A happy accident
It wasn’t a case of actually dying for my art, but it was a real-life close call. A few minutes into John Ewing’s intro to Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances, I heard a loud, shrill crash to my left. I turned toward expecting to see shattered glass, but was surprised to find shards of plaster strewn less than 6 inches from me. A piece of the Cinematheque’s ceiling had fallen down on the seat next to me! Many people in the auditorium believed that a light bulb had fallen on me or near me, and a few came to see if I was alright.
OK, OK, even if the plaster had zonked me on the head, I probably would have been fine. Nevertheless permit me to draw some spiritual meaning out of this event, as any person writing a blog would be apt to do:
1) Don’t let anyone convince you that there aren’t “right” and “wrong” seats in a movie theatre. I’m not sure the reasons for sitting anywhere but dead center (tiny bladder?), but here it at least saved me from a smattering of ceiling.
2) Always pay attention to the main action of an event. Let the happy accidents happen as they may—don’t look for them—or at least let the cinematographer worry about them. What?! You don’t have a cinematographer following and documenting every snippet of your existence? Maybe you should take Ed Pincus’s lead.
3) Be charitable to your local art institutions! Aside from the work they do in bringing you great art, they also have to manage the upkeep of their facilities. You can donate to the Cinematheque by purchasing a membership here.
4) Or just treat yourself to a single movie—schedule here.
