SXSW 2014 Leftovers: Top 5 Anecdotes & Asides From Linklater, Rodriguez, And More

Contributor; Toronto

Like an avalanche of awesomeness, the 2014 edition of SXSW has washed over its attendees, leaving cinephiles to sift through the rubble and pick up the pieces of our lives.

One of the inherent detriments of a film festival as excellent as SXSW is the vast array of films you only realize were must-sees after the fact. Thus the SXSW FOMO syndrome is a nightmare that comes with the territory - I still shudder whenever someone says to me "did you see Faults?".

Twitch did a solid job this year of covering most bases, but in addition to our as-thorough-as-possible spread, there are always those bits of gold that slip through the fingers, whether in the form of a passing interaction, a nugget of wisdom from the red carpet, or an exchange that feels a little too good to be true. That these moments tend to go derelict seems to me to be one of the more tragic occupational hazards that can occur any given year. And so I give you my Top 5 Leftovers list. For if not for such a platform, one might never know Fred "The Hammer" Williamson's philosophy on butt kicking. Quelle tragedie!

Nicolas Cage & David Gordon Green on Blue Collar Roots

Since you’ve been acting from a very young age have you ever had to undergo any back-breaking, blue collar type of jobs in your early days?

Nicolas Cage: I used to sell popcorn at the Fairfax movie theater in Los Angeles. That was my first job. And I took the tickets as well. I was also the usher in that theater and I was trying to figure out how to get from selling the tickets to the screen.

And I’m looking and I’m watching the movies and then one day one guy was smoking. And my boss said you gotta go and tell him to put it out. So I said “I’m sorry, sir, you’re gonna have to put your cigarette out.” And he paused - he had some girl around him - and blew smoke in my face… and I quit. And that was the most backbreaking work laughter. And then my dad said “go back to the movie theater and get your job back”. So I had to beg for my job back.

David Gordon Green: I’ve had a lot of literally backbreaking work. I used to insulate attics. I was a little guy so they always used to send me in the nooks and crannies rolling out the R19 or whatever. I’d crawl around in real small places and get all sweaty. And that was in North Carolina so that was pretty intense in the summertime. But once I did a weird job where I worked at a doorknob factory for 20 hours a week but they paid real well to dunk doorknobs in acid. They would bronze these chrome doorknobs. So it was just me in this heavy suit dunkin’ doorknobs all day.

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Danny TrejoDavid Gordon GreenFred WilliamsonNicolas CageRichard LinklaterRobert RodriguezSXSWTom Savini

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