CineVegas cozy with Hollywood
It IS typical of the times that a party for celebrities of the film world was overrun by the notoriety of Britney Spears. Not that the film festival is complaining.
CineVegas got a public relations boost thanks to Spears, who showed up unannounced at the festival’s 10th anniversary party a week ago at the Palms pool. It was Spears’ first appearance in Vegas since her widely derided performance last fall at MTV’s 2007 Video Music Awards. Among the cinema elite there was a crush of people attempting to seem casual while strolling past Spears’ cabana.
More exciting to me was Sunday morning when I arrived early at the red carpet area, where I hoped to interview Dennis Hopper. CineVegas takes place at the Palms movie theater, which you can find near some low-limit slots. Trevor Groth, the event’s artistic director, explained the value of having a primary venue (the festival parties are spread out over town): “It is a relatively small festival, and so we go out of our way to make sure everyone meets each other.”
And sure enough, there sitting across from the McDonald’s in the food court, enjoying coffee and a blueberry muffin, was Hopper. The actor has been the biggest booster in Hollywood for CineVegas and for the last few years has been chairman of the advisory board and a central presence at the festival. He is credited by festival organizers for the success and higher profile CineVegas has achieved during its decade of existence.
“[It’s] going beautifully,” Hopper said. “It is getting to be an important festival. We have had a lot of parties in Los Angeles, and there is a strong Hollywood involvement now.”
That nexus between Hollywood and Vegas had long been a key goal of Hopper’s even before CineVegas. “Vegas and Hollywood are the two big entertainment capitals, and they are next to each other. But there was so little connection; it just seemed the natural thing to do.”
Certainly, the benefits to Vegas locals are obvious, as many theaters are in resorts, and they do not usually offer independent film. Independent film options for locals in Vegas are still few. Evidence of how cherished CineVegas has become locally is best observed by noting the army of volunteers.
Organizers of the festival, which concluded Saturday night, said they had 25,000 attendees last year and that attendance has been up around 20%. Among the “Jackpot Premieres,” feature films making their world debut, have been Ben Rodkin’s “Big Heart City” (starring Seymour Cassel), Rachel Samuels’ “Dark Streets” (starring Gabriel Mann and Bijou Phillips) and Matthew Wilder’s “Your Name Here” (starring Bill Pullman, Taryn Manning and Traci Lords). Also, there have been studio films such as “The Rocker,” “Get Smart” and “The Great Buck Howard.”
I asked Hopper what he felt CineVegas was offering to the movie world.
“CineVegas has been showing really cutting-edge stuff. It encourages young filmmakers to take chances and risks. It is wonderful on that level. But also, showing big-picture premieres fits Vegas, like opening this year with ‘Rocker,’ a wonderful choice because it was a funny and entertaining movie. We also honor the people who make films. We’ve honored Wim Wenders, David Lynch, Jack Nicholson and Sean Penn and other incredible filmmakers. We show older films to keep our history going. It is an all-encompassing film festival.
“I think Vegas has so much action here that when you do something in Vegas, it can be like a black hole you crawl into. But we’ve managed to break through that.”
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