chase the light

I went over to the [Arclight] theatre today to see the film [Little Miss Sunshine]. Our posh movie theater in town with none of those before film commercials and reserved seating. Great because you can show up just minutes before a movie starts and have the seats you selected rather than the front row. Love that place. Anyway, Little Miss Sunshine, great great great film and the very moment Alan Arkin comes on screen is just awesome. He’s the best. It has every indie film cliche in the world and it gets a little slap sticky at the end but whatev. It looks like the film was shot within a 100 mile radius of Los Angeles and includes quite a few nods to L.A. landmarks like [Dinah’s Famous Chicken] restaurant and [Pann’s Coffeeshop]. The ending is shot up in Ventura substituting for Redondo Beach. I only know that because I’ve driven by the railroad bridge and hotel that make an appearance in the climax of the movie. My cousins live a few miles from it. Also watch out the rear of the van as they’re traveling along the highways. You’ll see a cop car following behind them straddling lanes to keep the traffic from behind him getting in the shot. You can even see one of the many cop car shots in the [trailer at 2:04 secs]. Heh heh, just sayin’.

Before I went in though they were setting up the red carpet for a premiere of the animated film [Barnyard]. Hmmm… can’t remember who’s voicing that but I’ll check when I come out. Went in, watched Little Miss Sunshine, GREAT. Go see it. As I was walking out the whole red carpet premiere is going off so I walk up to the edge and look around and Andie MacDowell is standing right in front of me! Hilarious! I have such a movie star crush on her from Sex, Lies and Videotape, Green Card and Groundhog Day. Another great Andie MacDowell moment is in the film Short Cuts, or maybe it was The Player, when Andie Macdowell, Roddie McDowell and Malcolm McDowell are all on screen at the same time. Funny little Altman moment.

Back to celebs at movie premieres… about 5 minutes later Courtney Cox comes strutting on by with hubby David Arquette and she goes inside the theater and then comes back out and comes over to me. I’m thinkin’ she knows a handsome bastard when she sees one! Ha ha ha! Weird L.A. moments for sure. Yep, just another day in my silly little city!

All that and Mel Gibson completely lost his alcoholic marbles in Malibu this weekend. Whoa, whatever it is, it’s hittin’ the fan on that one.