LOS ANGELES - Movies, fast cars, warm nights at the drive-in and James Dean - all great American
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The details:
WHAT: James Dean Fest.
WHEN: June 3-5.
WHERE: Marion Municipal Airport; events also will take place in downtown Marion and Fairmount.
Events planned:
Screenings of digitally restored versions of East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant on a 100-foot screen.
U.S. premiere of the new documentary James Dean: Forever Young.
Concerts (featured artists to be announced at a later date).
o"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" city walk that will include James Dean merchandise, a traveling exhibit featuring a replica of the actor's Porsche 550 Spyder.
Car and motorcycle shows.
Photo exhibits by Phil Stern and Dennis Stock, who both produced famous images of Dean.
LEARN MORE:
Visit www.jamesdeanfest.com
ON THE MARKET:
The yearlong tribute to James Dean on the 50th anniversary of his death will include new products marketed to Dean's fans around the world.
Movie-Pac, described as a unique, one-of-a-kind marketing package for advance special events, went on sale in the DVD section at Amazon.com Tuesday. It includes live video from the event, ticket sales, special packages, travel information, a gift card and more. |
loves - will bring Hollywood and the world to Grant County in June.
At least that's the plan.
More details about James Dean Fest, to take place in and around the Marion Municipal Airport on June 3 through June 5, were revealed Tuesday at an announcement of a yearlong tribute to Dean that marks the 50th anniversary of his death. The news conference was held at Pacific Theatres at The Grove, a Los Angeles shopping and entertainment complex.
Up to 50,000 visitors have attended Fairmount's Remembering James Dean weekends held every September around the day of the actor's death. Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold is hoping for double that number at the James Dean Fest.
"James Dean is a prime example of a hometown hero," said Seybold, who will meet in Marion with the event's other principal partners in the coming weeks to work out a detailed schedule. "Jimmy never forgot his roots, and we never forgot him."
The airport itself will become the world's largest drive-in movie theater, with the premiere of restored versions of James Dean's three movies and a new documentary at the center of plans for a three-day festival dedicated to the actor.
"James Dean Fest is the big event of the year," said Brian Jamieson, vice president of special projects for Warner Bros. "It's a one-of-a-kind, not to be missed event."
Audiences will watch East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant and the documentary James Dean: Forever Young on a movie screen measuring about 100 feet tall - purported to be the largest in the world.
The festival also will include car and motorcycle shows; exhibits by two men who photographed the actor; an original play being written by Marion resident Mark Fauser; and music concerts, the lineups for which have yet to be announced.
"This has never happened before," said David Loehr, owner of the James Dean Gallery in Gas City. "It's a huge event."
Organizers will create a "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" city-walk that will include new Dean-related merchandise and a traveling exhibit featuring items on loan from Dean's estate, a replica of his Porsche 500 Spyder and racing cars that pay tribute to Dean.
After walking out of the theater and talking with a fellow speaker, actor Martin Sheen, Seybold began making plans to return to Marion. He is flying back early to be with his wife, Jennifer, and newborn son, John Wayne.
"It was good to be here for the kick-off so now we can start the planning part of the event," Seybold said. "The cat's out of the bag, you could say."
Photographers Phil Stern, who took the famous picture where Dean peeks over a sweater, and Dennis Stock, who accompanied the actor on a 1955 trip back to the Fairmount farm where Dean grew up, will show their work at the festival.
"The gift of that trip was really the Winslow family," said Stock, who hoped to return to Fairmount this summer. "I acquired a family in the process, and the discovery of what farm towns are like was also a revelation. But the grave site is also there, so it's a whole kaleidoscope of experiences for me."
The tribute racing cars feature Dean's image and signature. Drivers Tony Stewart, Steve Kinser and John Force will race the three cars in events this summer. That includes an Aug. 6 NASCAR Busch series race that Stewart will compete in at Indianapolis Raceway Park. In a videotaped message, Stewart told the audience he planned to be in Marion for the James Dean Fest.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pay tribute to a fellow Indiana native," Stewart said.
He also extended an invitation to Dean's cousin, Fairmount-resident Marcus Winslow, to join him in the pit at the Indianapolis race. Winslow said he planned to be there and that Tuesday's announcement was only the beginning of Grant County's celebration of Dean.
"I think it's going to be nice," Winslow said. "It's going to be kind of a hometown thing."
