# Attended the movie premier about Esquire Magazine



## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

At the Palm Springs International Film Festival and screened the new movie *Smiling through the Apocalypse - Esquire in the 60s.

*The story of editor Harold Hayes. Fantastic movie. If they are lucky enough to get distribution you have to see it.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Saw two more movies. *Stand Up Guys *with Al Pacino and Christopher Walken and a bit part for Alan Arkin (A pair of aging con men try to get the old gang back together for one last hurrah before one of the guys takes his last assignment -- to kill his comrade.)

I think Christopher Walken's hair will win an Academy Award for this movie!

It was "cute" and I didn't mind the time spent, but wouldn't bother to see it again.

The other movie was the winner of the Palme d'Oro award at Cannes - *Amour*. And I have no idea why!
Common story about a couple getting old and sick. Somewhat boring and long. I could have easily edited it to a good 30 minute TV show. Must have been some really bad films at Cannes last year!

Have more movies to see, but my so far impression of the Palm Springs Film Festival isn't good. They are very disorganized. You can't print off your tickets online, but you have to buy them online and then stand in line at the ticket office to get them.

You pay $10 per ticket, which is high here for a movie and must stand in line outside for over 1.5 hours before you get let into the theatre.

And Stand Up Guys and Amour will be in real theatres within months if not already. I'd rather pay $7 and walk right into a theatre.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Finished going to the films we got tickets for during the Palm Springs Film Festival. The movie "Rust and Bone" (French) was very powerful. And "Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait Of James Dean" is interesting but basically a gay porn movie. Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Conclusion: I would not do this film festival again. It's unorganized, you have to pay extra to see a movie that you'll likely be able to see in three months on DVD, TV or the Theatre at normal prices and you have to stand in line for up to 2 hours before you get into the theatre and scramble for seats and wait 30 more minutes.

Mostly that's due to the Palm Springs Film Festival organizers not being up on how to distribute tickets. All they would need to do is let us buy and print the tickets online with a number on the ticket in the sequence in which they were sold. So we could line up 40 minutes before the film (just like SouthWest Airlines). Outdated and out of touch!


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## Starch (Jun 28, 2010)

Andy said:


> At the Palm Springs International Film Festival and screened the new movie *Smiling through the Apocalypse - Esquire in the 60s.
> 
> *The story of editor Harold Hayes. Fantastic movie. If they are lucky enough to get distribution you have to see it.


The subject is a great one for a documentary. I remember (some years after the '60s) going through the old Esquires in the library when I should have been doing assigned reading or research for a paper.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Starch said:


> The subject is a great one for a documentary. I remember (some years after the '60s) going through the old Esquires in the library when I should have been doing assigned reading or research for a paper.


Harold Hayes was the pivotal editor who sought "name brand" authors to write literature for the magazine and took away the risqué cartoons and semi-naked women. That gave Hugh Hefner his opportunity with Playboy.

I have several of the old magazines including most of the anniversary issues.


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