Re: Satoshi Kon tribute in Los Angeles Sept. 19-20

I only showed up for the afternoon screening, but there were about 30-40 people overall for the double feature. More seemed to show up later, since I think the place does better in the evenings. Anyway, it's a smaller theatre than average, so that's actually a decent attendance level for the place. And there was polite applause for Kon-san's name [I wish they had subbed it for Paprika.] and for the ending of both movies. Other than the occasional idiot flipping on their cell phone light or dropping something, there was a lot of attention paid to the screen. Very quiet on Millennium Actress, too. And the crowd seemed to really enjoy Paprika while laughing at the right moments and being mesmerized by the dream-like moments. There was a minor glitch on the MA print, but they fixed it fast enough to not really bother anyone. If you want to see a real projector screw-up, they pretty much had to fix Tokyo Godfathers in NY every five minutes. Anyway, while I already own said films on DVD, and seen them in theaters[Kon-san autographed my pass at AFI.], I felt like supporting his memory. MA did not make me as emotional when I first saw it as when I saw it today, but then I felt like I could relate more to the fan of the actress now. And I actually notice more elements pilfered in Inception from Paprika than when I started. Nolan's clever, because he just re-positioned certain things. But anyone who says they're only alike because of the premise
isn't paying attention. However, I wish I had stayed to hear whether others in the audience were also taking notes. But I'm just happy to know that someone in the industry's recognized him and his work. [The theater is owned by Tarantino, you see. Though I'm not sure how involved he is with the selections.] Anyway, if anyone else wants to share their experience of recent screenings, go ahead.