JUN 2 - JUL 28: KCET WESTSIDE CINEMA SERIES OPENS AT THE AERO, PRESENTED BY THE JAMES AND PAULA COBURN FOUNDATION

Pete Hammond Hosts Weekly Series of First-Run Feature Films Prior to Theatrical Release with Q & A Sessions Immediately Following Screenings at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica

KCET, public television for Southern and Central California, presents a new line-up of films for its KCET Cinema Series, a perennial weekly screening series of Hollywood movies, independent films and foreign pictures shown prior to their theatrical releases, beginning on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Hosted by film expert and journalist Pete Hammond, each film is immediately followed by a Q&A giving attendees the unique the opportunity to meet and discuss the film with filmmakers. The series is generously presented by the James and Paula Coburn Foundation, the estate of the late actor James Coburn and his wife, the late actress Paula Coburn.

The KCET Cinema Series takes place Tuesdays beginning June 2 and concludes on July 28. Tickets are $175 per person. For reservations or to charge by phone, please contact KCET Special Events at (323) 953-5800. All proceeds from the series benefit KCET. KCET members receive a 10 % discount.

The schedule of films is included below; however, there are some dates that have not yet been finalized. All films and guests are subject to change without notice. For more information please visit www.kcet.org/specialevents or call 323.953.5800.

JUNE 2 - The Proposal (Touchstone Pictures)

Sandra Bullock plays a highly successful, tough-as-nails boss who forces her young assistant into an engagement so she can get a green card and avoid deportation. Ryan Reynolds and Betty White co-star in this absolutely hilarious and winning romanticcomedy that promises to be one of the surprise hits of summer. Q&A with director Anne Fletcher

JUNE 9 - The Stoning of Soraya M. (Roadside Attractions)

Direct from the Cannes Film Festival where it was sold internationally, this powerful, controversial and gripping true story set in 1986 tells the story of a reporter whose car breaks down in a small Iranian village where a woman proceeds to tell him thestory of her niece Soraya whose arranged marriage to a tyrant ends tragically. Sure to be one of the most talked about films of the year. Q&A with stars Shohreh Aghdashloo (Oscar® nominee for The House of Sand And Fog), Mozhan Marno and director/co-writer Cyrus Nowrasteh.

JUNE 16 - My Sister’s Keeper (New Line Cinema)

Based on the best selling book, this heart-wrenching story focuses on teenage Anna, a young veteran of many surgeries who seeks medical emancipation from her parents who conceived her as a bone-marrow donor to help keep her older sister, a Leukemiavictim since childhood, alive. From Nick Cassavetes, director of The Notebook. Stars Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Jason Patric, and Sofia Vassilieva. Q&A with talent from the film and Oscar® Award- winning producer Mark Johnson (Rainman).

JUNE 23 - The Answer Man (Magnolia Pictures)

A huge hit at the Sundance Film Festival, this romantic comedy about Arlen Faber, reclusive author of the 20 year old self-help phenomenon, Me And God, a cult best-seller that positioned him for two decades as the man who had all the answers. His newfound relationship becomes complicated with a single mom searching for answers, but the truth is he doesn’t have a clue. Stars Tony Award nominated actor, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Kat Dinnings. Q&A with writer/director John Hindman.

JUNE 30 - Adam (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Soon after moving in to her new apartment, Beth a brainy, beautiful writer emotionally damaged by a past relationship encounters Adam, the handsome but odd neighbor downstairs whose awkwardness is perplexing. The film is a moving and unusual romanticdrama. It garnered the Alfred P. Sloan dramatic film prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Stars Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, and Amy Irving. Q&A with writer/director Max Mayer

JULY 7 - 500 Days of Summer (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

The film is an offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe that love exists and the idealistic young man who falls for her head-over-heels. “It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s romantic and it’s utterly heartbreaking. Without question one of thebest films to grace the Sundance Film Festival and one of the best films anyone will see all year.” – Cinema Blend. Q&A with stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, and director Marc Webb.

JULY 14 TBD
JULY 21 TBD
JULY 28 TBD

About KCET

KCET, the West Coast flagship station of PBS, is public television for Southern and Central California. KCET is watched by four million viewers a month in 11 counties, the largest broadcast reach of any public television station in the United States. National PBS series produced from the station’s Hollywood studios include three-time NAACP Award winner Tavis Smiley and the Peabody Award-winning series A Place Of Our Own and Los Niños En Su Casa, produced as part of KCEd™, the station’s educationalprogramming initiative. Other KCET productions for PBS include Sid The Science Kid, co-produced for PBS by KCET and the Henson Company. Currently in production are The Time to Care, the third KCEd production, and WWII: Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, theNazis and the West, a six-hour documentary series premiering on PBS in May 2009. Throughout its more than 40-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions, its quality educational family and children’s programs, itsoutreach and community services, and its Web site, kcet.org. KCET is donor-supported community television. More than half of the funds raised to support KCET’s operating budget come from individual support. For additional information about KCETproductions, Web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit www.kcet.org.

About the James and Paula Coburn Foundation

The James and Paula Coburn Foundation (JPCF) is a tax exempt private foundation that supports charitable organizations devoted to the arts and sciences. The foundation is committed to upholding the Coburns’ dedication to local and internationaladvancement through music, art, education, as well as physical and spiritual health.

About Pete Hammond

In his eighth year as host of the KCET Cinema Series, five-time Emmy® nominee Pete Hammond is a writer, producer and film expert whose commentary on the film industry has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, EntertainmentWeekly, New York Magazine, Ocean Drive, Fox New Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor, NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw, Evening News With Brian Williams on MSNBC, the CBC, BBC, Bravo Network, Extra, E! Entertainment and many others. Hammond is currently film critic for Maxim magazine and Maxim Online. He has been a contributor to Variety and V Life, including numerous articles on the Cannes Film Festival, AFI Fest and awards season, as well as a longtime contributor and filmreviewer for Leonard Maltin’s Movie And Video Guide. He has also served as coordinating producer for Access Hollywood, where he ran their movie coverage. He had similar posts at Extra and Entertainment Tonight, where he coordinated that show’s filmcoverage for its first decade on the air. In 1996 he was honored with the Publicists Guild Of America’s Press Award, annually given to “an outstanding member of the press who lends credit to the entertainment industry.”