The Descendants

12:00 p.m.

Directed by Alexander Payne

Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller

Rated R for language including some sexual references

From left: Shailene Woodley, George Clooney, Barbara L. Southern and Robert Forster in The Descendants. — Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight Films

In the Oscar-winning film The Descendants, a grieving husband played by George Clooney must deal with betrayal, mortality, and two high-spirited daughters.  Writer-Director Alexander Payne’s remarkable script — which won him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay — miraculously walks the line between searing drama and delightful comedy.

Read the review and watch the trailer     

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

2:30 p.m.

Directed by John Madden

Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language throughout

Judi Dench (left) and Celia Imrie in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. — Photo by Ishika Mohan, courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures

An award-winning, all-star cast, led by Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith, lights up this “buoyant comedy laced with genuine emotion.” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) When seven cash-strapped seniors decide to “outsource” their retirement to a resort in far-off India, friendship and romance blossom in the most unexpected ways. Smart, life-affirming and genuinely charming, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a “true classic that reminds us that it’s never too late to find love and a fresh beginning at any age.” (Rex Reed, The New York Observer)

Read the review and watch the trailer

Enjoy English-style high tea before the movie!

You are invited to experience high tea with a Marigold Hotel-inspired twist. Complimentary tea and light snacks will be served in rooms 283-285 of the New Orleans Convention Center from 12:00 p.m. –
2:30 p.m. prior to the screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The refreshments are being provided by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.**

** Space is limited and refreshments will be available while supplies last.

Exclusive Pre-Release Screening

Parental Guidance

5:30 p.m.

Directed by Andy Fickman

Written by Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse

Produced by Billy Crystal, Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark

Starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott, Bailee Madison, Joshua Rush and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf

This film has not yet been rated

From left: Joshua Rush, Bailee Madison, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Billy Crystal and Bette Midler in Parental Guidance.

Old-school grandfather Artie (Billy Crystal), who is accustomed to calling the shots, meets his match when he and his eager-to-please wife Diane (Bette Midler) agree to babysit their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents (Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott) go away for work.  But when 21st century problems collide with Artie and Diane's old-school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old-fashioned games, they bring the family together by embracing the best of both worlds.

Spoiler Alert! Billy Crystal will introduce and discuss the film with the director, Andy Fickman, and other cast members.

Arbitrage

9:00 a.m.

Written and Directed by Nicholas Jarecki

Starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta and Nate Parker

Rated R for language, brief violent images and drug use

Susan Sarandon (left) and Richard Gere in Arbitrage.

Arbitrage, the feature directing debut of writer Nicholas Jarecki, is a taut and alluring suspense thriller about love, loyalty and high finance. When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller (Richard Gere) on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed.

Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) and brilliant daughter and heir apparent Brooke (Brit Marling), Miller's also balancing an affair with French art dealer Julie Cote (Laetitia Casta). Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a face from Miller's past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth), who will stop at nothing in his pursuits. Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of his moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts?

Watch the trailer     

Pre-Release Screening

The Oranges

12:00 p.m.

Directed by Julian Farino

Written by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer

Starring Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney, Alia Shawkat, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester

Rated R for language including sexual references and some drug use

From left: Allison Janney, Oliver Platt, Leighton Meester, Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Alia Shawkat and Adam Brody in The Oranges.

David and Paige Walling (Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener) and Terry and Cathy Ostroff (Oliver Platt, Allison Janney) are best friends and neighbors living on Orange Drive in suburban New Jersey.  Their comfortable existence goes awry when prodigal daughter Nina Ostroff (Leighton Meester), newly broken up with her fiancé Ethan (Sam Rosen), returns home for Thanksgiving after a five-year absence.  Rather than developing an interest in the successful son of her neighbors, Toby Walling (Adam Brody), which would please both families, it’s her parents' best friend, David, who captures Nina’s attention.

When the connection between Nina and David becomes undeniable, everyone’s lives are thrown into upheaval, particularly that of Vanessa Walling (Alia Shawkat), Nina's childhood best friend.  It’s not long before the ramifications of the affair begin to work on all of the family members in unexpected and hilarious ways, leading everyone to reawaken to their lives, reassess what it means to be happy and realize that sometimes what looks like a disaster turns out to be the thing we need.

Watch the trailer     

Paul Williams Still Alive

3:00 p.m.

Directed by Stephen Kessler

Starring Paul Williams

Rated PG-13 for drug references and brief strong language

Paul Williams in Paul Williams Still Alive.

If you were around in the 1970s, and even if you weren't, you probably know Paul Williams. He wrote classic songs such as "We've Only Just Begun," "Evergreen" and "Rainbow Connection." He starred in Smokey and the Bandit and was a guest on Johnny Carson’s couch.  And then, he disappeared.

Quite by accident, lifelong fan and director Stephen Kessler learned that Paul Williams was still with us. But when Kessler set out to make a documentary, Williams wasn't interested at all. With Kessler never giving up and Williams always trying to get away from the camera, the results are a documentary that is more like a buddy comedy than a "whatever happened to" both funny and moving.

Paul Williams Still Alive is both a rollicking pop-culture flashback filled with great television and performance clips, and the humorous journey of an awkward documentarian and his reluctant subject. Yet it ultimately evolves into the touching tale of a man who has made peace with the beast that fame and celebrity awoke.

Spoiler Alert! Oscar and Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter
Paul Williams will appear live with director Stephen Kessler to discuss the film after the screening.