When we first named this column, editor John Heaston kept referring to it as “Cutting Room Floor.” He probably still does, honestly. I hate that. The floor is where the stuff that gets cut falls. The cutting room itself is where the best content gets assembled. This isn’t the stuff that gets trimmed so you don’t pay attention. This is me preparing you the finest movie nuggets. At least it was… Two more things to preview below for you, and then a final word of advice.
- On Sept. 26, Film Streams will be showing “Throne of Blood” at the Ruth Sokolf Theater. Choosing a favorite Akira Kurosawa film is a bit like selecting a parent selecting their favorite kid. But just like my folks when they picked me, I can be brave too and tell you “Throne of Blood” is my A-number-one Kurosawa jam. Akira + Shakespeare = Mindblown. That’s just movie math. The film will be followed by a post-screening panel discussion featuring the gang at Bluebarn Theater, which is dope in its own right. I hope the chat covers things like “What to do if a ghost tells you to kill someone.” To be clear, that’s a reference to “Throne of Blood” and not a personal thing I’m working through.
- On Saturday, Sept. 9, you can go to Alamo Drafthouse and watch Catvideofest 2023. It’s billed as the “world’s #1 cat video festival.” The world’s #2 cat video festival is called “your smartphone.” If you have ever even kinda wanted to see felines doing silly, stupid things on a bigger screen, I am confident that Catvideofest 2023 is gonna scratch that itch like a cat on the ‘nip. What an age we live in that this is a thing!
- And speaking of crazy events like Catvideofest 2023 and the internet, here is where I tell you that I will be continuing reviews. I won’t be continuing this monthly column. You’ll be okay. Because what you want to do is bookmark filmstreams.org and the Alamo Drafthouse Calendar. Those two theaters tend to do fun shit and post it enough in advance for it to know about it. My special secret for finding all the other small events? I ask Google for movie/film events in Omaha during a specific period. I rarely actually have folks send me stuff. I get almost everything by doing that incredibly complicated step of…googling. See, you don’t need me. You never needed me. You had the power within you all along. That power, again, is the internet. You got this.