Interview:
Stephen Jannise,
the Paramount Theatre's
Director of Film Programming and Content Strategy,
Paramount Summer Classic Film Series 2026
What is the Paramount Summer Classic Film Series without the Paramount Theatre? That was the question programmer Stephen Jannise faced as he worked on this year’s line-up of classic Hollywood and foreign-language films as well as recent standouts and new favorites. In mid-June, the Paramount Theatre will close for renovations until April 2027. So Jannise has frontloaded this year’s series with mostly 35mm screenings at the Paramount Theatre before transitioning in mid-June to the adjacent State Theatre. The series kicks off at 7 p.m. May 22 with the traditional opening night selection Casablanca paired with The Maltese Falcon and both in 35mm, which will be followed by the 25th anniversary screening of Spy Kids at 3 p.m. May 23 with a live performance by Robert Rodriguez and his Family Spy Band. The series includes the annual celebration of Alfred Hitchcock and blocks built around Lone Star State productions, Disney Channel originals, adaptations of stage productions, directorial debuts, romance, crime, music, and family films. In June, the Paramount Theatre and the Hyperreal Film Club will host the Austin expansion of the American Cinematheque’s “Bleak Week” festival of films that explore the cruel and dark side of humanity. Also in June, the series will screen films for the first time in its long and storied history at the Bullock Museum IMAX Theatre, with Jaws, The Wizard of Oz in 3D, and 2001: A Space Odyssey already on the calendar and July and August selections to be announced. On July 7, the State Theatre will present Sleepaway Camp: The Midnight Mass Experience, featuring a screening of the 1983 slasher, star Felissa Rose in conversation with “Midnight Mass” podcasters Peaches Christ and Michael Varrati, a drag performance, and an ’80s Camp Costume Contest. Programmer Stephen Jannise also will host a 35mm screening of Sweet Smell of Success at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at the AFS Cinema and will discuss how he programs the annual Paramount Summer Classic Film Series.
Aired: May 20 and 27, 2026. Web site https://www.austintheatre.org/events/2026-summer-classic-film-series/ |
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