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In July of 2012, @MrPeytonReed and I hosted a "Summer of 1982" series at the @newbeverly. '82 is generally considered the summer that made "summer movies" a thing, so it held a special place in both of our hearts - especially Peyton's because he's much older than me.
When we made our list of double features, the one film we were most excited about was DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID: Carl Reiner's rarely screened black-and-white spoof of '40s noir shot by Michael Chapman, costume designed by Edith Head and scored by Miklós Rózsa.
We reached out to Reiner and @SteveMartinToGo for a Q&A: Reiner was unavailable and the former was on tour with his bluegrass band. But at the last second, through third-party intervention, we got Reiner.
Reiner showed up to the screening an hour early. I hastily closed out at El Coyote, and bolted over to the theater. For a solid half-hour, Peyton and I got to do an impromptu Q&A with one of our comedy heroes.
Eventually the audience filed in, and it was time to do the Q&A, at which point @troniks asked me if we needed chairs. I hadn't thought of that. Most New Bev Q&As were done w/ folks leaning against the lip of the stage. Also, most New Bev Q&As weren't done w/ ninety-year-old men.
We scrambled and found three chairs: a plastic chair, a folding chair and a creaky wooden chair older than Carl. They were lined up next to each other in front of the screen. It was a sorry looking display.
Finally, we introduced Carl to a standing ovation. He rose from his seat, acknowledged the applause, then raised his hand to silence the crowd.
Sans microphone, he said, "I just want you all to know... I told them I wouldn't appear tonight unless they provided us with three *completely* different chairs." Brought the house down.
The Q&A was wonderful. He told amazing stories. He trash-talked Ronald Reagan (the studio wanted to insert the then-POTUS into the film, and he refused b/c of RR's disgraceful behavior during HUAC). And he was just as excited as we were to watch DEAD MEN... projected in 35mm.
Basically, everything you've heard about Carl Reiner is true. He was a kind man, a funny man and a fiercely principled man. And a great visual artist. We were blessed to have him.
