 REGGIE PERALTA
Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society Please be advised that the following review contains spoilers. When I heard that Suspiria was not only being remade but that it was to be directed by Luca Guadagnino, my gut reaction was tepid at best. I had seen the original by Dario Argento, and while I enjoyed it (enough to see it three times, for what it’s worth) I didn’t find myself enchanted by it the way many of my friends who had seen it were. As for Guadagnino, my knowledge of his work was limited to Call Me By Your Name, a movie that all the very serious people with all the correct opinions about everything told me I was supposed to adore but did not. Thus, it came as a welcome surprise that I found as much of value in Guadagnino’s take on the goofy giallo as I did. The original Suspiria, as weird as it is, is a simple story about a girl who finds herself wrapped up in a coven of witches. Guadagnino’s Suspiria, on the other hand, is a sprawling story that touches on factional intrigue between said witches, psychiatrist Dr. Klemperer’s efforts to get to the bottom of his patient Patricia’s (Chloe Grace Moretz) disappearance, and newcomer Susie’s (Dakota Johnson) own mysterious role in all this. This makes it hard to determine what’s important and what’s not at first, but if you stay focused as time goes on it all gels together. The expanding on the film’s original set-up is also welcome, with the idea that dances are actually the vehicle through which the witches realize their dark arts justifying the story’s being set in a dance academy. Another major improvement over the original is that the remake is actually unsettling. This is accomplished in large part by the effective use of camerawork, as seen in the scenes where the girls dance and people die. The attack on Olga (Elena Fokina) is especially brutal, with her being twisted horrifically out of shape as Susie, none the wiser, performs the incredibly difficult dance that cripples her. The cutting between the one and the other really captures the violence of the scene and reminds us just how much physicality goes into dancing. Then there is an extreme close-up that completely focuses on an instructor’s face, obscuring everything else in the shot. It’s an intrusive effect that is further amplified by the inexplicably creepy expression on her face. The cast is good all around (the fact that the actors are actually speaking the lines coming out of their mouths does wonders for the film’s quality), but there is no doubt who the movie’s all about. Tilda Swinton commands attention throughout the film, bringing Mme. Blanc to life in a way that the original didn’t. She’s the main witch in charge, but she has qualms about how her sisters practice their craft and struggles to find a balance between their wicked ways and her desire to establish a kinder, gentler coven. Blanc also has to juggle her institutional responsibilities with her fondness for Susie, with Swinton really selling the character as a mother figure in a way that Joan Bennett never attempted to in the original. The only other character who comes close to being as interesting is Dr. Klemperer, who is also played by Tilda Swinton! Through the judicious use of prosthetics, Swinton is transformed from her usual graceful self into the elderly psychoanalyst, a cosmetic feat that stands out all the more in an age of computer-generated effects. Wracked with guilt over pooh-poohing Patricia’s warnings about the witches as well as abandoning his wife during the war, Klemperer spends the movie trying to make amends and, as such, is the closest thing the story has to a morally sound character. As one of the few characters who is not a witch, this also makes him a suitable person for the audience to identify with. Swinton also dons prosthetics to play Helena Markos, the ancient witch who wants the coven to become totally corrupt. Whereas both Blanc and Klemperer are fully rounded characters, Markos hews to a similar track as her depiction in the original film and gets little in the way of character development. We don’t even get to see much of Swinton in this role, but perhaps it’s for the best as the shock value of the Markos make-up (as grotesque as the Klemperer prosthetics are convincing) would almost certainly have worn-off if she spent more time on-screen in this role. Interestingly, Swinton’s portrayal of Markos along with her two other roles means that she forms a sort of moral spectrum. While Klemperer, with his regrets and resolve, is the high or humane end of it, the irredeemably evil Markos is the base, low end. This leaves Mme. Blanc as the center or neutral ground of said spectrum, a placement that reflects her conflicting obligations and morally gray approach to the affairs of the academy. Just as it did in the 70’s-era Europe it's set in, the specter of left-wing terrorism looms over Suspiria. Indeed, the very first words spoken in the film are “Free Baader! Free Meinhof,” referring to the leaders of the radical Red Army Faction. Graffiti pledging allegiance to various Marxist groups and solidarity with the Palestinians adorns walls and buildings. Over the course of the movie, we are updated in bits and pieces as to the status of the infamous hijacking of the German airliner Lufthansa Flight 181, finally culminating in archival news footage that shows the aftermath of the authorities storming the plane and rescuing all the hostages. What’s the significance of all this? Why does Guadagnino allocate so much time and space to these subversive happenings that have little bearing on the plot and were not so much as alluded to in Argento’s original? The answer, it would appear, is to draw parallels between the revolutionary violence of these extremists and the malefic violence of the witches. It’s a nebulous relationship that’s not developed nearly as much as it should have been, but it’s an intriguing one nevertheless that, if you look closely, you can see hints of throughout the film. When the students go to sleep, the instructors and staff convene and bicker about the direction of their coven, perhaps mirroring the clandestine cells that members of the RAF and other far-left groups met in (to say nothing of the in-fighting that such organizations were notorious for.) Similarly, the decision to devote a whole scene to the liberation of Lufthansa 181 is bewildering if taken solely at face value. But, if taken as a hint at the comeuppance that awaits Markos and her loyalists, the sequence is then embedded with new narrative significance. On top of that, the identification of the plane hijackers with the antagonists tells us where they fall into the film’s moral universe and, thus, how we are to receive them and their politics. Another clue that supports this reading of the film is the fact that the hooks the witches use on Olga and others resemble sickles. The sickle, of course, is one half of the international symbol of communism, representing solidarity and utopia to its adherents and misery and mass murder to most everyone else. When you look at it this way, it makes sense why Guadagnino (who, it should be noted, grew up as the leftist Red Brigades carried out similar acts of revolutionary terror across his native Italy) might have seen similarities between the scheming sorceresses of his movie and the scheming socialists of the real world. In this context, it makes sense to compare Suspiria not to the original (or Argento’s other films, for that matter) but rather to Olivier Assayas’ Carlos. Set around the same time as the French miniseries, one gets a feel for the era from both productions even as they take different tacks towards it. Whereas Carlos finds much of interest and (arguably) beauty in its insurrection-minded protagonists (as seen in the way it lovingly bathes them in bright lights and a fuller color palette, to say nothing of its dangerously hip soundtrack) and their antics, Suspiria handles the background noise of its revolutionaries with the same drab lighting, dull colors, and melancholic music (composed and produced by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, of all people) that it accords most everything else. The resulting impression is one of jaded realism, underlining the futility of the terrorists’ actions and highlighting the gulf between the high-minded goals and rhetoric they espoused and the bloodshed and havoc they wrought in both the movie and reality. It doesn’t flesh out its themes and villains as fully as it could have, but even so the movie is able to say a bit of import. As dilettantish social commentary and radical chic seep their way into today’s movies, Guadagnino offers an admirably measured approach to his story and its political subtext. More ambitious and more astute than the production that inspired it, the remake also proves to be more disturbing thanks to its inventive expansion of Argento’s original ideas and set-up. True, many may prefer the camp aesthetics of the original, but Guadagnino’s Suspiria achieves so much more through its efforts to make viewers think as much as it makes them feel. The views expressed in this review are those of the author and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of this review in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page. 3/31/2019 Event Recap: FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD’s Manny Pacheco Q&A/Book Signing @ Makara Center for the Arts, Santa Ana 2/27/19Read Now  Manny Pacheco speaking to an enraptured audience REGGIE PERALTA Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society There have been two things that I’ve wanted to do as long as I’ve been with Los Angeles Arts Society: one was to host an event at the Makara Center for the Arts in downtown Santa Ana, and the other was to work with my broadcasting instructor and mentor Manny Pacheco on something for Forgotten Hollywood, his award-winning film history book series. Although LA Arts can proudly say it has several successful events under its belt, our emphasis has mostly been on film screenings. We did hold a book signing with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski for their book Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa, but that was part of our December screening of Godzilla. For this reason, my partner Alex and I decided to try something new - an oral presentation followed by a Q&A and book signing - and after getting in touch with both Manny and the Makara’s director Marytza, we were able to arrange the whole thing just like that! Compared to our last program, this event was simple and straightforward. While we had to do a lot of running around and coordinating to ensure that Godzilla ran smoothly, Forgotten Hollywood was much more contained and thus much easier to manage. It probably helps that the Makara is a smaller venue than the Frida Cinema, meaning that everything we needed to handle was in the same space and also that we had less guests to contend with. Such an intimate spot comes with an appeal all its own, with the books and artwork on display giving it the inviting, creative atmosphere that you’d expect from a library. Although in hindsight I enjoyed the natural high that came with the adrenaline rush of running Godzilla, I also appreciated the painless pleasure that came with hosting Forgotten Hollywood. Though I was the host for the night, I actually ended up having to do very little hosting as Manny carried the show exceptionally well by himself. The most I spoke was when I introduced him, cataloguing his various vocations and fondly recalled my time at Fullerton College with him. When I finished, he quipped that I was making him blush, a classic Manny way of returning my praise that set a humorously warm tone for the night. From that point on, it was his show, and, aside from a few moments where he asked me to chime in, all I really had to was sit back and listen. And listen I did, because he spoke solo for a good 50 minutes or so, regaling our guests and I with animated retellings of stories from his books. Manny made clever use of a good amount of tricks and techniques to immerse us all in his stories. Affecting a creepy Middle-European voice to conjure The Maltese Falcon’s Peter Lorre and pulling up a chair to stand in (or sit in, rather) for the one Lee Harvey Oswald was found in when he was apprehended by the Dallas police, his larger-than-life delivery of the material reflected his broadcasting background. It also gave the event the vibe of a one-man show rather than an academic presentation, making the facts and trivia he shared both accessible and real to us. By the time our star finished his talk, I almost felt silly opening it up to the audience. He had covered so much territory that I couldn’t imagine there were any stones left for us to unturn, and apparently they thought so too because the room fell silent when I asked if anyone had any questions. This is always a possibility with Q&A sessions, so luckily I had the foresight to bring some questions of my own, asking Manny about why, as he wrote in the preface to Forgotten Hollywood Forgotten History, he “had to write it” and what made him “glad [he] did.” Without so much as a second thought, he cited his grandmother as his inspiration, explaining that she instilled an appreciation for old movies in him when he was a kid. It was funny to me that he should have said that because I have a similar relationship with my grandma (who, incidentally, was kind enough to join us for the evening) in that she supported and encouraged my interest in the arts and culture early on.  Manny signing books and chatting with guests At any rate, I guess that my pick-up questions inspired the audience because the next thing I knew they were asking all about the books as well as the movies and stars covered in them. Everything from which movies were Manny’s favorites (Casablanca and Whiplash, to name a couple) and whether Drew Barrymore is related to Lionel Barrymore or not (she is) to which movie featured Mickey Rooney in yellowface (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) was on the table, and all of which he was more than eager to answer. Quite the change in attitude on the part of our guests, but it was a welcome one as it meant they were at least as excited about Manny’s material as I was. You might have assumed our guest of honor brought it down a notch when the Q&A wrapped up and the book signing started. Not at all: he just kept going and going and chatted and bantered with each and every guest who came to meet him at his table. It was a cool little table too, holding a clapboard prop and covered with a beautiful table cloth decorated with scenes from The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. He enthusiastically and proudly pitched his books to his guests, making one of them burst into laughter when he praised the chapter titles in one of them as if they were written by someone else. Everyone received his self-promotion in good humor though; they viewed it as part of the carnival barker charm that he so earnestly cultivated. The show had to end eventually, but Manny made sure we enjoyed every second until it did. I have to thank him for, on top of being a brilliant teacher and a true friend, joining us and making the evening as entertaining as it turned out to be for everyone. I also would like to thank my friend Thomas for lending his impressive services to us and capturing the whole program on video (footage of which will be coming down the road), and, of course, Alex for being open to this experiment of mine and facilitating it. And lastly, but hardly least, I’d like to thank Marytza and Greg from the Makara for allowing our event to be held in such a cool and unique space and for being such gracious and accommodating hosts. I like to think that the night whetted everybody there’s appetite for more like it and also that, with any luck, LA Arts Society will spend many more evenings with Manny for more fascinating stories of Forgotten Hollywood.  The team that made it happen: Reggie (far left), Alex (center right), and Thomas (far right) with Manny Photos by Alex Martinez and Reggie Peralta
The views expressed in this recap are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of this recap in the comments section below. For more recaps, reviews, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page. 3/17/2019 Event Review: Long Beach Comic Expo @ Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach 2/16/19Read Now  Where else can you spot Spidey taking a selfie with Cinderella?! Long Beach Comic Expo 2019! REGGIE PERALTA Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society I didn’t grow up on comic books, but, like many of my generation, I grew up on shows based on comics. Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman: The Animated Series, and even that goofy Mask spin-off were all regular viewing during my childhood and, to this day, remain some of my earliest TV memories. Even today at the ripe old age of twenty-something, there’s a primitive part of my brain that still lights up at the thought of costumed heroes and villains duking it out for the fate of the world, humanity, or what have you. Fortunately, it turns out that I’m not the only one, as my LA Arts’ partner Alex and I’s visit to the Long Beach Comic Expo this past February made very clear. The first thing I saw when I got there was a fleet of cars modified to look like ones central to nerd culture. Among the autos was a DeLorean decked out like the one in Back to the Future (but thankfully not plutonium-powered like in the movie), a hearse made to look like the Ecto-1 from the 2016 Ghostbusters, retro and modern Bumblebee-esque Camaros filled with Transformers memorabilia, and a Jurassic Park jeep and SUV blaring John Williams’ iconic theme. I’m not really a car guy but the geek in me internally squeed and thought it was an awesome way to pump guests up and get them in touch with their inner kid before they even set foot inside the convention itself.  Fleet of awesome cars lined the entry-way into the convention. The security people checking members of the press (they had a separate line for journalists, a nifty little perk) as they entered the center were noticeably polite, treating me comfortably as they scanned me and telling me to enjoy the expo when they finished. This pleasant disposition was shared by the staff inside as well, with the guard who directed me to the restroom even wishing me a good day when I came out and headed back onto the vendors’ floor. I shouldn’t be so surprised since my interactions with staff at Long Beach Convention Center have always been pleasant as far as I can remember, but it stands out to me because people working such events aren’t always so agreeable. Just making the extra effort to treat guests in a civil manner goes a long way in making them feel like, well, guests, which is exactly how I felt. The exhibitors were similarly friendly for the most part, though there were a few exceptions. One booth selling Godzilla t-shirts caught my eye but the guy running it had little interest in conversation, answering my questions with flat “yeah”s and preoccupying himself with other business while I tried to engage him. I thought it strange that a vendor selling merch of something as niche as Godzilla would begrudge potentially interested customers trying to engage them about the focus of their product, but hey, what do I know about customer service. Most of the other exhibitors, however, were more than happy to talk about whatever they had to offer. Writer Preston Poulter, for instance, was eager to discuss his comic series’ White Lily and Guinevere and the Divinity Factory, explaining the unique historical background of the former and the intriguing philosophical undertones of the latter. Not only was he excited to elaborate on his comics, he was also receptive to my thoughts on them, agreeing when I said Guinevere’s themes of individualism versus collectivism were “very Randian” and acknowledging the influence of the Fountainhead author on his work. Also agreeable was comic illustrator Agnes Garbowska, who Alex and I regrettably didn’t get to talk to for long. A particularly persistent fan swamped her with commissions right then and there, so she had her hands full with pencils and paper the whole time we were at her booth. But, she took the time to take a break from the commissions when her friend Miki (who was exceptionally friendly in her own right) let her know I just wanted a signature for the My Little Pony postcard that I bought for my nieces, kindly thanking me for my purchase and, perhaps, my patience as well.  Alex / Captain Planet-Pool (@skapool) / Reggie But it wasn’t just comic authors and artists hawking their larger-than-life wares. We were pleasantly surprised to meet and chat up Jackie Dallas, the actress who played the girlfriend of the teacher in Stranger Things, as well as get selfies with a bountiful bevy of cosplayers. From Darth Vader and the forces of the Galactic Empire to the Original Series and Deep Space Nine iterations of Starfleet, and from Tony Stark to Princess Mononoke, it’s safe to say that almost all provinces of nerdom were represented at the event, and with such pride too! Looking at all the costumes, one couldn’t help being blown away by the time and effort that their owners must have put into making them. Meeting superheroes like Batman and Captain Planet or even villains like The Riddler and, say, Lego Lord Voldemort may be the stuff of dreams, but through the craftsmanship of the cosplayers we met, we were able to briefly enjoy such childhood fantasies as if they were real life. Further compounding the childish sense of nostalgia were the assorted other vendors selling and displaying art, toys, and similar goodies. Miles Toys and Treasures had an impressive selection of vintage action figures from media as disparate as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a collection made all the more grand by the fact that almost all the figures were still in their original packaging. Another booth offered a charming combination of custom Lego mini-figures and dummy weapons (life-size, not Lego-size). Other groups like the Sci-Fi Coalition and Star Trek The Fleet offered guests civic-minded venues for exploring their media interests as well as participating in community service with other fans. Having catalogued all these sights and wonders, it kills me to say that I wasn’t able to go both days, leaving Alex to fend for himself on day two. And as if this wasn’t bad enough, that day he bumped into none other than Rachel Hollon, our very own Elvira for our House on Haunted Hill Halloween party this past October. As it turned out, she had been there for both days, but somehow she slipped past us with her killer-diller, gender-bender Han Solo cosplay the day I went. I suppose I can only let this be a lesson to make the necessary arrangements to attend both days when next year’s expo rolls around.  Rachel Hollon (@facesbyrachie) & Alex Speaking of which, I’m not sure if I can wait for next year! I like to think I keep up with pop culture happenings and going-ons, but I haven’t felt the way I did after attending LBCE in a long time. The cosplays, the conversations, and the quality of service by those working all made for a magical experience that brought out the kid in me and whetted my appetite for more conventions. WonderCon is around the corner and Comic-Con is coming up in the summer, but Long Beach Comic Expo is the high, memorable bar by which I will judge all others.
Photos by Alex Martinez and Reggie Peralta The views expressed in this review are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page. 2/25/2019 Book Review: LOST IN THE FUNHOUSE: THE LIFE AND MIND OF ANDY KAUFMAN by Bill ZehmeRead Now  REGGIE PERALTA Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society Like many angsty, alienated teens, I spent a good deal of high school finding solace and inspiration in stand-up comedy. I eagerly devoured the material and philosophy of the obvious greats like George Carlin and Bill Hicks, but it was the madcap antics of Andy Kaufman, prodigious in their planning and calculated in their cringeworthiness, that spoke most immediately to me. So in thrall to the mad genius of the reluctant Taxi star and self-proclaimed Inter-Gender Wrestling Champion of the World was I that I kept a picture of him taped to the inside of my binder, a little touch that earned me a compliment from a substitute teacher on one occasion. Having established all this, it gives me a certain nostalgic pleasure to have read Bill Zehme’s Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman. I’d been meaning to get to it for some time, all the while asking myself, “How did anybody write a run-of-the-mill, ink-on-paper biography about someone as strange and full of life as Andy Kaufman?” The answer, as Funhouse demonstrates, is they didn’t. Zehme adopts an unconventional narrative voice that, rather than clinically recounting and commenting on the moments and happenings that made up his subject’s life, reflects the childlike whimsy that Kaufman himself embodied. The first few pages of the book, for instance, refer to his parents Janice and Stanley Kaufman simply as “Mommy” and “Daddy”, while his maternal grandparents Cy and Pearl Bernstein are “Papu Cy” and “Grandma Pearl” respectively. Although this voice becomes less pronounced as Andy grows older (“Mommy” and “Daddy” give way to “Janice” and “Stanley" early on, for example), the book retains an experimental and emotional quality that adds a strong sense of drama to the material and further invests the reader in it. Another unusual technique that the author makes superb use of is two motifs repeated over the course of the book. The first is his bookending of certain sentences with variants of “and that was, um, fine”, a phrase that captures the awkwardly-amusing ambiguity that Kaufman’s work provoked in audiences. The second motif, used to chillingly great effect, is his seemingly random interjecting of passages describing a cough that the comedian was just never quite able to shake, ominously hinting at his eventual succumbing to cancer. These recurring elements not only heighten the aforementioned sense of drama but give it a certain musicality as well, something that Kaufman, an avowed “song and dance man”, would likely have appreciated. Regarding the research that Zehme conducted for Funhouse, it’s almost staggering to learn that he spent six years conducting interviews and gathering material. At a little over 350 pages long, one might find this hard to believe but, nevertheless, should respect that so much time and thought went into it. Indeed, Zehme’s studies of his subject (including stints as a producer for a Taxi retrospective and A Comedy Salute for Andy Kaufman) bore considerable fruit in the form of interviews with key figures from Kaufman’s life as well as observers and admirers of his work. The presence of the main players like Kaufman’s parents and siblings, his manager George Shapiro, and comedy partner Bob Zmuda are all givens, but Zehme also includes comments and stories by such notable others as Dustin Hoffman, Chevy Chase, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rodney Dangerfield, and Carl Reiner (who is shown to have had the distinction of introducing Shapiro to Kaufman.) One appearance that might take readers particularly by surprise is John Gray, who, before taking the self-help world by storm with Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, acted as a counselor to Kaufman and his loved ones after his fatal diagnosis. Some might be also surprised by how little Kaufman’s partner Lynne Marguiles (memorably portrayed by Courtney Love in the Jim Carrey-starring biopic Man on the Moon) figures into the story, but in hindsight it shouldn’t be since they were only together a year before his death (a fact that the movie plays loose with.) Still, as his significant other, she undoubtedly had a unique view of the funhouse that very few others probably got to see, so it’s not unreasonable to wish more attention had been devoted to Marguiles and her memories of Andy. In this terribly hip age of Adult Swim humor and contrived quirkiness, it’s both startling and satisfying to see that Andy was, at least as Funhouse tells it, a genuinely strange person. The skeptical may assume that his off-stage weirdness was just another put-on by the master prankster, but the evidence from his childhood suggests that he was out there from the very beginning. His habit of happily gibbering to himself in class, his penchant for staring off into space with those big blue eyes of his, and a twin brother visible only to himself indicate an experience and understanding of reality that was possibly situated somewhere on the autistic spectrum, leading one to wonder how differently Kaufman’s life and craft might have turned out had a diagnosis for autism existed then. One might take it as a criticism of the book that the picture it draws of its subject is murky and vague, but it shouldn’t be construed as such since Kaufman was himself murky and vague. We get significant glimmers of insight into what was going on in his mind or what he was trying for like when we read the abrasive voice he used for Tony Clifton sounded suspiciously like his father’s when he got mad or that the Uncle Andy’s Funhouse production crew felt he acted and sounded just a little too heartfelt during his talk with Howdy Doody, but there is no moment where the reader suddenly goes “bingo!” and understands Kaufman on a fundamental level. Of course, it’s hard to imagine any explanation given for Kaufman’s behavior and personality (or, perhaps more aptly, personalities) being satisfying in any meaningful sense, so perhaps that question is one we’re better off leaving, like many others surrounding him, unanswered. But chances are anyone reading an Andy Kaufman biography isn’t expecting answers to such “who, what, why” questions. The real metric for such an endeavor is how much of Andy’s spirit the title is able to capture and replicate on each page. Judging by this standard, Lost in the Funhouse, with its well-executed eccentricities and its unexpected tenderness, is an astonishing success that is unlikely to be equaled any time soon. The views expressed in this review are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more reviews, recaps, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page. 1/17/2019 Event Recap: GODZILLA (1954)/Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski Q&A @ The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana 12/15/18Read Now  Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski signing books for fans. REGGIE PERALTA Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a month since Los Angeles Arts Society hosted its wildly successful screening of Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla (1954) at my workplace, The Frida Cinema, in Santa Ana! We had a tremendous turnout for the movie on its own, but almost everybody stayed for the Q&A afterwards with Honda biographers and the night’s guests of honor, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, as well! This is hardly a small feat as it is, but it’s an even greater accomplishment considering my own past experience with Orange County Godzilla screenings. The last time I saw Godzilla in an OC theater, there was probably four people in the audience. Two of those four were my brother and I. For our event, however, almost 100 people showed up, with one couple even showing up a whole two hours early (a smart move on their part, as they got dibs on one of the five or so posters we were giving out). The crowd was a mix of young and old as well as the initiated and the uninitiated: some said they were only vaguely acquainted with the Big G, while others said they watched his movies when they first hit theaters. Regardless of how familiar they were with Godzilla or when they first saw his films, they were equally enthusiastic about the movie and simply being there. I was enthusiastic too, but as enthusiastic as I was, I didn’t get to watch the film (what with production matters to attend to and all.) Yes, I’ve seen it a million times before, and yes, it wouldn’t do for an event runner to sit in on their own show, but still the fanboy in me wishes that there had been enough down time for me to at least sit in on a decent portion of it. The most I got was a brief look near the end of the film, just enough to let Steve and Ed know that we would be up soon. From the little I saw though, I thought the DCP we used looked good. Ed himself stepped into the theater at one point and, after taking in a good chunk of the movie and returning outside, went as far to say that it looked great. I’m kind of curious as to whether it was as good or better than the Criterion Blu-ray used at the Japanese American National Museum’s screening, but given Ed’s expertise (as well as the fact that he’s one of the few people who’s probably seen Godzilla more than me), I’ll settle for being impressed that he was impressed. Once the movie finished, we had to move quickly and get chairs and mics set up for the Q&A, so I didn’t get to take in the raffle as smoothly as I would have liked to but the little I did catch was heartening. At this point, the raffle was already a minor success, with 16 tickets (or 32, counting the free ones we gave for every two bought by the same person) having been sold over the course of the event. But the winning couple’s reaction made it a memorable moment, with the female half of the pair screaming in excitement when my friend and partner Alex called their number and her hubby running up to the front of the theater to collect their loot. The momentum kept rolling right along and thank goodness it did, because the next segment of the program was our Q&A with Steve and Ed (and moderated by me). As you can imagine, much of my night was spent fretting about the Q&A and hoping to God that I was ready for it. I felt anxiety right as I ran on the stage when, suddenly but thankfully, it vanished as I introduced our guests and then asked them about their respective first times seeing it.  Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski fielding questions after the movie. Steve and Ed were both so thorough in their answers that I only had to ask four for them to address the subjects I was interested in, allowing me to turn it over to the audience quicker than I expected to and give them more time to ask our friendly neighborhood Godzilla experts their own questions. People asked about Eiji Tsuburaya’s dazzling special effects work, the various costumes used for Godzilla, 2016’s Shin Godzilla, and how the series went from the sorrowful horror of the original to the family-friendly absurdity of later entries like Son of Godzilla. Considering that I had a hard time finding anybody interested in Godzilla in Orange County when I was growing up, I was blown away by the specificity of the audience’s questions as well as the in-depth knowledge of the franchise they demonstrated. But I was even more blown away by what followed. After escorting Steve and Ed back to their table in the lobby, I was amazed by the sight of the audience swarming in behind us to buy books, magazines, and toys as well as meet and take selfies with them. One of the attendees was especially moved by the experience, with her even crying tears of joy as she spoke to our guests of honor. As if to add a cherry on top, her daughter would later come up to me to tell me how much it meant to her that her mother was able to not only see Godzilla on the big screen but to experience it the way she did that night. And it really was a special experience for everyone, least of all me. While bringing Godzilla back to Santa Ana had long been a dream of mine, it wouldn’t have been the triumph that it was without the invaluable assistance of LA Arts Society’s volunteers to make it run smoothly and the tireless legwork of Alex to make it happen in the first place. I also have to extend a big round of thanks to Steve and Ed for making time to join us (and flying all the way from Chicago in Ed’s case) and to The Frida for opening their doors to us. It’s hard to say for sure where LA Arts Society will go from here, but with Godzilla: King of the Monsters set to hit theaters in a couple months, who’s to say that this will be the last time the big gray lizard stomps through the OC?  The team that helped make this screening possible. Photos by Keefer Blakeslee. The views expressed in this recap are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more recaps, reviews, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page.
 Nostalgic Nebula String Quartet REGGIE PERALTA Creative Director - Los Angeles Arts Society November and early December may have been busy for Los Angeles Arts Society with preparation and production of our successful screening of Godzilla, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t make time for appreciating the work of others! Au contraire, I made time to see Nostalgic Nebula’s screening of The Addams Family at the Frida Cinema just two weeks before our own event! Hosted by my friend Cody Chavez, the show sounded like great fun to me and, having attended any number of his previous events from Killer Klowns from Outer Space to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I went in with high expectations. Having established this, it gives me great pleasure to say my expectations were exceeded right off the bat. Opening the show was the Nostalgic Nebula String Quartet, performing a stirring arrangement of the original Addams Family theme by Vic Mizzy as well as selections from Marc Shaiman’s score for the film. The original theme is a goofy song, but thanks to conductor Florence Chang’s direction and the quartet’s musicianship, they added a level of spirit to the music that one doesn’t really associate with The Addams Family. The point where this was most palpable was the reprise of the original theme, with the musicians playing with such emotion that it was almost incongruous with the comedic romp that followed. I’ve seen the quartet perform at other Nostalgic Nebula events, but I don’t think I’ve ever been quite as wowed by them as I was this time around. Following the opening performance was a short but fun seance. Cody led the audience as they lifted electronic candles handed out at the door and tried to make contact with Uncle Fester. While we did manage to make contact with a spirit, it was the wrong Christopher Lloyd character: we reached none other than Doc Brown from Back to the Future, playfully realized through audio played over the theater’s speakers. The whole thing probably lasted a minute or so, but it was a fun little touch that helped viewers get in the mood of the movie. I’m going to be honest and admit that prior to this event, I had never seen The Addams Family before. Heck, I’ve never even seen a full episode of the show (I was more of a Munsters guy growing up). I HAD seen Addams Family Values though, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I expected the original to appeal to me the same way, but although I liked it, I couldn’t help but feel that the sequel was superior. Interestingly, I would later learn that this seems to be the consensus among fans of the movies, with the macabre, biting humor of the sequel gelling more with viewers than the absurdity of the original. That being said, I liked both films and appreciated the opportunity to see the first on the big screen with a crowd that also seemed to really appreciate it. Speaking of the crowd, some people had the bright idea of coming in costume, with one couple dressing up as a very convincing Gomez and Morticia Addams. If I had been more familiar with the film, I think I might have joined in and come as Tully, the incompetently-treacherous lawyer played by Dan Hedaya (who played another lawyer in the form of Cher Horowitz’s dad in Clueless). Aside from a group picture taken at the end, there wasn’t really any part of the program that emphasized the costumes but it was heartening to see people getting into the spirit of the show and contributing in their own small ways to make it pop. Overall, it seemed like the crowd wanted more, because quite a few people hung around in the lobby after the film like they were expecting someone to direct them to the nearest bar or something. I myself ended up in extended conversation with a few of them, a good indicator of the communal energy in the room considering that making small talk with strangers doesn’t come easily to me. What I think it needed was an after party, not because it would make the event (everything described above already did that) but because it would cap it off so to speak. It would turn out that I wasn’t the only one who considered this idea, and I certainly anticipate something like it being added to future Nostalgic Nebula events. Of course, I anticipate future Nostalgic Nebula’s events in general, it’s just that I anticipate them even more so in the wake of the high notes hit by this one. The Mummy (1999) is next on their slate and I plan to see that as well on 1/4/19, but I like to think that they’ll be able to screen Addams Family Values at some point down the line and make it a reunion to remember! Just click on the following link for more information on Nostalgic Nebula's upcoming "The Mummy (1999)" screening. The Mummy (1999) Nostalgic Nebula The views expressed in this review are those of the author’s and not necessarily the views of LA Arts Society. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section below. For more reviews, events, and other news from LA Arts Society, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to book an event, volunteer with LA Arts Society, or have any other questions, feel free to reach us on our Contact page. |
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