FIVE EASY PIECES with writer/director BOB RAFELSON in person! February 28, 2009

"You want me to hold the chicken, huh?" "I want you to hold it between your knees."
FIVE EASY PIECES, in addition to containing one of the most quotable lines of dialogue in movie history, is one of the key films of the New Hollywood movement of the early 1970s, an era when personal vision merged with studio muscle to create a perfect storm for groundbreaking cinema that spoke to a young generation of filmgoers looking for something different. And few films of the era caused as much of a youthquake as FIVE EASY PIECES, with its edgy visual style (aided immeasurably by the work of famed cinematographer Lásló Kovács), unique soundtrack (juxtaposing vintage Tammy Wynette country tunes with a classical piano score courtesy of Chopin), and compelling story of an alienated young man (Jack Nicholson, in his first major starring role) searching for meaning in a lost America.
Nicholson plays Bobby Dupea, a blue-collar oil rigger living a low-maintenance lifestyle with his needy, insecure waitress girlfriend Rayette (Karen Black). When he gets word that his father is gravely ill, Bobby hits the road for his wealthy family's estate in Puget Sound, with the pregnant Rayette in tow. But his worlds collide when Rayette's crassness conflicts with his family's snobbery, and Bobby, branded the "black sheep" of the family after turning his back on their money and a promising career as a classical pianist, is forced to confront his existential crisis head on.
Nominated for four Academy Awards in 1971, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (Bob Rafelson and Carole Eastman), Best Supporting Actress (Karen Black) and Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), FIVE EASY PIECES is a true American classic.
Bob Rafelson is a prolific, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and screenwriter, creator of some of the most electrifying and era-defining cinema of the 1970s, '80s and '90s. In addition to the Oscar-nominated FIVE EASY PIECES, he has written and/or directed such films as the trippy comedy HEAD (1968) starring The Monkees, THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (1972) with Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and Ellen Burstyn, STAY HUNGRY (1976) with Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the controversial remake of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1981) with Nicholson and Jessica Lange, BLACK WIDOW (1987) with Debra Winger and Teresa Russell, and BLOOD AND WINE (1996) with Nicholson and Jennifer Lopez. Rafelson's frequent collaborations with actor (and sometimes co-screenwriter) Jack Nicholson have yielded some of the most acclaimed works of either's career, and his considerable cinematic influence continues to reverberate in the works of today's most inventive young filmmakers, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky and The Coen Brothers.

Official Website: http://www.loftcinema.com