Tapeheads at the New Beverly Cinema

I attended my first showing at the New Beverly Cinema.  They show double features for $7.00 cash money.  The theater was recently saved from bankruptcy by none other than Quentin Tarantino.  I question the authenticity of directors.  The rich and famous always associate themselves with noble pursuits in third world countries, where they can speak on behalf of an association that gives them more credibility than they're worth.  Or at least something that their name can be affixed to.  Not Tarantino, he's legit.  He saved a god damned theater because he could.  How many times have you been bothered by something and thought, if I had the money.  He's the ultimate moviegoer and hasn't forgotten the rest of us -lining up for a movie released 22 years ago.  Curing diseases and rebuilding impoverished nations is all well and good but he gave back to something that has saved so many of us, the movies.

Tapeheads is basically two guys pursuing their dreams of making music videos.  For being a film I've never heard of, it has many recognizable faces and voices.  But now I understand why I've never heard of it, it's boring.  The film is too convoluted for a storyline which would have been perfect if left alone.  The best parts of the film are the two videos they create for their production company, Video Aces.  Like so many films, it's an accidental homage to Los Angeles.

Their first video is a commercial for Roscoe's Chicken Waffles.


The second video is for the fictional band Cube-Squared.


Roscoe's is a real place, with really good food.  And Baby Doll is actually by Devo, making the likability of the tune acceptable.

The director and a couple of the actors were present for a post screening informational.
Their insight resulted in the following nuggets of brilliance.
1.  John Cussack is physcially very strong and not bad at basketball.
2.  Tim Robbins was a jackass even before he was famous.
3.  Catherine Hardwicke, the director of the first Twilight installment was the Production Designer for Tapeheads.  She got the job because she was dating the director Bill Fishman.
4.  Fishman lives by the motto, "Style over substance."  (There is something disconcerting about this phrase but I'm starting to question if I too agree.)