Hollywood filmmaker Randal Kleiser, who directed the Emmy-winning 1977 TV Christmas movie The Gathering in Chagrin Falls and Hudson before making his theatrical feature-film debut one year later with Grease, is returning to northeast Ohio. Kleiser will appear in person at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque on Saturday, December 2, to answer audience questions after screenings of two of his films: Big Top Pee-wee (1988) at 5:00 pm and, for a separate admission, Grease (1978) at 8:00 pm. He will also sell and sign his two books, Grease: The Director's Notebook and Drawing Directors. Both programs will take place in the Peter B. Lewis Theater of the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Avenue. Admission to Big Top Pee-wee, which will be shown from 35mm film, is $20 ($15 for Cinematheque members, CIA and CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under). Admission to Grease, which will be shown in a 4K digital restoration, is $25 ($20 for Cinematheque members, CIA and CSU I.D. holders, and those age 25 & under). Free parking for filmgoers is available in CIA's Lot 73 and Annex Lot, both off East 117th Street south of Euclid Avenue. For further information, call 216.421.7450. Cinematheque programs are generously supported by a grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Saturday, December 2, at 5:00 pm Film Classics in 35mm! Randal Kleiser in Person! BIG TOP PEE-WEE USA, 1986, Randal Kleiser Hollywood filmmaker Randal Kleiser appears in person tonight to answer audience questions after two of his films (in two separate screenings). Though best known for Grease (see next blurb), Kleiser has directed many other popular movies, including The Blue Lagoon; Flight of the Navigator; Honey, I Blew Up the Kid; White Fang; and the Emmy-winning 1977 TV Christmas movie (shot in Chagrin Falls and Hudson) The Gathering. Kleiser's Big Top Pee-wee was the follow-up to Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Co-produced and co-written by Paul Reubens, the movie is a surreal, colorful fantasy in which Reubens' childlike alter ego, Pee-wee Herman, becomes smitten with a traveling circus that turns up, Wizard of Oz-like, on his property after a severe storm. Penelope Ann Miller, Kris Kristofferson, and Valeria Golino co-star. Danny Elfman composed the music. "Provides plenty of prize pickings for kids, kooks and academics." -Time Out Film Guide. 35mm. 86 min. Special admission $20; members, CIA/CSU I.D. holders, age 25 & under $15; no passes. Saturday, December 2, at 8:00 pm Randal Kleiser in Person! GREASE USA, 1978, Randal Kleiser Hollywood director Randal Kleiser (see previous blurb) will answer audience questions after a screening of his most famous and popular film, the 1950s-era, rock-n-roll musical-comedy juggernaut Grease. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John play the high-school lovers at the center of Kleiser's high-spirited spectacle (he's a greaser, she's a pretty Australian exchange student), and Stockard Channing, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Joan Blondell, and Frankie Avalon stand out in a great supporting cast. 4K DCP. 110 min. Special admission $25; members, CIA/CSU I.D. holders, age 25 & under $20; no passes. # # #