By the time Dead Poets Society was released in 1989, Robin Williams had already been a household name for a decade, with one Academy Award nomination and a slew of dramatic and comedic credits under his belt. Most people know that his performance as Dead Poets Society’s idiosyncratic and inspirational English teacher John Keating was one for the ages, earning him his second Oscar nomination. (He’d go on to earn his third a couple years later with The Fisher King, and finally land a trophy in 1998 thanks to Good Will Hunting.) But Nashvillians might not know just how many local connections the film has. Written by Nashville native and Vanderbilt alum Tom Schulman, Dead Poets — though based in Vermont — was inspired by Schulman’s time at Montgomery Bell Academy, and Williams’ character was loosely based on fellow Nashville native Samuel Pickering, who instructed Schulman at MBA. The local connections don’t end there, and that’s why the Belcourt selected the film for its ongoing Nashville: A City on Film series, part of the theater’s centennial programming. Come for the Nashville lore, stay for knockout performances from Williams, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles and Kurtwood Smith. The evening screening will feature an introduction from Belcourt archivist and historian T. Minton.
2 & 8 p.m. at the Belcourt
2102 Belcourt Ave.
