NitrateVille.com

The schedule for Cinecon has been posted on their website...

http://www.cinecon.org/cinecon_schedule.html

Cinecon 45 Film Schedule Updated 8/20/09

Here is the film schedule for Cinecon 44. Titles in all upper case are features and those with upper & lower case are short subjects. For more information about these films visit our Film Line-up page.

All of these screenings will be at Grauman's Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard. Admission is by day pass or full festival pass which can be purchased in advance or at the door during the show, please see our Registration page for more information

This schedule is subject to change without notice. Some films are listed here pending final clearance.
Guests appearances are confirmed subject to unforeseen circumstances.

Thursday September 3
7:00 Documentary short TBA
7:30 FLAME OF CALCUTTA
8:40 Q&A w/ Denise Darcel
9:15 TRIAL MARRIAGE
10:40 PLAYBOY OF PARIS

Friday September 4
9:00 Love Detectives (Pre-Code; Betty Grable)
9:20 THE MIRACLE MAN (1932)
10:55 HE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE
12:00 Lunch Break
1:30 Cavalcade of Broadway (cabaret acts)
1:40 EASY LIVING (1937)
3:15 BROADWAY LOVE
4:30 HATTER'S CASTLE
6:10 Dinner Break
7:45 South of the Boudoir (Charley Chase)
8:05 GIVE OUT, SISTERS
9:20 PAID TO LOVE
10:45 TRICK FOR TRICK

Saturday September 5
9:00 Business Meeting
9:30 STRANGE AFFAIR
11:00 GOOD TIME CHARLEY
12:05 Lunch Break
1:35 Screen Snapshot (1923, Clara Bow)
1:45 THE DAWN OF A TOMORROW
2:45 THANKS FOR EVERYTHING
4:05 THE LAST BANDIT
5:25 Q&A w/ Adrian Booth (aka Lorna Gray)
6:00 Dinner Break
7:50 Screen Snapshot (1930) with Mickey McGuire
8:00 AFRAID TO TALK
9:20 SPUDS
10:35 NIGHTMARE (1942)

Sunday September 6
9:00 Perils of Nyoka, chapter 6: Human Sacrifice
9:20 ONLY THE BRAVE
10:35 TURN TO THE RIGHT
12:00 Lunch Break
1:25 The Railroad Wretch A Scrappy cartoon
1:30 LOVER COME BACK (1931)
2:50 THE SILENCERS
4:25 Q&A w/ Stella Stevens
5:00 BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT (ends at 6:35)
7:15 COCKTAIL RECEPTION
8:00 BANQUET

Monday September 7
9:00 His Marriage Mix-Up Harry Langdon
9:20 THE BRIDE COMES HOME
10:55 DE LUXE ANNIE
12:10 Lunch Break
1:30 Hockey Homicide (Goofy)
1:35 RUMBA
2:55 ADVENTURE IN SAHARA
4:00 THE YOUNGER GENERATION
5:35 NIGHT RIDERS


We do our best to stick to the schedule, but changes and delays are inevitable.

No Kindred of the Dust . I know its costly but I'm gonna fight for it for Rudy Fest.

Not many silents either. Of course after 40 some years they've probably done them all. Bardleys would be fun!

Why not a GOOD one like TOO LATE BLUES or BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE ? Oh well more time for me to spend in the pool.

jessica wrote:Why not a GOOD one like TOO LATE BLUES or BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE ? Oh well more time for me to spend in the pool.

CABLE HOGUE is an R-rated Peckinpah film; not really what our attendees want to see. TLB she's not in long enough to make her mark (also true of LI'L ABNER, EDDIE'S FATHER and NUTTY PROFESSOR).

BTW, since that sked was put up, BROADWAY LOVE and SPUDS have swapped timeslots.

Mike S.

Wha? She's a co-star in NUTTY, and in my opinion, never looked better than in that film (and the Academy has a mint IB). I actually think she has a smaller role in THE SILENCERS than she does in NUTTY. GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS would have been a good one, but apparently she doesn't like talking about Elvis.

Probably her best early work was in the Edmond O'Brien directed picture, MAN-TRAP, which would have been right up Cinecon's alley. No idea if Paramount has a print though.

Jack Theakston wrote:Wha? She's a co-star in NUTTY, and in my opinion, never looked better than in that film (and the Academy has a mint IB). I actually think she has a smaller role in THE SILENCERS than she does in NUTTY. GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS would have been a good one, but apparently she doesn't like talking about Elvis.

Probably her best early work was in the Edmond O'Brien directed picture, MAN-TRAP, which would have been right up Cinecon's alley. No idea if Paramount has a print though.

Who the hell are you two talking about????

Jim

See 4:25 on Sunday.

misspickford9 wrote:No Kindred of the Dust . I know its costly but I'm gonna fight for it for Rudy Fest.

Not many silents either. Of course after 40 some years they've probably done them all. Bardleys would be fun!

I count 10 silent features and one part-talkie, which may be one or two below the usual Cinecon average, but about right.

I just think it is insane to have her in the first place. I did enjoy Corman and
at least that was screening of rare interesting film in terms of showing something from the 60s. Like I said personally I like the extra time to hang out , go to pool etc but is Joey Heatherton and WHERE HAS LOVE GONE next ?

jessica wrote:I just think it is insane to have her in the first place. I did enjoy Corman and
at least that was screening of rare interesting film in terms of showing something from the 60s. Like I said personally I like the extra time to hang out , go to pool etc but is Joey Heatherton and WHERE HAS LOVE GONE next ?

Does Cinecon still need guests, now that there are so few veterans of the vintage era left?

Harlett O'Dowd wrote:I count 10 silent features and one part-talkie, which may be one or two below the usual Cinecon average, but about right.

But if they'd ditch the 1950s-1960s films, and fill in the Sunday night dead-zone with some programming, we could have 50% more silents than we've been getting. To me, that would be about right.

If you're an out of towner, you could also go to a different festival if Cinecon doesn't meet your needs. If you want to see a bunch more obscure silents, you should be going to Cinesation, which seems to have the main pipeline into things the archives are working on that nobody's seen and are of no commercial prospects.

I say this not to knock Cinecon in any way, just saying, if its mix doesn't work for you, something else's might.

Chris Snowden wrote:

jessica wrote: Please, please, please ditch the guests from now on. It's gotten beyond ridiculous now with Stella Stevens. Does that mean killing the banquet? Good. Kill it. If anyone really needs to have dinner with Marvin Kaplan, they can call his agent. The autograph hounds who are eager to see these 1950s-1970s people can go to the Ray Courts shows.

Chris, I'm sure the financials are a bit more complex than what you described, but I agree with you that it's perhaps time to examine Cinecon strategy.

As I noted on another thread, the move to the Egyptian has been a marked improvement. The show, on the whole, runs 1000% more smoothly than it did in the Roosevelt days and the whole movie-going experience is a lot better.

So I think any discussion of Cinecon strategies moving forward should first acknowledge, not only that Bob and Stan and Mike et al are doing this for free, but that they're getting a ton of stuff right and lot of stuff *has* gotten better over time.

And I think our Cinecon friends have kinda already tiptoed into a possible celebrity compromise with Richard Sherman and Dick Miller. I would propose still having the banquet so long as the board is of the opinion that it brings in more traffic than it repels. But for guests who may not have done enough work in the, say, pre-widescreen era, set up a clipreel/tape in one of the un-used dealer's room, still have the Q&A and (if the guest is amenable) signing, while freeing up the main room for more vintage fare. We did it for Toby Wing and Mary Wickes. Why not for Richard Sherman?

At the same time, it may be time to look around for more celebrity wrangers. Has anyone gone through Miles Kreuger's rolodex, for instance? Someone outside of the current Cinecon regular wrangelers might have more of an in with an Angela Lansbury or Debbie Reynolds or Maureen O'Hara or Lauren Bacall. If we can get a guest who has a showcase film from the 40s or early 50s, that'd be wonderful. And if that means only one or two stars per year in the Egyptian and a one or two at the hotel, that'd be fine.

But ultimately, Nitrateville probably isn't the place to have this discussion. Bob, is there any way of bringing up this subject at the business meeting this year?

Harlett O'Dowd wrote:As I noted on another thread, the move to the Egyptian has been a marked improvement. The show, on the whole, runs 1000% more smoothly than it did in the Roosevelt days and the whole movie-going experience is a lot better.

So I think any discussion of Cinecon strategies moving forward should first acknowledge, not only that Bob and Stan and Mike et al are doing this for free, but that they're getting a ton of stuff right and lot of stuff *has* gotten better over time.

And I think our Cinecon friends have kinda already tiptoed into a possible celebrity compromise with Richard Sherman and Dick Miller. I would propose still having the banquet so long as the board is of the opinion that it brings in more traffic than it repels. But for guests who may not have done enough work in the, say, pre-widescreen era, set up a clipreel/tape in one of the un-used dealer's room, still have the Q&A and (if the guest is amenable) signing, while freeing up the main room for more vintage fare. We did it for Toby Wing and Mary Wickes. Why not for Richard Sherman?

At the same time, it may be time to look around for more celebrity wrangers. Has anyone gone through Miles Kreuger's rolodex, for instance? Someone outside of the current Cinecon regular wrangelers might have more of an in with an Angela Lansbury or Debbie Reynolds or Maureen O'Hara or Lauren Bacall. If we can get a guest who has a showcase film from the 40s or early 50s, that'd be wonderful. And if that means only one or two stars per year in the Egyptian and a one or two at the hotel, that'd be fine.

Cinecon keeps operating an outdated model. Having a celebrity banquet (with Q&A screenings) was perfect back when the guests were people like George O'Brien, Esther Ralston and Fay Wray. But the stars of that era are gone now. What's left are the obscure names of the 1940s-1950s, and the more familiar names from the 1950s-1960s. At this rate, who will we be seeing five years from now? Tom Laughlin? Cloris Leachman?

It'll either be that... or no banquet. Maybe it's better to just cut the banquet now before the self-parody gets any worse.

And if the dealers still kick in enough money to make dealers' rooms profitable for the Cinephiles, then fine. But their numbers have sure been declining over the years. How much longer before there aren't enough of them to break even on the room rental? Maybe it's time to get ready for that now, since it seems inevitable to me, and I used to be a dealer myself.

My purpose in writing these posts is not to attack Cinecon, or to hurt anyone's feelings. I know Bob and Mike have thick skins, or I'd just remain silent.

Chris Snowden wrote: Cinecon keeps operating an outdated model. Having a celebrity banquet (with Q&A screenings) was perfect back when the guests were people like George O'Brien, Esther Ralston and Fay Wray. But the stars of that era are gone now. What's left are the obscure names of the 1940s-1950s, and the more familiar names from the 1950s-1960s. At this rate, who will we be seeing five years from now? Tom Laughlin? Cloris Leachman?

It'll either be that... or no banquet. Maybe it's better to just cut the banquet now before the self-parody gets any worse.

Which is why I qualified my statements by saying "brings in more traffic than it repels." I attended one banquet. It was an interesting experience but one I don't have a burning desire to live through again. However, the room was quite full. So while it may not be something that appeals to you or me, it does seem to appeal to some members of the society. And yes, I suspect the people willing to put out for a celebity banquet for Richard Sherman and Stella Stevens would be just as happy to shell out for Cloris Leachman and Tom Laughlin. And twenty years from now - Mark Hammill and Carrie Fisher.

And yes, I've noticed less dealers with each passing year and a lot of familiar merchandise. And, like you, I've probably gotten most of the low-hanging fruit from these merchants over the years that I'm going to want to get. With each year, I find myself spending less and less time in the rooms.

But again, if the dealers who come make enough money to warrant coming back the following year, let 'em stay. As I suggested, this may be a particularly good time to re-examine the Cinecon model. Just about every year, someone suggests doing *something* to get the word out to the tourists on Hollywood Blvd that there is, in fact, a memorabilia show going on in the hotel. Whether the time/cost involved to get somebody with a sanwich board to spend some time at Hollywood and Highland should be the Ciencon board's responsibility or something the dealers should chip in/volunteer to do is a matter of debate, but I would suggest having *that* debate before the *pull the plug* one.

What about making it a moving target again? Bob and Mike and so on could still focus their attention on the film line-up, but a team in another city could focus on the hotel, banquet, food, dealers, etc.

I'm aware that this wasn't a particularly successful model when it was tried many years ago, but maybe it's time to try again. Certainly there must be a lot of regulars who would look forward to a chance to travel to, say, Chicago (old Essanay territory) or the old studio locations in Florida, etc., instead of going back to LA for the umpteenth time.

Plus, it's about time to find some young Turks to learn the ropes and be ready to take over from the old hosses when they are ready to head out to pasture.

Jim

Reading the comments on this thread so far, I thought it would be interesting - particularly for some of the newer Cinephiles - to compare this current 2009 Cinecon film program to the one run 25 years ago at Cinecon 20 in San Francisco. Jon Mirsalis and I ran that Con, and I just dug out my old program. Below is a complete list of the titles we ran that weekend. We had two screening rooms running simultaneously in the Palace Hotel and everything we ran there was 16mm. Additionally, we did two field trips to outside venues for 35mm screenings, on Saturday to the Castro Theater in SF, and on Sunday to the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley.

Our special guests that year were Esther Ralston, Mary Brian, Priscilla Bonner, Nell O'Day, Bernice Claire, Disney animator Retta Scott and film distributor Kit Parker.

I'm not posting this as any sort of criticism of the schedule Bob, Mike, Stan, et al have put together for this years show, I just think it is interesting to see how the focus of the Con has changed gradually over the years.

Having been on the planning / production side of the Con as well as simply a vacationing attendee, I know the vast amount of work that goes into putting on one of these shows. It's a TOUGH and mostly thankless job, and whatever your opinion of the way the Festival is being run, we all owe a tremendous vote of thanks to Bob B and his entire committee for arranging this long weekend of fun for us year after year.

At least that's the way I see it.

-Rob
========================
Here is the 1984 schedule:

Films screened in 16mm at Hotel:

Blessed Event (1932)
Camille (1929) (Ralph Barton)
Eadweard Muybridge Program
Escape Me Never (1935)
2 reel comedy program
The Flaming Signal (1933)
Holiday (1930)
Hula (1927)
Kiss and Make Up (1934)
The Last Warning (1929) - French Titles
The Love Flower (1920)
Man Who Broke The Bank at Monte Carlo( 1935)
The Mikado (1939) - IB Tech print
Mr. Dynamite (1935)
The Milky Way (1936)
Moulin Rouge (1928)
The 1920s - How Hollywood Roared (Marty Kearns program)
An Old Spanish Custom (1936)
Peter Pan (1924)
Ranson's Folly (1926)
The Red Kimona (1925)
Rome Express (1932)
Smoke Lightning (1932)
Sold For Marriage (1916)
Die Spinnen (The Spiders) (1920) Pts 1 + 2
Spring is Here (1930)
Stagecoach Buckaroo (1942)
The Strong Man (1927)
Torch Singer (1933)
Tribute to Disney Animators program
The Unknown (1927)
The Way of The Strong (1927)

Saturday Morning Castro Screening (all 35mm)

The Fire Brigade (1927)
Nell Gwyn (1926)

Sunday Morning PFA Screening (all 35mm from UCLA)

The Oubliette (1914)
This is The Night (1932)
Any Rags - Betty Boop short
Uncle Carl Talks to The Boys (1932 short) Carl Laemmle Sr talks to his distributors
Young And Beautiful (1942 short) 3 Strip Tech
Buck Rogers (1934 short)
Louella Parsons and the Stars of 1940 (1940 short)

Jim Roots wrote:What about making it a moving target again? Bob and Mike and so on could still focus their attention on the film line-up, but a team in another city could focus on the hotel, banquet, food, dealers, etc.

I'm aware that this wasn't a particularly successful model when it was tried many years ago, but maybe it's time to try again. Certainly there must be a lot of regulars who would look forward to a chance to travel to, say, Chicago (old Essanay territory) or the old studio locations in Florida, etc., instead of going back to LA for the umpteenth time.

Plus, it's about time to find some young Turks to learn the ropes and be ready to take over from the old hosses when they are ready to head out to pasture.

Jim

I say this with all the love as all these problems are something that definitely need newer models.

Re Dealers: Damn ebay. Damn ebay snipers (or as someone not too long ago put it, 'rogue Mary Pickford fans' LOL!)

Re Promotion: anyone can go on Hollywood Blvd and act like a jackass and promote anything. Its called 'busking' and you dont need a license (I've looked it up). Having volunteers go shout or dress up or something would not be too hard, especially considering tourist hell (Kodak Theatre area) is between the Roosevelt and The Egyptian.

Re young turks: I volunteered in March or so when they started preparations for this year. I never heard back. I tried again in I think May. Never heard back. Finally in August I met Bob who was very nice but he said there was no place for me 'this close' and they have 'the usual volunteers' so they dont really need new ones. I have never attended a Cinecon and frankly until Bob sent me an email last year just weeks before it started asking if I could link it I didnt even know it existed! And I live in Hollywood!

I really enjoyed the "author's panel" that was an alternate event in 2007. Bob Birchard, Diana Sierra Carey, Anthony Slide, and Dan Curtis. It was a great question and answer event. There are plenty of authors and/or archivists that would be great panel guests. I know that is not what brings the locals out, but that might get more people to travel there.

Even a panel with musicians like Jon, Phil, and Gabriel would be interesting.

Someone like John Bengtson doing a program would be fascinating too.

I know that in L.A. you can find movie memorabilia on just about any street, but every time I've attended I've spent several hours browsing through the dealers' rooms and spent every dime that I could afford. I do wish there were more people selling films there though.

silentfilm wrote:I really enjoyed the "author's panel" that was an alternate event in 2007. Bob Birchard, Diana Sierra Carey, Anthony Slide, and Dan Curtis. It was a great question and answer event. There are plenty of authors and/or archivists that would be great panel guests. I know that is not what brings the locals out, but that might get more people to travel there.

Even a panel with musicians like Jon, Phil, and Gabriel would be interesting.

And while it was done several years ago, I would still like to see Miles Kreuger's reconstruction of March of Time.

Harlett O'Dowd wrote:

silentfilm wrote:I really enjoyed the "author's panel" that was an alternate event in 2007. Bob Birchard, Diana Sierra Carey, Anthony Slide, and Dan Curtis. It was a great question and answer event. There are plenty of authors and/or archivists that would be great panel guests. I know that is not what brings the locals out, but that might get more people to travel there.

Even a panel with musicians like Jon, Phil, and Gabriel would be interesting.

And while it was done several years ago, I would still like to see Miles Kreuger's reconstruction of March of Time.

And the Golden Dawn sing-a-long.

Fred

misspickford9 wrote:Re Promotion: anyone can go on Hollywood Blvd and act like a jackass and promote anything. Its called 'busking' and you dont need a license (I've looked it up). Having volunteers go shout or dress up or something would not be too hard, especially considering tourist hell (Kodak Theatre area) is between the Roosevelt and The Egyptian.

Re young turks: I volunteered in March or so when they started preparations for this year. I never heard back. I tried again in I think May. Never heard back. Finally in August I met Bob who was very nice but he said there was no place for me 'this close' and they have 'the usual volunteers' so they dont really need new ones. I have never attended a Cinecon and frankly until Bob sent me an email last year just weeks before it started asking if I could link it I didnt even know it existed! And I live in Hollywood!

Well, promotion is putting a bug in the ear of someone at the LA Times or the weekly local rags, too. I seriously doubt someone hawking the films on Hollywood Blvd. would garner a lot of attention. A good article in Classic Images and also getting the members on an email list would be my suggestion for getting news out there. Upping the ante of the Cinecon website might be a good thing. Getting some buzz going there and posting, where you are able, some video clips can also generate some buzz. A Facebook page would not be a bad thing either. Another option and I believe this was sugegsted at past meetings (Sally Dumaux) hitting the film schools to get students in there and, ergo, new blood.

I recall preservationist panel discussions were fairly well attended, I'm thinking at the Roosvelt. Since I've not been in a while, do LOC or Academy or UCLA people bring snippets of works in progress? The SFSFF Preservation program is a free one, not one that packs the house to the rafters on a Saturday morning, but I love it. The people who do show up find it informative and fascinating, this year I felt there was not enough time alotted to it. But given the proximity to both UCLA and the Academy, maybe a good thing? Goes back to the suggestion of bringing some students in.

As for volunteering for the weekend, the person to approach for volunteering is Stella Grace, I'm pretty sure there is an email link on the Cinecon website if you are interested. Bob, Stan and Mike S. wear many hats, but the rounding up of volunteers is not one of them as far as I know.

Here is a video tribute to all of the archivists and preservationists who work tirelessly to save and preserve our film history and to the many film fests that run throughout the year to keep our heritage alive.

Every fact in this video has been rigoriously researched and I stand by it's validity..........(except, of course, under oath!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iabs8Lqn ... re=channel

Gary J.

My opinion:

The reason most conventions of this nature started out is because most films from before 1940 were relatively hard to see. Films before 1950 were on nitrate and hard to run, and preservation hadn't been done on some, if not most titles, and when they were, few places were running them. Well, things have changed, and now we have TCM and home video, as well as aggressive preservation programs. Most films aren't hard to see anymore.

I don't mind Cinecon (or any con, for that matter) expanding into films from the '50s and '60s if they're particularly good ones that are hard to find (eg. I wish one of these festivals would run more great, unheard of British films from the '50s like MR. DENNING DRIVES NORTH, ACROSS THE BRIDGE or ORDERS TO KILL). In fact, opening the field up a bit more can really only be a good thing, as there are many good movies post-1950s that are really good!

But as much as I love Dean Martin, I've *never* found any of the Matt Helm films to be any good (and with all of the smutty humor, more akin to a guilty pleasure).

I understand making the show more salable by adding guests and newer films, and that's fine. But THE SILENCERS, in my opinion, is "just a flick."

Harlett O'Dowd wrote:I count 10 silent features and one part-talkie, which may be one or two below the usual Cinecon average, but about right.

We generally show one silent per day part, so 11 is the norm. Any more could be a burden on our accompanists.

Mike S.

Just a few quick responses to a few things said here.

First off, Stella Grace is the volunteer coordinator and she has a staff of experienced volunteers most of whom will be working this year. She has a waiting list of interested people and those who would like to volunteer should contact her at Cinecon. Bob and I have nothing to do with the volunteers. It is all Stella. And to the same poster who inquired about helping and who said she has never attended Cinecon, it is still a week away so there's still time to attend by the day pass or a full festival pass.

As for being put out to pasture, I can only speak for myself when I say I am not ready for the last round up by any means.

When someone like Chris Snowwden offers suggestions about how to improve Cinecon, it must be looked at and his advice heeded because he is a man to respect.

The celebrity banquet has had to change over time, due to celebrities and the decades and mortality. This year's honorees do span the ages to a degree.

Denise Darcel is from the 50's and, although her resume is smaller than most, she did star in features and was in support in some good films. This will be her first film festival in decades and we've received responses from people who are eager to talk with her about books, interviews and appearances.

The Stella Stevens appearance may be of an actress from the 60's but she has been a fan of Cinecon, attended several banquets and was very honored to be included this year. Also, the film we're running is almost 45 years old.

Dick Sherman is coming to the banquet (no film at the Egyptian for him). He has attended before and is also honored to be singled out. His appearance doesn't change the film schedule at the Egyptian.

Lorna Gray, although the least known of our honorees, did work in film in the 30's and worked with legends like Buster Keaton. Despite her lack of "star" status, she is a worthy entry in our list of honorees.

Many of our attendees don't come to the banquet but many do attend and consider it a highlight to meet and mingle with the celebrities in attendance. On average, we have around forty celebs at the banquet. It is still a wonderful evening for everyone who attends.

All suggestions are welcome and are encouraged. Check out the website and submit them. But the schedule for this year is closed so any film queries could be suggested for next year. I can't tell you how many people email the week of the show to ask if we could show something they suggest.

I had dinner with Chris Horack last week and lunch with Mike Feinburg. Mike and I have been emailing back and forth. They both gave some wonderful possibilities for inclusion next year. I'm already making the list up. If you have possible titles, please send them to the website.

Thanks

Hi Stan,

Will there be a screening at Cinecon of the new documentary The Boys about the career of our guest Richard Sherman and his brother Robert? I didn't see it on the schedule.
It just opened here in Toronto to great reviews. Would be a good hotel event presentation.
Looking forward to seeing you next week.

Robert

Stan16mm wrote:Just a few quick responses to a few things said here.

First off, Stella Grace is the volunteer coordinator and she has a staff of experienced volunteers most of whom will be working this year. She has a waiting list of interested people and those who would like to volunteer should contact her at Cinecon. Bob and I have nothing to do with the volunteers. It is all Stella. And to the same poster who inquired about helping and who said she has never attended Cinecon, it is still a week away so there's still time to attend by the day pass or a full festival pass.

As for being put out to pasture, I can only speak for myself when I say I am not ready for the last round up by any means.

When someone like Chris Snowwden offers suggestions about how to improve Cinecon, it must be looked at and his advice heeded because he is a man to respect.

The celebrity banquet has had to change over time, due to celebrities and the decades and mortality. This year's honorees do span the ages to a degree.

Denise Darcel is from the 50's and, although her resume is smaller than most, she did star in features and was in support in some good films. This will be her first film festival in decades and we've received responses from people who are eager to talk with her about books, interviews and appearances.

The Stella Stevens appearance may be of an actress from the 60's but she has been a fan of Cinecon, attended several banquets and was very honored to be included this year. Also, the film we're running is almost 45 years old.

Dick Sherman is coming to the banquet (no film at the Egyptian for him). He has attended before and is also honored to be singled out. His appearance doesn't change the film schedule at the Egyptian.

Lorna Gray, although the least known of our honorees, did work in film in the 30's and worked with legends like Buster Keaton. Despite her lack of "star" status, she is a worthy entry in our list of honorees.

Many of our attendees don't come to the banquet but many do attend and consider it a highlight to meet and mingle with the celebrities in attendance. On average, we have around forty celebs at the banquet. It is still a wonderful evening for everyone who attends.

All suggestions are welcome and are encouraged. Check out the website and submit them. But the schedule for this year is closed so any film queries could be suggested for next year. I can't tell you how many people email the week of the show to ask if we could show something they suggest.

I had dinner with Chris Horack last week and lunch with Mike Feinburg. Mike and I have been emailing back and forth. They both gave some wonderful possibilities for inclusion next year. I'm already making the list up. If you have possible titles, please send them to the website.

Thanks

I heard there was a need for volunteers so of course I emailed; there have been a few replies saying 'oh go to the website'...what do you people think I did sent her a telegram :p? I'm not heartbroken over it; just saying if there is a need for new blood its odd the organizers dont seem to think so (I say that in reply to the above and some other comments).

As for going I'll be sitting it out. 1) I am a cheap/poor person and must spend my money wisely...so on occasion I even miss screenings I very badly want to go to (the San Francisco fest would be one, they had a nice enough lineup though I didnt kick myself like I did last year) and 2) the line up doesnt grab me this year for Cinecon. 10 silents and not a one I've heard of or am so eager to see I just have to go.

I like my early talkies too but it has to be something interesting, with a star or a hook or a censorship battle or something to get me in. The Egyptian had a code series last year and they showed I think a triple feature with 30s and 40s films...for the life of me I cant remember the names but I really liked it (and if I looked hard Im sure I could find the title). I like Charley Chase but not enough to get a day pass. Chaplin yes, Chase no.

I know the Chaplin estate is particular and expensive (so is the Lloyd one I hear) but I dont see why more screenings dont put in the effort. Last year the Aero and the New Beverly showed a few Chaplins (I want to say City Lights and Modern Times and The Great Dictator). The New Beverly just did Modern Times again with The General and it was wonderful. It may be mainstream but I assure you the n0obs would show up in droves. Then you could draw them in with the rarer goodies.

Two years ago I attended my first Cinecon. My friend Bruce Calvert had been trying to get me to go for years. Things just fell into place that year and I decided to bite the bullet and go. The one thing that worried me beforehand was not only had I only seen one or two of the many titles, I had never even heard of them. I fancied myself somewhat knowledgeable about film. I couldn't have had a better time, being introduced to great and not-so-great films and people who were passionate about them. It was the same last year, although I would have crawled to LA on broken glass to see Modern Love. So this year, even though there's not much on the schedule that I am excited about, I know I will find a bunch of new things I will love.

I'm sure you will Jim. Have fun, and tell us all about it when you get back.