As Eric and I enter the domain known as KLBJ, we found a rather small recording studio, without much decorating anything. They show me to one of those high directing chairs, and then push a strange alien riding microphone in front of my face. The whole time Debra and Dudley(or maybe it's Bob) are talking, doing there morning show bits, then the traffic, then they start my segment which went fast, and was over in about 10 minutes, and then bam! I'm outta there.

Then when I sit in Eric's car my zipper busts on my pants, exposing my gigantic pair of tenderhearts underwear. (Hey, no smartass remarks) I kinda pull my shirt down, and tell Eric to get me home, cause I forgot something. Once there I change and it was off to the festival!!!

The first seminar of the day was the DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS: HOW TO BRING A SCREENPLAY TO LIFE. With screenwriters: Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One), Joe Tropiano (The Big Night), Polly Platt (Pretty Baby). Pretty much a panel on exhamples of well thought out details in screenwriting, and how far is too far. For technical details you basically reduce it to the absolute most simple description or you cut it. Or if the technical detail is somehow instrumental, ie. to set up tension, anxiety, etc. Then it's cool. Andrew complimented Joe on the Timpani Preparation detailing in THE BIG NIGHT. Actually this panel wasn't that fantastic.

Then I had a panel on DON'T USE SO MUCH DIALOGUE: WRITING VISUALLY. With screenwriters: Ted Tally (Silence of the Lambs), Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven), Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) and Polly Platt (who has also been an amazing production designer, go look her up in www.imdb.com) Here they stressed the visual aspect of film making and story telling. Favorite bit was McQuarrie firing of on VOLCANO as an example of orally repeating visual details we are already aware of, and that serve no purpose in the moving along of the story. McQuarrie then got into talking about how the rules can be bent. That ultimately it's quality and good story telling suits and film makers want, not always format.

After this panel I went to the Awards Banquet and found myself eating artichoke heart salad (DELICIOUS) and a double order of delicious Red Snapper. I was eating with actual live film makers. It was amazing. Colin Fitz won Best Feature of the fest, along with an award for photography. This movie should be playing in the LA area around the end of OCTOBER, look for it, I'll try to have some details for ya. You don't wanna miss it, but more on Colin in his review.

After that Robert Bella, the film maker of Colin Fitz came over and wanted to shoot a bit of improv for the latest edit of Colin Fitz. He set me up on the balcony of the beautiful Driskill Hotel, wired me for sound, and we shot. He sent questions at me, and I responded. Bella (that's what his friends call him) seemed a little taken back by my instant creativity (which I have no idea how it'll play to a crowd) and will have this in the LA showing of the film. So you'll be able to see me, Harry Knowles, Head Geek, Fat Ass, on a screen in the city of angels. Coool.

After this, it was time to go do the Governor's Mansion to do the big schmooze fest and bar b que. I humped it over, to get there early so that I could eat in a relaxed fashion then schmooze if I wanted to. First off it was a grueling hike, I was wearing silk, so I was sweating like a square pig. Then I show up at the gates to the Governor's Mansion, the home of GEORGE BUSH JR. I began to feel like I was showing up at Montgomery Burn's house. I flash my invitation, and walk past security, who never checked my bag. I then deftly avoid schmoozers and made a B-line for the Bar-B-Que. I piled up sausage, brisket, turkey, beans, mashed potatoes, bread, more sausage, brisket, turkey and sausage and brisket. Did I mention Sausage. Yummmmmmmm. Governors' sure know how to get food cooked good.

I look around, and the crowd is still sparse, all the tables are exposed for massive amounts of interuptions while stuffing my face, so I head into the Rose Garden, and sit in the cast iron chair with a table in the shade. Protected by a hedge, I happily begin scarffing down my food. Then Paul Dini (God-like writer of the Batman Animated Series and Superman too) sits down to eat with me. Groovy.

Paul is an incredibly nice guy, makes me wish he lived in Austin, we could become good friends. We both share that same quasi-religious geek love for life. We end up talking endlessly about Star Wars, Singing Cowboys, Batman Animated Stuff and other very cool subjects. No, real scoops, just great conversing. Then Bud Shrake, famous writer guy, comes up complimenting me on the site. I'm a bit taken back, then this pair of schmoozers come up doing the real deep ass kissing as they try to talk me into seeing their film, while alternatingly talking up my site like it was the second coming of Christ. Paul has this really funny grin on his face as he sees my angst of dealing with these two.

Then Paul had to leave to do some sort of online chat thing in his Hotel Room, and I had to go meet the Beautiful Taline to go see Gattaca. Then on my way out I bump into Dennis Hopper. Hopper then begins talking about how great my site is, and so on. At this point my head pops. Now I know the site is read by alot of people, but come on man, this is the Man. The guy who told Walken he was part nigger in True Romance, the guy who planted the bomb on the bus in Speed, the guy in Rebel Without A Cause, the guy in about a billion movies including Blue Velvet, Easy Rider. This guy knew John Wayne for crissakes, he smoked pot with Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda and talked about Martians and stuff. And he was telling me how cool my site is? We live in strange times. Well I immediately begin geeking big time. And manage to calmly get my True Romance CD out and have him sign it for me. YES!!!! Coooooooooooooooool!!!!

I had to cut the conversation short and get my rear over to the Paramount to hook up with a groupie of mine, Taline. I manage to avoid 6 schmoozers that tried to attack with verbose discussions about this and that, and then hiked triple time over to my meeting place. Along the way, I'm trailed by a guy wanting to know about the SUPERMAN movies. So I tell him all I know as I continue to try to hook up with Taline. Sweat is once again pouring forth on this hot day. Finally the Superman guy goes away as I near the Paramount.

Taline arrives and we are off to see GATTACA. Now she is physically vibrating in a very very cute way. You see she is dying to see this film because she is determined to steal Ethan away from Uma. It's not a dream of hers, it's an inevitable reality that she will bring forth even if guns, knives, bombs, and other weapons are needed. She really really wants him. We strike a deal that she gets Ethan, if I get Uma. A fair bargain. As we arrive at the Austin Music Hall, and as I get out of the Taline love mobile, these two loyal geeks come over like Elvis has arrived. They have their camera and they want to take pictures with me. They are genuinely happy as hell to meet me. This is pretty cool. I haven't done too much of the pose for pictures bit with people, although this was the fifth of the day. So I decide to look as stuipid as possible, so they have something to know the true Harry by.

Then we enter the building. We grab our seats and sit back and wait. Taline is still vibrating, man she is really pumped to see Ethan. I begin internal giggling at her, and begin cutting down Ethan. She elbows me, ahhhhhhhh physical contact.

Finally the movie starts and well:

GATTACA

I thought the script was brilliant, a fantastic read, but the film was lackluster in my opinion. You know Fahrenheit 451, the movie? Well that is a slowly paced compelling film that involves you the viewer into their world. Gattaca is a slowly paced uncompelling film that does not involve you into their world. No in all fairness I hadn't slept in 54 hours when I saw this film, so the pacing might of been magnified.

There is some lovely photography in this, but I must say the green lit scenes are a disaister in my eyes. They are ugly and remind me of a set of ugly 1938 reissue lobby cards for FRANKENSTIEN that were an ugly green sepiatone. This film has problems. First off the performances are not compelling, could be this was on purpose to show how dysfunctional this future world was, but I just didn't care. There was a bed somewhere in the world and I wanted it. That nice soft mattress, with down pillows and sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppp.

Gattaca has striking production design at times, and sometimes its just so cheap looking that it's a destraction. The blurred eye seen was horrible in my opinion. Not a great film, not a good film, but a mediocre film. That's how I saw it. However, the more awake and Ethan-aroused Taline loved it, and thought her Ethan was fantastic. I was so tired and the folding chairs were so uncomfortable that I just didn't really care.

Since writing this, a mysterious letterboxed video print arrived on my doorstep. I enjoyed the movie much better the second time. This is a film that you have to PAY ATTENTION during. It is not a great movie, but it is one that you will sit around and talk about afterwards. It's worth the trip to the theater, but only if you are awake and attentive. My statement above about their performances being rather sedate, on second viewing I believe this to absolutely be the case. This future is very screwed up from a social point of view. See the film, you'll see what I mean, I foresee long Forum arguements about this future. Intellectual Sci-fi is few and far between, but personally it can be better than this.

After the movie did Harry go home and get sleep. OH NOOOOOOOO, there was a Dennis Hopper movie to see. Taline and I drove into the Taline Building around the block from the Paramount theater. We had entrance cards and pass codes. Strange Vertical Lifts that enclose and move you to a higher or lower plane of existence. We then came upon the street and finally to the Paramount. I'm exhausted at this point. Dragging myself to see this film, KID BLUE.

Kid Blue is an old western that was FUNNY AS HELL. A lost gem about a free spirited Hopper, who decides to give up the outlaw bit and become a regular guy. I know I know you think you know the story. Nope. This is really a hippie in a "straight" community movie. Very very odd. Actually I've decided there is no way on earth I can adequately describe the quirkiness of this film. I just can't do it. Maybe it was the 50 some odd hours without rest or maybe it was the fact that Hopper was in the building watching it with us, but I laughed my ass off. Put this one on with Cat Ballou or Blazing Saddles, both of those are better movies, but I really LIKED this one. Really I did. Well I'm headed home to bed, I'm tired...