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'Yesterday' Brings The Beatles to the Summer KCET Cinema Series on June 25

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Pre-screening conversation with Beatles authority Martin Lewis.

John, Paul, George and Ringo — names that have instant recognition around the world. The boys from Liverpool remain to this day the most influential musicians and band in history. In this fictitious musical tale by Academy Award®-winning director Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire," "Trainspotting," "28 Days Later"), a struggling singer/songwriter named Jack Malik (played by Himesh Patel of BBC’s "EastEnders") is involved in a freak bus accident. After he awakens and returns to performing, he discovers no one in the world remembers The Beatles. No one, that is, except Jack. The cast is rounded out with performances from Ed Sheeran, Lily James ("Baby Driver") and Kate McKinnon ("Saturday Night Live").

For Boyle, the primary and constant goal with "Yesterday" was to fuse the emotional truth of The Beatles’ music with a love story worthy of their songs. “Somebody said something about the number of times the word ‘love’ appears in The Beatles’ songs compared to the Bible,” Boyle says. “By some extraordinary margin, The Beatles win hands down. I hope that’s what people will take out of this film: that it’s a love story. So where better to go for a love story than The Beatles? A dual love story. A love story to this music, which is a part of world culture now, and a beautiful unexpected love story that runs alongside it that benefits from the story arc that takes you on such a roller-coaster journey.”

The film screens at 7:00 p.m. at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET’s Must See Movies, will moderate a pre-screening conversation with Beatles authority Martin Lewis. Though primarily a producer (of the Secret Policeman's Balls benefit shows for Amnesty International) and humorist, Martin Lewis is also considered one of the world's leading Beatles scholars.  As a teenager he contributed to the band's 1968 authorized biography and then became a protege of Beatles publicist Derek Taylor. He would go on to work closely with both Sir Paul McCartney and Beatles producer Sir George Martin and has been widely quoted in print/digital media.

"Yesterday" will be released in theatres by Universal Pictures on June 28, 2019.

The summer season of the KCET Cinema Series is generously sponsored by Deadline.com. The season began on June 4 and runs through July 23. The first six dates will be held at the historic Aero Theatre on June 4, 11, 18, 25, July 2 and 9. The last two dates will be held at the Landmark Theatre on July 16 and 23. Season passes are available online here and individual admissions are available at the door for $30 each. The Aero Theatre is located at 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403 and nearby parking is available. To learn more about the series call 201.747.5238.

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