The L.A. art scene essentially came into existence when the Ferus Gallery opened in 1957. It hosted early shows by the scene's key figures, including Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, and yet its story remains largely untold. That changes with today's release of the documentary The Cool School. "The names are known," says director Morgan Neville. "But there were no books, no films, no nothing. And the seeds of the modern L.A. scene were all planted there." He interviewed several remaining members of the Ferus boys' club, including Dennis Hopper and curator Irving Blum (who was, back in the day, something like the platonic ideal of mid-century masculine chic). But Neville found his film's hero in Ferus cofounder Walter Hopps. "He was this self-educated med-school dropout who became the architect of the scene," Neville says. "The art world will never see another like him."