Monday, January 19, 2009

The Devil wears a Q&A @ Sundance, Elle Driver to distribute 'The September Issue'


miramax via jurko.net


Yes R.J. Cutler’s US Vogue-dedicated frockumentary, The September Issue, has finally enjoyed its world premier at the Sundance Film Festival with no less than Wintour herself honouring the glacial festival with her notoriously glacial presence. Although in this video, below, of a post-screening Q&A which was uploaded yesterday – with, at the time of writing, a mere 200-odd views – Wintour comes across as quite warm. If a little eccentric – she insists on wearing her trademark sunglasses inside the theatrette, as if she’s front row at a fashion show. Gawker quotes an unnamed tipster who claims Wintour flew economy from Salt Lake City to New York. But one hilarious detail which appears to have escaped Gawker’s attention is the name of the distributor which has reportedly picked up international rights for the film. Elle Driver.

Elle Driver is the name of a bona fide, Paris-based distributor - whose previous films include, amusingly, a Polish production by the name of Four Nights with Anna.

In what frockwriter assumes may have been at the time an industry insider joke made by Quentin Tarantino, the director's fans will recall that Elle Driver is the name of the one-eyed hitwoman played by Daryl Hannah in Tarantino’s Kill Bill films.

A member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (the “DIVAS”) Elle Driver, aka “California Mountain Snake”, plays a key role in both Kill Bill Volume I and II.

At the beginning of the first film, Driver infiltrates the hospital in which Uma Thurman’s character, Beatrix Kiddo, has lain comatose for several years.

Driver has instructions from "Bill" to kill Kiddo - who survives only after Bill, Kiddo's nemesis and former lover, has a change of heart and decides the hospital hit is bad form.

Driver returns in the second film for a spectacular – and somewhat hilarious - Amazonian death-match with Kiddo.

Frankly frockwriter can’t think of a better film distributor for The September Issue. We’re not going even going to touch the Richard Prince/LV naughty nurse connections.



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Patty, I didn't know you were a cinemaphile. Nice spotting.

Patty Huntington said...

i share my bedroom with a man, a poodle and an entire wall of dvds, hddvds and blu-rays. including three versions of kill bill (US theatrical release, japanese colourised version and blu-ray).

i'd love to go to sundance. but only if ari gold tags along.

marian said...

god love you Patty - you make Mondays so much more bearable with that wondrous brain of yours xxx

Anonymous said...

The Gawker tip off was confusing, I got the impression from the article that the person was shocked she was taking a commercial flight at all. I know on some local commercial flights in the states there is only one class (and they did mention she was in coach) but I think the distinction they were making was between Commercial Airline vs. Private Jet. I can't imagine Vogue is doing so poorly that they'd stick Wintour in economy when there were other seats available and given her salary, you'd think she'd upgrade the tickets herself if that was the case.
Very funny if she was flying cattle class though.

Patty Huntington said...

yes the tipoff is confusing. gawker refers to a "tipster" which may mean they have no idea who it is. which is different to knowing the source but not revealing their name.

but just on jets and the financiapocalypse. i have no idea if wintour has in the past used jets. it does seem like an unnecessary extravagance for someone in her position. but in the current economic climate, noone in the US media who is in their right mind would be using a private jet for business purposes. it would be a ludicrous extravagance when companies are trying to survive by slashing even the most basic costs. some are reporting that the business jet business is dead for this very reason.

conde nast has been extremely hard hit by the ad downturn. that's public information. the film had yet to secure distribution going into the festival so it's not like a big film company would have been picking up the tab. it does seem comical but in this climate, frankly it wouldn't surprise me if wintour had flown coach. it might also have been the only available seat on the flight that she needed.

Anonymous said...

That the film was yet to secure distribution is a really good point. I've heard of Wintour using private jets in the past, but I suspect luxury conglomerates were picking up the bill then, rather than Conde Nast. The combination of environmental/fuel price/ eek!onomic climate right now really would make flying private obscene.
I just re-read the quote and it doesn't suggest that the person who spotted her was even on the flight with her, just that they were hanging around the same boarding lounge.
"I was flying back from Salt Lake City to JFK last night and I'm sitting waiting for my plane and who is sitting next to me but Anna Wintour. First I thought, no way is she flying commercial but then I saw her boarding pass. Omg! Times are tough if she's flying with the common."
Hmmm... Gawker probably had more info than just that quote, but if not this wouldn't be the first time they offered between-the-lines expansion to augment a grab.

Anonymous said...

You'd think Wintour would just cadge a ride in a private with some actor who has been campaigning for pages...scratching backs, and all that.

Tricia said...

3 copies of Kill Bill, I'm impressed! Great catch with the distributor name.

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