Abel Ferrara

We are going to be in Chicago on Saturday and really excited for it, but if we weren't going to be in Chicago then I would go to Anthology Film Archives at 10PM to see Bad Lieutenant. I like that movie okay but the real draw is director Abel Ferrara will be in attendance to answer questions and generally be an amazing spectacle. Aviram and I saw him speak after a screening of Ms. 45 last summer and afterward we both just wandered around in a daze. I remember trying really hard to fix everything he said in my memory, including things like "Nick Cage is a bad kid" (when discussing the upcoming remake of Bad Lieutenant starring Nicholas Cage) and his frustrations with Zoë Lund's biases: "she would do heroin all day but god forbid you sniff a little coke around her." I feel like I've seen tons and tons of artist talks and readings and speeches but I've never seen anyone like Ferrara. He was pacing, breathless, funny and pretty scary. He didn't seem at all rehearsed or even certain what film of his we just watched, but he was completely honest and open, told really intense stories, and seemed genuinely in love with Zoë Lund. I'm sure he will be in top form on Saturday and perhaps retell the story of how Harvey Keitel told Werner Herzog to stick it up his ass.

The other important thing about the screening this Saturday is that it's a benefit for Cinema Nolita. Cinema Nolita is my neighborhood video store and I go there a lot. It would be a tragedy to lose it.