It's Not Like You'll Get Into That Cahuenga Club

Ever bored on a Friday night? Have you wondered what you can do in Hollywood for only $5? Well, I have an answer for you! Starting tomorrow night, and every Friday through Halloween, Hollywood MobileMovie has teamed up with the Steve Allen Theater for spooky drive-in movies!

The first screening is From Beyond and will be followed by a Q&A with director Stuart Gordon. That's included in your measly $5!

Just think--you can wear whatever you want. No need to break out the hot pants and high heels to walk around looking like a hooker, freezing your ass off, and still possibly not even getting into the club. You can probably even bring your own snacks, booze, a chihuahua, or whatever. Live it up!

Hope to see you at the drive-in!

Drive-In Tonight!

Come on downtown for a drive-in! Hollywood Mobile Movie is screening Mock Up On Mu in conjunction with the Downtown Film Festival LA. Come check it out! More details, in case you are too lazy to click:

From the DFFLA program:

We've put together an evening of programming made for film fans who embrace the cutting edge. The evening revolves around a special drive-in preview screening of celebrated San Francisco avant-garde filmmaker Craig Baldwin's latest feature, Mock Up On Mu.

Just roll up to the giant SCI-Arc parking lot in the Arts District (near 4th Street and the Los Angeles River) and we'll take it from there. Note: All kinds of vehicles are welcomed; the only requisite is that whatever you're driving, must have a working radio.

The evening begins with a complimentary cocktail reception, followed by a presentation of new works by students at SCI-Arc, the experimental architecture school in downtown L.A. Immediately following with be a showcase of shorts from the just completed Los Angeles Digital Arts Festival.

Location: 960 E. Third Street, Los Angeles 90013
Schedule of Events:
4:30 - 5:30 pm - Reception
5:30 - 6:30 pm - SCI-arc shorts
6:45 - 8:00 pm - Digital Arts Festival shorts
8:30 - 10:00 pm - Mock Up On Mu

Tickets are $10, and are available here.

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Location
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SCI-Arc Parking Lot
Map: http://www.sciarc.edu/portal/exhibitions/locations/index.html You will need a ticket to get past the security gate at the SCI-Arc lot. To buy your ticket, click the link above.

The entrance to SCI-Arc's parking lot is at 350 Merrick Street, Los Angeles 90013, between Traction Avenue and 4th St in downtown Los Angeles.

Wonderment

What do you people do on weekends? I do a lot of fun things, but clearly I'm missing something. E produced two fantastic events this weekend, one free and one a mere $10. While the turnout was okay, it was not at all what we had worked for or hoped to have. That being said, the events themselves went smoothly and those who did attend* gave positive feedback. I just can't help but wonder what really outstanding things I missed by being there to help him pull off a film fest and a drive-in movie.

I know it's tough in a city like Los Angeles to get people to pick one particular cool thing over another to do. There are a lot of choices. It's just a little disappointing to pour your heart, soul, and money into something that very few friends attend. Especially those who promise they'll be there and then don't show or call. There are a lot of excuses...I've heard them all...and some are actually valid. That's okay though. We always try to support friends and will continue to come to you screenings, plays, art openings, etc. No hard feelings. Just wonderment.

So, maybe there will be no 5th annual Short Screams Film Festival. Or maybe we'll take the advice of having naked women. Because nude chicks always pack the house, right? And the talking bunny isn't enough.

*Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who did show up! It is really appreciated and hopefully you had a great time!

Cool Beans

• Ding dong, the Jetta's gone! That's right, I am now the owner of just one car! Woo hoo. Some of you received excited emails, texts, IMs, or phone calls a little over a week ago, when I found my buyer. We finalized the sale and transferred the title yesterday. Sweet relief.
  

• We saw Forbidden Planet and The Tingler as part of a special event at the Mission Tiki Drive-In last night. E got to promote his mobile drive-in and Huell Howser gave me popcorn!
  

• I spent today at the L.A. Zoo Photo Day. I won't have time to review and upload many (or any) of the hundreds of photos I took tonight, but hopefully soon (see below).
  

• We're off to The Magic Castle in a bit for an event. It should be fun, but is making for a very long Sunday. My feet are aching from trekking around the zoo all day, so I hope we get to sit a lot!
  

Due to illness and the general feeling-like-I-am-dying vibe I have going, I'll make this a briefer post than originally intended. In fact, I think I'll do it as a list. *cough, cough* As soon as I can breathe.

• I finally got to see some films during closing weekend of the L.A. Film Fest. Stand outs included Brothers of the Head and of course, Little Miss Sunshine. Go see it! Free screenings are coming up in various cities. Or wait and pay for it. It will be worth it. It was also a nice surprise to see an acquaintance in movie.
  
• I got to have lunch on Sunday with a couple of good friends, and some of their other friends, who I haven't seen in a long time. Times like that are good for the soul.
  
• The closing night party for the LAFF was lots of fun. Too much fun, perhaps. Too much free vodka, definitely.
• We held a back yard screening of Superman and Superman II, along with a barbecue, this past Monday. Highlights include awesome peanut butter cupcakes by Ren, surprising a friend with a birthday cake, and thinking tree rodents were peeing on us. (They weren't, it was just carob pods dripping...I swear!)
• I laid low a bit on the 4th, as I was starting to feel the wrath of the funk that is raging in me now. We did manage to make it out of the house though and watch the Marina del Rey fireworks show from a cul de sac in Westchester.
  
• After the fireworks, we headed over to the The Bridge, as we had tickets for the 10 o'clock showing of Superman Returns in Imax 3D. I really enjoyed the movie and recommend seeing it and in that format. I won't be doing a full review, but I must say I disagree with most of the criticism I've read or heard.
  
• On Wednesday night, E did his Hollywood MOBile MOVie thing and put on a successful drive-in screening of The Puffy Chair. Check out the photos I took.
  
• I was just so sick today that I knew I couldn't go to the Hollywood Bowl for Belle & Sebastian. So disappointing. Luckily, I was able to sell my tickets to someone. I hope they had fun.
  
• My youngest brother turned 20 today. Damn, I'm old.
  
• I hear a bottle of Nyquil calling my name, so nighty-night.

Mixed Bag

Blogger and I have both been a bit under the weather this week. Things seem to be looking up though. I'm finally able to log in here and I'm also feeling a bit better.

The arrival of hot summer weather means time for cold treats. Some people, like justJenn, are talented enough to make their own. I'm not. Luckily, I've discovered a wonderful new snack called Blisscotti, which I can just buy. I'm actually not sure if they are in the store yet, but I got to sample a couple of flavors of the dark chocolate lined biscotti ice cream sandwiches. The mint chip and creamy coffee chip are excellent.

Eric put on a Hollywood MOBile MOVie drive-in event this past Wednesday night. It was pretty successful, especially for a week night. The feature film he showed was a documentary called OT: Our Town, which I really enjoyed. Check out E's website and sign up to receive notifications of future drive-ins in the Los Angeles area.

I'm currently watching Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. I've always liked those precious creatures that like to stand tall on their hind legs. Naturally, the show is a bit melodramatic, but the footage is great. Sean Astin's narration is actually fairly low-key and pleasant. For laughs, I've been enjoying the British comedy My Family. It's very funny with lots of snark.

I got to hang out with a good friend, who currently lives in New Zealand, last night. It was great to see him and interesting to hear what it's like to really live there. There are definitely aspects of it he likes, but in some ways he's come to appreciate the time and friends he had here in L.A. more than he did. I'd love to visit N.Z., but am not convinced I'd want to live there.

On the pet front, Cosette's arthritis is not bothering her nearly as much. I'm not sure if she'd just aggravated it or if the glucosamine/chondroitin tablets she's taking are really helping. I'm just glad she's not limping around in pain anymore. I expanded Ami's hamster habitat recently and he now has a second wheel, which is a little bigger and fits him better. He loves it and runs like a maniac in it every night. It's not nearly as quiet as the old one, even after some Vaseline, so I close it off when I go to bed.

I'm addicted to Tejava. I just drink it really cold and it is so good.

The Los Angeles Film Festival, which I've enjoyed for several years is coming up soon. But before that, on June 17th, we have Dogfest, an outdoor screening featuring dog-related short films, at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park. The event will benefit PAWS/LA. Rusty and I will be there, taking in the movies under the stars.

Drive In, Drive Out

It's been a movie weekend. Last night we went to the drive-in and saw a double feature of Over The Hedge and MI:3. Yes, there are still a few drive-in theaters around. Two that I know of, the Vineland and the Mission Tiki, are not too far outside of Los Angeles. I honestly never went to these type of theaters as a kid, except once with my grandmother to see E.T. It seems that a lot of people are fairly nostaligic about the drive-in and they are making a comeback in one form or another.

Besides the family four screen set up, like both the Vineland and Mission Tiki have, there are various guerilla or independent drive-ins popping up. Eric is still scouting some locations for his mobile drive-in, Hollywood Mobile Movie, or Hollywood MobMov for short. His Scion Xb is outfitted with a power source and is his mobile projection booth. If you are in the L.A. area, go to the website and sign up on the mailing list for notifications of upcoming screenings.

Over The Hedge is a really cute movie. The cast was great overall, but William Shatner, as Ozzie the possum, and Steve Carell, as Hammy the very hyper squirrel, really stood out for me. The film is based on, and is sort of a prequel to, the comic strip of the same name. The fact that Ben Folds did five songs, including an awesome cover of "Lost In The Supermarket," for the soundtrack was a great bonus.

MI:3 is like an extended episode of Alias with Tom Cruise instead of Jennifer Garner, minus the funky wigs and sexy costumes. It was entertaining, but it has gotten to the point where I can't get past the Tom Cruiseness of Tom Cruise. I didn't really see his character, just him. Oh look, there's Tom Cruise brooding, and there's Tom Cruise grinning maniacally, and there's Tom Cruise running in his oh-so-Tom-Cruise way, with elbows flexed at 90-degree angles and so fast you expect him to leave a trail of flames...you get the idea. I must say I was very pleased to see Simon Pegg, playing the Marshall-esque tech guy and offering a bit of comic relief. Too bad he was only in a few scenes.

Oh, and it's only $6 per person to see a double feature at the drive-in. Quite a bargain!

Life, In A Nutshell

The past week has been a busy, hectic blur. I'm exhausted. I should be snoozing in my bed, but have been wanting to do at least a brief entry. I can not guarantee that it will be coherent at this point. Those who know me already understand that is often a problem I have anyway.

Last Wednesday night we saw Great Big Sea at the El Rey Theatre. It was a great show, probably the best one of the five we've attended. Apparently, Alan Doyle, one of the band members, agrees: "The show was probably our best ever in Los Angeles, a city that has shagged us more times than not. It's tough to sell tickets there and there are so many entertainment options that putting your stamp on the LA evening is a tough chore. I felt like we finally did it last night."

Being at such a fun show really made me miss our friend Bill, who is now living in New Zealand. He introduced to GBS several years ago and went to the other four shows with us. I got some decent photos that night, but have only managed to get one uploaded to my flickr site so far. Long ago, Eric staked out the perfect spot for me to stand at the El Rey and be guaranteed a view of the stage, since I'm so short.* I don't want to publish this kind of valuable information, but if anyone is in need of this tip in the future, feel free to contact me.

Another notable event of the week was the drive-in screening of Re-Animator that we participated in at our home away from home of late, the Steve Allen Theater. Eric coordinated the outdoor screening through his organization Hollywood MOBile MOVie. The film was also shown inside the theater and he was very involved in that aspect as well. In spite of a little rain, the drive-in was a smashing success. There were somewhere between 35 and 40 cars in the parking lot, seeing the movie projected on the wall of a building, and listening through their fm radios. Following the screening, director Stuart Gordon and actor Jeffrey Combs participated in a Q&A.

There were a few celebrity sightings this past week, nothing too spectacular, but kind of fun anyway. Jason Gray-Stanford, who plays Lt. Disher on Monk, was spotted at the Great Big Sea show. On Friday afternoon, Parker Stevenson was looking at a puppy with a couple of kids in a local pet store. After the screening Saturday night, Fred Armisen, a regular on Saturday Night Live, arrived at the theater to perform in the midnight show.

On a completely different note, Ami, my new little pet hamster, seems to be adjusting well to her new home. I finally got to do some shopping on Friday for a few more supplies that she needed. Two of my dogs are not so thrilled that some other little beastie is getting my attention though.

*I am very short (5 feet, 0 inches). The other day a 13 year-old dwarf said to me, "How come I'm almost as tall as you?" How sad is that?