Went to a special screening of "The Day of the Locust" last night at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was part of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association tribute to Conrad Hall, who won our Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Quite a nice crowd showed up. Robert Towne interviewed Hall on stage and clips from "American Beauty," "In Cold Blood," and "Tequila Sunrise" were shown, with Hall discussing how storytelling is the most important aspect of his craft. Then "Day of the Locust" came on, and my God it's better than I remembered it. I haven't seen it since 1974 when it came out and failed. No surprise on that score. It's a faithful adaptation of a novel that tells this culture precisely what it doesn't want to hear about itself.
Karen Black, in the utlimate Karen Black performance is extraordinary, and Schlesinger directs it all with amazing proficiency and precision. When a film's really working certain moments in it will stay with you forever. For me it was a haunting shot of Leilia Goldoni dressed to the nines standing in the windwow of the brothel (whose Madame is Natalie Schaffer!), glimpsed by William Atherton's Todd Hackett. Billy Barty brought down the house, as usual, when he climbs up on abar,walsk across it and pours himself a drink -- and the sequence of the set collapsing has never been bettered.
Donald Sutherland, also brought down the house for reasons unforseen when the film was made, for his first line is "Hello, I'm Homer Simpson."
My date for the evening, BTW, was Jon Scher -- who's still running into people telling him how crazy they are about "Urbania." His next film is going to be about the New York Club scene in the 80's-- but not the famous disco murder club kids story that Bailey and Barbato have wrapped up. Rather he wants to talk about real estate,and how Giuliani reshaped the city. it will also deal with a storysimilar to the one James B. Stewart related in his "Death of a Partner"piece in the "New Yorker" several years ago -- about a real estatetycoon with important Times Square properties -- who was killed by one of the black teenage drug addicted hustlers he fancied.
