By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
The Dude's still reaching out on the day's dust-up (news)
Earlier, I overlooked John Anderson’s quotes in the Anne Thompson piece from Variety MCN linked to earlier in the day, but you’d think the dust might have settled. Yet The Dude is still reaching out. Via publicist Mickey Cottrell, Jeff Dowd continues to roll with the punch heard ’round the Yarrow (mild copyedits): “My disagreement with John was not over his critical reaction which he has every right to, but his statement that the film wouldn’t appeal to the public. I suggested he come back into the theater for the Q&A and he would observe what we had seen at all for screenings—that audiences felt the film had all kinds of new information and practical solutions. It wasn’t home work, but hope made pragmatic on how we can change the planet in keeping with Obama’s Inauguration speech. I told John one of scores of examples of this was when John Densmore of The Doors stood up at our first screening (after a sustained audience applause at the end) and said ‘I have my own film here—which I clearly care about–but here is my ballot which I marked 4 stars because Dirt! is the film that should win the Sundance Festival.’ That was emblematic of all the great feedback. I just asked John Anderson to put that in the mix before making assumptions that audiences would respond negatively. It should also be said that a vast majority of audience members liked the film not just because they “support the cause” we have heard dozens of comments about the quality of the filmmaking as well. In the spirit of John Waters we even had smellovision at one screening where you could smell the sweet earthy scent of dirt and mother earth.”
