Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510310016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
She's in town to introduce a restored print of her most famous film, ``King Kong.'' Though the festival may have had more famous stars in past years, none have been as witty or as knowledgeable about their work.
At 88, Wray is not as quick or as energetic as she was in 1933 when she spent hours suspended six feet above the floor in the unsteady grip of a huge mechanical hand. The more she wriggled, the looser the fingers became, and in those days before the Screen Actors Guild, she once worked 22 hours straight.
Not that she has any complaints or mixed feelings. She had nothing but good things to say about the film and the role she's indelibly associated with. When asked what first inspired her to become an actress, she answered without hesitation, ``Movies. Just movies,'' remembering the first film she ever saw in a Salt Lake City theater - not the title, but the experience itself.
Her strongest memories were of the dust motes floating in the beam of the projector's light overhead, and the emotions of the crowd around her. ``I was probably about 6 years old,'' she said, ``and I sensed that the people in the audience were very happy. It was sweet enchantment.''
That's what she found in ``King Kong.''
``Imagination is the...'' she searched for the right word, ``aura that's around Kong, and if you take that along with you, it enhances your life.''
The film still has that power.
Thursday night, when it was screened at the University of Virginia's Culbreth Hall, the crowd cheered during the big fight between Kong and the T-Rex, and at the famous ending atop the Empire State Building, sniffles were clearly audible.
And that is the point of this annual gathering: good films projected the way they were meant to be seen on big screens for appreciative audiences.
The festival proper began with a respectable crowd at the Thursday morning screening of Howard Hawks' ``Scarface'' and then a much larger audience for the matinee, Carol Reed's ``The Third Man,'' which is also the subject of critic Roger Ebert's frame-by-frame workshop. Of the new films having premieres this weekend, the early buzz is going to ``Picture Bride,'' the story of a Japanese woman's arranged marriage. It was one of the first boxoffice sellouts. Overall, according to festival director Hugh Southern, advance ticket sales ran about 33 percent above last year.
There have been a few structural changes this year. The most noticeable is a decrease in the number of films being shown, making it easier to get from one screening to another. The shuttle bus service has been expanded, too. These are the things that really matter to seasoned festival-goers.
Richmonder George Cooper, at his third festival, has become a familiar face. He has also been pursuing an on-screen career as an extra in local productions, most recently in ``The Shadow Conspiracy,'' a Charlie Sheen thriller filmed in Washington. He and his wife were at the opening night benefit where they met Fay Wray.
Charlottesville residents Iris Luck and Marie Krizek were working as volunteer ushers at the ``King Kong'' screening. They're also selling tickets, staffing the hospitality room at the Boar's Head Inn and helping supervise the kids' party on Sunday.
The festival continues today with screenings of ``Once Upon a Time in the West'' and ``Dr. Strangelove'' and appearances by director Michael Moore with his feature, ``Canadian Bacon''; actor Ruben Blades with his neo-noir Western, ``Scorpion Spring''; and actor Treat Williams with a short film, ``The Taming Power of Small'' and his 1979 musical, "Hair."
by CNB