From the Desk of William Pauley III
Where would you be if you found yourself immersed inside a cinematic dreamscape of your choosing? Would you explore the setting of your favorite film? Interact with your favorite characters? Or would you instead choose to embody one of them, to see/hear/feel everything they’re feeling?
A week ago, I never would’ve thought to ask this question, but life is just a series of moments, and a single moment can change everything. Many moments are so insignificant that they pass without you even realizing. But every now and then, you’ll experience a moment that, once it happens, your brain scrambles and suddenly you’re this new shape. Some moments have the ability to completely rewrite your DNA, events where you immediately transition from a known person into an unknown person. Sometimes this new, unknown thing is much better than the thing you were before.
Sometimes it’s worse. Much worse.
(Let’s not talk about those moments today.)
Thankfully, the moment I experienced last Saturday night was one that changed me for the better. I feel reborn, in a way. I see the world with new eyes.
You see, last Saturday night, I made the choice to attend a special screening of my favorite film, Mulholland Drive—directed by the brilliant David Lynch. What made it so special? Well, I’ll get to that in a second.
First, I want you to think about that film. What scene first pops into your mind? With so many memorable moments, you might be thinking of the dream man behind Winkies… or the audition scene… or the box of jewelry swimming in a sea of pink paint… however, I’m willing to bet the scene that first comes to mind is the one that takes place in Club Silencio.
Holy shit. Doesn’t that give you chills?
I remember the night I watched this movie for the first time. It was somewhere around 2002 and I’d rented it from the local Blockbuster. I was only 17 or so and it was my first encounter with a Lynch film (or so I thought—afterwards, I took a deep dive into his filmography and realized I’d seen The Elephant Man as a young child, before I was even of school age). Watching this film was one of those DNA re-writing moments for me. It was a chrysalis, something that birthed a new life. I would not be who I am today without this film. No way.
And this scene, man… it’s the greatest, most intense, most beautiful scene in all of film, I’m convinced. No hyperbole. I’d put it up against anything.
And what makes this scene so intriguing… so gut-wrenching… so flawlessly stunning? The answer is simple. We all know.
Rebekah Del Rio. The scene falls apart without her heartrending Spanish rendition of Roy Orbison’s “Crying.” It’s a scene I never become desensitized to. It gets me every. damn. time. No matter how many times I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen it a couple dozen times now, for sure.
I could go on and on about the significance of this scene and how important it is in understanding just what the fuck is happening in Mulholland Drive, but it would take a book to explain it all. I don’t have time to write it today. Maybe sometime in the near future, who knows? Today I just want to tell you about the special screening I attended.
So now what made the screening so special, huh? Well, see for yourself:
Hearing Rebekah Del Rio perform this song (and many others) live, only a few feet in front of me, was surreal, to say the least. I don’t think my heart beat even once for the entirety that she was onstage. Even trying to remember the details of the night are difficult, as I wasn’t so much watching her performance, but instead riding along the vibrations of it. I was thrown full force into a trance where suddenly I was embodying characters I’d seen on screen many times before, but it was me there, in that theater, watching and hearing and feeling everything those characters were feeling… and my soul was bursting.
My god, what a voice.
And with that, I was reborn once more. The same scene. The same song. Only I lived it this time.
I can’t wait to show you what I’ve become.
Oh, and I had the great privilege of meeting her! She was the sweetest person, too. She even offered us donuts, in true Twin Peaks fashion.
Man, what a night.
“Passionate Discourse”
dir. Jan Švankmajer
Last Week / This Week
Thanks to everyone who came out to Greyline Station/Julietta Market last weekend for the $20 Art Market! We met so many cool and interesting people *and* made enough cash to pay our bar tab! Always a plus. I have another book event coming up next weekend in Bloomington, Indiana—The Alternative Media Festival. For more info, click here. Hope to see you there!
Also, a huge thank you to all who participated in my Black Friday giveaway, especially those who bought more than one book! Man, you all made my day yesterday, that’s for sure. The event went better than I ever could’ve imagined. And there’s so much more room upstairs now! My family and I thank you! I’ll be sending those orders out starting on Monday.
Speaking of Black Friday, have you listened to the story of the week yet? “Black Friday” will be available to listen to for free until Monday, when it disappears behind the paywall. Listen here. I’ve received lots of positive feedback on this one, and it’s currently my most streamed story ever! On the upcoming episode of Storytime, it’s *surprise* another weird one. Be sure to check out “A Mist of Light” when it drops on Monday!
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Oddities Theater
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film Open Your Eyes, which was written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The film stars Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz (reprising her role from the original film), Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee, and Kurt Russell. (Wikipedia)
Synopsis: A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.
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