Best Pictures: my favorite L.A. themed films, Part I

latimesblogs.latimes.com/ files/2009/02/

I thought it'd be appropriate to celebrate tomorrow's Academy Awards (which I'm not planning on watching) by listing my top ten favorite films that actually take place in Los Angeles:

1. Topping the list is Crash (2006). There's a good reason why it won Best Picture. It's a powerful, moving film dealing with the racial and cultural animosities in modern Los Angeles. Rated R for language, sexual content and some violence.


2. A similar film is the 1991 film Grand Canyon, starring Danny Glover and Steve Martin, which also deals with the racial and ethnic divides here in Los Angeles. Both Crash and Grand Canyon could really take place in any major American city.

As a Christian, I wish that more Christian movies (yes, this is really a genre) dealt with issues like this, rather than the usual sentimental fluff.

Both Crash and Grand Canyon are great films, despite the fact that they seem to have more questions than answers.


3. The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, chronicles the life of a young Howard Hughes from the 1920's to the 1950's, much of which took place here in Los Angeles. This including a Hollywood Premier in the late 1920's, Hughes crashing a plane in a residential neighborhood in Beverly Hills, and the flight of the famed "Spruce Goose" in Long Beach in the 1940's.


4. The Rocketeer also has a couple of scenes featuring Howard Hughes, but that's where the similarity ends. The Rocketeer is pure fantasy - and one of the few films on the list I'd even consider appropriate for kids. This 1991 period adventure film from the folks over at Disney is rated PG for mild violence. And great soundtrack, too.

5. Even less appropriate for kids - and what I would not consider a family film - is the 1988 Touchstone (a division of Disney) production Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Roger Rabbit. The visuals are incredible, winning three Academy Awards. I really enjoyed the setting: Hollywood 1947, involving the "Big Red Cars" of the Pacific Electric, Los Angeles' old mass transit system.

On the other hand, the language, sexuality, and honestly creepy violence do not make it appropriate for kids. If you think that all animated or Disney films are family friendly, think again.

More films in Part II

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"For Your Consideration" (Part I)

A year ago in our Sunday Los Angeles Times we received a large, expensive four-color brochure printed on glossy card-stock.

A brochure for a luxury car?
Timeshares?
New homes?
Investments?

No, in fact the brochure was higher quality (and probably more expensive to produce) than anything I've either requested or been given. But this being Los Angeles, it wasn't about something for me to buy ...


The brochure was to promote the Miramax film "There Will Be Blood". It was specifically designed for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ... and their neighbors? I have no idea why we receive this.

This brochure was apparently placed in every Sunday Los Angeles Times within certain zip codes here on the westside of Los Angeles.


While there are only about 6,000 members of the Academy, someone at Miramax decided it would be worth it to place a copy of this brochure within every L.A. Times in our zip code (and many others, I'm sure). Impressive images of the film were placed side by side glowing reviews from major media sources.


Not only do I not know any "members of the academy" - but I didn't even see this film.

The brochure was a reminder that the movie was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (It ended up winning 2: Best Actor for Day-Lewis, and Best Cinematography for Robert Elswit).


While Wikipedia is not considered a credible source for academic research, it's fine for this blog (and this topic):


"For Your Consideration is a heading frequently used in advertisements in entertainment trade publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. They are specifically directed towards members of awards voting groups in the entertainment industry."


"Each year, the major movie studios, and to a lesser extent their affiliated television studios and the television networks, spend large sums of money on For Your Consideration ads extolling the alleged virtues of their films or programs released over the previous year."


Wow - I guess so. On the night of the Academy Awards, the film won a couple of Oscars. I wonder what kind of difference, if at all, this expensive promotion made. A year later, I still haven't seen the film.

A couple of weeks later we received yet another brochure. Same heavy cardstock, glossy four color printing, etc. Only this brochure wasn't a brochure. It was a menu - for the Disney/Pixar film "Ratatouille."


Hey, now we're talking. A film our whole family has actually seen (at least on DVD).

OK, it wasn't really a menu. It was another over the top promotion brochure "for my consideration." But it was designed to at least look like the menu to a fancy French restaurant. Creative.

The first couple of pages included nice reviews from the New York Times and the Chicago Sun-Times.

The rest of the brochure consisted of photos from the film, along with recipes of real French food.


Promotion, yes, but a much more low key approach than the "There Will Be Blood" brochure. I liked it.

Along the top of each page were the words "Pour Votre Consideration" - a subtle (or not so subtle) request to members of the Academy. If I ever meet one, I'll be sure to pass this along.


The final page was a quote from the character "Ego" (remember him?) indirectly comparing the skill of the character Remy to the film itself. Nice touch.

"Ratatouille" won Best Animated Feature Film (it was up against "Persepolis" - which I never even heard of - and "Surf's Up" - which my kids made me watch).

Hollywood must love sequels, or at least someone in Burbank must have thought these promotional brochures were a great return on investment (hey, got my attention). Read more in "Part II."

"For Your Consideration" (Part II)

As I shared in "Part I" of this blog entry, about a year ago we received via our Sunday Los Angeles Times two expensive, four-color glossy brochures designed to promote Miramax's "There Will Be Blood" and Disney/Pixar's "Ratatouille."


Hollywood loves sequels. Over a couple of Sundays in this past December, we received two more promotional brochures in our paper.


As you can see from the photos, the first was for "Wall-E," another Disney/Pixar film.


Over the top doesn't describe this brochure. These photos don't do justice.


This promotional for "Wall-E" is forty eight pages on heavy, glossy cardstock. It's beyond what you'd expect a company like Apple or Microsoft to send to their stockholders. If it was designed to attract attention simply based on "size and scope," I'd say it succeeded. What's incredible to me is that a brochure of this magnitude was placed inside tens of thousands of copies of the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times in targeted zip codes here on the westside of Los Angeles.


Huge color photos were set against glowing reviews of the film.


Time, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times all had wonderful things to say about the film ... and this brochure is a reminder of that.



A week after receiving the "Wall-E" brochure, we found another promotional insert in our Sunday paper. This time it was for the film "Bolt."


Seems a little ironic - as both of these films are owned by Disney. I guess someone in Burbank really wants to make sure their studio walks away with "Best Animated Feature" (as well as - I'm sure - awards in other categories).


As you can see, the "For Your Consideration" promotional for "Bolt" was a calendar. My 9 year old immediately asked if he could have it (he's got it hanging on the wall in his room).


"Bolt" was an enjoyable film - one our family actually went and saw in the theater. According to http://www.oscar.com/ it's been nominated for six Academy Awards: http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=film&film=Wall-E%20Film


The last page (as well as the back of the calendar) was entitled "For Your Consideration" - an appeal to members of the Academy (and those in their zip code? Again, I have no idea why we received this). You can click on any of these images for a larger view.


Thinking about the upcoming Academy Awards, I'm reminded of much earlier award ceremonies mentioned in the New Testament. Almost 2000 years ago, the Apostle Paul, a leader in the early church, compared the Christian life to the ancient Olympic Games:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." Paul's 1st letter to the church in the city of Corinth 9:24-25

Interesting that Paul wasn't critical of the ancient Olympic games he was referencing. Studio executives green light millions of dollars in the pursuit of an award that, while notable, is ultimately temporal. As a Christian, I often settle for the mediocre in my own life when God calls believers to run, to strive, to fight, to excel.

I'm impressed with the effort studios make toward promoting and marketing a film. I hope I would put that same, no - much greater energy - towards Christ and His Kingdom.

Looking forward to seeing how "Wall-E" and "Bolt" do in their completion, Sunday evening February 22nd.

And thanks for the fun brochure and calendar.