The Los Angeles Post

LA FLEET WEEK® 2018 NAVY FILM FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF NAVY IN HOLLYWOOD

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San Pedro’s Historic Warner Grand Theatre to Screen Classic Military-Themed Films Throughout Labor Day Weekend + First Episode of ‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ by LA Fleet Week® Presenting Sponsor Amazon Prime Video

Featuring black-and-white to modern-era films, LA Fleet Week® 2018 presented by Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime Video will include a Labor Day Weekend Navy Film Festival at the iconic Warner Grand Theatre in downtown San Pedro.  The Festival will celebrate the century-long relationship between the US Navy and the world-renowned film industry that has brought military life, storylines and battle realities to the big screen since 1918.

“This Festival marks a milestone for the US Navy and Hollywood, highlighting the ways that movies have—and will continue to—shape what we think about the military, as well as the men and women who serve,” said US Navy retired Rear Admiral Mike Shatynski, co-founder and board member of the LA Fleet Week Foundation. “As a kid growing up in LA, military-themed movies definitely were something that influenced my decision to serve my country and see the world.”

The festival will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Fleet Combat Camera units, groups of service personnel assigned to filming and documenting the history and activities of the US Navy and other branches.  Since World War II, Combat Camera footage has been featured in Hollywood movies and Navy documentaries, and used for military training and educational purposes. The Festival will honor the Navy’s Combat Camera unit, which is slated to be decommissioned this year.

The film festival will screen six different classic films from Sept. 1-3 at the historic Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, with each night featuring a different theme. The first film each night will be shown at 5:00 p.m. and the second at 8:15 p.m. The first episode of the new series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” will be shown between each feature film, compliments of Amazon Prime Video.

FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

  • Saturday, Sept. 1 – Marine Corps Night
    • “Sands of Iwo Jima” – John Wayne WWII classic, 1949
    • “Battle: Los Angeles” – Marine Corps versus aliens in Los Angeles, 2011
  • Sunday, Sept. 2 – Navy Air Night
    • “Hell Divers” – Classic fighter pilot film starring Clark Gable and Wallace Beery, filmed aboard first aircraft carriers, 1931
    • “Top Gun” – Modern-day fighter pilot classic starring Tom Cruise, filmed aboard carriers with full Navy cooperation, 1986
  • Monday, Sept. 3 – Navy Ships & Subs
    • “Mister Roberts” – Classic comedy starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon and James Cagney about a Navy cargo ship serving in the South Pacific in the waning days of WWII, 1955
    • “Hunt for Red October” – American espionage thriller adapted from the Tom Clancy best-selling novel, 1990

Ticket sales start each day at 4:00 p.m., with doors opening at 4:30 p.m.  Admission is free for all active military, veterans and children under three years, and $5.00 (cash only) for all others. For theater location, details and most up-to-date information, visitlafleetweek.com.

Since its first venture into Hollywood more than a century ago, the US Navy has been recognized with three Academy awards for films it has produced, including Best Documentary Feature (“The Battle of Midway”) and Best Documentary Short Subject (“December 7th”) in 1943, and Best Documentary Feature (“The Fighting Lady”) in 1945.