Westwood Film Festival: Choppertown
Choppertown poster
By Scott Sycamore     Published October 18, 2005
Should appeal to any fan of Monster Garage, American Chopper, or just bad-ass bikes in general. There?s real love and passion behind it, and it?s clear that Zack & Scott went out of their way to get it made.
Several weeks ago, Lee was contacted by a filmmaker named Zack Coffman. Zack explained that he?s a fan of the site, and ? not even knowing that we?re based in L.A. like him ? invited Lee and I to come see a screening of his movie, Choppertown: The Sinners. It was to be shown at the 1st Annual Westwood International Film Festival, held exclusively at the Majestic Crest Theater.

Lee and I attended the posh festival kickoff party on Zack?s invite. We met Zack and his co-director/producer/editor/writer/cinematographer, Scott Di Lalla. They were both as nice as can be, and shared with us about their lives in general as well as their experiences in making this movie. What they?ve created is a documentary that profiles The Sinners, an affable yet dangerous-looking clan of hardcore motorcyclists who operate in and around Hemet, California. The gang likes to hang out at the ringleader?s garage and partake in classic male bonding: drinking brew and taking the wrench to bikes. It?s a fun slice-of-life piece that should appeal to any fan of Monster Garage, American Chopper, or just bad-ass bikes in general. There?s real love and passion behind it, and it?s clear that Zack & Scott went out of their way to get it made.

Documentaries are very hot right now, and can perform extremely well with the right marketing. This movie deserves distribution so it can be seen. Check out the web-site (DVDs are available for purchase) and please contact Zack & Scott if you can help their movie along the cinematic highway.

-- http://www.choppertown.net
-- http://imdb.com/title/tt0476969

As I mentioned, Choppertown was screened at the Westwood Film Festival. The event was organized and hosted by Crest Theater owner Robert Bucksbaum. Lee and I got a chance to meet and talk to Robert, and found him gracious and easygoing. He seemed right at home in the midst of a cinematic tsunami known as a film festival, and told us that he personally watched all of the 400+ movies that were sent in for consideration. Robert?s story with the Crest is a fascinating one (Previous to Robert's ownership, the theater was going to be demolished for a swap meet. And once he found out, he stepped forward and invested his life savings to save it), as the theater is one of the last truly independent venues in Los Angeles (and perhaps the whole country). It needs all the support and patronage it can get; dealing with distributors and the fickle tastes of the public can be taxing. We here at LMI encourage any of our L.A.-based readers to check out the Crest whenever they can.

-- http://westwoodcrest.com
-- http://westwoodfilmfestival.com

Pictures of the Crest:
-- http://leesmovieinfo.net/images1/crest1.JPG
-- http://leesmovieinfo.net/images1/crest2.JPG
-- http://leesmovieinfo.net/images1/crest4.JPG
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