this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

PERCEPTION: her

Super-nerd Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) falls in love with an AI operating system in dazzling Spike Jonze romance

CABARET CINEMA: her (Spike Jonze, 2013)
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, March 17, 9:30
212-620-5000
rubinmuseum.org
www.herthemovie.com

The brilliant mind of Spike Jonze dazzles again with the spectacularly original romance her. In the very near future, geeky nerd Theodore Twombly (a radiant Joaquin Phoenix) makes his living writing personally commissioned letters for Handwritten Greeting Cards, developing relationships with the people he writes for, considering them family. Meanwhile, he and his wife, Catherine (Rooney Mara), are divorcing, although he is hesitant to sign the final papers. His life takes an unexpected turn when he buys the world’s first AI operating system and slowly falls in love with her during an extremely romantic twenty-first-century-style courtship. The talking OS (the sexy, gravelly voice of Scarlett Johansson), who names herself Samantha, wants to experience the world, so she and Theodore go everywhere together, including on a double date that is pure genius. When he shares his news with his best friend, Amy (Amy Adams), she doesn’t act the slightest bit concerned for his sanity, instead showing true happiness for his blossoming relationship. But as his and Samantha’s love grows, so does their need for something more from each other, which doesn’t always work out as planned.

Stunning apartment is one of many beautiful sets in Oscar-nominated film

Jonze’s fourth film as director and first solo screenplay (he cowrote Where the Wild Things Are with Dave Eggers, while Charlie Kaufman wrote Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.), her is a beautifully rendered love story filled with humor and heart. Phoenix shows a whole new, freer, playful side of himself as Theodore, particularly during a rousing scene in which he spins Samantha through a carnival. Wearing his pants way up high, as all men seem to do in Jonze’s vision of the future L.A., Theodore — who must make quite a lot of money at his job, considering his extremely large apartment with its amazing views of the city — serves both as an endearing protagonist and a warning about the importance of human connection. “Are you social or antisocial?” the new program asks him before initiating Samantha. As unique as the film is, it does echo themes found in a pair of Twilight Zone episodes; in “From Agnes — with Love,” a supercomputer falls in love with her creator (played by Wally Cox), while in Ray Bradbury’s “I Sing the Body Electric,” a robot grandmother (Josephine Hutchinson) has the ability to grow emotionally with the family she takes care of. Watching her is like falling in love all over again, not only with the story but with the movies themselves. Nominated for five Academy Awards, the film is screening March 17 in the Rubin Museum Cabaret Cinema series “Perception,” part of the institution’s latest Brainwave series of special programs, and will be introduced by cognitive research scientist Dr. Eran Agmon. “Perception” continues Friday nights through April 28 with such other mind-bending films as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Matrix, and Ghost in the Shell; meanwhile, Brainwave takes on such topics as “Why Magicians Are Master Manipulators” with Asi Wind and Tony Ro on March 22, “Keeping Your Eye on the Ball” with Patrick Vieira and John Krakauer on April 17, and “What Makes a True Work of Art?” with Tobias Meyer and Frank Moore on April 26.

CHEECH IS NOT MY REAL NAME . . . BUT DON’T CALL ME CHONG

cheech is not my real name but

Who: Cheech Marin, Geraldo Rivera
What: Discussion and book signing
Where: Barnes & Noble Union Square, 33 East 17th St., 212-253-0810
When: Wednesday, March 15, free, 7:00 (wristbands given out to book purchasers starting at 9:00 am)
Why: South Central-born Richard Anthony Marin, better know as half of the drug-based comedy team Cheech & Chong, will be at the Union Square B&N on March 15, celebrating the launch of his memoir, Cheech Is Not My Real Name . . . But Don’t Call Me Chong (Grand Central, March 14, $27). Cheech has made such movies with Tommy Chong as Up in Smoke, Nice Dreams, Things Are Tough All Over, and Still Smokin’, starred in the television show Nash Bridges with Don Johnson, and lent his talent to such children’s movies as The Lion King, Spy Kids, and Cars. At B&N, the actor, comedian, musician, and art collector will be discussing his life and career with controversial Emmy- and Peabody-winning journalist Geraldo Rivera. Wristbands will be given out starting at 9:00 in the morning to those with proof of purchase of the book at the Union Square B&N or B&N online; after the talk, Cheech will sign and personalize the new book only, no other paraphernalia or memorabilia.

CAT CAMP NYC

Cuteness abounds at inaugural Cat Camp NYC at Metropolitan Pavilion (photo by twi-ny/ees)

CELEBRATING ALL THINGS CATS: NEW YORK’S FIRST CAT CENTRIC SYMPOSIUM
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
March 11-12, $13-$70 per day
www.catcampnyc.com

“I think this must be what it’s like at Comic-Con,” said one Cat Camp visitor on Saturday, and she was not all that off target; the two festivals share similarly fervent fans, mildly odd subcultures, and a self-aware, cheerful, goofy yet pure devotion to their source of joy. The Metropolitan Pavilion is full of good things for cats and their people, but the layout is spacious and easy to get around, with plenty of room for humans to explore all things feline. The quality of T-shirts, bags, and even kitty-themed pillowcases from vendors including Xenotees and Meow United is very high, and unique offerings like the Nepali-crafted felt toys and cat cocoon beds from Distinctly Himalayan and catnip bananas from Yeowww.com should please even the most finicky. On the right as campers enter are furry, happy cats looking for forever homes shown by several wonderful adoption organizations, including Best Friends, Anjellicle Cats, Kitty Kind, and City Critters, the source of twi-ny’s own feline horde. Just try not to come home with too many of the sweet senior and special-needs cats while pairs of kittens of kryptonite-power cuteness melt your heart into a puddle of kitty love.

CELEBRATING LOU REED — 1942-2013: THE RAVEN & THE POETRY OF LOU REED / LOU REED: DRONES

The life and legacy of Lou Reed will be celebrated on July 30 with free all-day festival at Lincoln Center

The New York Public Library is celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of Lou Reed’s birth with a two-part exhibition and two live programs

Monday, March 13, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, free with advance registration, 7:00
Wednesday, March 15, New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Bartos Forum, 476 Fifth Ave. at 42nd St., free with advance registration, 6:00 – 10:00
www.nypl.org/loureed
www.loureed.com

In honor of what would have been Lou Reed’s seventy-fifth birthday on March 2 — the legendary Brooklyn-born musician passed away in October 2013 at the age of seventy-one — the New York Public Library is paying tribute to the Velvet Underground leader and solo star with a pair of exhibitions and two live programs. “Celebrating Lou Reed: 1942-2013” consists of items from the Lou Reed Archives, newly acquired by the library under the guidance of Reed’s widow, multimedia artist Laurie Anderson. The show runs through March 20 at the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and the main branch at Fifth Ave. and Forty-Second St. In addition, on March 13 at 7:00 in the Bruno Walter Auditorium, “The Raven & the Poetry of Lou Reed” features a performance of Reed’s The Raven, based on the Edgar Allan Poe tale, and other poetry, with music and spoken word by Anderson and special guests. On March 15 in the Celeste Bartos Forum, the soundscape installation “Lou Reed: Drones” will be performed from 6:00 to 10:00, led by original Reed collaborator Stewart Hurwood, along with tai chi demonstrations led by Ren Guangyi at 7:00 and 9:00. Admission to all events is free, but advance registration is necessary for the live programs.

REMEMBERING FUKUSHIMA: ART AND CONVERSATIONS

Eiko will lead a special program on March 11 at St. John the Divine commemorating the sixth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave. at 112th St.
Saturday, March 11, free with advance RSVP, 1:00 – 5:00
212-316-7540
www.eikoandkoma.org
www.stjohndivine.org

In 2014, New York–based Japanese teacher, dancer, and visual artist Eiko Otake brought her “Body in Places” solo project to Fukushima, site of the devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. On March 11, Eiko, the current Dignity Initiative Artist in Residence at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, will commemorate the sixth anniversary of the tragedy with a special memorial program at the church, held in conjunction with the closing of the exhibition “The Christa Project: Manifesting Divine Bodies,” which Eiko cocurated and includes William Johnston’s photographs of Eiko in Fukushima. “Remembering Fukushima” will feature William Johnston, Marilyn Ivy, Thomas Looser, Mark McCloughan, Alexis Moh, Nora Thompson, Megu Tagami, John Kelly, Carol Lipnik, DonChristian Jones, Geo Wyeth, Ronald Ebrecht, Ralph Samuelson, Elizabeth Brown, Jake Price, Katja Kolcio, and NYC iSCHOOL and is dedicated to writer Kyoko Hayashi, who was scheduled to participate but passed away on February 19 at the age of eighty-six. Writing about a “practice run” of the program, Eiko explained in a statement, “I found myself speaking not only of how this artmaking was a way for me to personally empathize with the destruction caused by nuclear energy but also about how much it meant to me to be a part of this larger event with so many intelligent and creative people. I felt (and feel) honored to be one of many figuring out how to empathize with, speak truth of, and remember the Fukushima disaster.” Conceived and directed by Eiko, “Remembering Fukushima,” presented in association with Asia Society and Danspace Project, will take place from 1:00 to 5:00; admission is free with advance RSVP.

TICKET ALERT: CINEMA TWAIN WITH VAL KILMER

Val Kilmer will be at the SVA Theatre on March 24 to screen and discuss CINEMA TWAIN

Who: Val Kilmer
What: Screening of Cinema Twain, introduced by star Val Kilmer and followed by a Q&A
Where: SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
When: Friday, March 24, $39 (VIP $199)
Why: Val Kilmer, who has appeared in nearly eighty films since his debut in 1984’s Top Secret!, actually started his career onstage, including performing at the Public Theater (How It All Began) and on Broadway (The Slab Boys, with Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, Jackie Earle Haley, and Brian Benben). The L.A.-born writer, actor, and director is now on the road presenting Cinema Twain, the filmed version of his one-man show in which he portrays Mark Twain. The brief tour comes to the SVA Theatre on March 24, when Kilmer (Top Gun, True Romance) will introduce the ninety-minute film and stick around for an audience Q&A after. Tickets are $39; if you go for the VIP experience, you get to chat with Kilmer for $199 and take photos with him.

A TRIBUTE TO TONY ROBERTS

Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, and Tony Roberts form quite a team in ANNIE HALL

ANNIE HALL (Woody Allen, 1977)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Monday, March 13, $14, 7:00
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

“You’re an actor, Max. You should be doing Shakespeare in the Park,” Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) says to his best friend, Rob (Tony Roberts), in Annie Hall. “Oh, I did Shakespeare in the Park, Max. I got mugged. I was playing Richard the Second and two guys with leather jackets stole my leotard,” Rob responds. Tony Roberts is indeed an actor, with a fifty-five-year stage and screen career that includes six Allen films (Play It Again, Sam, Annie Hall, Stardust Memories, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Radio Days) and two Woodman plays (Don’t Drink the Water, Play It Again, Sam). Now seventy-seven, Roberts will be at Film Forum on March 13 for a special tribute; the evening begins with a screening of Annie Hall, which won four Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress for Diane Keaton), followed by a conversation between Roberts and actor/producer John Martello, the former longtime executive director of the Players Club who was fired over a financial dispute in April 2013.

Best friends Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Rob (Tony Roberts) play tennis in ANNIE HALL

In Annie Hall, the steadfast, skirt-chasing Roberts stars as an actor on a hit TV series who is loving life in California, which disappoints Singer. During the film, Rob dons a sharp white suit, a space outfit, and tennis gear; however, unlike in the Broadway show Doubles, Roberts keeps his clothes on. The New York City native and two-time Tony nominee has also appeared in such films as Serpico, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Amityville 3-D, and Switch and such Broadway productions as Barefoot in the Park, They’re Playing Our Song, The Sisters Rosensweig, and Promises, Promises. He also starred in an all-star two-part Love Boat episode as cruise director Julie McCoy’s (Lauren Tewes) long-lost love; the cast also included Lorne Green, Mark Harmon, Eleanor Parker, Ray Milland, Julia Duffy, Donny Most, and Lisa Hartman. It should be a splendid event honoring this character actor extraordinaire, who gets to play a leading role for a night.