'Miss Jean Louise? Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing."
Mary Badham, who played Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, will be the special guest as the McKinney Classic Film Festival kicks off its inaugural year with a retrospective of courtroom classics. The movies will be presented in the Courtroom Theater of the McKinney Performing Arts Center, making it even more poignant when the famous line from Mockingbird (1962, not rated, 129 mins.) seeps in.
Attendees can walk the red carpet on Sept. 12 with Badham, who will participate in a VIP meet and greet, an onstage interview and the introduction of the beloved adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. (Perhaps up for discussion: Go Set a Watchman, a continuation of sorts to Mockingbird, was published amid some controversy just this year.)
Festival films also include Adam's Rib (1949, 101 mins.); 12 Angry Men (1957, 96 mins.); Inherit the Wind (1960, 128 mins.); and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939, 129 mins.).
The festival opens Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and ends Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. with a party at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney. Admission is $10-$75. Call 214-544-4630 or go to mckinneyclassicfilm.com.
SUNSET SCREENINGS The rain this spring disrupted the lineup for the series from the AT&T Performing Arts Center and the Dallas Film Society, so much so that it moved indoors with its look at "Definitive Directors From the '40s." Laugh along with the Howard Hawks film His Girl Friday (1940, not rated, 92 mins.) on Aug. 23 at 3 p.m. at Dallas City Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St., Dallas. Free. Reserve a spot at attpac.org/sunset.
KEVIN SMITH WEEKEND Actor-author-everyman Kevin Smith will be the focus Aug. 27-28 at the Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Oak Cliff, Dallas. Mallrats (1995, R, 97 mins.), which Smith wrote and directed, will kick off the action on Aug.27 at 8:45 p.m. ($10.50). "An Evening With Kevin Smith" on Aug. 28 is sold out, but tickets to Parade of Flesh Presents Jay & Silent Bob Get Old, a live podcast with Smith and Jason Mewes at 10:30, were still available at press time for $35. thetexastheatre.com.
ORSON WELLES FILM FESTIVAL The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Lone Star Film Society are celebrating the 100th birthday of the film icon on Sept. 3-6 at the Modern, 3200 Darnell St. Screenings will begin with Citizen Kane (1941,PG, 119 mins.) on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.; TCU film professor Dr. Joan McGettigan will introduce the movie and moderate a Q and A after. Films include Touch of Evil (1958, PG-13, 93 mins.); The Stranger (1946, PG, 95 mins.); and The Third Man (1949, unrated, 93 mins.). $6-$9. 817-738-9215. themodern.org.
SHOOT 'EM UP Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy set him up as a go-to director in the have-gun, gonna-shoot genre. Watch Antonio Banderas in Desperado (1995, R, 104 mins.), the second installment, on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse, 100 S. Central Expressway, Richardson. $7 reserved admission. drafthouse.com/dfw.
DVD LOOKOUT Week of Aug. 24 - The Last Dragon finally bows on Blu-ray Aug. 25. In this kung fu-infused urban fairy tale, a tongue-tied Taimak plays a guy from around the way deridingly nicknamed "Bruce Leroy" who speaks with his fists and lands the beautiful Laura, played by one-time Prince muse Vanity. Also released: Aloha; Big Game; King of the Hill: The Complete 11th Season; Lego DC Super Heroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!; Lila & Eve; Revenge: The Complete Fourth & Final Season; and The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season.
