The HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

NEW YORK, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking an incredible milestone of presenting "stars under the stars," the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival presented by Bank of America with Swedish Fish, JLL, WeWork, and Time Out in association with Bryant Park Corporation, celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a New York themed line-up. The free outdoor festival returns Monday evenings at sunset, beginning June 19 and running through August 21. 

The festival's opening night film is the1933 classic, King Kong, famous for its classic finale on top of the Empire State building. Other films playing during this year's film festival, including The Muppets Take Manhattan, Sabrina, All That Jazz, and Wall Street, also celebrate New York and its unmatched music, romance and excitement.  For the 25^th Anniversary, five of the summer's ten films are returning to Bryant Park as a retrospective of the last 24 seasons, and the other five have never been shown in the park before.

The films are projected onto a screen 20 feet high by 40 feet wide. Bryant Park is located at 42nd Street and the Avenue of the Americas. Each presentation starts on Monday evenings at sunset.  The lawn opens at 5pm.  Classic animation provided courtesy of Warner Bros. Captions are displayed for all films. New to the festival this year, WeWork is providing pre-show entertainment each evening, from 6:30pm until 7:30pm. Snacks, meals, and refreshments are available at the Bryant Park Grill and Café, Southwest Porch, and in-park kiosks operated by Joe Coffee, Wafels & Dinges, Breads Bakery, and Le Pain Quotidien. An expanded selection of curated food options from Hester Street Fair is also available.

For more information, call the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival hotline at (212) 512-5700. For film series information, visit hbo.com/hbobryantparkfilmfestival (Live June 5th).

2017 HBO BRYANT PARK FILM FESTIVAL

JUNE 19-KING KONG (Warner Bros.) The granddaddy of all monster movies is a variation on the old "beauty and the beast" story.  The adventure fantasy about the girl and the giant ape has been remade a few times, but there's nothing like the original.  Kong is captured on tropical Skull Island and brought back to New York for exhibition.  Of course, this doesn't turn out well for anyone and the poor monkey finds himself atop the Empire State Building, swatting at fighter planes.  Max Steiner's music swells, as Fay Wray's lungs get quite a workout.  "Kong" did not win any Oscars for Special Effects, as the award did not yet exist. (1933) 100 Min. (NOT RATED)

JUNE 26-ON THE TOWN (Warner Bros.) "New York, New York it's a wonderful (helluva) town."  So goes the song in this glorious Technicolor musical that follows three sailors on leave in the Big Apple.  Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin and Gene Kelly meet up with Ann Miller, Betty Garrett and Vera-Ellen after jumping ship at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Stanley Donen (and Kelly) directed this adaptation of the successful Broadway hit with book, lyrics and music by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Leonard Bernstein.  Much was filmed on location (a first for Hollywood musicals) where "the Bronx is up, and the Battery's down." (1949) 98 Min. (NOT RATED)

JULY 3-THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (Sony) Hey gang!  Let's put on a show!  Ambitious Kermit, Miss Piggy and their Muppet friends bring their college musical ("Manhattan Melodies") to the Big Apple.  Getting a producer interested and mounting the show on the Great White Way is not so easy as anticipated.  Lots of guest stars (Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Art Carney, Dabney Coleman, James Coco, Gregory Hines, Brooke Shields, Ed Koch, etc.) show up along the way before the troupe's Broadway dream comes true. Directed by Frank Oz, voiced by Jim Henson, Oz and crew. (1984) 94 Min. (G) 

JULY 10-SABRINA (Paramount) Bosley Crowther of the NY Times called this Billy Wilder winner "the most delightful comedy-romance in years."  The contemporary fairy tale finds the poor chauffer's daughter (Audrey Hepburn) pursued by the two sons (Humphrey Bogart, William Holden) of her father's rich Long Island employer.  This is after she returns elegantly from a couple of years in Paris where she has learned to make an omelet and to wear gorgeous clothes.  Edith Head won an Oscar for the costumes, though an unaccredited Givenchy designed Audrey's chic outfits. (1954) 113 Min. (NOT RATED)

JULY 17- WALL STREET (Fox) "Greed is good" is the mantra of ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas).  Climbing the ladder of success is ambitious young broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), who is taken under Gekko's wing.   Oliver Stone directed this drama of high finance, buying and selling, insider trading and securities fraud as a follow-up to the celebrated "Platoon."   A bullish Douglas won an Oscar as Best Actor for his effort, while Daryl Hannah won a Razzie as Worst Supporting Actress.  The market crash of Black Monday (October 19, 1987) was only a few months before the film's opening.  (1987) 126 Min.  (R)

JULY 24- PILLOW TALK (Universal) Doris Day (scoring her only Oscar nomination) plays a single New York interior decorator sharing a telephone party line (remember them?) with a bachelor composer (Rock Hudson).  The playboy's over active social life tends to hog the phone line, which leads to mutual loathing.  The romantic comedy won an Oscar for Original Story and Screenplay beating out such heavyweights as Wild Strawberries and North By Northwest. Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter provide droll comic support for Day and Hudson who were successfully teamed up for two more romps.   (1959) 105 Min. (NOT RATED)

JULY 31- THE HUSTLER (Fox) Nominated for 9 Oscars, this dark and gritty tale of pool hall sharks won for Cinematography and Art Direction.  Fast Eddie (Paul Newman) is a hungry, small-time upstart with dreams of beating the unbeatable Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason), a living legend and the reigning champion of major league pool.  Eddie has a lot to learn, but the lessons come with a price.  George C. Scott, as a shady big-time gambler, refused his nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but Gleason gladly accepted his.  Newman won an Oscar of his own years later when he played Fast Eddie again in "The Color of Money."  (1961) 134 Min. (NOT RATED)

AUGUST 7 –ALL THAT JAZZ (Fox) "It's showtime, folks!"  Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is a workaholic Broadway director and choreographer.  He is also a womanizer, a heavy drinker, a chain smoker and frequent pill popper.  Bob Fosse directed this jazzy, thinly-veiled autobiographical film showcasing his very own personal demons.  Not surprisingly, Gideon (like Fosse) eventually finds himself in a life-or-death struggle as he goes under the knife for open-heart surgery.  Nominated for nine Oscars, "Jazz" won four (Score, Art Direction, Costumes, Editing).  If you can survive it, there's no business-like show business.  (1979) 123 Min. (R)

AUGUST 14-NORTH BY NORTHWEST (Warner Bros.) Alfred Hitchcock was at the top of his game when he directed Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in this sophisticated cross-country thriller.  Bachelor Grant is a dapper, Madison Avenue ad executive who becomes a victim of mistaken identity and is soon on the run for his life.  Saint's a mysterious, blonde seductress who seems more than eager to help out the handsome fugitive.  Classic set pieces play out at the U.N. headquarters and in an Indiana cornfield.  The breathless climax finds Grant and Saint dangling from a presidential profile on Mt. Rushmore.  (1959) 136 Min. (NOT RATED)

AUGUST 21- DIRTY DANCING (Lionsgate) In the summer of '63, seventeen-year-old Baby (Jennifer Grey) goes on vacation with her family to a resort in the Catskills.  Baby is bored until she meets hunky professional dancer Johnny (Patrick Swayze).  Before you can say "Dancing with the Stars," he is teaching her some pelvic moves and she is taking the place of his dance partner who has turned up pregnant.  Needless to say, Baby's daddy does not approve of the couple's suggestive gyrations.  North Carolina and Virginia stand in for the upstate New York locations in this surprise hit.  Like Baby, you'll have the time of your life. (1987) 100 Min. (PG-13) 

HBO
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world's most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services – HBO^® and Cinemax^® – to approximately 134 million subscribers worldwide.  The services offer the popular subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand^® and Cinemax On Demand^®, as well as HBO GO^® and MAX GO^®, HD feeds and multiplex channels. HBO NOW^®, the network's internet-only premium streaming service, provides audiences with instant access to HBO's acclaimed programming in the U.S. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 60 countries.  HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.

BRYANT PARK CORPORATION
Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), a private not-for-profit company, was founded in 1980 to renovate, finance and operate Bryant Park in New York City. BPC is funded by income from concessions, corporate sponsors and events, as well as an assessment on neighboring properties, and does not accept government or philanthropic monies. In addition to providing security, sanitation, and horticultural services tending the park's lush lawn and seasonal garden displays, BPC offers public amenities, programming and activities, including movable chairs and tables, cafe umbrellas, restaurants, food kiosks, world-class restrooms, and a wide range of free events throughout the year. The Midtown Manhattan park is visited by more than six million people each year and is one of the busiest public spaces in the world. Visit BPC's website, www.bryantpark.org, for more information and a schedule of upcoming events                                                                                

BANK OF AMERICA
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 47 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,900 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately 35 million active users and more than 22 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

SWEDISH FISH
Swedish Fish is a classic and unique tasting candy that doesn't want to forget its eccentric side. It's what makes Swedish Fish who it is, a great tasting soft and chewy candy with personality. We are known first and foremost for our shape – the fish. Swedish Fish comes in several flavor varieties and two sizes – original and mini. As the #1 fish-shaped candy in the world, it only makes sense the brand's new marketing campaign 'They're Swedish-ish' sets out to answer the age-old question: "Are Swedish Fish candy really Swedish?" Check us out and follow The Fish on Facebook and Instagram.

JLL
JLL is a leader in the New York tri-state commercial real estate market, with more than 2,400 of the most recognized industry experts offering brokerage, capital markets, property/facilities management, consulting, and project and development services. In 2016, the New York tri-state team completed approximately 28.2 million square feet of lease transactions; arranged investment sales, notes, debt and equity transactions valued at more than $12 billion; managed projects valued at $7.9 billion; and oversaw a property management, facilities management and agency leasing portfolio exceeding 146.7 million square feet. www.jll.com

WEWORK
WeWork is the platform for creators. We provide beautiful workspace, an inspiring community, and meaningful business services to more than 100,000 members around the world. From startups and freelancers to small businesses and large corporations, our community is united by a desire for our members to create meaningful work and lead meaningful lives—to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Co-founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York City in 2010, WeWork is a privately held company. Learn more at www.wework.com. 

TIME OUT GROUP
Time Out is the leading global media and entertainment business that inspires and enables people to make the most a city. Operating in 108 cities, across 39 countries, it has a global monthly audience reach of 156 million across all platforms.  No one knows the city like Time Out because we've been discovering the brilliant and searching out the secret and extraordinary since 1968. If you want to know about food, attractions, art, culture, shopping and nightlife, then Time Out is your social companion. With a world-class digital platform and top-quality curated content, Time Out connects brands and local businesses to the city. Now Time Out Market is taking that to the next stage, bringing the best of the city together under one roof enabling people to discover, book and share their experiences.  In the evolving digital world, our expertise and our growing community of Time Outers and Tastemakers put the very best of the city in the palm of your hand. We are global, and no one knows local better than we do.  Since June 2016, Time Out Group is listed on London's AIM stock exchange, trading under the ticker symbol 'TMO'.

SOURCE HBO

Related Links

http://WWW.HBO.COM