Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "Coffee and Cigarettes"

Movie : Coffee and Cigarettes

Notes Provided by United Artists SYNOPSIS Coffee And Cigarettes is a comic series of short vignettes that build on one another to create a cumulative effect as the characters discuss things as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the twenties, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide, all the while sitting around sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. As Jim Jarmusch delves into the normal pace of our world from an extraordinary angle, he shows just how absorbing the obsessions, joys, and addictions of life can be. Filmed in black and white, Coffee And Cigarettes made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival then screened to a sold-out crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival. The following are synopses for each individual vignette: STRANGE TO MEET YOU Soon after they meet, Roberto (Roberto Benigni) and Steven (Steven Wright) agree that they are both "wound up" and that cigarettes and coffee go great together. Steven likes to drink coffee just before he goes to bed so that he can dream at Indy 500 speed. Also, he has a dentist's appointment and he doesn't want to go. Luckily, Roberto comes up with an unexpected solution to Steven's problem. TWINS The Evil Twin (Cinqué Lee) and The Good Twin (Joie Lee) can't agree on whose idea it was to come to Memphis, among other things they disagree about. Soon they are joined by the Waiter (Steve Buscemi), who, after noticing they are twins, tells them a story about Elvis Presley's twin brother, who he holds responsible for Elvis' downfall. The Good Twin tells the waiter her belief that Elvis stole his music from black musicians. The Waiter has a ready answer SOMEWHERE IN CALIFORNIA Tom (Tom Waits) tells Iggy (Iggy Pop) about his busy day performing roadside surgery. Iggy is surprised to hear about Tom's sideline as a doctor. The two musicians discuss the wonders of giving up smoking. The beauty of quitting, Tom points out, is that you can have one again. Iggy wonders whether Tom comes to this place a lot - as the jukebox doesn't have any of his music. Tom says that maybe Taco Bell or IHOP might be more to Iggy's liking THOSE THINGS'LL KILL YA Joe (Joe Rigano) can't believe that Vinny (Vinny Vella) still smokes. Vinny says he can't help it - he's addicted. Vinny points out that Joe is a caffeine maniac and maybe he should quit coffee. Vinny Jr. (Vinny Vella Jr.) gets four bucks from his Dad and buys a bag of "Japanese Peas." Joe doesn't like them and Vinny explains that they are a delicacy. Vinny lights up again RENÉE Renée (Renée French) sits alone in a cafe reading an article: "Make Your Own Motorcycle Rack." The Waiter (E.J. Rodriguez) intrudes on her solitude with an unrequested coffee refill. Renée wishes he hadn't done that, as it had been the perfect color and temperature. The waiter asks if he can get her something to eat, as coffee and cigarettes isn't a very healthy lunch NO PROBLEM Isaach (Isaach de Bankolé) is happy that his friend Alex (Alex Descas) called him, but worries that something is wrong. Alex tries to assure his friend that there is no problem, he just wanted to see him. Alex's repeated denials only serve to confirm Isaach's belief that his friend is holding something out on him. COUSINS In the middle of a movie publicity junket, Cate (Cate Blanchett) meets her cousin Shelly (also Cate Blanchett) in the lounge of the fancy hotel she is staying in. Tension emerges as Shelly can only thinly veil her jealousy over Cate's success. Shelly talks about her new boyfriend, who is in an "industrial" band called Sqürl. Cate gives Shelly a bag of expensive makeup, and Shelly deduces that it was "swag," not something Cate actually purchased for her. JACK SHOWS MEG HIS TESLA COIL Jack (Jack White) has built a Tesla Coil according to the original design, and he has brought it to a bar in a wagon to demonstrate it to Meg (Meg White). Jack says that Nikola Tesla changed the world with countless inventions, including fluorescent light, and perceived the earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance. Jack starts up the Coil, which gives off an impressive lightning-like display, startling The Kitchen Guy (Cinqué Lee), until something goes haywire with the device. COUSINS? When Alfred (Alfred Molina) invites Steve (Steve Coogan) to meet for tea in an L.A. restaurant, Coogan misses no opportunity to belittle his fellow actor. Paying no attention to Coogan's slights, Molina explains the reason for the meeting - he has discovered they are cousins. Molina feels that this is a sign that they should work together, but Coogan isn't enthusiastic about the idea. In fact, Coogan resists any further contact with his "cousin" until an unexpected event DELIRIUM GZA (GZA) is startled to hear that RZA (RZA) has been studying alternative medicine. Both of them agree that they feel better since they have sworn off caffeine. Bill Murray (Bill Murray), in a waiter's outfit, offers them coffee, but RZA tells him that coffee can cause serious delirium. Murray drinks coffee straight from the pot, and the three discuss drinking coffee just before bed-time, freezing coffee, and nicotine's use as an insecticide. RZA and GZA offer Murray some extremely alternative methods for dealing with his cough. CHAMPAGNE Taylor (Taylor Mead) tells Bill (Bill Rice) that he feels like the Mahler song "I've Lost Track of the World." Somehow they can hear the song, playing faintly. Bill says that Nikola Tesla perceived the Earth as a conductor of acoustical resonance. Taylor wants to pretend that the coffee is champagne in order to celebrate life, the way elegant people do. Bill prefers simple workingman's coffee. Taylor tells Bill that a coffee and a cigarette isn't a very healthy lunch * * * ABOUT THE PRODUCTION In 1986, Jim Jarmusch was asked by Saturday Night Live to create a short film for the show. The result was the short "Coffee and Cigarettes" starring Roberto Benigni and Steven Wright (called "Strange to Meet You" in the feature). Tom DiCillo, who had shot Stranger Than Paradise for Jarmusch, was the director of photography. The short was broadcast on the program and was also shown in film festivals. This first "Coffee and Cigarettes" film set the stage for what would be a long-term project for Jarmusch, a series of conversations about coffee and cigarettes, linked by themes and style into one feature film. All were filmed in black and white, usually employing consistent visual motifs - for example, an overhead shot of the table - to unify the larger piece. Jarmusch's screenplay worked a host of variations on the basic idea of interchanges centering on coffee and cigarettes, but repeated references, jokes, and metaphors created a throughline. Most of the people chosen to be part of the project were friends of the writer/director, but some, like Steve Coogan or Cate Blanchett, were simply people he wanted to work with. Though at times the actors appear to be playing themselves, the scripts were either completely fictional or, at most, exaggerated versions of the people's personalities or public personas as tailored by the script. The second installment of the film was shot in 1989 while Jarmusch was in Memphis filming Mystery Train. It featured two actors from the film, Cinqué Lee and Steve Buscemi, plus Lee's sister Joie, and was shot by the movie's director of photography, Robby Müller. This film ("Twins" in the feature) played festivals as "Coffee and Cigarettes: Memphis Version." In 1992, Jarmusch filmed a third segment in Northern California, "Coffee and Cigarettes: Somewhere in California," starring Tom Waits and Iggy Pop and lensed by Frederick Elmes. This won the Golden Palm at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival as Best Short Film. Returning to New York, Jarmusch shot two more scenes in one day: "Renée" (with Renée French and E. J. Rodriguez) and "No Problem" (with Alex Descas and Isaach de Bankolé). Ellen Kuras served as director of photography. Jarmusch filmed the remaining six parts of Coffee and Cigarettes in two weeks in early 2003: "Those Thing'll Kill Ya" (Joe Rigano and Vinny Vella), "Cousins" (Cate Blanchett), "Jack Shows Meg His Tesla Coil" (Jack and Meg White), "Cousins?" (Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan), "Delirium" (GZA, RZA, Bill Murray) and "Champagne" (Taylor Mead and Bill Rice). The key filmmakers for this group of scenes were Frederick Elmes (director of photography), Mark Friedberg (production designer), and Jay Rabinowitz (editor). ABOUT THE CAST ROBERTO BENIGNI Roberto Benigni was born in 1952 in a family of Tuscan farmers. In the early '60s, unable to attend school, he started working in a regional circus as the magician's assistant. He then joined the "Poeti improvvisatori" (Improvising poets), reciting with them in "ottava rima" (eighth rhyme) in outdoor shows throughout Tuscany. In 1972, he moved to Rome and together with some friends formed an underground theater company where he worked until 1976, the year in which he wrote and performed in his first feature film. Since then, with the exception of a few "one man shows" he staged throughout Italy, he has been completely devoted to films, writing, directing and performing in his own. Filmography: Pinocchio (2002), by and with Benigni; L'Ultimo Del Paradiso (2002, TV); Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999), by Claude Zidi; La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful, 1997), by and with Benigni; Tutto Benigni 95/96 (1996), by and with Benigni; Il Mostro (The Monster, 1994), by and with Benigni; Son of the Pink Panther (1993), by Blake Edwards; Night on Earth (1992), by Jim Jarmusch; Johnny Stecchino (1991), by and with Benigni; La Voce Della Luna (1990), by Federico Fellini; Il Piccolo Diavolo (The Little Devil, 1988), by and with Benigni; Down by Law (1986), by Jim Jarmusch; Tuttobenigni (1985) by Giuseppe Bertolucci; No Ci Resta Che Piangere (1984), by and with Benigni and Massimo Troisi; Tu Mi Turbi (1983), by and with Benigni; Il Minestrone (1981), by Sergio Citti; Il Papocchio (1980), by Renzo Arbore; Chiedo Asilo (1979), by Marco Ferreri; Berlinguer Ti Voglio Bene (1977), by Giuseppe Bertolucci. STEVEN WRIGHT Steven Wright continues to do live stand-up shows. He wrote and appeared in "The Appointments of Dennis Jennings," which won an Academy Award® for Best Short Film in 1989. He also wrote and directed the short "One Soldier," and he appeared in Susan Seidelman's Desperately Seeking Susan, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, Quentin Tarentino's Reservoir Dogs, Michael Moore's Canadian Bacon, and Albert Brooks' The Muse, among other films. JOIE LEE Joie Lee is an actress, writer and director. Her acting credits include Broadway productions of "The Vagina Monologues" and "Mule Bone," and "The Hologram Theory" Off-Broadway. Her film credits include: Solos, Personals, Mo' Better Blues, Do the Right Thing, Losing Isaiah, A Kiss Before Dying and She's Gotta Have It. Her TV appearances include: Law & Order SVU and 100 Centre Street. Lee's writing credits include: "Flight 770," a 10-minute short written with Spike Lee for the BBC, Crooklyn, Accidentally on Purpose (Nickelodeon cable TV series), James (co-writer of cable series in development), and an untitled feature script set in a high school. Joie's directorial debut, "Snapped," a five-minute short film, appeared on the new PBS series Color TV in September 2003. Joie is also co-producing a documentary on acting coach Susan Batson and is co-creator of an upcoming animated series called Hot Peas and Butter. Joie is a member of the Actors Studio. CINQUÉ LEE Cinqué Lee has portrayed roles on both sides of the camera, including his first feature, Window on Your Present, which he wrote, produced and directed. He was also co-writer on Spike Lee's Crooklyn. In addition to Coffee and Cigarettes, Cinqué has appeared in other film shorts, including Spike Lee's "Sarah" and "Horn of Plenty." Cinqué's most notable role was as a bellhop in Jim Jarmusch's feature Mystery Train. He also co-starred in 12 episodes of Banana Chips, a Japanese miniseries. He was a lead in the rock concert tour movie of Jane's Addiction, Three Days. Most recently he starred in his own feature Nowhere Fast and directed and wrote his first digital feature, Sink Like a Stone. His short stories have appeared in the magazines Pump, Crawl and Hang Over. His screenplay Floaters was adapted into a comic book series for Dark Horse Comics. STEVE BUSCEMI Born in Brooklyn, New York, Buscemi was cast in his first lead role in Bill Sherwood's Parting Glances as a musician with AIDS. Additional acting credits include: Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, Quentin Tarentino's Reservoir Dogs, Robert Altman's Kansas City, Alex Rockwell's In the Soup, Tom DiCillo's Living in Oblivion, Martin Scorsese's New York Stories, The Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Pixar's Monsters Inc., Jerry Bruckheimer productions' Con Air and Armegeddon, and recently HBO's The Laramie Project, Spy Kids 2 and Spy Kids 3-D, Mr. Deeds, The Grey Zone and Love in the Time of Money. In 2002 he won the Independent Spirit Award, the New York Film Critics Award, and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World. He was most recently seen in Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton and costarring Ewan MacGregor. Buscemi's writing/directing credits include: "What Happened to Pete" (short film); Trees Lounge, which he wrote, directed and starred in, along with Chloë Sevigny and Anthony LaPaglia; and Animal Factory, starring Willem Dafoe and Edward Furlong. He was also nominated for an Emmy and a DGA award for directing the "Pine Barrens" episode of HBO's The Sopranos, for which he continues to work as actor and director. Buscemi's next project as a director is Lonesome Jim, starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler. IGGY POP Iggy Pop, who revolutionized rock on his seminal recordings with the Stooges, has reconvened original bandmates Ron Asheton (guitar and bass) and his brother Scott Asheton (drums) for their first new music together in 30 years on Iggy's new album Skull Ring, which features two tracks recorded with Green Day plus the album's first single, "Little Know It All," recorded with Sum 41. The long-awaited follow-up to Beat 'Em Up (2001), Skull Ring - every track produced by Pop - also contain cuts with his backup band The Trolls as well as the controversial hardcore rap siren known as Peaches. Pop composed the theme for Repo Man as well as for the French feature Va Mourire and Johnny Depp's The Brave. He has appeared in numerous feature films, including Sid and Nancy, The Color of Money, Cry-Baby, Tank Girl, The Crow: City Of Angels, Snow Day and Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, and on television in The Adventures of Pete and Pete and an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. On June 21, 2003, in France, Iggy was last year's only international artist to receive the prestigious Officier des Arts et des Lettres award from the Minister of Culture in a special decoration ceremony at the annual Fete de la Musique held on French Cultural Ministry Day. TOM WAITS In a career that spans four decades, Tom Waits has adventurously delved into recording, theater, film, live performance and literature, as both actor and composer. His music, recognized for its distinctive orchestrations and arrangements, has ranged from country, blues, cabaret, waltz and field hollers to gospel and polkas. He has recorded over 20 albums, including last year's Alice and Blood Money and appeared in over 20 films including Ironweed, Dracula, Down by Law and Short Cuts. JOE RIGANO Joe Rigano has worked with such filmmaking legends as Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro and Woody Allen. He has been featured in principal roles in: Casino, Mickey Blue Eyes, Analyze This, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Sweet and Lowdown, Hollywood Ending, The Crew and This Thing of Ours, to name a few. Joe has also teamed up with co-star Vinny Vella to do thirty-two segments of the highly acclaimed ESPN commercials for Sunday Night Baseball. He will soon be seen in High Times Pot Luck, Four Deadly Reasons and Season of the Hunted. VINNY VELLA Born and raised in Little Italy, Vinny Vella founded Star Truckers, a company providing transportation to stars in music and movies as well as top fashion models. While working on the set, Vinny Vella was invited to be an extra. He then pursued print work, which led to a Dockers TV commercial and appearances on MTV's House of Style. Film work followed, with small roles in Spike Lee's Girl 6 and Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part III. His big break came with Martin Scorsese's Casino, which he followed with roles in Donnie Brasco, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Analyze This, Analyze That, This Thing of Ours and the documentary Hey Vinny. He also starred with Joe Rigano in thirty-two spots for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. VINNY VELLA JR. Vinny Vella Jr.'s film work includes: License to Steal, Hey Vinny, Home Invaders, Analyze This, Looking for an Echo, Cherry, I Love You, I Love You Not, and Let It Be Me. His TV appearances include Comedy Central, Feds, New York Undercover, Law and Order and Shoe Laces. RENÉE FRENCH Renée French lives a mysterious life in and out of New York City. E.J. RODRIGUEZ For the past two decades, E.J. Rodriguez has been playing drums and percussion in various combinations in the downtown New York Jazz scene. He has toured with bands such as John Lurie's Lounge Lizards and performed in experimental theater projects with David Cale. He has played with bands such as Roy Nathanson's Jazz Passengers, The Brooklyn Funk Essentials, John Cale, Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. In 1999, E.J. went to Cuba to study with legendary Afro-Cuban percussionists Jose Luis "Changuito" Quintana and Francisco "Pancho Quinto" Mora, as well as learning various rhythms from the unsung heroes of the art in the streets of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil. Acting roles include: Keep It for Yourself by Claire Denis and The Prince of Central Park, starring Kathleen Turner. E.J. has also recorded music for scenes in other movies for Jim Jarmusch including Down by Law and Stranger Than Paradise. He also worked with John Lurie on the music for Get Shorty and Clay Pigeons and most recently on the John Leguizamo HBO film Undefeated. He divides his time between touring, traveling and playing gigs around the New York area and can still be found occasionally playing Rumba on a Sunday afternoon in Central Park. ALEX DESCAS Alex Descas began in films in 1984 with a supporting role in L'Arbelete. Other films include: Claire Denis' No Fear, No Die (for which he received a César nomination), Nénette et Boni, I Can't Sleep, Trouble Every Day, Ten Minutes Older: The Cello ("Vers Nancy" Segment), Olivier Assayas' Late August, Early September and Irma Vep, and more recently, Christian Grandman's Tèt Grenne, and La Merveilleuse Odyssée de l'Idiot Tobaggan. He also portrayed Joseph Mobutu in the critically acclaimed Lumumba. Recent theatre work includes: "Swize Banzi est Mort" (Peter Brook Theatre) and "Le Traitement de Martin Crimp" (Théâtre National de Chaillot). This year, he has completed two films, the comedy La Beuze, and Tiresia, directed by Bertrand Bonello, and upcoming, Nèg Maron (Et Si Le Soleil Ne Revenait Pas?). ISAACH DE BANKOLÉ Best known in the U.S. for his work in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Night on Earth, Isaach De Bankolé's diverse body of work on screen, stage and television spans the globe and two decades. Since being awarded the César for Best New Actor in 1987 for his performance in Black Mic Mac, De Bankolé has brought his talents to Claire Denis' Chocolat and No Fear, No Die, the controversial Jacques Benoit's How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired, Freider Schlaich's Otomo, two acclaimed collaborations with director Joe Brewster, The Keeper and The Killing Zone, and upcoming, Barry Strugatz's From Other Worlds. Recently, De Bankolé starred in Kevin Asher Green's Homework, which won Best Narrative Feature at 2004's Slamdance Film Festival, and starred off-Broadway in New York in "Aunt Dan and Lemon" with Lili Taylor and Kristen Johnston. De Bankolé directed a documentary about jazz musician Cassandra Wilson, Traveling Miles, and has written the screenplay for his first dramatic film as director about a West African immigrant mistakenly gunned down by NYC police. CATE BLANCHETT Since graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Cate Blanchett has worked extensively in the theater with Company B, a loose ensemble of actors including Geoffrey Rush, Gillian Jones and Richard Roxburgh based at Belvoir St. under the direction of Neil Armfield. Her roles included Miranda ("The Tempest"), Ophelia ("Hamlet"), Nina ("The Seagull") and Rose ("The Blind Giant is Dancing"). For the Sydney Theater Company (STC) she appeared in Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls," David Mamet's "Oleanna" (awarded The Sydney Theater Critics award for Best Actress), Michael Gow's "Sweet Phoebe" (also for the Croyden Wearhouse, London) and Timothy Dalys "Kafka Dances" (also for The Griffin Theatre Company) for which she received the Critics Circle award for best newcomer. For the Almeida Theatre in 1999, Cate played Susan Traheren in David Hare's "Plenty" on London's West End. Her television credits include lead roles in Bordertown and Heartland, both for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Her film roles include Susan Macarthy in Bruce Beresford's Paradise Road, Lizzie in Thank God He Met Lizzie, an anti-romantic comedy directed by Cherie Nowlan for which Cate was awarded both the Australian Film Institute (AFI) and the Sydney Film Critics awards for Best Supporting Actress, and Lucinda in Oscar and Lucinda opposite Ralph Fiennes and directed by Gillian Armstrong, a role that earned her an AFI nomination for Best Actress. In 1998, Cate portrayed Queen Elizabeth I in the critically acclaimed Elizabeth, directed by Shekhar Kapur, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role as well as Best Actress awards from The Chicago Film Critics Association, The London Film Critics Association, On-line Film Critics, Variety Critics and UK Empire Award. She also received a Best Actress nomination from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts, & Sciences. In 1999, Cate appeared in Pushing Tin with John Cusack, directed by Mike Newell; An Ideal Husband directed by Oliver Parker; and The Talented Mr. Ripley directed by Anthony Mingella, for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Cate also starred in The Gift directed by Sam Raimi and in Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and for which Cate was awarded Best Supporting Actress by the Florida Critics Circle. In 200l, Cate appeared in Bandits with Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, directed by Barry Levinson, for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She was also seen as Galadriel, Queen of the Elves, in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of Peter Jackson's trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels. Cate was honored by the National Board Review as the 2001 Best Supporting Actress for her outstanding supporting performances in Bandits, The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and The Shipping News. She reprised her role as Galadriel in 2002 for second installment of the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and the final installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which was released in December 2003. In 2002, Cate was also seen in the title role of Charlotte Gray, directed by Gillian Armstrong and based on Sebastian Faulks' best-selling novel. Cate has also appeared in The Shipping News alongside Kevin Spacey and directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and Heaven, opposite Giovanni Ribisi and directed by Tom Tykwer. Recently, Cate was seen in Veronica Guerin directed by Joel Schumacher. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination in the category of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama" and a nomination by the Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actress. She was also seen in the thriller The Missing opposite Tommy Lee Jones for director Ron Howard. Cate recently wrapped production on two films, the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator for director Martin Scorsese and The Life Aquatic for director Wes Anderson. In July 2004, Cate will return to the Sydney Theatre Company to play the title role in Andrew Upton's adaptation of "Hedda Gabler." After the play, she will remain in Australia to film Rowan Woods' Little Fish. MEG WHITE & JACK WHITE Jack and Meg White grew up in a large Catholic family in Southwest Detroit. After high school, wanting to learn a trade, Jack apprenticed as an upholsterer's assistant, eventually opening his own upholstery shop, Third Man Upholstery. As he struggled to develop his business, he began writing songs and dreaming up an idea for a band he wanted to start. He named the band The White Stripes, and along with his sister, Meg White, the band was built around the idea of simple, minimalist beauty, with Meg playing drums and Jack playing guitar and singing. The world of The White Stripes is comprised of red, white and black colors, and lovely melodies encased in garage-punk blues and more traditional rock and roll foundations. Jack has started his own record label, Third Man Records, and in addition to producing his own records he has produced albums for many other artists, including country legend Loretta Lynn. Jack made his acting debut in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain. Meg White is a young woman of few words, but when she speaks, people listen. Her shyness, though, evaporates when she is playing drums with The White Stripes. Her powerful, singular style has made her perhaps the best known female drummer in rock and roll. Coffee and Cigarettes is Meg's acting debut. ALFRED MOLINA Alfred Molina, who recently finished his role as Dr. Octavius in Spiderman II, is an accomplished and versatile actor with over fifty film, television and theatre productions to his credit. Molina recently starred as Diego Rivera in Frida, opposite Salma Hayek (Best Supporting Actor nominations from BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Chicago Film Critics Assn. and Broadcast Critics Assn.). Other recent films: Identity, Plots with a View and Lasse Hallstrom's Chocolat. He made his movie debut with a small role in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and had a notable role in Letter to Brezhnev. His breakthrough role came in 1987 when he portrayed Kenneth Halliwell, the tragic lover of Joe Orton, in Prick Up Your Ears. In 1998, Molina earned accolades for his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (he won a SAG award for outstanding performance by a cast). Other films include: The Imposters, Anna Karenina, Species, The Perez Family, Maverick, Enchanted April, Pete's Meteor, Not Without My Daughter, Dudley Do-Right, Texas Rangers and Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man. For TV, Molina served as producer and actor for the CBS sitcom Ladies Man, co-starring Sharon Lawrence and Betty White. Molina made his Broadway debut in 1998 in the Tony-winning play "Art" with Alan Alda and Victor Garber (Best Actor Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award for best ensemble). He starred in the off-Broadway production of "Molly Sweeney" (Theatre World Award, Drama Desk nomination). Other theatre credits include two Royal National Theatre productions, "Night of the Iguana" and David Mamet's "Speed the Plow" (Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance), and "Serious Money" for the Royal Court Theatre and The West End. Molina also received an Olivier Award nomination for "Oklahoma!" at the Palace Theatre. Molina returned to Broadway in January 2004, starring in "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Minskoff Theatre. STEVE COOGAN Steve was born and raised in Manchester, where he trained as an actor at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre. His first TV role was on First Exposure, which led to many television appearances, including The Prince's Gala Trust, Stand-Up, Up-Front, Paramount City, London Underground, and Word In Your Ear. He was also a regular voice on Spitting Image. In 1992 he won the Perrier Award for Steve Coogan in Character with John Thompson. He became a regular on Saturday Zoo, and while working on radio, his character Alan Partridge was created in On the Hour, and then on television as The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You (numerous awards). He went on to write and perform in The Paul Calf Diaries (BAFTA award). Named Top Male Comedy Performer, Top Comedy Personality and Best New Television Comedy (for Knowing Me, Knowing You at 1994 British Comedy Awards. Other television shows include Coogan's Run and Tony Ferrino's Phenomenon (Silver Rose of Montreux Award) for BBC2 and Wind in the Willows, directed by Terry Jones. Steve's series I'm Alan Partridge won two BAFTA's, and his live show "The Man Who Thinks He's It" was a sellout tour in the UK, won a South Bank Show Award, and broke box office records for a comedy show in London's West End. Steve and partner Henry Normal's production company, Baby Cow Productions, has produced a number of award-winning programs, including Marion and Geoff, Human Remains, The Sketch Show, Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible, A Small Summer Party, Up in Town and Cruise of the Gods. In 2003, he appeared as Samuel Pepys in BBC 2's film The Private Life of Samuel Pepys. His film work includes Resurrected, The Indian in the Cupboard, Revengers Comedies, The Fix, and The Parole Officer, which he also co-wrote, and which went on to be one of the top grossing British films of the year. In 2002 he was acclaimed for his starring role in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People. He recently finished filming Around the World in 80 Days with Jackie Chan. GZA When it comes to thought provoking, street-bred raw lyricism, the Wu-Tang Clan's fountain of wisdom, GZA, takes his job very seriously. GZA's metaphoric and multi-layered lyrics are often touted by critics as his rap name implies: genius. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in every borough of New York City, the GZA's workmanship can be found four albums deep with classics dating back to 1991, including the albums Words from the Genius, the gold-selling Liquid Swords, Beneath the Surface, and his latest release, Legend of the Liquid Sword. Before his days of microphone notoriety, GZA found himself during the early ages of rap music traveling throughout New York City sharpening his rap skills in scattered rhyme battles. During GZA's travels, he encountered other rap veterans that recognized his promise and helped to nurture his talent. In addition to creating rhymes, GZA has earned respect behind the camera, directing videos for Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface, SWV, and his own releases. He is currently editing footage for a Wu-Tang behind-the-scenes documentary. RZA The RZA, aka the Abbot, aka Bobby Digital, is a man of many aliases and more talents. He is the heart, soul, and brains behind rap's only true supergoup, the Wu-Tang Clan. In 1993, RZA single-handedly changed the face of hiphop with the explosive release of Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. His raw and dirty beats influenced virtually every producer that followed in his roaring wake. His talents were requested by everyone from Snoop Doggy Dogg to U2 to Bjork. He also created a precedent for the industry, signing the group to a deal that allowed each member to pursue solo deals on other labels. The group's second album, Wu-Tang Forever, sold over 600,000 copies in its first week. Not only his music sets the RZA apart from other producers, it is also his social, spiritual and political outlook that informs his music. A student of life, RZA is an auto-didact: self-taught in science, philosophy, music, martial arts, and humanity. He can quote the Koran, the Bible, and Sun Tzu. In 1999 RZA made history as the first rapper to perform at the 1500-year-old Shaolin Temple in China. He also made a pilgrimage to the actual Wu-Tang Mountain in Hebei Province where he met with the other Abbot of Wu-Tang who presented him with some special music from the Temple. In 1999, Jim Jarmusch reached out to RZA to score Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. To RZA fans, the Ghost Dog score was no surprise because RZA's music is filmic in its nature. You don't just hear a Wu-Tang song, you see it. So it's natural that RZA, as a movie buff and a fanatic of martial arts flicks in particular, would turn his eye to directing: starting with music videos such as "Tragedy," a mini kung fu movie shot in Hong Kong, and three films-Bobby Digital: Bobby Did It, Bobby Digital: Digital Bullet and Domestic Violence. In 2002 he produced a full-length kung fu movie called Z Chronicles. He recently scored Quentin Tarantino's samurai/kung fu flick Kill Bill: Vol. 1 for which he received a BAFTA nomination. The first six months of 2004 will see RZA contributing to the Barbershop 2 score, as well as Soul Plane and the highly anticipated sequel to Kill Bill. BILL MURRAY Bill Murray has been praised for his performances in both seriocomic films and blockbuster movies. Most recently, he won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award® for his role as Bob Harris in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. He was also was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and critics' groups in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Toronto, among others. His portrayal of Herman Blume in Wes Anderson's Rushmore brought him the New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Actor. In addition to his win for Lost in Translation, he has been nominated twice previously for a Golden Globe Award for his performances in Rushmore and Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters. Born in Chicago, Mr. Murray began his acting career there with the improvisational troupe Second City. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live in the show's second season, and shortly thereafter won an Emmy Award as one of the show's writers. After making his screen debut in Ivan Reitman's Meatballs, he re-teamed with the director on Stripes and the Ghostbusters movies. His film credits also include Harold Ramis' Caddyshack and Groundhog Day, Art Linson's Where the Buffalo Roam, Sydney Pollack's Tootsie, John Byrum's The Razor's Edge (1984), Richard Donner's Scrooged, Frank Oz's What About Bob?, John McNaughton's Mad Dog and Glory and Wild Things, Tim Burton's Ed Wood, Peter and Bobby Farrelly's Kingpin, Jon Amiel's The Man Who Knew Too Little, Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000), Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums and his upcoming The Life Aquatic, and Noah Baumbach's upcoming The Squid and the Whale. Mr. Murray authored the book Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf. BILL RICE "The first film I worked on was G-Man, 1979, written and directed by Beth and Scott B. Eric Mitchell got me the job. I loved working with them because on the eve of the Reagan era, they were committed to exposing the real issues underlying our government's policies. Later I worked on Amos Poe's Subway Riders and Jacob Burkhardt's Landlord Blues - Jacob's film also dealt with issues facing us on the Lower East Side of New York in 1986. Beginning about 1990 I started working with Gary Goldberg and Taylor Mead in many black and white silent films - with sound but no dialogue. Gary died this spring and I miss him and his fastidious filmmaking a lot. I love Jim's films and was flattered and honored when he asked me to work with Taylor on Coffee and Cigarettes, our first talkie." TAYLOR MEAD Obie recipient for starring role in Frank O'Hara's "The General Returns from One Place to Another," member of Al Pacino's company for six months - production of Brecht's "Arturo UI" - was in rehearsal for Meade Roberts' "Thornhill," directed by John Cassavetes, with Ben Gazzara, Patti Lupone, Carol Kane and Murray Hamilton. Other plays include Gary Indiana's "The Roman Polanski Story" and "Phantoms of Louisiana," John Ashberry's "The Heroes," Amiri Baraka's "Baptism" and "What Was the Relationship of the Lone Ranger to Means of Production," John Vacarro's production of Charles Ludlam's "Conquest of the Universe," Steven Paul Miller's "Harrisburg Mon Amour," Rip Torn's production of "Hamlet" with Torn and Geraldine Page, Michael McClure's "Spider Rabbit" directed by Tony Barsha, "Anne's White Glove" by Alice Notley. Movies include Andy Warhol's Lonesome Cowboys, Nude Restaurant, San Diego Surf, Imitation of Christ, Tarzan, Couch, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy, John Chamberlain's Secret Life Of Hernando Cortez, Wide Point, Let Them Eat Cake, Wyn Chamberlain's Brand X, Jean-Luc Godard's One Plus One (Sympathy for the Devil), Vernon Zimmerman's Lemon Hearts, Robert Downey's Babo '73, Bob Chatterton's Passion in a Seaside Slum, Buster's Bedroom with Donald Sutherland and Geraldine Chaplin. Taylor also represented the U.S. at the International Poetry Festival, Pompidou Museum, Paris, was awarded New York State Council of Arts grant in filmmaking, and is the author of three books (volumes 1,2,3 of The Anonymous Diary of a New York Youth, with volume 4 forthcoming - Son of Andy Warhol). Upcoming films include: The Excavation of Taylor Mead, directed by Bill Kirkeley, Curious Whiteboy, directed by Tom Wright, and Taylor Mead Unleashed, directed by Sebastiano Piras. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS JIM JARMUSCH, Writer and Director Born in Akron, Ohio, Jarmusch lives and works in New York. Films include Permanent Vacation, 1980 (80 min., color), Stranger Than Paradise, 1984 (90 min., b&w), Down by Law, 1986 (106 min., b&w), Mystery Train, 1989 (110 Min., color), Night on Earth, 1992 (128 min., color), Dead Man, 1995 (121 min., b&w), Year of the Horse, 1997 (107 Min., color and b&w), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, 1999 (116 min., color), "Int. Trailer. Night.", 2000 (b&w, 10 min. segment of Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet), plus music videos for The Talking Heads, Big Audio Dynamite, Tom Waits and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. JOANA VICENTE & JASON KLIOT, Producers Joana Vicente and Jason Kliot are producers dedicated to producing visionary films by distinctive independent directors. Among their producing highlights for Open City Films are Jim Simpson's The Guys (Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia); Niels Mueller's The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle) which will finish post production early 2004; triple Sundance winner Tony Bui's Three Seasons (Harvey Keitel); and Kris Isaccson's Down To You (Freddie Prinze Jr, Julia Stiles, Ashton Kutcher). Through their former digital division, Blow Up Pictures, Kliot and Vicente produced Nicole Holofcener's Lovely and Amazing (Brenda Blethyn, Catherine Keener and Jake Gyllenhaal); Miguel Arteta's Chuck and Buck, Dan Minahan's Series 7 and Love in the Time of Money (Michael Imperoli, Steve Buscemi) - all of which premiered respectively at the 2000, 2001, and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals. Along with their partner Donny Deutsch, Jason and Joana are the co-presidents of Deutsch/Open City Films, and they also run HDNetFilms, an all-high-definition production company with Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. STACEY SMITH, Co-Producer After graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Stacey Smith began her career on Wall Street at E.F. Hutton, where she was involved in a film financing deal for Walt Disney Pictures, and at PaineWebber Inc. From there, she went on to work in television production, talent representation and in the music industry. She has worked with director Jim Jarmusch for the past seven years, and is currently the head of his production company. She served as a post-production supervisor on Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and associate producer on the "Int. Trailer. Night." segment of Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet. She also produced Stefanie Koseff's short film "Poor Man's Mermaid." GRETCHEN McGOWAN, Co-Producer In December 1999, Gretchen began working with Blow Up Pictures and Open City Films as the Head of Production. Before joining Open City, her features included Buffalo '66, Two Girls and a Guy, Heavy, The Citizen and American Psycho. Gretchen produced, managed and secured distribution for several acclaimed documentaries including Unmade Beds, Martha and Ethel and Academy Award® nominee The Dancemaker. Gretchen's work with Blow Up's digitally originated projects for theatrical distribution have included Dan Minahan's Series 7 (USA Films) and Alan Wade's The Pornographer. Also released: Blow Up Pictures', Good Machine and Nicole Holofcener's Lovely and Amazing (Catherine Keener, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dermot Mulroney). Gretchen produced Peter Mattei's Love in the Time of Money starring Steve Buscemi, Rosario Dawson and Michael Imperioli. The film premiered at Sundance 2002 and was released by ThinkFilm. Gretchen coproduced The Guys, with Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia, released in spring 2003. FREDERICK ELMES, Cinematographer Fred Elmes has been serving as cinematographer on Hollywood films for more than three decades. Most recently, Elmes photographed Bill Condon's Kinsey, (starring Liam Neeson), the Luis Mandoki thriller Trapped (starring Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon) and Todd Solondz's Storytelling (starring Selma Blair). Previous collaborations with Jim Jarmusch include Night on Earth and the "Int. Trailer. Night" segment of Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet. In the course of his career, he has worked with some of cinema's most influential and idiosyncratic directors, including: David Lynch (Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Eraserhead and The Amputee); Ang Lee (The Hulk, Ride with the Devil and The Ice Storm); Tim Hunter (River's Edge and The Saint of Fort Washington); and Martha Coolidge (Valley Girl). Early in his career, Elmes also served as director of photography and camera operator on John Cassavetes' Opening Night and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. His television credits include In the Gloaming (a telefilm starring Glenn Close, directed by Christopher Reeve) and the miniseries The Wedding (directed by Charles Burnett and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey). JAY RABINOWITZ, Editor Jay Rabinowitz has been working with Jim Jarmusch since 1985, starting as an apprentice editor on Down by Law. He has continued to work with Jim on all of his work since then. Jay really appreciates and enjoys this collaboration, but he often wonders how Jim even remotely manages to put up with him and his unbridled enthusiasm for the work. Perhaps some things are best left unexplained. Jay has also edited Requiem for a Dream for Darren Aronofsky, Affliction for Paul Schrader, 8 Mile (Eminem) for Curtis Hanson, and, most recently, the incendiary Bomb the System for first-time writer-director Adam Bhala Lough. Jay is currently working on The Stepford Wives, starring Nicole Kidman, for director Frank Oz and producer Scott Rudin. MARK FRIEDBERG, Production Designer Mark Friedberg is a native New Yorker who received a MFA from Brown University before beginning his career in film in 1988. He continues to live in New York City. Notable highlights of his design work include In the Soup (1992), directed by Alexandre Rockwell; Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996) directed by Mira Nair; The Ice Storm (1997) directed by Ang Lee; Runaway Bride (1999) directed by Garry Marshall; Ride with the Devil (1999) directed by Ang Lee; Pollock (2000), directed by Ed Harris; and Far From Heaven (2002) directed by Todd Haynes. His most recent project is in Italy, on director Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic. ELLEN KURAS, Director of Photography on "Renée" and "No Problem" Ellen Kuras is an unprecedented three-time recipient of the Sundance Film Festival's Best Dramatic Cinematography award, twice for her work with Rebecca Miller (Angela (1995) and Personal Velocity (2002)) and once for her black-and-white cinematography on Tom Kalin's Swoon (1992). Among her credits are the award-winning Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia, the miniseries A Century of Women, for which she received an Emmy nomination, Postcards From America, Roy Cohn/Jack Smith, Unzipped, I Shot Andy Warhol, HBO's If These Walls Could Talk, Part 1, The Mod Squad, Blow, Analyze That and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her next project is Tom Kalin's Savage Grace. Kuras's long association with writer/director Spike Lee began with "Niggericans," a segment of HBO's Subway Stories, and continued with the documentary Four Little Girls for which she received her second Emmy nomination. She rejoined Lee to shoot Summer of Sam and Bamboozled, one of the first studio-released movies to be shot in mini-digital and blown up to film, followed by the documentaries A Huey P. Newton Story and Jim Brown All American. ROBBY MÜLLER, Director of Photography on "Twins" Robby Muller has collaborated previously with Jim Jarmusch on Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Aside from his work with Jarmusch he is perhaps best known for his long-time teaming with Wim Wenders (on Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Paris, Texas, Until the End of the World, Beyond the Clouds, Buena Vista Social Club, and many others) and his two films with Lars Von Trier (Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark). A selection of Muller's other film credits includes Saint Jack, Honeysuckle Rose, Repo Man, To Live and Die In L.A., The Believers, Barfly, Mad Dog and Glory, The Tango Lesson and 24 Hour Party People. TOM DiCILLO, Director of Photography on "Strange to Meet You" After a successful career as a director of photography on Jim Jarmusch's Permanent Vacation and Stranger Than Paradise, as well as Variety, Burroughs and many other films, DiCillo began a successful career as a writer/director. His first film was 1991's Johnny Suede, starring Brad Pitt and Catherine Keener, which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno. Living in Oblivion (1995) stars Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener and James Le Gros, and won DiCillo the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance, an Audience Award and a Grand Special Prize at Deauville, and an Independent Spirit nomination. His subsequent films include Box of Moonlight (1996), The Real Blonde (1997) and Double Whammy (2001). Official Web Site: http://www.coffeeandcigarettesmovie.com Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings