GELFAND’S WORLD-A number of years ago, back in the days of vinyl records and spinning turntables, a Harvard student who worked at the campus radio station finished a particularly stressful set of final exams. He went to do his shift as radio announcer and in a burst of gratitude at his deliverance from academic peril, proceeded to play and broadcast all nine Beethoven symphonies in a row.
This would have been quite a task back in the days of vinyl, as even a long playing 33 RPM record would only be good for maybe half an hour per side. It was also a bit revolutionary in terms of programming. What had previously just not been done was now being done. This created a tradition for what is now FM WHRB -- engaging in an orgy of one composer's music, or some other equivalent exploit.
The process became known as the WHRB Orgy, continues to this day, and is now available over the internet. You can find the link to everyday programming and to the musical orgies here. Imagine how much vinyl flipping had to be done for the Wagner operas, including the 17 hours of the Ring, or for the Mozart symphonies.
We've got a different kind of orgy going on in LA right now, only it's called a binge, and it's built out of old television shows rather than record albums.
I've taken some potshots at KCBS of late, so here is my chance to give that empire a plug. I'm talking broadcast TV here, even if it is now of the digital variety. The old broadcast Channel 2 is now divided into 2-1 and 2-2. For a long time, the second side just ran the smaller screen version of 2-1.
Things have changed. The new format involves running the old narrower screen format on 2-2, but with content. They are showing old television series from the 1950s and later. Right now, we are getting Route 66 (photo above), starring the very young versions of George Maharis and Martin Milner. Guest actors include some later success stories, including Leslie Nielsen and Ron Howard, and that's from a show made in the early 1960s.
It's all part of a series called Countdown to Decades. What that title is supposed to mean is anybody's guess, but the format involves running Route 66 nonstop for 24 hours a day. When they run out of Route 66, along about Wednesday afternoon, they will commence with Dark Shadows. Previous to Route 66, they did a Love American Style binge.
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This digital broadcast thing has turned out to be better than we might have expected. Channel 5-2 is where you can find old Burns and Allen if you're willing to stay up. If you stay up too late, you'll run into McHale's Navy, but that's your problem. Or you could switch back to Route 66. After all, it will be 3 am.
One weekend of intensive film instruction for high schoolers
The San Pedro International Film Festival is inviting high school students to apply to the third annual intensive filmmaking workshop. It will take place both days of the weekend of June 20-21, 2015. The first day will be dedicated to the art of storytelling -- how to develop a storyline, build it into a script outline, and how to write the spoken parts. There will also be some technical training at the beginners' level. The instructors include notable people with experience in the film and television industry. The second day will be devoted to shooting a documentary based on what was discussed on the first day. If you are interested in applying, please reply to the email address listed below. There is of course no charge to the students.
A Modern switch: the Villa Aurora and Jacaranda Music
Jacaranda Music is the chamber group (and more) that usually performs at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica. But this May 16, it will follow a long list of notables by performing at the Villa Aurora. The Villa was the home of German-Jewish refugee Lion Feuchtwanger, who escaped, along with his wife, from the Nazis in 1943 and settled in Los Angeles. He bought and upgraded what is known as Villa Aurora in the Pacific Palisades. It became the home away from home for visiting refugees and intellectuals.
Since the 90s, Villa Aurora has served as an artists' residence and performing arts center. The Villa has close connections with current European culture and with the Goethe Institute, which has its own library and theater in the Fairfax district.
The Saturday evening performance will include modern percussion music from several composers.
American Cinematheque
It's a slightly Europeanized name for a local phenomenon. After the 1994 earthquake damaged the Egyptian Theater, the city was at something of a loss in terms of what to do. And then, to borrow an old punch line, a miracle happened. The film society that had been meeting elsewhere agreed to take over the Egyptian.
The plan involved doing the seismic retrofitting, but the Cinematheque took things quite a bit further.
The interior of the theater (that many of us remembered from the good old days) was refurbished to create a 640 seat stadium style seating arrangement. At the same time, the Cinematheque installed moveable panels that allow for terrific acoustics, which allows for everything from big screen extravaganzas to a lone piano used to accompany classic silents. The American Cinematheque did the refurbishing, paid off the loan, and continues to do an impressive job of programming.
The organization then took over the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, and runs it as part of its operations. You can find the schedules at the website. The Aero will be screening Rebel Without A Cause on May 22, followed by a two day Harry Potter marathon. The Egyptian will be showing The Last Waltz which will allow you to catch up on Bob Dylan, the Band, and Joni Mitchell among others. Worth catching.
One editorial remark. The Hollywood and Santa Monica theaters could be the two corners of a citywide triangle for film performance. The City of Los Angeles owns the Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro.
The WGT is currently run by the Department of Cultural Affairs, and it could easily enough include a selection of films that are currently booked into the Egyptian and/or the Aero. This would only require the concurrence of the Cinematheque and the money to carry out the operation from the city or from private sources.
Figure somewhere between thirty and fifty thousand dollars a year to add an amazing cultural resource to a much underserved end of town.
We can hope.
(Bob Gelfand writes on culture and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected] and those interested in the film workshop can use that email to inquire.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 39
Pub: May 12, 2015
