Porky's Powwow

Long before Sex and the City, Kim Cattrall flaunted it in Porky's. On July 20th at the ArcLight, some of her former co-stars join writer-director Bob Clark to dish.

HOLLYWOOD, CA July 18, 2004 -- When New Orleans-born filmmaker Bob Clark moved to Canada in 1974, he most likely had no idea that in a few short years, he would author the highest grossing Canuck production of all time by mining the same general territory as John Landis's 1978 frat house farce Animal House. Or, for that matter, that all these years later, he would be contemplating a raunchy remake in partnership with Howard Stern.

But with Hollywood embracing everything from the American Pie series to Not Another Teen Movie, the time seems ripe for another re-examination of the film that started it all. And so, next Tuesday, July 20th, at the ArcLight Cinemas, Clark will join original cast members Cyril O'Reilly (the character of Tim), Tony Ganios (Meat), Mark Herrier (Billy) and Scott Colomby (Brian) for a 7:30pm screening and Q&A as part of the ongoing series presented by Hollywood's Master Storytellers.

"This was a movie that seemed to come out of nowhere, but Bob Clark somehow had the pulse of the public," explains former CNN entertainment reporter Dennis Michael who, as usual, will moderate the post-screening discussion. "Porky's is one of those movies that just stays with you for a long time, and some of the scenes are absolute classics. The humor holds up extremely well; this movie really hasn't aged a bit."

Porky's, the story of a group of lustful teenage boys living in Florida in the 1950's, was a surprise hit when it first came out and went on to rack up over $100 million in 1981 dollars at the box office. Up to that point, Clark had worked mostly in the horror and thriller genres, with credits such as Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Deathdream and a pair starring Christopher Plummer - Black Christmas and Murder by Decree. However, he also made the transvestite comedy She-Man in 1967.

After Porky's, the University of Miami graduate was able to parlay his success into a string of Hollywood opportunities beginning with A Christmas Story, Rhinestone and Turk 182!. And even though his seminal teenage flick Chez Porky (the original Canadian title), which inspired a Pompano Beach, Florida eatery called Chez Porky's, has earned its reputation for sometimes crude and sexually oriented humor, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

"If the only thing that Porky's had going for it was things like the infamous shower scene, it never would have achieved the level of success that it did," suggests Gordon Meyer, HMS's creator and Executive Producer. "In addition to its broad and often earthy humor, Porky's actually has some very strong characters that tackle serious social issues in a very human way. After all these years, it remains one of the funniest and most honest teen comedies of all time."

Twice a month, Hollywood's Master Storytellers showcases some of the motion picture industry's most fascinating storytellers at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. Since its launch in January 2003, HMS has been host to such luminaries as Academy Award winning writer-director James Cameron, Academy Award winning writer and international best-selling author Sidney Sheldon, actor-producer Pierce Brosnan, director Richard Donner and actor-producer-director George Clooney.

The HMS presentation of Porky's will be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, July 20th. Future guests include director Garry Marshall (The Princess Diaries/ August 3rd), Academy Award winning producer Jon Landau (Titanic, August 17th) and director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High/ August 31st).

Tickets for all events are available at the ArcLight box office or online at ArcLightCinemas.com, located in the heart of Hollywood at 6360 Sunset Blvd., just west of Vine.

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