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.