After the screening, it was just a little after 7pm and I wasn't going to see anything until 10pm when I had "Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollack?" on my list. It was really funny because one of the things that prompted me to see this rather than "The Notorious Bettie Page" (other than the fact that that film was showing at the Alamo Downtown and would probably be packed) was the fact that my friend Mark Brauner had just randomly brought up "have you heard about all these fake Jackson Pollacks" when we were at ACC during the "Life of Reilly" screening. Mark said he had looked at some of the pictures that were supposedly Pollacks on-line and he could tell they were fakes. This made me more curious about the SXSW screening because it was supposed to be about a woman who had bought a painting for $5 at a thrift store that may or may not be a Pollack.

Mark wasn't going to go with me to the screening but Johnny Oh! was. We made plans to meet downtown on Congress for dinner at 8:30 so we could be in line within a hour. As I was just about to walk out the door of Lodgopolis to head to my car, my cellie rang and it was my parents. They had come to Austin from Houston on a lark and were here in town and couldn't find a hotel room. I had to tell them it was SXSW and every wannabee rock star in the USA was staying in Austin. They were going to go back to Elgin and see if they could get a room.

Johnny and I met at our favorite free parking "sweet spot" downtown and walked down Congress looking for a restaurant. We pretty much decided on the first one we found which is called something like Darushi or Dariush or something and is in a place that used to be a bar called The 1920's Club. It serves Middle Eastern food. We both had roast lamb with dried tomatoes and beans and rice. The beans ended up being gritty type beans like garbanzo beans and the rice was very dry and plain. It really wasn't very good. I always think I like trying new things but usually after I have some sort of foreign cuisine or eat at some ritzy place, I'm craving a burger about 20 minutes later.

We walked to the Paramount and the lines were very short. Some guys behind me were talking about the previous screening of "Nobelity" and saying how good it was, but they were the kind of guys who always go to the political docs and seem to be "involved" in world politics.

The badge line went in and I walked into the lobby while Johnny waited in the line to buy his ticket. Inside the lobby I saw my friend Jett and said hello. We talked for a bit and then he asked me if I wanted a popcorn and I said yes and we walked over to the concession stand and there was Fall Out Boy Hat Boy. He didn't have his hat on and I asked him if he wasn't wearing it because the lady the other night had asked him if he was a sea captain when he was wearing it. He didn't even remember that. He got me my popcorn and Coke and was really so nice. It's hard not to fall under his spell immediately when you talk to him. Jett told me that his name was Gabriel.

Jett got called into the box office so I said goodbye to he and Gabe and went in to find a seat. John joined me pretty soon thereafter and I told him all about meeting cute Fall Out Boy Hat Boy. Within a few minutes, Matt Dentler got on stage and introduced the director of "Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollack?" This was an older gentleman and I suddenly thought we were in for a pretty dry movie. The director, Harry Moses, then spoke and started telling us about the movie. I was pretty perturbed. I don't want to know anything about a movie before I see it if at all possible. Just when I was about to yell, "Shut the hell up," as people have begun to yell at the SXSW trailer when those words appear on the screen, he stopped talking and the film started.

Luckily, the film was so much more than just a simple synopsis could ever describe that this introduction seemed actually just that. The film was fascinating as was the Q&A Moses did after. This film is so good that I even had to ask a question after it was over and I never do that. I was really engrossed in the story.

"Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollack" was listed at 116 minutes in the SXSW program. I had wanted to run over to the Alamo Downtown after the screening and see "Population 436" at midnight and figured I would have to jet pretty quickly after the doc. But the actual running time was only about 70 minutes, so I had time to chat with Johnny for a minute or two before I headed down to 4th and Colorado.

The walk there went quickly and there were lots of hot rocker boys out on 6th street for a Thursday night. Of course, SXSW is during Spring Break and there are lots of bands in town for the music part of the fest.

I got to the Alamo and got right in. It was crowded but not packed. The house manager got up and introduced the director who was a female, Michelle MacLaren. She told us that there wouldn't be a Q&A after the movie and that the film was only an hour and a half, "so we should all be able to make last call." I guess getting fucked up and drunk was more important to Ms. MacLaren than presenting her movie to a SXSW audience and offering us the courtesy of a Q&A. After seeing the film, I can see why she would be lackadaisical about having to talk about it. I halfway kinda wish I would have went out and gotten drunk instead myself.

The pre-show Alamo announcements started and there was a hilarious clip for their open screen night where these guys in a car come up on a group of boys about 10 or so and start accusing one of peeing in a bush (which I don't think he did). The kid starts running and they chase him in their car, camera in hand, and continue to harass him about peeing in the bushes until he is almost in tears. It's a really awful thing to do to a kid but it is so fucking funny that you just about pee your pants watching it.

During the SXSW trailer, people yelled "Shut the hell up" when it appeared as text on the screen really loud. This was pretty cool. The trailer, which ran in front of every screening at SXSW got really old really fast. And it could have been easy to make another one. The wouldn't have even had to change the animation, just the text on the screen a little bit. Something - anything - to keep it fresh.

It also dawned on me at this point that, unlike other festivals, there were no trailers for other films showing in the festival running before the screenings. Not only would this allow for a little more time for those who are running late, but it also serves as a service to the festival goer. I've seen two or three films that I might have otherwise skipped because I saw a trailer for them before another screening. It certainly doesn't cost much to do this because most people who have a film running at a festival already have a trailer cut anyway.

"Population/436" was preceded by a short film from Australia called "Monster" that was a black and white horror piece. It was almost Lynchian but was also cute and delightful and short. It was a nice little intro for a midnight movie.

After the film, I pretty much went home and watched some TV I had taped and went to bed.

Lodger @ SXSW2006