“Lake Placid”: Now That’s a Croc!

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

7:00 PM-10:00 PM

Join the Philadelphia Film Society for a showing of Lake Placid, in which a 30-foot croc shows up in picturesque lake in backwoods Maine. After the film, Academy Dinosaur Hall Coordinator Jason Poole will chat with movie goers about the “science” behind the film.

With a cast of paleontologists, park rangers, “fish and game specialists,” a huge crocodile, and Betty White, movie goers might have some questions about the crocodilian facts offered in the movie. How much of a croc of … is this crocodilian masterpiece of dinosaur proportions? Enter Jason Poole, Dinosaur Hall Coordinator at the Academy of Natural Science of Drexel University! He will be on hand to help with the dispelling of Hollywood “science” after the flick.

More about the film, Philadelphia Film Society, and Science on Screen:

Lake Placid
Prince Theater Black Box / March 20 / 7:00 PM 

A picturesque lake in backwoods Maine is hardly the place you’d expect to find a giant saltwater crocodile, but that’s just the first of many surprises in action thriller Lake Placid. The fearsome reptile is no ordinary croc—it’s a 30-foot-long behemoth with a taste for human flesh. It’s up to a team led by Game officer Jack Wells (Bill Pullman), grumpy sheriff Hank Keough (Brendan Gleeson), and paleontologist Kelly Scott (Bridget Fonda) to put an end to the creature’s reign of terror with their limbs intact. Darkly comedic, gleefully gory, and knowingly ridiculous, this landlocked update of Jaws will have viewers rethinking their upcoming Maine vacations and seeing Betty White in an entirely new light.

Philadelphia Film Society is a 501(c)(3) member supported nonprofit arts organization with an objective to utilize film's unique capacity to engage a diverse audience, while further providing access to powerful films from around the world in order to increase education and understanding. PFS serves as a vital member of the arts and culture community in Philadelphia. 

Science on Screen® is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Science on Screen program pairs films with a short talk with a scientist or technology expert. The free Science on Screen events are fun and engaging, offering dynamic speakers an unexpected jumping point to teach their field of expertise in a way that is accessible to a diverse audience