What You'll Find Here: Music, Movies and Me

Since May 1976, I have written in journals. When I have nothing particularly resonant to say about my own inner turmoil, philosophic ramblings, sexual peccadillos or whining on about the state of the world around me...I have always fallen back on reporting the cultural time consumption that takes up in inordinate portion of my daily goings on.

In the 40+ years since my first concerts seeing Children's Symphony presentations on Sundays at the Pasadena Civic or The Hot Jazz Society's monthly Dixieland romps in an old meeting hall on the edge of the L.A. "River" across from Griffith Park, I have been sold heavily on the magic of live music. As Neil Young so aptly put it, "Live music is better bumper stickers should be issued."

Growing up a few orange groves and canyons length away from Hollywood also contributed greatly to my family's addiction to movie going. From the time I was a small there were weekly trips to the drive-in theaters that dotted the landscape, or the local Temple theater for the Saturday matinees. Once in a while we'd drive the 12 miles into Hollywood and see something in one of the magnificent old movie palaces like Grauman's Chinese, the Egyptian, The Pantages or later the Cinerama Dome. My dad loved Westerns and War movies, as if he didn't get enough shoot-'em-up as an L.A. County Sheriff in his day gig, my mom adored musicals and comedies. My brother and I loved them all.

At SDSU, I played in my first gigging band and began booking concerts on campus as part of the well-funded Cultural Arts Board, kindling for my future life in and around music.

So it's not surprising that my first jobs out of college were working in local video rental places (which were all the rage) or managing a couple of Sam Goody record stores in Mall's on the East Coast where we marveled at the new CD format and sold the first home computers and video games (yes Commodore and Pong and Atari).

So these are really just extensions of all of those journal entries talking about the great new movies I was seeing and LPs/CDs I was listening to.

Though iPODS/iPADs, apps, smart phones and downloads now make music and movies accessible in your own pocket, there is still nothing like sitting in front of a stack of speakers with a room full of people swaying to music created before your eyes. Nor is there anything that works quite so well for me to escape the real world and all of it's pressures just outside than two hours in a dark theater, absorbing the stories flickering across that wide screen as they pull you into their world.

But a really good taco runs a close third...

Thursday, August 23, 2012

BIG BEAR LAKE FILM OPPORTUNITIES DELIGHT LOCAL CINEASTS

With the Village Theater closed August 15, film buffs in Big Bear Lake are left with three first-run films in town each week (occasionally 4) instead of the usual five we've been used to for years. But for cineasts and fledgling film buffs alike, this small town, only 2 hours away from the bright lights of Hollywood still has offered plenty of filmic fun.

In late August, there was a wonderful special event for film fans on the mountain: A rare showing of the landmark silent film, THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD from 1924. So rare these days to see a silent film anywhere but late at night on TCM. In first the penny arcades then the silent movie halls was where the industry learned it's craft, where film making sprouted wings.

Starring Douglas Fairbanks, Julianne Johnston and Anna May Wong, this swashbuckling adventure was presented at a fundraiser for the Community Arts Theater Society of Big Bear Lake (C.A.T.S) in their Olde Tyme Movie Night series.

Of special interest to film fans was the organ and sound effects accompaniment by renowned musician Bob Salisbury which gave old and young alike a chance to experience what it was like in the Golden Age of silent film before talkies revolutionized the movie industry.

The film was shown on the side if C.A.T.S. Warehouse Theater and the admission price of $20 included the film, pasta dinner served by the adjacent Broadway Cafe, and popcorn. It was a beautiful, summer evening and a perfect occasion to get out and see a film under the stars.

In the early years of it's development before jet travel and superhighways made getting away from it all a more world-wide opportunity, Big Bear Lake was a hideaway spot for the Hollywood film industry. Not only did they make 100s of films in the rustic grandeur of the surrounding wilderness areas but many stars had weekend homes throughout the Bear Valley.

Proximity to Hollywood still brings a passionate film goer to the mountain and locals have many wonderful opportunities in the summer time to catch movies around town.

On select Saturdays this summer families have enjoyed MOVIES ON THE BEACH at the Swim Beach Amphitheater on Park Avenue. A fun place to take the kids for family fare like Happy Feet 2, Cars 2 and The Muppets Movie. With an open snack bar and beautiful sunsets that lead right up to movie time, these are great events for kids and mom and dad as well.



All of this leads up to the 13th Annual BIG BEAR LAKE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL taking place September 14th-16th. Known for it's annual Screenwriters Competition, this year the festival honors Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Schulman, whose first feature script for Dead Poet's Society won him the coveted Oscar statuette in 1990. He has also written screenplays for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, What About Bob? (my favorite of his projects and the last film I saw in a drive-in theater, by the way), Medicine Man and Holy Man in addition to becoming a leading director and producer as well as executive with the Writers Guild of America and the Writers Guild Foundation. Schulman will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for Screenwriting from BBLIFF.

See a trailer on the Big Bear International Film Festival here.

Being honored posthumously with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Cinematography is the great cinematographer/director/photographer, Jack Cardiff. His camera work won an Oscar for Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes, The African Queen, and Death On The Nile. He worked alongside legendary directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Orson Welles, Joseph Mankiewicz, Laurence Olivier and King Vidor. A wonderful documentary, Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010) is being screened during the festival.

From the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival's website:

"BBLIFF was founded in 2000 to showcase the emerging talent of screenwriters and independent filmmakers within the idyllic setting of Big Bear Lake. Our goal is to nurture a festival that is highly creative, filmmaker friendly and which provides an educational experience for people interested in all aspects of the film industry."

The BBLIFF features three days packed with events, screenings of features, shorts, student films, panels and Q&A sessions, parties and even a film camp. Find out more about the schedule of events, including Screenwriters Competition, here.

Thanks to Monique and Brandon R. Miller of BBLIFF for assistance with this article.
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