Ferrara’s Blackout

by Anthony Kaufman

Abel Ferrara says just about everything that's on his mind. After the LAIFF's American premiere of Ferrara's brilliant, burlesque "The Blackout" on Friday night -- which follows the self-destructive path of a famous actor (Matthew Modine), struggling with addiction and memory -- Ferrara, complete with vampiric black hat, staggered down the aisle for a post-screening Q & A that was as frank and lively as his film. Too modest or just obsessively restless to stand on stage at the mike, Ferrara fielded questions stand-up comic style from the audience, yielding steady chuckles from the audience. Festival Founder and Director Robert Faust, whom Ferrara compared to a used car salesman, attempted to moderate.Matthew Modine's performance of the alcoholic, coke-addicted star startled the audience with its vigor and veracity. Asked by an audience member how he prepped for the part, Modine jokingly responded, "I just hung out with Abel for a few weeks." He soon admitted, "We did a lot of rehearsals before we started filming, we talked a lot about it." Also starring in the film is a manic Dennis Hopper (think of his "Blue Velvet" character) who owns a video-porn fantasy palace, and is intent on remaking the French classic "Nana" into "Nana Miami." Both actors worked in "an atmosphere of total chaos" Hopper recently stated. The Q & A felt quite the same, as Ferrara threw away lines like "I haven't slept in 11 years" while pacing the aisles.

When asked why his film remains without U.S. distribution, Ferrara listed the unfortunate buy outs of October and New Line, as one reason no continental distribs sought out the film when it played at Cannes last year. Trimark apparently showed some interest, but Ferrara claims, "they spend a tremendous amount of money to bury a film." Concluding his dealings with Trimark, Ferrara told the audience, "So I said, Why don't you guys just go fuck yourselves." As an alternative to looking for distributors, he thought, "Why don't I buy it?' And two months later," he said, "I raised about 11 and a half dollars."

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For whatever reason, it looks as if Ferrara's stunningly shot and smartly crafted, visceral new feature may be passed up by the major indie distributors. "The film is not going anywhere," Ferrara said, in a brief revealing moment that hushed the giggling audience. "I really wish it was out in the States." Login to recommend this article » posted on April 20, 1998 Films to Snag Login to Leave a Comment »