You Should Go To The Movies With A Dead Person
Every once in a while, I get a twinge that I'm not taking full advantage of all the wondrous things that Los Angeles has to offer--you know, like the Grand Central Market or Rancho Palos Verdes, or...the Grand Central Market. So, partly to alleviate my guilt over wasting my finite time in this cultural mecca, some friends of mine and I went to a Cinespia screening at the Hollywood Forever cemetery.
As you'll see from their website, they rent out the huge lawn of the historic cemetery and project an old Hollywood film onto the side of an immense mausoleum. The idea is to bring a blanket and a picnic dinner, some wine, and watch the sun go down before the movie starts. When it does start, the picture's great, the sound's terrific, and there are plenty of port-a-potties right nearby.
I know what you're thinking. You're in a cemetery. It's creepy. There will be zombies. But you're wrong. It's quite pastoral. It isn't creepy. Plus, there are hardly any zombies, and those are quickly taken down by security personnel armed with shotguns and holy water. Trust me.
We saw "The Maltese Falcon," which is always in my top 5 movies of all-time. If you're looking for an added layer of cool in this particular movie, Peter Lorre is actually interred in the mausoleum onto which they were projecting his image. The director, John Huston, was a few hundred yards away.
And the movie is seriously awesome. If you've never seen it, please go and rent it tonight. Don't even finish reading this post. Just take off to the Blockbuster. It'll be worth it.
There were about a thousand people there and despite the fact that everyone was on a blanket and had a full meal in front of them, they were far more polite than any movie crowd I've seen in years. No one talking loud. When Joel Cairo (Lorre's character) made his first entrance, the folks started applauding--it's Hollywood, so they do know movies.
I'd highly recommend that you check it out. There's a screening every Saturday night, all summer long. They don't run that late, so even if you're opening a restaurant or something the next morning, you can go. This weekend is Edgar Ulmer's film noir classic "Detour" and next week it's the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Now I have to go find some other hidden LA treasure to ignore.
As you'll see from their website, they rent out the huge lawn of the historic cemetery and project an old Hollywood film onto the side of an immense mausoleum. The idea is to bring a blanket and a picnic dinner, some wine, and watch the sun go down before the movie starts. When it does start, the picture's great, the sound's terrific, and there are plenty of port-a-potties right nearby.
I know what you're thinking. You're in a cemetery. It's creepy. There will be zombies. But you're wrong. It's quite pastoral. It isn't creepy. Plus, there are hardly any zombies, and those are quickly taken down by security personnel armed with shotguns and holy water. Trust me.
We saw "The Maltese Falcon," which is always in my top 5 movies of all-time. If you're looking for an added layer of cool in this particular movie, Peter Lorre is actually interred in the mausoleum onto which they were projecting his image. The director, John Huston, was a few hundred yards away.
And the movie is seriously awesome. If you've never seen it, please go and rent it tonight. Don't even finish reading this post. Just take off to the Blockbuster. It'll be worth it.
There were about a thousand people there and despite the fact that everyone was on a blanket and had a full meal in front of them, they were far more polite than any movie crowd I've seen in years. No one talking loud. When Joel Cairo (Lorre's character) made his first entrance, the folks started applauding--it's Hollywood, so they do know movies.
I'd highly recommend that you check it out. There's a screening every Saturday night, all summer long. They don't run that late, so even if you're opening a restaurant or something the next morning, you can go. This weekend is Edgar Ulmer's film noir classic "Detour" and next week it's the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Now I have to go find some other hidden LA treasure to ignore.
posted by Matthew at 2:43 PM
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