They have a film program at this convention. This evening, they're showing Hook, Amazon Women on the Moon and This is Spinal Tap, among others. I suddenly find myself curious as to why. Not why they're showing them but why anyone would go to a comic or s-f convention and spend any length of time watching movies, especially movies that are by no means rare or hard to see.
I've never really done that. I've been going to conventions since 1970 and I can only think of one instance where I spent any real time in a film room. It was at the 1976 San Diego Con and they decided to have a late night (starting at 1 AM, as I recall) screening of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. That's a movie that's not so hot when you see it alone but it's wonderful — and I mean that in a genuine, non-camp way — when viewed with a hip crowd. Even then, I might not have gone if it had been earlier in the evening and certainly not during the day. A convention, even a bad convention, is filled with things to do, people to meet, items to look at…all of which are generally unavailable elsewhere. So I didn't go to film programs, even back when I couldn't waddle down to my nearby Blockbuster and rent the same movies for a buck or two, take them home and watch them in (probably) more comfortable surroundings…the way I could now do with Hook, Amazon Women on the Moon and This is Spinal Tap.
But I did go to that presentation of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I wanted to see it with my friends and I had no better alternative at 1 AM, including sleep. I found myself sitting next to the great animation director, Bob Clampett. Bob was a pretty hip guy but he kept whispering questions to me about some of the film's more esoteric references and sexuality. He did that up until around 2:15 AM when a deafening fire alarm began to sound all over the hotel.
Interestingly, I didn't notice anyone being all that concerned that there might have been a fire…which at the El Cortez Hotel then, would have qualified as some form of Civic Improvement. As people poured out of hotel rooms — some, even from their own — the main emotion was annoyance at the loud noise which refused to stop. It went on and on for more than an hour, preventing the last reel or two of B.V.D. from being run. My recollection is that around 3:30 AM, it finally stopped. You could hear a loud cheer from all over the hotel, and then everyone went off to dreamland.
The next day, I found myself relating the last twenty minutes of the movie on a panel…and don't think that's easy. The conclusion is so twisted and full of clichés and coincidences that some people thought that I didn't really know; that I was just making stuff up. Heck, Clampett saw the first seventy minutes and thought I was making that up, too. Anyway, that's my one 'n' only filmgoing-at-a-con experience. I've seen no reason to go to movies at conventions, especially in the age of home video. I wonder why anyone does.
Did five panels today, all of which went well, at least from where I was sitting. Didn't go down to the main hall but did hear some folks liken it to being on a large conveyor belt which carries you along with it, whether you want to go or not. There's an odd, not unpleasant mood to the con but I think I'll have to give the matter more thought before I can put into words here what I think it is. Right now, I'm due at a cocktail party that's known to have good chicken skewers and tiny meatballs. So I'm outta here.