Includes a screening of Light Sleeper and conversation with actor Willem Dafoe

Lead Sponsor

What do Kathryn Bigelow, Tony Scott, Walter Hill, William Friedkin, Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese have in common? How about the fact that they comprise only the 1980s filmography of Film Independent Spirit Award winner and Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe? This protean performer has moved so effortlessly from hero to villain, supporting character actor to leading man, comedy to drama and independent landmark to studio classic that his talent has kept him working with the most in-demand – and demanding – filmmakers since he started his career in 1982. Dafoe – whose 21^st century work includes The Grand Budapest Hotel and Nymphomaniac and this year alone, Justice League, Murder on the Orient Express and The Florida Project – is the latest to become of the “An Evening with…” series which means he’ll discuss his breadth of his career after a twenty-fifth anniversary screening of Light Sleeper, the first film he made with writer/director Paul Schrader. Light Sleeper follows a drug dealer pushing through the streets New York, a man who sells pleasure but is himself incapable of receiving it, a project in which Dafoe’s works shine and which he can ably address.

Light Sleeper
1992, 103 minutes, color, 35 mm | Written by Paul Schrader; directed by Paul Schrader; with Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon and Dana Delany

Ticketing Information

$15 for Film Independent and LACMA Film Club members. Members of these two groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, November 16. Limit two tickets per membership. Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period.

$20 for LACMA members, students with valid ID and seniors (65+); $25 for the general public. Members of these four groups can purchase tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, November 23. Two ticket limit.

PLEASE NOTE: Pre-reserved tickets for this event can be picked up at LACMA’s Ticket Office, located in the Hammer Building, on the day of the event—as early as 11 am. Tickets are for general, unreserved seating. Ticketed guests must be in their seat at the advertised start time of the event or seat(s) may be released. All ticket sales are final; no refunds or exchanges. Program and guest participation subject to change or cancellation without prior notice. Tickets are nontransferable and can only be picked up by the individual who purchased or reserved them.