She Likes to Watch

Sorry, “Easy Rider” fans.

Peter Fonda has canceled his appearance at the Avila Beach Music Festival on Tuesday, June 10.

No specific reason was given for Fonda’s absence. He was slated to act as master of ceremonies for the concert, which features rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Peter Fonda last visited the Central Coast in March when he was honored at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Fonda, star of “Easy Rider” and “Ulee’s Gold,” received the King Vidor Career Achievement Award, named after the prolific director of “War and Peace” (and former SLO County resident). It honors excellence in filmmaking.

“Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda must dig “the SLO life.”

The Oscar-nominated actor will act as master of ceremonies this summer at the Avila Beach Music Festival, organizers announced Wednesday.

Classic rockers Crosby, Stills and Nash will perform at the June 10 concert, which benefits local non-profit OPTIONS. The group works with people with disabilities.

It’s Fonda’s second visit to the Central Coast this year.

In March, Fonda, 68, appeared at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival to accept the King Vidor Career Achievement Award. (Named after former county resident King Vidor, the prolific director of “War and Peace,” it honors excellence in filmmaking.)

Part of the famed acting family that includes father Henry, daughter Bridget, and sister Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda’s recent films include “Ghost Rider,” “Wild Hogs,” and “3:10 to Yuma.”

David Crosby presented the award to Fonda and shared stories about his Hollywood pal. He spent most of the presentation raving about 1969’s “Easy Rider.”

“This film changed everything,” Crosby said. “Every young person in America saw this film, without exception, and it changed all of us. I know it (changed) myself.”

In fact, Crosby said, he and his band mates in Crosby, Stills and Nash passed up a chance to do the soundtrack to “Easy Rider” — opting to work on their first, self-titled album instead.

“Peter is quite a man who has had quite an impact on the film industry,” Crosby said.

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Crosby, Stills and Nash perform June 10 at the Avila Beach Golf Resort, 6464 Anna Bay Rd. in Avila Beach. Gates open at 5 p.m., with the concert starting at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $65 to $95, available via Vallitix.

For more information, call (805) 772-6066, ext. 101, or visit www.avilabeachmusicfestival.org.

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The above photo is by Tribune photographer Jayson Mellom. Pictured are rock musician David Crosby (left) and actor Peter Fonda.

Ah, spring. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and spring cleaning is upon us.

While emptying the recycling bins here at Movies HQ, I found a few movie-related tidbits.

HopeDance magazine offers two more movies this month in its HopeDance FiLMs series.

First up is “Everything’s Cool”, a look at the history of global warming.
Filmmakers Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand examine the movement from the viewpoints of scientists, activists and politicians. Hear interviews with Bill McKibben, Ross Gelbspan and others.

“Everything’s Cool” will be screened at 7 p.m. Monday at the San Luis Obispo library, in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is encouraged.

On Wednesday, the film series takes a look at health care with “Cuba: An Accidental Revolution.”

The documentary, narrated by scientist/environmentalist David Suzuki, looks at the island nation’s surprisingly strong health care system.

It’s paired with the PBS documentary “Critical Care,” about U.S. health care.

Moviegoers are encouraged to donate $5 to $10.

“Cuba: An Accidental Revolution” and “Critical Care” play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the San Luis Obispo library.

More information about both films is available at www.hopedance.org.

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The Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo kicks off its new movie series on Wednesday with “Trainspotting.”

Palm Wednesdays will offer a different flick each Wednesday. The emphasis here is on cult classics: quirky comedies, action flicks and thrillers with a strong following among Generations X and Y.

Few movies fall into that category better than “Trainspotting,” Danny Boyles’ darkly comic look at the Edinburgh drug scene. It’s smart, slick and frequently pretty damn unsavory.

“Trainspotting” will screen at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Tickets are $7.50. You can also snag a six-movie pass for $35 — provided you buy it before Wednesday.

The series continues May 7 with the big-wave surfing documentary “Billabong Odyssey.” Check out the full list at www.thepalmtheatre.com.

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The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival drew more than 7,500 moviegoers, organizers said this week, the “best ever” in the festival’s 14-year history.

About 12 percent came from outside the county, said Wendy Eidson, the film festival’s executive director.

Top events at the film festival, which ran March 7 to 16, included a train-themed opening night, an awards ceremony honoring “Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda and Surf Night, featuring a tribute to pioneer surf filmmaker Bud Browne.

This year, festival organizers introduced Western Night and the Hollywood and Vines series, which pairs movies with local wineries. They also added venues in Santa Margarita, Paso Robles and Shell Beach.

For more information, visit www.slofilmfest.org.

Talk about a spooky coincidence.

Just hours before local movie maven Wendy Eidson announced that Oscar nominee Peter Fonda will be coming to San Luis Obispo next month, Ticket editor Justin Hoeger and I were talking about the lanky blonde actor’s cameo in “Ghost Rider.”

Fonda, you see, was the only bright spot in the otherwise dismal “Ghost Rider,” starring Nicolas Cage as a demon-possessed vigilante on wheels. Fonda played Mephistopheles — a role that seemed to fit his mystique as a rough-riding rebel.

Somehow, it’s hard to imagine Peter Fonda without a motorcycle.

He played a Hell’s Angel named Heavenly Blues in 1966’s “The Wild Angels,” and the “chief biker” in “The Cannonball Run.”

As Captain America, the iconic anti-hero of “Easy Rider,” he went on the ultimate roadtrip — smuggling cocaine with Dennis Hopper, introducing Jack Nicholson to weed, and tripping on LSD with two hookers in a New Orleans graveyard.

Fonda even made an appearance in “Wild Hogs,” last year’s paen to middle-aged men and their love for burning rubber.

In 2000, the American Motorcyclist Association inducted Fonda into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, praising him as a “motorcycling ambassador providing positive exposure for the sport.”

When Fonda rolls into town on Saturday, March 15, I hope he’s riding a stars-and-stripes-spangled hog.

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Peter Fonda will appear at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, which runs March 7 through March 16.

He’s the recipient of this year’s King Vidor Career Achievement Award, which recognizes career achievement in filmmaking.

For more information about the SLO film festival, visit www.slofilmfest.org.

– Sarah L.