Beck & Woods to host first filmmaker Q & A

Six days after becoming the first Indigenous actor to win a Golden Globe award, Lily Gladstone will be on screen at Davenport’s Last Picture House in the quirky Western “Quantum Cowboys” (2022).

The animated sci-fi comedy will be shown Saturday, Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m., followed by the first Q&A at the indie movie theater (325 2^nd St., Davenport). Last Picture House co-owners (and acclaimed filmmakers) Scott Beck and Bryan Woods will lead the discussion with “Quantum Cowboys” director Geoff Marslett.

“If you are looking for the year of Lily Gladstone to continue after she was already one of the best parts of the recent Killers of the Flower Moon and to hold you over her until her upcoming film Fancy Dance finally comes out, then you’ll want to saddle up with the animated Western Quantum Cowboys,” said a review at collider.com. “Alongside Kiowa Gordon of the stellar series Dark Winds, she gives yet another great performance in the most delightfully absurd work in her filmography to date.”

The review called the unique film one “that takes us through time and space with a variety of styles all flashing before you as it draws you in closer to its vibrant vision. Specifically, it makes use of 16 mm film, hand-drawn animation, oil paintings, digital collages, and more that all come together into one work of art all its own,” the review said.

“There are live-action interludes scattered throughout as well, but its best elements come when it plays around with a whole host of animated styles that grow increasingly chaotic in the best way. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on what it’s getting at, it will drop you into another boldly beautiful style that continually unfurls before you like an ever-shifting tapestry.”

Gladstone (who won the best leading actress in a motion picture drama Golden Globe Jan. 7 for the Martin Scorsese epic) has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and those awards will be given on Feb. 24. The Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 23.

Scott Beck said they chose the 2022 Western to showcase for their first Q&A since the new theater opened last month because “We’re excited by the bold filmmaking style which Geoff Marslett brings to ‘Quantum Cowboys.’ The film is incredibly layered, rich with stunning visuals, and showcases a filmmaker who isn’t afraid to take new approaches to cinema,” he said by email Wednesday night.

“On top of that, the cast is stellar and so well-assembled. Lily Gladstone (from ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’) is especially phenomenal,” Beck said.

They learned about the flick from a close collaborator (Shane Simmons) who had programmed the movie in Chicago.

“Geoff’s vision and storytelling in ‘Quantum Cowboys’ is wholly unique and thrilling, and he utilizes the artform of film in a way that I haven’t experienced since Richard Linklater’s ‘Waking Life’,” Beck said. “This is a daring piece of cinema to show in the Quad Cities, but one that is a perfect fit for our audience at The Last Picture House.

“We feel fortunate for the opportunity to bring Geoff and his wonderful film to our theater,” he added.

A synopsis of “Quantum Cowboys” says:

Two hapless drifters, Frank (Kiowa Gordon) and Bruno (John Way), team up with Linde (Lily Gladstone) to recover her land and trek across 1870s Southern Arizona to find an elusive frontier musician. The complex quantum time theory is blended with philosophical musings about art as the way we understand our history and memories, with gunfights, horses, dance halls, cacti, and saloons!

Any Beck & Woods films coming?

While the two-screen Last Picture House was unveiled Nov. 20, 2023 with a soft opening, none of the wide variety of films shown so far have been by Beck & Woods, Bettendorf natives who shot to Hollywood fame with the 2018 horror hit, “A Quiet Place,” which took in $340.9 million worldwide on a $17-million budget.

Subsequent films they have produced include “65” (starring Adam Driver), “Haunt,” and “The Boogeyman.” Their new “Heretic” (starring Hugh Grant) will be distributed by A24 this year.

Beck said this week they may show some of their own films down the line at Last Picture House. “Our concentration is on a variety of new releases, classics, international films, and other offerings that you may not otherwise see on the big screen in the Quad Cities,” he said.

As for the new theater attendance, “We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response from the Quad Cities. The reception has been even better than we could have hoped, especially throughout the holidays,” Beck said.

“Attendance has been incredibly strong, and it’s been a dream to walk into the lobby on multiple occasions and see it filled with movie fans. We’ve really felt a growing excitement over the last few months for The Last Picture House, and yet we still have so much more in store for our audience.”

As of Thursday morning, there were just four seats remaining for “Quantum Cowboys,” in the 48-seat smaller theater. You can reserve tickets HERE.

For more information on “Quantum Cowboys,” and to see a trailer, click HERE.