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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Ayn Allen or Rachel Coulson
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KCETLink and The Johnny Mercer Foundation Present Special Screening of
1970s Musical, DARLING LILI at the KCET Fall Cinema Series on October 7
Preceding the film screening is a lively Q&A with KCET Cinema Series Host Pete Hammond
BURBANK, CALIF. - October 6, 2014 - KCETLink, in collaboration with The Johnny Mercer Foundation, is pleased to feature a special screening of the 1970s musical,Darling Lili, during the KCET Fall Cinema Series on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
The Fall KCET Cinema Series at the historic Aero Theatre in Santa Monica is generously presented by The Johnny Mercer Foundation. The series showcases eight weeks of the most anticipated new films before their theatrical release, as well as a classic Johnny Mercer scored film. This exclusive screening of Darling Lilihighlights Mercer's important Hollywood years.
"One of the joys of this underrated film is the equally underrated Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini film score," said Michael Kerker, The Johnny Mercer Foundation board member. "A relatively unknown gem is the title song, 'Whistling Away the Dark.'"
Four-time Academy Award® winner, Mercer, along with Henry Mancini, wrote "Whistling Away the Dark," which earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1970 and was also nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Music, Original Song.
"I am so pleased that Paramount has agreed to release this beautiful, original production from their archive," added Pete Hammond, renowned film critic and host of the KCET Fall Cinema Series. "Darling Lili is a highly underappreciated movie and represents some of Mercer's finest later work. I am particularly happy that the film's associate producer, Ken Wales, has agreed to be our guest for the Q&A, which will precede the movie."
Set during World War I, Darling Lili centers around Lili Smith (Julie Andrews), a popular British music hall performer, also regarded as a femme fatale, who is actually a German spy. Directed, produced, and co-written by Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Pink Panther), the film was nominated for three Academy Awards®, including Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Song Score; and Best Costume Design.
For more information on The Johnny Mercer Foundation, please visitwww.johnnymercerfoundation.org.
ABOUT KCETLink
KCETLink is the new national independent public transmedia organization formed by the merger between KCET and Link Media. A viewer-supported 501c(3) organization, its content is distributed nationally via satellite on DirecTV and DISH Networks, in Southern and Central California via broadcast, as well as through various digital delivery systems. KCET and Link TV are services of KCETLink. For additional information about KCETLink productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and events, please visit kcet.org or linktv.org.
ABOUT THE JOHNNY MERCER FOUNDATION
The mission of the Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF) is to support the discipline of songwriting in the tradition of the Great American Songbook as exemplified by the life and work of Johnny Mercer: the most prolific lyricist, composer, performer, collaborator, and producer of the 20th Century. The Foundation continues Johnny's legacy by partnering with individuals and organizations dedicated to celebrating and nourishing the disciplines he mastered, and the causes he and Ginger Mercer championed. JMF partners with several institutions including: LyricNOTES™ with the Kaufman Center in New York City; The Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project with Northwestern University (The American Music Theatre Project) to nurture and encourage young talent in the field of songwriting and The Johnny Mercer Collection at Georgia State University, where Johnny's many works and memorabilia are housed. They also support Georgia State University in a fellowship-type program to facilitate music education through the development of an elementary and middle school curriculum that focuses on, but is not limited to, songwriting and the Great American Songbook.
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