They feel the heat

By 4 p.m. Monday, things at the Los Angeles Film Festival were picking up compared with the slow morning. People with maps held in front of them stalked the streets, dutifully queuing up in front of the various participating theaters. One of the longest lines was for the second showing of “Ira and Abby,” quickly become a festival favorite despite the fact that a technical difficulty at the Crest kept crowds sweating under a sweltering sky for 45 minutes. People in line fanned themselves, debated the wisdom of trying to get into another film at the last minute and discussed the success of the festival thus far.

“I don’t feel the buzz that I did in Park City last year,” said one woman, an ob/gyn who kindly fanned the overheated pregnant woman standing beside her. “I think maybe the streets are too wide here, it feels so spread out.” The man in front of her had taken a day off work to attend but he agreed it was hard to get excited when there were so many festivals in Los Angeles and so many venues through which to view new movies. “I usually just go to the SAG screenings.”

But this may have been the heat speaking; the film received much applause and as everyone exited the theater, it was clear good humor had been restored. “I thought you were really great,” said one young man to his companion, who had a small part in the film. “No, no,” he added when his friend demurred. “You weren’t on screen a lot but you really brought something.”

With an ocean breeze kicking up in the rising twilight, the crowds already gathering for the next round of screenings radiated a more positive attitude; perhaps this is why so many of the screenings are scheduled late in the day. “Everyone’s talking about ‘Mario’s Story,’ ” said a woman to her friend as they hurried along Westwood Boulevard. “Or what about ‘Lather Effect’? Have you heard anything about that?”

Men in suits appeared from nowhere, talking into BlackBerrys and other hand-helds as they strode through the litter of fallen jacaranda blooms. Looking a bit out of place among the halter-tops and cargo shorts worn by even the filmmakers themselves, these were clearly Industry guys. “I can’t sign a guy to representation who I can’t read,” said one man and it was not clear if he was speaking into his cellphone or to the man walking next to him. “How can I score with this guy anyway?”

Meanwhile, up on Hildegard at the W Hotel Los Angeles, preparations were being made for the filmmakers reception, hosted by Harrison Ford. (Note to product placement department: The W Hotel New York figured prominently in ‘Ira and Abby’ while W L.A. has hosted many festival events. Coincidence?) It was a casual affair -- no red carpet, no limo line. The soiree was to start at 7:30. By 7:10, the line at the West Garden entrance wound halfway down the block. Although an open bar and a chance to meet Ford are both exciting prospects, it must be pointed out that if one hopes to become a successful filmmaker, one had better get used to being an hour late, not a half-hour early.

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Mary McNamara

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Thanks, UCLA, for the job

As long as representatives from UCLA’s nearby work placement office weren’t listening, director Chris Gorak’s fledgling filmmaking career should still be in very good shape.

In the Los Angeles Film Festival’s inaugural Lunch Talks on Monday, Gorak discussed his new movie, the dirty bomb drama “Right at Your Door,” while several dozen festival visitors grazed on organic mesclun salads and whole wheat rolls.

Gorak, a production designer and art director (his credits include “Minority Report” and “Fight Club”) turned writer-director, got his first industry job thanks to an unauthorized visit to UCLA’s job board. After sneaking into the school’s placement office, the Tulane alumnus spotted a position available in the art department for 1992’s “The Lawnmower Man.” Gorak got the internship and later capitalized on the contacts he met working on the film.

With “Right at Your Door,” Gorak has made his first feature, a look at how a terrorist bombing of Los Angeles affects one married couple in Echo Park. With little money and time (he shot the film in a mere 19 days), Gorak took advantage of his Rolodex to make every penny count: The film’s special effects are the work of a visual effects artist Gorak met on the set of “Blade: Trinity.” But perhaps the most unusual place for advice about low-budget filmmaking came from Steven Spielberg, Gorak’s boss on “Minority Report.”

It was Spielberg, Gorak said, who helped teach him that if you limit yourself to three choices rather than 3,000, you’ll be able to make decisions rather than stumble in a maze of what-ifs.

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-- John Horn