The Reel Hollywood

Long before Kevin Spacey won his Oscar for “The Usual Suspects,” he used to sneak in the back gate at Universal Studios so he could watch movies being made. A superb actor even then, he used to strap a hammer to his side and play the role of studio carpenter to perfection.

When Samuel L. Jackson was a young man, he wanted to be one of the Merry Men in the Errol Flynn swashbuckler “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” And when director John Waters was a teenager and saw Jayne Mansfield sashaying down the street in “The Girl Can’t Help It,” he became obsessed with filmmaking.

These are just some of the little-known stories movie stars and directors relate in the documentary “Forever Hollywood,” the American Cinematheque’s new, permanent attraction at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. It opened to the public this week.

The hourlong documentary, which screens four times daily, six days a week at the legendary 1922 movie palace, gives a behind-the-scenes look at a century of movie-making. The film was written and directed by Daily Variety film critic Todd McCarthy, who also directed “Visions of Light,” the Oscar-nominated documentary on cinematographers.

“We didn’t want the same old footage,” McCarthy says. “We had to really dig to find some of that stuff . . . like the color footage of VJ Day on Hollywood Boulevard. We wanted fresh images that even the most sophisticated film buffs and Hollywood lore collectors would find stimulating.”

Narrated by Sharon Stone, the documentary includes clips, home movies, stills and interviews with such stars as Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Shirley MacLaine, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg and Jack Lemmon.

“There is really nothing on Hollywood Boulevard about the literal history of Hollywood,” says Barbara Zicka Smith, executive director of the American Cinematheque and executive producer of the film.

“For years we had our office on Hollywood Boulevard, and we knew there were millions of tourists roaming around looking for something [to see about Hollywood]. It just seemed like kind of a natural thing to do.”

Mixing Histories of Hollywood, Movies

McCarthy says he and Arnold Glassman, his co-director and editor, wanted to make “Forever Hollywood” broad enough that it would appeal to the public, as well as the most seasoned film buff.

“We wanted to explain things in a somewhat broad and overall way, but we wanted it to be smart and not dumbing it down at all,” he says.

McCarthy says he also had to balance the telling of the history of the movies with the history of Hollywood itself “because they really grew up together. We wanted to show people what Hollywood was like in the different periods.”

The filmmakers were able to find some fascinating historical footage, including the 1924 premiere at the Egyptian of John Ford’s “The Iron Horse” and the 1930 premiere of Howard Hughes’ “Hell’s Angels,” which attracted a crowd of 500,000 people.

McCarthy tried to find film clips that were equally unique. Though there are clips of such classics as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Gone With the Wind” and “A Star Is Born,” the documentary includes scenes from such lesser-known films as “What Price Hollywood?,” “Lady Killer,” “The Barefoot Contessa” and “In a Lonely Place.”

“Someone was actually joking that they were thrilled that we didn’t use “Citizen Kane,’ ” McCarthy says, laughing. “We only have one shot of Orson Welles at a party. We have seen enough movies like that [in documentaries].”

McCarthy wasn’t looking for the typical, pat responses from his interview subjects. “I didn’t want them to speak about their latest movies,” he explains. “I wanted to go back when they were kids, when they first dreamed about Hollywood, of going into the movies. Suddenly they opened up. They reverted to their childhoods to remember what first turned them on about Hollywood and the movies.”

* “Forever Hollywood” screens Tuesdays-Sundays at 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults; $5 for Cinematheque members, seniors over 65 and children under 12. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Information: (323) 466-FILM.