Wayne's World, but not really.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Highs and lows

With a festival like this, there are bound to be highs and lows -- mainly because I have expectations since I'm paying my own way to be here.

Wednesday sort of was a bust until the last part of the day. Sophia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" was disappointing, even though it got lukewarm reviews by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

In the afternoon, I tried to watch the Australian film "Suburban Mayhem," but it was too stylized rather than engaging -- I slept through the majority of it and eventually walked out.

Then I tried to get into the press screening of Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly" and waited in line for 45 minutes, only to watch people with higher priority badges fill up the theater.

I called the Weinstein Company later to see if there were any advanced screenings for Kevin Smith's "Clerks 2," but was told that a screening in the evening was invitation only.

I tried to get into a foreign press screening of "United 93," only to be rudely turned away at the door, because I was domestic press.

Afterward, I ran into a student from UPenn who said he and several other of his classmates attended the "Clerks 2" screening. Apparently, someone was handing out flyers for it, and you could bring as many people as you wanted to the theater!

Finally, I went to see a low-budget documentary called "Life Remote Control," but the production values, story and editing were not up to par, so I walked out.

***
So I sat in the wifi cafe, wishing I had made different choices throughout the day -- even though it's impossible to do everything and you can't expect to be on top of everything always -- and called a friend to tell him about my crappy day, which made me feel a little better.

Fortunately, the end of the night redeemed some of the disappointments.

Because I had to carpool back with a friend from Variety, I went to meet her over at the American Pavillion and found out that the Queer party was open to the public. Many cast members from "Shortbus" were around, and I was able to talk to one of the main actors Sook-Yin Lee. Director John Cameron Mitchell, who is known for his other movie, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," also was present, although I didn't get a chance to speak to him.

John Cameron Mitchell, left, and Sook-Yin Lee, right, attend the Queer party at the American Pavillion.

"Hedwig" is about "a transexual punk rock girl from East Berlin who tours the US with her rock band as she tells her life story and follows the ex-boyfriend/bandmate who stole her songs," according to IMDB.

"Shortbus," meanwhile, is "an exploration of relationships in New York City through gender, sexuality, art, music and politics," according to IMDB.

That's putting it lightly -- "Shortbus" has some of the most sexually graphic scenes I've ever watched. It likely never will be released in theaters -- although there was a successful bidding war for it at Cannes, according to Variety.

Mitchell's next film, "Oskur Fishman," is for child audiences -- I find that hilarious.

***
The highlight of the party was the fantastic fireworks display. Because the American Pavillion's back yard is the beach, partygoers got a fantastic view.

Below is video footage of some of the fireworks I saw.


More photos of the fireworks show outside the American Pavillion early Thursday morning.



3 Comments:

  • From the tone of the day's posting, one would think you were at a wine festival instead of one of the world's premier film events. My god, where are the celebrity sightings? Where is the glamor? Surely you must have encountered Tom Cruise. I understand everyone who goes there does. And do you mean to tell me that a gaggle of UPenn students could get into see "Clerks 2" and you, a seasoned reporter couldn't? Wayne, Wayne, Wayne

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:54 AM  

  • that's too bad about "clerks 2." hope your final few days are fun.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:30 PM  

  • i thought life remote control was good

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:15 PM  

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