Promises Written in Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

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Phil
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:51 pm
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Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#26 Post by Phil » Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:13 pm

He does have the narrative (if you can even call it that) pretty badly confused - Bafort's character has nothing to do with the funeral home, and the head mortician is played by Brenda Epperson, who looks nothing like Bafort (there is another dead blond girl who resembles Bafort but isn't) - but this, "experiments in diegetic permeability, sound / image / silence relationships, and the metaphysics of film performance", is spot on as a summary of what Gallo is doing here. This and Enter The Void would make an interesting double feature: they're two of the most truly jazzy movies I've ever seen (structurally, that is, in their use of what we might look at as modulations of sound/image, opposed to the general idea that jazzy w/r/t cinema is just shorthand for choppy editing).

I hope this gets at least an NYC/LA release, it's a major achievement and deserves to a big screen.


Mr. Ned
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:58 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#28 Post by Mr. Ned » Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:52 am

You gotta admit the guy has class.

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James Mills
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:12 pm
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Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#29 Post by James Mills » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:08 am

Both of those have to be a joke, right?

"If the purchaser of the sperm chooses the option of natural insemination, there is an additional charge of $500,000. However, if after being presented detailed photographs of the purchaser, Mr. Gallo may be willing to waive the natural insemination fee and charge only for the sperm itself."

Either way, VG is fucking bonkers.

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Doctor Sunshine
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:04 pm
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Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#30 Post by Doctor Sunshine » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:27 am

I think it's a joke. But I also think he would do it.

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mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
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Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#31 Post by mfunk9786 » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:40 am

Of course it's a joke - he first put the listing for his sperm up a few years ago. It's nothing new. Gallo's obviously an easy individual to dislike, but at least he's creative in finding interesting ways to put people off. He seems to be someone who genuinely enjoys annoying people in interesting ways - but he has a personality that I'm drawn to. One day, while his band was playing a show in San Francisco that he'd promoted on his Twitter all week, he advised people who were in the crowd to go to the box office and ask for a refund, because they "suck tonight".
We suck tonight. I've asked the bar to issue refunds to whoever wants one.
9:34 PM Nov 22nd, 2010 via Twitter for iPhone from Duboce Triangle, San Francisco
Awesome.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#32 Post by knives » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:49 am

Actually for stunts like that I find it impossible to dislike him. There's a certain degree of chutzpah there that I just have to admire.
Last edited by knives on Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Person
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 3:00 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#33 Post by Person » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:27 am

Depressed that Hunter Thompson and Dennis Hopper are dead? Fret not! Vincent Gallo is still with us!

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Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#34 Post by Murdoch » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:40 pm

That just makes me more depressed.

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MyNameCriterionForum
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 5:27 am

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#35 Post by MyNameCriterionForum » Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:17 pm

There aren't many Calvin Klein male models as genuinely creative and fascinating as Gallo, that's for sure.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:25 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#36 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sat May 14, 2011 4:38 am

I've Google news and have been waiting patiently for news about any type of non-festival screening of Promises Written On Water. Does anyone know what happened to the film? Since I've heard about it's creation and read the review online, it's been the film I've been anticipating the most and I just kept hoping some sort of screening would've popped up in Los Angeles, but it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

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Oedipax
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:48 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#37 Post by Oedipax » Sat May 14, 2011 5:20 am

I could be wrong but it sounds to me like Gallo isn't really looking to screen or distribute it. I'm dying to see it as well.

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AlexHansen
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:39 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#38 Post by AlexHansen » Sat May 14, 2011 9:37 am

That's the word I thought I'd had heard. I'm half-tempted to write to their sales office and inquire about setting up a screening.

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A
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:41 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#39 Post by A » Fri May 20, 2011 5:15 pm

Reading through all these posts put a big smile on my face. And discovering somebody who stumbled upon his fabulous website for the first time is always hilarious (it's also selling all kinds of odd stuff besides his sperm).

As I think "Brown Bunny" is the best film to grace the cinema screens of the last decade (next to Malick's "New World"), I'm dying to watch his latest!!! But Gallo this fucking asshole probably won't allow us to! Well... at least I can always visit his website. :lol:

Btw, does anyone know how to get hold of any of his short films? [-o<

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A
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:41 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#40 Post by A » Fri May 20, 2011 5:17 pm

AlexHansen wrote:That's the word I thought I'd had heard. I'm half-tempted to write to their sales office and inquire about setting up a screening.
Maybe we should open a private club and organize a screening...

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mikkelmark
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:00 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#41 Post by mikkelmark » Fri Jun 03, 2011 4:22 pm

The following might be interesting for the people waiting for this movie to be screened. It is taken from the Danish Cinemateques website, who are running a Vincent Gallo series this month.
'Promises Written in Water' is not even mean for a release:"I do not want any of my new works to be put in connection with a marked or an audience of any kinds", writes Gallo, who did accept an actress demands about allowing two festival screenings.

Nothing
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 4:04 am

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#42 Post by Nothing » Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:01 pm

Maybe he's going for a Matthew Barney-type thing, selling off the prints to private collectors for largeish sums... If he could pull it off, this would certainly be more profitable than trying to sell the film through the usual channels, especially given the film's reception at Venice and low commercial potential.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:25 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#43 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:06 pm

Anyways, I took my chances and e-mailed Gallo about the possibilities of ever getting to see this film. A short e-mail was responded with a short response:
Vincent Gallo wrote:I enjoy not showing it

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Oedipax
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:48 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#44 Post by Oedipax » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:15 pm

Awesome.

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Alan Smithee
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:49 am
Location: brooklyn

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#45 Post by Alan Smithee » Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:24 am

Oedipax wrote:Awesome.
Not really.

I'd like to see the movie. I admire him for trying to make a work that he feels is uncompromised. One that he had complete control over and didn't get soiled by his big mouth in the press or market forces or anyone putting financial pressures on him or bad reviews.

Then he shows that asshole side of himself. "I enjoy not showing it" makes me think of him like some sort of Eric Cartman-ish figure. The boy on the block that no one likes but he has a porno magazine and everyone wants to see it but he won't show it to them.

I think he's a fine filmmaker and a good, dedicated actor and I think by not showing it he's really just a coward, afraid of being judged. He could avoid most of the corrupting things he claims to be the problem just by organizing sporadic screenings the way Crispin Glover does, but no, he's getting too much enjoyment from refusing to show it to people. Hell I bet in a year or so certain museums would be willing to show it and give Gallo a respectful context that he claims to seek.

If he has a long term plan like nothing suggests then ok but if he really plans to keep it to himself forever then fuck him.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#46 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jul 29, 2011 1:37 am

Nah, I can't stand Gallo and even I will concede that that response was just perfect

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#47 Post by Zot! » Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:45 am

Why would we have any right to see his movie? I realize that in the era of celebrity sex tapes we expect everything to be readily available to us, but it is absurd.

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FerdinandGriffon
Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:16 am

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#48 Post by FerdinandGriffon » Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:08 am

Zot! wrote:Why would we have any right to see his movie? I realize that in the era of celebrity sex tapes we expect everything to be readily available to us, but it is absurd.
The question is not why we should have the right to see the movie, but why we shouldn't.
Though frankly I have little interest in seeing the work of an overgrown man-child who covetously keeps "his movie" away from audiences, like a retiree endlessly polishing his vintage Porsche in a vacuum sealed garage. Sharing is caring, dude.

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Alan Smithee
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 11:49 am
Location: brooklyn

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#49 Post by Alan Smithee » Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:47 pm

I didn't say we have a right to see his movie. If a person is talented and people have supported him financially through his work his entire life and they want to see his newest film and he doesn't want to show it, he's an asshole. That is all.

edit: Don't take this as an angry rant. I really don't care that much about this film, I'd just like to see it.

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med
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:58 pm

Re: Promises Written In Water (Vincent Gallo, 2010)

#50 Post by med » Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:51 pm

So, "asshole" is meant affectionately?

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