THINGS TO CHECK OUT // TARANTINO FEST AND JAMES FRANCO EXHIBIT
BY CASSADY DIXON
There’s some fun stuff going on in LA as we charge ahead towards spring.
Quentin Tarantino is taking control of programming at the spectacular New Beverly Theater over the month of March. There is no definitive word on whether or other not he or other guests will be gracing audiences with their presence, but ol’ QT still has a bevy of cult films ready to unleash. Of note is the Australian Duel-esque film Roadgames with Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis. Dazed and Confused is another one I’ll be sure to hit up, and all screenings are double features. They're also showing other favorites like White Lightening and Cooley High. Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse can’t be left out either, but the topper may be Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, the unrated combined version of Uma Thurman’s bloody romp. All info can be found here. Get your tickets early and often. Lulu’s Café and Susina Bakery are right nearby, too, and your stomach will thank you.
James Franco seems to be everywhere and doing everything these days, so why not stroke his ego even more and attend his new exhibition at Beverly Hills’ arm of the Gagosian Gallery. Unfinished (gotta love that title) is a collaboration between Franco and Gus Van Sant, and it is a set of two films. Endless Idaho is a whopping 12-hour behind-the-scenes look at the making of Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. The second film, My Own Private River, is an ode to River Phoenix, the star of that earlier film. Michael Stipe even hopped on board for the scoring duties. Van Sant will also have artwork that is a part of the collection. The cynic in me points towards Franco’s sudden explosion into cultural ubiquity as more PR stunt than organic craftsmanship, but I will be happy to be proven completely wrong. Also, if either Franco or Van Sant is looking for an assistant, don’t hesitate to reach me.