Invitation List
Written by Dan
As I've mentioned before on numerous occasions, one of the biggest selling points of our theater will be the audience interaction - whether it's with us during the pre-show introduction or with a guest speaker during a relevant symposium. Honestly, I can't wait to start inviting film-makers, actors, actresses, screenwriters, and other notable personages to the theater. The only question is will they accept?
I don't know how alluring our theater will seem to speakers who are accustomed to addressing audiences of several hundred or more. Our auditoriums are small. Itsy bitsy. Teeny weeny. We're talking 65 seats per auditorium, which might not be enough to feed the egos of certain uber-Hollywood types. But then again, who knows? They may enjoy the laid-back, easy-going atmosphere that our small theater provides - offering them a breath of fresh air amidst the endless string of student union auditoriums and press junkets.
The next consideration would be location. Would celebrities really want to come visit us way out here in fly-over country? Aside from the ones who were born here, I wonder how likely most celebrities would be to take a quick jaunt into the creamy humidity of the continental Midwest? With all those considerations aside, here's a list of speakers that I'd love to see stop by our theater one day.
Steve Zahn - Who doesn't like Steve Zahn? Honestly. The man is hilarious. Not only does he add a certain liveliness to every role he plays, but he also seems like a genuinely nice person.
Giovanni Ribisi - Like Steve Zahn, Giovanni has an intense underground following. He's teetered on mainstream success a few times, but he always manages to avoid it by consistently interspersing high-profile work with smaller, lesser-known films. He also seems like a genuinely nice fellow, despite the chronic bags under his eyes.
Parker Posey - Queen of the Indies. Cute as a bug. Hilarious in every role she's played... unless it's a dramatic one. If you've seen one of Christopher Guest's movies, you know first-hand the power of Parker Posey.
Richard Kelly - Writer / Director of Donnie Darko. Depending on the success of the re-release, Richard may soon be out of our league.
Andrew Wilson - Andrew is the Wilson brother who's not Owen or Luke. Sure, he's not as well known as his younger brothers, but he's had a role in every one of Wes Anderson's movies, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he has some good stories to tell about it too.
Clint Howard - Since we're on the subject of brothers, how about Clint Howard. This man has been making movies for over 40 years. He's had small roles in every one of his brother Ron's movies, and he's got that cool gap between his teeth. His newest movie is called My Big Fat Independent Movie... that's right up our alley.
Catherine O'Hara - Another talented actress from the Christopher Guest troupe... not to mention Beetle Juice and Home Alone.
Kyle Cooper - This guy is considered to be one of the greatest title sequence film-makers in the world. If you saw Spiderman, Dawn of the Dead, Se7en, Twister, or Mission: Impossible you've seen just a small sampling of his work.
Dan Hedaya - Yes, he's the hairiest man alive, behind Robin Williams, but you've gotta admit... he's cool.
Oliver Platt - He's famous, then he's not, he's famous, then he's not. If we can catch him at a low point, we might be able to book an appointment.
Martin Freeman or Mackenzie Crook - Tim and Gareth from The Office. Maybe we could talk them into appearing together... and invite Lucy Davis (Dawn) and Ewan Macintosh (Keith) too! That would be totally rad!
Mary Lynn Rajskub - A Mr. Show alum, Mary Lynn has since had roles in a couple of Paul Thomas Andreson's movies, AND played Chloe O'Brian on 24.
Luis Guzmán - Speaking of P.T. Anderson regulars, this guy is one of the best... as long as you can look past the terrible sitcom he got sucked into last season.
Peter Hedges - Not only is he the screenwriter who successful adapted Nick Hornby's book About a Boy into one of the best movies of all time, but he also penned the indie classic What's Eating Gilbert Grape, AND he and I share the same birthday... 18 years apart.
Cary Elwes - His career has gotten to the point where he'll take anything... especially if we promise to call him the Dread Pirate Roberts.
Jason Mewes - Need I say more?
Oh man, I could go on and on forever, but I have to stop at some point. I should note that this list would have been a lot longer, but a lot of the people we'd like to invite are currently suffering under the weight of their own fame. Maybe one day our chances will rise above that of a snowball in hell and we'll be able to book one, or more, of the following celebrities:
+ Ricky Gervais
+ Bjork
+ Eddie Izzard
+ The Gyllenhaals (Jake or Maggie)
+ Gary Oldman
+ Johnny Depp
+ Juliette Lewis
+ Bill Murray
+ Fred Willard
+ Jack Black
+ Tina Fey
+ Philip Seymour Hoffman
+ Audrey Tautou
+ John C. Reilly
+ Faye Dunaway
+ The other Wilson brothers
+ Wes Anderson
+ P.T. Anderson
+ The Coen Brothers
+ Spike Jonze
+ Michel Gondry
+ Christopher Guest
+ The Coppolas, including, but not limited to:
+ + + Francis Ford
+ + + Sophia
+ + + Talia Shire
+ + + Jason Schwartzman
+ + + Nicolas Cage
Again, I could keep going, but this post has gone on long enough. Did I leave anyone out?