Academy to Bring 'Chinatown' to the Goldwyn's Big Screen
Beverly Hills, CA — In honor of its thirtieth anniversary, a new 35mm print of Chinatown will be screened on Thursday, November 18, at 8 p.m., at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Presented as part of the Academy's Gold Standard series, the evening will also include a reunion of and discussion with some of the film's cast and crew members, including star Jack Nicholson, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Robert Towne, producer Robert Evans and Hawk Koch, who worked as assistant director on the film. Film historian and author Richard Schickel will introduce the film and moderate the discussion.

The film, a noir-inspired tale of nefarious doings and criminal conspiracies in 1930s Los Angeles, follows private eye Jake Gittes (Nicholson) into the seamy underbelly of the city. Faye Dunaway, John Huston, John Hillerman, Darrell Swerling, Diane Ladd and Perry Lopez also star in the gripping story of murder and political graft, and the film's director, Roman Polanski, appears on screen as a switch-blade wielding thug threatening Nicholson's nose.

Chinatown earned 11 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture (producer Robert Evans), Director (Polanski), Actor (Nicholson) and Actress (Dunaway), and Towne took home the Oscar statuette for his original screenplay.

Nominations also were earned for Art Direction (Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell; Set Decoration: Ruby Levitt), Cinematography (John A. Alonzo), Costume Design (Anthea Sylbert), Film Editing (Sam O'Steen), Music – Dramatic Score (Jerry Goldsmith) and Sound (Bud Grenzbach, Larry Jost).

The print to be screened is a new one, made from the original elements, courtesy of the Academy Film Archive and Paramount Pictures.

Tickets for Chinatown go on sale November 1 for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in advance at the Academy during regular business hours, by mail, or if still available, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.