Champagne and Heels

Two of my all time favorite filmmakers John Hughes and John Waters got married, put a Riot Grrl soundtrack to it and produced a love child called “Dirty Girl”. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival a few weeks ago and I was lucky enough to see it back in Los Angeles. No doubt there will be minor comparisons made to the sweet and funny Easy A which just came out but this is a whole different teenage angst animal with even more subtext and soul. First time feature director Abe Sylvia wrote the script seven years ago and producer Rob Paris read it five years ago. Since then the two have followed their gut and persisted in making what is a fantastic film that will surely go down in the indie cult classics book. Theirs is a Hollywood story to make you smile and remember that people still make films because they simply believe in them and have no choice but to give up a decade of their lives in pursuit of something out of the ordinary. One of the best parts is hearing Mr. Paris recount his recent moment in Toronto when one of his partners tapped him on the shoulder midway thru the screening to tell him that Harvey Weinstein was at that moment buying the film outside the screening room. Continue reading →