense of an emotional reality. So that feels like a candle that doesn\u2019t go out for me. And despite all the derailments and dead ends, I don\u2019t question continuing. It just feels like a natural path, even if it\u2019s winding and difficult.<\/p>\n

In other news<\/p>\n

Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, tributee<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Timothee Chalamet in the movie \u201cMarty Supreme.\u201d<\/p>\n

(A24)<\/p>\n

I will leave the ins and outs of this year\u2019s awards campaigns to my trusted colleague Glenn Whipp at The Envelope, but one event jumped out as worth noting: Announced this week and immediately selling out is an eight-film American Cinematheque retrospective<\/a> of Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2018s movies, with the actor in person for all screenings.<\/p>\n

Chalamet is currently an Oscar nominee as both actor and producer for \u201cMarty Supreme.\u201d And he has an impressive roster of collaborators who will be appearing with him to show their support, including Edward Norton with \u201cA Complete Unknown,\u201d Denis Villenueve with \u201cDune\u201d and \u201cDune: Part Two,\u201d Christopher Nolan with \u201cInterstellar\u201d and Elle Fanning with \u201cBeautiful Boy.\u201d <\/p>\n

If there were some murmurs last year that Chalamet didn\u2019t do enough conventional campaigning to win for his turn as Bob Dylan in \u201cA Complete Unknown,\u201d this year he seems to be pulling out all the stops.<\/p>\n