It's That Time of Year Again!

Cinevent is upon us! In less than a week, I'll be spending days toggling between sitting in a dark screening room and gabbing with people I see once a year.

The Wexner Center at Ohio State does an annual pre-show to kick off the festivities. This year they're screening two 3D features, and unless you're one of the small percentage of people who has a 3D setup at home, this is a rare chance to see these screened. They're showing The Maze and Gog. I've heard Gog is kind of a cheesy sci-fi throwaway flick, but The Maze looks pretty good. The director was William Cameron Menzies whose work in designing the look of classics like Gone With the Wind speak to the potential of this movie. Bob Furmanek has made a name for himself restoring 3D films, and this is his latest completed project. I've met Bob and have a good friend who does freelance work for him, so I imagine this will be a quality effort. Tickets are $8 at the door, or you can purchase a ticket and transportation on the Cinevent website and get shuttled from the Renaissance hotel to the Wexner Center.
https://wexarts.org/film-video/maze-gog

The film schedule is varied as always, and since this is the 50th Anniversary there are tribute screenings to the founders of Cinevent. I'm pregnant this year and it is hard for me to stand for long periods of time so I intend to spend more time in the screening room than normal. However, in the past I've often missed screenings due to talking too much so I anticipate that happening at least once this year.

Thursday
12:00 PM The Masked Marvel Ch. 1-3 1943 50 min
1:00 PM Repeat Performance -- presented by Richard Barrios 1947 91 min
2:40 PM Our Gang Silent Shorts program Misc. 80 min 
4:10 PM Sweater Girl 1942 77 min
5:30 PM DINNER BREAK
6:45 PM Golden Celebration Reception
8:15 PM Our Merry Way (segment) & Startime episode "Cindy's Fella" -- presented by Scott Eyman 1948/1959 105 min
10:10 PM Four Around a Woman 1921 52 min 
11:10 PM The Third Key 1956 96 min

Friday
9:00 AM Night in Paradise 1946 84 min
10:30 AM Six Degrees of Hal Roach shorts Misc 80 min
11:50 AM Riders of the Whistling Skull 1937 58 min
12:50 PM LUNCH BREAK
2:20 PM Leonard Maltin Presents his new book Hooked on Hollywood 
3:25 PM The Masked Marvel Ch. 4-6 1943 50 min
4:20 PM The Biffle Murder Case -- presented by Michael Schlesinger 20 min
4:50 PM The Toll Gate -- Steven Haynes tribute film 1920 73 min 
DINNER BREAK
7:50 PM 42nd Street Short -- Cinevent 1 Tribute 6 min
8:00 PM The Phantom President -- presented by Richard Barrios 1932 78 min
9:30 PM Don't Change Your Husband 1919 71 min
10:50 PM Double Whoopee (dubbed) 1929 20 min
11:20 PM Value for Money 1955 90 min

Saturday
9:00 AM Animation Program Misc 75 min 
10:20 AM The Masked Marvel Ch. 7-9
11:15 AM The Eyes of Julia Deep 1918 57 min
12:15 PM LUNCH BREAK
1:45 PM Maltin & Eyman Conversation moderated by Caroline Breder-Watts
2:50 PM The War of the Worlds -- John Stingley tribute film 1953 85 min
4:25 PM The Meanest Man in the World -- presented by Leonard Maltin 1943 57 min
5:35 PM Jazz Shorts -- John Baker tribute films presented by Fritz the Nite Owl Misc 30 min
6:25 PM DINNER BREAK
8:05 PM Sea Spoilers 1936 63 min
9:15 PM We Faw Down 1928 20 min
9:35 PM Speed King 1923 50 min
10:35 PM Three Little Girls in Blue 1946 100 min
12:20 PM Murder By Television -- presented by Fritz the Nite Owl 1935 53 min

Sunday
9:00 AM Kitty 1945 103 min
10:50 AM Dress Parade 1927 72 min
12:05 PM Be Big 1931 30 min
12:40 PM LUNCH BREAK
2:10 PM The Masked Marvel Ch. 10-12 1943 50 min
3:05 PM The King of Wild Horses 1924 50 min
4:00 PM Beauty for Sale 1933 90 min
5:35 PM Dreamboat 1952 83 min

One of the great things about Cinevent is the massive dealer's room where people from all over the country (and some outside) bring their wares. The room is chock full of original items from the period, DVDs and blu-rays, books, records, etc. There are several book signings scheduled this year, and I intend to take advantage of some of the dealers bringing new releases to sell.

Maltin is the special guest for the weekend, a well-known name among film fans. His annual Movie Guides are a familiar companion even though they have ceased to be printed and his many books on various film topics continue to be seminal works. It was through his commentaries on the Cabin Fever Little Rascals tapes that I first received insight into the behind the scenes of Hollywood at the time, and his book on the subject led me to branch out into the world of the silver screen. This new book promises to be a delight for people like me who feel that Maltin is just a regular guy whose passion mirrors our own, an old friend whose personal recollections are welcome.

Producer Michael Schlesinger will be selling copies of this new DVD set, a series of old-style comedies featuring the comedy team of Biffle and Schooster. I have never seen one of these shorts (due to yapping too much at a convention where one was screened and completely missing it). I see Michael at Cinevent every year and I always feel guilty about missing his film, so I am excited to get to see them finally, both on the screen this year and also at home.

Some people LOVE Disney movies. They've seen all of them, they decorate their purses/cars/selves with the characters, they make yearly pilgrimages to Disney World. When it comes to animation, I am a Fleischer girl. The art is more primitive and quaint and it screams the 1930s. Some of my favorite cartoons from my childhood came from the Fleischer Studios ("Somewhere in Dreamland" and "The Kids in the Shoe"). When I saw that Thunderbean was releasing a new blu-ray featuring rare cartoons from this studio, I immediately contacted company head Steve Stanchfield to see if he would have copies on hand at Cinevent. He will. His company does great work and employs a team who cares deeply about the films they restore.

One of the fun things about the dealer room is you never know what you're going to find. I like to buy books about films, especially autobiographies, and my den is plastered with original posters, several of which I've gotten at Cinevent. This year I was doing some preliminary browsing on ebay and found a dealer who sets up at Cinevent each year selling a poster I've wanted for years, so he's going to bring it to the show for me. Last year I unexpectedly found an insert for Claudia and David, a movie series based on a book series that I absolutely love (which also spawned a great radio series). I had to keep myself from dancing around on the spot so I could haggle! 

I hope those of you who have never been to a film festival will consider attending this one. It is a special event that I look forward to each year to recharge my batteries. It is at once relaxing and invigorating and a great place to learn a thing or two.