By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Tully Follows 'Cocaine' High with Silver Jews, Ping-Pong Dream Project
The Reeler braved the ever-efficient F train Monday (holiday wait-time: 26 minutes, and do not think I did not count) to hit the New York premiere of Michale Tully’s Cocaine Angel at Barbès in Park Slope. The film anchored an unusual trio of works including Glynn Beard’s short film Son–basically a 20-minute father/son advice monologue–and Ryan Fleck’s Gowanus, Brooklyn, the short film from which Fleck adapted his recent Half Nelson. But it was Tully’s night: Not quite a literal homecoming (Tully is a Maryland transplant), but with Cocaine Angel star Damian Lahey on hand alongside scores of New York friends, it may as well have been.
“We world premiered at Rotterdam and North American-premiered at South by Southwest, which was kind of our goal,” Tully told me before last night’s screening. “Do European, get a little bit of a buzz, then come back to do SXSW. Then there were the regional festivals–Sarasota, Maryland, Independent Film Festival of Boston–which were just amazing. They were so fun and inclusive and great; I couldn’t recommend them enough.” Nevertheless, the Barbes screening may be it for Angel. “Honestly, I don’t know,” Tully said. “I’m exhausted. I feel like we had a great run, and it feels like it happned 18 years ago. It was three months ago. I’m moving on.”
Next up for Tully is post-production on his documentary about David Berman’s protean band Silver Jews, for whom Tully had previously directed a video and whose latest work took Tully to shoot in Israel. He is gunning for another South by Southwest premiere. Then there is the ping-pong comedy.
“It’s a bigger budget thing we’re trying to get through the system,” Tully said. “It’s never gonna happen, but–”
Wait, wait, wait, wait–a ping-pong comedy?
Tully sipped his beer and nodded. “It’s caled Ping-Pong Summer,” he said. “It’s basically The Karate Kid meets Wild Style. It’s something set in 1985. Just… I love ping pong, and I love The Karate Kid, and I love hip-hop, so we’re just taking that set formula, but trying to be honest and respectful, and still off-the-wall and funny.”
God damn I wish I could bankroll these guys sometimes.
Good to meet you last night S.T. I enjoyed “Cocaine Angel” and the shorts that played before it. It certainly was weird to see “Gowanus, Brooklyn” after only seeing “Half Nelson” the day before. Lots of similarities and differences.