Early Risers Fill Film Fest Seats

Usually, the first thing I do in the morning after leaving the house is head out to find coffee. On Tuesday, the first place I headed to when I left the house in the morning was the Metro 4 to see a movie. Who would show up at 8 am on a Tuesday morning to watch a movie? During Film Fest, a lot of people.

The auditorium was about two-thirds full for the screening of Troubadours. The three other auditoriums of the Metro 4 which were also showing films starting around the same time had similar size crowds according to Film Fest Director Roger Durling.

At this point of the Festival it's mostly locals who are in the audience for the weekday screenings. Many of the out of towners will return this weekend.

Troubadours, which was shown at the just concluded Sundance Film Festival, revolves around the L.A. Folk/Rock music scene of the 60's and 70's and focuses in on the 50th anniversary of the famed L.A. Music venue, The Troubadour nightclub, and in particular the music of James Taylor and Carol King, who recently did a reunion tour to celebrate that anniversary.

(By the way. Is it just me, or does Carol King bear a slight resemblance to our District Attorney, Joyce Dudley?)

How could I not like this movie? Having grown up in L.A. and attended college at UCLA in the early 70's I have been to the Troubadour a few times and even saw the comic duo, Cheech and Chong, who are interviewed in the film, perform there.

The music featured in the film was the soundtrack of my college years. Besides King and Taylor, the film also has interviews with, Jackson Brown, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby and Kris Kristofferson just to name a few.

I don't know if every movie is suited to starting your day off with, but Troubadours was just what the doctor ordered on this particular Tuesday morning. All that was missing was my large cappuccino. Anyone ever think of installing a Starbucks counter inside the theater lobby?

You still have a chance to catch Troubadours at the Film Fest. It will be shown again on Thursday at 4pm at the Arlington.

© 2011 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com

Geoffrey Rush Is An Actor, Not A Celebrity

He's not blessed with the classic movie star looks of Colin Firth, but Geoffrey Rush sure can act!


Geoffrey Rush

Photo Credit: Chuck Cagara / www.MagicalLightPhotography.com

That much was evident after watching the film clips from a cross-section of his work during the tribute to him at the Arlington on Monday night where he received the Santa Barbara Film Fest's Montecito award.

Seeing The King's Speech immediately before the tribute presentation to Rush, who was accompanied by his co-stars, Firth and Helena Bonham Carter and the film's director Tom Hooper, is certainly a good way to "plus" the movie watching experience.


Colin Firth presenting the Montecito Award to Geoffrey Rush

Photo Credit: Chuck Cagara / www.MagicalLightPhotography.com

I have now seen six of the ten films that are up for the best picture Oscar this year. That's an all-time high for me. Of the six that I've seen, here is how I would rank them: 1. The King's Speech, 2. True Grit, 3. 127 Hours, 4. The Kids Are Alright, 5. The Social Network, 6. Black Swan.

Leonardo DiCaprio may be the heartthrob and Seth Rogan may be the class cut-up, but the consensus among Film Fest attendees who saw them both this week seems to be that Rogan, by far, was the better and more entertaining award presenter.

A thousand screaming teenage girls are saying, "so what?"

More Film Fest Photos by Chuck Cagara in this year's photo gallery.

© 2011 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com