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.