Thursday, July 12, 2007

Steve Buscemi

Woodstock Film Festival's 2005 Honorary Maverick Award-winner Steve Buscemi has a new movie, “Interview.”

The late Hallie Arnold wrote about him when he came to the film festival in October of 2005 here and here. There were more stories, of course, but you get the idea.

Before that, he was “whacked” in “The Sopranos” at a farm in Red Hook. Hallie wrote about the filming when the crew was here in 2003 (and stayed at the Holiday Inn, less than a block from where I’m writing this). That story does not mention him nor the plot of the episode, HBO being HBO (“It’s not TV, it’s ‘I’ll sue you if you reveal the plot’ HBO").

Also a director, the “fiercely independent” “funny-looking" man (“Fargo,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Armageddon,” just to show his range) directed and stars in “Interview.”

In the film, Buscemi plays, get this!, a journalist who gets to interview a TV and movie star (played by the gorgeous Sienna Miller) AS PUNISHMENT from an evil editor (not me). It is a punishment, apparently, because the journalist he portrays is a serious reporter who has no time for trivialities.

Paris Hilton notwithstanding (see post below), I wonder what Hallie would have thought, since she was a serious reporter who loved covering stars like Buscemi.

And now that I've introduced Paris (I'm not sorry this time) and if you can’t wait to get your Steve Buscemi fix, you can see him at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck in one of the 18 shorts of “Paris je t’aime,” which means “Paris (and something else in French which is definitely not ‘Hilton’).”

Actually, Freeman reporter Mary Fairchild just told me “Paris je t’aime” means “I love you, Paris,” so pardon my French.

...

“Interview” opens Friday “in selected cities.” We, of course, have not been selected.

But the folks at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck have, and are planning to have the movie starting in August.

The Freeman, of course, will keep you posted.