Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
Do you live in Los Angeles?
No? Well, if you’re a rabid movie freak, you might start considering a vacation that would put you here in LA on October 3rd. That’s the night that the AFI is celebrating their 40th anniversary with a one-of-a-kind celebration that will take over the entire Arclight Theaters complex.
Personally, I’m not sure what the hell to do. I’d like to make ten clones of myself so that I could enjoy each and every one of the special presentations they’re doing at the same time. They’re going to show eleven classic Hollywood films on the same night at the same time, and tickets go on sale this week. Each of the films will be introduced by a different big name who is part of the film. Certainly not a novel idea, but what makes it special is just how star-studded this line-up is.
Want to see SPARTACUS with Kirk Douglas? Kirk freakin’ Douglas?! Or THE BIRDS with Tippi Hedren? Not big enough? How about THE SOUND OF MUSIC with Julie Andrews? Or ROCKY with Sylvester Stallone? That’s probably the one my wife’s going to want to go see. ROCKY is her absolute all-time favorite film, and she adores the iconic character of Rocky Balboa. Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner will be showing WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., George Lucas will be presenting STAR WARS, Angela Lansbury will present BEAUTY & THE BEAST, and Morgan Freeman will be there with THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.
The ones I consider the most tempting are ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST with Nicholson, which is probably my favorite film of his, and I’ve been in LA for seventeen years and never been in the same room with this living legend. I’m not sure how many opportunities there will be to see him present something great he was part of. Then there’s BONNIE & CLYDE with Warren Beatty appearing. I think Warren Beatty’s career is one of the most interesting in Hollywood, and BONNIE & CLYDE is such a defining part of his iconography.
But I have a feeling that if I have to choose, I’m going to buy a ticket for UNFORGIVEN presented by Clint Eastwood. I wish my dad could fly out to be here for that. He’s the one who raised me in awe of Eastwood, and I think it’s pretty clear to me that Eastwood really is my favorite screen icon. His work in westerns defines the genre for me, and UNFORGIVEN is sort of his perfect metafiction summary of all the work he’s ever done in the genre, all wrapped up into one film. It’s one of my favorite films of the ‘90s. Hell, scratch that. It’s one of my very favorite films. And I’d love to see him in this setting, celebrating that movie.
Click here for all the details and to figure out how to buy tickets.
And everyone who goes... please feel free to write in to us to tell us about which film you see and why and how the presentation goes. Like which print of STAR WARS they use. That sort of thing.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
