9-11-2004 (Part 1)
I will preface this extremely long entry to say that today is All
About Maggie Cheung Day. I feel as though I've accomplished
some grand mission, completed some monumental task and achieved an
important goal on behalf of Moviepie's Linda, so more text than usual
will be devoted to today's happenings.
[LINDA: Woo-hoo! <clapping hands, jumping up and down, doing cheerleader kicks and leaps>]
For, today, I was in the same room as Linda's beloved Maggie Cheung. I
listened to her speak, I took photos and managed (eventually) to get
myself within a couple dozen feet of the Hong Kong legend.
[LINDA: I think I just threw up a little.]
But (if Linda can hang on for a second), more about MC later. I will,
however, do my best to keep any non-Maggie stuff short. ;-)
[LINDA: Hang on for a second? HANG ON FOR A SECOND?!?!?]
My first film of the day was Undertow, the new film from
director David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls). Set in a
swampy, mosquito-ridden, backwoods town somewhere in Georgia, the film
is actually two films in one. The first half is the story of a single
father (Dermot Mulroney) raising his two boys (Jamie Bell,
Devon Alan). The second half is the story of what happens when the
arrival of an estranged uncle (Josh Lucas, in a positively
eeeeevil role) changes the boys' lives forever. Once I give the film a
full review, I'll go into more detail, but suffice it to say that it
was a powerful, if somewhat somber, drama.
[LINDA: <Checking watch>]
Aaaand it contained a brilliant little scene that galvanized the
audience in one huge, horrified gasp. It happens about three minutes in
and involves Jamie Bell's character jumping barefoot off a roof and
directly onto a giant nail sticking up out of a board on the grass. It
was such a perfect moviegoing moment—hearing such a loud, collective
exclamation of shock, disgust and horror. You could see it coming a
mile away and, yet, BOOM! GASP! *sigh*
Then it was a feverish walk across town to (drumroll please)
Clean (cue audience applause... or just rowdy clapping from Linda),
director Olivier Assayas' latest starring (long, dramatic pause,
flashbulbs going off, roar of the audience) MAGGIE CHEUNG.
[LINDA: <THUD!>]
(I'll wait while Linda composes herself.)
[LINDA: <A friend finds me unconscious on the floor next to my computer, hoists me up into a sitting position, and delivers me a stinging backhanded bitch-slap to bring me back into lucidity...>]
Both Olivier and Maggie were in attendance for the screening—kind of
a rarity for a repeat screening during the day (the premiere was last
night). Our seats were near the rear of the theater, which is fine for
watching a film but not so fine for taking photos. See, I suspected
that Maggie *might* show up today, so I brought along my sister's
digital camera. How excited would Linda be, I thought, if I actually
managed to capture Maggie's magnificence on film?!?
[LINDA: I think I just inked.]
The duo introduced their movie and said they'd be back for a Q&A
afterwards. Good grief!!!, thought I, Linda would be peeing in her
pants if she was here right now!!! Because not only was MC there, and
not only would she return after the film, but she sat in the theater
and was within hugging proximity the entire time. Heck, if I'd wanted
to hug Maggie Cheung, I probably actually could have! (I refrained.
Sorry, Linda.)
[LINDA: You refrained? You REFRAINED??? Oh, yeah, well if it had been, oh, I don't know, SANDY BULLOCK, you would've been in her lap for the entire screening!]
The movie itself, about a former VJ turned junkie turned would-be
singer (Cheung) who wants to kick her narcotics habit so she can regain
custody of her young son, was okay. The story had kind of a
movie-of-the-week vibe to it, and it wasn't terribly groundbreaking,
but MC turned in a strong performance. (I know I wasn't as blown away
as, say, Linda will be when she sees it. ;-))
Continue to the photos!
