Around Town: The LCF movie connection

When Brianne Crowley married La Cañadan Geoff Chandler, they had more in common than their love for one another and for USC football. Unlike most young couples, Brianne and Geoff each have pages on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) — Brianne for her stints on Jay Leno as a USC song leader and Geoff as a principal actor in Levi’s commercials and as crew on Robot Chicken.

As young parents, the Chandlers have settled back into the regular work force and Brianne, an elementary school teacher, has returned to her love of film with the launch of “Hit or Miss Movies.” The podcast is available on iTunes, and there’s a YouTube promo channel, a Twitter feed and a Facebook page, all linked through Brianne’s website at www.hitormissmovies.com.


The one-minute YouTube promo gives a snippet of the weekly 20-60 minute podcast. The movies reviewed each week will vary. They generally are not new films. Each week has a topic and a guest. Many episodes are interviews with the guest, followed by a separate episode where Brianne and the guest discuss films on a particular topic.

Brianne has been interested in film since early childhood, beginning with her recitations of Templeton's monologue in “Charlotte's Web” at the age of 2, and culminating with her graduation from USC with a major in theater.

Being an old fogy, I asked Brianne whether she thought movies are a dying art form.

“They are the opposite of a dying art form,” she replied. “Movie-making has become more accessible to artists all over the world because of tools on the Internet like YouTube and Vimeo. Going to films is less popular because viewers can instantly stream movies and entertainment at home.

“Plus, the audience is getting smarter and doesn't want to see Transformers 19 anymore — we want new and creative outlets. It is amazing to see how many talented individuals there are on YouTube and how many movie reviewers have fantastic shows that you can get within hours of them seeing a film.”

Ever since portions of “It's a Wonderful Life” were shot in La Cañada in 1946 (on Viro Road), our town has had a secret film connection, which continues into the next generation with Brianne Chandler’s new project. Catch Brianne on the Internet at www.hitormissmoviews.com — or you might see her on a sunny day, hanging out at Memorial Park with the extended Chandler clan.


Around Town: The LCF movie connection