CineVegas honors Voight, gives his ‘Lookin’ to Get Out’ a second life

Film festivals showcase movies that audiences wouldn't have the chance to see otherwise.

Sometimes they're world premieres. And sometimes they're old movies given a new life.

That's definitely the case with "Lookin' to Get Out," a resurrected 1982 made-in-Vegas flop written by and starring Jon Voight.

And on Sunday, audiences will finally see what they've been missing all these years, when "Lookin' to Get Out" screens as part of a tribute to Voight sponsored by the CineVegas film festival.

The 11th annual festival hits the halfway mark today, continuing through Monday at the Palms' Brenden Theatres and other locations. (Click on www.cinevegas.com for complete festival information.)

On Sunday, Voight will accept CineVegas' highest honor: the Marquee Award.

As far as he's concerned, however, the real reason for celebration is the resurrection of "Lookin' to Get Out," which marked the actor's second collaboration with Hal Ashby, who directed Voight to an Academy Award in 1978's "Coming Home."

Beset by personal problems during post-production, Ashby walked away from "Lookin' to Get Out" -- which stars Voight as an on-the-run gambler, Ann-Margret as his old flame and Burt Young as his best friend -- before its theatrical release.

"I tried to come in and fix it," Voight recalls. "We had three days to make any adjustments."

But the version that reached theaters -- 15 minutes shorter than Ashby's cut -- "was a big mess," Voight acknowledges. "We all felt very badly."

It wasn't until Voight met Ashby's biographer, and Ashby's daughter, years later that Voight learned Ashby had recut "Lookin' to Get Out" before he died in 1988 -- and had donated the new version to the famed UCLA Film & Television Archive.

"We always felt the movie was made," Voight says. And seeing Ashby's revised cut confirmed that "you just had to take the right takes" to resurrect "Lookin' to Get Out."

Now, the revised scenes "are what they were meant to be," Voight says, creating "the version Hal Ashby wanted people to see."

Sunday's CineVegas festivities also include two Vanguard Award tributes saluting actor Willem Dafoe and pioneer underground directors George and Michael Kuchar. ("It Came From Kuchar," a documentary about the Kuchar twins and their work, screens today and Saturday.)

Dafoe's CineVegas tribute also showcases a rarely seen movie: his first starring role, in the 1982 biker flick "The Loveless," co-directed by Kathryn Bigelow ("Point Break," the upcoming "Hurt Locker").

Asked why he chose "The Loveless" for his CineVegas tribute, Dafoe offers a succinct reply: "I get a kick out of the fact that, once, I was young."

But seriously, folks, "It's very difficult to see yourself on film," he adds. "What remains, when you're watching it, are the memories."

Underground pioneers George and Michael Kuchar, twins whose films have influenced admirers from Buck Henry to John Waters, will show a program of their works at Sunday night's tribute; 45 minutes of George's, 45 minutes of Michael's.

In addition, the documentary "It Came From Kuchar" (screening today and Saturday) profiles the brothers and their work, from their beginnings in 1950s Brooklyn, where they cast their neighbors in homemade short films -- filmed with their aunt's 8mm camera -- that bridged the gap between pop art and Hollywood hokum.

"Sometimes something haunts you" and "you want to capture it," Mike Kuchar says of his filmmaking inspirations. "It's a way of coming to terms with your surroundings. It's also a means of expression, experimentation, composing visual elements." And, he adds, "you have to make it contain some spark of life."

And even though CineVegas doesn't end until Monday, Sunday night's closing film -- "World's Greatest Dad" -- brings director Bobcat Goldthwait back to CineVegas, where he's served as a seminar panelist and shown his 2003 comedy "Windy City Heat."

Goldthwait hopes the closing-night CineVegas slot will bring more attention to "World's Greatest Dad," a dark comedy starring Robin Williams as a frustrated novelist (and single dad) whose life changes after tragedy strikes.

In Goldthwait's view, his reputation as a stand-up comedian represents "a big hurdle" for some audiences who "assume it's going to be a very broad and silly comedy."

But Goldthwait also appreciates CineVegas as a chance "to hang out with other filmmakers," he notes. "People at CineVegas should feel free to come up and talk to me. I really do enjoy meeting people at the festival."

Scott Caan's another CineVegas veteran, returning this year as writer and star of "Mercy," a world premiere he describes as a "tragic romance" between a writer who's never experienced love -- and the critic who panned his latest book.

Unlike acting, which offers "a chance to pretend you're part of the actual filmmaking process," Caan says, writing means "living with something from beginning to end."

And the first time Caan (yes, his dad's a guy named James) came to CineVegas, it was as writer, director and star of the 2003 drama "Dallas 362," which wound up capturing the festival's top jury prize.

"I want to win again," Caan says of CineVegas' Jackpot Premieres competition.

After all, "it's one thing to make a movie you like -- that's a victory in itself," he says. "It's always shocking when somebody else likes your movie."

Then again, that's part of the festival experience -- sharing impressions as well as movies.

That's something Dafoe looks forward to during this weekend's CineVegas visit.

"There are so many films I don't know," he says. "I'm curious about this festival."

Including the fact that Las Vegas even has a film festival.

"Isn't there enough going on in that town?" Dafoe wonders. "But that's the beauty of it," he adds, "bringing all the flash you associate with Las Vegas to support an adventurous film festival."

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.