Where is Whit Stillman?

Whit Stillman directed three of the best independent films of 1990's and has since dropped out of sight, at least out of the printed world. A lot of great director's take long breaks between films. Stanley Kubrick's last three films were spaced apart by 19 years: The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Whereas Terrence Malick has taken 35 years to make four films: Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The New World (2005). Maybe ten years isn't such a long time to wait.

Nobody does cynical, yuppie-comedic-melodrama better than Whit Stillman. His films are: Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998). I saw Barcelona play in the theater when it came out. In retrospect I think I may of been a little bit too young to fully get the humor. I don't really remember if the jokes flew over my head or not, I guess if I knew the answer to that then I probably didn't miss anything. The other night I re-watched Barcelona after 14 years and it blew me away. A mini masterpiece of dialogue. It's so sharply written and funny, and has great characters. There's quite a bit of wit mixed in with the political commentary. I can't recommend it enough but I don't know if you can really appreciate the humor unless you view his other two films first. I should probably also point out that his films are all about talking, conversations, overhearing other conversations and making conversations about those conversations. His films are about repressed male yuppies and their uptight girlfriends, and their friends, and who's those friends are dating. I know that probably doesn't sound all that funny but it is. His characters are the nerds and geeks and dorks of the yuppie circuit rather than the shallow rich scum of wall street. Even though Stillman is a different kind of filmmaker I'd compare his style to that of Woody Allen. No matter the setting, nor the subject matter, his characters always remain the same.

I looked up Whit Stillman on imdb and they are reporting that he has a new film in development. No details were given. Is he coming back? Is the wait over? I hope so. After such a long absence will he head straight back to his semi-autobiographical roots of the 80's? Or try his hand at something new? Will his new film be set in the 90's? Will it be Sci-Fi? Probably not, but then again who knows.

Update (8-19-08) - I found this interview with Whit Stillman over at IFC. Sounds like he's been trying to get financing for a number of projects for the last several years.

Lost

Recently I've been spending all of my free time in the basement away from natural light and human contact. I've been canceling plans and turning away friends in favor of mystery, tension and delirium. It hasn't been healthy or productive but it has been exciting and tonight it has finally come to an end.

In the last 16 days I've watched 71 episodes of Lost. Honestly I can't believe I did it. There were several nights where I lost all sensation from the waist down. Why so much viewing? Because the new season ramps up next week. Duh... Didn't you know that? During this mad-marathon I've been watching a minimum of three hours a day, sometimes as much as seven hours in one sitting. I had a deadline and I made it but now I have to wait six days for the new season to begin. That's 144 hours before I can get my next episode fix. Oh the humanity. What's even more sad is that I've actually induced a neck ache from staring at the TV for so long. The neck ache turned into a headache, and now I have pain shooting down into my arms. My chiropractor isn't available until Feb 4th so I have to live with the pain, love the pain. Injury by television. Pathetic. This is not one of my more proud moments of self indulgence.

What I will say is that it was so worth it. The show is awesome. I boycotted watching it for several years because I couldn't imagine it being as good as it is. My ex-girlfriend was horribly addicted and I use to tease her about it, "It's on ABC, how good can it be?" I'd show up at her place and ask her if she wanted to go out, get some fresh air. She would plead with me and say "Just one more, just one more episode!" She had a crazy obsessed look in her eye and now I have that glazed over gleam. Oh sweet Lost, O how I love you.

There is no point trying to explain the story, the story is epic and out of control. It's got fantasy, science fiction, drama, comedy, action, suspense (there's no shortage of suspense), mystery, monsters, polar bears, it's got everything. It's also not over yet. Do it! You know you want to do it. DO IT!