An Evening with....

This weekend, I watched An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder, and I enjoyed the first Evening with him as well, and as I am apt to do, well, I started thinking about other people I'd like to see tackle the Q and A format in a similar way, and a few names sprang to mind. I enjoy how seemingly fearless Kevin Smith is during these sessions, as he doesn't really hesitate from speaking his mind about other people in a public way... even when it comes to his family and personal relationships.

Now there are a lot of people who would be good, but I am going to try to limit this to people who are at least peripherally connected with movies.

An Evening with Robert Evans: Robert Evans, for those of you who haven't heard of him, was a Hollywood superproducer in the late 1960's and 1970's, and he is a really hip and entertaining speaker. Now, there is a little show called Ask Bob on Youtube, but the setting and production values aren't really up to par. In front of a live audience, with a good give and take, well, he could really shine. I mean, he was a huge Hollywood player, he has a lot of stories and a very interesting persona. He is a cool, cool guy, and he could carry it off. I mean, he narrated his own life story in The Kid Stays in the Picture, and I'd love to see him just break some things down on stage.

An Evening with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez: We've all seen these two talk about certain genres of movies with passion, and on commentaries their roots show. Now you may be wondering why I put both directors together in the same program, and it doesn't have to do with Grind House, but rather the thought that since they've worked with each other so many times, the sum is greater than both of its parts in a project like this. While they probably have had some similar experiences, they would allow for a certain fullness of exposition that would be more informative and entertaining. I mean, there are the schlock movies, the process of movie making, dealing with actors/producers etc... there is a lot of places this could go.

An Evening with James Ellroy: I once saw James Ellroy on the Conan O'Brien, and I have to tell you, the man is brutally honest about himself and a genuinely entertaining personality, and as a former addict, well, he has a lot of stories, and really doesn't seem to be afraid of talking in front of people with great candor, like in this French documentary. And he also has experience with his work being adapted, so there is that additional element of danger, because you really don't know what he is going to say. I mean, if he is willing to admit on national television that when he was drinking there was a weekend where he started out broke on a beach in LA and the next thing he remembers is being in a hotel room in San Francisco in bed with a much older woman and discovering that he now has 20 dollars, he would talk about anything on stage in front of an audience.

So, is there anyone you think would be well suited to the same kind of process on film?

Tags: kevin smith, james ellroy, robert evans, quentin tarantino, robert rodriguez, conan o'brien, an evening with, q and a, candor, stage, grind house, la confidential, honesty, movies, hollywood, inside stories, godfather