As noted below, a 40th anniversary Star Trek screening will take place at the Aero Theater this Sunday, Oct. 15, with George Takei and Rod Roddenberry hosting. The schedule is the same with one change: the remastered version of "All Our Yesterdays" will play rather than "The Naked Time." General admission tickets are $10 and are available at this Fandango.com link.

Original story 09.22.06:

George Takei, Walter Koenig, Marina Sirtis, Rene Auberjonois and Eugene W. Roddenberry Jr. will be on hand to help inaugurate the U.S. debut of a film festival dedicated to exploration and conservation, which will devote part of its program to Star Trek and its 40th anniversary.

The Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival and Expositions — which originated in France 15 years ago — will hold a "Launch Event" next month in Los Angeles as a precursor to the actual commencement of a full-blown fest for American audiences next year. Named after the author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," "From the Earth to the Moon" and other adventure classics, the aim of the Jules Verne festival is "to provide a vision of our species and our planet that inspires us to reach beyond limitation and strive to make a positive difference in our future," with such programming as wildlife documentaries and legendary adventure movies ... and Star Trek.

Malcolm McDowell ("Dr. Soran" in "Star Trek Generations") will host the inaugural Opening Ceremony and Awards Gala on Friday, October 6, at the Shrine Auditorium, where the guests of honor will be George Lucas, Harrison Ford and primatologist Jane Goodall. Special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen is also a special guest.

Koenig, Sirtis, Auberjonois and Roddenberry are expected to attend the inaugural ceremonies and walk the red carpet at the Shrine.

The ceremony will feature the premiere of a documentary starring James Cameron and Buzz Aldrin called "Explorers Beyond Jules Verne – From the Titanic to the Moon." The 52-minute film is a portrait of the two men, who "take you to the far side of human nature and share their passion for the unknown." Aldrin, one of the first two men to walk on the Moon, is a good friend of the Star Trek community.

Four days of film programming will take place the following weekend, Oct. 12-15, at the classic Aero Theater in Santa Monica (1328 Montana Ave.), with screenings that include "Papillon," "Out of Africa," and the documentary "Dr. Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees."

Aldrin will be present on the final day, Sunday the 15th, for a repeat viewing of "Explorers beyond Jules Verne" and a Q&A starting at 3:30 p.m.

Following that at 6:00 at the Aero, Takei and Roddenberry will host the closing event of the festival, an homage to Star Trek's 40th anniversary. Two of the digitally remastered Original Series episodes produced for syndication (related story) will be shown for the first time on the big screen. They are "The Naked Time" and "The City on the Edge of Forever," and they will be followed by a screening of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Roddenberry will also show excerpts from his in-progress documentary "Trek Nation."

For complete information, the festival website is www.adventure-festival.com.

Tickets for the October 6 ceremony at the Shrine are available to the public at prices ranging from $10 to $100, through Ticketmaster (the festival website will link you to the appropriate page).

Tickets for the October 12-15 screenings, which are normal movie prices, are available at the Aero box office (310/260-1528) or through the American Cinematheque (again, the festival site will link you).