THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCED
TODAY AN ADDITION TO THE 2014 FREE TALKS

NEXT TUESDAY, MARCH 18, CO-WRITER AND DIRECTOR
AZAZEL JACOBS WILL DISCUSS THE UPCOMING HBO SERIES,
DOLL AND EM, AND SCREEN SELECT EPISODES

New York, NY (March 13, 2014) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today an addition to the popular Film Society Free Talks, which will include a discussion with co-writer and director Azazel Jacobs for the upcoming HBO series, Doll and Em, and a sneak preview of select episodes. The free talks kicked off recently with Philomena’s Stephen Frears and Steve Coogan on February 12, followed by Matthew McConaughey on February 21 for Dallas Buyers Club.

On Tuesday March 18 at 7PM, the Film Society will welcome director and co-writer Azazel Jacobs (Terri, Momma’s Man) to discuss the new HBO series, Doll and Em, and screen a selection of three episodes. The six-part comedy series was created by, and stars, real-life best friends Emily Mortimer (The Newsroom) and Dolly Wells (Some Girls) as (slightly) fictionalized versions of themselves. When “Doll”’s love life implodes in London, she tearfully calls her longtime best pal “Em,” a successful film actress making a new movie in Hollywood. Impulsively, Emily flies Dolly to L.A. to work as her personal assistant during the shoot. But instead of a healing, mutually beneficial arrangement, the reunion morphs into disaster, as Doll chafes under the demands of her “submissive” role, and Em comes to the realization that her best friend is not only inhibiting her acting but might actually be plotting a competing career as an actress. Alternatively funny, insightful, satirical, and poignant, the series sheds light on the vicissitudes of friendship and fame, while giving viewers a refreshing window into the art and artifice of modern filmmaking. Doll and Em will premiere on HBO on Wednesday, March 19 at 10PM.

In addition, the previously announced talk, on Monday, March 31 at 6:30PM, will include Saul Austerlitz, author of Sitcom: A History in 24 Episodes from I Love Lucy to Community, and New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum leading a discussion titled Laugh Track: The Evolution of the Sitcom, about the sitcom’s past and present. Prior to the conversation, they will screen two classic sitcom episodes dedicated to the theme of death, one from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and one from Sex and the City—one almost wholly farcical, the other disarmingly emotional. Immediately following the conversation, Austerlitz will sign copies of his book, and also giveaway one free copy with a Film Society membership.   

Free tickets will be distributed at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center box office (144 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam) on a first-come, first-served basis starting one hour prior to the conversations. Limit one complimentary ticket per person, subject to availability. Please note that while tickets will not be distributed until one hour prior to each event, the line may form in advance of this time. For those unable to attend in person, video from the event will be available online at FilmLinc.com.

Descriptions & Schedule

AZAZEL JACOBS
Doll and Em

The six-part comedy series, directed and co-written by Azazel Jacobs (Terri, Momma’s Man), was created and stars real-life best friends Emily Mortimer (The Newsroom) and Dolly Wells (Some Girls) as (slightly) fictionalized versions of themselves. When “Doll”’s love life implodes in London, she tearfully calls her longtime best pal “Em,” a successful film actress making a new movie in Hollywood. Impulsively, Emily flies Dolly to L.A. to work as her personal assistant during the shoot. But instead of a healing, mutually beneficial arrangement, the reunion morphs into disaster, as Doll chafes under the demands of her “submissive” role, and Em comes to the realization that her best friend is not only inhibiting her acting but might actually be plotting a competing career as an actress. Alternatively funny, insightful, satirical, and poignant, the series sheds light on the vicissitudes of friendship and fame, while giving viewers a refreshing window into the art and artifice of modern filmmaking. Doll and Em will premiere on HBO on Wednesday, March 19 at 10PM.
*Tuesday, March 18: 7:00PM

Previously Announced:
Laugh Track: THE EVOLUTION OF THE SITCOM

The sitcom is defined by its episodes. Each one is a self-enclosed world, a brief overturning of the established order of the show’s universe before returning, unblemished, to the precise spot from which it began. And great shows are often defined by their truly outstanding episodes—individual installments like The Mary Tyler Moore Show’s “Chuckles Bites the Dust” or Sex and the City’s “My Motherboard, My Self.” This event offers screenings of these two classic sitcom episodes about death—one almost wholly farcical, the other disarmingly emotional. Saul Austerlitz, author of Sitcom: A History in 24 Episodes from I Love Lucy to Community, and New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum will lead a discussion after the screenings about the sitcom’s past and present, and take questions from the audience. Immediately following the conversation, Austerlitz will sign copies of his book, and also giveaway one free copy with a Film Society membership.  
*Monday, March 31: 6:30PM

Film Society of Lincoln Center
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year's most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, LatinBeat, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment magazine, The Film Society recognizes an artist's unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award. The Film Society's state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

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