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'Parker Posey’s Wikipedia page is severely deficient. In the late nineties, after starring in dozens of independent films, she was given the label “Queen of the Indies” by Time magazine, and that appears to be her only legacy. But in the two decades since her début, Posey has cemented herself as the greatest character actress of the last few decades. I was reminded of this last week, when a promotional video for the Primetime Emmys was released on YouTube. In the video, Posey plays an eccentric acting teacher named Jan (Just Act Naturally), who teaches a master class on Emmy acceptance speeches. Jan, who is invariably dressed like some kind of gypsy—all bell sleeves and costume jewelry—floats around her studio leading her students through vocal warmups, physical exercises, and theatre games. The video is something of an homage to Posey’s particular craft, even as she pokes fun at it.
'Over the span of her long career, Posey has always played characters you couldn’t take your eyes off of, and not just because she was and continues to be outrageously good-looking. In 1993, she was Darla Marks, a bitchy high-school senior and self-proclaimed “head girl” in the cult classic Dazed and Confused. In an improvised character interview for the movie, Posey waxes pitch-perfectly for three and a half minutes on “the high school, which I love, I can’t stand it.” In 1995’s Party Girl, she played a city girl-turned-librarian who embraces the Dewey Decimal system with aplomb. That same year, in Drunks, she performed another master monologue, and in Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming, she was Miami, a college senior fed up with her recently graduated boyfriend’s ennui. In Christopher Guest’s Best in Show, she played Meg Swan, one half of what is perhaps one of the best lampoons of a yuppie, J.Crew-wearing, Starbucks-drinking couple ever committed to film. Every line she delivers feels spontaneous, but not insincere.
'Posey grew up in Mississippi and retains a beguiling southern vocal mannerism—less a drawl than a stretching of her vowels—that she brings, in varying degrees, to every one of her characters. This combined with her almost sing-songy head voice can make many of her characters sound almost vacuous. But it is this delivery that makes her a theatrical genius. Posey appears practically unconcerned with what her characters are saying, and wholly focussed on how they’re saying it. Her character studies are all the more refreshing for never having been repeated (as opposed to those of, say, Seth MacFarlane). Recently, Posey has made some unforgettable guest appearances on television, including a turn as one of Louis C.K.’s love interests on his FX show, Louie. Liz is a bookstore clerk full of intrigue and red flags—one bartender recognizes and refuses to serve her. She and Louis go on a magical date that includes vintage dress shopping and sucking down herring at Russ and Daughters, but ultimately turns very sour; Posey’s execution is both hilarious and haunting. But if I had to pick a single role of Posey’s that exemplifies the breadth of her talent, it would be the aspiring actress Libby Mae Brown, who delivers an audition monologue in Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman in a scene that was not even used in the film. It is a masterpiece of acting, at once poignant and funny, for four and a half flawless minutes. It takes a phenomenal actress to play such a convincingly bad one. How does she do it? She just acts, naturally.'-- The New Yorker
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Stills
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_____
Further
Parker Posey @ IMDb
Parker Posey Website
'Parker Posey's 10 Best Performances: From 'Party Girl' to 'Josie and the Pussycats''
'Parker Posey: Louie’s a creep!'
'An Ode To Parker Posey: '90s Indie Queen'
Interview: Parker Posey
Parker Posey interviewed @ INDEX Magazine
The Parker Posey Film Festival
'It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s . . . Parker Posey!'
ROCTAKON'S PARKER POSEY MIXTAPE
'Parker Posey: Film Economics and Funny Girls'
Fuck Yeah Parker Posey!
'Parker Posey undergoes surgery after breaking her wrist'
'Parker Posey joins the cast of Woody Allen’s next film'
'Parker Posey Revisits Her Top-Five Favorite Performances'
'Live from Sundance: A GQ&A with Parker Posey'
Parker Posey Fan Club
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Extras
Parker Posey on The Tonight Show
Richard Linklater interviewed by Parker Posey
Parker Posey on Rosie O'Donnell (1997)
Parker Posey Loves Pottery
Parker Posey interviewed by Conan O'Brien
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Parker Posey's Diary from the Set of SubUrbia
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From: Bosepud
Subj: intro.
To: MINDTHEGAP
Sent on: MAC
My intro:
Hi, this is Parker Posey and this is my journal for Suburbia. It's Richard Linklaters new film, written by Eric Bogosian. Read about what Really happens on movie sets. Discover the genius of Rick Linklater! And get to know the members of the cast! Know the scandal before everyone else does!
Or whatever. I mean, you can put anything, I don't care.
'kay, rust mun!
parker
by Parker Posey
*
Date: Mon, Mar 25, 1996 8:33 PM EDT
From: Bosepud
Subj: PP's S on S
To: MINDTHEGAP
Sent on: MAC
Day 1
I've just arrived in Austin to start a 2 week rehearsal on Richard "Rick" Linklater's (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise) new film SubUrbia. It's written by Eric Bagosian, and was originally a Play staged for the theater in New York at The Lincoln Center.
*****I auditioned for the play, was up for the lead, "Sooze", and was interrupted during a line of my dialog on the second page (of a 10 pg. audition piece), by the director, who said to me, "That's enough, thank you." I told him, "No, Thank YOU" and left....of course.****I wonder if he did this to all the actors, and if maybe if I hadn't of left, if I woulda gotten the part. Different directors work in different ways. I dunno. It's something I Still think about, wonder about.....contemplate.
A week ago, the whole cast and Rick and Eric got together to read the script 4 times in Los Angeles. There's really nothing more exciting than hearing a piece of Work read over and over and over and over again. When I slept at night in the Hotel, the Whole script filled my being, and rang in my ears like a silver Bell bought at Tiffany's. It Echoed through me, is what I mean. By the fourth read threw I was already hearing its essense, its meaning, its story, and its plot.
Just to be really honest for a second, I must admit (and am not ashamed) that I was a little Sad that I couldn't Highlight as many lines as all the other actors. Giovanni and Aimee and Nicky and Jace, and Steve, and Dina and Ajay ALL have more Lines than I do. Nicky's highlighter marker ran out during one of his monolouges, and I coulda sworn he threw a Look to me, like, "You really should let me use YOUR highlighter PARKER." But maybe I was being paranoid. I dunno. This sort of thing always happens to me when I get Immersed in a Role. I "lose" myself. I start thinking like my character and I get confused, as to which thoughts are mine, and which thoughts are Hers. Anyway. Back to me for a second: There are no Small Parts, just Small Actors. And I will be so good in the role of "Erica".
Hm...
I just realized something....I bet Erica, is Eric's favorite part, since his name is Eric, and my name is Erica.
Hm...
.....I will save that little tid bit for when I want a close up....
I should talk about the Film, what it's about. Um....It takes place in Suburbia, U.S.A., and Me and Jace Bartok ("Pony") come to town 'cause Pony's playing a concert in his old home town..."suburbia". Pony was friends with all these losers in Highschool: Giovanni Ribisi "Jeff", Steve Zahn "Buff", Aimee "Sooze", Nicky Katz "Tim", and Dina Spivy "Bee-Bee", and then there's Ajay "Nazeer" who owns the convenient store that they all hang out by. That's like their Thing. They hang out in front of a Convenient Store, 'cause it's...convenient. And um....I play Pony's publicist, Erica. I'm from Bel-Air, Hollywood, and my dad (I've named him "John") is rich, and I shop at all the best stores. There's more to me, Erica, that meets the eye, and everyone thinks Erica's really Great and Happy, but deep down, she's a little girl. She's fragile. You know, like um...a Hooker with a Heart of Gold...that dichotomy...I think those parts are always the best...and So Does the Academy by the way....3 actresses played hookers, and are up for an Academy Award! Obviously the most winning part for an actress to portray!
Um....
Yeah! Am I right or what?!
So....Anyway. Um....Rehearsals start tomorrow, and it's gonna take me hours to fall asleep tonight, 'cause I'm so excited!!!!!!! I will fall asleep to one of the tapes I made for my character. (In a couple of weeks I will fall asleep to the tape I made for the film.) It's all about the process now. About Character.
I ran into Aimee (the lead, "Sooze") in the elevator and we Hugged like sisters. And Giovanni hugged me too. And Nicky and Jace and Ajay also hugged me. Steve and Dina aren't here yet, but when they do get here, I'm sure we'll Hug. I hugged Rick the longest 'cause we've worked together before (Dazed and Confused). It's um....you know.....we're all becoming a family. We will all get so close. Spend Hours in some Bar talking about the film. We will all have personal jokes by next week, and I'm sure someone will be fooling around and in love with someone else by the weekend. Personally I'M in love the WORK. That's just me, though. We'll all have our processes of working. Our means to get into character.
I have to go and figure out what I'm gonna wear for the first day of rehearsal! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't stand it! I'm so excited!!!!!
"Stay gold", a quote by another character in a film named Pony. Pony Boy from The Outsiders.
(read the rest)
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20 of Parker Posey's 71 films
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Richard Linklater Dazed and Confused (1993)
'Richard Linklater's 1993 masterpiece gave breakout roles to a number of actors, and while Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey often get the most "look at them when" attention, Posey's performance as the fantastically bitchy Darla Marks rivals them for scene-stealing indelibility. Introduced verbally abusing incoming freshman girls, Darla throws herself into Lee High School's cruel initiation rites, acting less like an upperclassman and more like a drill sergeant. Yet there's something perversely entertaining in the sadistic glee she takes in pushing people around, every chomp of gum and shout of "freshman bitches" showing someone who's acting not out of insecurity, but of pure unadulterated confidence and desire for queen bee status.'-- Indiewire
Excerpt
Excerpt
Parker Posey - improvised character interview
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Hal Hartley Amateur (1994)
'Isabelle is an ex-nun waiting for her special mission from God. In the meantime, she is making a living writing pornography. She meets Thomas, a sweet, confused amnesiac who cannot remember that he used to be a vicious pornographer, responsible for turning his young wife, Sofia, into the world's most notorious porn queen. Sofia's on the run, convinced she's killed him. Together, Isabelle and Thomas set out to discover his past, a past waiting to catch up with him. This is one of those movies that Parker just makes a slight appearance in, but as usual, it's amusing none-the-less.'-- parkerposey.org
Trailer
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Nora Ephron Mixed Nuts (1994)
'Nora Ephron, once known as an expert script doctor, could have used a little doctoring herself: MIXED NUTS is a relentlessly hectic, poorly structured farce that falls embarrassingly flat. All the comedy here comes at the expense of the characters, reflecting a pronounced cruel streak in Ephron's work for the screen. When this tendency is tempered with a healthy dose of humanism, as in her script for the derivative yet solidly entertaining WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, the problem is less pronounced. But when it involves turning an ex-husband into a philandering ogre, as in HEARTBURN, or making a character unsympathetic just by giving her a laugh like a pig rooting for truffles, as in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, it's simply mean. One of the few highlight is a brief scene featuring the then unknown Parker Posey as a wicked out rollerblader'. -- TV Guide
Trailer
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Daisy von Scherler Mayer Party Girl (1995)
'While the film is largely beloved as a screwball comedy, in retrospect Posey’s Mary is much more surprising and layered than she even needed to be for the movie to be a success. She doesn’t party as a way of self-medication or clichéd cry for help – she enjoys every moment of her existence, and, even in the end, never shows remorse for who she is, despite discovering her calling as a librarian. While Posey says that she didn’t improvise any of the film and gives full credit to the script, it is easy to see how she was able to carry such a role with such finesse. Posey hasn’t seen the movie since its release, because she doesn’t like to watch herself. Yet the experiences of filming, from “wanting to take [her] eyeballs out and soak them in cold water” from exhaustion to going out dancing with the cast and crew, seem clear as day in her mind. She can remember what it felt like to shoot the climactic Middle Eastern-themed party scene, when she would take 15-minute naps with her co-stars and wear a ten-pound ball of hair on her head, but she can barely recall whether all of this happened before or after she filmed Dazed and Confused.'-- Flavorwire
the entire film
________________
Peter Cohn Drunks (1995)
'For this groundbreaking 1996 production, an Oscar winner, two Oscar nominees and group of highly regarded major film actors gathered in a church basement in New York City to portray a group of alcoholics at an AA meeting. The stars include Richard Lewis (in his first dramatic lead), Faye Dunaway, Dianne Wiest, Parker Posey. "Drunks" also features the late Spalding Gray and Howard Rollins. Rounding out the cast are the young Calista Flockhart and Sam Rockwell. The New York Times called it "superbly realized." The Boston Herald critic praised the film as "a powerhouse of drama, humor and heart."'-- New Day Films
Excerpt
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Noah Baumbach Kicking and Screaming (1995)
'Posey's next major role isn't too far removed from Darla in terms of confidence: Miami is just as certain of herself and where she belongs, and she's quick to show her irritation at her boyfriend Skippy (Jason Wiles) and his friends' pretensions. But Miami is far more vulnerable, sad that she's cheated on Skippy and that he's used her as an excuse to delay moving forward with his life. Her breakup with Skippy, in which years' worth of frustration over his group's self-absorption comes through, is the wakeup call that Skippy won't take seriously. And yet even as she expresses that she can't stand him, she can't help but laugh at his goofiness during the breakup, bringing a mixture of anger and affection that few actresses could accomplish.'-- Indiewire
Trailer
Excerpt
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Gregg Araki The Doom Generation (1995)
'The opening credit refers to this as "A Heterosexual Movie by Gregg Araki," and while fans may recognize the cynicism, this certainly qualifies as the director's most het-friendly movie to date. Set pieces at convenience stores, cheap motels, and in the wide-open American spaces will be familiar to straight audiences of all backgrounds. Cameos by the likes of Perry Farrell, Parker Posey and Heidi Fleiss will delight hipsters, and the soundtrack is straight out of a Lollapalooza show. Rose McGowan plays Amy Blue, whose breasts are showcased in the great Hollywood tradition, while the ass shots of her male co-stars are kept to a minimum. And when Jonathon Schaech, as Xavier Red, starts licking his own semen off his hand after masturbating, well, whoops, I guess he's just kind of weird.'-- deep focus
Trailer
Excerpt
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Julian Schnabel Basquiat (1996)
'Schnabel isn’t the first artist to become a filmmaker: Sergei Eisenstein, Jean Cocteau, Fritz Lang, Andy Warhol and David Lynch all painted or designed, and Schnabel shares with them a talent for creating a rich, defining physical context. Also, by shooting his film in the galleries and locales where Basquiat made his art, and using actors who understand the cool, cutting sophistication of the art world, he brings a ring of authenticity to Basquiat. We see David Bowie playing Basquiat’s mentor Andy Warhol (he actually wears Warhol’s wigs and glasses), Michael Wincott as art critic Rene Ricard, Elina Lowensohn and Parker Posey as gallery owners Annina Nosei and Mary Boone, Dennis Hopper as Swiss art dealer Bruno Bischofberger and Gary Oldman and Courtney Love playing fictitious amalgams of real-life characters.'-- NYSWI
Excerpt
Excerpt
________________
Christopher Guest Waiting For Guffman (1996)
'Director Christopher Guest established a great troupe of regular players for Waiting for Guffman, including Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Bob Balaban. Posey became another recurring player in Guest's films, and she made a terrific impression with her first outing here as a spacey Dairy Queen waitress turned spacey community theater actress. Her audition scene is a marvel of awkward comedy as she "seductively" sings "Teacher's Pet" out of tune. Her real showcase, though, is her dazed performance of the goofy love song "Penny for Your Thoughts" with Guest's effeminate Corky St. Clair, with both throwing themselves into their show as much as possible without generating a single spark.'-- Indiewire
Excerpt
Deleted scene
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Richard Linklater SubUrbia (1996)
'Bursting at the seems with subversive speech as if it were the evil-twin devil to Dazed and Confused’s angelic-innocence, SubUrbia’s story of jaded suburbanites slumming and of rebelliousness run amok is ultimately only as engaging as the acting is effective. This is to say that when you have the likes of Geovanni Ribisi, Steve Zahn, Nicky Katt, Parker Posey, each of them at youthful, thirsty stages in their blossoming careers, all of them freed up by that ever-so relaxed Linklater non-“in your face” use of the camera — Well I guarantee you, SubUrbia acts as true seamless marriage between that always-hoped-for trifecta of filmmaking aces: Script, performance, and direction. Drifting off topic myself, I have to just add that at this point in her career, not only is Parker Posey consistently fantastic and off-kilter in everything she does, but Posey was also still a few years away from really exploding onto the scene as an indie ‘it’ actress and mainstream character-actor. However, that was indeed “then” and now when I think of Parker Posey, the last thing I can recall is Scream 3— No wait, Superman Returns… anyway you get what I’m alluding to, but I digress — Speaking of character-actors, Ribisi and Zahn help SubUrbia soar to disenchanted heights as they effortlessly emote and personify the epitome of slacker embodiment.'-- Pretty Clever Films
the entire film
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Mark Waters The House of Yes (1997)
'At the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Harvey Weinstein, at the time still the boss of Miramax, was so smitten with this black comedy about a disturbed young woman (Parker Posey) who thinks she's Jackie Kennedy that he paid $2 million for the distribution rights. Posey (who was also in town supporting Clockwatchers) won special recognition for her performance. Audiences, however, responded to House of Yes with a resounding NO. The movie grossed $617,403 in theaters.'-- Entertainment Weekly
Excerpt
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Jill Sprecher Clockwatchers (1997)
'Posey co-starred in yet another ensemble comedy with this Office Space precursor tracking four office temps (Posey, Toni Collette, Lisa Kudrow, Alanna Ubach) as they pass the time in a deadening job. As the ringleader of the temps, Posey swings from deadpan contempt to outright fury and pain when she's wrongfully terminated. "How can you fire me? You don't even know my name!" Her co-stars are all solid, but Posey becomes the de facto voice of anyone who's ever had to deal with a corporate drudgery that doesn't even bother to welcome them into their stifling environment.'-- Indiewire
Trailer 1
Trailer 2
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Hal Hartley Henry Fool (1997)
'Posey had worked with Hal Hartley before in a smaller capacity in Amateur and Flirt, but she created one of her most indelible characters in 1997 with Hartley's Henry Fool. Playing the nymphomaniac sister of unassuming Simon Grim (James Urbaniak) and lover to Thomas Jay Ryan's gregarious titular hero, Posey's deadpan charm fitting in perfectly with Hartley's deliberately mannered dialogue. Posey returned to the character in the sequel Fay Grim, an infinitely less amusing sequel which nonetheless gave Posey a rare lead role and a chance to play Fay both at her most exasperated and her most grounded. Posey appears as Fay Grim again in the third film in the series, Ned Rifle.'-- Indiewire
Excerpt
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Nora Ephron You've Got Mail (1998)
'Memorable lines: “If I ever get out of here, I’m having my eyes lasered.” “I use a wonderful over-the-counter drug, Ultradorm. Don’t take the whole thing, just half, and you will wake up without even the tiniest hangover.” What made the role great: Patricia is completely clueless, self-centered, and oddly ruthless. She wears all black, and tends to say exactly the wrong thing at the worst time. It’s a type of New Yorker only Parker could play.'-- buzzed
Excerpt
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Wes Craven Scream 3 (2000)
'“You! Like I’m ever going to win an award playing you,” Jennifer Jolie yells at Gale Weathers in the third and most self-referential (and laughable) edition of the “Scream” series. Jolie (played by Parker Posey) is an actor playing Weathers (played by Courteney Cox) in “Stab 3,” the movie within a movie, which serves as the setting for the murders of Scream 3, the series’ then-final chapter. It is meta. With streaky blond highlights, Posey looks like a trashy version of Cox’s streaky red days in the first Scream. The hair is almost as loud as Posey, who speaks with a shrill voice and manic energy. As an actor haunted by a masked murderer, Jolie initially lets terror consume her in the funniest of ways. “Where! Nancy Drew wants to know where,” she screams when she gets one too many questions from her onscreen counterpart about a previous murder. With her hair twisted up into two Björk-like balls and a cigarette shaking between her fingers, she’s as funny as she is frightened.'-- backstage.com
Excerpt
Excerpt
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Christopher Guest Best in Show (2000)
'We worked with real dog show competitors. So they were around on set when we were filming. So the people in the background that you see are real dog show people. So we would do a take and then Chris [Guest] would say, do you want a recap of how to brush the dog. I remember he brought over a professional groomer. She came over right before a take and she criticized our dog. She said, the coat’s all wrong, this dog would never compete. The color’s all wrong. And we’re like, we’re about to shoot. I love a backstage look at any kind of show. So this kind of thing is heaven for me. I have a Bichon Poodle Maltese.'-- Parker Posey
Excerpt
Excerpt
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Christopher Guest A Mighty Wind (2003)
'The occasion for the reunion in A Mighty Wind is a memorial tribute to folk impresario Irving Steinbloom, arranged by his pathologically neat son Jonathan (Bob Balaban). As the Folksmen, a middling group with one minor sixties hit, Michael McKean, Guest, and Harry Shearer are the image of superannuated hippiedom: With his head shaved and a thick beard outlining his jaw, Shearer looks like a fey Quaker; Guest, also bald down the middle, has a dome that’s tufted on both sides and a high, singsong quaver in his voice that works especially well for ballads about the Spanish Civil War. At the opposite end of the spectrum from the Folksmen are the New Main Street Singers—a screechingly cheery and color-coordinated spinoff of the original Main Street Singers—featuring John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, and Parker Posey. They’re like every group you’ve ever avoided while visiting a large amusement park. Of course, in the great all-American tradition, their toothpaste-commercial uplift camouflages weirdness: For starters, Lynch’s character is proud of her past as a porno queen and cultivates her own religion based on the “vibratory power of color.”'-- New York Magazine
Excerpt
Excerpt
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David S. Goyer Blade: Trinity (2004)
'It’s a bit surprising to see you playing a villain in an action flick. I know, right? PP: I almost didn’t go in for the audition. I thought, They’ll want a model, someone with a rack. So what persuaded you to do it? PP: Well, I really liked them. And I felt comfortable talking about my ideas for the character, though a lot of them weren’t executed in the movie. For example? PP: Like, this character’s been alive for 400 years, right? So how would she dress? I mean, isn’t she bored? So I said, “Can we have her in a geisha outfit? A nun outfit? Can she dress like a cavewoman?” In the film, you seem to be channeling a couple of people. Were you mimicking any one in particular? PP: Totally. There’s Bette Davis. Some Nosferatu. I rented all those old F. W. Murnau films, and old vampire movies like The Vampire Lovers. I really liked playing a vampire. Their hunger is insatiable. Even when they eat someone, it’s never enough. They’re like addicts. So that was fun.'-- New York Magazine
Montage of Posey's scenes
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Bryan Singer Superman Returns (2006)
'I was doing this play. I was doing Hurley Burley for six months, you get a call like "They're interested in you for Superman!" Well, okay... let 'em figure it out. And maybe I'll get cast, you know, we'll see. And um, can I read the script? "No." Okay, well... is it good? I didn't see X-Men. I usually don't see these kinds of movies. But gosh, I hope it's good, you know -- it's Superman. I got the part and I said, "Am I gonna be able to read it?" you know, to do it? I Googled "Kitty and Superman" and there was a Kitty somewhere in the Superman world. She extracted, like, green energy from plants and solar energy from the sun and she would use this power in... not a good way. And Superman helped her kind of use her powers for good at one point. It was like... just like Google, you know? Very abstract. Like wow, maybe I'll get to have super powers. (laughter) I'll have Chris Lee calling me and I'll be like "Does she extract energy from the sun?!" (laughter). So they literally fly someone from Australia to deliver the script. And I read it at Cafe Mogador in the East Village in New York and yeah, that was like a movie in and of itself. It had this energy, just this (makes a whooshing noise). Already the world was being created. It's a very... big, majestic movie. And I read it and I was like, "Thank god." I thought it was really, really good. She was written a little more villainous, like a conscious villain, a baddie, like a bad girl? But I got away with not doing that.'-- Parker Posey
Parker Posey talks about 'Superman Returns'
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Hal Hartley Fay Grim (2006)
'Hal Hartley's Fay Grim stars Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum in a search for a mysterious terrorist named Henry Fool. This man, we learn, has been involved in intrigues involving Chile, Iraq, Israel, France, Germany, Russia, England, China and the Vatican (where the pope "threw a chair at him"). All in the last seven years. We feel deliberately distanced from the film. It is not so much an exercise in style as an exercise in search of a style. The story doesn't involve us because we can't follow it, and we doubt if the characters can, either. But am I criticizing Hartley, a leading indie filmmaker, for not making a more conventional thriller, with more chases and action scenes? Not at all. I am criticizing him for failing to figure out what he wanted to do instead, and delivering a film that is tortured in its attempt at cleverness, and plays endlessly. Posey and Goldblum labor at their characters, and are often fun to watch. But in the absence of a screenplay that engages them, they have to fall back on their familiar personalities and quirks. They bring more to the movie than it brings to them.'-- Roger Ebert
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p.s. Hey. ** Keaton, Hi. Yeah, but painting is the trendy art-making practice du jour among younger artists, and it's the go-to acquisition among art collectors du jour, and critics are all over it, and painting is everywhere, so it's only dead in the heads of people who don't like it or who think it should do what it used to do, I guess. Hockney's still around, it seems. Ah, that's why I don't know the Chef salad: lunch meats. Bon Monday. ** David Ehrenstein, Excellent piece on Sontag. I read it over the weekend. Kudos! Everyone, Mr. Ehrenstein has written an excellent piece on Susan Sontag, and you are strongly encouraged to give it a considerable portion of your brain and day. 'Susan Slept Here'. ** Will C., Crazy is the adjective I would have chosen, and, well, just did choose, following your lead. I'm glad I've been cool. Thank you. And I'm glad to hear that staying in touch is a go. Take care. ** Cobaltfram, Hi, John. The ribs are ever more non-annoying. No, you didn't mention the fancy cheese job. Obviously, I heartily approve. You could definitely say I'm a big cheese eater, yes. Cool beans, man. ** James, Hi, J. I have to move out early next year, the exact timing is yet to be determined. I'll start hunting in a week or two. They extended my stay for so long against the rules, so I can't complain fairly. That's funny, because the circuit breaker here at the Recollets is a nearly constant issue. I've learned what not to do, but every time a new person checks in, which is constantly, they blithely turn too many things on at once, and the electricity in the building goes out, and since the Recollets doesn't warn people or tell them how to turn the electricity back on, and since I'm kind of the only resident who knows, I'm the one who has to head down into the building's nether reaches and flip the switch every time anyone knocks the power out, which is usually at least twice a day. So, yeah, hugs. ** Tosh Berman, Hey, buddy! ** Etc etc etc, Hi, C! I hope the outskirts were cozy. Wish I could hang out there myself sometimes, ha ha. It is an awfully busy time, but everything is going pretty well so far. I love that 'Fitzcarraldo' remake idea, obviously. No, I haven't had the chance to check out your stuff, I'm sorry. There's just too much going join right now. Keep asking/ reminding me, but not too, too often, I guess. It'll be a little while. The next few weeks are going to be busy bordering on insane. Thanks for the recommend, man! ** Steevee, Hi. Glad you're feeling at least a little better. I did see the Cahiers du Cinema list. Yeah, the Dumont is even ranked over the Godard, which is high praise indeed. Really need to see that. CdC also picked Gisele's video for the Sunn0)))/Scott Walker track 'Brando' as one of the 10 best videos or short films or something of the year too! I am curious to see that Rivers/Russell film. I like the technique in theory, obviously, but, hm, ... yeah, I'll try it at some point. Thanks a lot for the report. ** Kier, Hi, K! Welcome back! A pink rose! As a prize for something? Sweet. Yes, definitely take a photo of the poster. That's awesome! Wow, your weekend was a lot, a lot of great. Those stinky waffles were spooky. I love waffles, so imagining them with a sulfur taste is nightmarish. Your dad likes Sunn0)))? Wow, I guess there must be other dads who do, but what a strange and wondrous idea. 'Dream Warriors' is definitely one of the very best ones. Vying for best. What's that one where time becomes a loop for a while? I have a possibly strange fondness for that one. My weekend wasn't so eventful, mostly because, starting today, Zac and I are going to need to do daily marathons of film editing if we're to hope to try to get the film done by the deadline that our producers have imposed upon us. So, I worked on fiction, did blog posts, wandered around a bit, phoned, etc. Zac and I met with Christophe Honore, who's one of the film's producers, on Sunday for a pep talk and advice session, and that was good and helpful. Yeah, I was home working in a blur. Tonight, after film editing, Zac and I will meet Elias, gulp, and see Iceage play, which should be cool. News tomorrow. How was Monday up there where you are? ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Hope Thursday comes soonest, and the Art101 ticking is the opposite of a bomb's, obviously. Oh, cool, about that live Suicide. That was great period for them. I'll go try to hear that. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. I was jut trying to imagine if I could write a novel for which 'Volcanic Prolapse' would form an appropriate title, and I realize that I could, easily even, but that nobody would publish it. Mum's my word on the eBook/novel project for now, but hopefully it'll be cemented enough to talk about soon. ** Sypha, Hey, James! Thank you so much again! It was greatness! Cool, glad the shift wasn't too hectic and taxing. Ha ha, I would have been pretty surprised if you had made it all the way through 'Hogg', for the reasons you state. ** Misanthrope, Hi, G. I seem to have missed Positbreakup's comment. It's was deleted by the time I looked in here. Oh, man, that's very rough about your aunt. Holy crap. That's really sad and grim. I'm so very sorry. And her son, ugh, yeah. What a mess. Oh, God, yeah, just really sorry, George. I'm looking forward to the insane editing/work stint. Maybe I'll speak differently once we start today, but I love editing, and, yeah, I think it'll be intense but never not fun. We'll see. Wow, that was fast re: the painting job. Pix? ** Hyemin kim, Hi. So annoying when Blogger does that. Google is obviously too lazy, and Blogger generates too little cash, for them to bother to fix the glitch. I can't think of any food that wouldn't be improved by sesame, it's true. No Xmas plans as of yet. I have to give a public talk on the 23rd. It'll probably be very quiet since almost everyone I know will be away with their families. I've never been religious for a minute, but I love Xmas too. It's weird, and yet it makes total sense somehow. ** Torn porter, Hi, T! Up? Just lots of work and preparing for even more work with a certain amount of not inconsiderable fun mixed in on occasion. Nice that you're performing! Where, like in clubs, theaters, galleries, ... ? Yay, about the screening of your rough cut! That's exciting! We hope to be at that stage by early next year. Hope being the operative word. Much love back! ** Jebus, Hi, man! Yeah, weird that a great artist's son ends up being great too. That doesn't happen so often, I don't think. When I checked the comments early on this morning with my coffee, I listened to some of the 'Dust' tracks, and they're fantastic! I'm going to put one of them in the Gig post that I'm organizing for early next week. Kudos! I'm going to listen to the whole sequence as soon as I get the slightest chance. Everyone, as some of you may know from past experiences here or from your own autonomous experiences, Jebus has a superb music/sound project called New White Light, and he/it has just put out a new album/sequence of great tracks known collectively as 'Dust' that I super-highly recommend to you. You can hear and download all of them on bandcamp here, or you can test a few on youtube by clicking this, listening, and checking for the other tracks in the right hand margin. Go! Really great, J! Thank you so much for the share! ** Okay. I sort of can't imagine anyone who doesn't love Parker Posey or who wouldn't love her once he/she got any experience with her. She gets her own Day today. Enjoy. See you tomorrow.