did you see that? i hit 300!! woohoo....what did i win, what did i win?

A sheep.

Baa! Just finished watching "Trees Lounge"--loved it! It was my kind of movie.

Then you'll love "The Opposite of Sex", "Henry Fool", and "Buffalo 66". And you'll love me, because I'm more like all 4 of them than they are, that's including "Trees Lounge", except they're more real than me---I'm more like just some film going round and round through or past the projector's lense, in a small dark room that has no honest modest exits. Er, uh, wait, what am I doing here? I don't belong here. I'm lost. REALLY lost---I seriously can't find myself....I'll just go right on back outside o Spring and keep lookin'. This little room [BONK...owwww!!] really has no doors, though, and all the walls are powerfully against me.....I mean POWERFULLLLLLEEE.

Jim, how ya doin'??? I've really missed you. You're quite the movie-goer. Those titles just happen to be on my must-rent list, but as they're still in theatres, I'm not likely to see them anytime soon. So there are parallels between your life and those of Steve Buscemi, etc.?? I'm intrigued.....

Yeah, we were both chasing Amy one night and we ran into each other. Amy just walked off laughing, but Steve picked me up off the pavement, using both hands, and we finally got to meet each other. I'll tell ya one thing, we both really like Chloe Sevigny (she still tests HIV positive and she was at the lounge Steve walked me over to). We were all sitting around the same table off and away from everything, where the light was low and lower (only about knee-high). Anyway, I just wanted to remember to te l ya that we were all reminiscing about our best times with you, Autumn. I mean I had no idea. How did you meet THEM? As you might imagine, we didn't say goodbye to each other until dawn. Let me put it this way---we ALL really miss you.

Hi Jim! just to interject...can you two tell us something more about those movies? i mean, haven't even heard of Trees Lounge, what is it about, who's in it?

hola, Wolfie, how nice to see your warm, furry face and sharp, long tooths. I gots some information overload here for ya. Everything that follows came from these 3 addresses: http://us.imdb.com/search http://www.auschron.com/current/screens.film.html I'll put the third address in Response #309, because I forgot to get it, and I don't know how to go out and get it right now without losing everything in this pretty picture window. THE OPPOSITE OF SEX D: Don Roos; with Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Galecki, Ivan Sergei. A 16-year old girl (Ricci) runs away from a troubled home in Louisiana and comes to stay with her rich half-brother (Hal Hartley regular Martin Donovan). There she messes with the lives of everyone from her brother's new boyfriend to his sexually repressed best friend (Kudrow, stretching her acting muscles). (July 3) HENRY FOOL D: Hal Hartley; with Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey. Hal Hartley's new film pairs an unassuming garbageman with an egomaniacal writer to examine the responsibilities of influence and the possibilities of originality. (August) BUFFALO '66 D: Vincent Gallo; with Gallo, Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, Ben Gazzara, Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette. Actor Vincent Gallo (The Funeral) made quite a splash at Sundance when he debuted this new film, which he wrote, directed, stars in, and composed; the mordant story follows the dramatic and comedic prospects of a young man suffering from extreme alienation. (July) This next review gives alot away about what happens in the movie, so you might want to skip over it if you're like me, and like to be more surprised upon watching the movie and what it's about to be for you as it unfolds: BUFFALO '66 D: Vincent Gallo; with Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara, Anjelica Huston, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Corrigan, Rosanna Arquette, Jan-Michael Vincent. (Not Rated, 120 min.) "Indie! Indie! Indie!" is the unspoken mantra behind enfant terrible Gallo's directorial debut (he was previously seen in Palookaville as well as a series of Calvin Klein ads), and though independent cinema in America has, at this stage, been almost completely co-opted by the major studios (and anyone who thinks Miramax isn't a major these days is kidding themselves), Gallo's battle cry makes for a fiercely humorous slice of unreality that soars even when it's crawling in the gutter and puking on itself. Gallo has recruited a stellar cast and then played them down into the depths of his tale's depravity so much that you hardly recognize Huston or anyone else. In a film populated by the hapless dregs of society, there are no star turns, and yet every character is cleverly portrayed, fully fleshed out and functional, and frequently downright creepy. Gallo is Billy Brown, a scrawny, pale wingnut who, with his flared floodpants, red faux-leather disco boots, and too-tight tube tops, looks for all the world like God's loneliest toothpick. As Buffalo '66 opens, he's fresh out of jail (featuring an extended, painful, semi-comic sequence which involves a desperate search for a bathroom) and on his way to his parents' house. Before going in the joint for a five-year stretch necessitated by a botched $10,000 bet on the Buffalo Bills, Billy told his parents he was married to a beautiful woman and worked a secure, government job. Lies, all lies, and upon his release, he promptly kidnaps Layla (Ricci) and forces her (well, sort of forces her -- she seems liable to go along with anything) to pretend she's his better half. After a protracted and Lynchian nightmare meeting with his family, the pair split up briefly while Billy goes in search of the Bills place-kicker who lost that long-ago bet for him. But the real crux of Gallo's film is the reconciliation with one's childhood, and, sentimental thug that Gallo is, the search for Love. Gallo populates the film with the oddest of oddballs, least of which is naif Billy. Ricci, batting .400, pulls off yet another delicious, subversive turn, while Gazzara and Huston are everybody's Hell Parents: Billy's mom has never forgiven him for being born during the Buffalo Bill's only Superbowl win, and his old man (the title fits him like the sweaty white T-shirt he wears) couldn't care less about him. Comedy is birthed of tragedy, I know, but this is ... ouch. Gallo packs the film with odd, endearing flourishes that detract a bit from the storyline but add to the overall whole: his father, crooning an old love song to Ricci, Billy's mildly retarded buddy Goon (Corrigan, of all people) who only wants to be called Rocky, and the whole, hyper-seedy look of the picture that makes you want to scrub with bleach once you get home. In the end, it's a love story after all, but a peculiarly Gallocentric one -- cheap, nasty, but salvageable nonetheless. (8/7/98 Trees Lounge DIRECTED BY: Steve Buscemi REVIEWED: 12-18-96 Indie acting stalwart Steve Buscemi tries his hand at writing and directing. The result is this odd episodic tale of a terminal loser (Buscemi) in suburban New Jersey. Our hero hangs out in a bar, gets a job as an ice cream truck driver and hangs out in a bar some more. That's about it. Guest stars (Debi Mazur, Samuel L. Jackson, Chloe Sevigny) liven up the proceedings occasionally. As far as comedies go, it's pretty depressing. More like a Tom Waits song come to life than a full-blown Bukowskism, though. Movie Quotes for Trees Lounge (1996): Tommy: If I win, I get to take you home. If you win, you can go home with me. Crystal: What kind of deal is that, huh? I don't know it doesn't make sense to me. Tommy: It's a good deal. It's a good deal for me! Marie: You don't go to work every day. You go to a bar every day. Tommy: He's a little old man. Can't you take some of the wrinkles out? You've given birth to Mr. Magoo. Steve Buscemi (Director / Writer / Tommy Basilio) Steve Buscemi, a Brooklyn native, is a veteran of American independent film. His career began in the early 80's when he collaborated with friend and fellow actor / writer Mark Boone Junior on numerous theater pieces. It was during this time that director Bill Sherwood spotted him and cast him as a musician with AIDS in "Parting Glances." Other film roles followed. In 1989, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his role in Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train." Three years later, he won that award for his landmark portrayal of "Mr. Pink" in Quentin Tarantino's debut film, "Reservoir Dogs." Buscemi has consistently worked with some of the finest directors in the film industry including Martin Scorsese ("New York Stories") and the Coen brothers ("Miller's Crossing,""Barton Fink," Fargo"). In 1995 alone, Buscemi enjoyed success in three feature films: Tom DiCillo's critically acclaimed "Living in Oblivion" (Sony Pictures Classics); Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado" (Columbia) with Antonio Banderas; and "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," directed by Gary Fleder for Miramax. Earlier this year, Buscemi again received critical acclaim for his role in Joel and Ethan Coen's "Fargo" (Gramercy). He can be seen in John Carpenter's "Escape from L.A." and is currently shooting "Con Air" with Nicholas Cage, due out in 1997. Buscemi first tried his hand at writing and directing for film with a short entitled "What Happened to Pete," in which he also starred, which aired on Bravo. "Trees Lounge" marks Buscemi's feature film writing and directorial debut. Chloe Sevigny (Debbie) In 1995, Chloe Sevigny launched her career in the critically acclaimed, highly controversial film "Kids," directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine for Miramax. "Trees Lounge," in which she plays Debbie, Tommy Basilio's 17-year-old carefree girlfriend, is her second feature film. She's next set to shoot a cameo for "Gummo," written and directed by Harmony Korine, for which Chloe will also serve as costume designer. Tommy Basilio (Steve Buscemi) is a 31-year-old barfly, an unemployed auto mechanic with quick wits and a huge chip on his shoulder. A master of verbal repartee, he spends most nights at his favorite bar, Trees Lounge, hunched over a shot of Wild Turkey or trying to pick up one-night stands. When he loses his pregnant girlfriend (Elizabeth Bracco) to his best friend and former boss (Anthony LaPaglia), he makes an attempt to put his life back together. He finds temporary salvation driving his deceased uncle's ice cream truck, but gets dangerously close to his 17-year-old helper, Debbie (Chloe Sevigny). Lessons aren't learned easily by Tommy, but he does find a disturbing truth about himself in the last place he expected, Trees Lounge. With a cast that also includes Mark Boone Junior, Eszter Balint, Carol Kane, Daniel Baldwin, and Mimi Rogers with special appearances by Debi Mazar, Seymour Cassel and Samuel L. Jackson, TREES LOUNGE marks Steve Buscemi's feature film debut as a writer/director. The film is executive produced by Nick Wechsler and Julie Silverman Yorn, produced by Chris Hanley and Brad Wyman, and co-produced by Kelley Forsyth and Sarah Vogel. LIVE Entertainment will release TREES LOUNGE in October, 1996.

http://www.austin360.com/enter/movies/search/search.htm wow, Autumn was right---something she told me some time ago: you really DO only have to type it (web address) in and it becomes a highlighted link. Feel like I just stepped into Alice's Wonderland (there must be a magic mirror or rabbit hole around here someplace). I guess this means I can from now on unconditionally trust Autumn with everything she says that I would have barely even preconsciously started to come alive to and possibly dimly conjectured over or vaguely speculated about.

�visciously rummaging through a dictionary in search of meaning�

Jim, if I could just get you to repeat that last part for my husband... (by the way I LOVE Tom Waits)

Oh, by the way Jim, are you as knowledgeable with art as with movies? Terry posted a painting into the 20th century arts topic earlier today - an interesting, strange work - but neither of us can make out who the painter is, or what the history around the painting is. I maintain that something bothers me about it, and I don't know what, and it would be immensely helpful to us if somebody knew something about the painting. And you are quite welcome to stay once you're there. Terry is there, Wer, Autumn Wolf, Nan, and there are some other interesting people coming as well. There's an art gallery for our/our children's art - I still remember how you once talked about innocence, and the children's art in the picture gallery topic is just fabulous! Then there are discussions about arts from the different movements and periods, with pictures coming in for them, which we will then discuss more in detail. The whole thing is turning into great fun. Please come - and more often; we all miss you, I'm sure.

Hi, Autumn!!!

Hey, girl, you're on awfully late, aren't you??

Uh, Autumn, be ready for things at home to be gettin' a whole lot better very very soon, cuz I believe your husband is really startin' to come around now. He only a minute ago emailed me this website (it has all Tom's lyrics, some interviews, and some other TW links)---I took a song and an interview off of it for you, though you probably been there, seen & done that: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7587/start.html (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night Well you gassed her up Behind the wheel With your arm around your sweet one In your Oldsmobile Barrelin' down the boulevard You're looking for the heart of Saturday night And you got paid on Friday And your pockets are jinglin' And you see the lights You get all tinglin' cause you're cruisin' with a 6 And you're looking for the heart of Saturday night Then you comb your hair Shave your face Tryin' to wipe out ev'ry trace All the other days In the week you know that this'll be the Saturday You're reachin' your peak Stoppin' on the red You're goin' on the green 'Cause tonight'll be like nothin' You've ever seen And you're barrelin' down the boulevard Lookin' for the heart of Saturday night Tell me is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin? Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin Is it the barmaid that's smilin' from the corner of her eye? Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. Makes it kind of quiver down in the core 'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before And now you're stumblin' You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night Well you gassed her up And you're behind the wheel With your arm around your sweet one In your Oldsmobile Barrellin' down the boulevard, You're lookin' for the heart of Saturday night Is the crack of the poolballs, neon buzzin? Telephone's ringin'; it's your second cousin And the barmaid is smilin' from the corner of her eye Magic of the melancholy tear in your eye. Makes it kind of special down in the core And you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before It's found you stumblin' Stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night And you're stumblin' Stumblin onto the heart of Saturday night Playboy Interview (1988) 20 questions Most people know singer-songwriter Tom Waits as the poet of late-night metropolitan areas, the bard of smoky lounges and cue-ball moons. But lately, Waits has been experimenting, both on his past three albums, which have included songs nailed together from pieces of 'found sound"--deafening jackhammers, sirens, strains of an Irish jig--and as an actor ("The Cotton Club," "Down by Law," ' "Ironweed"). Writer Steve OBey showed up at a favorite Waits hangout, a seedy caff on the fringes of downtown L.A. "Waits, now 37, arrived looking wild-haired and mystic eyed and dressed in a parson's black suit and tie," he reports. "He was insistent upon talking into a tape recorder for fear of being misquoted, but he began the conversation with the warning, 'I'm going to pull your string from time to time.'" 1. PLAYBOY: In spite of the fact that your albums have won you a loyal following, your work is rarely heard on the radio. What kind of payola do you think it would take to get disc jockeys in Des Moines to play a few cuts from Franks Wild Years? WAITS: Send them some frozen Cornish game hens. That would probably do the trick. Or maybe some Spencer steaks. The people who succeed today essentially write jingles. It's an epidemic. Even worse are artists aligning themselves with various products, everything from Chrysler-Plymouth to Pepsi. I don't support it. I hate it. So there. 2. PLAYBOY: Early in your career, some of your songs--for instance, Ol' '55, which the Eagles covered--became hits, and almost all of them, no matter how unconventional, relied upon pretty melodies. But lately--especially on your past three albums -- you've moved from hummable tunes to what you call "organized noise." Why? WAITS: I was cutting off a very small piece of what I wanted to do. I wasn't getting down the things I was really hearing and experiencing. Music with a lot of strings gets like Perry Como after a while. It's why I don't really work with the piano much anymore. Like, anybody who plays the piano would thrill at seeing and hearing one thrown off a 12-story building, watching it hit the sidewalk and being there to hear that thump. It's like school. You want to watch it burn. 3. PLAYBOY; To create a marketable pop song, do you have to sell out? WAITS: Popular music is like a big party, and it's a thrill sneaking in rather than being invited. Every once in a while, a guy with his shirt on inside out, wearing lipstick and a pillbox hat, gets a chance to speak. I've always been afraid I was going to tap the world on the shoulder for 20 years and when it finally turned around, I was going to forget what I had to say. I was always afraid I was going to do something in the studio and hate it, put it out, and it was going to become a hit. So I'm neurotic about it. 4. PLAYBOY: Who was Harry Partch, and what did he mean to you? WAITS: He was an innovator. He built all his own instruments and kind of took the American hobo experience and designed instruments from ideas he gathered trayelirig around the United States in the Thirties and Forties. He used a pump organ and industrial water bottles, created enormous marimbas. He died in the early Seventies, but the .Harry Partch Ensemble still performs at festivals. It's a little arrogant to say I see a relationship between his stuff and mine. I'm very crude, but I use things we hear around us all the time, built and found instruments-things that aren't normally considered instruments: dragging a chair across the floor or hitting the side of a locker real hard with a two-by-four, a freedom bell, a brake drum with a major imperfection, a police bullhorn. h's more interesting. You know, I don't like straight lines. The problem is that most instruments are square and music is always round. 5. PLAYBOY: Considering your predispositions, which modern artists do you like to listen to? WAITS: Prince. He's out there. He's uncompromising. He's a real fountainhead. Takes dangerous chances. He's androgynous, wicked, voodoo. The Replacements have a great stance. They like distortion. Their concerts are like insect rituals. I like a lot of rap stuff, because it's real, immediate. Generally, I like things as they begin, because the industry tears at you. Most artists come out the other side like a dead carp. 6. PLAYBOY: What do you think of when you hear the name Barry Manilow? WAITS: Expensive furniture and clothes that you don't feel good in. 7. PLAYBOY: In your musical career, you've tried to retain maximum creative control; yet within the past few years, you've become more and more involved in the most collaborative of all media, theater and film. What's the attraction? WAITS: It's thrilling to see the insanity of all these people brought together like this life-support system to create something that's really made out of smoke. The same thing draws me to it that draws me to making records--you fashion these things and ideas into your own monster.It's making dreams. I like that. 8. PLAYBOY: In Ironweed, you worked with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. What did you learn from them? WAITS: Nicholson's a consummate storyteller. He's like a great bard. He says he knows about beauty parlors and trainyards and everything in between. You can learn a lot from just watching him open a window or tie his shoes. It's great to be privy to those things. I watched everything-watched them build characters from pieces of things in people they have known. It's like they build a doll from Grandmother's mouth and Aunt Betty's walk and Ethel Merman's posture, then they push their own truthful feelings through that exterior. They're great at it. 9. PLAYBOY: Have there been musical benefits from involvement in theater and film? WAITS: Just that I'm more comfortable stepping into characters in songs. On Franks Wild Years, I did it in I'll Take New York and Straight to the Top. I've learned how to be different musical characters without feeling like I'm eclipsing myself. On the contrary, you discover a whole family living inside you. 10. PLAYBOY: Three years ago, you made much ado about leaving Los Angeles for Manhattan. You praised New York as "a great town for shoes," but now you're back in California. What happened? WAITS: I was developing tourette syndrome. I was blurting out obscenities in the middle of Eighth Avenue. I turned into an eraserhead. But it's been arrested. With research, there is hope. 11. PLAYBOY: If you were to give a tour of L.A., what sights would you include? WAIts: Let's see. For chicken, I suggest the Red Wing Hatchery near Tweedy Lane in south central L.A. We're talking both fryers and ritual chickens. Hang one over the door to keep out evil spirits; the other goes on your plate with paprika. For your other shopping needs, try B.C.D. Market on Temple. Best produce in town; also good pig knuckles, always important in your dining plans. Ask for Bruce. Below the Earth, on Hill Street, is the best Spot for female impersonators; then you're going to want to be looking into those pickled eggs at the Frolic Room, by the bus station. Guy behind the bar has the same birthday as me, and his name is Tom. Finally, you have to take in Bongo Bean, who plays the sax on the sidewalk in front of the Hotel Figueroa. We're talking Pennies from Heaven time. Bongo is tall, good-looking, there most every night. Accept no substitutes. 12. PLAYBOY: While L.A. may be your stomping grounds, your other great love is the wee-hours world of America's big cities. From all your travels, what have been your favorite dives? WAITS: The Sterling Hotel, in Cleveland. Great lobby. Good place to sit with the old men and watch Rock Hudson movies. Then there's the Wilmont Hotel, in Chicago. The woman behind the desk, her son's the Marlboro man. There's the Alamo Hotel, in Austin, Texas, where I rode in an elevator one night with Sam Houston Johnson. He spit tobacco juice into a cup while we talked. Let's see: The Swiss American Hotel is San Francisco's insane asylum. The Paradise Motel, right here on Sunset in L.A. It's nice in the summer when there's a carnival across the street. And, oh, the Taft. I think they're a chain. You can probably get off a train in just about any town, get into a taxi and say, "Take me to the Taft Hotel" and wind up somewhere unsavory. Yeah, say, "Take me to the Taft, and step on it." 13. PLAYBOY: Despite your reputation and songs that glorify hard living-and carousing, you've been married seven years and have two children. How do you balance your domestic and creative lives? WAITS: My wife's been great. I've learned a lot from her. She's Irish Catholic. She's got the whole dark forest living inside of her. She pushes me into areas I would not go, and I 'd say that a lot of the things I'm trying to do now, she's encouraged. And the kids? Creatively, they're astonishing. The way they draw, you know? Right off the page and onto the wall. It's like you wish you could be that open. 14. PLAYBOY: Do you do all-American-dad things, such as go to Disneyland? WAIT: Disneyland is Vegas for children. When I went with the kids, I just about had a stroke. It's the opposite of what they say it is. It's not a place to nurture the imagination. It's just a big clearance sale for useless items. I'm not going back, and the kids won't be allowed to return until they're 18, out of the house. And even then, I would block their decision. 15. PLAYBOY: Your songwriting technique is very unusual. Instead of sitting down at a piano or synthesizer, you hole up alone somewhere with nothing but a tape recorder. Why do you work that way? WAITS: I don't want to sound spiritual, but I try to make an antenna out of myself, a lightning rod out of myself, so whatever is out there can come in. It happens in different places, in hotels, in the car--when someone else is driving. I bang on things, slap the wall, break things--what-ever is in the room. There are all these things in the practical world that you deal with on a practical level, and you don't notice them as anything but what you need them to be. But when I'm writing, all these things turn into something else, and I see them differently~almost like I've taken a narcotic. Somebody once said I'm not a musician but a tonal engineer. I like that. It's kind of clinical and primitive at the same time. 16. PLAYBOY: While you may strive for musical crudity, lyrically you're quite sophisticated~interior rhymes, classical allusions and your hallmark, a great ear for the vernacular. In a sense, you're the William Safire of street patois, rescuing such phrases as walking Spanish--inebriated saunter--and even coining some pretty good lingo of your own, such as rain dogs: stray people who, like animals after a shower, can't find their markings and wander aimlessly. What are some of your other favorite bits of slang, phrases you'd like to see get more everyday use? WAITS: For starters, I'd like to see the term wooden kimono return to the lexicon. Means coffin. Think it originated in New Orleans, but I'm not certain. Another one I like is wolf tickets, which means bad news, as in someone who is bad news or generally insubordinate. In a sentence, you'd say, "Don't fuck with me, I'm passing out wolf tickets." Think it's either Baltimore Negro or turn-of-the-century railroadese. There's one more. Don't know where it came from, but I like it: Saturdaynightitis. Now, it's what happens to your arm when you hang it around a chair all night at the movies or in some bar, trying to make points with a pretty girl. When your arm goes dead from that sort of action, you've got Saturdaynightitis. 17. PLAYBOY: You have said that you'd rather hear music over a crackly AM car radio than over the best sound system. What's the matter with a good CD player? WAITS: I like to take music out of the environment it was grown in. I guess I'm always aware of the atmosphere that I'm listening to something in as much as I am of what I'm listening to. It can influence the music. It's like listening to Mahalia Jackson as you drive across Texas. That's different from hearing her in church. It's like taking a Victrola into the jungle, you know? The music then has an entirely different quality. You integrate it into your world and it doesn't become the focus of it but a condiment. It becomes the sound track for the film that you're living. 18. PLAYBOY: Your score for One from the Heart was nominated for an Oscar. Did you enjoy writing it enough to try another? WAITS: Working on One from the Heart was almost a Brill Building approach to song-writing--sitting at a piano in an office, writing songs like jokes. I had always had that fantasy, so I jumped at the chance to do it. I've been offerred other films, but I've turned 'em down. The director comes to you and says, "Here, I've got this thing here, this broken toy." And in some cases, he says, "Can you fix it?" Or maybe he just wants interior decorating or a haircut. So you have to be sure you're the right man for the job. Sort of like being a doctor. Rest in bed; get plenty of fluids. 19. PLAYBOY: You've remarked that Franks' Wild Years is the end of a musical period for you, the last part of a trilogy of albums that began with Swordfishtrombones. Have you turned a corner? Is this album your last experimentation with the scavenger school of songwriting? WAITS: I don't know if I turned a corner, but I opened a door. I kind of found a new seam. 1 threw rocks at the window. l'm not as frightened by technology maybe as I used to be. On the past three albums, l was exploring the hydrodynamics of my own peculiarities. I don't know what the next one will be. Harder, maybe louder. Things are now a little more psychedelic for me, and they're more ethnic. I'm looking toward that part of music that comes from my memories, hearing Los Tres Aces at the Continental Club with my dad when I was a kid. 20. PLAYBOY: How far would you go to avoid getting a star on Hollywood Boulcvard? WAITS: I don't think it works that way. It's pretty much that you pay for it. I'm not big on awards. They're just a lot of headlights stapled to your chest, as Bob l)ylan said. I've gotten only one award in my life, from a place called Club Tenco in Italy. They gave me a guitar made out of tiger-eye. Club Tenco was created as an alternative to the big San Remo Festival they have every year. It's to commemorate the death of a big singer whose name was Tenco and who shot himself in the heart because he'd lost at the San Remo Festival. For a while, it was popular iu Italy for singers to shoot themselves in the heart. That's my award.

Jim, you just made my night. That is one of the best interviews with anyone that I've ever read, and "Heart of Sat. Night" is one of my all-time favorites Have you seen "Ironweed"??? I read the book several years ago (excellent!), but didn't know it was a movie--Tom Waits and Jack Nicholson sound like perfect casting to me. (Imagine Ratso Rizzo in the 30s.) thank you thank you thank you

Tom Waits...hmmmm....wasn't he the guy in Dukes of Hazard, uh, Luke?

Bite your tongue, Wolf!!

sorry....who is he then? any pics? huh huh huh?

In another interview, Tom said he looks at your pics every night, Wolfie---I think it was the one in Time magazine.....in the next breath, he even said he looks at alotta different pics of Luke, too, quite regularly. You're welcome welcome welcome, Autumn. Now you know how my EVERY day is when I read any of your responses anywhere. If you could be a professional responder, you'd be awesome. I mean the JOB would be awesome, you'd just be Autumn all year long as you always are.....you'd be a big piece of the truth, you'd fall with the leaves and turn colors in people's minds, you'd be awesome awesome awesome. Only seen a couple minutes of the end of "Ironweed", and it was on some tiny TV in a bar cafe in Kentucky while passin' thru (on my way for Quebec), lookin' fer gas, food, and Namibian chicks, if ya know what I mean. Haven't read the book. The book about stray Namibian chicks, rain dogs they were, actually, who kinda got lost in Kentucky? Naw, not that book, the book called "Ironweed" is the one I still ain't read---the Kentucky Namibian rain dog chicks book I most certainly HAVE read, and it knocked me off ma butt....had to read the whole thing standin' up---nuthin' like it, nuthin' like it, nope, nuthin' even close. Ummm, and Ratso Rizzo in the 30's would sure have my midnight cowboy back up on his horse, alright.

And will he be galloping over to the Arts conference every once in a while?

Jim, I'm laughing so hard I'm going to fall off my chair! Wolf, back up to response 315 and click on the highlighted website for a peek at Tom Waits...

cool, thanks!

been there and boy was i waaaaaaay off! thanks for straightening that 'un out *smile*

Haven't seen a movie since the Wedding Singer... keep trying to get to a cheapo flick but the times are all wonky. For instance... 7:15 is a perfect movie time. AFTER dinner but you're out in time to get to bed early. 9pm... after dinner and late enough that you could throw a load or two of laundry in beforehand, dig a garden and plant the potted flowers that have been hanging around for three days now, hand wash all of the dinner dishes, etc. etc. But 6:15?!?! No time to go home and change clothing, nevermind grab a bite to eat (a dinner of popcorn, soda and Junior Mints does NOT sit well for long). And 10:15?!?!?! I can't even hold my head up after 11:30 unless I'm completely jacked up on sugar and caffeine, in which case I cannot sit still to watch a movie... Ahhhh... life has become so complicated... (Jim, gave to see you have the SPRING in your step once again!)

Stace, good to see all that expensive electricity zippin' around in your house now. I think that in Colorado it's at 8:20 they show their unwonkable cheapies, and the audiences don't really feel quite right unless you're there with them, all pinballed out. You're funny, though, to watch, doin' all those things you do around the house, fitting everything in somehow....it's an intense action flick.

Electricity isn't quite zooming about the house yet...(I'm at work) it's more like zoming. No more surges but no capacity yet either... Hmmm... me as an action flick!?!? I think I'm more comfortable with me as a Discovery channel documentary feature... sandwiched between coverage of last year's Iron Man late finishers (the tearjerker tales) and Shark Week!

can you go on saturdays?

That's Stacey's Everest climbing day, Wolf!

*laugh* ...(bemused) now that WOULD be a great way to spend a Saturday! bummer it takes an average of four weeks to ascend (safely) to the final pre summit camp...

I just say "There's something about Mary" and it's the film of the year. If you haven't seen it, then go because it's just hilarious. One of the best films I've ever seen, without a doubt!

really? my husband and i guffawed through the previews of this film when we went to watch the x files. we laughed soooooo loud. i think it was the little dog that did it.

it's so good, i'd go so far as to call it the Film of the Year!

Saw Pi a couple of weekends ago... Fantastic, truly inspiring of (and inspired by) some freaky dreams. A premise that we've all touched on at one time or another.

yeah, that's a film i'd love to see...waiting for it to come out over here...

Pi? as in the algebraic 3.14---- used to calculate area of a circle kind of pi? what sort of movie was this? i've, obviously, never heard of it! as for movies i've been watching-ummmm, been catching up with cinemax, lemme think here.... The Beautician and The Beast Solo Dave Picture Perfect Fools Rush In Conspiracy Theory just to name a few.....

Pi (1998) ---reviewed by James Berardinelli RATING: *** OUT OF **** United States, 1998 U.S. Release Date: 7/10/98 (limited) Running Length: 1:25 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Violence, profanity) Cast: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart, Stephen Pearlman, Samia Shoaib Director: Darren Aronofsky Producer: Eric Watson Screenplay: Darren Aronofsky Cinematography: Matthew Ubatique Music: Clint Mansell U.S. Distributor: Live Entertainment PI, the letter, is a character in the Greek alphabet roughly equivalent to the English "p." PI, the mathematical notation, is commonly used to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. PI, the movie, is Darren Aronofsky's debut feature (and the winner of a directing award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival), an independent science fiction thriller that combines questions about God and infinity with the personal struggle of one man to regain control of his life. PI is actually the second low-budget, no-effects science fiction movie I have seen this year. The other, Hilary Brougher's THE STICKY FINGERS OF TIME, will be released by Strand Releasing during the Fall. I must admit to liking the approach embraced by PI and STICKY because the monetary limitations have spawned creative scripts with unique solutions. Without ILM and a $100 million budget to fall back upon, film makers who venture into this arena must be prepared to truly engage the minds of their audiences instead of relying upon a DTS sound system and state of the art visuals to generate oohs and aahs. PI is the story of Max Cohen (ably portrayed by Sean Gullette), a computer geek with a genius for mathematics. Socially, Max is completely inept. Aside from occasionally showing off his arithmetic abilities to a girl who lives in his apartment building, he avoids all human contact, including any interaction with his attractive next door neighbor (Samia Shoaib), who shows an interest in him. Max lives by three basic principles: (1) mathematics is the language of nature, (2) everything can be represented and understood through numbers, and (3) there are patterns in nature. His objective is to use his home-built supercomputer, Euclid, to analyze the patterns in the financial markets to predict the exact performance of every stock. During the course of his studies, he encounters a mysterious string of 216 digits, and, when a Jewish numerologist (Ben Shenkman) becomes aware of this, he confides in Max that "the pattern in the Torah is 216 digits," and this discovery may hold the key to unlocking God's true name. Max, who doesn't believe in God, is more interested when his mentor (Bark Margolis) reveals that he once encountered a "bug" of 216 digits when he was investigating pi. Max's mathematical brilliance comes at a price, however: he has frequent, debilitating headaches and seizures that send him into a bizarre state of consciousness. During those episodes, he encounters people who stalk him then disappear, and, on one occasion, he discovers a brain lying on the ground in a New York City subway station. The key to Max's genius and pain appears to be a mark on his skull, and, perhaps in order to eliminate the one, he must sacrifice the other. Although the plot of PI is eccentric (even for a science fiction effort), Aronofsky's message is actually quite simple: life does not fit into neat patterns, and complete control is impossible. Oddly, this is also the underlying premise of the two JURASSIC PARK movies, proving that certain concepts are universal. However, the central theme is only one of many fascinating subjects tapped into by the screenplay. For example, Max's quest to use numerical patterns to model every aspect of the universe reveals some interesting facts about the Hebrew language. (In Hebrew, all letters have a numerical equivalent. The number for "man" is 3. The number for "woman" is 41. 41+3=44, which is the number for "child.") In addition to all of its intellectually-stimulating aspects, PI also works as a character study of an obsessed individual whose single-minded goal blinds him to everything else, including health, friendship, love, and even sanity. Aronofsky elected to shoot the film in black-and-white, which lends a dream-like atmosphere to all of the proceedings. PI transports us to a world that is like yet unlike our own, and, in its mysterious familiarity, is eerie, intense, and compelling. Reality is a fragile commodity, but, because the script is well-written and the central character is strongly developed, it's not hard to suspend disbelief. As the movie draws to a conclusion, it perhaps becomes a little too ambitious in trying to unify all the great questions of existence. At that point, PI slides with only limited success into an exploration of metaphysics and spirituality. Nevertheless, I prefer movies that take risks like this, even when they're flawed, to those that try for a safe, formula-driven resolution. So, while I didn't necessarily buy everything that transpired in the final fifteen minutes, I was surprised by much of it, and Aronofsky never lost my attention. For anyone who wants a movie to feed their intelligence and imagination more than their eyes and ears, PI is a solid choice. It probably deserves 3.1416 stars, but since my scale doesn't support that, I'll round it off to three.

I didn't like Pi. It was just too aberrant. I liked Pi. It was just so experimental and mentally inciting. Wanna see his next film, this Aronofsky guy, the director---and it's called "Proteus"---comes out next year. The main character was going insane---did he actually pound a nail in his head? (maybe that was just another hallucination)---I felt like the whole movie was forcing more and more water into this balloon, and ya knew it was gonna burst. Some of the scenes bored me more than anything, like the jewish cabalistic run-ins and the visits to the mentor....they dragged, for me---but they spread the movie out some. But the movie was just so different, I was willing to put up with alot. I wanted to see how he (Aronofsky) would make each spot in the film circumstantial---the atmospherics, the pacing, the intensity, how sound mixed with facial expressions and the angles his cameras got and then what that would lead to next....and I really liked the most bizarre sequences. At least his main character was real convincing and stuff.

Thanks for posting the review Jom, I sure as hell couldn't have explained it that well! I don't think he actually shot a nail into his head but the symbolism sure came screaming through (that scene triggered a very loud reactionary inhale from me!)

ok, i watched Protocol Wind yeah, big whoopdeedoo, but that's how i spent my columbus day (oh, not to mention the 4 hours in the courthouse for jury selection and then told to come back Wed-same bat time, same bat place--and they only picked 6--and held trial, what's up with that? isn't a jury made up of 12 members?)

Were they playing just half-court? I dunno how just that is, but if they only had one basket case to shoot at......oh and look at that ball sail----SWISH!----it's another 3-pointer for that one jurist who can't seem to put up a shot that misses----would that be what's up with that....? Hope ya get to play on Wednesday. Show 'em some woman-to-man defense that'll put all the attorneys on notice about their zones and their pick-and-rolls. It can be a very effective defense to use, or to watch from the bench or the stands or the jury box. Post pictures of any of your slam dunks, especially if it's a game winner, Wolfie.

well, this little wolf wasn't selected as a juror. the last dude just pleaded guilty. probably saw the big wolfie teefers i sport and figured he had a better chance in jail!

I saw the judge slow-dancing with the court reporter. The guilty party got 8 hours of community work: but the party lasted 10 hours and everyone at the trial was invited. You elected not to go, Wolfie?

Star Trek was last night but I saw ANTZ on Saturday night. Loved it! Much more adult in its humor than A Bug's Life and just as fascinating witht he graphics... all computer generated?!?!?

Saw A Bug's Life and loved it! oh, and to catch up on my cinemax movie going, recently watched: The Devil's Advocate Addicted To Love (luv meg ryan and matthew broderick--he's so cute!) The Edge In & Out well, that's the extent of my movie reviews so far. hopefully i'll be able to catch up during this holiday break (yeah, i actually got one)!

Oh Wolf, I LOVED In & Out! What did you think?!?!

it was hilarious! especially with tom selleck as the reporter! haha. i really liked the woman who played klein's fiance'. what's her name again? the part after her non-wedding when she goes to the bar!! (btw: hi stacey!)

Hi Wolf! That was Joan Cusack (John Cusack's sister)

YES!! She was so funny in this.....

she's always a gas!

Hurly burly ... quite the Penn performance certainly gets you thinking about lotsa random shit that you shouldn't necessarily be thinking about. Note to Mike: DO NOT go see this movie... could be as catastrophic as reading the Razor's Edge while depressed.

Last night I saw Shawshank Redemption. Pretty incredible film, although I turned away for some parts (not good to see men hanging themselves at the moment...)

i liked 'shawshank' a great deal... the bit with the music over the intercom will stay with me forever, i think... saw 'thin red line' last night... was even more disturbing than i thought it would be... not sure if the whole was the equal of the parts, but all in all it was superb... was a little bizarre, for me, witnessing this film in a theater filled with (pacifist, commie-leaning, largely godless) canadians... some of the people around me made comments during the film pertaining to what they perceived as the violent natures we yanks possess... didn't say anything, but it bothered me (felt sort of like the chris eigamen (msp.) character at the party in 'barcelona', if anyone's seen it)...

we saw 'wilde' last night (saw it at the hollywood theatre, an old venue downtown, and the house was nearly packed, which is a little curious, considering that this film is out on video in the next few days)... the film was a little uneven, i suppose... and perhaps a little tedious in places, for those not among oscar's admirers... i loved it, though... steven frye was simply wonderful, everything i've imagined oscar was... the scenes in prison were devestating, esp. the visit from his wife... (looked over at that point and paula was crying... not me though, i swear)... only criticism i would offer was that the film didn't feature enough of his work, or even a good enough sense of it... i suppose the makers of this film figured (rightly, i'm sure) that those in attendence would pretty much already be persuaded of oscar's greatness... still would've been nice to have seen more of it rendered... while flawed, 'wilde' was, all in all, an honest, elegant, and quite beautiful film (much like the man himself)...

I just saw "Pi". Incredible. Go and see it *immediately*.

ok

civil action....not on my top ten....no incentive for the characters.....didn't understand why we had to go through all that and then get the ending we got.....

because it was a true story, i imagine (that's why i'm not planning to see it... sounds like such a downer) (you doing okay?) (thinking bout going to see... something... maybe 'shakespeare in love again'... if i can get my lazy ass going)

I just came back from seeing "The Opposite of Sex". Quite a good film toward the end, but completely lame in the middle...I nearly fell asleep. Some good jokes. Worth the money? Probably not.

shakespeare in love was excellent! had never seen joseph fiennes before and he was good (as was gwyneth).... elizabeth was another stunner (jf in it too). never heard of the actress cate something but she was good. both of these films will be in my to-buy list! (nick-am doing well, homesick right now though)

saw "The Thin Red Line" last night... zzzzzzzzz....

Really? That bad?

not necessarily bad, just slow... made Titanic seem like a commercial break (got the impression it is probably one helluva book, though, something along the lines of Red Badge of Courage and Johnny Got His Gun...)

maybe they were trying to compete with tom hanks war film.....

At First Sight...moving parts but val talked like his teeth were too big for his mouth. he made the blind character seem retarded. not one of his best films. mira was good (but isn't she in everything she does?)....wait til it comes out on video....

saw City of Angels on satellite...

still haven't seen it.....

saw U-turn on satellite, as well... what a psychotic movie! (even for my tastes...)

that's the one with richard gere, right? i saw it too and it was bizarre...

last week we saw 'still crazy' (loved it... best film of the week)... and- even though as rule i detest action pictures... we saw 'enemy of the state'... (big fan of wil smith, and especially gene hackman... and this was a nice twist on his role from 'the conversation', if anyone's seen it)... it was a good film, weak in places, but overall worthwhile (and it has helped to politically energize paula, which is a welcome development)... also saw 'something about mary', for the third time (it was a weekend m dnight movie, and we were kind of bored... the theatre was actually two-thirds filled)... this week we're gonna see 'little voice' and 'life is beautiful', i think... oh, and the james whale picture, too, if we can find it (what's that called? can't seem to remember... with ian mckellan)... really looking forward to seeing some of those sundance films, hope it's not too awfully long before they're distributed...

am a fan of will smith too. but will probably wait for the video to come out. i'm not sure about the james whale picture. guess i don't keep track of directors!

'gods and monsters' (just remembered) (i think)

have seen that title a couple of times but no previews. what's it about?

Virus -- certianly not worth the big money, first run prices we paid last night.

just know it's about james whale, among my favorite directors from the thirties... (and the previews i've seen look excellent)

i'll have to look out for it then...

saw 'little voice', night before last... it was quite good, better than i thought it would be, actually... (and michael caine was amazing) (as always)

haven't heard of that one, either. saw gattica on max a few days ago. was interesting.

saw 'office space' friday... though i enjoyed the film (and it had tremendously funny moments), all in all it disappointed me... maybe because coming from mike judge, i expected so much... the film seemed...underdeveloped, i guess... cartoony, which isn't necessarily bad... just a little unsatisfying... (best scene- interview with the bobs- 'and what is YOUR favorite michael bolton tune?') thursday, we finally saw gods and monsters... it was quite fine, very moving, worth the wait... best of all, we saw it in a beautiful old theater, as the front end of a double feature...with bride of frankenstein... always wanted to see it on the big screen, and it was wonderful...

whereabout in Seattle do you live now?

wait, i forgot, who's in office space? (and i'm still waiting to see contact and city of angels)...oh, caught murder of the crows with cuba gooding jr., good flick....

just got done watching "Devil's Advocate," enjoyed it more than one should, probably... definately very intriguing...

I thought that was indeed a fantastic movie... oh man guys... we found a new dollar theatre (since they closed out old one down!) not only does it have a working pinball machine... the tickets are 50 cents!!! (popcorn and cokes are still outrageously expensive but 50 cents for tickets!! We saw Enemy of the State... okay... high action which I enjoyed but very contrived and kinda missing pieces a lot had to be assumed and a lot didn't jive but for 50 cents!!!!????? I'd see it again.

Lucky Stacey. They just closed down the last discount theater in South Austin. The only ones are now in the northern 'burbs and can't be reached by bus. Matinees are now $4, which enters the "is it worth it?" price zone. You can see anything for $1.50, ya know what I mean? Alamo Drafthouse downtown (Colorado between 4th and 5th)has $2 movies and food and beer. "Waterboy" is playing there now. Might go see it if it's there next weekend. Nothing wrong with a little stoopid fun.

certianly nothing wrong with that (a little stoopid fun!) sympathies for the ridiculous movie prices...

saw In Dreams lastnight for 50 cents!!!!! woo woo! Horrible camera guy... kept seeing the microphone drop into scenes from the top. Unbelieveable. Like a spoof The movie was okay. Robert Downey Jr. plays a fabulous psycho. So does Annette Benning for that matter. But the microphone holder (does he have a real name/title) sucked and it kept breaking the spell.

he would be the best boy or gaffer, methinks.

well he was the WORST best boy and somebody shoulda gaffed him with the damn mic!

*lol* it was the director who shoulda told him to keep his mike outta the frame! they probably couldn't edit it out once they noticed it there. maybe they figured others would be so engrossed they'd not have time to notice details!

I almost always notice when someone's mike is stuck where it doesn't belong, especially when it's out in plain sight, Wolf...

it's a deal killer...

*smile*

*lol*

on the plane... at first sight pleasantville at the cheapo theatre while jet lagging... a civil action in Germany... Gattaca (dubbed) oh yeah... I forgot the other plane movie was Star Trek Insurrection...

and the not-so-plane movies were?

cute... they were mostly plain...

thanks... oh...

i saw Star Trek on the plane, too

where were you going?

new york