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Short Cut

It’s always advisable to see at least one batch of shorts during a festival. It’s rare that we get to see them on a big screen and that the filmmakers get to see them with an audience. Plus, it’s the most expedient way to see a broad range of films. Broken down by national cinema or genre there’s usually a little bit of everything.
Ducking in as the lights went down and finding a seat in the fourth row, I settle in for a diverse hour and a half of entertainment. Program 4 featured drama and comedy, live-action, animation and documentary with films from North America and Europe running anywhere from two to 20 minutes. The festival asks audiences to rate the shorts from one (poor) to four (great) and though I saw nothing that fell into the great category, all eight films were fresh and engaging.
"The Smallest River in Almirante's" writer-director Joshua Rofé actor Raphael Noblé and one of the film's producers were on-hand for the post-screening Q&A, fielding questions on their ambitious 14-minute film, which they shot in three days on location in Trinidad.
Shorts Program 5 screens Saturday at 10 p.m. and Shorts program 1 goes up Sunday at 4:30. There’s also a program of high school shorts (Sun., 3:30 p.m.) and music videos (Eclectic Mix 2, Sun. 7 p.m.). Check them out.

Walking the Walk

So, after a few days away I arrive in Westwood nice and early having taken the bus, and am ready to dig back into the festival. The village is relatively quiet with only a few events sprinkled across the afternoon schedule allowing me ample time to plan.
Figuring I need to see some actual movies, and there being a scant fifteen minutes between the end of my former colleague John Horn’s 12:30 Lunch Talk with Lori Petty and the start of the day’s first film, the Lee Atwater doc, I settle on the latter. After grabbing a bite at Native Foods (can’t come to Westwood without stopping in), I head off toward the Landmark.
It’s 1.6 miles from Wilshire and Westwood Blvds. so I estimate that it will take me 30 minutes to hoof it. The temperatures have dropped considerably since the weekend and I like to walk so it should be nice. I leave Native at 1:08 leaving me with plenty of time for a weekday afternoon screening, right? I hit Santa Monica Blvd. at 1:23 and Olympic at 1:30. Head down and full speed ahead, I hit Pico at 1:38 – seven minutes before “Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story” is to begin.
There’s a line of about 25 people who look to be pass-holders on the first floor so I’m still thinking I’m in good shape. As the clock nears 1:45, however, a coupe of gentlemen ahead of me start to bemoan the fact that it doesn’t look like we’re getting in. Ug. This is the stand-by line, the main line has already gone in. Sure enough, a woman appears and apologizes but no one from our line will be seeing “Boogie Man” today. In retrospect, it is the only early afternoon screening. Where else would everyone be? The lesson being that it's always a good idea to arrive early.
There’s nothing else screening festival-wise until 4 p.m. but fortunately, the Landmark’s other screens are in full swing. I opt for Tom McCarthy’s “The Visitor,” which I haven’t seen. A good movie from outside the festival is better than no movie at all. By 4:10 I’m race-walking back up Westwood Blvd. – funny, I didn’t notice the incline on the way down – and make it to the Majestic Crest at 4:33, just in time for Shorts Program number 4.

Rapid Transit

My friend Matthew and I took the Metro Rapid 720 to the opening night film last week. Downtown to Westwood in 40 minutes with short waits both coming and going. Friday-Sunday I drove and though traffic and parking weren’t a problem I figure with gas it was costing over 17 bucks a day. So … I bought a one-week Metro pass for $17 and will try to use that as much as possible for the rest of the festival. In addition to saving money, there’s the benefit of gaining time to read the paper or gaze out the window soaking up the many neighborhoods one passes through along Wilshire Blvd. I highly recommend it.
If you do need to drive, there’s a parking garage on Lindbrook not marked on the festival guide’s map. The entrance is next to the vacant lot formerly known as the Mann National (isn’t it amazing that such a big theater could leave such a seemingly small empty space?). All day Sat. and Sun. and weekdays after 5 p.m. its $5. Easy access out Wilshire to the 405.

The Art of More

OK, I finally saw something contemporary. Very contemporary. In fact, it’s so new there is footage shot in Feb. 2008.
Anything L.A.-related catches my attention so I was naturally drawn to Harry Kim’s documentary, “Dirty Hands: The Life and Crimes of David Choe.” The locally-raised Korean American artist is a fascinating character, talented and charismatic but equally self-destructive and prone to pushing the boundaries of excess in both his life and his work.
Kim began shooting his enigmatic friend in 2000 when he was poor and living downtown, shoplifting his meals from a market in Little Tokyo. Choe is a larger-than-life figure whose thirst for adventure takes him to the Congo and Japan (where he lands in jail for three months). Originally a risk-taking graffiti artist, he evolved into an edgy magazine illustrator, provocateur and painter who sold out a $2.5 million dollar show in London.
There’s an intimate, confessional quality to the film that lays bare the psychosexual nature of much of Choe’s work. His life is such an ever-evolving drama and high-wire act you spend a great deal of time wondering if he will survive in the end.

Return to Silverado?

A couple of random thoughts from Friday’s “Silverado” screening:
The first question from moderator Elvis Mitchell concerned the film’s last line, “We’ll be back,” long a point of conjecture among the film’s fans hoping for a sequel. But co-writer/director Lawrence Kasdan quickly dismissed any notion along those lines.
--
It’s funny that the screening was sponsored by People magazine. The Jeff Goldblum character in Kasdan’s “The Big Chill” was a writer for People, used essentially as a symbol for all that was shallow and banal about pop culture. They obviously don't hold a grudge.

The Direct Approach

I must say that the Coffee Talks may be my favorite part of LAFF. I hadn’t attended any since the festival moved to Westwood a few years ago but I eagerly made my way this morning to the W Hotel on Hilgard for the sold-out Director’s chat. The Coffee Talks assemble two to four peers in a particular discipline (writers, actors, composers, etc. …) to dish, compare notes, tell stories and answer questions from the audience, which usually tilts heavily toward aspiring young filmmakers. The W is a fine, upscale hotel, but I do have to confess to missing the former venue, the atrium at the DGA on Sunset.
The talks are so effective, I think, because filmmakers, whatever their specialty, are experienced storytellers and this setup is a very good vehicle for them to do just that. Plus, it comes with coffee, which is especially welcome on a Sunday morning.
This year’s directors were Mike White (“Year of the Dog”), Craig Gillespie (“Mr. Woodcock,” “Lars and the Real Girl”) and Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen,” “Lords of Dogtown” and the upcoming teenage vampire saga, “Twilight”). Penelope Spheeris (“The Decline of Western Civilization,” “Wayne’s World” and much more”) had to cancel. Sometimes there’s a separate moderator and sometimes one of the panel members tries to keep things on track. That duty fell to Hardwicke and she did a good job of suggesting topics and keeping things moving.
These events are sometimes reliant on chemistry and while these three didn’t seem to share any particular bond beyond independent film and the fact that Hardwicke and White have both worked with Richard Linklater, the trio made for an entertaining and informative 60-minute discussion. Topics ranged from prep to post, dealing with actors, producers and DPs and selling yourself to the money people to get your movie made. Hardwicke likes to rehearse with no one else around but the actors, Gillespie rehearsed with some of the actors on “Lars” (Ryan Gosling apparently doesn’t like to rehearse instead preferring to talk the scenes out in great detail) and White is not a big fan of the process – though he told us that trained dogs rehearse A LOT and aren’t particularly adept at improvising.
The three agreed that producers tend to fall in to two camps: the one who has your back no matter what and protects you from the external noise and drama and the type who’s essentially a watchdog for the studio or financier. Guess which one they like better?
When asked about managing a DP with whom you are not on the same page, Gillespie offered advice he’d been given. The moment you begin to have doubts, you need to fire them even a week or two into the shoot. Otherwise, the doubts will nag you throughout and you could reach a point where it’s too late to make a change. Hardwicke suggested a preventive approach. When interviewing anyone for your team, rather than offering up your vision and having them agree just to get the gig, ask them about their vision. That will give you a much better idea of whether you will be simpatico. Gillespie also added that he found the set to be more collaborative when he began by asking what his key production people thought. White told a funny story from his days as a TV show runner about a veteran DP given a shot at directing and his rather unconventional handling of extras.
Overall, the discussion focused on collaboration and dealing with other people more than tech. One audience member did ask the paper-or-plastic question of contemporary filmmaking: film or digital? Gillespie expressed his fondness for the graininess of film and better filmmaking through chemicals (drawing the expected titters from the crowd), while Hardwicke likes the flexibility of digital interface and hopes to work in hi-def one of these days. White generally punctuated the exchanges with witty rejoinders and sharply funny stories in his inimitable deadpan style and was peppered with a disproportionate number of questions on screenwriting because of his success in that area.

Avenue of the Apes

Tomorrow, I vow am going to try to see a movie made in the 21st Century.
Tonight, events conspire to land me at the Charlton Heston Tribute/40th Anniversary screening of “Planet of the Apes.” This was the original “Planet of the Apes,” not the Tim Burton version as the person who introduced it pointed out – and with the exception of one fellow, the audience concurred that it was their preferred cinematic interpretation of the Pierre Boulle novel. Franklin J. Schaffner directed the 1968 film -- a science fiction classic -- from a script by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling. I thought I might watch the first half hour or so before sneaking off to something else but found myself sticking it out to the great ending.
“Apes” screened alfresco on Broxton Avenue just as the sun set and as miserably hot as the afternoon had been the evening was pleasant. The experience is a little like watching a movie on a very large, open-roofed airplane with surprisingly good sound and projection. The only downside was having to move a couple of times to avoid smokers. The film drew an appreciative crowd happy to watch astronaut George Taylor (Heston) realize his worse fears on the simian-run planet.
The evening’s biggest cheer? When Taylor screams, “Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!”

Jake, Emmett, Mal and Paden Ride Again

In the early 1980s, Lawrence Kasdan was hands-down my favorite screenwriter. With “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Body Heat,” “Return of the Jedi” and “The Big Chill,” he’d proven himself to be genre master whose grasp of character and use of sharp, economical dialogue served him equally well with a social comedy of manners. I remember going to hear him deliver the Academy’s lecture on screenwriting one year and wanting to hear tales about the famous excised flashback sequence that featured Kevin Costner.
Thus, it was an easy decision to attend Friday’s night tribute screening of “Silverado” at the James Bridges Theater on the UCLA campus. Kasdan’s third film as a director, he co-wrote it with his brother Mark and the 1985 western holds up wonderfully. The vast vistas of New Mexico captured by John Bailey’s cinematography, Bruce Broughton’s rousing score and a remarkable cast all help to create an entertaining homage to genre stalwarts such as “Red River,” “Winchester ‘73” and others. The audience cheered the first time Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn and Costner first unite on-screen, an iconic image of four horsemen galloping toward the camera. I hadn’t seen the film in its entirety for a very long time so it was surprising how many of the script’s great lines came to mind just before the actor uttered them onscreen.
Elvis Mitchell’s post-screening discussion with the Kasdan brothers – Mark was also an associate producer – and executive producer/first AD Michael Grillo, focused on the “pastiche” quality of the film and the inspirations that helped create it. The trio reminisced about shooting in New Mexico in winter and recruiting wranglers at a time when the western had virtually disappeared.

Opening Night

The festival kicked off in grand fashion tonight with the premiere of Universal's "Wanted," starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. The warm weather brought out lots of girls in their summer dresses to the intersection of LeConte and Broxton as the crowd filed into the Mann Village in Westwood to see director Timur Bekmambetov's ("Night Watch"/"Day Watch") artsy SFX-laden actioner.
Film Independent's Dawn Hudson and Rich Raddon opened the festival, thanked the sponsors and introduced the director, McAvoy and co-stars Thomas Kretschmann and Terence Stamp. Ms. Jolie was otherwise occupied with maternal responsibilities. Afterward, the audience from the Village and those who'd seen the film down the street at the Crest commingled on Broxton for the after-party. Sponsor Jameson Irish Whiskey pointedly received one of the evening's more enthusiastic responses. "Wanted" opens in theaters June 27. Chris Lee wrote a curtain-raiser on the festival and "Wanted" in last Sunday's LA Times, in case you missed it.
The festival kicks off in earnest Friday with screenings beginning mid-afternoon. For a good overview of the films, Scott Foundas and company at the LA Weekly provide an exhaustive round-up of critic's picks and capsule reviews.

Welcome to the LA Film Festival Blog

Watch this space for on-scene reports from the 2008 LA film festival by Kevin Crust.