After a long layover at Port Authority spent reenacting scenes from Keane (see what I did there? I went for the obscure but creepy reference, instead of the topical, populist one) I took the bus up to Woodstock, NY this weekend, to spend about 24 hours at the Woodstock Film Festival. I finally saw Sean Baker’s Prince of Broadway, an improvised family dramedy which plays something like a Hollywood remake of L’enfant set in the bootleg luxury trade on the streets of New York; it won big at LAFF and took Woodstock’s top narrative prize on Saturday night. The awards ceremony where Broadway was honored was indie star-studded, surprisingly casual and fun, and –– maybe unsurprisingly––littered with references to the ongoing presidential election. “Kevin, we’re giving you the Maverick Award,” screenwriter Ron Nyswaner said at the start of the show to director Kevin Smith. “That means we think you’re qualified to be the leader of the free world.”
You’ll find some of the night’s most memorable quotes, from Smith, Ang Lee and others, below the jump. Above, you’ll find video of James Schamus’ Trailblazer Award acceptance speech, and the tail end of his introduction by Lee.
“It seems like right now our industry is broken, but more importantly, our country is broken. So let’s get Obama in office, and then let’s brainstorm how to fix indie film.” Sean Baker, director of Prince of Broadway, which remains undistributed.
“In part because he lived with AIDS for 20 years, Jim brought a fragility to his [editing].” — Amy Taubin, presenting an award named after the late editor Jim Lyons.
“Boycott Dollar!” — Frozen River actress Melissa Leo, in the midst of a very strange monologue which is probably best left unpublished, in part about her difficulties getting a rental car at La Guardia.
“Boycott CVS. I tried to rent a car from those motherfuckers…” — Kevin Smith
“Every time I start a film, it’s like the Madonna song, “Like a Virgin.” It’s like I’m doing it for the first time. I could not do it alone. I need James [Schamus] with me.” — Ang Lee.
“He is profane, he is acerbic. He is one of the greatest humanists I’ve ever met.” — John Sloss on Kevin Smith.
“In any other year, it’d be great to be called a maverick. I’ve made the exact same fucking movie eight times, and 15 years later, they’re like, “You’re a maverick,” and I’m like, “Whatever.” Maybe we should rename the award…I suggest we call it the Dress-Wearing Cocksucker Award. I’m a married man and I have a kid, but I’ve always been a bicurious bear.” — Kevin Smith
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SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth