George Lucas at AFI Silver

Jeff and I love movies. Jeff and I usually go to the
movies at least once every week, and our dvd collection just outgrew it's
home in December after adding about 30 new dvd's to our collection at
Christmas.  If I could build one dream room in a house, it would be a home
theatre.  And I don't mean a couch with a big screen tv, either.

However, we generally have different taste in film.  Jeff likes big
action movies like Independence Day and Armageddon.  I prefer classics,
documentaries, and foreign films, though I do also like a lot of the big
action movies that Jeff likes.

Little by little, I've been getting Jeff to enjoy the kinds of movies I
like too.  Jeff surprised me one day by wanting to go see Hero, directed
by Zhang Yimou.  I think it probably helped that Jet Li was the star, but
this helped me to introduce Jeff to some of my favorite Chinese films (I
took a Chinese film class in college, so I have quite a few).

This past weekend, Jeff said he had a surprise planned.  Since he said
that it was something he thought I would like, but he thought he might
like it more, I started imagining things like laser tag, a computer
convention, or something having to do with Star Trek.  Boy was I surprised
when we drove to Silver Spring, got out of the car, and started following
the signs to the American Film Institute Silver Theatre.

Since the Silver re-opened in 2003, I have been trying to get Jeff to
go with me, but he has never been interested.  Yesterday, however, the AFI
Silver was showing Episode IV, V, and VI of the Star Wars trilogy, so Jeff
got us tickets to all 3 films and we spent the day watching the original
Star Wars films on the big screen.  What a treat!  According to AFI staff,
the AFI Silver is the only theatre in the world that has permission to
show the 3 original Star Wars movies.  During the renovation of the
Silver, George Lucas personally outfitted the theatre's sound system (and
it was one of the best I've heard).  I'm not sure why Jeff thought he
might enjoy it more than me, after all I was Princess Leia for Halloween
in 1st grade.  I was even the proud owner of the plastic Jabba's palace
set, featuring a real trap door.  When I was in elementary school, I
washed my hair with shampoo that came out of a plastic model of Darth
Vader.

After spending 8 hours at the Silver, Jeff and I were both really
impressed.  They have good concessions and they have wine and beer that
you can take into the theatre with you. They also have an espresso
machine.  Neither the tickets nor the available snacks were as expensive
as other theatres with similar amenities.  Jeff was looking at their
upcoming schedule (which includes Jaws and the Indiana Jones movies), and
surprised me by saying he wanted to come back to see The Thin Man Movies. 
AND, he thought we should become members.  I think this might be the first
time Jeff has ever wanted to see a black and white movie, so AFI, thank
you!

 

Last
5 songs played on my iPod:
Do What You Wanna (Mr.
Scruff's Soul Party Mix) - Ramsey
Lewis
In the Waiting Line - Zero
7
Still in Love Song - The
Stills

Fried Neckbones And Some Home Fries (Dan The Automator Remix) - Willie
Bobo

Spread Your Love - Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club