"Blue Thunder"/ "War Games" 25th Anniversary screening

Attended a double feature screening of "Blue Thunder" and "War Games" at The Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. This was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of both films and included a special Q&A with Director John Badham. I was pretty excited to see the listing for this on filmjerk.com, a site that posts all movie screenings (old and new films) in the Los Angeles area.

The one thing I knew I had to wear was my JAFO cap. Those of you who've seen "Blue Thunder" know this was the cap worn by Daniel Stern’s character, Lymangood, and stands for 'Just Another Fucking Observer'. I was especially glad I wore this when I found myself confronted by someone who was involved with the making of film.

As Rebecca and I sat at a sidewalk cafe enjoying lunch before heading across the street to the theater, I suddenly felt someone's hand on my shoulder. An older gentlemen's voice softly spoke in my ear. He asked, "That wouldn't happen to mean 'just another fucking observer', would it?". I turned around replying 'yes'. He then introduced himself; Edward M. Abrams, one of the film editors on "Blue Thunder"! I practically leapt out of my seat to shake his hand. Turns out he was having lunch with some fellow editors that included his son, who saw my cap as they entered the cafe. We spoke for a few minutes about the movie and my work as an editor in the industry. That was such an added treat to converse with him, and I wore a huge smile of appreciation as we entered the theater a half hour before show time.

It was great to see both "Blue Thunder" and "War Games" on the big screen again, and the Q&A with John Badham (presented between films), even though fairly short, was interesting and included some tidbits about working with Roy Scheider. After the Q&A, Badham moved to the lobby where he signed autographs for fans (pictured on the left).

Just a great night, and it really took me back to when I first saw each of these movies when they were first released. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years!