Robert Mark Kamen

Local vintner Robert Mark Kamen of Sonoma’s Kamen Estate Wines also happens to be one of Hollywood’s most successful screenwriters. Kamen, who back in 1979 took the money from his first script sale and invested it in Sonoma property, is responsible for three extremely successful film series – The Transporter series starring Jason Statham  the Taken series starring Liam Neeson, and The Karate Kid series starring Ralph Macchio.

Sonoma’s historic Sebastiani Theatre will be screening the original The Karate Kid with Kamen in attendance and participating in a post-film Q&A. The screening is this Friday, June 8, at 7pm. Tickets are $40 and include admission, a sushi bento box from Sushinoma and the opportunity to take part in the Q&A with Mr. Kamen. Tickets will be entered in a drawing for Karate Kid collectibles, wine, movie passes, and a refund of the ticket purchase price.

Questions will cover many aspects of the film and its impact as well as several of Mr. Kamen’s other credits including Taps (one of Sean Penn and Tom Cruise’s first films,) the strange and wonderful sci-fi classic The Fifth Element, and the wine country-themed A Walk in the Clouds. He has also done uncredited script work on numerous other films. His thoughts on the recent Kid remake and its current iteration as a streaming series will also be sought.

Tickets to the event are available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets or at the door (though they’d prefer advance ticket purchases so they’ll know how much sushi to roll.) It’s an all-ages event, but wine and sake will be available.

For more information on this and other upcoming screenings, visit the Sebastiani Theatre website – www.sebastianitheatre.com.