Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is curating a new movie season in London
Brb taking notes for my own birthday celebrations
In the same way you say "walkies" to a dog and they go absolutely mental, uttering the words "Steven Soderbergh" will act as a smoke signal to all film students across the country, add the works “curated film season” and you’ll wake them up from the middle of a Tarantino marathon, frantically booking tickets instead. The auteur behind some of the biggest box office blockbusters is coming to London for a special season of cinematic screenings next month.
Called Man Under the Influence, the special movie season will kick off on 3rd September, showing nine movies across nine consecutive Thursday evenings, wrapping things up on October 30th.
Rather than being scattered across a plethora of different indie UK cinemas, each movie screening will take place in the gorgeous Everyman Cinema The Whiteley in Bayswater. Every single film in the slate has been hand picked by Soderbergh, whose qualifications to host this include having made: Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s 12, Erin Brockovich, Magic Mike, and Sex, Lives, and Videotape. I mean, talk about range.
Much like how Soderbergh’s own portfolio is a diverse mix of crime, comedy, drama, and thrillers, the films chosen for the season will be a range of crowdpleasers, indie faves, and blockbusters. The run kicks off with the 1950s classic Trouble in Paradise, with each subsequent week's pick being from the following decade. So September 10ths film is Notorious (1940), three weeks later you’ve got the 1970s smash hit Jaws and so on and so on. The final film bringing the plush red velvet curtain down on the celebration will be Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread from the 2010s.
Wondering what’s with the six decade theme? Well, the whole shebang is actually a celebration of Soderbergh’s 63rd birthday. Clearly, the filmmaker is switching Colin the Caterpillar cake for a curated cinema celebration. And apparently because staying on theme matters, each event will have a 63 minute happy hour, which will give guests the chance to sip on a cocktail especially creative with a different top London bar – and each will be made with his favourite Bolivian spirit. Yup, you guessed it Singani 63. Do you think people will be getting the number 63 bus there?
Each film shown has had both a personal and cultural influence, each introduced by the man himself, albeit via video rather than IRL.
The full programme and cocktail partner is:
- September 3 – Trouble in Paradise (1930s) Cocktail by Archive & Myth
- September 10 – Notorious (1940s)Cocktail by The Mandrake
- September 17 – The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1950s)Cocktail by Cocktail Trading Company
- September 24 – The Servant (1960s)Cocktail by Viajante 87
- October 1 – Jaws (1970s)Cocktail by Nancy’s
- October 8 – Do the Right Thing (1980s)Cocktail by Murder Inc.
- October 15 – Fargo (1990s)Cocktail by The Natural Philosopher
- October 22 – Lost in Translation (2000s)Cocktail by Equal Parts
- October 29 – Phantom Thread (2010s)Cocktail by Hawksmoor
Soderbergh curated a similar Singani 63 season at New York’s Nitehawk Cinema earlier this year. According to him, "The only partner we considered for the UK version of A Man Under the Influence was Everyman, whose love of movies is matched only by their commitment to the moviegoing experience."
"Ask yourself: Can I resist the idea of a classic movie, Singani 63, and the groovy Everyman vibe all happening at the same time? The answer is no, you cannot, so get your butt to The Whiteley on Thursdays this fall and let's light this candle!"
Tickets are already on sale and are priced at £20.90, although that includes the cocktail. Doors open at 6pm for the drinks reception (with that week’s speciality cocktail) with the films kicking off around 7pm.
Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!
