I wanted to see the film "Puppy" at noon so I made sure I was in bed by 4am. Getting up at 11am on a film festival day is really difficult. I had to forgo some time for writing in order to make sure I got enough sleep.

I got to the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar by about 11:40 or so and got to walk right into the theater. The house they were using for SXSW this year was pretty big and so there was ample seating even though there were quite a number of people already there. It used to be you could go to film festival screenings in Austin in the morning and there would only be a handful of people there. That has changed.

The godawful short animated piece "Pulcinnella and the Magic Fish" was showing. I don't know why the Alamo is so hellbent on showing this classic animated piece; it has to be one of the most annoying cartoons of all time. This is the kind of thing that could run The Cartoon Network right off the air.

Luckily Mark Brauner, my Lube TV co-host called me and by the time we were done talking, the short had been cut-off mid- stride and the house manager d'jour was making announcements and introducing the filmmakers of "Puppy." This was a man and a woman from Australia who did a short introduction, told us the film was about delusion and then told us they would do a Q&A after. After the film, during that very Q&A, the filmmakers, lit by a very demure red light, told us that the film had distribution everywhere but in the states and they were hoping the festival screenings would change that.

After the screening, I went back out into the lobby. I was going to see four films today and all of them were at the Alamo South Lamar. Next up was Austinite Kat Candler's new film "Jumping off Bridges." I really loved Kat's first feature "Cicadas," and I was looking forward to seeing this new film. There was a huge line already forming, so I jumped right in it. I was right outside the entrance doors to the Alamo and, since I stood there for quite some time, I had ample opportunity to notice some things. Since it was a Saturday, there was a guy selling posters and movie stills in the lobby. This reminded me of my youth when you would go to record conventions and special events and flea markets and find someone selling records or posters or comic books and it would be such a thrill. I think it's really cool the Alamo does this. It makes going to the movies there feel like a unique event.

Since I was right by the box office, I also noticed some interesting signage. I knew that the Alamo didn't allow children under 6 (unless they were running a specific kids film) but I had never seen this before: Under 18 must sit with parents. What a great fucking idea! I wish all theaters were like this. You know, sometimes I get frustrated with the waiters and the clink and clatter of silverware at the Alamo, but I forget how nice it is not to have to deal with fucking marauding teenagers there.

Finally the line was moving towards the theater and I saw Kat ducking out as I was walking in. I didn't get to say hello to her. I sat in the front section and the theater filled up quickly. The line to get in had become a monstrosity as I waited for the film. I was quickly surrounded by people on all sides as we awaited the start of the film and the Alamo played its usual blend of old cartoons, old commercials as well as some footage of Johnny Cash in concert seemingly from a 70's TV special.

A volunteer introduced the film and told us "the director and two of the producers" would be on hand after for a Q&A. It was really crowded so I didn't even order a drink. The lady next to me ate a crunchy salad and it was really bothersome. I don't think salad is a good idea for food at a movie theater.

After the film, Kat and two other young women took the stage and answered questions. Kat told us that they had to turn away over 300 people for the screening!

Kat is a really quiet and demure young woman (I'd love to see her work on the set. It must be fascinating) and she seems so shy but she did an excellent job talking to the crowd. She told us about casting Michael Emerson, who is now on TV's "Lost" as the father in the film and how she rented the DVD of "Saw," which he is also in, but had to have her boyfriend fast forward through the violent scenes to get to Emerson's work so she could take a look at it. She also told us her next piece was going to be a sort of comedy about intelligent teenage nerds who are exalted by their peers for their mental prowess called "Brain Brawl."

As I was walking out of the theater, I noticed Glen Powell, the young man who played Eric in the film, walking out of the theater. He looked just like he did in the movie. That almost never happens, especially with teen actors.

Since I had over two hours to kill until the next film I was going to see, Wim Wenders' Don't Come Knocking," I sat in my car and tried to write on my laptop. This was a disaster. I was out there for almost an hour and got through, maybe, three paragraphs. It was hot and uncomfortable. Since I was expecting the Wenders film to be crowded, I went back inside the Alamo at about 5 and was second in line in the badges line. I brought in my laptop hoping I could write while I waited in line but it seemed like it would be very problematic. Let me tell you, laptops are not named correctly for fat people. I don't have a lap to sit it in and write like skinny little people can.

As I walked into the Alamo, I noted the News 8 Austin van was setting up inside and soon saw hottie Victor Diaz but didn't get a chance to say hello to him. As I waited over the next 45 minutes or so, I also saw a rep that I know who works for a film marketing company and Matt Dentler of SXSW. I thought for sure they would be coming around soon to tell us that we couldn't bring cameras in - and here I am with a camera, a laptop and a camera cell phone - but that didn't happen. There were no pointless security checks, which was a breath of fresh air.

We got seated and the place was packed to the rafters. There wasn't an open seat in the house and I am sure they had to turn away quite a few people. Dentler gets up and begins to talk and within seconds tells us Wim Wenders is here and will do a Q&A after the film. I nearly flipped my wig! Wim Fucking Wenders. Holy Fucking Shit! My jaw dropped. What an awesome and amazing surprise.

Wenders got up and did an amazing introduction that must have taken 10 ore 15 minutes. He was very nice and very amusing. He told us two great stories. One, which may have been a fib, about the billboards for the film in Germany. He said that for some reason the billboards in Dresden are smaller than in other places and when they put them up to promote the film there, they had to crop them down and they ended up just saying "Don't Come." It was funny. Then he told us about casting Sam Shepard's character's mother in the film. Shepard and Wenders made "Paris, Texas" in 1984 and this is the first time they have worked together since then. Anyway, Wenders said that he realized the character of Shepard's mother would have to be in her 80's and he asked his casting director for a list of actresses of that age still working in films. "I had to put more paper in the fax machine," he said. "They faxed me a list that was 50 pages long. After explaining to the crowd how desperate many of these older ladies were for quality roles, he told us about meeting with many of them. He eventually met with Eva Marie Saint, who got the role, and he told the wonderful story of their first meeting.

The story goes something like this: She drove up to the hotel in L.A. we were meeting in her car and he didn't think it could be her because the car was going so fast. The car screeched to a halt right where he was standing ("If you wanted to film that it would take 10 takes") and Saint steps out and throws the keys smack dab into the hands of a valet who is about 30 feet away. ("If you wanted to do that with the other shot, it would take 50 takes"). As the valet pulls away, Wenders sees that she has a bumper sticker that says "Get off the phone or get off the road." When he tells her he likes it, she tells him she designed the sticker and you can buy it on her website. He knew immediately that she had the role.

Wenders finally left the stage so the film could start and the usual Alamo things ran. There's a hilarious trailer for their Open Screen night, where the audience brings clips which are played and judged, that features a goofy looking yet cute young guy (he looks a little like Michael Ian Black) in a half shirt and short-shorts sings a song against a digital backdrop. The lyrics are something like "C'mon, c'mon, pizzazz, we're gonna give it to you, pizzazz, pizzazz, c'mon." It's so catchy! I already wanna stand up and sing with it when it plays.

At the Q&A after the film, Wenders was joined by Shepard who seemed to be uncomfortable and unhappy to be there. He seemed almost unable to mask his disdain for the audience and the people who asked questions. Wenders, who is far more extraverted, did most of the talking. He told us that he had wanted to shoot a film in Butte, Montana for several years. When the talked turned to the cast, he told us that Gabriel Mann had been with the project through several permutations of the script. He told us that Fairuza Balk was the last major actor to be cast, and in rare moment of verbosity, Shepard called her "a gypsy" in a way that you could tell he meant as a compliment.

As the Q&A let out, I noticed Wiley Wiggins exiting with the crowd. He has a restraining order out against me for cyber stalking him, so I have to remain at least 500 gigabytes away from him.

While waiting in line for "Brothers of the Head," Dan Cofer, the manager of the Dobie came up and said hello and we talked until it was time to go inside. Dan told me that Kat Candler is getting married at the Dobie in a couple months. He told me that they had rented the Egyptian Room there for a Sunday morning at that the were going to use the screen to show film clips, home video and a picture slide presentation at the event. This is such a cool idea. I'm going to have to hit Kat up for an invitation.

When we got inside, I told Dan I like to sit in front so I would see him later but he asked if he could sit with me and I said sure. I was so glad he asked. Dan is a really nice guy but when he sees me at the Dobie it is sort of a guest/host relationship as he is screening films for distributors and I am acting as press. I wasn't sure if he really liked me (because, as you know, I am a verbose, loud, opinionated asshole), so I was really pleasantly surprised that he wanted to hang out with me. That was cool. We talked while the Alamo showed its usual array of clips. The best one, a video of Iggy Pop doing "I'm Bored" on The Old Grey Whistle Test was sadly cut short when Matt Dentler stepped up to introduce the film. Matt told us that he had seen the film at another festival (Toronto? Telluride?) And that it had stuck with him long after he watched it. The filmmakers, Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, were also on hand and said a few words before the screening started. After the screening the directors talked about the novel By Brain Aldiss that the film had been based on. A viewer stated that he had read on Aldiss' website that the story of a rock band fronted by Siamese Twin brothers was based on a real incident.

The filmmakers contended that Aldiss had never publicly admitted this as such but that it had always been rumored and after this comment were keen to check out the website.

They also told us that Harry and Luke Treadaway, who play the Siamese Twins in the film, are indeed twins and were conjoined at birth but separated almost immediately. The told us that many scenes in the film were improvised including one where the brothers are shown through a doorway being very tender with one and other, on touching the others cheek suggestive, before they shut the door on the camera. They felt that this was the sort of shot that they could have never conceived and that could only be created by the twin brothers.

In regards to the filming of the piece, they told the audience that they had instructed the DP to shoot the film like a documentary and no shots were blocked before the filming. They also told us that all the music was created live as it was filmed (which is pretty obvious from watching the film and trying to interpret the lyrics).

As we left the theater, I was given a CD single that seemed to be by the fictional band fronted by the brothers in the movie, Bang Bang. I assume this is part of the film soundtrack.

Somehow I lost Dan on my way out of the theater. I was so tired. Four movies in one day. I got to the Alamo South Lamar at about 11:40 in the morning and left at about midnight that night. Film Festivals are soul killers!

Lodger @ SXSW 2006