Out of the Cage: Valley Girl (1983) – 40th anniversary screenings
Director: Martha Coolidge Run Time: 99 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1983
Starring: Cameron Dye, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen, Nicolas Cage
Country: United States
Language: English
About the film:
She’s cool. He’s hot. She’s from the Valley. He’s not. A sensational teen classic loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Valley Girl (1983) features Nicolas Cage in his first leading role.
Julie, a girl from the San Fernando Valley, falls for Randy, a Hollywood punker, much to the dismay of her socially-conscious friends. Will she decide to forgo popularity for true love?
“With no money or clout, what started as a cheap exploitation film managed to, like, totally click with a generation — and produce an unconventional superstar.”
About the filmmaker:
Martha Coolidge is an American film director, producer, writer, and editor, as well as a former President of the Directors Guild of America. Her acclaimed feature films include the romantic comedies Valley Girl (1983) and Real Genius (1985), as well as the complex docudrama Rambling Rose (1991), which earned her Independent Spirit Awards for Best Film and Best Director. Her narrative directorial debut Not a Pretty Picture (1976) was restored by The Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation and selected for the Retrospective section at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival.
Coolidge made history in 2001 when she was elected the first woman President of the Directors Guild of America. Before that, she served continuously on DGA committees and played a key role in establishing the Artists Rights Foundation. She has also served on other industry boards and committees, including the American Film Institute, the Rhode Island School of Design, New York University, and Catalyst, an organization dedicated to promoting better science in films.
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