By Cynthia W. Gentry, © 2000 by Cynthia W. Gentry, published on Dailygossip.com, February 2000.
Darlings, Im simply exhausted. What a whirlwind weekend! Im awfully, awfully behind, even with the help of my long-suffering assistant Troy Everhard, C.P.A., C.F.N., C.M.T., L.C.S.W., so Ill just give you some of the highlights of the last few days. And where I have I been, you ask? The fabulous Cinequest San Jose Film Festival (www.cinequest.org), reviewing some of the latest indie flicks for your viewing benefit and hobnobbing with the stars like Peter Fonda and Alec Baldwin.
Where to begin? Lets start with the name-dropping first, and then Ill let you in on what new movies you should be watching out for. Friday night was impromptu drinks with Peter Fonda and Cinequest executive staff at the San Jose Fairmont Hotels Grill. Darlings, Peter is just a kick in the pants. Its hard to believe he turned 61 on February 23 (yes, we had birthday cake for him, although yours truly opted out of the singing). I hope I have that much energy in 40 years when Im that age. Peter and I had an intense discussion about stocks, sailing, and his penchant for fast cars.
But it was on Saturday that the real star watching took place, and the glare was so bright I was in my Donna Karan sunglasses all day. Headed to the airport with a group picking up Alec Baldwin and Screw magazine publisher and First Amendment rights activist Al Goldstein (who was there to appear at the Cinequest press conference with Cass Paley, director of WADD: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes). Al was resplendent in a bright blue lizard-skin blazer and a screwmag.com T-shirt.
Alec was resplendent. Darlings, I dont want to make my beau Tommy Texas jealous, so I wont cant tell you what it was like to shake his hand, look into his eyes (or at least what I assumed were his eyes behind those sunglasses) and hear him say Hi, Im Alec.
My boy Alec then proceeded to wow a sold-out event at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. What can I say? Hes charming, intelligent, extremely funny and politically active. Women with much less decorum than moi squealed with delight when he entered the room. I bided my time and was rewarded. He and I had a little tete-a-tete about voter registration on the way to one of his interviews; when he took my arm to listen to what I was saying, all thoughts promptly disappeared from my head. Thank God for Troy and his triceps regimen.
Afterward, I dispensed with my usual sense of propriety and asked him for a picture. Just was we were cozying up for the camera, who should run up but Al Goldstein, who dropped to his knees, wrapped himself around me and begged me to drop Tommy and marry him. (Needless to say, Alec found this more than a little amusing; the expression some onlookers used was peeing in his pants he was laughing so hard.) Finally I got Al off the floor and got my picture with Al and Alec.
As for the films
Suffice today, Im still recovering from this weekends events, including last nights Latino Celebration at the Tech Museum of Innovation, featuring the IMAX film Mexico, by Lorena Parlee. Lorena, whos one of the only women directing in the IMAX format, is an absolutely delightful woman with whom Id be glad to get a manicure any day. And Mexico is absolutely amazing. Its opening shot, featuring 2 million extras on Mexicos Independence Day, gave me goosebumps. It should have: Lorena told me it took them six days just to set the shot up.
I also mentioned the documentary WADD: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes. Yes, the porn star. Go ahead and snicker, darlings, but this is a fascinating, troubling portrait of a human car wreck.
Another documentary in Cinequest that I just adored was Six Days in Roswell, which follows a nerdy guy named Richard Kronfeld as he journeys to Roswell, N.M., to witness the 50th anniversary celebration of the alleged UFO crash. (No comment.) Its been a while since I laughed out loud at a documentary. Showing with it is X-Philes, another documentary that takes a look at fans of The X-Files. Darlings, I dont believe in UFOs but I DO believe in the vision of male pulchritude that is David Duchovny.
Another Cinequest film that I hope makes it to the States is Janice Beard: 45 WPM, a hilarious British import featuring Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Patsy Kensit (Angels & Insects), and newcomer Eileen Walsh, who shines in the title role of a temp with a fanciful imagination.
Darlings, I must run to the airport to retrieve my dear Tommy, whos returning to me (laden with gifts, one hopes) from a brief-yet-seemingly-endless sojourn in the Big Apple. But Ill be back soon with more tidbits of gossip and film lore from Cinequest. You folks in the Bay Area, dont miss it. And the rest of you
keep your eyes peeled. Ill tell you want to look for. I havent let you down yet, have I?