Friday night at the week's end. Just in time to check out Dante's Inferno at the amazing New Beverly Cinema, where Joe  has programmed two weeks of unusual film treats. Tonite is a perfect drive-in double-feature, HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, Dante's first film and TRUCK TURNER, starring Issac Hayes and directed by one of Roger Corman's best 70's proteges, Jonathan Kaplan (WHITE LINE FEVER; OVER THE EDGE; HEART LIKE A WHEEL), who's also in the da house. HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD's co-director, Allan Arkush, who did the cult classic ROCK N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL is here as well. As if that wasn't enough, there's the legendary Dick Miller, who carries with him the aura of every Corman film ever made. He looked pretty cool in his black leather jacket. Not impressed yet bee-atches? Okay, sitting in front of me is Diablo Cody and Edgar Wright.

Oh, and I'm here too.

There's nowhere cooler to be on a Friday night in Los Angeles. I chat with Dante about Kaplan and am struck by his sheer humble nice-guyness. Before the screening, he sets up HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD for the packed house. As one of New World Pictures best trailer editors (from DIRTY DUCK to FELLINI'S AMACORD), Dante wanted to make a feature and bet Corman he could do it in 10 days, primarily by utilizing stock footage. Corman said yes and Dante/Arkush made a fun satirical look at the world of exploitation movie-making. Starring 70's drive-in ingenue Candice Rialson, and a cast of Corman regulars (Dick Miller, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov) HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD reveals a lot of Dante's future stylistics, from visual puns to cult film references to manic action. There was something sad and wistful about watching the film, and I wondered what happened to all those Hollywood hopefuls in their moment of screen glory. This was the perfect venue to watch the film, with Miller in front of me watching himself onscreen while onscreen Miller watches himself onscreen with Boris Karloff in a clip from THE TERROR. How meta can you get? The audience digs the film and it gets laughs and applause.

After, Dante brings up Miller, Arkush, Kaplan. He looks at them and says, "God we're old." Ah, but they're young at heart and for me and others, they represent The Good Old Movie Days.