Monday, June 23, 2003 | 8:22 a.m.
The first CineVegas International Film Festival in 1998 attracted about 7,000 fans who viewed 29 short and full-length films.
This year an estimated 30,000 saw 60 films and short subjects at the Palms' Brenden Theaters during the weeklong event, which ended Sunday.
"This has been a tremendous success," said Robin Greenspun, chairwoman of the festival. "How it has built over the past five years, this really showed me people finally are starting to get it."
CineVegas is sponsored by VEGAS.com, which, along with the Las Vegas Sun, is under the Greenspun Media Group corporate umbrella.
One of the highlights of this year's event was the awarding of the third annual CineVegas Marquee Award to Dennis Hopper, who has been featured in 115 motion pictures.
Tony Curtis received the first Marquee Award. Dustin Hoffman was last year's recipient.
Hopper was honored at a luncheon Saturday afternoon at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio Restaurant at The Venetian, and afterward he attended a roundtable discussion at The Venetian's C2K.
One of the major disappointments of the festival was the failure of author Hunter S. Thompson to appear as scheduled with the panel, which also included Grace Slick, formerly of the Jefferson Airplane; and Dave Hickey, free-lance writer, professor of art theory from Las Vegas and a friend of Thompson's.
"Hunter has been my icon, he is very sorry he couldn't be here today," Hickey told the audience of about 500.
Trevor Groth, director of programming for the festival, said Thompson was ill in his room at The Venetian.
Thompson was replaced by Wayne Ewing, director of "Breakfast With Hunter," a documentary about Thompson that was featured at the festival.
Although many of those who attended the luncheon and discussion session were clearly disappointed that Thompson was a no-show, the day belonged to Hopper.
During the two events, fans saw two sides of the actor/director and painter -- one the hard-working filmmaker who produced, directed and starred in 1969's classic "Easy Rider," and the other the bad-boy celebrity known early in his career for his drug use.
Danny Greenspun, on the board of directors of CineVegas and president of Greenspun Media Group, said Hopper was a natural selection for the Marquee Award.
"All year we'd been saying, 'Who can we get to honor this year? Who would come?' Immediately followed by, 'Wouldn't it be cool?' and every time someone said 'Cool,' Dennis Hopper's name came up."
Hopper's film credits include "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), "Giant" (1956), "Easy Rider" (1969), "Apocalypse Now" (1979), "Blue Velvet" (1986), "Hoosiers" (1987) and "Speed" (1994).
When accepting the Marquee Award, Hopper noted that he first came to Las Vegas at age 14, when he was a fan of Orson Welles.
Hopper said he saved his money from a paper route in San Diego to travel to Vegas to watch Welles perform a magic show.
"I was acting at the old Globe Theatre in San Diego, doing Shakespeare," Hopper said. "One of my favorite actors was Orson Welles, because of his Shakespeare work."
Hopper said his second trip to Vegas was when he was 18 and completed filming "Rebel Without a Cause."
He said one of his co-stars in the film was Corey Allen, son of Carl Cohen. At the time, Cohen was a pit boss at the Sands.
"Carl took care of us," Hopper said. "We were a couple of crazy kids, showing up in Vegas. Those were great days."
Cohen later would become president of the Sands, and in 1967 get into an altercation with Frank Sinatra and knocked out Sinatra's two front teeth. Coincidentally, Hopper's most recent role is as Frank Sinatra in a film yet to be released, "The Night We Called It a Day."
In addition to his work in films, Hopper noted that he has been a lifelong lover of art. He is an accomplished painter and sculptor.
"While other young men were out playing tennis or golf," he said, "I went to art galleries. Movies were wonderful, but such a conglomeration, like running a factory. As a painter, it is a one-on-one situation."
He said he began to study and collect art, and eventually became a member of the Guggenheim Museum, which has a branch of the Hermitage at The Venetian, where the current display is, "American Pop Icons."
"What an amazing place Vegas is," Hopper said. "It's the pop art capital of the world. The best pop art in the world is in the Hermitage Museum downstairs."
He said Vegas itself is full of pop art, from the giant Coke bottle on the Strip to the replica of the Eiffel Tower.
"Incredible things are done here that you take for granted," he said, adding that it is "the perfect place for an international film festival."
Later in the afternoon, Hopper and Slick dominated the roundtable discussion, "Artists, Icons and Legends."
An overblown picture of Thompson sat in the middle of the couch onstage, flanked by Hopper, Slick, Ewing and Hickey, a reminder that the rebellious writer was there in spirit if not in body.
Much of the discussion by the panel centered on the members' past drug use.
Hopper said some of the greatest influences on his career as an actor were John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Welles and others of that caliber.
"All the great Shakespearean actors were known more for their drinking episodes that for their acting," Hopper said. "Drugs and alcohol seemed to be a natural way to go for an artist, not something to avoid."
He said he took drugs to help him along the road in his career.
"It did, for about a block," he quipped.
Hopper discussed his unorthodox career.
"I was naive enough to think if you were doing your job that people should just accept your insanity as part of your work, that that was just the way it was," he said.
He said his off-screen behavior did not interfere with his professional work.
"I love performing," he said. "I love the work.
"Where I got in trouble was on the other side, when the work was over, not the work itself. I wasn't falling down drunk while performing, I was falling down drunk after performing."
Eventually, Hopper kicked drugs.
"When you take drugs the way I did, you either die or you hit a wall somewhere and you get sober," he said.
Slick said drugs work for some people. However, they are no longer for her.
"Basically, I'm deteriorating," she said. "I like being sober, but I also like being loaded. I just don't do it now because it's sickening."
Said Hopper: "It's when your friend is dead and you reach for a needle to shoot up before you call the doctor that you realize you might have a problem."
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