August 30, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:  Teni Melidonian – (310) 247-3000
                            tmelidonian@oscars.org
          Harvey Bolgla – (212) 388-1400
                          hbolgla@dba-pr.com
          Sara Trujillo – (212) 388-1400
                          strujillo@dba-pr.com

      

Academy to Screen "Swing Time" at
Monday Nights with Oscar®

New York, NY — Featuring Art Deco sets, the music of Oscar winner Jerome Kern and the dance duets of Fred and Ginger, "Swing Time" (1936) will screen for New York audiences as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Monday Nights with Oscar" series on September 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy's Lighthouse International Theater.

The evening will feature Tony Award®-winning choreographer and director Susan Stroman, with introductory remarks by film historian and television host Robert Osborne.

Marking their sixth collaboration, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star in the Depression-era story of Lucky, a dancer turned gambler, who is challenged by his future father-in-law to raise $25,000 to prove that he can support his fiancée Margaret, portrayed by Betty Furness. However, Lucky meets Penny (Rogers), a dance instructor, falls in love and soon forgets his promise to Margaret.

Directed by two-time Oscar winner George Stevens, "Swing Time" won the 1936 Academy Award for Music (Song) for "The Way You Look Tonight" (music by Kern; lyrics by Dorothy Fields). The film also was nominated in the Dance Direction category (for the "Bojangles of Harlem" number, with dance direction by Hermes Pan). This screening will feature a newly-struck print from the Academy Film Archive's collection.

Preceding "Swing Time," the Academy will screen Walt Disney's "The Country Cousin." Based on an Aesop fable, "The County Cousin" won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Cartoon in 1936.

The Academy Theater at Lighthouse International is located at 111 East 59th Street in New York City. Tickets for the screening are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid I.D. Tickets also may be reserved over the phone by calling (888) 778-7575. Pending availability, tickets may be purchased in person the night of the screening. Doors open at 7 p.m.

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