GIGS: Reel Diva

GIGS

REEL DIVA

Laura Boyes reflects on 20 years as NCMA’s Movie Diva

by JACKSON COOPER photography by EAMON QUEENEY

Laura Boyes is not afraid anymore. In the early years of the film program at the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA), she’d get nervous speaking in front of an audience about the film they were about to see. But this year, as Boyes celebrates her twentieth season as film curator for NCMA, the audience feels like family: Some familiar faces, some new, but everyone there to experience a new film together as a community. For the last two decades, Boyes has programmed the year-round film series at NCMA, which screens September through May in the SECU Auditorium. The films range from exhibition-themed to special restorations of forgotten niche classics. Boyes selects the films, books them, writes copy and introduces them when they screen, making her one of the few curators at NCMA that regularly engages with guests face-to-face. The program, which is funded through ticket revenue, is one of the longest-sustained public programs that the museum offers. And certainly, its success is built on the diverse selections that have fostered a devoted audience of film lovers. One day, back in 1999, Boyes heard from her colleague Nancy Kalow that NCMA was looking for someone to curate a new film series. Kalow, a folklorist at Duke University, knew George Holt, the now-retired Director of Performing Arts and Film for NCMA, through his work with the Folklife program through the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. She quickly connected the

two; they hit it off right away. Holt advocated for the program’s growth internally at NCMA, updating equipment, securing exceptional marketing materials and seeking funding to support the program. But, Holt says, it was Boyes who was the catalyst that “took film programming to a new level.” “Laura’s passion for classic cinema and her superb communication skills quickly won her a devoted audience that was delighted to discover the cinematic gems she brings to the screen on a regular basis,” Holt says. “And her introductions remain a highlight of the NCMA film-going experience.” Her talks are insightful, accessible, funny and lively. She never talks down to the audience, instead, her introductions balance warmth and intellect. It is very clear that love flows through every sentence: love of the film and love of the audience. “When I started the program, I needed to give people a reason to get out of the house,” says Boyes. She foresaw the problem movie theaters would face in the dawn of Netflix: why go out when you can just stay in? A guaranteed good movie—even if you’ve never heard of it before—with an informed, casual introduction: that would be compelling. “I always wanted people to trust what they were going to see, to take a chance on it, even if they don’t know the title.” Often, Boyes will select films that enhance the exhibition experience—a series of Americana films, for example, to complement the Norman Rockwell exhibition, or a retrospective on Mexican and surrealist cinema around the current Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism exhibit. Boyes’ curation goes beyond just “picking films;” it’s thoughtfully selected to enhance the museum-going experience. To Boyes, the most powerful audience for a film is children. “These days, I see fewer and fewer parents bringing their kids to classic films because they are scared that a black-and-white movie will be ‘boring,’” she says. “But in fact, it’s quite the opposite.” She pointed to a recent sold-out evening of silent

Holiday Film Picks from The Movie Diva

A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)

I’m fond of this one because it was filmed in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and I especially love the scenes in the old Higbee’s Department Store downtown. Also: the mean Santa is my second cousin, Jeff Gillen. He was not a particularly successful actor, and he died young of a heart attack in 1995, before this film became a cult favorite. What would he have thought that the holidays are now heralded by his rosy Santa face being published everywhere?

ABOUT A BOY (2002)

Not technically a Christmas movie, but it ends around Christmastime— and who can resist Hugh Grant’s posh London twist on Scrooge?

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

This is actually a terribly depressing Yuletide story. Director Frank Capra and star James Stewart came back from WWII unable to make the same optimistic films they used to. If you want to cry buckets of tears, this is the one to watch.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)

Is Santa real? A cynical little girl, played by the adorable nine-year-old Natalie Wood, doesn’t think so. There is no more perfect Kris Kringle than Edmund Gwenn (sorry, cousin Jeff).

THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1942 & 2000)

A beloved radio star—actually a tyrannical curmudgeon—breaks his hip at the home of an Ohio family and upends their Christmas. I love both the original with Monty Woolley and Bette Davis, and the Nathan Lane remake, too.

THE HEBREW HAMMER (2003)

A parody of both Blacksploitation films and Christmas movies, in this film Andy Goldberg plays a badass Jewish hero determined to save Hannukah from Santa’s evil son, Damian.

THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992)

Any version of this story is satisfying for me, but the Muppets do a surprisingly faithful version of this classic, and Michael Caine just may be my favorite Scrooge.

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comedy shorts, screened at NCMA with live accompaniment. “Quite a bit of the audience were parents with kids, enjoying wholesome, hilarious entertainment.” And while “screen time” can sound like a dirty word these days, Boyes points out that watching a movie together is an altogether different experience than handing a kid a tablet. “Separate screens do not create teachable moments for kids, but movies create dialogue between us and ultimately respect for one another,” says Boyes, “I used to bring my daughter Adrian to films, and we, along with my husband Will, would talk about it on the car ride home. Now, I can tell that these films have taught her about the world and life.” Her website, MovieDiva.com, once created to store her research for the films she programmed and give her audience access to her notes, is now referenced in books and DVD commentaries. It’s even made her film-circle famous: In Los Angeles two years ago at the Turner Classic Movies Film festival, a programmer spotted her from across the room, exclaiming, ‘You’re the Movie Diva!’ Boyes was surprised and pleased that all the way on the West Coast, her website could spark new interest in film. Today, twenty years after she signed on at NCMA, the movie-watching landscape has changed. These days, you can curate a watch list from the ease of your sofa, and often the movie is one of many screens you’re engaging with at the same time. Boyes challenges us to truly watch movies—putting down our phones, turning out the lights and paying undivided attention—and to remember the value of trusting an expert and discovering a film alongside an audience. “My job is to get people to see life and film in a way they haven’t seen it before,” says Boyes.

Boyes’ 20th anniversary 2020 series runs now through March 15 at NCMA.