La Pistola

The Professor Brothers

Sometimes I’ll stumble across something on the internet that amuses me but rarely does anything make me as unabashedly giddy as the recent discovery of The Professor Brothers. I simply can’t stop watching them. Since this is mostly a film site, here are two of their episodes on film class…

Part I

Part II

The Movies That Missed Us

(Benjamin Smoke)

One of the great things about programming for a film festival is traveling to other festivals and being able to see the newest films by directors I love as well as discovering first time works. One of the worst things about programming a film festival is seeing something I love at another festival and inviting it to screen in Denver and not getting it. There are myriad reasons why this happens; premiere policies at other festivals, distributor and sales agents roll-out strategies that don’t match festival dates, a single print that is already booked elsewhere, etc., etc.

Another great thing about being part of an organization that also operates its own year-round theatre (in our case, the Starz FilmCenter) is that occasionally I can go back and put together a program of films that didn’t work out the first time around for the festival, re-imagine and re-package it all for the film center and still be able to introduce new works to Denver.

I’ve done just that for a series that will screen in June: The Movies That Missed Us, part of a monthly program at the Starz FilmCenter called, appropriately, The Series. Taking place every Wednesday at 7pm, The Movies That Missed Us looks back at 4 films I saw (and loved) at other festivals but have never screened in Denver.

June 4 – Svjedoci (Witnesses)
(directed by Vinko Bresan, Croatia, 2003)

June 11 – Benjamin Smoke
(directed by Jem Cohen & Peter Sillen, USA, 2000)

June 18 – Seom (The Isle)
(directed by Kim Ki-duk, South Korea, 2000)

June 25 – Taxidermia
(directed by György Pálfi, Hungary, 2006)

More on each of these films as we get a bit closer.

Dearest, (part V.4, the breakup)

Florence! Holy Crap!! What kind of hell hole is this place?!? It’s impossible to find a computer, nobody speaks English and it’s kind of loud. What do you mean betray you?? I flew half-way around the frickin’ world for you and you’re now telling me you’re not even here!!! What the hell is dakar senegal...are you making that up? Is that a street name or a village? I took a picture in a tree because I thought that it was cute and that there was a chance that we would be living in a tree once I got there and I was trying to prove I could adapt. I’m no “trick person.”

Help me. Come get me. I’ll meet you at the The Lion of Judah Monument tonight at 7pm.

I’m hungry.
Brit

Hello My Dear,

Thanks for your mail, Well it surprised me the way and manner you acted in this matter, I wonder what you take me like, Did you went through the first mail i sent to you where you realy knows all about me, Iam told you before that i am from Etopia stay now in dakar senegal and you are there asking me if dakar is a village or what,???? Dakar was a capital city of senegal located in west africa,; How can you make arrangement of coming to meet me with out even phone call and inform me that you are coming,? was that not sound stupid to hear from you? Now you claim to be in Etopia that my country does not speak english, Hey common this your joke was very expensive, Now listen, If you went through the first mail i sent to you, And you are willing to help me send to me all the information i ask you so that we can began on how to contact the finance house, You can as well give me your number where i can reach you or call me with the number i gave you, I am here in dakar senegal located in west africa, Bye

Florence,

You no matter need know in this,we have obtained connection on dearest Brit and computudora from etopia judah. Order in to for you to conntact again Florence need provide willing persons with US dollars, please must contact me on this informations soonest.

dawit

My Dear,

Thanks,I think when you are seriouse let me know,Have a nice day,

Florence

(and we never spoke again...)

Dearest, (part V.3)

My dear, dearest, Flo,

Trouble is afoot. My wife (who, contrary to you referring to her as a him is indeed a HER...please know that I only roll on one side of that equation if you know what I mean)...anyway, my wife, SHE, found my emails to you, and saw the photos of you. I shouldn’t have printed them out, framed them and placed them on my bed-side table, but I did and what’s done is done. She asked me who you were and I said “my sister, Florence” but she didn’t buy it. I’m thinking this:

I come there and open an account in a small town somewhere close to your camp...a camel ride away or whatever it is you ride. Jeeps? Horses? I don’t have a clue. That way we move the money right quick fast into that account and then I come pick you up in the, on the...whatever, and we ride/drive back to town and buy a villa or yurt. Please give me your thoughts. I tried to call you on the number you left me but there are no “+” signs on American phones. That must be an African thing. Is there another number I can try that doesn’t begin with +??

I’m so, so sorry but am sure this will work out. I am already packed (she kicked me out of the house) and ready to fly over there as soon as I hear back from you.

Email me right away, and by the way...you’re a total babe. Where did you take that photo? It almost looked like a kitchen or something but I’m pretty sure you don’t have kitchen’s there. I’ve seen National Geographic and those little mounded dirt ovens...do you have a boyfriend you are hiding until I get there? I’m cool with that as long as he doesn’t have an AK.

Love,
me

Hello My Dearest,

Thanks for your respond,Well iam happy reading from you,Having gone to read your mail i can really understand that you care much about me,Why should you print the pic out when you know that your wife will set eyes on it?I never wanted to hurt your wife as you know,Well the pic was took in kichen of the Dr of the refugee camp ,My Dearest,I never abide on close account here in africa,Idont want that and i will never allow you to do that;I told you to help me first to contact the finance house where this fund was deposited to know thier proceures that is why i ask for your informations,Does it take you anything to send me your informations contact,Well here is the direct number+221-77-44-99-389

Call and ask about Miss Florence Naissm in woman department,I will also be happy to see you soon,Bye

Florence

Dear love,

We no longer have time to argue about this. I am in Paris, at the Charles de Gaulle airport right now. I caught a flight last night and have a connection to Addis Ababa in three hours. PLEASE give me your address so that once I arrive in Ethiopia I can get back on a computer at the airport and take a...taxi?!?...or whatever to your camp. We will then meet with the finance house and set up our accounts there. I love you and will see you soon. I hope this doctor you speak of is an OB-GYN and not your boyfriend. I will try and call you as soon as I land, assuming that the phones there have the “+” sign on them. Don’t worry about my wife. She’ll be taken care of.

I’m so excited!! All my love,
Brit

My Dearest,

Thanks for writing me,Well i am happy for all this of your effort but it is a pity that in a transaction like this it is not a matter of surprised because i never want to deal with some one who can betrayed me or do anything harmful.Why is that i sent you mail yesterday and ask for your information the next thing to hear is that you are now in Parish with out even giving me your ticket number for me to confirm whom you said you are?Did i told you that i am in Etopia?I told you that i am from Etopia but stay now in dakar senegal camp is that not what i told you?I gave you a number and you refused to call me?Well if i dont finalised whom you are even when you told me you are in senegal i will not believe you or even told you about my inheritance since you hide even your own pic and hide inside tree and send me as your pic,dont be a trick person because i am a relestic girl and i contact you to help me retreve my fund,if we love each other we can then move into love afair if so desire but this time you make your own arrangement with out giving me some confident to know you well and where you are staying,anyway,;I want more about where you are now,try and call the number i gave you since you are now in paris ,hoping to hear your call,Bye

Florence

(to be continued...)

Dearest (part V.2)

Hello My Dearest,

Thanks for your mail and for your concern about me.I am really once excited hearing from you.My Dearest,This is not matter of been rich but a matter of been releastic and honest.I am honest girl and i have been serching for a good respected man who will show me love and kindness, But if i may ask dearest? Why do you think you can divorce your wife because of me? Well i understand what you mean in the area of used the same account with your wife, Now my advise now is that i want you to please send to me your personal information like your complete name;,Your address and phone number, I will submit it to the bank where this my fund was deposited, Soonest the fund procedures process have taking place, Then they will advise us how to transfer the money if it is good to open a new account then we shall by then understand, My Dearest, I thought you will send to me your pic as you said,Please send to me all this information which i ask and also your pic,I promise to send you my pic tomorrow because i have drop it where i will scan it, As soon as i got it to my email box i will send it to you, Please i will stop here now, Love and care from

Florence

Hello to you, my nubile Nubian (is it okay if I call you that?)

I am excited to hear from you as well and I know you are honest and I would only be leaving my wife for an honest girl like yourself. But now I am confused. Do you not want me to leave my wife?? How can we be together if I don’t leave her? I will admit that I am not a worldly man but I have head that it is often custom to have more than one wife in many African countries and Utah. Is that what you would prefer?? I will do that if that is what you are asking of me, but only because I love you, be sure that I don’t love my wife. She isn’t a catholic sister either but she sure acts like one, if you know what I mean. Please clarify this one small point because this makes a HUGE difference as to whether I need go through all of the trouble of opening a new bank account (it really is a pain) or if we can just use our other wife’s. Once you tell me WHICH account to use I will give you the numbers and then you will come here to me and/or me and my (other) wife. Do you want children?

I miss you. I’ve enclosed a picture of me playing hide and seek in a tree. Do you find me handsome?

All of my love.

My Dearest,

Good day, Hopefully that everything is fine,I really take good look at your pic, Though you refused to show all your body to me to enable me take good look at you well? You are hidding inside tree why?Meanwhile,The attarchments is my pic for you to see as i promise,Though it took me time and energy to do this just to let you know that i really care.My Dearest, On the issue of dirvorce your wife because of me,I am not much surpose but anyway since you said you dont love him any more well is ok but i never want anything harmful to me when i come to your country please, From the little i saw in your pic,You really look fine though i did not see you well, Again ,If you listen well to my mail i ask for your personal information first to submit to the finance bank where this my inheritance was depisited so that we should first know thier procedures please do not fail to send me your contact as below.

1.Your complete name
2.Your resident address or office address
3.Your telephone and fax

So that i will first submit your informations to the finance house and know thier procedures on how to claim this fund from the care,Please this number belong to the camp office,When you call ask about Ms Florence Naissm in woman department+221-44-99-389

I am waiting to hear your sweet voice, Bye and have a nice week end,

Yours Florence

(to be continued…)

Dearest, (part V)

Well, this one went on for quite a while so I’m going to have to break it up over a couple days. Introducing Florence, from Ethiopia.

My dearest
I am miss Flornce Naissm from Ethiopan i am single and 25 year old girl. Immediately after going through your profile i made up my mind to contact you for friendship, marriage or long term relationship because you are my choice of trust and i see nothing wrong with the choice that i have made in you. Now that i am in a state of absolute confussion I must reveal to you that my daddy was the Financial controler to the Common Wealth West African Region who was killed with my mother in a gun short by un-identified family enemies on the 10 of February along Addis Ababa international Airport road in Ethiopan and i am the only child.

Before my daddy died he made me the beneficiary of his final WILL and i am the beneficiary of the sum of 7.5 Million USD$ in his Domicilary USDollar account; I have the bank statement of account with me here. My friend ( sister francisca) who promised to take me to london invited me to The Catholic Sisters Mission Chies, here in Senegal to avoid my family enemies who killed my daddy from attacking me so that i will travel to london through the Catholic Sisters Mission, But it did not work out as i am not a catholic mission sister and recently my friend was posted to a catholic church in a village in the gambia (the next country) Because i have no means to travel to london I need your assistance to help me claim and transfer the money into your company or private bank account in your State and as soon as the Bank transfers the money into your bank account, you will buy your ticket and come to dakar and take me to your country. After your reply i will email you the contact information of the Bank where my late father deposited the money; and also send my photo to you. i will be back soon to receive your lovely reply. Do reply me on email address: naissm_florence@yahoo.com and in your reply do give me your personal telephone number and address. Take good care of yourself honey.
I remain yours ever,
Miss Florence naissm

Dear Florence...honey,

Let me say that I was so happy and excited to receive your email!! I am single also (or, at least, will be by the time you get here...) and I would be most honored and proud and pleased to help you with this and arrange for you to come here to me. Let me be clear—this is not about the money, although obviously it will help us live well! Second...I am SO HAPPY to hear that you are not a Catholic Sister!! I have nothing against religion and will be happy to become religious if you’d like, and Catholic seems as good as any of them (plus they seem to have lots of babies if you know what I mean!)

Do you have a photo by chance. I can send you one of me. Please, please send me your photo. In regards to whatever it is I need to do to help you with your will, just let me know and I will assist you in that right away. Have you ever heard of the band Pharcyde? They are an American rap group. They have a song that goes:

Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian
And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion
when-ever she happens to walk by - why does the apple of my eye
overlook and disregard my feelings no matter how much I try?

I hope you don’t overlook and disregard MY feelings, but I’m sure you won’t. By the way, “dopest” means good, or hot..like sexy.

Please let me know what’s next and I hope to hear back from you right away (and don’t forget the photo.)

Love,
Brit

Hello My Dearest,

Good day my dearest,Hopefully that everything are amright,I am also so excited reading from you,I dont really know how to thanks you for your understand and your kindness,I believe from your mail you really sound very good and you seems to be the kind of man i should trust for love,As i do know that with honest love and trust that solid relation will still be made no matter the distance,My Dearest,It goes like this,I am a girl that believe in love,I love listing music like R Kelly music Tupac and Rmb.It happend that ever since i lost my parents i have been lonely and asking for God not some one who wil help me for my inheritance but also some one whom i can trust and love,Well i cant just say anything now but my wish and my prayer is that God will lead us to the best way of life so that it will be a things of joy and happiness.I have been going through hell here though you will not understand it all but glory to God in every condition,Actully,I dont believe in religion i only believe in God and mercy and love,And iam working hard to make sure that i am among of them God will show love and Kindness,Well dearest,I wanted to send you my pic but it happend that i have not surceeded today to look for where i can scan it because here in camp we dont go out all time,But i make this promise that i will try as soon as posible by tomorrow or next to see where i can send it,My Dearest,Please also in your next mail do send me your photo also,To let you know about this fund,It was deposited by my father as i have told you,The reasons why i contact you is to please assist me for the claim and transfer this money into your account for security purpose.According to the govering law of this country,People under refugee was not allow to make any claim of inheritance that was why i want to submit your information to the finance house and inform them about you as my partner so that they will tell us their procedures on how to released and transfer this money into your position,Please this are the information i needed to submit to the finance house as below,

1.Your complete name
2.Your resident or office address
3.Your phone and fax
4.your present occupation,

Please my dearest,This are the information require from the finance house so that i will submit all this information to them and introduce your name to their custudy as my foreign partner,As soon as i got it i will send it to them so that we shall hear from them,Please you are welcome to express your feelings about me all the time,Do not forget to send me your pic also,As my promise,I will send mine as soon as posible also,I have to stop here now my dearest and i wait urgent for your mail,Bye

Yours Florence,

My dear Florence,

I thought you would never reply and I got worried. I’m so happy to hear from you and I’m so happy to hear that you like Tupac! Thug Life! Thug Life! Anywho, I’m sorry to hear that you were unable to send a picture because I was really, really looking forward to that. Could you draw one for me? Pencil would be fine and I’m sure that would give me a good idea. I have a wonderful imagination. I promise I will send you one as well in my next email.

Here is my only problem at the moment. Until you arrive here in the US I can not tell my wife about you, but I promise I will leave her the moment you get here if not before (I’ve been looking for a reason for years!!!) Here is the tricky part that I would like your advice on. Since I am married, and PLEASE PLEASE trust me that this will not be a problem, but since I am at the moment, we share a joint bank account. Well, okay...it’s her bank account. She has the money and is very much a bitch about letting me have any of it, which is another reason I can’t wait to be with you...you’re beautiful (I’m imagining), you’re rich, and you told me that you would share lots of money with me (and let’s not forgot that part about NOT being a catholic sister!)

So, what do I do? Do I open my own account and send you that information or do I get my bitch wife’s account information and give that to you? Please tell me and we will get this done because I am dying here with her.

By the way, sorry abut your dad.

I love you and hope to hear back from you sooner than soon.
Brit

(to be continued...)

Democratic National Convention / Cinemocracy

As most everyone knows, the Democratic National Convention is taking place in Denver this summer—August 25-28—and it’s shaping up to be a dandy. We, at the Denver Film Society are working in conjunction with the city of Denver to produce an online film festival that is taking place now and leads up to the convention that asks the question, “How do you define democracy?”

Submit a film up to five minutes in length answering that question, and the top 25 videos (as determined by public online voting) will be screened publicly during the week of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The top five films will be screened as part of the official program of the 31st Starz Denver Film Festival (November 13-23).

The top ten vote getters will be flown in and provided hotel rooms so that they can take part in the events and parties taking place here in Denver during the convention.

For more information and to submit your film (it’s free), go to cinemocracy.org.

Crispin Glover / Spike Lee in Denver

A pretty fantastic pair of upcoming events at the Starz FilmCenter I wanted to mention; first Crispin Glover will be here for three nights (April 18-20) to present his Big Slideshow, his film What is it? followed by Q&A’s and a book signing. I’m really looking forward to it. Relive some of your (or my) favorite Crispin Glover moments here, here and here. For a preview of the Big Slide Show, go here. For times and tickets, go here.

On May 1, Spike Lee will be in town for an interview/conversation in conjunction with the University of Colorado at Denver's CU-Live! program. Leading up to that the Starz FilmCenter will be screening four of Lee's films on April 27-30; Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Crooklyn and Do the Right Thing. For more information or to ourchase tickets, go here.

SXSW / They Killed Sister Dorothy

For the second year in a row, a Denver film has won an audience award at the SXSW film festival. Daniel Junge’s wonderful new documentary, They Killed Sister Dorothy, not only picked up the audience vote last night according to Mr. Hernandez over at IndieWIRE, but won the Grand Jury doc prize as well.

I saw the film in rough-cut form a few months ago and liked it quite a bit. Congratulations Daniel, Henry, Davis, et al….

Seizures and Sean Paul

If you’ve ever read this blog you probably know I have seizures. I’m not shy about the whole thing and find it, while somewhat annoying, rather interesting. Today I read a seizure-related story that completely fascinated me and is an early contender for Best Headline of the Year. The headline is from a January 18th New York Post article and I can't believe I haven't heard this story until now:

HIP-HOP OP FIXED MY HEAD
Grand “Paul” Seizures Cured

The story is about a young woman from Queens who would drop into a grand mal seizure every time the rapper Sean Paul’s music would play, specifically the song “Temperature.” Of course, just to make matters worse, Sean Paul happened to be one of her favorite musicians and she was having up to ten seizures a day from listening to his music. Ten. I’ve had two seizures in one day a couple times and that put me in the hospital and wiped me out for days.

Eventually she made the connection, took her ipod to a doctor who was, of course, “skeptical,” dialed up some Sean Paul and promptly hit the deck.

Apparently it’s called musicogenic epilepsy and somewhere between 50 and 100 people have been diagnosed with it…ever. Her doctors removed a small, about 3-inch section, from her right, frontal lobe and everything’s okay now…she can listen to Sean Paul all she wants and nothing happens. Hasn’t had a seizure since.

I’ve been trying to identify all the things I was doing when I’ve had seizures to see if there is any pattern…once in the car with my mom, once while taking photos on the streets of Denver, in a girlfriend’s apartment, in a taxi, in the office…nothing seems to tie them together. So, I went to You Tube, found the video for Sean Paul’s “Temperature,” turned up the volume on my computer and hit play.

And while I can see how that song might give somebody a seizure, it didn’t work for me. Too bad.

The New York Post article is here, as well as a couple others here and here.

Hope for the future

I’ve been meaning to get around to this since I read an article by Mike Goodridge in Screen International during the Berlinale, especially because it gave me such…hope, after what has felt like a lackluster start to the 2008 festival season. I haven’t been thrilled by a whole lot this year at Sundance and Berlin, but according to Mike, here are some of the possibilities that could turn up in Cannes, and they excite me a lot: a new film by Wim Wenders, The Palermo Shooting; the Dardenne brother’s The Silence of Lorna; Walter Salles’ Linha  De Passe; Carlos Cuaron’s Rudo Y Cursi; Fernando Meirelles' adaptation of Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago’s Blindness (the film, however, will be in English and stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal which, having read and liked the book, gives me pause); Tran Anh Hung has a new film called I Come With the Rain, and I generally like him, but this is also English language and stars Josh Hartnett…so, again, pause; Jia Zhang-ke hardly ever goes wrong in my book and has a new film called 24 City; I’ve been dying to see Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, The Bad and The Weird since I read about it more than a year ago; I missed Kim Ki-duk’s Dream in Berlin and he is one my favorites; both Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda have new films…Tokyo Sonata and Even If You Walk and Walk, respectively; and there are plenty more possibilities by Michael Winterbottom, Barbet Schroeder and Agnes Varda among others.

It looks like it might be a very, very nice May.

Dearest, (part IV)

Greetings,

I am a Civil Staff working under United States Marine Corps operating with the Engineering military Dept unit in Baghdad, Iraq, we discover about $65 Million US dollars that we want to move out but we need a good partner we can trust. This fund is oil money and legal. Click on the link bellow for more information http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

We have already secretly moved this fund out of Iraq to finance firm in Europe. This is a deal. But the question is can we trust you when the funds get to you? You will take your 30% for the assistance and keep the remaining for us in a safe custody. Your role is to find a safe place for the funds while our own part is sending it to you.

Your Reply Needed
Michael

Dear Michael (pfc? Cpl? General???),

I am so glad you found me and you have found the right person! I would be happy and honored to assist you! I have done many, many things since the war started to help our boys fighting over in Africa against the Iraqi’s and I’m jumping at the chance to help again! I was just having an argument the other day with a friend of mine who is working on a similar deal with a fellow from Nigeria (another African nation in case you didn’t know...although I had to look it up on a map.) Anyway, my friend, Jim, is helping to secure funds for this fellow, Muhhammad or Muststafa or something like that who SAYS he is a Christian but who ever heard of a Christian name like that? That sounds like a muslim name or an islim name to me. Is there a difference between muslim and islim? I thought you might now since you are over there and all. What I do know is that Michael is a Christian name. Michael was the Archangel and Gods right hand man. Michael has seven letters and as we all know--”if the devil is six, then God is seven.” You are a seven. W is a seven. But I digress (I love using that phrase! I use it around the house all the time and it drives my wife crazy!) What do I need to do to help?? I don’t even need 30% of your money, but maybe just 25%, or 25 million. Seems to me you are doing the harder work and did find it after all. I have a very safe place in which I could store this money, although it’s not a bank. We all know that the banks here in the United States of America aren’t run by the Christians either but another certain African country! I do have a very, very safe closet in the basement with two locks that my wife doesn’t even have keys to (how much space does 65 million dollars take up??) I could keep it there until your deployment ends...which could be a very, very long time!! Ha! Just a joke to lighten the mood.

Anyway, let me know what’s next. I look forward to hearing from you.
Brit

Dear Brit Withey,

Thanks for your reply to my mail. This venture will not take any time, due to our best modality to perfect this deal.

We choose safest way of perfecting this venture, by using the means of DIPLOMATIC LIFTING & COURIER SERVICES (DLCS) to deliver this fund to a neutral ground Dubai or Paris France. We will register this fund in your name with the courier service. You will be requiring traveling to Paris or Dubai for the claiming of the fund. We will register the fund consignment as machinery working tools. The diplomat will be moving together with out representative to meet with you and also monitor the diplomat for security reasons. Only our representative will know the Content of the box.

This arrangement will be ok; security is tight here in Iraq. The immunity of the diplomat will cover the consignment. They are not being search by customs. I would have to do this through any Bank branch here, but they will need company contract certificate, paying of taxes and other legal documents about you as the owner of the fund. so many questions will be involved. The implication will be much.

Please you are free to ask any question where you are not cleared.

I needed strong assurance from you that my trust and confidence in you is not misplaced , I will also like you to assure me that you will not let me down either now or in the future as I strongly hope to establish a strong long lasting business relationship with you after my retirement immediately me move out of Iraq.

Looking forward to a mutual beneficial partnership. Thanks for your understanding. Waiting for your Reply ASAP.

Regards
Michael

Dear Michael Joseph Leyden,

How exciting! You obviously have this all worked out to a “T”! I’ll admit, it makes me feel a little bit like a character from one of those John Le Carre books. Should I get a derringer? Ha! Kidding, I know there is no need for that as you have certainly made arrangements in a secure and safe manner. Oh, and Paris! I’ve always wanted to go to Paris...well, my wife has always wanted to go to Paris...I actually don’t care. Can I bring my wife? Are you buying us tickets and can they be first class? I’m not sure what Dubai is but is seems similar to “Dubya”, meaning George, so it can’t be all bad, but I’m sure my wife would still rather go to Paris. She’s been bugging me for years. That’s one thing they seem to have right over there in Africa, that long black robe with the facemask. I wish I could tell my wife to wear one! Kidding! Sorta.

What sort of name is Leyden anyhow? That’s not Jewish is it? Seems like it might be. Not that it matters. I’m just wondering. Still, you’re lucky you have that Michael name right up front like I mentioned before. Did you notice that your middle name AND your last name both have 6 letters in them? If you first name WASN’T Michael and was something like, say...George (since we were just talking about him), your name would be essentially 666. Now that I’m sitting here thinking on this if Dubya’s last name were “Bushes” instead of “Bush”, HIS name would be 666. Scary! But I digress. Ha! Remember!?

Okay. To the matter of questions. I have a few before we move forward. What is “modality” and “consignment”? That is first. I don’t have the slightest idea what those words mean. Second: is there any chance that my wife might get shot!?

Yours in Faith (unless you are Jewish, which is fine, like I said, but we’ll just have to agree to disagree)

Brit

(After not hearing back for a few days, I sent this)

Dear Michael,

????

I hope you are okay and have not been harmed by any of those insurgents we are always reading about over here. They do sound like a bad lot (although a heaven with a bunch of virgins does sound like heaven, doesn’t it?) I spent last night drawing up plans for our exchange of funds once I get to Paris. I’m not sure if you have ideas yourself, and if you do, I’d love to hear them, but take a look at what I’ve sketched out (not to scale!) and let me know what you think. It’s simple, fast and easy...not one of the Hollywood Ocean’s 13 sort of thing. Did you see Ocean’s 13? A load of crap in my opinion. Don’t bother.

Anyway, take a look at my plans and let me know if you have any modifications...I’m still tweaking them and they are in no way set in stone.

(I never heard back.)

The People vs. George Lucas

Filmmakers and friends of mine, Alexandre and Vanessa Philippe, are working on a new project; The People vs. George Lucas. It's already gotten considerable attention, as all things Star Wars tend to do, and details can be found over at Slash Film, the ever-present Karina Longworth at Spout.com and Obsessed With Film among others.

The projects official web site is here.

If you've got strong feelings about the Star Wars franchise...and you know who you are...this is for you.

Ugh

Soooooo, after nearly two years shudder-free I hit the deck last Wednesday with another seizure…two, actually, as tends to be my habit. No major damage done—bruised head, bloody lip—but it’s back to the neurologist for me and no more driving for, well, a while. At least these happened in front of a bunch of a people I know so I got a lot of good first hand accounts of what the hell goes on, still nobody filmed it or took pictures and when they took me to the hospital they took me to Denver General where I was the only one not chained to the bed in the ER. Don’t get me wrong…I really, really appreciate all those that took such good care of me as I was frothing and bleeding and flailing…but DG?!? I have insurance, christ.

Berlin / III

The Belinale is over and it seemed, for me at least, to more or less stagger to a close and collapse more than anything else. The best films I saw (other than Errol Morris’ mid-week Standard Operating Procedure) were in the first few days and I was actually stunned by a few of the films I saw in the Panorama wondering if I hadn’t wandered into the market instead, And, getting back to SOP, I had dinner with some friends the night I saw it and four of them, three German and one American, walked out of the screening they disliked it so much. Some criticized the reenactments, some the Danny Elfman score. For me, it was probably the best thing I saw here (although I did not see the Mike Leigh comedy which I’ve heard nothing but good things about.)

There had been a lot of talk about the vitality and viability of the Berlin program leading up to the festival this year—obvious comparisons were made between it and the other large, old European festivals, Cannes and Venice—and the release this week of some of the titles premiering in Cannes in a couple of months definitely made the Berlin festival look, well…let’s just say not very exciting.

Wrapping things up, however, with the awards…

José Padilha’s Brazillian film The Elite Squad won the Golden Bear for Best Film. I didn’t see the film, mostly because the reviews were so mixed, leaning towards bad, but I suppose if it turns up in Cannes I’ll check it out.

Erroll Morris’ Standard Operating Procedure won the Silver Bear – The Jury Grand Prix

Paul Thomas Anderson won the Silver Bear for Best Director for There Will Be Blood

Sally Hawkins won the Silver Bear for Best Actress for her role in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky

Reza Najie won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for his role in Majid Majidi’s The Song of Sparrows

Eran Riklis’ The Lemon Tree won the Panorama Audience Award