Sneak Preview: "Twisted"

Twisted was the fourth film shown at the sneak preview program I?ve been attending for almost a month, and though I was not around for the previous week?s screening (of an independent film called Easy), the filmmaker Q&A sessions afterward seem to be going downhill by the week.

On the first night, Tony Shalhoub, director of Made-Up, along with the producer, Lynne Adams, were present to talk about Made-Up, which was a very enlightening and enjoyable session. The following week Charles Dutton talked up Against the Ropes, which was a decent session in terms of what Dutton had to say, but overall nothing too special. This week with Twisted, director Philip Kaufman was present, and the session afterwards was quite lackluster.

Kaufman was either talking a little too close to the microphone or his voice is simply hard to decipher, as there were times when I seriously didn?t know what he was saying. He also didn?t discuss anything particularly important, which combined with my inability to hear him clearly, made my mind wander at times, and I?m probably missing a few details as a result. But in general, the information given wasn?t very unique, and I was even debating whether or not to write this up.

Kaufman came aboard Twisted after Ashley Judd was already attached, and said that she was an actress he admired and wanted to work with her given her unique track record in this genre. He noted that she has a certain spark onscreen in her films that allows you to go along for the ride with her character, and that it was a joy while filming the movie to experience that gem of hers.

Samuel L. Jackson called Kaufman up wanting a part in the film, and Kaufman said that after he worked with him, he realized what a brilliant man he is. Kaufman also noted Andy Garcia?s working style, as Garcia would come to him with many ideas about how to play his scenes, and that this creative collaboration with the actors allowed the production to be a fun place to work.

The film was shot in San Francisco, which was a pleasure for Kaufman since some of his favorite film noir pictures had been filmed there, including Bullitt. He expressed some things about San Francisco (and a few things that didn?t relate to the movie), but I didn?t hear most of them clearly. He mentioned the sexual element of Twisted and that it?s a little rougher in tone than Judd?s other films, and he hopes that the material won?t offend female demographics.

At one point he got carried away with camera angle talk when he thoroughly explained how he shot a particular scene, which seemed to bore some people, including myself. Some people even left after he first started talking about the movie, which wasn?t normal, at least in such a quantity.

Kaufman?s talk on the movie didn?t last long, which opened up the Q&A period pretty early. Nobody asked any filmmaking related questions this week, and the few people who did speak up simply expressed their enjoyment of putting together the story?s puzzle. A few people were able to predict the ending far in advance, but that factor didn?t hurt their experience too much.

One man had a question about a few plot points, as he didn?t entirely understand what was going on. As he kept elaborating, it almost seemed like he was attacking Kaufman on plot holes or believability, which made me laugh a little bit, and the audience did laugh at one point. However, the audience wasn?t laughing at Kaufman, as he had some form of an answer ? the man tried to speak up a few times, in between other's comments. An older woman commended Kaufman for the beautifully shot introduction, and I agreed, as the opening credits sequence is one of the only good things about Twisted.

The Q&A was also cut short since Kaufman had to be somewhere soon (the airport, perhaps), as that wrapped up the evening. So far the paper we get when we walk into the theater has had the next week?s film listed, but this week it wasn?t included. I did get to the screening a little late (the time was changed this week, and I wasn?t there last week to know that) and so the host may have mentioned next week?s movie in his introduction (I got in there just when the movie was starting). There?s a pretty good chance that Starsky & Hutch is the next flick, and if so, there?s a decent chance that (director) Todd Phillips will be there, and that?s the next session I?ll be reporting on.