She Likes to Watch

Ninety years in show biz will soon be “Gone With the Wind”

Oh Rhett!

The Movie Experience celebrates 90 years in business tonight with a special local screening of “Gone With the Wind.”

Recipient of 10 Academy Awards and ranked No. 6 on the American Film Institute’s “Top 100 American Films of All Time” list, “Gone With the Wind” thrilled audiences in 1939 with an epic story of love and desire set against the turbulent backdrop of the Civil War.

Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable star as the memorable lovers, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. She’s a high-spirited heiress accustomed to getting her way in love and in war. He’s a handsome rouge whose passion matches her own.

The story behind “Gone With the Wind” is as dramatic as the nearly four-hour epic.

Tyrannical producer David O. Selznick spent astronomical amounts of money to secure the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s popular novel, redraft the script multiple times and secure Victor Fleming as director (after dumping longtime partner George Cukor).

Southerners protested the casting of little-known English actress Vivien Leigh as Scarlett. Clark Gable joined the cast only after Gary Cooper turned down the project.

Although production cost $3.9 million, the movie raked in a whopping $198 million — the equivalent of $1.4 billion today. (Take that, “The Dark Knight”!)

“Gone With the Wind” plays tonight at 7 p.m. at the Fremont movie theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

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Also known as Sanborn Theatres Inc., The Movie Experience runs Downtown Centre Cinemas, Mission Cinemas and the Fremont movie theater in San Luis Obispo.

The Southern California company sponsors two popular film series at the Fremont: Screening Rooming Classics, which features hits from the golden age of cinema, and SLO Rewind, a collection of contemporary blockbusters and cult classics.

The mid-1990s: When dinosaurs roamed the earth

Kids love dinosaurs.

Kids love carnage.

So when Hollywood decided to make a movie based on Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel, it was pretty much a sure bet that kids (and their parents) would absolutely adore “Jurassic Park.”

The SLO Rewind series kicks off tonight with a special screening of “Jurassic Park.”

When a bio research company creates an amusement park populated with cloned dinosaurs, InGen CEO John Hammond(Richard Attenborough) brings in a trio of scientists to check out the new attraction.

At first the experts — paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Ellie Satler (Laura Dern) and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) — are thrilled by the dino zoo, dubbed Jurassic Park. It’s a marvelous place, a treat for animal lovers and history buffs alike. But is it safe?

The scientists’ doubts find ground when a tropical storm hits and the park loses power. Suddenly, the adults — and Hammond’s grandchildren — find themselves at the mercy of wild prehistoric critters in a modern playground.

An instant classic when it was released in 1993, “Jurassic Park” is a fast-paced theme park ride with plenty of creature features, jumpy moments and what were, for the time, groundbreaking special effects. The movie may have aged some, given advances in technology, but it remains solid entertainment.

“Jurassic Park” plays tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

Doors open at 7 p.m., but I’d advise moviegoers to get there early. Even this vast ’40s-era movie palace has a tendency to fill up quickly when there’s a good flick.

Tickets are $7.50.

*Never let it be said that dinosaurs are dumb animals. These clever carnivores eat the lawyer and Newman from “Seinfeld,” but let the nice kids and adults escape. (Oops! Was that a plot spoiler?!?)

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Meanwhile, could a fourth “Jurassic Park” movie be in the works?

In May, Laura Dern told TV Guide magazine that the fourth installment in the dino-centric series “is happening.”

“It isn’t just speculation,” she said in a much-quoted interview. “It’s a while away, but my understanding is it’s happening and my character is very involved. I know (director) Steven Spielberg is looking forward to getting it together over the next year.”

Making another “Jurassic Park” movie would be difficult following the death of special effects wizard Stan Winston in June. And it’s unsure whether movie producers could snag the original cast, now that they’re all busy pursuing their separate careers. (Okay, maybe not Jeff Goldblum. His “Raines” TV series was dismal.)

Neill skipped “The Lost World” but appeared in “Jurassic Park 3.” Would he be up for another adventure? That’s anyone’s guess.

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The SLO Rewind series continues next month with the following films:

• “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (Oct. 14)
• “Space Balls” (Oct. 28)
• “Independence Day” (Nov. 18)
• “Ghostbusters” (Dec. 2)
• “Starship Troopers” (Jan. 27)

You’d be hard-pressed to find two movies more diametrically opposed than “Pulp Fiction” and “Amelie.”

The first is a hip, hard-hitting bloodbath replete with cuss words, pop culture references and infinitely quotable dialog. The other? A whimsical French film about an adorable young do-gooder.

The two female protagonists (Uma Thurman in “Pulp Fiction” and Audrey Tatou in “Amelie”) both sport black bobs, but that’s where the similarities end.

Yet, for some reason, both movies are being screened in San Luis Obispo this weekend. It’s a golden opportunity to see two very different, but very good films.

For those of you who have spent the last 15 years searching your couch cushions for sustenance, “Pulp Fiction” is one of the best movies in recent history.

Direction Quentin Tarantino influenced scores of film students with his creative storytelling and liberal, yet stylish, use of violence and obscenity.

“Pulp Fiction” cemented Samuel L. Jackson’s reputation as filmdom’s ultimate badass. It resurrected John Travolta’s career (which he prompty ruined, of course).

It rocked, and continues to rock, successive generations of moviegoers.

In short, if you haven’t seen “Pulp Fiction” yet, WHY THE HELL NOT?!?

Catch “Pulp Fiction” on the big screen tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Fremont, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo. Come a half-hour early for trivia and prizes.

Tickets are $7.50.

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On the other side of the spectrum is “Amelie.”

Originally titled “Le fabuleux destin d’ Amelie Poulain,” this French-language beauty is one of those rare movies that’s cute without causing nausea.

Audrey Tatou stars as the title character, a winsome yet lonely girl who works at a Paris cafe. When she discovers a box of childhood mementos left by a former tenant, she returns it to the man and is delighted by the results.

Inspired, Amelie decides to help the many unhappy people around her — including her father, the customers and clients at the cafe, a grocer’s much-abused assistant, and her neighbor, a man with bones as brittle as glass.

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and company make “Amelie” impossible to dislike, bathing the Paris scenery in lush greens and reds and adding a charming soundtrack. Characters are quirky, but very human.

To Jeunet’s credit, he throws in enough elements of the real world that Amelie’s story never seems trite.

(A self-taught auteaur, Jeunet has his share of darker visions, including “Delicatessan” — about cannibalistic city dwellers — and “City of Lost Children,” in which an scientist kidnaps children to study their dreams.)

“Amelie” plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $7.50.

** Art courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

Whenever manufacturers advertise screening videos on the latest hand-held gadgets, I have to scoff.

Watch movies? On those tiny screens? I don’t think so.

Despite great strides in digital technology, there are few videos that look downright awesome on an iPhone screen. Skateboarding dogs and laughing babies? Sure.

Watching “Lawrence of Arabia” on my Zune, however, has a much appeal as a week-old fish wrapped in US magazine.

Bottom line: Movies are best on the big screen.*

Whether they’re big-budget epics, action flicks or intimate romances, feature films just look better with stadium seating and plenty of popcorn.

They’re made for theaters, filmed with giant screens and state-of-the-art sound system in mind. What good is sweeping scenery if it’s three inches wide? What’s the point of explosions heard on tinny ear buds?

Plus, I crave the human interaction of a live audience. The sensation of sharing laughter in a darkened cave, of watching hundreds of tears slide down hundreds of cheeks at the saddest moment in “Schindler’s List.”

Even pricey home theaters fall short.

You can catch “Lawrence of Arabia” in all its big-screen, full-color glory tonight at the Fremont. Thrill to Maurice Jarre’s thundering score. Drink in Freddie Young’s stunnig cinematography.

“Lawrence of Arabia” starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Fremont, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo, following a half-hour of trivia and prizes. Tickets are $7.50.

* I can think of only a few films I’d prefer to watch on a black-and-white, 13-inch Zenith. “Hostel” and the “Saw” series” come to mind. Also, anything starring Paris Hilton or Dane Cook. Shudder.

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“Lawrence of Arabia” poster courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

First, a prologue:

“On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN.”

Cue Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” It’s time for “Top Gun.”

Inspired by Ehud Yonay’s 1983 article on elite fighter pilots in California, “Top Gun” follows the adventures of Maverick (Tom Cruise), an up-and-coming pilot whose ego often gets in the way of his common sense.

With wingman Goose (Anthony Edwards) by his side and rival Iceman (Val Kilmer) watching his every move, Maverick aims to proves he’s the hottest Navy flyer in the air.

Oh yeah, and there’s a cute civilian instructor (Kelly McGillis) to woo.

Some moviegoers may not care for “Top Gun’s” politics, or its less-than-subtle undertones of homoeroticism. (Quentin Tarantino discusses the subject brilliantly in “Sleep With Me.”)

But let’s face it, people.

This is a classic flick — a high-flying action movie with a killer soundtrack, made when Tom Cruise was still sane and Kelly McGillis was the hottest chick in a flight jacket.

There’s also a Central Coast connection: McGillis got her start at the Great American Melodrama in Oceano.

To paraphrase a quote from the film: “Top Gun,” you can be my wingman any time.

“Top Gun” screens tonight at the Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

The movie starts at 7:30 p.m., following a half-hour of trivia and prizes. Tickets are $7.50.

– Sarah L.

(”Top Gun” DVD cover courtesy of Movieweb.com)