First up I met Joe Bendel for a screening of the restored KING AND THE MOCKINGBIRD. The film was made about 1950, but was taken out of the hands of the director and finished by others (you may have seen a badly dubbed version in the bargain bins). in 1979 the film was taken back by the director who stripped out 30 percent and finished the way he intended. The film was restored by Gamut last year.
I'm going to do a full piece soon (if not definitely for the November 21 release to theaters) but the film is gorgeous. A draggy dull film in the original version moves like the wind and really impresses. Even the little little kids at the screening were thrilled.
When the film ended I had to dash across the street to meet Hubert for the Paul Thomas Anderson talk ON CINEMA.
Hosted by Kent Jones the talk had the two men talking about the films that influenced Anderson and his making of INHERENT VICE. It was a frequently funny talk that made me scratch my head at the thought og PTA being the man who made THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
My only complaint is that they began with an extended clip from POLICE SQUAD which re-enforced how un-Abrham/Zucker brothers like INHERENT VICE is.
A report on the talk hopefully will be coming soon.
I then had a four hour break during which I had lunch with Hubert, which turned into a long talk in a back corner of The Brooklyn Diner during which we talked about film, books, and god know what else.
As we left around 4 I got texts he sent around noon as well as one Mondo sent about an hour earlier. I then head up to Lincoln Center for my next film and to meet up with Mr C who was seeing IRON MINISTRY.
Outside the theater Mondo showed up with the lovely Sotoko in tow. We talked for a bit until Mr C come out of the theater. He talked to us about the film and the Q&A.
Then Rufus de Rham of Cineawesome, the New York Asian Film Festival and now the Film Society of Lincoln Center came over to chat. He had a lot to say about a lot of subjects- including his lack of sleep because of the film festival.
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| Richard Gere video tapes the introduction to his film |
I then split off and went to see Richard Gere in TIME OUT OF MIND.
The red carpet for the film was crazy with the Alice Tully foyer cut off by security, everyone had to go into the theater from one side which meant that a good number of us had to hustle across the long rows to out seats.
The film was introduced by the director who brought the cast and much of the crew on to the stage. Richard Gere videoed the proceedings on his phone.
The film has Richard Gere's character, a slightly addled man trying to get by on the streets. We watch has he goes in and out of shelters and has various encounters with people.
You'll notice I'm being brief with descriptions and that's intentional because the film left me cold, Yes it's well made and the performances, especially by Gere are good but the film is something I can admire more than like. Shot in a style that makes it look like we are watching Gere from a distance the film would have been better had the film not been cast with Gere and the stars who pop in here and there.
To be honest not a whole hell of a lot happens. It just the addled Gere going through his days. I and several other people got bored and walked out. I made it about 75 minutes into the film when I decided to cut my losses and go home.
Its not a bad film I intend on seeing it again down the road, but it just wasn't compelling enough to stay to the end not for the Q&A. I think it would have helped if Gere wasn't a little off to begin with. YEa I know the street will bend you, but at the same time it makes it hard to relate (kind of like Michael Douglas in FALLING DOWN. The premise of that film was interesting until it's revealed he's crazy)
Out of the theater I looked at my watch and realized that I had almost two hours until my next film EDEN. Thinking hard, and consulting Randi, I decided to call it a night and head home. EDEN is coming out soon, and the prospect of staying out until 1130 had lost its sparkle.
I headed home.
I have two films tomorrow and there are New York FIlm Festival reviews scheduled all the way to Sunday so keep reading
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