Cannes belongs to Steve Buscemi this year. The man is positively ubiquitous. In Competition, he delivers sterling performances in both the Coen brothers' Fargo and Robert Altman's Kansas City, but it is his directorial debut feature, Trees Lounge, receiving its world première in Directors' Fortnight, which looks to be the most eagerly awaited of the trio.
Buscemi has blazed a trail through the independent film world, creating such memorable characters as Mr Pink in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, the desperate filmmaker in Alex Rockwell's
In The Soup, and more recently the stressed-out, sleep-deprived director in Tom DiCillo's Living in Oblivion.
For Trees Lounge, he wrote the screenplay and takes the lead in what promises to be another unforgettable screen character to add to his already impressive list.
Buscemi plays Tommy Basilio, a 31-year-old barfly with some nifty one-liners. An un-employed auto-mechanic with a huge chip on his shoulder, Basilio spends his nights drinking Wild Turkey and trying to pick up fast women with loose morals in his favourite bar, Trees Lounge. When he loses his pregnant girlfriend to his best friend and former boss, he finds temporary salvation driving his deceased uncle's ice-cream truck
Lensed on location in and around the director's home town of Valley Stream, Long Island, Trees Lounge is a semi-autobiographical portrait of how life might have turned out for Buscemi if his acting career had never taken off. The influence of John Cassavetes' films is apparent throughout. "What I noticed is that his films weren't really heavy on plot or story; any story that was told was done through the characters and relationships," says Buscemi. "I really wanted to make a film like that."
Buscemi assembled a cast of friends (Mark Boone Jr, Elizabeth Bracco, Rockets Redglare), talent he admired (Anthony La Paglia, Chloe Sevigny) and family (his father and his brother, Michael) for the production, and even Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) dropped in for a day to play a cameo role.
"I was so impressed with the energy on the set," recalls La Paglia (Criminal Justice). "Everyone, even the crew, seemed to share Steve's vision for the film."
Tim Avis
Prod Co: Live Entertainment
Prod: Brad Wyman, Chris Hanley
Dir/Scr: Steve Buscemi
Ph: Lisa Rinzler
Prod des: Steve Rosenzweig
Music: Evan Lurie
Editor: Kate Williams
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Mark Boone Jr, Chloe Sevigny, Anthony La Paglia, Elizabeth Bracco, Sejmour Cassel
Running time: 95mins
Int sales: Live International
