Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg was in the audience for a screening of a

“subversive” movie Sunday night in San Francisco. But it wasn’t Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” which has renewed interest in the activist. No, he was at the Castro Theatre for the 40th anniversary showing of “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” which was part of the 17th annual SF Sketchfest lineup.

Director John Landis pointed out Ellsberg from the stage, and he stood up and flashed Richard Nixon’s famous “V” sign to the crowd, which responded with uproarious applause and a standing ovation. Landis was joined after the screening by several members of the 1978 movie’s cast — Tim Matheson, Bruce McGill, James Widdoes, Peter Riegert, Martha Smith and Mark Metcalf — as well as then-Universal Pictures exec Sean Daniel, who championed the movie.

Landis said that while the movie is rather tame by today’s standards, it was considered pretty radical and subversive for its time. “The movie has a lot to answer for,” he said with a laugh. “It’s not entirely my fault.”

MARCHING SUCCESS >> It was pretty inspiring to see thousands of women and their male allies taking to the streets of downtown San Jose on Saturday. And it apparently inspired some good business, too. I’ve heard that between the march celebrants and the crowd for a 5 p.m. Sharks game, some downtown eateries were seeing revenue spike at 2.5 times that of a normal Saturday.

And if you went by the Farmer’s Union restaurant at San Pedro Square during the march, you might have seen a display in the window of “Women Who Built San Jose.” It showcased photos of former mayors Janet Gray Hayes and Susan Hammer, as well as former councilwomen Blanca Alvarado and Pat Dando — all part of the wave of elected women that had San Jose dubbed “The Feminist Capital of the United States” in the 1970s and early ’80s.