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Even off the set, there’s still plenty of action

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The director’s cut is a filmmaker’s ultimate revenge, and Peter Bogdanovich gets a double helping with a twin-pack DVD release of two of his classic movies, “The Last Picture Show” (1971) and “Nickelodeon” (1976).

“ ‘The Last Picture Show’ has been available for years, but this is the definitive director’s cut,” Bogdanovich said. “We cleaned up the sound and print and added a new commentary track. ‘Nickelodeon’ has never been available in the U.S., so I’m happy it’s finally coming out.”

This special edition also includes a black-and-white version of the latter film, which is how the director originally had envisioned it.

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“I wanted to shoot it in black and white, but the head of the studio at the time, David Begelman, was against it. Just in case, though, I had [cinematographer] László Kovács light it as if we were going to release it in black and white, and now I finally get to show it the way it was meant to be seen.”

Bogdanovich, a longtime Bel-Air resident, lives mainly in New York now, but he still knows his way around town.

A natural man

On good days I’m pretty much a vegan, and so I go a lot to Real Food Daily on La Cienega. But there are days when I’ll have some chicken or fish. It’s all natural there and very good. I haunt that place, I’m there so much. A delicious Sunday brunch too.

I also like M Cafe and Toast. These are all very casual restaurants, and I like that. Orson Welles and I used to go all the time to the old Señor Pico in Century City. He loved that place for some reason. I don’t think it’s there anymore.

Checking in

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There’s no one particular hotel that I always stay at when I’m in L.A. I’m at the Sunset Tower now, and they have a very good restaurant, the Tower Bar. It’s got piano music, mood lighting and it’s very quiet. I’ll usually order the salmon.

Shutters on the Beach is a very romantic place. I like the food there too. But I’ve stayed at the Roosevelt, the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire. They’re all great.

Picture palaces

If I was going to screen “Last Picture Show” and “Nickelodeon” at a theater here, it would probably be the Aero or the New Beverly. They both do a good job with older films. All the great older theaters are downtown, but they don’t show movies anymore.

If I’m going to see a new movie, I’ll go to the Grove or the ArcLight.

Breaking a sweat

I work out three times a week at a gym on La Brea called K{omacronl}r. My ex-wife told me about it. My second ex-wife. I do push-ups, walking, a lot of things. My trainer is Christine Hazelton, who owns the place. She’s very good; she looks out for my best interests. What more can you ask?

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mark.sachs@latimes.com

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