One Movie They'll Never Remake

Midnight Cowboy
Originally uploaded by jerebo.

God bless the Skirball Cultural Center and AFI. They co-sponsor a great series, "Films That Inspire Me" in which current filmmakers choose a film that inspired them and discuss said film with a moderator post-screening. So far I have seen Repulsion, Sullivan's Travels, and The Brood discussed by Wes Craven, the Weitz Brothers and Clive Barker respectively. (Side note: Clive Barker bragged about the environmental aspects of one of his novels, then was driven home by his "husband" in a Hummer.)

This film series is just one of the things that makes me appreciate L.A. more and not as sad about leaving San Francisco.

I just got back from seeing Andy Garcia discuss Midnight Cowboy. I know this is not very Pauline Kael of me to say, but what a great fucking movie! There are so many articles, books, and documentaries about the late 60s/early 70s being the last Golden Age of Cinema, and this movie just proves it. Only then could a character-driven drama with no real plot not only get made, but win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Seeing the movie only reminded me of how good Dustin Hoffman once was. He and his other peers from that time period (Pacino, De Niro come to mind) have become total whores in my opinion. They'll do any piece of shit now for the paycheck, and that's a damn shame! They are almost like bands that hard-core fans dismiss as sell-outs once they hit the mainstream -- only these guys were the mainstream back then.

And Jon Voight. How strange to realize that he was once known as someone else besides Billy Bob Thornton's ex-father-in-law.

The screening was the most crowded out of any I've been to so far and Garcia was a very gracious speaker (and one helluva handsome fella). He even encouraged one ol