John Carpenter tribute at The Capitol, movie marathons, & more

When the Capitol partnered with Seven Mountains Media and its local radio stations in October to host “Boos & Brews,” the theater overflowed with excited fans eager to watch the first two installments of John Carpenter’s Halloween saga. Enthusiastically claimed as a local and widely known as the “master of the horror genre,” Carpenter grew up in Bowling Green, where his storytelling talents emerged. Following a two-year stint at Western Kentucky University, he transferred to the University of Southern California to pursue a film degree but dropped out his last semester to pursue his craft full time. At the young age of 22, he co-wrote, edited, and composed the music for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy, which won an Academy Award for Best Life Action Short Film. The movie anchored him in the industry when it was released by Universal Studios and played for two years in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.  

Chungking Express and In The Mood For Love... a Lunar New Year celebration at The Capitol.

To further celebrate Carpenter’s impact on the film industry, Seven Mountains Media and the Capitol will join forces to present John Carpenter Lives! – A Tribute to a Bowling Green Icon and show three of his iconic “Apocalypse trilogy” movies at the free event scheduled on Friday, January 17. The first will be shown at 3pm, a 1994 horror film in which an insurance investigator tracks down a missing novelist and discovers that inspired readers have been committing grave misdeeds. Film number two, first released in 1987, will begin at 5pm. It’s the story of a priest who finds a vat of liquid hidden in an abandoned church that killed a fellow priest and which ultimately possesses some of the graduate students involved in its discovery. Film number three, which will start at 7pm, is a 1982 sci-fi horror movie about Americans at a base in Antarctica who are terrorized by an otherworldly creature that can shapeshift into the form of anything it kills. All films are rated R. 

A number of additional movie events will keep filmgoers warmed and entertained in January! 

At the beginning of the month, folks can enjoy A Whole Day of Christian Slater Saturday, January 4 and enjoy three films starring this Hollywood star starting at these times:

•2pm (1989, Rated PG-13): A skateboarding teen tracks his adopted sibling’s killer.

•4pm (1990, Rated R): A shy high-school student leads a secret life as a pirate-radio DJ.

•6pm (1994, Rated R): In Detroit, a lonely pop culture geek marries a call girl, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the owners of the cocaine track them down in an attempt to reclaim it.

Monday, January 6, at 2pm and 6:30pm – Subtitled Movie: A Christopher Guest Dog Show. This comedy focuses on several eccentric dog owners gearing up for the canine showdown of their lives – the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. (Rated PG-13)

Wednesday, January 22, at 6:30pm – He Sold His Soul for Rock n’ Roll. Brian De Palma’s 1974 horror-musical comedy tells the tale of a disfigured composer who haunts a rock palace. (Rated PG)

Friday, January 24, at 7pm – Friday Night at the Movies: Jim Carrey’s Story of a Lifetime. When a man realizes his whole life is a well-designed reality TV show, his once serene existence is disrupted, causing a sensation among his viewers. (1998, Rated PG)

Wednesday, January 29, at 5pm and 7pm – Two by Wong Kar-wai: A Lunar New Year Celebration – 春节快乐Enjoy a double feature that will start with Chungking Express at 5pm Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents. At 7pm watch In the Mood for Love. Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs. (Neither film is rated.) 

Friday, January 31, 7:30pm – The Chronicles of Narnia Film & Craft Night. Families and viewers of all ages will enjoy the film that transformed C.S. Lewis’ classic book about Narnia into a movie in 2005! This is part two of our Winter Reading Finale Party. Open to all, the lights will be half up for crafters, so folks can bring lap-sized projects to work on during the movie. Let us know you’re coming by registering online through the library’s calendar of events (warrenpl.org/events). 

To keep up with everything happening at the Capitol, both free, library-sponsored ones and outside ticketed events, subscribe to our online newsletter (see link at capitolbg.org), or follow us on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X). 

-by Ashley Fowlkes

Digital Manager, Warren County Public Library

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