LA Film Fest Gets More Awesome, Adds MAN OF STEEL And Spike Jonze

This year it seems that the LA Film Festival has totally ramped up their game, and they're still adding new, exciting screenings and events. First up for the festivalgoing fanboys is a screening of Man of Steel on June 12, which makes it technically a pre-screening for the fest, as LAFF opens June 13th. Man of Steel hits theaters on the 14th, but seeing it a couple of days early is a nice perk for badgeholders, who can get tickets starting May 10th on the LAFF site. The festival is also screening Monsters University on June 18th.

Cooler than that fanboy business, though, is A Brand of His Own: Being Spike Jonze, a longform discussion with the brilliant filmmaker... who will be sharing clips from his next film. Here's the official write-up:

A pop culture instigator and one of the most original and intriguing filmmakers of our time, Jonze has managed to build a career on his terms.  From his early beginnings entrenched in skateboard culture, he grew into one of the most sought-after music video directors.  His inevitable leap into feature films displayed a new approach to storytelling and his unique brand of irony, humor, playfulness and visual style has taken audiences to the seventh and half floor, John Malkovich’s mind, Charlie Kaufman’s writer’s block and the fantasy world of Maurice Sendak.  Jonze will be discussing his career as well as showing clips from his latest film, the upcoming Her.

That's happening June 22 at 8pm. Oh, and earlier that day, at 2pm, LAFF will be hosting a panel called Women in the Cut: A Celebration of Women Editors.

The event will take a close look at the creative process of building a film through the work of a select group of women editors who will reveal some of the “secrets” of their craft and their collaborations with directors. Panelists include esteemed editors Sandra Adair (Before Midnight, Bernie), Maryann Brandon (Star Trek, Star Wars: Episode VII, Super 8), Academy Award® nominee Pamela Martin (Hitchcock, Ruby Sparks, The Fighter) and Kim Roberts (Waiting For Superman, Food, Inc. and the 2013 Festival World Premiere, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs), with additional speakers to be announced. Acclaimed editor, filmmaker and Film Independent Board President Mary Sweeney will host and moderate the event. “Women in the Cut: A Celebration of Women Editors” is sponsored by MelroseMAC.

Some of my favorite editors have been women, so I'm really interested in that panel.

For more information and to buy badges, hit up the LAFF site.