To them, he’s a star

Re “Reel life was his real love,” Column One, June 27

It has been 27 years since I last sat in Jim Hosney’s classroom, listened to the whirl of a 35-millimeter projector in his apartment or heard that laugh, but time has diminished neither my fondness nor gratitude. While my vocations are law and politics rather than film, the lessons learned from this master permeate much of my work. One of the greatest testaments to Hosney is that my legal briefs, press releases and speeches often contain references to such decidedly nontraditional sources as “Alice in Wonderland” and “Rashomon.”

The Hosney influence remains with all who have been exposed to it. My mother, who accompanied me to some film screenings at Chez Hosney, frequently asks, after seeing a movie with particularly interesting imagery, “What do you suppose Hosney would say?”

In the article, Hosney says, “I teach.” Indeed he did. And, I say, “To Sir, With Love.”

SHERRY GREENBERG

Washington

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I had the pleasure to be a Hosney-ite in the ‘70s at the Westlake School for Girls. We read everything from “Titus Andronicus” to “Moby-Dick” to “Tiny Alice.” We saw everything from “Last Year at Marienbad” to “Weekend” to “The Damned” (incest scene and all). Am I now a movie mogul? No, just a downtown real estate lawyer with a love for French New Wave cinema and Wagnerian opera. Thank you, Jim Hosney.

AMY R. FORBES

Los Angeles