L.A. Is My Beat: Mr. Bitchin'

Last night Larry took me to a documentary at the Egyptian Theater/American Cinematheque called "Mr. Bitchin'." Here's a brief summary from Juxtapoz Magazine : This irreverent documentary delivers insight into multiple American counter-cultures by following the great American artist and underground legend Robert Williams. From Hot Rods to Punk and Metal, from LSD to the top of the art world, the influential paintings of Robert Williams defied categorization until they became their own art movement.

We stopped at Skooby's for a quick hot dog before the flick. I didn't take photos, but after inspecting my hot dog bun, I deducted that it was made from 3 Parker House dinner rolls, still fused together and heated on the grill. Brilliant! Parker House dinner rolls are much squishier and more delicious than your standard hot dog bun. They also have fresh and yummy lemonade at Skooby's.

I do love visiting the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The Boulevard was PACKED with tourists, even on a Tuesday night!

Many of the people involved with the documentary were in the courtyard of the theater, along with the paparazzi.

Artist, Robert Williams

Co-Director/Producer, Nancye Ferguson and Histotainer, Charles Phoenix

Artist, Gregg Gibbs and Photographer, Larry Underhill

We both thoroughly enjoyed the film. There have been two other attempts at making a documentary about Williams and his work. All of this footage from 20 years ago, along with more recent footage was made available to the filmmakers. Some of the older interviews by people like bandleader, Artie Shaw and art curator, Walter Hopps were very insightful. Both legends have passed away, so this footage was invaluable to the film.

There was a panel after the screening with Robert Williams and his wife, artist Suzanne Williams, moderated by Mat Gleason. The producers, directors and editor of the film were also on the panel.