Forty years ago, visionary filmmaker Brian De Palma helmed the ultimate coming-of-age horror film with Stephen King’s CARRIE, a story both celebrated and revered by cinephiles and ultimate horror fans alike. To celebrate this landmark anniversary of the movie, non-profit cancer support center weSPARK and Theatre at The Ace Hotel, along with home entertainment brand SCREAM FACTORY, will mount a once-in-a-lifetime cast and crew reunion and screening of the brand-new restoration of the film, paired with a 1970s prom-themed party, at the historic Ace Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on Friday, October 14, 2016.

The star-studded cast and crew reunion is set to include Carrie stars Academy Award-nominated Piper Laurie (The Hustler), Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill, RoboCop), William Katt (“The Greatest American Hero”), P.J. Soles (Halloween), Academy Award-winning editor Paul Hirsch (Star Wars: Episode IV), and casting director Harriett B. Helberg (The Jazz Singer). The cast will participate in a live Q&A moderated by Bryan Fuller (the creative genius behind NBC’s “Hannibal,” ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” and the upcoming Starz series “American Gods”).

In an effort to raise critical funds for weSPARK Cancer Support Center, of which Carrie’s Nancy Allen is Executive Director, the event will see the Ace Theater transformed with prom-themed decor, during which attendees are encouraged to dress in their best 1970s formal attire or favorite character from the film for an opportunity to pose for a photo in a special photo booth and win a Best Dressed “Carrie” character costume contest.

“I want a recount! I can’t believe Carrie is celebrating its 40th Anniversary! This movie changed my career much like weSPARK has changed my life, and to bring these two worlds together for good only adds to the specialness of this celebration.” – Nancy Allen, Carrie’s Chris Hargensen

Tickets to the star-studded screening and Q&A will start at $25, with higher ticket tiers to include Scream Factory’s brand new 2-disc Carrie (Collector’s Edition) Blu-ray release with nearly 3 hours of bonus material, a specially commissioned original poster from a local artist, access to a private VIP pre-reception, and opportunities for photos with cast and crew.

Ticket Tiers:

$25 – General Admission including Prom-Themed After Party

$75 – Preferred Seating + Exclusive Carrie Poster + New Scream Factory Blu Ray + Photo Op including Prom Themed After-Party (Limited availability)

$125 –VIP seating + Exclusive Carrie Poster & Blu-ray + Photo Op with cast/crew including After-Party + Private Pre-Party (Limited availability)

All proceeds will directly benefit weSPARK’s cancer support programs.

While his birthday often falls in the middle of the festival – he’ll be 76 on Sept. 11 – he brushed off the idea that going to the festival is some kind of present to himself. Like pretty much everyone else at TIFF, De Palma is there for the movies. “I think it’s the best festival,” De Palma says over the phone from his home in East Hampton, “organized in order to see the most new and exciting films from all over the world, in the shortest possible time.”

It’s not uncommon to find De Palma slumped in a seat at the Scotiabank Cineplex, nodding through some Québécois indie-thriller or bolting for exits as soon as things get boring. “If I didn’t think the film was progressing in a way I thought was interesting,” he explains, “I just walk out and go to another one. Some days, I could see five or six films.”

This year, De Palma won’t be afforded the luxury of skedaddling for the lobby if a film doesn’t grab him in its opening reel. For TIFF 2016, he has been tapped to head the Platform jury, which awards $25,000 to the director of a film that, per TIFF’s press release, exhibits “high artistic merit.” Platform, which launched just last year, is billed as a programme that champions “directors’ cinema.” As a filmmaker known for his decadent, borderline-rococo high style – those split screens, the long takes, the resplendent, almost oozy, lensing of violence and obsession – De Palma seems like an ideal fit to lead the jury.

And as someone who’s been coming to TIFF since the early 1980s, back when it was still called “The Festival of Festivals,” De Palma also has an eye for emerging, independent talent. He distinctly remembers being “quite struck” by Run Lola Run when he saw it at TIFF in 1998, before it became a breakout, art-house hit. “I never went to the red carpet screenings unless a friend had a film in it,” he says. “I always went to see the ones that would probably never get distribution – not these big red carpet specials. I’m always more interested in things that are out of left field.”

Because of the sheer labour of watching films, especially with an eye toward judging them, De Palma hasn’t sat on a jury since the mid-1970s. But, he says, he felt a “special obligation” to TIFF after they hosted a massive retrospective of De Palma’s films at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this summer. “It’s always flattering to have a retrospective,” he says. “Most of the high points were included. And some of not-so-high points.” (In the latter camp he lumps two of his comedies: the 1972 Tommy Smothers vehicle Get To Know Your Rabbit, and the 1986 Joe Piscopo/Danny Devito Costa Nostra caper Wise Guys.)

Olch: To your point about the iPad—there's a lot of chatter of Well, now people just watch things on iPads. But I think that if you want to stay at home, you're going to stay at home. If you want to go out, you're going out. The key thing is that going to the movies needs to be an experience that's special. So I don't think it's about whether or not you can watch the film somewhere else. It's about whether or not you want to come for an amazing experience.

Anderson: I could see a lot of young people becoming real movie buffs watching things on their phones and so on and then arriving in New York and going to Metrograph three times a week.
Olch: Yes! And there's real energy in the room. I recently stood in the back of the theater for the opening credits of Phantom of the Paradise, the De Palma movie, which I had never seen before. I wasn't going to watch it, but I stood completely still for the entire movie. It was a sold-out house. And the place went nuts during the film. It blew me away. I'm still reeling from that screening. People were leaving the theater and coming over to the bar and going into our restaurant talking about the film, getting even more excited about it.

That's great. And, you know, that's one of those movies that you really couldn't see for years and years. It had kind of disappeared. And I expect that audience at Metrograph was a much better—I don't know if Brian De Palma was there—
He wasn't. He's coming tonight for Hi, Mom! and Dressed to Kill.

I think, if he had been there, he might've said, I wish it would have played like this back in 1974.

You know, there's one more thing. I guess we can say, That was a good ending, and then we just keep going. Have you seen this film De Palma made of an op-art opening at the Museum of Modern Art around something like 1964 or something?
No. No!

It's on YouTube. It's maybe 25 minutes or so where he documented an opening at the MoMA. Wandering around the party. Filming people and pictures.
No kidding.

Interesting characters. Some people we know. Anyway, it's one worth looking at on your iPad mini or your Apple wristwatch.
Absolutely. Most importantly, thank you very much.

(Thanks to Luu and Donald!)

NEW 4K Scan of the original negative and restoration
NEW More Acting Carrie – featuring interviews with Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Edie McClurg and P.J. Soles
NEW Writing Carrie – an interview with screenwriter Lawrence Cohen
NEW Cutting Carrie – an interview with editor Paul Hirsch
NEW Shooting Carrie – an interview with director of photography Mario Tosi
NEW Casting Carrie – an interview with casting director Harriet B. Helberg
NEW Bucket of Blood – interview with composer Pino Donaggio
NEW Horror's Hallowed Grounds – a tour of the film's locations
Acting Carrie- interviews with Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, Jack Fisk, William Katt, Piper Laurie, Priscilla Pointer, P.J. Soles and Brian De Palma
Visualizing Carrie- interviews with Brian De Palma, Jack Fisk, Lawrence D. Cohen, Paul Hirsch
Carrie, the Musical
Vinatge TV Spots
Vintage Radio Spots
Still Gallery – rare behind-the-scenes photos, posters and lobby cards
Stephen King and the Evolution of Carrie text gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
CARRIE Franchise Trailer Gallery

Cameron Bailey, TIFF's artistic director, is also quoted at Broadway World: "Platform's vision is championing aesthetic magnificence and De Palma, Zhang, and Haroun, have all either created or been a part of films that have inspired, revolutionized, and transformed the filmmaking industry. We are thrilled the jury members will be able to share their wealth of knowledge with this year's Platform filmmakers who are creating groundbreaking narrative forms. We can't wait for the jury to join us in Toronto and be a part of Platform's history."

Below is the list of 12 Platform films the jury will be viewing:

Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium (world premiere)

Goldstone
Ivan Sen, Australia (international premiere)

Heal the Living (Réparer les vivants)
Katell Quillévéré, France/Belgium (North American premiere)

Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait (he-mà he-mà)
Khyentse Norbu, Bhutan/Hong Kong (North American premiere)

Home
Fien Troch, Belgium (North American premiere)

Jackie
Pablo Larraín, United Kingdom (North American premiere)

Lady Macbeth
William Oldroyd, United Kingdom (world premiere)

Layla M.
Mijke de Jong, Netherlands/Belgium/Germany/Jordan (world premiere)

Maliglutit (Searchers)
Zacharias Kunuk, Canada (world premiere)

Moonlight
Barry Jenkins, USA (international premiere)

Nocturama
Bertrand Bonello, France/Germany/Belgium (international premiere)

Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves
(Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau)
Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie, Canada (world premiere)

Ed Gonzalez – Slant Magazine (US)

1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
3. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
4. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)
5. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)
6. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011)
7. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)
8. This Is Not a Film (Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi, 2011)
9. Two Lovers (James Gray, 2008)
10. Heart of a Dog (Laurie Anderson, 2015)

Michael Koresky – The Film Society of Lincoln Center (US)

1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
2. AI: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)
3. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
4. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)
5. What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)
6. The Intruder (Claire Denis, 2004)
7. The Son (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2002)
8. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
9. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)
10. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)

Adrian Martin – Lola Magazine (Australia)

1. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
2. Lifeline (Víctor Erice, 2002)
3. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)
4. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004)
5. Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine (Peter Tscherkassky, 2005)
6. Un lac (Philippe Grandrieux, 2008)
7. Detention (Joseph Kahn, 2011)
8. A Vingança de Uma Mulher (Rita Azevedo Gomes, 2012)
9. Mia Madre (Nanni Moretti, 2015)
10. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)

Charles Taylor – The Yale Review (US)

1. Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)
2. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013)
3. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
4. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010)
5. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
6. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
7. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011)
8. Phoenix (Christian Petzold, 2014)
9. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)
10. Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009)

Stephanie Zacharek – Time Magazine (US)

1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
2. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004)
3. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000)
4. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)
5. Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)
6. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
7. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
8. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002)
9. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
10. Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)

Very few directors have been as polarizing as Brian De Palma is, you either end up hating him totally, or adoring him. It does not help that his output has been truly inconsistent, great movies, followed by equally dud movies. Maybe this is the reason, why among the movie brats of the 70s he is not as highly regarded as a Scorsese or Copolla, nor has been as popular as a Spielberg. But personally, he remains among my favorite directors. He is one of the best when it comes to shooting action sequences, be it the Odessa steps one in The Untouchables, the pool room shootout in Carlito’s Way or the ending of Scarface.

One thing for sure, subtlety is never the strong point of Brian De Palma, his movies are right in your face, often over the top, absolutely gory. But they crackle with a sort of raw energy and intensity, that keeps you hooked. And this is one director, who has made great movies across all genres, horror( Carrie), gangster( Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, Scarface), war ( Casualties of War), thriller( Blow Out). So after a long time, doing a blogathon in tribute to Brian De Palma. It would start from September 11( his birthday) to September 21st. You could contribute to the blogathon, with posts on his movies, or his directorial style, anything related to him.