›› FiLM
Plug Into the PaciďŹ c Sun’s
It’s a wrap!
Local Music Connection
The final kernels pop on another great Mill Valley Film Festival
Experience Music! An AC/DC mini-amp with maximum features!
Sure, it’s small, but it has 11 essential amp models plus four types each of reverb #" ) $& "#!$ # " ) ) # ! "" ! ) # * " ! ) # ! $ ! $" " & (
* ## ! "
Oscar-nominated Annette Bening or, as we like to call her, prime suspect in the Case of the Missing Caesar Salad.
tain climber who accidentally falls into a canyon and is pinned under a boulder. “It’s an action movie where the hero can’t move,â€? Boyle says. “When we met James, it was like he’s stoned. He looked as if he didn’t even know we were there. But I think it was just his way of keeping business at arm’s length.â€? Over the course of, well, decades, there have been many terriďŹ c ďŹ lms here, but we can’t recall when so many of them day after day moved our needle. Among the very best was Precious Life, a documentary from Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar about a Palestinian couple from Gaza who bring their newborn son with a failing immune 26 >
›› paciďŹ csun.com/music
Your Backstage Pass to the Local Music Scene
I
$9999
BANANAS AT LARGE 1504 4th St • Central San Rafael OPEN EVERY DAY! 415-457-7600 WWW. BANANASMUSIC. COM
PHOTOS COURTESY CALIFORNIA FILM INSTITUTE
’m sorry, but Annette Bening owes me a Caesar salad. I had just sat down to eat one in the press room at the Mill Valley Film Festival when we were all told—on my ďŹ rst bite—to clear out immediately because she had arrived early. When we were ďŹ nally given the culinary OK to return, my salad was gone and an unusually large crowd was pressing someone into a corner. I assumed it was Bening. Or Edward Norton Jr. Or James Franco. Or any of the other ďŹ lm celebrities in attendance. Nope. It was Bobby the Greek, a Marin caterer who was serving spanakopita and baklava and the other goodies he offers up at Marin farmers markets and the San Rafael Parade of Lights. Samples were scarfed down in seconds and I went hungry a second time...Bening told us she “has fewer illusions about acting [now than years ago]. Every aspect of ďŹ lmmaking conspires to crush spontaneity— trucks, people running around, cables, wires, cameras, someone yelling ‘Quiet! OK, action!’ I always thought it’d be two or three people in a room. That’s why actors are a little weird. There is something irrational about it and yet you have to care so deeply with utter conviction. You’re supposed to fall in love with someone you don’t love at all—and that’s when you really learn about acting.â€?...Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle made a surprise visit to the festival and talked about the casting of onetime local boy James Franco in 127 Hours, the true story of a moun-
Connecting Bands, Fans and Venues
by M al Karm an
compassionate piano lessons for beginners of all ages Instruments for the beginner or advanced player, mandolins & ukes, vintage & collectible guitars, lessons & repairs
MIKE WINSTON mill valley
415.686.5886
106 Main St., Tiburon 789-0846 www.om28.com
mikewinstonmillvalley@ gmail.com
Songs Chants Movement Instrument Play-alongs Mixed-age classes
(Infant - 4.5 years)
MUSIC TOGETHER OF MARINŽ Mill Valley • Corte Madera • San Anselmo • Ross • Terra Linda • San Rafael • Tiburon Call Beth at 415.388.2464 www.musictogetherofmarin.com
Festival director Mark Fishkin, left, greets Ed Norton and his proud dad at the screening of ‘Stone.’
To Plug your Business Into the Local Music Connection Call 485-6700 OCTOBER 22 - OCTOBER 28, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 25