Los Angeles Cameo: Metblogs L.A.'s "L.A. Plays Itself" Series

Metblogs L.A. is chronicling some of the better-known films in which Los Angeles is front and center.

Like the unreleased Thom Andersen movie chronicling L.A.'s role in film, the Metblogs L.A. series is titled "L.A. Plays Itself." Among the features that Metblogs has already chronicled:

Riot On The Sunset Strip
Repo Man
The Limey
Blue Thunder
Barton Fink
Midnight Madness
Crash
(500) Days of Summer
Mildred Pierce
Speed
The Omega Man
Magnolia
Volcano
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Blade Runner
Swingers
Valley of the Dolls & Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls
LA Confidential
Double Indemnity
It’s A Bikini World
Earth Girls Are Easy
Valley Girl
The Big Lebowski

As you know, I've always been partial to "Midnight Madness" -- which, of course, inspired our Mike's Birthday Race and sequel Mike and Maria's Halloween Housewarming Race.

Of course, this is just a sprinkling of the movies that have featured Los Angeles over the years. Any thoughts on other movies Metblogs should include?



Above, a clip from "Los Angeles Plays Itself," focusing on the frequent use of downtown's historic Bradbury Building. And below, the use of iconic Los Angeles residences in film.

Los Angeles Magazine Wants You to "Get LA"

Los Angeles mag's new "Get LA" film competition is already underway -- but you still have until the end of the month to digitally capture your take on our city.

To kick off "Get LA," L.A. mag's Chris Nichols put together the short above (click to watch). To shoot "Designed for Dreaming," he convinced "21 of the city's optimists, futurists, and dreamers" to perform this poem, created for GM in 1956 as a nod to the future. City Councilman Tom LaBonge, architects Dion Neutra and Frank Escher, Los Angeles Conservancy executive director Linda Dishman, "histotainer" Charles Phoenix and soprano Dabney Ross Jones (above) are among the notables chiming in.

L.A. mag hopes to convince as many Angelenos -- both filmmakers and civilians -- as possible to create their own three-minute videos about Los Angeles. Details:

GET LA film competition is open to Los Angeles County residents. The films can biographical, documentary, fictional, or aspirational portraits of the city and its residents. In order to be accessible to diverse members of the community entry of a film into the competition is free. Submissions for the competition will run from February 3-March 3, 2010. Finalists will be announced and posted online March 15 to be judged by viewers (who will choose an “Audience Favorite”) and a panel of notable Angelenos as judges (who will choose an “Official Selection”). The winners will be announced in early April. Film entries will be submitted and viewed at lamag.com/citythink/getla.

Judges include David Arquette, Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Garcetti, chef Evan Kleiman, movie critic Joe Morgenstern, and USA Network's Jeff Wachtel.

Volunteer org L.A. Works is also sponsoring the contest, along with the new L.A. Magazine Foundation. It's also a part of L.A. mag's 50th anniversary "City Think" initiative.