Wednesday, February 4, 1998
Midnight madness
FILM: Insomniacs take heart – L.A. movie theaters screen
offbeat indies
and campy classics after hours
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
When someone goes to a midnight screening of "The Rocky Horror
Picture Show," it’s not just to sit and watch.
While the 1975 musical didn’t make much of an impression on the
box office, this little movie about a sweet transvestite has been a
cult hit for years thanks to its resurrection in midnight
screenings all over the country.
But "Rocky" is not the only movie to return as an after-hours
hit. Midnight screenings of offbeat movies have been around for
years, with such recent features as "Showgirls" and "Priscilla:
Queen of the Desert" attracting cult following. Older cult films
like John Waters’ "Pink Flamingos" and Andy Warhol’s movies are
also finding new audiences in the wee hours. With audience
participation including dressing up as their favorite characters,
bringing props and shouting out lines with the actors on the
screen, midnight showings are more like events than passive viewing
experiences.
More movie theaters are staying open late, screening offbeat
films that dance on the fringes of society. The Laemmle Sunset 5 in
West Hollywood has been featuring midnight showings since 1993.
Tami Darrell, assistant manager at the Sunset 5 Theater, says the
midnight showings are for people who enjoy something other than the
mainstream movies found at the local multiplex.
"We show off-the-wall kind of things," Darrell says. "We
definitely wouldn’t play porn movies during the day."
In fact, their most popular midnight showings include ’70s porn
flicks and inviting the actors from these films to speak before the
show. Last weekend, their midnight menu included a 3-D porn called
"Disco Dolls in Hot Skin," an independent film "Gummo," and "Sick
and Twisted," a collection of animated shorts which has been there
since last summer.
But while the Sunset 5 does show these alternative movies after
midnight, by day they cater to the American independent film crowd,
bringing two very different audiences to the theater.
"There are two totally different audiences at this theater,"
says Roger Christensen, manager of the Sunset 5. "By day, it’s an
arthouse for American independent films but the audience is totally
different at midnight. The children of the night arrive after
midnight."
But Darrell says that the after-hours crowd isn’t as
rambunctious as some people might think.
"A lot of weirdos and normals come, but they don’t get weird or
anything," Darrell says. "And we have security to make sure things
are kept to a minimum."
Ken Ya, 20, who came to Friday night’s screening of "Gummo,"
says that he enjoys the laid-back atmosphere of the audience at the
midnight shows.
"Regular people are into that top-hits movie scene like
‘Titanic’ and such," Ya says. "A movie like ‘Gummo’ has style, you
know, and that’s reflected in the crowds who go see it. The
midnight crowd simply has different interests. It’s more kick-back,
low-key."
Moviegoer Cristine Nguyen, 21, agrees with Ya, suggesting that
the audience provides half the drama after midnight.
"It’s a funnier crowd," Nguyen says. "It’s the type of crowd who
gets off work late and just wants to let loose. Last week, people
were throwing popcorn all over the place and nobody cared. A
popcorn fight. That doesn’t happen often."
And while the crowd is more fun and involved than they would be
at a normal cineplex, the interesting film choices also draw
curious viewers.
Christensen believes that their screenings of older porn movies
are drawing in a new, younger audience because of the critical
acclaim of last year’s look at the porn industry, "Boogie
Nights."
"It’s not your typical porn audience," Christensen says. "It’s
like a spin-off of ‘Boogie Nights.’ It’s not the raincoat crowd,
but college students who want to laugh at it and have a good time.
There’s a jokey camp quality to it."
And moviegoers might even spot a few famous faces at midnight
screenings.
Christensen recalls one memorable occurrence during a question
and answer session with the director Russ Meyer before the
screening of his 1966 film, "Faster, Pussycat, Kill! Kill!"
"Meyer made a lot of erotic movies in the ’60s and ’70s that
were about big-breasted women who were like saving the world from
communism," Christensen says. "And Quentin Tarentino was in the
audience and started asking him questions so there was this lively
exchange between the two of them. That was a cool night."
Additional reporting by Tommy Nguyen.