While it’s getting harder and harder to find a good deal in L.A. nowadays, there are still bargains to be found, like this screening of Katsuhiro Otomo’s contemporary classic Akira.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will screen the ever-timely film on Monday, December 2, as part of its annual Marc Davis Celebration of Animation. It’ll be shown at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The event will be followed by a discussion with a group of contemporary American animation artists who have been inspired by the 1988 film. Missing from the panel is Kanye West, who has proclaimed Akira as the “greatest animation achievement in history.” The speakers are:

  • Jorge Gutiérrez (director, The Book of Life)
  • Justin Thompson (production designer, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
  • Genndy Tartakovsky (director, Hotel Transylvania)
  • Randy Haycock (drawover lead, Moana)
  • Peter Chung (creator/director, Aeon Flux)
  • Moderated by Charles Solomon

The screening also celebrates the recent gift of the Akira collection to the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library. Compiled by Joe Peacock, the collection was gifted to the Academy earlier this year and includes several thousand animation cels, drawings, and other paper ephemera documenting the production. It’s likely that the Academy will be showing some of the original artwork in its lobby prior to the screening.

Tickets are $5 for general audiences, and $3 for students and Academy members. Get tickets HERE while they last.

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