...In which our heroine chokes.

Wednesday was a new record for Katydid. I saw not one, not two, but THREE films in one day, which was kind of ridiculous. First up was Burden of Dreams, about the making of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, which was a great intro to the film buisiness. The film was a hellish experience that almost killed people in the process, but Herzog had some wonderful quotes that really resonated with me as a burgeoning creative mind:

"If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams."

"Everyday life is an illusion behind which lies the reality of dreams."

In Development and Preproduction, we watched The Red Balloon (Le Balloon Rouge). In all honesty, I think it's kind of boring, having seen it 1.5 times now. Maybe I was just antsy for the evening's main event.

I got out of class at 6:20 and Choke started at 7:00. Kathleen had gone early to secure a spot for us, and even getting there forty minutes early, I was the third to last person let in. I had mixed feelings going in, since Choke really isn't a very good book.

However, the film was really, really entertaining. Sam Rockwell gives an outstanding, layered performance as Victor Mancini, and I was way more empathetic towards his character in the film than in the book. I didn't really like the guy who played Denny, but Kelly MacDonald and Anjelica Huston were very good in their roles as Paige Marshall and Ida.

The script was really smart and in addition to the editing, it made the sexual content very funny and non-titillating. I was amazed how much of the blatant sexuality they kept from the book, and in an ironic twist, the hottest scene in the movie *SPOILER* is the very end with just Victor and Paige making out over Radiohead's "Reckoner." I also like the way they handled the whole "Victor as the Second Coming" plot line a lot better as well.

I liked the film much more than the book and the mostly Columbia audience was very responsive. Then, in an especially cool twist, Capone from Ain't Cool News was sitting two rows in front of me and led the Q&A with Sam Rockwell:

The Q&A was hilarious, and Rockwell was very candid in discussing his work in the film. He seems like a very humble guy, and actor who makes the choices he wants to and isn't concerned at all with celebrity. Beforehand, I was kind of nonchalant about him, but now I want to seek out his films.

Sam Rockwell talks sex scenes:

In other news, I'm going to be a busy little worker bee with all of my classes. I already have a ton of homework, and found myself as one of two freshman in my Creative Non-Fiction: Memoir Writing class, the rest of the class being seniors.

Our immediate group of 12 friends have been getting along really well. We've just been hanging out, listening to lots of music and watching lots of films. As a group of seven guys and five girls, with only one of each in committed relationships, we've now reached the stage when everyone has decided they like someone else in the group. (Katydid has no comment at this time. :) Things are going to go really well if we all start dating each other and then end up miserably breaking up and hating each other. Oh, what a year it's going to be.