John Hughes was probably my first favorite filmmaker, or at least the first I really knew by name and reputation. So I’m especially saddened by his death from heart attack today, at age 59. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off may no longer be my favorite movie of all time — actually attending high school somewhat ruined the teen mythology that exists in Hughes’ films for me — but it forever remains in my top ten list of titles I enjoy watching over and over again (even if I am critical of the musical number).
Because many of us film bloggers grew up religiously watching his movies, including those he scripted but did not direct, there’s a lot of shared memories and tributes popping up around the web this evening. Check out what people are saying about the legacy of the iconic filmmaker after the jump:
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About once a year, the “Whatever Happened to Whit Stillman?” train rolls into the station, unloads a few bits of rumor that never quite amount to much of anything, and then rolls right out again. I actually saw Stillman at a Film Society of Lincoln Center party a couple of months ago; a colleague told me he was going from table to table, trying to woo investors. I don’t know if the fact that there was a listicle published with Stillman’s byline in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal should be considered evidence that his panhandling worked (and, thus, he’s now actually working on a film), or not. But as far as listicles go, it’s a pretty good story!
The filmmaker picks his top five favorite film books, of which I had only previously read two (Hitchcock/Truffaut and The Genius of the System). I didn’t even know the Preston Sturges book on the list, Between Flops, existed.
Via GreenCine Daily.
I’m swooning this morning over a 16-page PDF, advertising the fall programming schedule for Los Angeles’ Silent Movie Theater, which has recently been remade as a full-service rep house. Growing up in Los Angeles, the old Silent Movie was a key constellation on the moviegoing map, along with the New Beverly, the Nuart, the Music Hall, that shitty discount Cineplex Odeon on Fairfax and Beverly, and the (recently-shuttered) Rialto in Pasadena. Now that I’ve been spoiled by New York theaters like Film Forum and the Pioneer, I understand that none of these places were all that adventurously programmed when I was frequenting them in the mid-to-late 90s, but within Los Angeles’ oppressive strip mall non-culture, there was something exciting about watching something like King Kong with live organ accompaniment at the Silent, or even just getting a car full of people to drive out to Pasadena to see a print of Ghostbusters that actually had scratches on it.
But with the new Silent Movie, Los Angeles finally has the rep house that it probably doesn’t deserve. The program for the remainder of 2007 is wildly exciting. I’ve listed some highlights after the jump; you can download the gorgeous PDF program here.
[Via Filmmaker Blog]
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