Today saw "Taxidermia" by the person who made "Hukkle". Once again, a film of visual non sequiters, but in "Hukkle" it was little visual jokes, here it was more grotesque. Leaving the theater, one woman used the term "distasteful". But it's quite holding, with some corrosively memorable imagery. Online, watched a Tribeca Film Festival short selection: "Bicycle Gangs of New York" by Cheryl Dunn.

Watched the second part of "Brando", the TCM doc that had been at the Tribeca Film Festival. It's curious: all these people (Frederic Forrest, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Johnny Depp) just lauding him. But Jane Fonda (at the end) talks about how sad she felt the last times she saw him, how defeated he seemed.

In the latest issue of Filmmaker, Steve Gallagher has an interview with Mary Jordan about her film "Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis".

A very odd episode of "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." with Margaret Leighton and Michael Wilding as guest stars. Looking it up, turns out that Michael Wilding married Margaret Leighton in 1964, a marriage that lasted until her death. "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." was 1966; in 1970, Margaret Leighton (the then current Mrs. Michael Wilding) played the best friend of Zee, played by Elizabeth Taylor (the ex-Mrs. Michael Wilding). Show business is so incestuous... rather like art business....

Like last night, at that event for "Paris Je t'aime": Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands (who were in the film) were there, which reminded me that the first time i met Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes was at the opening night of Anthology Film Archives at the Public Theater in 1970. I remember that Linda Patton greeted them, and then, when they walked away, she shook her head and said, "oh, he's so commercial!" Imagine that! In 1970, those of us who were "avantgarde" could consider "independent" filmmakers commercial!

Now, we're lucky to find anyone who's as independent as Cassavetes was.