Hard Blue Backdrop

She looked around the empty room, shivered, and went out onto the terrace, feeling unpleasantly nervous. The wind was near to being a gale, but the clouds, which until now had covered the sky, were breaking up, letting the hard blue backdrop of the sky show through in places.

In the cypresses the wind whistled and hissed, and when it hit her face it took her breath away. The air was sharp with the odor of eucalyptus, and damp from the fine spray of the breaking waves below. Then, when the landscape was least prepared for such a change, the sun came out.

Kevin At The Getty

"I don't want to hear one more story about a load-bearing wall this week!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Winnie on the banks of Turtle Creek for Thanksgiving 2009.

Klaatu Speaks

"Nine", the musical version of "8 1/2", screened at the DGA on Sunday November 22nd. With a mediocre score, not a memorable song in the film, and an uninspired script; the Fellini magic is lost. The film looks good, but director Rob Marshall doesn't deliver on the drama or the production numbers. He misses the delirious heights of "All That Jazz" and "8 1/2". "Nine" rates a four, stars Daniel Day Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and a majestic Sophia Loren as Daniel Day Lewis' Mama.

It opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec 18th.

Klaatu should note that while the audience did not applaud any of the production numbers, the exit comments for "Nine" were positive...some even called it a masterpiece. But, Klaatu stands by his review.

Klaatu made a mistake..."misses the delirious heights" should be "misses the delirious high..."

Kreemart and American Patrons of the Tate's Cake Tasting

The Limits

We've reached the limits of limitting here.

Chainsaws On The Banks Of The Rio Grande

Sierra County, New Mexico

New York City

Craven And Contemptible #348366

Bettina said: Buy it or lease it, but do it now!

Gwen said: Do 100 mph on the ramp and merge ahead of traffic.

Kevin said: Nice horsey.

Marcos Lopez

Taxi driver
La Habana, Cuba
1996

More David Lowery On More St. Nick

I was unable to accompany St. Nick to both Sidewalk and Indie Memphis over the past month, and as much as I was remiss to skip this detour into the South, I had my anticipation for November and all it has in store to tide me over. Some of those things don't have anything to do with St. Nick, but a lot of them do, and they are as follows:

First up, on November 13th, I'll be heading to the St. Louis International Film Festival, where St. Nick is one of five first features in competition. The lineup at this festival is just extraordinary, and I can't wait to spend some time there (and St. Nick has a minute Missouri connection, in that the shot of the barbed wire visible in the banner above was photographed in Springfield months before principal photography began). Meanwhile James will presenting the film that same weekend at the famed Cucalorus Film Festival in South Carolina. We screen there on November 14th (and James' short film Receive Bacon will be playing there as well).

From these respective venues, James and I will both be boarding international flights and heading to the cradle of Western Civilization, where we'll meet up with Adam on November 16th and gear up for what seems to be a pretty stellar international premiere. We've known for a little while now that St. Nick was an official selection of the 50th Thessaloniki Film Festival, but it wasn't until we read the press releases in IndieWire and Variety last week that we realized it was the lone US film in competition. We're right there in the middle of an incredibly impressive international lineup; it's quite an honor, and we're thrilled to be attending. Even more thrilling is that, at the festival's bequest, Tucker and Savanna will be at both the screenings and the awards ceremony. I couldn't be more vicariously excited - can you imagine being that age and getting flown to Europe to watch yourself on the big screen at a major international film festival? Unbelievable! I'm going to do my best to introduce them to Werner Herzog, who's attending with a career retrospective.

The only downside of all this is that no one will be in the country to present St. Nick at the Denver Film Festival, where it's in also in competition. Does anyone want to represent for us in our stead? Incidentally, I'm writing this on a flight from Denver, where I had a connection between Sacramento and Austin. This time last night I was in LA, just getting out from seeing Where The Wild Things Are and getting ready to drive all night to have breakfast and a cup of the best coffee in the world with the love of my life in cold, rainy, beautiful San Francisco. Just how much I've slept since yesterday is up in the air, but I'm awake now, and can feel the plane dropping beneath me as it curves down towards Texas and an autumn that I expect to have fully bloomed in my absence...

...but I digress. We'll have more news on St. Nick soon. And, with any luck, more news on my next project, which I'll hereby go on record as saying will also have the word saint in the title.

Marfa Barbeque

Ford Plantation

Tom Waits

And Now

Craven and contemptible wiring.

Style over substance.

Surpassing the Jones.