24 Hours: Dog Day Afternoon

 
After Steve Jobs over on the west side we trekked across town to Hollywood for our last night at The Egyptian Theatre for Beyond Fest. I was pleasantly surprised the commute didn't take too long on the early evening and we ended up catching a piece of matinee screening of 1925's The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney. This was really cool as it was a silent film with a small orchestra playing live. Out in the lobby was tons of Phantom memorabilia like posters and busts. It was over to favorite happy hour spot Boardner's for some dranks and grub where it got more crowded than I think I've ever seen it. Hot too as it was a real scorcher this weekend, my car's temperature gauge read 100 and 101 more than a few times. Back to the theatre where the sold out crowd was waiting in the courtyard since none other than Al Pacino was appearing to talk about Dog Day Afternoon. I'm a big fan of Pacino and director Sidney Lumet but I had actually never seen the flick even though I own a two-disk special edition of it. Christian and Grant got the audience going as usual with free giveaways, tee shirts being chucked and shot into the audience and free DVD's where one jerk off didn't pass it back to the winner. The audience booed and shamed him but I don't think he gave it up. What a douche..The night was being brought to us partially by Warner Brother who are just releasing it on special edition blu-ray. Moderator Bret Ratner produced a new documentary on co-star John Cazale that is included.

Dog Day Afternoon is based on a true story where Pacino plays Sonny, a not exactly seasoned bank robber who with partner Sal (Cazale) get caught up in a media frenzy when their heist goes wrong. We start to learn about Sonny and the pressures he's facing that lead him to try and rob a bank. By the end I was really wondering if they'd make it after everything they'd been through. Pacino is terrific as the frantic and funny Sonny while Cazale is quiet, odd and slightly menacing. The mainly female cast that make up the bank tellers are great and you get a young, serious and handsome Lance Henriksen as a mostly silent FBI agent. It's easy to see why the film was nominated for six Academy Awards in 1976, eventually taking home Best Original Screenplay for Frank Pierson. Lumet does a great job of making a talky drama resonate with personal relationships, defying authority and taking a shot when everything seems to be crumbling around you.

After the film, Bret Ratner introduced Mr. Al Pacino who looked randomly great with his big hair, suit and a shirt that exposed much of his smooth, tan chest. Pacino still has it; terrific energy, a real zeal for his craft and a sense of humor:

- Ratner is a huge Pacino fan, mother took him to see Buffalo 66 in New York where they sat in the front and got spit on by the star for two hours.
- Pacino was doing theater mostly before he fell into films, was coming off The Godfather, Serpico and The Godfather: Part II which is no small feat of now classic films.
- Had worked with Lumet on Serpico, also a true story, and quit Dog Day not once but twice.
- Lumet was an advocate of rehearsal so cast had several weeks to prep for Dog Day.
- Pacino pushed certain actors into the film, including Godfather I & II's John Cazale for Sal even though the character was written for an 18 year old.
- Cazale was a great friend of Pacino's and quite the ladies man, discovered Meryl Streep in a Shakespeare in the Park production in New York.
- The script was solid but during rehearsal cast started to build upon and improvise. One example is the phone call between Sonny and his lover Leon (Chris Sarandon). The two were originally supposed to have a scene face to face but Pacino felt the phone call would serve story better.
- Infamous Attica! scene came from assistant director who suggested Pacino use it during a scene where he's outside of the bank talking to police and surrounded by the crowd. Topic of bloody prison revolt was still a hot topic, when Pacino called out Attica to the extras, they responded enthusiastically and the classic scene built from there.
- Pacino has been acting since his early youth, doing plays, always performing and by the time he got famous and found success, it was difficult to go back to that early feeling of freedom and exploration.
- Didn't want to meet the real Sonny as the events had already happened and didn't want to caricature.
- Asked about never working with Martin Scorsese, Pacino hopes that a project including the director, himself, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Bobby Cannavale firms up, Ratner hopes to produce.

It was an awesome night and great to see a living legend in the flesh. Beyond Fest has outdone themselves again for a third year running. Sunday saw a tribute to Wes Craven featuring half a dozen distinguished guests and things wrap up tonight with the west coast premiere of martial arts extravaganza The Assassin. Can't wait to see what they have up their sleeves for next year.

24 Hours: Steve Jobs

After From Dusk Til Dawn 3, Planet Terror, Dunkin' Donuts and the gym it was off to west Los Angeles for a screening of Shame: Apple Edition aka Steve Jobs at the Landmark. Here's a tip, don't park in the theater side structure on a Saturday, it was a frigging mess. Go a few feet down Pico to the main mall lot and simply cross the street or bridge. We were a few minutes early and checked out the upstairs bar for a cider and glass of wine, respectively. They have light bites but if you're in the mood for food, the area has lot of options like the Westside Tavern, Gyu-Kaku, Islands, an Indian restaurant I once saw Goldie Hawn at (no Kurt though) and gastropub The Gulp within walking distance. Playing in a handful of spots in LA and New York, Steve Jobs like Sicario before it is an early awards hopeful. Based on the book by Walter Isaacson and adapted by Aaron Sorkin, Danny Boyle's Jobs takes a unique approach to a bio pic by studying it's subject via several lengthy scenes set backstage at three product launches in 1984, 1988 and 1998. Michael Fassbender plays the legendary Jobs with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogan and Jeff Daniels as his right hand woman, former partner and former boss.

I can't say I know too much about Steve Jobs beyond that he was a very public figure lauded for his insight and vision as well as his less than rosy social skills. Apple is an unstoppable juggernaut in the technology world but comes off as a bit of a cult to me. You have one of their leaders talking about wanting to help the environment yet have you ever seen how much packaging comes from a pair of earbuds or an adapter? Then he called the film opportunistic which Sorkin countered that Apple pays Chinese workers pennies an hour in horrid conditions to make products that are sold at premium prices. But the Jobs did help make Pixar what it is which in turn cemented Tim Allen's legacy so hey, raise a glass to love your past. Through the three main scenes with flashbacks sometimes happening at the same time, you get a simple yet thorough ideal of the person Jobs is, at least the version the movie would have you believe. I had no clue he was adopted and knew nothing about his rocky relationship with his daughter and her mom. It's little human touches that like that break him down to a basic level you could relate to which at the same time made me wonder how much of it was actually true. Fassbender is one of my favorite modern actors and does a superb job here of playing Jobs through the eras as driven and intelligent but also a bit of an asshole because he wants things to be perfect. Dialog is unsurprisingly crisp throughout and Boyle's editing and use of music keeps talky things going so I was never wondering what time or drifting off.

Early iterations had David Fincher directing with Christian Bale starring which would have been  something as I think Bale would have transformed himself into Jobs more so than the Fass did. Leonardo DiCaprio was courted for a time but I honestly don't think he would have been the best choice. In these early award days, I'll give Fassbender an edge over Sicario's Benicio Del Toro. We'll see what Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks give us next week with Bridge of Spies.

24 Hours: Dunkin' Donuts

While traffic was nothing at 4:30AM, by 7:15 it was surprisingly heavy. I popped over to the new Dunkin' Donuts on Washington near Costco that used to be a Foster's Freeze. You know, the old hole in the wall where you could get ice cream AND corndogs/burgers/fries? It was uber disappointing to see such an awesome spot close up but I'd rather see a doughnut shop replace it than some artisan yoga shoppe or some crap. I didn't grow up with Dunkin' but do love a good doughnut. One recently opened in Santa Monica where mo's waited in line for hours for sugar filled deep fried goodness. Californians are weird, man...anywho, there were only a few peeps in front of me but I could see how this could get jammed up real quick as people are so indecisive. Especially when they need to make potentially a dozen or more choices. I stuck with the classics, Crullers, chocolate glazed chocolate cake and their seasonal specialties, Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake and Reese's Peanut Butter filled squares. They also had an array of breakfast sammiches available but I was headed to the gym for a fasted workout. The chocolate was quite good as was the air filled cruller. Next up, food coma from the frosting, cream and sugar rich squares. See ya in line at Tim Horton's!

24 Hours: Planet Terror

On a fateful Friday night and Saturday in May of 2013, I went to four movies in just over twenty-four hours and managed to squeeze in a workout too boot. As fate would have it, I've embarked on a similar quest of cinematic, muscular pumping, junk food eating, booze swilling adventure as today I randomly woke up at 3:47 AM feeling fresh and terrific. Perusing Facebook I noticed that Friday night was The New Beverly's From Dusk Til Dawn marathon screening all three films plus Grindhouse: Planet Terror in 35mm from owner Quentin Tarantino's personal collection. I figured I had nothing else to do, hopped in the car, braved no traffic, passed Danny Trejo's under construction taco joint and arrived in West Hollywood just before 5:00 AM. From Dusk Til Dawn 3: Hangman's Daughter was barely a third of the way in so I plopped down to check out two-thirds of a flick I've never seen. To refresh, Dusk was a collaboration between F/X wizard Robert Kurtzman and writer/directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Released in 1996, the film is notable for being half a heist movie and half a vampire horror masterpiece. It was also George Clooney's first starring role after breaking out on hit TV show, ER. Suffice to say, the moody, funny, sexy and gory thriller has long been one of my favorite films and provided me with one of my life mottos: "I may be a bastard but I'm not a fucking bastard."

Part 3 takes us back to the beginning as the pre-Titty Twister serves as an outpost in wild west style Mexico 100 years ago. We witness the origin of Santanico Pandemonium (played by Salma Hayek in Dusk and Ara Celi here), future vampire queen of the joint. I missed both direct to video sequels back in 1999 but was impressed at how good it looked on the big screen. With an estimated $5 million dollar budget, the costumes, sets, gore and mayhem all still hold up between a few cheap looking F/X shots. A few familiar faces pop up like Michael Parks, Rebecca Gayheart, Danny Trejo and Orlando Jones while Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero's KNB EFX Group takes care of severed limbs, fake blood, beheading vampires and slashed throats galore. I'll have to go back and check out both sequels now and relive the glorious Direct to Video 90's. Right after the credits, Planet Terror started up with fake trailer turned real movie, complete with sequel, Machete starring recurring theme of the night, Danny Trejo! Then it was time for the main event. I saw Grindhouse in it's entirety in 2007 and absolutely adored Robert Rodriguez's John Carpenter style zombie flick Planet Terror while utterly despising Tarantino's talky Death Proof (it's grown on me, great car chases, Kurt Russell for life). A costly flop at the box office that allegedly rattled Tarantino's confidence, I've rarely seen it screened around Los Angeles. It recently played at Hollywood Forever during Cinespia but I loathe the crowded and crappy experience that is their outdoor events.

Opening on a dark and scary night in an unnamed town, we meet various military, science and shady business types (played by Bruce Willis and Naveen Andrews among others) as they discuss "the shit" before tanks of green, toxic gas get exploded and sent into the air. From here, anyone who comes into contact with the green shit mist starts to decompose and violently attack the uninfected. We meet a motley crew of townsfolk from the local strip club, police department, soon to be award winning BBQ joint and hospital that includes Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin, Rose McGowan, Jeff Fahey, Tom Savini and mother fucking MICHAEL BIEHN. Yes, folks, the main reason I went to see a movie at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday was to see The Biehn up on the big screen. Rodriguez gives him a terrific entrance as Sheriff Hague with a moving hero shot showing the badass leader and his ample crew. From there it's pus filled, bone breaking, shovel smashing, finger biting, car exploding, machine gun leg, dick melting, helicopter chopping, pocket bike racing mayhem at it's finest with a terrific synth score inspired by Carpenter work from the 80's. The film still plays great with it's awesome cast, gross out f/x and throwback movie vibe that comes with fake scratches, poor color timing and missing reels.

Watching the film and knowing it was made more or less in Robert Rodriguez's backyard in Austin, Texas was inspiring as it was disappointing. As the film was an experiment and a pretty solid value, $50 million for two films featuring loads of movie stars and could have been the return of something really cool in Hollywood, a night out at the movies with something for hopefully every genre fan. Instead of being a modern throwback to star studded affairs like The Great Escape how Ocean's 11 was, Grindhouse sadly did not find it's audience. Everyone involved does a terrific job, it looks fantastic and you get all kinds of bang for your buck. Plus it was arguably Biehn's last meaty role in a decent sized movie. Here's hoping Aliens II remedies that in the next couple of years. Two more movies on deck for the day, pass the coffee and doughnuts!

24 Hours: Robocop by WeSpark

As if seeing 4 movies in 24 hours wasn't enough, a random Facebook link told me that a screening of 1987's Robocop was happening at Noon on Saturday.  Big deal, I saw Robocop with Peter Weller last year during Hero Complex.  Then I got a little more enlightened, Cancer Support Center WeSpark was hosting this shindig and they weren't fooling about.

In addition to Buckaroo Banzai himself, the final line up would include co-stars Nancy Allen, Paul McCrane, Jesse Goins and Felton Perry.  AND director Paul Verhoeven, writers Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner as well as producer Jon Davison!  Seeing that stacked a line up for charity seemed like the right thing to do.

10:43 AM, Saturday, 5.18...

The Gold Coast Theater on Sunset, a quaint little theater next to the Samuel French Bookshop, home to a million movie and theater related tomes.  WeSpark's Robocop special event was in full swing with raffles, silent auctions and multiple signed posters around the lobby up for grabs.  The crowd was an interesting mix of hardcore fans in their late 30's and 40's, cast and crew family members and a guy in full Robocop cosplay.  Slightly admirable and very dubious was the amount of children in the audience.  Sure, movies can have a lot more sex, violence and gore nowadays but Robocop is still pretty intense.

A bespectacled fellow took the stage and regaled us with his love for Robocop and co-star Nancy Allen.  A love that prompted him to move to the United States from France and retrace shooting locations used in Brian De Palma's Dressed To Kill.  His name?  Laurent Bouzereau.  Don't recognize the name?  Go watch the DVD/Blu-Ray special features on Indiana Jones, The Warriors, Jaws, Conan, The Untouchables, Jurassic Park and Raging Bull among dozens more and get back to me.

Ms. Allen gave a quick introduction and explained the genesis of today's special event.  WeSpark is a non-profit organization that assists cancer patients and survivors.  Ms. Allen has been involved with them for years and after a successful 25th Anniversary screening of Robocop last year in Texas, she thought she could bring it to LA for a good cause.  A few e-mails later and everyone appearing today agreed.

We got the Director's Cut today, i.e. the version where people get shot A LOT more.

Robocop is one of my favorite films and it was great seeing it on the big screen again.  It still plays flawlessly as a social satire, an action film, a tech noir western, whatever you want to call it.  Oh yeah, Robocop is the story of Officer Murphy (Weller), a new transfer to a crumbling precinct in future Detroit.  A gang of sadistic goons, led by Kurtwood Smith, empty shotguns into poor Murphy and leave him for dead.  Miraculously Murphy survives and becomes the guinea pig for Omni Consumer Products' new "urban pacification" program and is transformed into cyborg Robocop!  Robo battles crime, crooked corporations and the police force itself in a quest to retain his former identity while bringing to justice those who killed him the first time.

Post credits the line up was brought out.  So you have the director of Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers and Showgirls sitting next to the guy who produced a couple of those titles sitting next to the guys who wrote some of them sitting next to Murphy next to Lewis next to Emil the melting villain next to the OCP lackey who likes baby food and played a cop in Magnum Force AND Dumb and Dumber next to the villain who you remember for peeing and cackling.

I've seen Peter Weller in person twice before and he's a force of nature.  One guy called him crazy, I call him intelligent, fascinating and hilarious.

- Part of Ed Neumeir's inspiration came after visiting set of Blade Runner and being told Sean Young was playing a robot.  He thought that was ridiculous and felt you needed to see the machinery.
- Verhoeven thought the original script was a piece of shit.  Credits his wife for seeing the potential.
- Didn't want to leave Holland, especially at age 47 as he was more or less comfortable working there with his own crew.
- Weller was immediately interested as he'd seen everything Verhoeven had done and started talking about Prussian art and how Robocop is an example of a certain kind of art that can be enjoyed in any time period.
- Prolific producer Dino De Laurentiis offered Weller the lead role in his King Kong remake and asked "how much money you want not to make fucking robot movie?".
- Nancy Allen auditioned for Verhoeven and thought it went well but heard they cast someone else who didn't work out and she got the gig.
- Verhoeven had Metropolis and Blade Runner in mind but producer Jon Davison said he could either have great sets or a great Robocop suit, they didn't have money for both.
- Made for $13 million which made them be more creative without a money hose to cover.
- Everyone applauds the genius of suit designer Rob Bottin who along with the studio was adamant the costumes and props stay with him which is why Weller has no souvenirs from the shoot except a painting made by a local artist.
- Verhoeven is lauded for his fast shooting style and Weller compares it to having a Formula One Team of expert technicians.
- The first three audience "questions" were basically awkward verbal love letters to the panel, people LOVE Robocop which is fine but ask a god damned question.
- The writers drafted a scene where the villains blow up a pet store, the studio balked and demanded they remove it.  So it was fine to kill 30 henchmen in the drug lab shootout but they couldn't kill a puppy.

- Verhoeven didn't know anybody in the movie business in America besides producer Davison and composer Basil Poledouris who worked on his last feature in Holland.

The panel lasted for at least an hour so you can imagine how much more was talked about that isn't coming to mind right away.  I also paid the equivalent of three tickets to Tango & Cash for the event so I think this is a pretty good value for what you're paying.

2 movies down with 3 to go!  Bring it on Back to the Future trilogy!

Stay out of trouble!

24 Hours: 1 Work Out and 5 Movies

Seeing 5 movies in 24 hours seems like a lot, and it is but really it's only about 10 hours worth of programming.  Subtract another 3 hours of driving and waiting, 6 more for sleeping and that still leaves you 5 hours to do whatever you want.  Might as well get in a work out, right?

8:03AM, Saturday, 5.18...

Here's what I got in upon rising on Saturday after the midnight screening of Tango & Cash.  I did this on an empty stomach and as a giant set repeated 3 times for Shoulders, Biceps and Triceps.

1)  Arnold Press/Spider Curl/Close Grip Bench
2)  Dumbbell Upright Row/Hammer Curl/Lying Dumbbell Extensions
3)  Cable lateral raises for all three heads/Cable Curl/Cable Kickback

Calf Raises and Forearms

The first tri-set of this giant set is for size, the second for shape and the third for definition.  Followed it up with a shake of whey and dextrose and got ready for movie 2 of 5 for the day, Robocop!

Here's the King of Kings training arms and putting out the vibe:

24 Hours: Tango & Cash (24th and 3rd) Anniversary

Movies.  Anniversaries.  Movie anniversaries.  Movies as anniversaries.  That's how this crazy weekend got started.  A weekend that would include 5 movies at 3 venues in 24 hours.

12:01 AM, Saturday, 5.18...

You see, three years ago a local Los Angeles theater played a Sylvester Stallone triple feature of Cobra, Tango & Cash and Cliffhanger.  Randomly, I met a fellow Stallone fan and her friend at the event.  Cut to today, we're all still seeing movies together and celebrated our anniversary at a midnight screening of 1989's Tango & Cash at The Cinefamily's Heavy Hitter Midnites series.

Who programs movies like this?  Why, the same action movie connoisseur who programmed it three years ago!  He's a huge fan of action movies and absolutely loves Tango & Cash in a passionate, non-ironic way.  Which is the best way to love anything because it's real.  I actually overheard some clowns (at another theater) talking about paying to see Star Trek Into Darkness just so they could rip it apart ((This is why people still make fun of genre and pop culture fans because some of them are self haters.) You know what's really cool?  Being cool with yourself.)

Apparently, Warner Brothers does not have a copy of T&C in their vault so tonight's 35mm print was provided by a private collector within The Academy Film Archive.  Surprisingly there were at least a dozen members in the audience who had never seen the flick before.  Get ready for a surprise!

If you haven't seen this movie by now, I'm not going to try to convince you to.  Just know that it's awesome and ridiculous at the same time.  It concerns two of Los Angeles' top cops, Detective Ray "Armani with a badge" Tango and Gabriel "eats burritos and wears boots that fire bullets" Cash played by messrs Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.  They're set up by a powerful crime syndicate headed by mice lover/sniffer Jack Palance (You.  Are.  My number one...Guy!) and James Hong (Lo-Pan!).  The duo have to escape a corrupt prison, fight the clock and blow up a warehouse to clear their names.  Hilarious, homo erotic, big haired, cross dressing, car chasing, back seat humping, gun shooting, fist fighting, RV from Hell-ing, 80's synth-scored hijinks ensues.

I forgot how many familiar faces line the cast.  Beyond Stallone, Russell, Palance and Hong you get pre-Lois and Clark Teri Hatcher, Brion James (Steel Dawn), Geoffrey Lewis (Double Impact, JCVD as twins alert!), Philip Tan (Surf Ninjas), Michael J. Pollard (I Come In Peace), Edward Bunker (cameos in Best of the Best I & II), Michael Jeter (The Green Mile) and the Face himself, Robert Z'Dar!

The chemistry between Stallone and Russell is great and they both look like they're having a good time between the constant ribbing and unrelenting action.  Stallone wasn't bromantic with Arnold yet so there's a few zingers tossed at the Austrian Oak.

It would be interesting to hear some of the stories behind this weirdly funny action movie as credited director Andrei Konchalavskiy was replaced towards the end of production by Albert Magnoli (Nash Bridges!) as the producers didn't like the serious tone he was going for.  It's said that Patrick Swayze was originally set to play Cash but dropped out to headline 80's "philosophical karate bouncer" classic Road House.  Stallone had original Director of Photography Barry Sonnenfeld fired because he wasn't being lit to satisfaction.  The budget swelled as production problems arose and is said to have hit $55 million.

Nevertheless, the movie ended up being a Top 20 grosser in 1989, Russell's biggest hit behind Backdraft and Stargate and a top 10 for Stallone.

It was a fun night and start to my crazy Saturday.  So how about that sequel?

Until then, check out some of the best programming in Los Angeles (Van Damme Triple Feature, come on!) at http://www.cinefamily.org/films/heavy-hitter-midnites/

Check out this great "bad cop, worse cop" bit:

24 Hours: 5 Movies and a Work Out

You know how I was saying Los Angeles spoils you with movie events?  Well this weekend might be the mother lode.  The defining cinematic weekend to test my mental, physical and 80's loving fortitude.

Stand by me as I navigate a Midnight screening of Tango and Cash, a Noon Robocop Special Event and finally a triple feature of the Back to the Future trilogy!

One Pepsi Free please...