What if we told you that in just a few weeks, you could go to a screening of the 1994 comedy-cult classic Clifford in Los Angeles, then watch Martin Short, Richard Kind, director Paul Flaherty, and other special guests talk about it afterwards with known Clifford superfan Tom Scharpling serving as moderator? That would be pretty cool, right? You’d probably freak out like a 10-year-old boy, yes?
Well, guess what? The film Vulture honored in 2021 by giving it the lengthy, in-depth, Nic Cage–cameo–featuring oral history it so richly deserved is now getting double-honored at Dynasty Typewriter in L.A. on Saturday, December 17, thanks to oral-history writer Rob Turbovsky and new film-screening nonprofit Hollywood Entertainment. Here are all the details for the event, titled “A Short Night With Clifford”:
On December 17th, join us for the first-ever major retrospective of Clifford’s genesis and legacy. In-person, star Martin Short, co-star Richard Kind, director Paul Flaherty, and to-be-announced special guests will examine the film’s hard-won battle into the comedy pantheon through cable screenings, word-of-mouth, and its legion of well-known evangelists from Elizabeth Taylor to Nicolas Cage. Some of those fans (including Tom Scharpling) will appear in person to discuss the film’s influence and ecstasy.
In 1994, Clifford, the wild and brilliant comedy about a very bad 10-year-old played by then-40-year-old Martin Short, was released to critical and commercial indifference. It has gone on to become one of the definitive cult comedies of its era. To quote noted Clifford lover David Letterman, “It’s not a regular movie … I don’t know what they thought when they were making it. It’s a piece of wonderment now.”
Thank you to Rob Turbovsky and our media sponsor Vulture.
Hollywood Entertainment was created to entertain and educate filmgoers by screening and preserving eclectic, underseen, non-commercial, rare, and socially beneficial films and film-related artifacts.
In April 2020, we started near-daily themed streams (then called Moviepassed) to entertain each other and our friends while raising money for embattled causes in the arts and our communities. Our near-daily programs began as a quarantine project and have since amassed almost 6,000 followers. As we grew, we were able to raise money for charities, mutual aids, arts organizations, and more through raffles and film-themed fundraisers.
Our evolution into Hollywood Entertainment and our 501(c)(3) status reflects our ambitions to screen adventurous programs and create fun, exciting, and thought-provoking events that push the boundaries of repertory cinema in Los Angeles and worldwide.
Tickets for the event are on sale now, so scoop them up while they last. In the meantime, you can make the time go by quicker by revisiting our oral history, which features arguably the best summation of the film by David Letterman: “You think you’re gonna see a regular movie, because it looks like a regular movie — the color is regular, it’s bright, it’s crisp. It’s got the people you know and understand are talented and funny and should be in movies. And then Clifford begins.” No word yet if Steffen will show up at the event, but you never know.
