485. THE GENIUS OF COMEDY ON FILM: LOCAL HERO

Peter Josyph

Bill Forsyth’s LOCAL HERO stars Peter Riegert as Mac MacIntyre, a Houston representative of Burt Lancaster’s oil corporation, who is sent to Scotland to get the go-ahead for converting a coastal property in the fictional village of Ferness into an oil refinery. But it’s not that easy for anybody involved. MacIntyre gets more than he bargained for when this seemingly simple business trip changes his outlook on life as he begins to question whether he‘s on the right side of this deal or not. Although the film was made in 1983, it explores issues that are equally relevant today, and its gentle, witty, low-keyed humor resists every temptation to become sensational. Local Hero is ranked as one of the Top 100 British films of the 20^th century and features a soundtrack by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.

1:00 – 3:30 p.m.                                                                                                                               1 Session

Thursday, August 21                                                                                                                        Fee:   $50

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Peter Josyph works concurrently as a writer, painter, actor, photographer, and filmmaker. He has published 12 books, including five on Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy, and a series of fictions about Henri Matisse; his paintings have exhibited around the world, and his films include: Shakespeare in New York; A Few Things Basquiat Did in School; Hell; Bardtalk; No Standing in St. Petersburg; Acting McCarthy: The Making of Billy Bob Thornton’s All the Pretty Horses; and the award-winning Liberty Street: Alive at Ground Zero.