Toback (in beard)

A prequel.

"The only adult she admires is Johnny Rotten."

The Film Society of Lincoln Center has some pretty special screenings planned this summer and I'm particularly excited about the Dennis Hopper tribute coming up, which includes the rare double bill of American Dreamer, the doc on Hopper directed by L.M. Kit Carson & Lawrence Schiller, and Hopper's own Out of the Blue starring Hopper and the inimitable Linda Manz.

Perhaps the best part about these screenings will be the in-person appearances by Carson, Schiller, and Manz. Personally, I viewed The Wanderers and Out of the Blue many times in my teens and early 20s and am really looking forward to hearing Manz speak about her experiences making such exceptional films in so short a period of time. Her other major starring role in this period was, of course, Days of Heaven--quite an impressive troika for a career let alone three years. She's been out of the spotlight since making a mini-comeback in the late '90s with Gummo (not a favorite of mine) and The Game. Out of the Blue is easily her most fully-realized and most searing performance. It's a tough, angry, and dark film that's not for the faint of heart and Manz goes to all those very dark places as CeBe, a teenage girl whose tragic circumstances have built up more pain and rage inside her than any person should have to withstand.

Apparently, she made a few extra bucks during the filming of Gummo by selling her Elvis jacket from Out of the Blue to Chloe Sevigny. I wonder what happened to her even cooler Baldies jacket from The Wanderers:

I had this one-sheet on my college bedroom wall for a long time:

Years later, I was watching a documentary on the Minutemen and one of the interview subjects (Dave Markey) had the poster on his wall in the background.

Now Playing: September 3, 1982

Can you imagine movies like Chan is Missing and Gregory's Girl enjoying their "4th Big Month" in August 2010?

I've posted from this set before, but I suppose based on some of the comments, I should offer a reprise:

"I could never hate you, Danny."

When it premiered on network television on May 29 and 30 1984, Prince of the City was shown in 2 2-hour segments, including footage that was not part of the 1981 theatrical cut. I'd love to see this material, but, of course, it was not included on the rather thin "Special Edition" DVD from a few years back. Anyone seen a torrent of this television cut show up on one of those shadowy sites that shall go unnamed here--because I don't know the names of them?:

The above still mis-identifies Tony Page as Richard Foronjy.

"Hips or lips?"

I would have preferred if the DVD had retained the original key art as displayed in this ad from the Directors' Fortnight catalog in '07:

"You're the new barn boss, O'Brien!"

Ashby MIA

This one is now controlled by Warner Bros. so an Archive release is a distinct possibility. Will it be released as Second Hand Hearts or under its original, infinitely more commercial title The Hamster of Happiness? Either way, I'm very curious to see this obscure piece from the last act of Ashby's career.

Producer James Guercio, often credited as James William Guercio, is the producer and director of the cult classic Electra Glide in Blue also starring Robert Blake. Guercio, of course, is most well known for his '70s-era record label and recording studio (Caribou) and being the original producer and manager of Chicago. He's now a large-scale developer and cattle rancher with interests in oil and gas exploration.

Now Playing: May 16, 1973

"I don't have a red suit."

Dog Days, indeed.

As New York experiences a heatwave more intense than we've seen in awhile, what better time than now to pay homage to one of the most accurate depictions of what can happen in the city when it gets overheated...

The recently acclaimed documentary about Dog Day co-star John Cazale, I Knew It Was You has been picked up by Oscilloscope Laboratories who will release the DVD.