A Tribute to Paul Mazursky

ABOUT PAUL MAZURSKY (writer/director/producer/actor)

Paul Mazursky was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean, a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1951 and made his film debut as an actor in Stanley Kubrick's first feature, Fear and Desire. He soon became a writer and worked on The Danny Kaye Show in 1963. In 1965, he collaborated with Larry Tucker in crafting the script of the original pilot of The Monkees television series, in which they both also appeared in cameos. His acting career has continued for several decades, starting with television work in episodes of The Twilight Zone and The Rifleman. He has played supporting roles in A Star is Born (1976), History of the World Part I (1981), Into the Night (1985), Punchline (1988), Man Trouble (1992), Carlito's Way (1993), Love Affair (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996) and Crazy in Alabama (1999). He also performed the voice of the Psychologist in Antz (1998).

Mazursky's debut as a feature film screenwriter was the Peter Sellers comedy I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968). The following year, he directed his first film, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Over the next two decades, he would direct an impressive string of quirky, dramatic and critically popular films, including Alex in Wonderland (1970), Blume in Love (1973), Harry and Tonto (1974), the autobiographical Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), An Umarried Woman (1978), Willie and Phil (1980), Tempest (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Moon Over Parador (1988), Enemies: A Love Story (1989) and Scenes from a Mall (1991). Following his filmmaking satire, The Pickle (1993), Mazursky has only worked sporadically as a director, on such films as Faithful (1996), Winchell (1998), Coast to Coast (2003) and the documentary, Yippee (2006).

He recently published his autobiography, in which he recounts his experiences in filmmaking and with several well-known screen personalities, including Peter Sellers. Mazursky has appeared as himself in a number of documentaries on film, including A Decade Under the Influence, New York at the Movies and Screenwriters: Words Into Image. In recent years, Mazursky had a small part in five episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as Mel Brooks' associate Norm. Mazursky has received five Academy Award nominations, four for his screenwriting on Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Harry and Tonto, An Umarried Woman and Enemies: A Love Story, and once as producer of An Umarried Woman (nominated for Best Picture).


Mazursky will participate in a Q&A about his career following the 7 P.M. screening of Next Stop, Greenwich Village on Sunday, July 12, 2009.


CALENDAR OF SCREENINGS:

SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2009

5 P.M.: Harry and Tonto (1974)
Rated R. Running time: 115 minutes.

Art Carney shines in this poignant drama about an aging widower's determined search for a better life. Harry (Carney), who lives in New York with his pet cat, Tonto, is having a rough time of it. Not only does he keep getting mugged, but the huge wrecking ball outside his window is about to demolish his apartment. So Harry bids farewell to the city and sets out for life in the suburbs with his son's family. But son Burt is too stuffy and his wife is too bossy. When a stay with Harry's single daughter doesn't work out either, man and cat head West in a second-hand car, meeting bizarre characters along the way. Finally they reach L.A., where Harry moves in with his other son Eddie (Larry Hagman). But by now Harry's realized he likes being on the road and hasn't yet had his fill of adventure.

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7:30 P.M.: An Unmarried Woman (1978)
Rated R. Running time: 124 minutes.

Erica (Jill Clayburgh) seems to have it all - a comfortable home, an interesting job in a Manhattan art galley, a bright teenage daughter and a loving, successful husband. Then, suddenly, her life is shattered. Her "perfect" husband walks out, and she is left frightened and alone to face the chancy singles world. How does a vital, contemporary woman pick up the pieces and start over?

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SUNDAY, JULY 12, 2009

5 P.M.: Moon Over Parador (1988)
Rated PG-13. Running time: 103 minutes.

Richard Dreyfuss stars as an underemployed actor who is offered a great acting role, though outside of New York. Still, beggars can't be choosers and he accepts--only to discover that the part involves impersonating the dictator of Parador, a troubled Central American country on the verge of revolution. The dictator has died, but his chief adviser (Raul Julia) doesn't want that news to come out; he'd rather continue the charade that the big guy is still in charge. And to his surprise, the actor discovers that he enjoys the acting challenge, until he figures out that Julia is positioning himself to take over as the country's true strongman.

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7 P.M.: Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
Rated R. Running time: 111 minutes.

FOLLOWED BY A Q&A WITH PAUL MAZURSKY

Larry Lapinsky (Lenny Baker) is a young man seeking fame and discovering independence in Paul Mazursky's bittersweet comedy set in the 1950s. His mother (Shelley Winters) is distraught when he leaves his traditional family home in Brooklyn and moves to bohemian Greenwich Vilage. As a struggling actor, he gets entangled with a group of free spirits, discovers adult romance and, hardest of all, copes with his overbearing Jewish mother.

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