Rainy Day at the Movies Part 3

The conclusion of the three-part exploration of the rich Los Angeles film and movie-going scene.

Favorite home-town filmmaker: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
You may know him from Angels in the Outfield or Third Rock from the Sun, or more recently from 10 Things I Hate about You and (500) Days of Summer. In any event, this guy is awesome, and a seemingly endless stream of creativity. Check out the great stuff he posts on Twitter and his film below, Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny, which screened at Sundance. Of the film, Gordon-Levitt writes, "I'm as proud of this short film as I am of any work I've ever done." On his collaborative film-making website, hitRECord.org, he describes it thus:

Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny started as a simple idea for a collaboration. "Let's try to write with made up words," proposed Albert. Metaphorest wrote the short story. I RECorded a voiceover reading. Jenyffer started drawing the characters, Tori started animating the drawings. Lula and I RECorded a live action rendition in front of white walls. Lawrie Brewster picked that up and created the stunning visual landscape. And along the way there's been, I don't know, a hundred (?) or two contributions from all over the hitRECord community.

Opportunities to See New Films

• GENART members get to see world-premieres of films from talented new artists, and oftentimes these screenings are paired with after-parties and Q & A's with those involved. The Yellow Handkerchief, starring Kristen Stewart, will debut February 18, 2010 at the Pacific Design Center. Read more here.
• NewFilmMakersLA often hosts screenings of short and long films from new directors. These events are also followed by Q & A periods and cocktails. The next event is scheduled for February 24, 2010. Not to be missed!
• LACMA's Muse membership hosts the annual Young Directors Night, and functions as a sort of mini film festival of its own as each film is screened and then an overall winner is voted by the audience and judges. Crazy-good stuff. This year YDN will be March 6, 2010.
• Los Angeles Film Festival is happening this year from June 17-27, 2010
• LA Shorts Fest will taken place sometine in late July 2010.