Film Premieres: ‘CSSC’ and ‘DADDA’ by Paul McCarthy

On Friday 15 February, Hauser & Wirth will present the world premiere of ‘CSSC - It Begins - The Coach The Skull’ and the US premiere of ‘DADDA - Poodle House Saloon’ – two new films by celebrated Los Angeles artist Paul McCarthy. Each film will be screened once for this special evening at The Montalbán Theater in Hollywood.

CSSC - It Begins - The Coach The Skull Co-directed by Paul McCarthy & Damon McCarthy Conceived by Paul McCarthy and edited by Damon McCarthy 7 PM World Premiere 95 minutes

DADDA - Poodle House Saloon Co-directed by Paul McCarthy & Damon McCarthy Conceived by Paul McCarthy and edited by Damon McCarthy 9 PM US Premiere 93 minutes

The Montalbán Theater 1615 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Free Admission General Seating

Please note these films are intended for audiences 18 years and over. Viewer discretion is advised. Guests are welcome to attend one or both screenings. Please select screening time(s) upon registration. Click here to register.

About the films Co-directed by Paul McCarthy and Damon McCarthy, conceived by Paul McCarthy and edited by Damon McCarthy, and created over the course of three years, the films are part of the larger project ‘Coach Stage Stage Coach / Donald and Daisy Duck Adventure (CSSC / DADDA),’ a multi-platform work loosely inspired by the classic 1939 film ‘Stagecoach’ starring John Wayne. ‘CSSC / DADDA’ is the newest project within Paul McCarthy’s acclaimed multidisciplinary practice that merges performance, sculpture, photography, painting, video, installation, and virtual reality. Themes of family, mass media, and the dissolution of societal structures sit at the center of a sprawling oeuvre that illuminates society’s double standards and hypocrisies.

In the two feature films premiering 15 February, archetypal American narratives unfold and repeat with McCarthy’s characteristic amalgam of wit, rage, and subversiveness. The artist’s ongoing excavation of  human drives and desires continues here in the visual language of Hollywood Westerns. Co-opting tactics from the mainstream film industry to recast icons of Americana in deviant roles, these two films introduce new characters alongside others that have recurred over the years in the artist’s practice. The startling performances of McCarthy’s cast are set within a stagecoach and saloon, and accrue to a powerful meditation on America’s distinctive brand of intermingled sex and violence.

The use of cameras, videos or other recording devices in the theater is strictly prohibited. There is no smoking in the theater.