No April Fools Joke This Year

For several weeks, I had contemplated saying that my screenplay for "My Dinner with Andre 2" which was also co-written by Dennis Alexander (my alias) and Nishan Shakashi (the Turkish word for April Fools) was green-lighted by IFC Films. I was going to add that it had full approval from the original stars and screenwriters Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory. And, that this 'sequel' to the 1981 film about two men in a a restaurant talking was going to be directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Ultimately, since both Shawn and Gregory are alive and well, and we really need to get out of Graham, NC* for a weekend getaway, that this was not in our best interest.

I was in sueded version of "My Dinner with Andre" which we made for the Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va. The cinema's manager, my friend Jason Garnett, announced that they will host a screening of the doc "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters," complete with a Donkey Kong competition.

The real version of "Andre" is available from Criterion classics.

*-We are not really in Graham, NC, but a town similar to it.

PS- We goofed in yesterday's entry as the UNH Wildcats lost to Notre Dame in the men's college quarterfinals. Yale was the team that lost to Minn-Duluth.

Status Update_ Perhaps, God Meant for Us....

I must profess that those who know me well, and perhaps all too many of you reading this actually do, know that I'm really not a religious at all.

But, since I can't remember the over-the-top church sign I saw as I was driving past a fundamentalist church near Boones Mill, Va., on Route 220- not far from a radical, in-your-face pro-life billboard, I was thinking what I might say if I were to put something on a church sign (obviously, it would have to be a Unitarian church).

And, since I was a lot of problems trying to watch the 1970 film "The Landlord," from the late director Hal Ashby ("Harold and Maude") via Netflix streaming, I think it would have to be this:


"Perhaps, God Meant 4 Us to Watch Movies in a Cinema and No Place Else!"

That would assuredly get some passer-by's attention....well, we hope!

As for old cinemas, The Lyric Theatre in Balcksburg, Va, (pictured here) is showing "The Black Swan" with Natalie Portman, which could my choice for the best film of 2010 (don't worry kids, I'm making a list as we speak).

And, another one of my favorite college-town cinemas, The Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, which is one of the few zip codes in The Tarheel State without a hell-fire Southern Baptist church (well, there probably is one there too) is screening "The Social Network," which is also a film that I might designate as my favorite of 2010?!

Speaking of radical, hell-fire churches, I wonder what the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., is up to these days. He happens to be a real person; and he does actually match the stereotype of an over-the-top preacher! If you don't believe me, then just ask my good friend Chris Knight.

Lastly, one does not have to see films at an old cinema to be a devout cinemaniac. My friend Jason Garnett will be screening "Heathers," the vintage late-80s teen comedy that is definitely darker than your typical John Hughes flick at 8:00 at The Shadowbox in downtown Roanoke (damn, wish I could be there!).

Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va., Posts June Schedule

My friend Jason Garnett's new film venue in downtown Roanoke, Va., called The Shadowbox: Community Microcinema has announced its schedule for the month of June, which will include a screening of "This is Spinal Tap" and Jean-Luc Godard's New Wave classic "A Woman is a Woman."

Here is the complete lineup:

June 8- "Lady Snowblood" (1973)-This Japanese film directed Toshiya Fujita was reportedly Quentin Tarantino's inspiration for the 'Kill Bill' movies.

June 12-Brian Bear's Musically Animated Variety Show

June 13- "The Car" (1977). This is a drive-in movie starring James Brolin. The car used in the film cost $84,000 to build according to the IMDB.

June 15- "Until the Light Takes Us" (2008)- A documentary film about Norwegian black metal, which includes Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg (yeah, I have no idea who he is either, but I love his name!).

June 18- "Drive Well, Sleep Carefully"- A documentary about the band Death Cab for Cutie.

June 19- "This is Spinal Tap" (pictured) The classic 1984 mocumentary film about the heavy metal band Spinal Tap has developed a loyal following. The band 'reportedly' lost some 32 drummers due to drug overdoses.

June 21- "We Are Skateboarders"

June 22- "Wild Zero" (2000)- Cult Japanese film with zombie subplot!

June 25-27- Gay Lesbian Film Festival

June 29- "A Woman is a Woman" (1961)- Godard's musical! film revolves around a striptease artist who tries to have a baby with her boyfriend. The vintage Godard flick is obviously not set in Topeka, Kan.!

For more info, log on to www.theshadowboxcinema.com