Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs & Blockbusters

While I would be delighted to listen to George Clooney read from a Chinese takeout menu, I'm not exactly sure what he—and Peter Bogdanovich, Charlize Theron, Danny DeVito, Jodie Foster, Steven Spielberg, or the host of other actors, directors, and/or producers appearing in Boffo!—hopes to accomplish with this gabfest about the art and alchemy of making movies. Allegedly a celebration of the trade newspaper Variety's 100th anniversary, Bill Couturié's HBO-aired documentary features a slew of famous folk chatting about their work, what motivates them creatively, and the very, very slim line between a film that's a huge box office hit and one that flops with audiences and critics alike. No movie lover will be able to resist the many enjoyable snippets of truly great movies accompanying the interviews, but I'm not sure why anyone would deliberately sit down to watch this compilation either, which plays like one of those puffy fillers that run Oscar night during the long dry spell between Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Optional. Aud: P. (M. Johanson)