The Circuit

by Winter Miller
At the Provincetown high school, Quentin Tarantino was on hand to pick up his "Filmmaker on the Edge" award at the 10th annual film fest.

Hard to say who had a better ensemble between Tarantino and John Waters as the two sat onstage as Waters interviewed Tarantino. It was like boys night on Project Runway.

Waters had on a slate blue two-toned oxford, navy blazer and brick red pants. Brick red.

Tarantino had a brick red jacket over a black button down and black pants. Brick red. What's with the Frik 'n Frak outfits? But even QT can't compete with Waters' pencil-thin 'stache.  

Waters asked about violence and the ratings board, "they don't hassle you at the MPAA, do you sleep with them? They always let you off!"

"I have a good relationship with the MPAA," Tarantino gloated.

"Mine's terrible," Waters blank-faced.

Waters wondered about Tarantino's foot fetish in his films, to which Tarantino admitted yep, he has "an affection for that appendage."

"Let's talk about casting, you reinvented John Travolta as a man, and I helped reinvent him as a woman," Waters quipped, and then asked if Tarantino writes with actors in mind.

Tarantino said he wrote "Pulp Fiction" with Michael Madsen in mind but just before they started lensing, Madsen took "Wyatt Earp."

 Tarantino added that Friday night he finished his World War II pic script "Inglorious Bastards." (Subtitled, "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied France.”) It's a screenplay he'd been working on for eight years.

"Just as I thought I was gonna throw it out, I cracked it," he said. Tarantino is hoping to lens by October and turn it in for Cannes.

An audience member presented Tarantino with a gift. On cue, Waters asked, "What's the best gift you were ever given?"

"Pussy," said Tarantino. "It just keeps giving, you have pussy, and then the memory of pussy."

In the annals of something I'd file under "things I can't picture," Tarantino shared an anecdote about boxing Bob Dylan in Dylan's own gym. More than once.

Dylan? Boxer? Why not?

Later, as Tarantino stepped up to receive his award, he blushed and paused. "I think I feel like Miss Mexico too," he said. "My heart is full."

Photos by Henny Garfunkel.

"Frozen River" and "Flow: For Love of Water" won audience award honors for drama and doc at the Provincetown Film Festival.  The 10th anniversary P-town fest closed with its awards ceremony on Sunday.

The John Schlesinger Award, which goes to a first-time filmmaker, went to Lance Hammer for "Ballast."

Whitney Peter's "Who I Am" got best short while Muhammad Ali Hasan's "Rabia" pocketed best student film.

by Winter Miller
In the high school auditorium here in Provincetown it's what I imagine a filet of salmon feels like on a slow broil. We are listening to an awards ceremony honoring thesps Jane Lynch ("The 40-year-old Virgin," and a series of Christopher Guest film roles) and Gael Garcia Bernal ("Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Bad Education" among others) for there bodies of work.

Questioned about how she chooses her characters, Lynch responded simply: "I'm asked."

Lynch said she's never turned down a role except one; she was asked to take a role of a nun who lifts her skirt to reveal she has balls. It was a quick no.

"I met Barack Obama at an event in Chicago and he said, where do I know you?" Not wanting to be the actor who lists her credits, Lynch said possibly Chicago since that's where she's from. Midway through Obama's speech he stopped cold and said "40-year-old Virgin!"

"I love that he saw that movie," Lynch said, "Let's elect this man."

Bernal greeted the audience -- a warm one, heat notwithstanding -- and apologized for his English suggesting that maybe with a beer it would improve. For the record, it was better than fine.

I always get people saying, "oh I thought you were so much bigger," said Bernal. Who, for the record is better than fine (but looks a buck twenty, wet).

Bernal is at the fest with his first directing project, "Deficit" in which he also stars.  The film is a subtle comment on class in Mexico as viewed through a house-party.  He's newly founded a Mexican-based production shingle, Canana, with fellow thesp Diego Luna.

"There's no film industry as such, (in Mexico) so there's no niche market or infrastructure and it's really freeing," Bernal said. "You don't have to ask to shoot in the street, you just do it."

Bernal compared looking at a film like Michel Gondry's "Science of Sleep" (in which he starred with Charlotte Gainsbourg) and explaining what it means to be as futile as describing eggs. "I don't know why I like huevos rancheros, I just do."

Accepting his acting award, Bernal stood at the podium and stammered and giggled, unsure of what to say. "Oh, I feel like Miss Mexico," he said.

by Winter Miller
The Provincetown Int'l film fest kicked off Wednesday with Madonna-helmed "Filth and Wisdom" as the opener. Pic goes out via IFC.

Films ranging from Sundance fave "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" (which HBO snapped up at Sundance and ThinkFilm nabbed domestic theatrical), to helmer Amy Redford's "The Guitar" to Sony Pictures Classics pickups Josh Levine's "The Wackness" and the Duplass brothers horror indie spoof "Baghead" among others.

I missed kickoff, but arrived Friday night off the ferry from Boston and after dropping off my bag--fine bags--grabbed a clam chowder from tourist trap The Lobster Pot and headed out to catch "Baghead." Screening was surprisingly not well attended but those who were there seemed to dig it. The pic begins with a scene at a film fest so it certainly resonated with filmmakers on the circuit (and those who support them).

Up early for a 9:15am panel with helmer Alan Ball (Oscar winner for "American Beauty" and TVs "Six Feet Under") and producer Ted Hope (50-plus films including "The Savages" and "In The Bedroom") moderated by Required Viewing's Stephen Raphael.

Ball and Hope were on tap to discuss "Towelhead" which comes out via Warner's (it was a WIP (R.I.P.) Pic) on Sept. 12. Shot for about $8 million in Pomona -- which was a stand-in for Houston, Texas -- drama stars Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Toni Colette and newcomer Summer Bishil.

Based on a novel of the same title, about a young Middle Eastern girl coming-of-age, the pic presented controversial elements like abuse and sexuality. Hope and Ball went to the MPAA with the script to get a verbal agreement for an R because they knew the subject matter would turn heads and would come into play for the completion bond.

They got and held onto their R.

Although the specialized shingles expressed interest, ultimately, "there was no way to make this film within the studio system" and have Alan maintain control," Hope said. "If we'd gone with one of the specialized studios the only thing we would have had is a better payday."

This is Ball's feature directing foray, he said his first draft was 180 pages that he clipped down to 120. Ball did some rehearsal with the actors because Bishil was inexperienced and the subject matter was tough, but mostly to talk through stuff and keep it pretty organic for the shoot. Ball said Bishil amazed him, she was able to go deep in scenes where she was molested and hit but emerge and quickly bounce back to her giddy teenager self.

There's been some scuffling over the title; at one point there was concern it sounded too similar to "Baghead" but neither film backed down (nor should they, if we can't tell our insults from our goofy names, we should probably stick to the obvious: Iron Man and Incredible Hulk). As for having an ethnic slur as a title, I guess we'll see how that plays out. Ball is an astute and culturally sensitive filmmaker, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt in weighing his decisions.

Ball is up for a busy fall, "Towelhead" bows Sept 12 and his HBO vampire series "True Blood" begins Sept 7.

• Provincetown International fest will award Quentin Tarantino with its 2008 Filmmaker on the Edge Award.  It's also invited the 9 previous Edge winners to town to celebrate the fest's 10th anniversary - John Waters, Christine Vachon, Ted Hope, James Schamus, Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, Jim Jarmusch, Mary Harron, Gregg Araki, and Todd Solondz.

• City of Lights, City of Angels fest, LA's torrid one-week affair with French film, has announced their lineup.  It includes Sandrine Bonnaire's doc, "Her Name is Sabine," a portrait of the filmmaker's austic sister taken from 25 years of footage.  Variety will also host Happy Hour Talks, a series of panels featuring fest filmmakers. 

• I'm not really sure what the Los Angeles United Film Festival is all united about. From their website, it seems the fest was suddenly created by Jason Connell upon the completion of his first first feature length film "Strictly Background."  He's also created New York United and Tulsa United fests.  And wouldn't you know it -  "Strictly Background" has played those fests, too.