Johnny Deadline: Beyond Fest 2024: Egyptian Theater Weekend

 by JB & Jan B.

One of the perks of moving to the land of dreams is attending Beyond Fest screenings with my lovely wife each autumn. This year was no exception.

JOHN: Two years ago, we were lucky enough to procure tickets for a Shatner-Fest held at the Aero theater in Santa Monica, comprised of a William Shatner triple feature and a Q & A with Captain Kirk himself. It was a lot of fun!

Last year, we went to the Aero for a Roger Corman Fest featuring four films, director testimonials, and The Man himself. We enjoyed Rock and Roll High School, Grand Theft Auto, Piranha, and The Raven. Allen Arkush, Ron Howard, Joe Dante appeared, as did Corman. It was the definition of fun!

We were starting to get good at this.

JAN: This year, Step One was an online free-for-all for tickets one hushed Saturday morning. I'm a big Flanagan fan (#Flanafan), so I scored us tickets for the premiere of a new cut of Mike Flanagan’s Hush, with director Q & A; a late-night screening of Lake Mungo, introduced by Flanagan; and then a 30th anniversary screening of Ed Wood featuring a Q & A with screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, because I knew my DH really wanted to be there. All were being shown at LA's historic Egyptian, which JB and I have been dying to see. Quite a haul!

JOHN: I don’t know how calendars work, so I also scored tickets to a Scarface screening at the Aero, with a post-show Q & A with Al Pacino. At the same time as Ed Wood. I took a deep breath and gave the Pacino tickets to my son. I’m that great a Dad.

A huge bonus this year was that all our screenings were held at the famous Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Built in 1922, it was the site of the very first film premiere, Douglas Fairbanks’ Robin Hood, in October of 1922. I had never before been inside the Egyptian. It is a magical place.

JAN: It IS. The Egyptian's extensive renovation was completed in November 2023, and programming is split between Netflix and The American Cinematheque, an LA non-profit cultural organization. Its Egyptian-ness isn't "theme-ing" like you'd get at an amusement park; it's a decorative/architectural style meant to evoke a sense of exotic wonder. The showpiece is the 3-dimensional ceiling ornamentation, complete with golden frieze and central scarab. The street-facing exterior courtyard is huge, with a lovely fountain, massive structural pillars, murals fit for a Pharoh's tomb, and a human and/or mummy capacity of 622 bodies. I know this because I saw the Building Code-required Maximum Occupancy sign, and immediately began planning the most amazing wedding ever, right there on Hollywood Boulevard, with everyone draped in white linen and a kohl-eyed bride fit for Imhotep. Hathor be praised!

Simply put, we were already having a great time by the time the first movie even STARTED. We even got a hotel room (Shout out to Edwin at the Amarano!) to make it easier to revel in all the movie love.

JOHN: I too am a... Flanafan, I guess...as discovered through his groundbreaking Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. All superb. All required viewing. I was less familiar with his previous movie work—Oculus, Hush, Ouija, and Gerald’s Game—but I am intent on changing this. I am always interested in filling holes in my film knowledge. I am also interested in filling the endless abyss that is my haunted soul.

I must say that for the first half of Hush: The Shush Cut (in black and white, sans musical score) I was unimpressed. A superior low-budget goodie, sure. A phenomenal student film, you bet. But it actually took the second half of the film to pull me in and force me to reconsider my first impression. This is a film with an agenda and a big bag of tricks. By turns suspenseful and heart-breaking, Director Flanagan and co-screenwriter/star Kate Siegel pull off a fully realized home invasion film, feminist parable, and terrific scary ride—all at the same time. It was fun watching this film play its audience like a violin. It was a terrific screening.

I’m biased because I actually prefer black and white, but Flanagan correctly pointed out during his introduction that he finds the absence of color focuses the audience.

JAN: I agree with a point Siegal made in the Q&A: the lack of color puts the audience at a sensory disadvantage that somewhat mirrors that of the protagonist Maggie, who is deaf and mute. Siegel and her big, expressive eyes are terrific in a role that sets out to elevate the "final girl" trope. Her terror is real but so is her resourcefulness—you want her to survive not only because she's the last one left, but because you and she both know she's got it in her, if only she can stop bleeding long enough to figure things out. I was hooked from beginning to end.

Lake Mungo was fun, though ultimately not as successful for me as Hush. It's docu-style really worked and kept me interested—and offered a neat little package for some of the movie's best creep-outs—but I wish it had gone harder into its own haunted soul. A good little ghost tale.

JOHN: Yes, I am afraid that the Beyond Fest folks, and Flanagan’s enthusiastic introduction, oversold the meager charms of Lake Mungo. Perhaps the film’s impact was greater before the invasion of “real ghost hunters” on basic cable, but I thought it was good, not great. Flanagan promised us that Mungo and its protagonist Alice would stick with us over the next few days... and weeks. Alas, she has not.

JAN: The between-movies Q & A was terrific! Flanagan and Siegel were charming, funny, and approachable, and told some great stories about the development and making of Hush. Siegel commented that she feels horror, as a genre, gets too-often overlooked by mainstream audiences—but added "I feel Mike, over the last 15 or so years, has done a lot to change that." Amen, Sister, and I hope he keeps 'em coming!

JOHN: Ditto. The next day, we ventured back to the Egyptian for a 30th anniversary screening of Ed Wood. This film is a Tim Burton masterpiece. Screenwriters Karaszewski and Alexander were shocked when Burton first read the screenplay, committed right then and there to direct, and HAD NO NOTES. No less an authority than Mel Brooks counts it among his three favorite films of all time! This last fact was proudly revealed by the screenwriters during the post screening Q & A. The fact that Disney lent Beyond Fest its archival 35mm print for our screening was the cherry on top of the sundae. Because it was Saturday.

JAN: This was my favorite viewing of Ed Wood since seeing it with you and a passel of your Film Studies students in 1994 at its midnight-on-Thursday original release. It's hard to believe that this film is 30 years old because its themes, humor, and characterizations still seem fresh—and the rich black-and-white 35mm looked FANTASTIC. One of my favorite revelations of the Q & A was that the choice to present the film in BW was more practical than artistic: it was the best way to show off Rick Baker's terrific makeup transformation of Martin Landau into Bela Lugosi; it also gives the film a timeless, classic quality. Landau's performance is one for the ages, giving tremendous heart and depth to the relationship between Bela and Ed that forms the heart of this movie. Adam and Rob just did a fun Reserved Seating where they talk about Ed Wood, so check it out!

And speaking of Lugosi... you wore your custom-made Bela Lugosi polo as a tribute, and boy, was I glad you did! It attracted a lot of attention, including from a super-nice bearded guy that turned out to be screenwriter LARRY KARASZEWSKI. It was so cool for a movie celebrity to ask YOU for a photo! Our sidewalk conversation was a handful of “joy sprinkles” on our movie sundae—just some movie-lovers vibing together after a stellar screening in a magnificent theatre. Isn't that what it's all about?

JOHN: Karaszewski was super nice. Why? He is originally from the Midwest!

JAN: Karaszewski's wife mentioned that they have a little home in a town near Oxnard, and Larry's last words to John (Yes, I called him Larry; if you were there, you'd know that WE ARE BEST FRIENDS NOW.): "See you at the Riverpark," which is our local movie-plex. It's not the Egyptian, but it'll do.

That chance meeting was the perfect end to our Beyond Fest weekend, and a perfect kick-off to the FTM community's horror lovefest that is Scary Movie Month.

I have no notes.