American Graffiti

For years Cristian Gheorghiu craved the thrill of the chase. Spray-paint can in hand, he lived on the edge, always a step ahead of the law. His canvas was L.A.'s lampposts, brick walls and concrete riverbeds where he scrawled ragged images and his own nickname, "Smear" ? probably thousands of times. The graffiti made him a subculture sensation. Fans compared his art to that of another graffiti artist, the critically acclaimed Jean-Michel Basquiat. But just as the East Hollywood graffiti artist's career was taking off, his past has threatened to overtake him. First came jail and a whopping fine.

For a few weeks now, we've been looking for the most emblematic Los Angeles movies ever and counting on crowd-sourcing to build a big list, then separate the wheat from the cinematic chaff. Now that we've got some serious chaff on our hands, it's time to start whacking. Thanks to suggestions from dozens of readers, we've added more than 30 names to our original list of more than 100 movies set in Los Angeles. We've also put the list in alphabetical order, by title, below. (So don't be alarmed.

I'm doing all right in school, They ain't said I broke no rules. I ain't never been in Dutch, I don't browse around too much, Don't bother us, leave us alone ... --"Almost Grown" by Chuck Berry Steve Wells had two things on his mind tonight--cars and girls. From behind the wheel of his black pick-up truck, he and his pal Rick Jennings could see a lot of both.

Some house hunters crave square footage and gourmet kitchens. Others desire windows and views. Roger Gastman, co-curator of a Museum of Contemporary Art show opening later this month on the history of graffiti art, sought an element of surprise. He could have chosen a downtown loft to showcase his collections of vintage spray-paint cans and art by Shepard Fairey and Banksy, but he deemed that too predictable. "My collections are not the most normal," said Gastman, 33, co-author of "The History of American Graffiti," to be released Tuesday by Harper Design.

Autobiographical movies are the most personal of "personal movies," and big U.S. studios rarely champion personal movies of any kind. Noah Baumbach based his corrosive yet empathic new indie, "The Squid and the Whale," on his parents' marital breakup when he was a teenager. It's a welcome addition to the small body of American features that put their creators' lives onscreen with unprecedented directness and intensity.

The soundtrack to "American Graffiti," George Lucas' widely admired 1973 film about the loss of youthful innocence, has finally been released in CD, and the collection stands as one of the most engaging samples of early rock 'n' roll. The 41 tracks in the two-disc set aren't necessarily the 41 best or hippest records from the late '50s and early '60s, but the records offer a good sense of the generally cheery, optimistic music that dominated AM radio at the time.

No More Cruising: Modesto, the city that inspired the film "American Graffiti," is seeking to shed its reputation as the Cruising Capital with a pair of ordinances limiting the gasoline-guzzling pastime. The City Council unanimously approved the rules Tuesday night after listening to testimony that ran nearly 3 to 1 against the proposals. Under the ordinances, motorists passing checkpoints more than once in a four-hour period would face fines ranging from $75-$250.

The Times' review of a new 1950s nostalgia movie speaks of the director's "longing for the past, for the moment in time when everything seemed full of luminous certainty and romantic potential, when youth and idealism seemed quenchless." No doubt reviewer Michael Wilmington (Calendar, Oct. 14) has accurately characterized the mood of Yugoslav director Jovan Acin's "Hey, Babu Riba," which, as Wilmington points out, recalls innumerable American predecessors in the "American Graffiti" vein.

Some house hunters crave square footage and gourmet kitchens. Others desire windows and views. Roger Gastman, co-curator of a Museum of Contemporary Art show opening later this month on the history of graffiti art, sought an element of surprise. He could have chosen a downtown loft to showcase his collections of vintage spray-paint cans and art by Shepard Fairey and Banksy, but he deemed that too predictable. "My collections are not the most normal," said Gastman, 33, co-author of "The History of American Graffiti," to be released Tuesday by Harper Design.

For years Cristian Gheorghiu craved the thrill of the chase. Spray-paint can in hand, he lived on the edge, always a step ahead of the law. His canvas was L.A.'s lampposts, brick walls and concrete riverbeds where he scrawled ragged images and his own nickname, "Smear" ? probably thousands of times. The graffiti made him a subculture sensation. Fans compared his art to that of another graffiti artist, the critically acclaimed Jean-Michel Basquiat. But just as the East Hollywood graffiti artist's career was taking off, his past has threatened to overtake him. First came jail and a whopping fine.

Actor Topher Grace wanted to make a movie that treated the 1980s the way George Lucas viewed the 1960s in "American Graffiti" or Richard Linklater remembered the 1970s in "Dazed and Confused" ? more fond memory than mean-spirited satire. But Grace and his collaborators also believed their "Take Me Home Tonight" couldn't avoid the era's drug use. "You can't do a movie about prohibition," Grace says, "and not show alcohol. " That decision was one of many factors ? including moving to a new studio ?

It's now the holiday season, so let's start this by being positive: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver got it exactly right when they named filmmaker George Lucas to their California Hall of Fame. The writer-director-producer is best known for his "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" blockbusters. But for me, a fellow California native, Lucas' most remarkable and entertaining contribution was his breakthrough 1973 hit "American Graffiti." Here's a creative role model who grew up in small-town Modesto in the Central Valley -- cruisin', draggin', listening to Wolfman Jack -- and captured his and millions of California teens' night lives in a semi-autobiographical, iconic flick.

Autobiographical movies are the most personal of "personal movies," and big U.S. studios rarely champion personal movies of any kind. Noah Baumbach based his corrosive yet empathic new indie, "The Squid and the Whale," on his parents' marital breakup when he was a teenager. It's a welcome addition to the small body of American features that put their creators' lives onscreen with unprecedented directness and intensity.

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival, stronger than ever in its 12th year, opens tonight at 7:30 at the Directors Guild with Renee Tajima-Pen~a's delightfully wry "My America . . . Or Honk If You Love Buddha." In it, this notable documentarian attempts to answer the question, "Will we truly ever belong in America?"

If pizzas or golf clubs were made the way Plymouth is building the Prowler, their CEOs would be munching happy pills at bankruptcy hearings. Chrysler spent $75 million, a pittance these days, to develop and produce a handful of prototypes. But only 3,000 Prowlers will be sold next year for $35,000 apiece. You do the math. Prowler is a growler, a two-seater toy, a throwback of a '40s hot rod with motorcycle front fenders, window sills at ear level and a huge bum. It comes only in papal purple.

The night Timothy White was shot in a drive-by by the rival Blood gang, his fellow Crips--packing guns and itching for revenge--came to Dewitt (Paw Paw) Jackson looking for advice. They gathered in Jackson's dingy room at the Ritz Motel, where he had been living since his boyhood home was condemned and bulldozed a few months earlier.