SHOW PEOPLE to Receive Star Treatment at the Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a restored version of the comedic silent film SHOW PEOPLE (1928) on Thursday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Kevin Brownlow, who received an Honorary Award (an Oscar® statuette), will introduce the film, which was restored under his supervision and features a stereo musical score by composer Carl Davis.

Produced and directed by King Vidor, SHOW PEOPLE served as a key inspiration for the 2011 Best Picture winner, THE ARTIST. Venturing behind the scenes into Hollywood filmmaking of the 1920s, SHOW PEOPLE features not only wonderfully comedic performances by Marion Davies and William Haines, but a unique string of cameo appearances by the biggest stars of the day, including Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Norma Talmadge. Davies stars as Peggy Pepper, who arrives in Hollywood from Georgia to claim the film stardom that her father believes is rightfully hers. Haines portrays a comic performer who helps her find work even though Peggy sees herself as a "dramatic" actress.

Brownlow is a film historian and preservationist widely regarded as the preeminent historian of the silent film era. His books include THE PARADE'S GONE BY...; THE WAR, THE WEST, AND THE WILDERNESS; HOLLYWOOD: THE PIONEERS; BEHIND THE MASK OF INNOCENCE; DAVID LEAN; and Mary Pickford REDISCOVERED. Brownlow has written and directed such documentaries as HOLLYWOOD, UNKNOWN CHAPLIN, Buster Keaton: A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW, HAROLD LLOYD: THE THIRD GENIUS, D.W. GRIFFITH: FATHER OF FILM, CECIL B. DEMILLE: AMERICAN EPIC, and GARBO. Most famous among his many silent film restoration projects is Abel Gance’s 1927 epic NAPOLEON. 

Tickets for SHOW PEOPLE are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID, and may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office, or by mail. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticketed seating is unreserved. For more information, call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.