Farewell Madame Varda!

I was sad to hear the news today of the passing of Agnes Varda, widely known as the mother of French New Wave Cinema. She was one of a kind.

I've written stories about her projects in the past, as I found them so moving. First, The Beaches of Agnes, which is filmed partially in Venice, and couldn't be more lovely.

More recently, I was charmed out of my socks by the wonderful Faces/Places ... and I bet you will be too.

Varda saw the humanity in all of us everywhere, and made the viewer feel it too. I hope to touch people even just a little bit as much as she did one day, and thank this legend for her inspiration always. 90 is a great run, but the loss of this marvelous woman is still a tough one. She will be missed by the entire world. 

Vive Varda!

Roller Dreams - The Legend Of Roller Dancing In Venice

There was another gorgeous sunset in Venice last night, but the show was not over after that. It was on to Beyond Baroque for Gerry Fialka's Laughtears annual night of Venice cinema. The main event was a screening of the wonderful documentary, Roller Dreams, which tells the story of the rise (and decline) of roller dancing on the Venice Boardwalk.

The 15th annual cinematic evening of works featuring Venice had a packed house for the event, which began with live music from Sara Messenger (a star of Roller Dreams) that I was still looking at the sunset for, and then a film from Taylor Cox called PULL, about artists and people in Venice listening to their inner voices to continue to be creative. That one was a nice intro to the rest of the night, especially as Fialka is one of the main people being interviewed within the film. It's great to see filmmakers continuing to be inspired by our Venice.

It was was standing room only in the Beyond Baroque auditorium by the time Roller Dreams screened, with locals and roller skater fans crammed into the room to witness a piece of Venice history on the screen. The 80's were all about roller disco, and Venice was at its very heart. The skaters were rock stars down at the Boardwalk, and thousands of bystanders would surround them to cheer them on. You meet characters like Sally, Duval (who dressed up like Superman in a cape - RIP), Jimmy, Terrell, and the mean mug of "Mad", who was the undisputed ringleader of it all.

Times change, and the roller dancing scene was eclipsed by the skateboarding one, but that's not the only reason why things changed down there at the Boardwalk. We've been living with the gentrification for years now, which is a big part of this story, along with the issue of race. The vast majority of the awesome roller dancers in Venice were African American, and once there got to be thousands of fans packing in to watch them, the police weren't comfortable and simply put an end to it. The concrete was bulldozed up, the loud music (often Prince) they danced to was forbidden, and that was pretty much that. Except it wasn't.

All of the roller dancers featured in Roller Dreams were in the house for the screening last night at Beyond Baroque - Mad is still Mad. It was extra emotional when they all stood up at the end, because we all now knew the history, their importance to our community and to the rollerskating world, as well as a glimpse into their hearts, and what all of this meant to them. Director Kate Hickey's film was inspired by the Aussie cult film Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John, which began Hickey's love for roller dancing. Once she moved to Venice and learned that the pioneers of the sport were all right here (and shockingly never featured in the white-washed roller disco films of the era), she knew she had to tell their stories. She has done so with a loving and respectful tone that shares the joy and pain of the roller dancer's world.

The Venice Beach Sk8 Dancers are still down there every weekend, as entertaining and groovy as ever. Now that I know their stories, I just want to go down and watch them all the time. Or better yet, learn from them, as they all said they welcome everyone and love to teach people new tricks (and rollerskating is making a big comeback! Way cuter than rollerblades). They also need our help. The Skate Dance Plaza needs a facelift (and to be even and not crumbling), and they have a Go Fund Me set up to improve the conditions so they may continue offering fun and entertainment to the global village that passes by in the thousands each weekend. They need $20,000 (and the City isn't helping - surprise). We can do this for them. They've given the world so much for decades ... we can help them get funky for decades more. Please support our Roller Dreamers!

Go Fund the Re-Paving of Venice Skate Dance Plaza!

https://www.gofundme.com/repave-venice-beach-plaza

Thanks to Gerry Fialka and Beyond Baroque for a great night of Venice cinema!

Maestro Of The Movies - John Williams Live At The Hollywood Bowl!

Composer and Conductor John Williams celebrated 40 years of making movie music with the L.A. Philharmonic this Labor Day Weekend with a three night stand at The Hollywood Bowl. Hollywood is the birthplace of film, and movie fans loved every moment. Williams had Steven Spielberg there to help him celebrate, and their unparalleled film collaborations made for an evening of oohs and ahhs as we looked back on their iconic film moments with their scores played live by the wonderful L.A. Philharmonic. After wanting only to be at the beach this weekend, it took this to get me back across town on a holiday weekend ... and it was WELL worth it.

After the National Anthem (that my friend Deb and I took a knee for  - or stayed seated, rather - out of solidarity for Colin Kaepernick this weekend), Conductor David Newman opened the program with the Williams composed Olympic Fanfare and Theme, accompanied by clips from the big Olympic moments over the years. I love the Olympics, so this was a rousing and emotional way to start. I had a lump in my throat all night, if I'm honest, and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpeters only made it worse. SO many nostalgic moments came up, and reminded us once again about the GOOD things in these United States - which have been harder to recall of late. This night was all about the good stuff.

"The Cave Sequence" from Raiders Of The Lost Ark was next, and one guy next to us was so excited and gasping I'm pretty sure he'd never seen the film. I barely remember Minority Report, but its "A New Beginning" piece was awfully pretty. I definitely barely remember Hook, but the same goes for its beautiful "Flight To Neverland", shown with a great montage of flight in cinema (including my favorite from Out Of Africa). To celebrate the Centennial of Leonard Bernstein, we heard a rousing To Lenny! To Lenny! composed by Williams that would have played excellently at Tanglewood. Newman wrapped up the first half with the Bernstein's overture from West Side Story (with film clips) and his suite from On The Waterfront. Both were sublime, and brought us to the intermission that allowed us to break out the wonderful cheese platter that Deb had created. We started our friendship 25 years ago on the set of Little Big League, so I was especially happy to be there with my friend who is my friend because of the movies. It was special.

After filling up on cheese and charcuterie (and wine), it was time for the Maestro himself to take the stage. His "Boss", Steven Spielberg, joined him (after introducing him as "The preeminent Maestro of film music" (there really is no one else who even comes close) to share their stories from their 45 years of working together on their classic films. They began with a lesser known, but tear-jerking piece from Lincoln, "With Malice Toward None", that featured trumpet soloist Thomas Hooten. It was so beautiful you couldn't even move, you just had to sit there and take it in. It, as most of the clips did, made me want to immediately re-watch Lincoln.

When the applause for that one died out like an hour later, the dynamic film duo took us into a film class, showing how differently a piece of film comes across without its score. They played the "Circus Chase Scene" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (the one with River Phoenix as a young Indy), and showed it once with no music ("It's starting to feel like a Sundance film." - Spielberg aside), and then the L.A. Phil charmed it all up playing the music that would later join the work. It was remarkable to see the difference the score made to the scene, and further illustrated just how important this epic collaboration has been over the last four decades of cinema. It was also fun to hear Spielberg's little tidbits like, "This was the first time we introduce the whip."

"The Duel" from The Adventures of Tintin (never saw it) was lovely, and a montage of famous swashbuckling scenes played over the music. It was cute to hear what people cheered for: Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean. Puss N Boots. Tom and Jerry. Kermit The Frog. Nostalgia runs deep! The orchestra played so seamlessly that you several times actually forgot that you were hearing it live. There was no mistaking that the theme from Schindler's List was live, as violin soloist Bing Wang was there to break our hearts with her plaintive strings. Wow. I can hear it in my head now, and it feels no less emotional. What a masterwork. For real.

The best was saved for the finale, when they played the Finale from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Spielberg introduced it by saying, "I can direct bikes to fly, but the music makes it soar." They proved this soundly when that famous scene came on, and you can still hear people gasp when the bikes take off from the hill. I believe I teared up. It's just so awesome. Still. People were going crazy, but then they REALLY went crazy, when as the real finale, they gave us Star Wars. The entire Bowl was filled with glowing lightsabers, and everyone was conducting along with Williams. The music was from Episode 8, I believe The Rebellion Is Rising. The military brass was back, and gave us the ominous Darth Vader theme that everyone knows and loves. It's so cool to turn around and see the whole place filled with people waving their light sabers and loving life.  Williams himself was presented with a lightsaber when it ended, bringing on yet another standing ovation. There were FOUR curtain calls, but no encore, as Williams did the hands to side of your head sleep sign, signaling that now it really was over. No one wanted it to end (What?! They're not gonna do Jaws?!"), but all good things do.

What a Labor Day weekend highlight! Getting to see all the wonderful Hollywood film music IN Hollywood where it all came to life was extra cool, and gave a sense of renewed pride in the business, and in the town. Film touch so many lives, and good stories make up our lives. Thank you to the Hollywood Bowl for another fantastic summer night of music under the stars! It's the very best summer tradition we have in Los Angeles, and this one was a perfect example of why.

May this Force be with us all for a very long time.

*Photos Courtesy of The L.A. Philharmonic.

The (Venice) Beaches Of Agnes

My eyes have been attracted to the word "Beach" ever since the days when I'd put my finger to the page and have to sound it out. Because of this, the wonderful film The Beaches Of Agnes (Les Plages d'Agnes) wound up in my Netflix queue, and I just watched it. I was so charmed and moved by it, I just wanted to get up and create something magical immediately after it was over.


Agnes Varda is often called the "Grandmother of the French New Wave" in cinematic discussions. She was the partner and muse of Jacques Demy (The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg), and a was/is a force in her own right as a film director, photographer, installation artist and magnificent character.

You need to be in a pretty reflective, high-arty mood, preferably by yourself, to really soak up the meanings and poetry of this whimsical, honest, creative, gracious memoir of a film, as narrated onscreen (in French sub-titles, so you need to be in the mood for that too. Matt.) by Mme. Varda herself.


From the opening scenes with assistants placing mirrors all over a Belgian beach for Varda to literally reflect into, on through to the belly of a Whale scene (I don't want to wreck it for you), to the achingly exquisite scene of little boys who had appeared in a Varda film decades earlier (she is 80 while telling you her story in 2008), all grown up into graying men, riding a bike-mounted screen playing their film through the streets of the same town it was shot in. Magic.

I kept thinking how much my late Cinema Arts professor back in college (Go Auggies!), John Mitchell, would have adored this film. He may have even made a house out of the film strips and sat inside it to watch the movement, as Varda does at one point, literally living within cinema.


At one point in the lovingly told look back, Varda is standing on a pier that I felt immediately in my own heart. Then she's on the beach that I also felt attached to, even in close-up. Soon enough, it said "Venice" in the dialogue. I knew it all along. When you watch it and recognize the wide swath of sand we all know and treasure, and the absolute love felt while Agnes is there with her friends, it makes the stories and feelings expressed by Varda all the more personal and identifiable.

I loved every single frame of this gift of a film, given back from a life well lived. It is an inspiration in every way; creatively - certainly, but also as a reminder to cherish those people and moments in our lives WHILE you are living them. As Varda says to close her wonderful tale, "Je suis vivant, et je me souviens"...

I am alive, and I remember.

Congratulations Oscar & Spirit Awardees!

OK, I know this is kinda lazy, but I'm just re-running my article from last November when I talked about Precious (YAY Mo-Nique has an Oscar!) and Anvil (YAY Anvil won Best Documentary at the Independant Spirit Awards!). I'm having a bit of a gloat over my predictions, but also really think you should see these marvels if you haven't yet. I would write something about Kathryn Bigelow winning the first Oscar for Best Director by a Woman, but that seems so ridiculous (Waaaay overdue ... are there really still gender considerations in these matters? Absurd.) that it needs no further attention, in my book (blog).

Heartfelt Congratulations to everyone involved ... it's not easy to get your stories told, but you did, and you excelled! CHEERS!

*Oh, and James Cameron ... Avatar ruled. But you know that.

(From November 12, 2009)

I love this time of year. Yes, for the subtle California seasonal changes - the golden afternoon light, the need for a sweater at night, the smell of fireplaces burning around town ... but the real way you know the seasons have shifted in Los Angeles is by the GOOD movies finally coming out. I don't really like it that they save all the good ones until now so that they can be fresh in Award Season voters' minds - spread it out a LITTLE! - but it's just the way it is, so now is the time to be ensconced in a dark theater ... if you can't be at the beach that day, that is.

Yesterday was an especially trying day for some reason, and I don't think anything is in retrograde? Technical difficulties all week;

{Dear Verizon High Speed Internet Customer Service: You can suck it. And by It, I mean the yawning abyss left empty by the vanishing of my business. Losers. Bye. CJG}

... delays of all kinds; rejection letters; a three day headache; and general disillusionment. I'd finally had it with trying for the day, and went to the movies to escape it all. We were going to see the new Coen Brothers' film - because one must - but only front row seats remained. Precious: Based On The Novel "Push" By Sapphire was starting at the same time, and it was also high on my list. WHOA.
If I thought I had even ONE problem before seeing this astounding film ... it all dissipated about three minutes into entering the life of Clarice "Precious" Jones. The things that she endures are so horrifying ... we were shaking with held-back sobs at one awful point ... but she keeps going. The spirit inside of this 16 year old girl is so strong, I was instantly ashamed at myself for thinking I'd had an inkling of a bad day. The performances by absolutely everyone are so honest and touching - and EVIL, in the case of Mo'Nique (who I'm telling you, will win an Oscar) - that you are firmly in their world for every frame.
Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey each play small, but important roles, and excel. (Mariah Carey! Acting well!) But the lead performances, for sure Mo'Nique, but also Gabourey Sidibe as Precious, will just tear your heart out. I left the theater, first shaking my head and wiping my face of tears, but then skipping and clicking my heels that the cards I've been dealt have not ever come near the absolute trauma of this titan of a girl. Who keeps going forward no matter what happens. The movie ends with the dedication, "For Precious Girls Everywhere ..." - and that's about the roughest part of the movie - realizing that these scenarios DO exist. We could all do well to remember that ... all the time. That even though stuff happens that shakes your head up and ruins your day, it could always be so, so, so much worse.

Don't shy away from this movie because you think it will be too sad, either. It's actually laugh out loud funny in a few parts ... but inspiring all the way through. Go.

On another movie note ... I like when you go to Netflix and there's the little section that says "Local Favorites For Venice, CA". I always find it kind of reassuring to see the ones that people whom I live around watch - decent movies. What an interesting way to check out demographics. I'd be interested to know what other areas have in that section ...


That's how I first heard about the one I watched the other night, Anvil. What a great documentary! It's great for how METAL it is (Anvil is a metal band from the 80's that never blew up, but the guys are still going for it up in Canada, hoping they'll still break through and be huge.), but also for, again, how really inspiring it is. (It would be a swell double feature with American Movie - similar dreams, equally touching). Though it seems unlikely that these rockers, now in their 50's, will ever be massive (you do find yourself wanting to order their cd's just to help), they love what they do, their families support their dreams, and they never give up hope. And isn't that what it's all about?

View, reflect, and count your blessings.