We drive to the KC film fest’s fearless leader Fred Andrews’ pad, where we’ll be spending the night. Fred, Club, and I have a film-festaculiar conversation and then head on over the the AMC Mainstreet Theater Movie Palace... and palace it is, where even the bathrooms look like the belong in a cinema sultan’s crib.
Club and I check out Don Lewis’ doc ‘Worst in Show’ about the worlds ugliest dogs and it’s pretty darn entertaining. The sound and picture here look amazing! But then again, it is like the most technology advanced theater in the world.
Festival platinum player Club Stencel just happens to be good pals with Don, of course, and who along with fellow movie mavin Mark Bell, break bread with us at Chipotle. We watch another doc, then along with festival jurist Marceil Wright, head on over to:
The Flying Saucer Drought Emporium: Oh man, there’s about as many beer choices here as there are food items on Jerry’s Famous Deli’s menu. From Delirium Nocturnum to Flying Dog Raging Bitch to Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale, and many others orders abound. I, am just sipping a coke. Tim De Paepe and Tom Horton drop by, both ordering cokes too, and the cinema wars begin. ‘Observe and Report rules’.... ‘no it doesn’t’... ‘Death Proof is way better than Planet Terror’.... ‘no it’s not’.... ‘Pulp Fiction is Tarantino’s best’... ‘no way Jackie Brown totally is’.... this goes on till we close the place at two in the morning.
Next morn Club discovers he’s got a couple more days before his family business so we travel to the Bottoms for breakfast at the Genessee Royal, this converted gas station with amazing food. John Nirenberger and De Paepe arrive and the conversation turns to, what else? Movies.
The Kid Friendlies arrive from LA and we drive out of the city to have some BBQ at Sneed’s. Next up is:
The screening, where there’s more people than expected, being this was sort of a work in progress ‘special screening’ type thing. The movie looks great and the Q&A goes pretty well.... I really have to keep reminding myself this is a movie that needs to ‘sink in’.
Next day is pretty much more eating in and around KC before going to a screening of Michael Biehn’s ‘Victim’. The crown jewel of the festival. Biehn and wife/co-star Jennifer Blanc do a long interview with tastemaker Jeff Goldsmith for his podcast, which is informative and interesting. I wander back to the hotel room sometime after one in the morning, only to discover:
Club Stencel has a wild party raging, which keeps right on raging till hotel security shuts it down a bit after three in the morning. But that doesn’t even stop party master Club, who takes the good times to another location, breaking up sometime after six AM.
On very little sleep the next morning Club and I head on over to the filmmakers brunch where there’s a Southern style spread that’s pretty darn tasty. Turns out the movie did do some ‘sinking in’ because lots of people are talking to me about it in a great way... unsolicited.
Later that night the KFs and I see a pretty interesting shorts program. And then it’s off to the awards where Don Lewis’ ‘Worst in Show’ wins best documentary.
Last day in KC has me and the Friendlies hanging out at Tim De Paepe’s super cool condo pad, inclusive of a state of the art screening room. Right as we are about to head back to LA we see a resident of De Paepe’s said condo complex stuck behind a broken parking lot gate. A young lawyer who need to be getting to the court house ASAP. So we give him a ride and along the way asks ‘what are you doing in KC?’ Once he hears the name of the movie we brought he says ‘that was playing at the AMC downtown, right?’... ‘Yes’.... ‘I read something about that movie’...
Sounds like I missed an awesome
ReplyDeletetime.I want to hang out with Club Stencel!