Cloris Leachman greets her adoring fans while hostess Peaches Christ braces herself.
“80. Fuckin’ 80.”
These were the first words that the legendary Cloris Leachman, who will actually be turning 85 in two months, said into her microphone at Idol Worship: An Evening with Cloris Leachman on Saturday, the main attraction of the 10th annual SF Sketchfest’s closing night, co-presented with Midnight Mass and hosted by “the very, very nervous” Peaches Christ. And Peaches had every right to be nervous: Ms. Leachman was as delightfully batty and unpredictable as the audience could have dared to hope.
James L. Brooks snaps a photo of Danny DeVito doing an impression of him knocking on Debra Winger's locked door during the turbulent filming of "Terms of Endearment."
While past recipients of the SF Sketchfest Comedy Writing Award have included Robert Smigel and John Hodgman, the Sketchfest crew that introduced this years’s winner freely admitted to outdoing themselves this time: the legendary James L. Brooks, a towering institution in the worlds of film and television writing, the man who won three Oscars – Picture (as a producer), Director, and Adapted Screenplay – for his very first directorial effort, the immortal weepie Terms of Endearment.
And not only did they snag Brooks, but they also got the inimitable Danny DeVito, who has known Brooks since their Taxi days, to serve as a moderator for what was intended to be a discussion of Brooks’ life and career. I say “intended” because the evening was ultimately less about Brooks’ personal career reflections than DeVito’s broad comic interpretation of their years working together. But since he had everyone (including Brooks) red-faced and panting from laughter, everyone still walked away satisfied. Well, everyone except poor Debra Winger.
I’m a fan of the original 1982 movie TRON, even though I’m aware it’s kinda crappy. So I’ve been following the TRON: Legacy hype pretty closely for the last few years. And when I was sent Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy Original Soundtrack for review, I immediately emailed our lead film reviewer, Jason LeRoy, and called dibs when he got his tickets for a preview screening. Then I began listening to Daft Punk’s film score to get myself psyched. And it worked. I was psyched. Continue reading “Album Review (with bonus movie talk): Daft Punk — TRON: Legacy Original Soundtrack”
starring: Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Ben Whishaw, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, David Strathairn, Alan Cumming, Chris Cooper, Reeve Carney, Tom Conti
director: Julie Taymor
MPAA: PG-13 for some nudity, suggestive content and scary images
