Snorer pie with yawn sauce

The thrilling tale of Jeffrey Wells and the snoring guy (there he is at right; my caption would have been, "Man, SImon Pegg has really let himself go!"); advice on how not to fall asleep at film festivals; how long you need to sit through a film before you can pronounce it as awesome; the revival of an outmoded bit of homophobic hate-speech; beigeness; ebonics; and Dave Eggers' peculiar and ever-growing powers; all this, and a little more, in this week's laugh-a-line (I wish) Topics/Questions/Exercises Of The Week, at The Auteurs'.

Comments

[Tony Dayoub]

I'm glad you owned up to falling asleep once, yourself. Last year, I went to my first press screenings for the NYFF. Of course, I wanted to make a good impression, and I mostly did. But by the end of my time there, I fell aslepp at one of my favorite director's screenings, Wong Kar Wai's ASHES TO ASHES.

I was mortified.

Glad to hear it happens to the best of us, though.

[Glenn Kenny]

Hey, man, sleep happens. And I'm sure it's happened to me more than once. One is especially susceptible to it in Toronto, where you can go from dark room to dark room pretty much all day with nary a break. So, ironically enough, the nearly non-stop access to films can work against you. At festivals where screenings are more spaced out, it's easier to rejuvenate, provided you can find a place to relax or are close enough to your hotel to grab a nap. That was/is a great thing about Cannes. Of course, at Cannes it's so sunny, and on a particularly hot day it would be a temptation to snag a free Stella Artois or two at the concession in the Palais. Which could be your undoing, as it happened; there's such a thing as being too relaxed.

Tony, I believe you meant "Ashes of TIme Redux." Unless there's a Kar-Wai movie out there I'm not aware of!!!

[Sam Adams]

At least that guy was out cold. Wells didn't have the excuse of unconsciousness for loudly sighing all the way through the first 4/5 of Todd Solondz' LIFE DURING WARTIME when he was seated two seats to my left. We get it, Jeff: You no like.

[Tony Dayoub]

No shit. You're right... I must be taking a hell of a snoozer now. Yes, I meant ASHES OF TIME REDUX.

But Wong adapting Bowie would be strangely fascinating wouldn't it?

[christian]

Wells has approached levels of insanity and unprofessionalism that would make Glenn Beck blush. Stop coddling him. He needs medication.

[The Siren]

My friend fall asleep during Bullet in the Head at the old Cinema Village. How is that even possible? Kiarostami makes quiet films so your nap is somewhat understandable, but Woo does NOT.

When I had nosebleed balcony season tickets to Carnegie Hall, one way my girlfriend and I amused ourselves if we didn't like a particular piece was by looking at the men in suits below us fall asleep soon after the lights went down. And yes, it was always the men...

[Tom Russell]

Only time I fell asleep during a movie was Ron Howard's western with Tommy Lee Jones, which My Otherwise Amazing Spouse dragged me to.

[otherbill]

Since we're sharing sleep stories: I went to see METROPOLIS at the Brattle in Boston at the tail end of being up for 42 hours straight. It was winter and I compounded my error by sitting in the balcony...where it's warmer. The first five minutes looked great on the big screen.

I've also zonked out during the two most recent Godards. I'll post my address if anybody wants to come take away my cinephile card.

[Cadavra]

As someone who suffers greatly from sleep apnea, falling asleep in movies (or worse, plays) is a constant frustration for me. I even have prescription pills that are supposed to keep me awake, but even they fail at times. But at least I don't snore.