Thursday, November 20, 1997
Film Archives presents top flick picks of Angelenos
FILM: Desert Island series asks notable citizens to choose,
present their favorite movies
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Contributor
So you’re stranded on a desert island. No radio, lifeboat,
flares, or even a TV and VCR in sight. Instead, for some
inconceivable reason, you have a fully equipped 35mm projector and
one, only one film tucked under your arm. What one movie could you
play for the rest of your life?
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is asking that question to
well-known Angelenos in its Desert Island Film Series.
The Archive, a program that collects, preserves and restores
films, also presents about 400 films a year.
This new series will feature a different take on film
presentation. This is one of the few times that the Archive will be
adding guest speakers to their screenings. The monthly event will
give audiences the chance to listen in on the guest’s introduction
and presentation on their film choice.
The series, which started last month, invites guests from all
walks of life to pick a film they could watch repeatedly. The
Desert Island Film Series has already drawn in Playboy publisher
Hugh Hefner. And tonight’s guest is UCLA alumna and
screenwriter/director Allison Anders ("Mi Vida Loca," "Four
Rooms").
"I was trying to think of different ways to incorporate the
creativity of Los Angeles in other ways than film," says Director
of Programming and Desert Island series creator Andrea Alsberg.
By appealing to a wider audience, Alsberg looks for guests who
have come to represent Los Angeles in a variety of fields,
including architecture, cooking, music, politics and sports.
Although Anders is a part of the film industry, she was also chosen
for her involvement in the community and her other work including
music and social concerns.
"Living in Los Angeles, it’s very hard to not be under the
influence (of distinguished individuals)," Alsberg says. "So it was
my idea to go out and ask prominent Angelenos to pick a film that
had influenced them and their life."
As a renowned figure in cinema, Anders’ choice is "A Hard Day’s
Night" a work she describes as "a masterpiece – a perfect film."
The film fictitiously chronicles the Fab Four’s encounter with mad
fans on their way to a television show performance.
"This film is in a class all its own," Anders says in the
November UCLA Film and Television Archives calendar. "It never
ceases to thrill me, even though I have seen it well over a hundred
times. I screamed the first three times on all glorious close-ups
of Doll Paul.
"It could never be re-made – it exists in a specific time with a
very special bunch of boys," Anders continues. "The exhilarating
style is also absolutely perfectly specific to its time – for the
band and for the high all of us Beatlemaniacs were on."
Anders’ enthusiasm for the Beatles has also pervaded into her
own work, including a script entitled "Paul is Dead" about her
imaginary relationship with the "dead" Paul McCartney.
Although fans may come for the guests themselves, the Desert
Island Film series will essentially showcase the guest’s choice of
film and their personal feelings about it. The film screenings do
not include a forum for questions and answers.
"Sometimes it’s difficult for people to talk specifically about
themselves," Alsberg says. "It’s easier to talk about something
they feel passionately about. For instance, Hugh Hefner wouldn’t
have come if we asked him to talk about his life as a Playboy
publisher. But to talk about a film, he was much more
interested.
Alsberg continues, "Through talking about a film, one gains
insight into other areas of their lives, their personality, their
way of thinking and why they were influenced by this particular
film."
As for future guests, audiences can look forward to an eclectic
mix of movies and guests in the coming months of the series.
Alsberg already has a lengthy list in mind including Heidi Fleiss,
Walter Mosley, Beck and Magic Johnson.
FILM: November’s Desert Island Film series is tonight at 7:30
p.m. at the James Bridges Theater. Tickets are $6 for the general
public and $4 for students and seniors. For more information, call
206-8013.Sony Pictures Classics
Tonight’s Desert Island Film Series by the UCLA Film and
Television Archive guest Allison Anders directed "Mi Vida Loca: My
Crazy Life."
UCLA Film and TV Archive
Director Allison Anders selected "A Hard Day’s Night" for the
Desert Island film series.