May 8, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

                        lunger@oscars.org

Beverly Hills, CA - A new print of "Nashville," Robert Altman's 1975 epic that brings together a country music festival and a presidential candidate rally, will be screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m, in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary. Altman will be present to participate in a cast-and-crew reunion following the screening, which kicks off a restrospective featuring 17 other Altman films at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Directing, "Nashville" stars David Arkin, Barbara Baxley, Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Timothy Brown, Keith Carradine, Lily Tomlin, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Barbara Harris and Shelley Duvall. Both Blakley and Tomlin were nominated for their supporting roles as Barbara Jean and Linnea Reese, respectively. Carradine took home an Oscar statuette, not for his portrayal of Tom Frank, but for writing the music and lyrics for the original song, "I'm Easy."

The screenplay was written by Joan Tewkesbury.

The five-week series at LACMA will present 17 of Altman's films directed since his first commercial and critical triumph in 1970, "M*A*S*H" (for which he received his first Academy Award nomination). "Altman's America: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective" will begin Friday, June 23 and will include the two other films for which Altman has been nominated: "The Player" (1992) and "Short Cuts" (1993), as well as as 14 other titles spanning Altman's career. Screenings will be held in LACMA's Leo S. Bing Theater each Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 through July 22. As a grand finale to the retrospective, Altman will return to LACMA for a 30th anniversary cast-and-crew reunion screening of M*A*S*H" at which he will be honored by Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Movie Channel.

Born in 1925, Altman made industrial films in his hometown of Kansas City after serving as a bomber pilot in WWII. His first feature, "The Delinquents," was made in 1957 but for ten years following it, Altman worked mostly in television, directing episodes of series including "Bonanza" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." He returned to feature films in 1968 with "Countdown," and "M*A*S*H" followed two years later. The success of that film brought numerous offers from studios for big-budget productions, but Altman instead directed "Brewster McCloud," a modest allegorical fantasy. Since then, Altman's fierce individualism has resulted in his frequently working outside the Hollywood establishment.

Tickets for the Academy's screening of "Nashville" will go on sale June 1. They are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in advance by mail or in person at the Academy during regular business hours. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call 310-247-3600.

Ticket information for the "Altman's America" screenings at LACMA is available at 323-857-6010.

(A complete schedule of the series is listed below.)

Thursday, June 22 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences @ 7:30 p.m.
"Nashville" (1975/color/Panavision/159 min) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Ronee Blakley, Ned Beatty, Karen Black.
Cast and crew reunion including Robert Altman.
New Print

Friday, June 23 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"The Player" (1992/color/124 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward.
Robert Altman in conversation with Bob Rosen.

Saturday, June 24 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971/color/120 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, Shelley Duvall.
New Print

"California Split" (1974/color/Panavision/stereo/109 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Elliot Gould, George Segal, Gwen Welles, Ann Prentiss.

Friday, June 30 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"Short Cuts" (1993/color/187 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Andie MacDowell, Tim Robbins, Robert Downey, Jr., Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Saturday, July 1 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"The Long Goodbye" (1973/color/112 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Elliot Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden.
New Print

"Kansas City" (1996/color/116 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte.

Friday, July 6 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"Three Women" (1977/color/123 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Shelley Duvall.
New Print

"Quintet" (1979/color/118 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Paul Newman, Vittorio Gassman, Fernando Rey, Bibi Andersson.
New Print

Saturday, July 7 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" (1982/color/110 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Sandy Dennis, Karen Black, Cher.

"Secret Honor" (1984/color/90 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Philip Baker Hall.

Friday, July 14 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"Popeye" (1980/color/114 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston.
New Print

"Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson" (1976/color/123 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Paul Newman, Joel Grey, Burt Lancaster, Kevin McCarthy, Harvey Keitel.

Saturday, July 15 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"A Wedding" (1978/color/125 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Carol Burnett, Mia Farrow, Lillian Gish.
New Print

"Health" (1979/color/105 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Lauren Bacall, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Carol Burnett.
New Print

Friday, July 21 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"Brewster McCloud" (1970/color/105 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Bud Cort, Shelley Duvall, Rene Auberjonois.
New Print

"Thieves Like Us" (1974/color/123 min.) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, Louise Fletcher.

Saturday, July 22 at LACMA @ 7:30 p.m.
"M*A*S*H" (1970/color/116 min./Panavision) dir: Robert Altman; w/ Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall.
New Print
Cast and crew reunion including Robert Altman.