Eric's War Journal

THE DATE: JULY 23, 2008
THE PLACE: Hollywood
THE MISSION: See "Spaced" on the big screen and hear the wacky Brits behind one of the most brilliant shows ever talk about it.
How hard can it be?

0915: After a tidy three-hours of sleep following the second-to-last installment of Diablo's run at the New Bev, which itself followed a shift that was preceeded by ninety minutes of sleep, I wake up and attempt to cover up the fact that caffeine has been a substitute for good ol' fashioned American rest these past couple weeks. I plan on getting to the ArcLight when it opens in 45 minutes to find out when and where they'll allow the geeks to queue it up. Since the show is free and first-come, first-served, hordes will arrive and many will go home without knowing the joys of "Spaced."

1000: Recon officially begins. I wait for the rabble of viewers there to see THE DARK KNIGHT to get their tickets before I ask the concierge where they plan on lining up the geeks. She looks at me quizzically before excusing herself and returning with a manager.

I apologize for wasting the manager's time and pose her the same question. She looks at me just as quizzically as the first girl I spoke to. I then point to the large digital board that dominates the ArcLight lobby with the theatre's showtimes and point to, "SPECIAL - BBC DVD THEATRE 10."

She seems to be noticing this for the first time, so I then explain to her that her theatre will be hosting a free screening for a bunch of rabid geeks that will likely start pouring into the lobby in a couple hours. Damn if she knows where they're all going to go, however, so she apologizes for her lack of help and excuses herself.

I have a bad feeling about this...

1027: With nothing to do and nowhere in particular to do it, I take refuge at Swingers for eggs, vegetarian sausage and a fat stack of banana pancakes. I check with my secretary and find a message from Jason asking what's going on with the screening. I explain the theatre is clue-deficient, but assure him not to worry that I will handle recon and score us a great place in whatever line emerges in the next couple hours.

1122: I hit Amoeba Records to score the new EP from Zack De La Rocha's new band and The Sword's second album. I also find a Dead Meadow CD cheap in the used bin. Maybe my luck's turning.

I run into New Bev Midnight regulars Jackie and Eric and explain my screwball mission to them and bring them up to speed on its less-than-stellar start. They can't lie about my chances, but I have their sympathy.

1152: As I head over to Starbucks for more caffeine and to convert my new music into ones and zeroes on my laptop, I see a couple geeks -- a goth girl and a chick with bubble-gum pink hair -- standing alongside the cooking school that's across the plaza from the theatre. Could this be the genesis of the queue?

1200: I'm still really impressed with how good that new Sbux coffee is.

1309: Hot Topic and Bubble Gum have been joined by three other girls with geekish leanings. I confirm that this is, in fact, the queue and I and my crew will be 6th in line. Now it's time to sit and wait...

...a lot...

1319: I'm finished with my first listen of One Day as a Lion and it is BADASS! Kinda reminiscent of Evil Empire, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

1327: Silent Bob's long-lost twin brother loudly rolls in from the signing in Westwood that I passed up to ensure a good place in line. He announces to all of us that we missed something epic, which I'm sure we all appreciated hearing. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or my contempt of loudmouths (I don't like the competition), but I suddenly realize that there are a lot of manhole covers through which a dumpy guy who clearly doesn't have the time for personal hygiene could be thrown.

The line starts to build momentum over the next half-hour as my face is thoroughly melted by Gods of the Earth. The Sword owns! They are the lords of all they survey!

1415: A security guard emerges from the theatre and crosses the courtyard to ask me what the line's for.

Chew on that for a moment: A theatre employee is asking me why we're lined up at said theatre.

This thing is being run with military freakin' precision. The line's now pretty beefy.

1445: Jason; his new sidekick JD, who I've been seeing around the Bev a lot, and Cat, a friend of Jason's I've never met, arrive within minutes of each other.

Jason is stoked about our place in line. I'm stoked I can now use the men's room.

1524: Jason hits the Baja Fresh across the street for provisions. I normally loathe the place, but I'm so starved that the grilled vegetarian burrito is like heroin. I stop just short of gobbling the waxy paper it's wrapped in.



1639: As Jay and JD run for coffee, a couple bouncer-esque guys roll the Batpod out of its trailer and a full-blown geek feeding frenzy ensues. People begin battling for position, as if the 750-pound bike is suddenly going to disintegrate before they can snap a picture of it.



I wait for the scent of blood to clear the water before I casually stroll up and get my cheesecake shots.



The line, by the way, has now hit critical mass as it runs the entire length of the plaza...



...winds down Sunset Blvd....



...and rounds the corner across the street from Amoeba.



With the large number of seats that I'm sure that are being saved for friends of the production, a lot of geeks are going home sad today.

1710: Phil comes over to hand out fliers that pimp his upcoming shows and stops to chat with us at the head of the line. I tell him how very, very happy I am that he's screening OVER THE TOP, and he gives me that look he usually gives me when I say something like that.

1758: "ERRRIC!" I stop to see who's shouting my name to find Nicole, another regular on the Geek Circuit, standing around with a gaggle of friends by the front door. I quickly put two and two together and realize that she's not lined up like the rest of us losers because she's being hooked up with seats. She confirms this, fueling a sudden bout of jealousy the likes of which fills my chest cavity with an intense heat.

She explains that her friend, Harmony I believe was her name, runs Simon Pegg's website.

I ask Nicole to tell Harmony I hate her.

1810: Shortly after regulars Rob and Jen join us, the line behind us begins to stir as Edgar Wright, Simon and Jessica Hynes roll in high-fiving the geeks as they pass. I can't get pics of the guys, but I snap a shot of Jess as she enthusiastically chats with a few girls who she recoginzed from the signing earlier that day.



1845: WE'RE IN!!!! The hours spent standing around doing absolutely nothing now pay off as we score the best seats in the house: Dead center in the front row of the second section. Soon the place is completely packed.



Caffeine is replaced by geek-flavored adrenaline as I realize how lucky my handful of cinephiles and I are to even be at something like this. I had the same feeling during THE MOVIE ORGY and Nicky Katt's Monday Mug Melter at the Silent Movie Theatre. I've seen some very, very cool things that many geeks would give their middle nut for this past year.

Speaking of THE MOVIE ORGY, Joe Dante rolls in. So does John Landis. Heather Graham takes a seat in the front row. Diablo shows up with Julia and a couple other faces I recognize from the New Bev.



Kevin Smith gets things started by announcing he's baked, which elicits a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Once again, I'm the straightest geek in the place. Should be used to it by now.

Smith introduces the cast who say a couple brief words then roll the episodes: "Art", "Epiphanies" and "Gone." I haven't seen the show since they aired a handful of eps on BBC America a few years ago to conicide with the release of the painfully brilliant SHAUN OF THE DEAD. the show is just as hilarious as I had remembered, and looks great on the big screen.





Kevin comes back to kick off the Q & A, and not a moment too soon since he looks as if he was about to drop any second. I guess the Industry types can afford the really good stuff.







The three are effortlessly funny, and their banter following the screening makes me long for some sort-of reunion. All three agree there is no way they could recreate the magic of the show at this point in their lives, nixing a proper "Spaced" reunion, but offer that they'd love to continue working together in some other capacity.

They say their goodbyes and retired to a private party in the bar on the ArcLight balcony. My geekdreanaline wearing off and with work looming on the horizon, I too retire.

After all, I need all the rest I could muster...



RICKY is almost here!

Running With The Devil

Diablo Cody and I obviously grew up on many of the same films, as evidenced by her choices for "Horror Night" and "Comedy Night" of her festival.
Three of the films were very old friends of mine, and the team responsible for the only movie I hadn't seen out of the bunch created my favorite sketch comedy show ever.



The first horror film was A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, one of only two sequels to the landmark film that introduced us to Freddy Krueger that's worth a damn.



The film is more unintentionally funny then I remember it, but it's been a couple decades since I rolled with the Dream Warriors as they tackled the "Bastard Son of 100 Maniacs." I love that last line, and director Chuck Russell and collaborator Frank Darabont (!) admitted they do as well during the Q & A that followed the film.

Another brilliant moment happened in the moments leading up to the movie's climactic battle as a series of nightmare wackiness leads to a door hovering in midair in front of the characters.

"It's a door!" Kristen exclaims as everyone in the theatre howled with laughter. That phrase has since become a battlecry for me and Jason, one of the other regulars.



The obligatory Q&A followed, and the filmmakers were clearly having a ball talking about a film most would regard as the black sheep on their resume. Not often you hear Frank Darabont, the man singly responsible for the finest film I've ever seen, talk about changing the giant Freddy-snake from pink to green because the original "looked like a giant pink cock with a face!"

I even ran up on Darabont to have him autograph a poster of THE MIST. My collection now numbers four!



The epic FRIGHT NIGHT followed, and the film has aged very well for a 23-year-old horror flick made on a modest budget. After hearing filmmaker Tom Holland express his passion for both the movie's creation and its legacy, it's clear how it turned out so well.

Holland spoke at length about the writing and the making of the film, which was born of his love of monster movies and the late-night programs that he watched them on as a child. It was this personal love of the subject, Holland said, that was the key to why the film works so well.

Ever wonder why Chris Sarandon is always eating an apple during the film? I don't anymore. Russell told us.



Diablo switched gears a couple nights later on "Funny Night," showing
WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER...

which I won't talk much about it because I really didn't like it. I'm disappointed because I like so many of the people in the film, especially the alumni from "The State." And director David Wain was very cool and funny in the Q&A.



...and MIDNIGHT MADNESS, a very dear friend from my childhood that I've watched often but hadn't seen in about 20 years. Fortunately, the film is every bit as much fun as it was then; Something I told director Michael Nankin and actors Alan "Leon, The Gamemaster" Solomon and the enigmatic and usually reclusive Eddie Deezen (!!!!) during the Q&A.



MIDNIGHT MADNESS had the distinction of being the second Disney film to recieve anything other than a G rating (THE BLACK HOLE being the first. Impress your friends with that bit of trivia), so I asked if there was any interference from the studio. Nankin said a scene where a young man is using an observatory's telescope to peer into a bedroom window drew a number of executives to the set, while Deezen said his line about scooter and how you couldn't go to a smaller version once you've had "that much power between your legs" almost had to be nixed.



Deezen's presence set off a geek feeding frenzy at the New Bev, and he seemed to be gobbling up the love we were showing him. His presence at these kind of events really is rare, but he was clearly having a great time with it which led some of us hardcores to wonder if they just don't ask him to show up at many of them.



Either way, our girl Diablo bagged him and it made the MIDNIGHT MADNESS screening one of the best of an already epic and extremely nostalgiac festival. Now, if she'd just do me a solid and gimme a dose of THE LAST DRAGON, which I'm sure she was watching on cable the same time I was.

CURRENTLY LISTENING: The Sword -- Gods of the Earth

I have come to praise Heath Ledger, not to bury him

I'll be the first to admit that years in emergency medicine have made me a bit jaded and skepitcal. Shocking admission, ain't it?

So, I must admit that as I read the early reviews of THE DARK KNIGHT that raved about the late Heath Ledger's performance, I had to wonder how much of it was laced with sweetness to take some of the biterness off of his untimely demise.

With the 3:30 a.m. showing still very fresh in my mind, I can tell you that the reviewers have been doing the film and Ledger no undeserved favors with their praise. The film is one of the finest I've ever seen, even superior to the stellar first installment. I'll say nothing more than the film is practically flawless in every facet for fear of even giving away a tiny morsel of surprise.




And it being the ArcLight Hollywood, of course there was ample geek candy around the lobby to fuel this circus-like event.





And Heath Ledger truely is nothing short of amazing. His is a fearless turn that steals the film from a cache of powerfully talented actors, all of whom turn are phenomenal themselves. It's strange to consider his Joker performance a revelation considering he'd laid down a strong body of work prior to donning the purple suit, but this movie puts him on an entirely different level than even the Academy-Award level stuff he'd already done.





Equally amazing was the number of people scurrying around the ArcLight at 3:30 in the freakin' morning on a work night.



THE DARK KNIGHT was actually the second film of the night for me. Earlier, I was at the Silent Movie Theatre for SUCH HAWKS, SUCH HOUNDS, a documentary on the history of stoner rock.







The doc was very interesting as it highlighted several bands you've never heard of spanning thirty years. Most of them were struggling to get by as they support their music addictions, and aren't likely to find much commercial success with music that isn't accessible to most of the listening public. Can't imagine an Earthless CD sandwiched between Hannah Montana and Christina Aguilera at Best Buy.



But the bands stick to their guns, and find a little hope in the fact that the rules of the music game have changed in recent years, allowing them to bypass the labels and corporate control of media via the Internet. The highlight of the film was a segment on Sleep, a Bay-Area band who burned their bridges by using the label's money to lay down a 63-minute song (!) called "Dopesmoker" (Or "Jerusalem", depending on which mix you have) that set out to be the heaviest song ever recorded. Snippets are played during the film, and the track is overdubbed so many times that the base threatened to shake the paint off the walls of the Silent Theatre.



The film was followed by a performance by Earthless, who sort of have a free-form jazz sensibility. The three-piece band is loud and heavy without being angry; More Blue Oyster Cult than Slayer. They explained in the film that they just sort of go where the riffs take them, which made their tightness as a band even more impressive. It was phenomenal hearing them in such a small space as the Silent Theatre, even if my ears are still ringing from the insane volume.

Even cooler was the montage of freaky images Pimpadelic Wonderland, the house video-jockey for lack of a better title, laid down over the band as they played. I was able to recognize footage from THE BOXER'S OMEN and the epic ON ANY SUNDAY.


And, oh yeah...





RICKY's coming!

Walked through the Halls of Karma, Shook hands w/both the Devil & God

Look, disco just ain't my thing. If you dig it, we're cool. I'm not one to judge. But I just don't, never have and never will dig old or modern disco.

Having now sat through THE APPLE and XANADU in recent months, I'm begging programmers at my beloved rep houses to please stop showing disco musicals.

Also never been a big fan of LABYRINTH. I like Muppets. I really dig Bowie. Somehow, the two just don't add up for me, though.

That said, Diablo's still the coolest chick to ever walk the Earth.







Fortunately, she has much better stuff coming up, including a horror night that's going to feature an appearance by Frank-Freakin'-Darabont. That's gonna be too much for my silly little mind to get a hold of.

And I recently caught a peek at something on the wall of the Silent Movie Theatre that did my soul very well...



RICKY's coming!

Life imitates Nabisco snack treats

Someone said this picture of me, Promise and Andy from their joint birthday bash last weekend resembles one of those limited-edition Oops Oreos; The ones with chocolate creme sandwiched between two vanilla cookies.

Heroes Of Our Time

I don't mean to judge, but anyone who doesn't like DragonForce is a booger-eating moron.

The Devil Went Down to Hancock Park

Did I need another reason to love the New Beverly Cinema? Clearly not, since if I spent any more time there Michael, the owner/operator of the greatest theatre on God's green Earth, would charge me rent instead of admission.

Nonetheless, they did by kicking off the latest in a line of awesome film festivals hosted by filmmakers who have shaped my spongelike mind the past couple decades. Following on the heels of Edgar Wright and Joe Dante* (Still haven't recovered from having my face melted by THE MOVIE ORGY), Diablo Cody is having a go at serving up a geek buffet.

*(Rumor has it Eli Roth had his turn, but I, like many of the New Bev maniacs who hissed at the mention of his name in the weeks preceeding it, didn't see any of it.)



Mondo Diablo got started Saturday with an all-Reitman double shot: STRIPES and THANKS FOR NOT SMOKING.



I took my seat in the front row between Hollywood legend/New-Bev-mainstay Clu Gulager and several of the other film zombies I see regularly on the L.A. Perpetual Roving Film Festival circuit as Diablo set things in motion. She mentioned growing up on STRIPES back in the dark ages of video. (VHS or Beta?)

The film has aged very well, in large part because Bill Murray's comedic genius doesn't have an expiration date. In all fairness, Murray can't be credited ALL of the laughs as the supporting cast certainly carry their weight throughout the film. (Particularly the late John Candy. "How's it going, Eisenhower?")



The first Q&A followed, as Ivan Reitman discussed making STRIPES. The director said getting the Army to sign off on allowing him to film in Fort Knox was remarkably easy. He added that recruitment spiked following the film's release, as displaced frat boys undoubtedly signed up hoping for a tour of duty filled with Sean Young and mud wrestling.

Up next was THANKS FOR NOT SMOKING; An extremely funny, engaging film I'd never seen before that owns thanks to Jason Retiman's inventive visual style; tight editing and a confident performance by Aaron Eckhart as a modern-day sophist who you'd despise if it was remotely possible not to like him.



Jason took his turn fielding questions from the crowd and discussed how hard it was to get the film made while disspelling the myth about Hollywood nepatism. He said the film was about personal freedom, to which I raised my hand and offered that I thought it also served as a celebration of villainy. Jason said he really didn't see Eckhart's big-tobacco lobbiest as a bad guy. Sure, his work leads to people committing suicide on layaway via cigarettes, but he doesn't force the cancer sticks on anyone. The bad guys, the younger Reitman (And Eckhart's character) offered, are the ones who want to deny choice to Americans, even if it's the choice to do something dangerous.

I could clearly see Jason's point, but I still can't help but think of Eckhart as a villain. Either way, it was a very good film, and strikingly different from the other very good film he made recently.

Diablo recently pimped her film festival via MySpace where she promised, and I quote, "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE COME. I'll sign your DVD. I'll sign your nutsack!"

Anyone who knows me knows I can't let a big, fat curve ball like Diablo's last promise hang over the plate without hammering it. So, following the films, I reminded Ms. Cody of her promise and had her sign my sack...



On top of being very nice, really hot and NASA-smart, Diablo is also a girl who keeps her promises. Yet another reason to love both her and the New Bev.

CURRENTLY LISTENING: Flogging Molly -- Float