George Kuchar may not have the household name recognition of other underground filmmakers who emerged in the '60s such as John Waters and Andy Warhol. But the 8mm kitsch-and-sex extravaganzas he made with his twin brother Mike are legendary among outré cinema fans. John Waters has called the Kuchar films, featuring the twins' Bronx neighbors acting out steamy, DIY variations on Hollywood melodramas, a bigger influence on his films than even Warhol and Kenneth Anger. Kuchar will appear March 20 at Emory and March 21 at Eyedrum with a selection of his films (andel.home.mindspring.com).
Salami: "Lately I've been eating a lot of salami and find the package that has the low-fat type in it is harder than the fatty kind. Fat makes the item easier to chew. I recently enjoyed the thin strips of hot salami for sale at my local Trader Joe's joint but want to make my doctor happy once again by lowering the bad cholesterol upswing he noticed. So I'm going to forsake those treats along with the coconut milk I've been spiking up the hot chocolate with. It'll be nice not to have greasy lips for a change."
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep: "I've been enjoying monster movies for kids and found The Water Horse is my favorite film of the year. It's a beautiful movie experience everyone can share in and has great character actors and wide-screen scenery."
Cloverfield: "The film made me mad because I wanted to see the whole thing through but the shaky camera techniques gave me motion sickness and I had to leave after 20 minutes."
Global warming: "I thought having the global warming conference in Bali was a cheat as they all were chatting about how hot the world was getting while we in temperate zones had to deal with chattering teeth."
Kill your television: "I may let the TV go black when the digital switch-over occurs because I've been looking for an excuse to end its murmuring. Only in motel rooms will I enjoy its company as it makes me feel at home, like going to a Chinese restaurant."
