Academy to Visit “Modern Times” with “Techno Chaplin”

Beverly Hills, CA — A screening of a digitally restored 35mm print of Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” (1936) and an examination of rare behind-the-scenes photographs that reveal the techniques used in creating the film’s special effects will be featured in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Techno Chaplin” program hosted by visual effects supervisor Craig Barron and silent film author John Bengtson on Thursday, July 24, at 8 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.

Presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, the program will examine Chaplin’s significant use of technical effects such as matte shots, process shots, miniatures and rear projection to complement real-life industrial settings. The presentation also will include a multimedia tour of 1930s Los Angeles, offering a visual journey of the city that served as a backdrop in Chaplin’s work.

Written, produced and directed by Chaplin, “Modern Times” marks the final appearance of the Little Tramp and arguably the culmination of the silent film era. In the film, Chaplin portrays a factory worker struggling to adapt to life in a burgeoning industrial world.

Barron is a veteran of Industrial Light & Magic and currently heads the Marin-based effects company Matte World Digital. He also serves on the Academy’s Board of Governors (Visual Effects Branch).

Bengston, a lawyer and film historian, is the author of Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood through the Films of Charlie Chaplin and its Buster Keaton counterpart, Silent Echoes.

Established in 2003 by the Academy’s Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities and preserves the history of science and technology of motion pictures.

Tickets to “Techno Chaplin” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office, or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue).