Fri, Apr 11, 2:00 pm; Sat, Apr 12, 7:30 pm

Adapted from Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch," Quentin Tarantino directed this star vehicle for Pam Grier, creating a heartfelt homage to the Blaxploitation genre and one of its icons. Struggling to make ends meet, Grier works as a flight attendant on a regional airline who smuggles money on the side for mobster Samuel L. Jackson. Pinched by ATF agent Michael Keaton, Grier is bailed out by Jackson via bondsman Robert Forster, and love blooms between the kindred souls over drinks and The Delfonics' "Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time." Caught between the law and the mob, Grier and Forster plot to play one against the other, pocket a big score and walk away free. Tarantino’s follow-up to PULP FICTION shares a similar affection for diners and strip malls, but is otherwise much more subdued in its focus on the rarely filmed, working class region of South Bay (near LAX), where the filmmaker grew up. DIR/SCR Quentin Tarantino, based on Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard; PROD Lawrence Bender. US, 1997, 154 min.

Ticket Information:
The National Building Museum is proud to partner with the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre and Cultural Center on this film series, "L.A. Modern, 1960–2000," which surveys mid-century to postmodern views of Los Angeles as the city of angels evolved into the nation’s second largest, and most modern, metropolis. The AFI Silver Theatre is located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, Silver Spring Metro, Red Line.

BUY TICKETS THROUGH AFI.com/Silver. $8.50 AFI and NBM members | $12 General Admission | $10 Seniors (65+), Students (with valid ID), and Military | $7 Children (12 and under). Tickets may also be purchased at the box office (opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day). Please note that tickets are not available for purchase through the National Building Museum.

Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940-1990 is generously supported by the Milton and Dorothy Sarnoff Raymond Foundation, ZGF Architects LLP, Lois England, and the Reinsch Pierce Family Foundation, Lola C. Reinsch and J. Almont Pierce.