Brent Green at the Hammer Museum, 7/22/08
By Anna Feuer

In Brent Green's fantasy world, Santa Claus is a sickly old alcoholic who shrieks "Ho ho ho!" like a crazed killer. A little girl sticks her toy fire truck through one ear and lodges it in her brain. A mother slips through the floor boards and embarks on a Homer-esque odyssey through Hell.

On Tuesday night, the Museum's "Hammer Presents" series screened seven of Brent Green's short animated films, accompanied by live music and soundscapes from Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Jim Becker (Califone), Alan Scalpone (The Bitter Tears), Rodney McLaughlin and Green himself on guitar.

Paulina Hollers (part 1 of 2)

Watching one of Green's films is like stepping into the mind of a precocious child -- a child with a darkly somber view of the world and a diligent moral compass. Aesthetically, the animations recall Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas or Michel Gondry's claymation in The Science of Sleep. But they're even more playful, more childlike; using playhouses built from corrugated cardboard, power lines made from fishhooks and characters constructed from little wooden dolls, Green welcomes his viewer into a homemade Never Never Land. He sprinkles his films with sweet and hopeful details, images of pure innocence: one character, for example, uses fireplace bellows to pump breath into dying crows, puffing them up to their original state.

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Cody gets up close with Freddy's fingers of fate

The filmmaker-orchestrated mayhem at the New Beverly Cinema continues to rage on in periodic, two-week (or so) bursts… always unpredictable, never less than inspiring, not the least because of these double bills’ ability to draw in die-hard aficionados as well as the passionately curious, those who could do with having what makes one film in a slasher franchise better than another explained to them versus those who are so enamoured they are mouthing the words to obscure Dokken tracks over the closing credits.

Russell (l) and Darabont wax Nightmare 3

Krueger always had a thing for the kids, Sour Patch or otherwise

The filmmakers meet a maelstrom of fans

Said credits, it should be noted, are for A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors, the disturbed-teens-in-peril opus widely regarded by those with discerning taste as the best of the Freddy Krueger sequels (Though many of the same would probably also single out Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, although that delightful bit of 90’s meta-horror is in a league of its own.) Leading the faithful is guest programmer, Juno scribe and all around mega-girl-geek Diablo Cody, who not only drew an enthusiastic 80’s horror-loving crowd for the halfway point of her “Mondo Diablo” roster of double features but also produced not only Nightmare 3’s writer-director Chuck Russell, but the one and only Frank Darabont, who long before worldwide acclaim with The Shawshank Redemption was cutting his teeth in the horror genre. (Those who grokked his remarkably horrific and satisfyingly bleak ’07 King-based effort, The Mist, know full well that the shocks haven’t quite left his system, either.) Both men engaged the crowd in a Q&A both revealing and hilarious (“I was just sitting over there thinking, ‘I don’t remember how we killed this fucking kid!,” Darabont laughed, not long before revealing that the uber-creepy Edgar Allen Poe quotation at the beginning of the film is in fact total bull-hockey… Russell made it up. Genius.)

Diablo chills with Holland

The Fright Night poster that gave us all nightmares! Surely the scariest Amanda Bearse has ever been. (Until perhaps the seventh season of Married... With Children)

The second course on Miss Cody’s menu of prime 80’s horror cuts, of course, was just as meaty – Tom Holland’s 1985 gem “Fright Night,” an enduringly smart, frightening and funny yarn that strikes at every horror fan’s worst nightmare: That their late-night spooky television viewing might one day hit dangerously close to home. After unspooling a hell of a good-looking print, Cody grilled director Holland about his inspirations for the boy-meets-vampire-next-door tale, and the typically on-point New Bev crowd came armed with all their burning questions waiting to be answered – Was Roddy McDowell his first choice for aging horror star Peter Vincent? (Absolutely, yes.) What the hell kind of ghoulie is handyman Billy Cole anyway? (“He’s kind of like Renfield, isn’t he, before he turns?…”) What’s with bloodsucker Jerry Dandridge’s constant fruit consumption? (He was cleaning his fangs… and that wasn’t in the script, Chris Sarandon brought that to the table himself. Method genius!)

Mondo Diablo concludes at the New Beverly on Wednesday/Thursday with "Pretty In Pink" and "Desperately Seeking Susan"; guests TBA. See http://www.newbevcinema.com for details.

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The righteous revivals continue at the New Beverly Cinema starting tonight, with another guest-curator series; July's celebrity programmer is Academy Award-winning screenwriter, EW columnist and leopard-print luvvah Diablo Cody, who serves up a varied cross-section of flickage for the next two weeks. Cody will be on hand with guests for Q&A sessions and introductions as time permits.

Tonight's double bill is a father and son two-fer, with Cody's Juno collaborator Jason Reitman's Thank You For Smoking (2005) followed by his dad Ivan's Stripes (1981). Both Reitmans will be on hand for the Q&A.

And for those craving more Diablo...

July 13-15 - Fantasy Night
LABYRINTH
XANADU

July 16-17 - Doc Night
GIMME SHELTER
GREY GARDENS

July 18-19 - Scary Night
NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET III
FRIGHT NIGHT

JULY 20-22 - Retro Night
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER

JULY 23-24 - Chick Night
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
PRETTY IN PINK

(Upcoming guests TBA.)

The New Beverly Cinema is located at 7165 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, a block west of La Brea. For showtimes, ticket info, guests and late changes, check out their website: www.newbevcinema.com

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Better Off Dead... and One Crazy Summer
American Cinematheque at the Aero, June 23

Left to right: Armstrong, Franklin, Holland

An Open Letter to John Cusack: Don’t Be A Dick

Hey, Cusack – let’s just level with each other, OK? We know you are a smart guy. We know you are prodigiously talented when you apply yourself. And we know that you are passionately committed to films with a powerful message; witness the resonance today of such milestones of cinema as Hot Pursuit, Money For Nothing and Must Love Dogs. (Kidding! None of them can hold a candle to Fat Man and Little Boy) But sometimes it pays to take a step back from the ups and downs of ones career and reevaluate what you thought you got wrong. And when it comes to the films you did with Savage Steve Holland, which you legendarily did your best to distance yourself from from the get-go and which you refuse to talk about today, it’s time to check the ego and feel the love.

Charles De Mar forgot to bring his trademark top hat (which he stole from George Harrison in Help. True story!)

Franklin brought her kids, which must have been jarring for all the guys who had foreign exchange fantasies about her back in the day

It was hard not to revel in it at the American Cinematheque’s double feature at the Aero on Friday night, packed to the gills with cinema geeks, including staffers from rep giant the New Beverly Theater on their night off. There were Gen Xers – some of whom brought their kids – and a whole new generation of fans who have come to adore Holland’s 1985 opus Better Off Dead… – and to a lesser though palpable extent, 1986’s One Crazy Summer, which let’s not forget features one of the archetypal performances of one Sir Bobcat of Goldthwait – for exactly what it is: gleefully outrageous, and superbly silly fun. And if you can really clear your head, John, and dig deeper than the marvelous pratfalls, gross-out sight gags and the lot, there’s great material in Savage Steve’s work that speaks directly to teen insecurities, discovering the courage to be the person we want to be, and good old fashioned l’amour; as a fan in pointed out during the Q&A, neither of these films is any less a goofy farce than it is a romantic comedy at heart. These flicks spoke just as loudly to their audience as any of John Hughes’ CV, and truthfully, both of them are ten times smarter than Weird Science. Fact.

Savage Steve gets his TWO DOLLARS!!

So it’s a shame you missed it, John – Savage Steve himself was there, delighting in the fans’ response, telling some brilliant anecdotes during a very long Q&A and even allowing one bonkers fan to cart his cardboard box of memorabilia up to the stage before the questions were through. We had the still-gorgeous Diane Franklin (Better Off Dead…’s lovely Monique), and the legend that is Curtis Armstrong (who may yet be Booger to some, but his work in the Holland films – especially BOD’s Charles De Mar – is amongst the best comedic gold of its time: “This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?!”) We haven’t given up on you yet, though, Cusack, you’ve still got time to come around. Maybe it’ll hit you like a ton of bricks on the shoot for The Ice Harvest 2.

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It's funny the first time Shatner yells it out. It is, after all, the named-turned-curse heard throughout a galaxy.

That one word - that one syllable - that Kirk bellows is maybe the most quoted line that one could ever associate with any version of Star Trek. But it's still kind of funny. Video artist Daniel Martinico thought so too. "I've done a bunch of cutups, and found footage before," he said, but it was re-watching Wrath of Khan where he realized that within those few seconds before and after Kirk's word there's an incredible range of emotion, even strong acting going on.

Last week Machine Project in Echo Park showed Martinco's 15-minute meticulously re-spliced creation in a never-ending loop that transforms the moment from one of anguish (or snickering for the the audience) into a meditation, maybe even a mantra. (Read on to see a clip of the film.)

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"Dante's Inferno": Hollywood Boulevard & Truck Turner
The New Beverly Cinema, April 11

The New Beverly Cinema’s runaway-hit series of director-programmed festivals has proved a rousing success so far, with slates lovingly prepared by the likes of Edgar Wright and Eli Roth. It was only a matter of time before the big guns came out to play... and by that measure, in the ranks of the geek garde Joe Dante is a bazooka. The director of The Howling, Gremlins and more recently, the outstanding Masters of Horror episode Homecoming (as incisive a commentary on the Iraq conflict as anyone's had the nuts to make yet); who cut his teeth as part of the New World/Roger Corman gang and who has reliably programmed as eclectic and fascinating a lineup as any New Bev guest helmer so far, delivered a solid one-two punch – plus guests! – on Friday night’s double bill before an always-appreciative crowd of giddy cinephiles.

(l-r) Miller, Dante, Arkush

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The Rutles:
30th Anniversary Reunion
American Cinematheque
March 17th

It was here - well, not here, really, but in fact several thousands of miles away in the UK - that, Monty Python alum Eric Idle, along with Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band alum and frequent Python collaborator Neil Innes, concocted the idea for a loving and uncanny Beatles pastiche while working on BBC2’s Rutland Weekend Television. Then, it was here!... er, no actually it was in New York, that The Rutles made a second appearance during an episode of Saturday Night Live which Idle hosted, and it was not long after that the Prefab Four made their fateful foray into full-length documentary legend with All You Need Is Cash, which aired 30 years ago on NBC and earned a staggering 76th place in the ratings. (Although as Idle is right to point out, hardly anyone still talks about the episode of Charlie’s Angels that won the Nielsens that week anyway.)

You couldn't hear anything what with all the screaming at this point.

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The Apple and Stunt Rock @ The New Beverly Cinema, March 25th

Little gives an LA cinephile greater joy than to see the New Beverly Cinema booming at the start of 2008. In light of longtime owner Sherman Torgan’s sudden and untimely death last year, it seemed as though our last remaining true revival house might have hit its lowest ebb; yet from grief springs optimism, and despite losing their chief the New Bev not only experienced a banner ‘07, but dodged an imminent threat to their lease. (Hoopla!) Following extremely successful festival offerings from Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright, Peck’s bad boy of horror Eli Roth is currently in the middle of his own slate of favorites, “The Greats of Roth.”

Gitcha programs right heeeah...

The New Bev's Matt breaks from popcorn duty to crank out the BIM marks

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For a few weeks anyway... Roth, the director of Hostel, Cabin Fever and others, is programming two weeks worth of movies at the New Beverly. Roth will be on hand with guests for Q&A sessions and introductions as time permits.

Tonight is a double-bill of Torso (1973) and Pieces (1982).
And here's the rest:

February 20-21

Mother's Day
Creepshow

February 22-23

Carrie
Zapped!

February 24-26

The Apple
Stunt Rock

February 27-28

The Blair Witch Project
Cannibal Holocaust

February 29-March 1

Bachelor Party
Caddyshack

The New Beverly Cinema is located at 7165 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, a block west of La Brea and was programmed and run for years by Sherman Torgan, who passed away in July of last year.

For showtimes, ticket info, guests and late changes, check out their website: www.newbevcinema.com/

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Few directors in any genre draw as loyal, faithful and loving a crowd as the maestro of the undead, George Romero. And they turned out in droves – the big names, the bloodied faces, and everyone in between – at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian on Wednesday night for a sold-out preview of his latest chapter of zombie lore, Diary of the Dead.

Of course, it just wouldn’t be a Romero event if there weren’t assorted audience members in touch with their reanimated side milling about; when the will-call line began to fill with mortal pallor and a variety of gaping body traumas, the zombie horde – staff members from nearby EI School of Professional Makeup, decked out in their finest work before staggering over for the screening – were quickly rounded up by the publicity team for a photo op with the man himself.

Got tickets... want brains.

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