Jason came to town for the weekend. We’ve been reading each other’s sites for a couple years now, and a couple months ago we participated in Dennis‘ SLIFR Tree House movie roundup (all posts here), which was really fun. I’d never met Jason. We met up for dinner on Friday and then Saturday night Keith and Dan threw a big party, with many new friends (some of whom I’ve met, most of whom I am friends with on Facebook even if I’ve never met them) – so the timing was perfect. Jason came to town and got to meet almost everyone he’s been communicating with in the film critic blog-world in one fell swoop.
It’s always a bit nervewracking to meet someone you’ve been reading for so long, and corresponding with via email – but so far, in my experience with Web relationships (and I’ve been lucky, I’ve only had one or two misfires – this is not counting some of the crazeeeee people who have gotten fixated on me and my writing over the years, and seem to think we have a deep and personal relationship, merely because they read my site – I would make it my business never to meet any of those people in person, because they “read” as insane), if the person comes through in a certain way in their writing, then they usually show up in that same way in real life. I have met so many people that I have “read” for YEARS, in their professional work, their columns and blogs and essays, etc. – long before I ever met them in person … and each time, I would meet said person and think, “Of course. I recognize you from your writing. Of course you would be like this.” It can be a crapshoot, of course, and you may meet someone who seems one way in their writing and then turns out to be totally different in real life, but I have found that that is the exception.
But still. I am not particularly extroverted and have a lot of social awkwardness, so that is the main reason I get nervous when I meet someone new (or when I go to a party where I will only know a couple of people). The entire weekend was absolutely awesome, and I had such a good time. Meeting, talking, conversing, laughing hysterically – it was such a great group of people, and in a strange way, we are already all bonded together because we all read each other. You would meet someone, and both of us would say, “Oh! I’ve read you! I loved your piece and such-and-such”. It was great.
Jason and I met up for dinner on Friday night, following a barrage of texts because 1. The first place I picked out was closed for a private event, and 2. The second place I picked out NO LONGER EXISTS – which I only realized when I reached the location. Thank God for cell phones. We would have been wandering in concentric circles for hours trying to find one another. Okay, meet and greet on the sidewalk. Into a little wine bar food joint, perched on stools, 4 hours of nonstop conversation. It was totally fun.
The following night was the party out in Brooklyn, and it was a BLAST, and I’m working on something else about that, a piece about a 6-way conversation had at the end of the night that was really kind of extraordinary. But for now, some snapshots.
— “I can’t help it. I’m a little bit obsessed with Jesse James right now.” – me to Jason. This was an unfortunate admission on many levels, mainly because he didn’t let me hear the end of it. I would open my mouth at the party and start to say, “You know what I’ve been thinking about a lot lately–” and Jason would interject quickly, “Jesse James?”
— “We’re talking about Balzac.” – Farran to a newcomer to our small circle at the party. The newcomer then immediately turned and walked away causing a huge outburst of laughter. Of course he came back, but his timing was absolutely perfect.
— “I don’t ever want to see any special features from The Muppet Movie. I don’t want to know how they made Kermit ride that bike. I just don’t want to know.” – Odie
— “Maybe you could tell them you’re a huge fan of Ahmadinejad.” – Farran’s husband to me, making a suggestion on how I could get to Iran (something I am determined to do).
— “When Hungarians were Hungarians.” — some guy on the stoop during a conversation about Michael Curtiz.
— “Balzac always makes me think of The Music Man.” I said. A gentleman standing nearby suddenly came over and said, “Did someone just say The Music Man?”
— “So tell me, when you do those ridiculously long iPod shuffle posts …” – Jason to me
Me: “That’s not very nice.”
Jason: “Well, they are!”
Laughter.
— “This performance was the Violent Torpedo of Truth of its day.” – Dan, on a video we were watching of Klaus Kinski’s one-man show about Jesus
— “I visited Monticello once, and I saw the guest room, and the bed was in an alcove, the only place for the bed to be, and I couldn’t help but imagine James Madison having sex with Mrs. Madison doggy-style when they came to visit.” – Jason to me at dinner. And now I can’t get that image out of my mind.
— “Absolutely nobody involved in that entire project was heterosexual,” Sarah on the god-awful Moment by Moment, which came up again in conversation.
— “Sheila, the world needs people like you and me. We have to let people KNOW about these things!” – Dan, to me, bonding on our shared love of Judy Davis’ CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY performance in the Lifetime Movie A Little Thing Called Murder
— Farran and I stood in the corner, drinking champagne out of plastic cups, and talking about astrology. It was glorious.
— Every person I met was interesting. And it was rare that I would meet someone and not a. recognize their name, or b. realize I was already FB “friends” with said person.
— During discussions, it was quite quite common to see people take out their iPhones and look something up on IMdB.
— I finally got to talk about Certified Copy with Jason in person. We hashed it out. It was so fun – it’s a movie that gets more interesting the more you talk about it. I had read his review, so we had a lot to talk about. Jason asked, “So that last closeup … what do you think is going on with him?” This is exactly the kind of conversation I could have for hours, and then look at my watch and go, “Wow, where did the time go.”
— Other hosts at other parties put on music. But at this party, Dan kept the TV on with a neverending stream of totally BIZARRE clips and movies. Well, some more bizarre than others. We would all be standing around talking and then get sucked into what was going on on the television, saying, “What the hell are we watching?” The first was The Immortal Story, a truly bizarre-beyond-belief movie from 1968 directed by Orson Welles and starring Jeanne Moreau. For some reason, it was never made clear to me, Jeanne Moreau is hired (?) by Orson Welles to take the virginity of a supposedly young sailor while Orson Welles watched. The sailor looked about 45. He also looked like Rutger Hauer, which made his virginity that more unbelievable. “That dude has spent way too much time at Studio 54,” I said. When they finally make love, she says, at the point of orgasm, “Do you feel that earthquake?” And he replies, brilliantly, lost in his deflowering (at the age of 45), “What earthquake?” The film had a riveting awful glow and we had to watch the whole thing. Then Dan put on some of the Dick Cavett interviews with Katharine Hepburn. I loved how she sat, foot up on the table, sensible granny sandals in full view. And Cavett looked like a playboy, with skintight white pants and strange blinding white boating shoes. The next time I turned around, I saw Klaus Kinski’s intense face, standing on a stage, talking into a microphone. The camera angle never changed. I called out to Dan, “What is this?” “It’s a famous one-man show Kinski did where he played Jesus Christ and he was booed and heckled throughout. It was the Violent Torpedo of Truth of its day.” I love these people. Dan also put on the campy crazy A Little Thing Called Murder, with Judy Davis giving one of the all-time campiest performances ever captured – it seriously has to be seen to believed. I watched it agog with Alex in L.A., and I declared it brilliant, and I was roundly made fun of by people. Davis CHEWS up the scenery with her sunglasses and her wigs, and, at one dramatic courtroom moment, she faints, but not before she literally crosses her eyes on the way down. Seriously check it out if you haven’t already. Dan and I were, frankly, the only ones in that room who were RAVING about the movie – nobody else seemed to have seen it. We are evangelists for a Lifetime movie, and we are proud of it.
— Keith played host, carving the ham in the dining room (delicious) and circulating, making sure everyone was happy. I love hanging out there.
— Keith and Jason got into an incredibly in-depth conversation about The New World and all of the different versions of it: the theatrical release, the director’s cut, and then … the other longer cut. Jason was trying to figure out the differences between the cuts (he had only seen one version), and Keith was explaining what each version had – “And THIS version has one shot of Pochahontas struggling through the snow” (he did a little imitation) “and that shot is in NONE of the other versions.” “So does the longer cut have the interstitial titles?” “No.” “And does the theatrical cut …” “Yes. But the only cut that has the shot of Pochahontas …” Jason said, at one point, “This is the nerdiest conversation I’ve ever had.” It was awesome to witness.
— Sitting on the stoop with Matt, Farran, and someone else (I’m sorry, I didn’t catch his name!) talking about movies we could watch over and over again. I said GI Jane which brought the usual stunned response, and Matt said On the Waterfront. I said I’d seen Notorious probably 30 times, and that showed no signs of stopping. We had a great conversation about Casablanca.
— Had a really fun conversation with Jason and Ed about the Inside the Actors Studio series (which, of course, I have a personal connection with). Lots of laughter. Much to make fun of, but I insisted that it really has become an amazing archive – of these big stars being asked questions about their various processes that nobody else asks.
— Me in a crowd of people, during a group conversation: “You know who I really love?”
Jason: (automatically, from across the crowd) “Jesse James.”
— Big talk about Otto Preminger on the couch with Dan, Paul and Farran and I finally got to hear Farran describe her antipathy to Preminger in person. It was fascinating!
— I met an adorable young guy (boyfriend of someone else there) and we had a nice chat, and when he went to leave, he came over to me and we shook hands, saying “Nice to meet you …” Then he said, “My grandmother would be so embarrassed for me right now, because I just offered you my hand.” “Wait – why?” “I’m younger than you, and it’s not good manners for me to offer you my hand.” “I love your grandmother for teaching you that. Why is there that rule – to show deference?” “Yes. There’s this whole hierarchy – young should defer to old, men to women … ” “Well, I loved shaking hands with you. And you now need to tell me everything about your grandmother.” He then deferred his leaving and told me two stories of his grandmother which were so fantastic and hilarious that I wanted him to just keep talking. One of the stories involved a famous architect (I believe) visiting his grandmother’s New York apartment and looking at the eclectic pieces in the room, asking her, “What do you call this style?” The grandmother replied, “Early Matrimonial.” Ha! He obviously liked talking about her, which I found quite touching. She would correct his table manners, saying, “I realize that you are an adult. However …” She sounds like a pistol.
— Movies, movies, movies. Talk, talk, talk.
— I had driven out to Brooklyn, following the incredibly complicated and sometimes-harrowing Mapquest directions, but Keith told me a better way to get back into Manhattan which basically involved only two turns until I hit the bridge. There was a moment when I was careening along Flatbush and I hit a string of green lights all the way to the bridge. I could see the bridge’s lights looming in the distance. Nothing to do but press that pedal to the floor. I love it when the stars and planets align in the city and give you green lights as far as the eye can see.
//Then Dan put on some of the Dick Cavett interviews with Katharine Hepburn.//
Oh, those were so entertaining! I totally dug the Astaire interview too. That’s the only DVD of the set I’ve seen – I need to make time to watch the rest.
I love that The Muppet Movie found its way into the cornucopia of discussions. Also, total agreement on The Making of Kermit Riding the Bike.
To be accurate, Odie then said, “I don’t want to know how they made that motherfuckin’ frog ride the bike.”
Some MAJOR Muppet fans in the group, it was so fun.
Dan – so entertaining! You realize how RUSHED talk shows are now – with people there who have no idea how to have a conversation outside plugging their latest movie. There’s something so relaxing about watching two people just TALK – especially if it’s Hepburn!!!
Yeah, talk shows now serve more as PR junkets for celebs. Cavett and Hepburn just talked and talked – two episodes worth if I remember correctly. She was a very sharp lady.
Also, her outfit! Like she had just come in from gardening. The epitome of class – she doesn’t need to get dolled up.
Yes, I remember thinking that the outfit struck as very crusty Yankee casual wear.
I’m wondering if the appeal of Inside the Actor’s Studio is because people WANT conversation, want to hear artists talk about their work.
As usual after reading one of your “meet-up” posts, I am jealous of everybody–even people who weren’t there.
The comments about today’s “Talk” shows are accurate. In general, too many of us have forgotten how to talk to each other, how to have interesting conversations, and how to participate in a flowing exchange of ideas. Some of it is TV. Some of it is a fundamental lack of interesting ideas. It really pains me how often I am at gatherings, and the conversation turns to TV shows. Of course, I can talk at length about any number of TV-related subjects, but too many people seem incapable of talking about anything else. I am extremely grateful for my dearest friends who actually know what I mean when I mention some obscure or ridiculous idea, subject, event, artist, etc. Rich is the man with such friends. You should know–you apparently got way more than your share. Maybe I just go to the wrong parties.
I loved reading this Sheila. So different from my life but relatable all the same. You are the Katherine Hepburn in my life… better read, keeping interesting company and incredibly smart… I love how you harken back to some of her sensibilities. This night could easily have been in one of her movies and/or a part of her life.
Excellent fun! Thank you.
I was actually hoping to have a real response to Jason’s Certified Copy post when I came back from seeing it in an actual theater, but I was too busy laughing to dig into the relationship side of the film. I mean, there were maaaybe eight other people in the screening with me, five of them women. And the women laughed THE ENTIRE TIME. It was fantastic, and even better because the men just kind of cleared their throats and sighed. I didn’t know at any moment if I was laughing at the film or the response it was getting. And I never realized how quickly Binoche starts slipping into her game: when she starts arguing about James’ thesis in the car-ride, she totally slips into the role of a snippy wife. “Well why don’t you just BE LIKE HER, then?” So great. And I undersold Shimell even though I wasn’t really down on him the first time I saw it. He totally acts like an actor: he takes pause breaths as if he’s back at his day gig singing and gets subtle clarification when he first realizes what’s happening as if asking for the character’s “motivation.” That ridiculous scene in the restaurant is even funnier than I remember; watching an opera singer be so deliberately bad at melodrama cracks me up.
I am, as ever, exceedingly jealous of these meet-ups, though I’d probably just look at my feet the whole time and mumble anyway.
DBW – well, we were all talking about TV shows, too. And movies, of course. But I know what you mean. I think a lot of it starts with You. (Meaning me, meaning all of us.) I try to have the conversations in life that I WANT to have, and if it’s a good group – they’ll “go there”. Some incredible stuff happened at the end of the party – involving a 6 way conversation that was ostensibly about movies but was really about all of us, humanity, our lives, what we want, what we love. It was one of those moments in life where you really CONNECT – the planets align – whatever you want to call it.
And I didn’t really know any of these people. Two were brand-new to me, and three I knew from their writing – I had met only one of them in person before. There were 5 men and me. And we went into a zone of connection that still reverberates. But that post is to come – I’m working on it now.
Kathy – what a compliment, thank you, girl!!!
Jake – I’m with you – I always assume I will be this wallflower, but then I get there and everyone is so interesting (and also kind of known to me already – at least thru their writing) that I find myself having a great time. It’s like you are old friends who are “picking up where we left off” – only it’s just that it’s a conversation in the comments section of a blog that you are “picking up”. It was so fun.
I am so fascinated by the gender-split response you describe at Certified Copy – hilarious! And yes, I loved watching him “act” – and that last closeup. Wow. Jason and I talked about that a lot. He made me want to see it yet again (it will be my 4th time.)
Oh, I didn’t mean to come off as a TV snob, or anything like that. I’ve just been to some gatherings recently where everybody started talking about current TV shows, and I felt like they didn’t have anything else to discuss–they weren’t reading anything, they weren’t doing anything–I don’t know, it depressed me. And the conversations weren’t interesting. It was more just a recital of what happened on the show, and laughing about it. It hit me wrong, I guess. Your party sounds like a LOT of fun.
I totally got what you meant – there’s a huge difference between in-depth discussions of a shared passion – and just a re-hashing of what you saw that week. One is full, the other empty. It’s kind of like the people who think THEY THEMSELVES are funny because they can recite The Simpsons or Seinfeld. No, YOU are not funny. The writers of the SHOWS are funny. Eye-roll.
Also, if there isn’t a willingness to go deep …. even if you’re talking about something OTHER than your childhood traumas … you can feel it when someone wants to skip off the surface. I don’t do well in surface-oriented situations AT ALL.
As usual, you nailed it. That is EXACTLY what I meant.
“New World and all of the different versions of it”
I have been wanting to see this and have been confused and conflicted with all the versions. Which do you recommend for a first time viewer?
Gina – I’ve only seen one version – I missed the theatrical cut and Keith showed me what I believe was the longest cut – the 150 minute version. It was wonderful. But I’m honestly not sure of the differences between all of them. Jason had seen the theatrical cut, Keith had seen all three – when he decided to show me the movie, he chose the longest cut.
I loved it, but I can’t speak for the other versions!!
Wish I could have been there. Thanks for the report. Any literal snapshots of the weekend? I know Jason bears a disturbing resemblance to Seann William Scott, but I’ve yet to get a bead on the rest of youz.
Craig – // disturbing resemblance to Seann William Scott // hahahahahaha
Well, you can see my big mug on Dennis’ SLIFR posts!
No pictures at the party, sadly! We were all too engrossed in each other. More to come! It was a great time. I miss everyone already – but that’s the good thing about the web. You can visit each other’s “homes” every day if you want to.
Ah, well, I’m glad you had a good time. I did meet Matt and one or two others at Ebertfest the week prior. Completely unrelated query: Is it uncommon in New York for a stranger to walk up and say hello? I can’t tell you how many times I saw a Midwesterner walk up and offer a friendly hello to a New Yorker at the Festival, followed by the New Yorker either stepping back, raising a suspicious eyebrow, or nearly jumping out of his skin. I’m relieved they all survived the mean streets of Champaign-Urbana, IL.
I would be very taken aback if someone just came up to me and said Hi – although not in a party or festival situation, where the whole idea is to meet and talk with people. But randomly on the street? I need my boundaries!
Ha ha ha ha ha — it’s a different world!
Looping around to this late …
Gina C: I’ve actually seen the theatrical cut and the extended cut. Although I’m not surprised Sheila couldn’t keep track, because Keith and I were trying to figure out if by chance there was also a cut between the original New York premiere cut (which he has seen, along with precious few others) and a DC premiere at the AFI Silver that I saw in advance of the national premiere that seemed to have its own unique running time. (Which I’m guessing was just an error.) Anyway, I’m most familiar with the theatrical cut, and that’s the one I recommend only because I got to know its rhythms so well that the extended cut just feels a bit off to me in places. But that’s just my angle of approach; like hearing a remix of your favorite song. If you start with the extended cut, you won’t have that problem. The truth is, you can’t go wrong either way. (The NYC premiere cut is lost to time.)
Anyway …
Thanks for letting me costar in this recap, Sheila. It was great meeting you and everyone. It made me cherish the conversations I was in and ache for the ones that I missed; but you can’t be in all of ’em. A great weekend and a great night.
Jason – thank you for your more detailed response. I got a bit lost in trying to keep them all on track in my head as I was listening to you guys talk.
Yes – a great weekend!