If I didn't have to go to friends' goddamn wedding party, I'd so go to this:

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan will be visiting the Vashon Theatre on Saturday, October 9 and bringing a 35 mm print of THE GODFATHER, the 1972 classic from director Francis Ford Coppola. In a lecture he's calling Godfather Revisited, Turan will talk before the screening about why the award-winning film remains influential and why it tops his list of essential American cinema.

How does a major LA Times film critic even know about the old-fashioned single screen Vashon Theatre, and why exactly is he coming to the island? Theatre manager Raechel Ehlers says that Turan has visited filmmaker friends on Vashon frequently over the years and loves and appreciates the historic movie house. Following last fall's still unsolved theatre break-in and theft of digital projector and other vital equipment, Turan offered to present a special film and a Q&A as a benefit for the struggling cinema.

Tickets for the benefit event are $12 general admission and $11 for seniors. Advance tickets are available online at brownpapertickets.com or by phone at 206-463-6845. Doors for The Godfather event open at 6:15 pm, and there will be beverages available prior to the screening. Turan will speak at 7 pm before the movie, and the film will play following his talk. The Vashon Theatre is a short ferry ride away from West Seattle at 17723 Vashon Highway SW Vashon, WA 98070.