Swan Song

It's terrific. I got an advance screener; charming and funny.

Here's an online chat with some of the actors:

Is Udo the German Terrence Stamp?

This has gotten good reviews. I can't find it streaming anywhere.

Udo looks like Momma's skinnier brother.

Is Linda actually in it? Other than her photos?

Linda looks great in that interview on Youtube. The over done has relaxed. I'm pleased for her. She deserved better than that period where her work was so awful.

Linda's alive in a very good single flashback scene.

“Tell me about shooting with Linda Evans.

In Germany, they called “Dallas” and “Dynasty” street cleaners because when they were on television, nobody was in the street. [Laughs] I first met her in a restaurant the night before we were going to shoot, and she was so normal. I was surprised because she wanted to rehearse and rehearse and rehearse. I liked that.

When we were shooting, we were real. There was no acting. I learned over the years that the good actors are the nicest people. It’s only the insecure who complain all the time. Linda is one of the nicest.”

This looks quite good. It certainly beats a superhero movie or a reboot.

He's good friends with people I know. Has always creeped me out, but I'm glad he's doing good work.

I love Udo's supercreepy narration on the astonishing doumentary "Hitler's Hollywood." He's perfection.

Catch it on Amazon Prime Video.

I just watched this movie , I laughed , I cried , I laughed more although . It is really a testament to eldergays and the dying subculture we were a part of. Linda Evans had more screen time as a corpse than actual lines! They should have had Joan Collins do a bit part for the camp effect!!! Udo deserves an Oscar for this role !!!

Is Udo Kier related to Kier Dullea?

R12 Sure. They just have different surnames, were born on different continents, and had careers decades apart from one another. But that one word actually makes them related.

[quote] Is Udo Kier related to Kier Dullea?

Is Kier Dullea related to Dan Duryea?

Is Kier Dullea related to Lady Miss Kier?

Is anyone related to Keir Gilchrist (the little gay boy from United States of Tara) or Keir O'Donnell (the little gay boy from Wedding Crashers)?

What about Andrew Keir?

He was an occasionally kinda sexy in a bear-ish way.

[bold]keir[/bold]

Etymology: From Old Norse, whence also Icelandic ker (“tub”)

R12 We are to pronounce the name "Kier Dullea" to rhyme with "Here today".

As in "Here today, Gone tomorrow".

How does Keira Knightley fit into all this?

R20 You mean the British Winona Ryder?

R20 Keira Knightley has 'bug-eyes' and a concave face like Udo Keir (the original subject of this thread).

So, they’re related.

Udo Kier is still alive!?! I thought he died ages ago (maybe I'm thinking of Klaus Kinski).

R22 R23

Circle closed.

I do not know who this Udo Kier is.

Does that make me stupid?

[quote] I do not know who this Udo Kier is.

He is one of those odd 1970s Euro-puddings (that obsessed Dalataloungers obsess over— like that child who appeared in that Visconti 'Venice' movie).

Kier appeared in a Dallesandro movie when Warhoil got shot. That is his only claim to fame.

Thank you. I realize looking at his credits I did see him once in Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein. A film I remember almost nothing about.

Udo was the John in “My Own Private Idaho” that had a cleaning fetish. He was also in Madonna’s “Sex” book.

He’s gotten around- meeting River Phoenix AND Joey Stefano!

He also was quite the looker when young, I’m sure he has some terrific stories.

^ So concave.

Available to stream on Amazon now.

I stumbled upon the Frankenstein film as a teen flipping thru channels in the wee hours of the morning. It made something of an impression on me. Or Udo, did anyway. What a profoundly interesting-looking guy.

This movie looks much more my speed. Thanks for the rec, OP.

Looks great!

Thanks for the heads up, OP!

Not good. Don't bother.

^^ wot?

It’s not all comedy, it’s not all sad. Any of these people could be relatable- someone you know. I remember working in Boston’s South End in the mid 90’s and there were plenty of older guys just like this.

It drags a little bit, some of the dialogue is a bit stilted and ridiculous. You can tell it was done on a shoestring budget or was funded by the town/ location. I liked it, but some of the references are for eldergays, but they may not like it if they’re old and single because it may hit a raw nerve. I could definitely see how it might rub some people the wrong way.

I would’ve locked all the writers in a room for another month and forced them to polish the script up a bit more. That said, none of the performances were award worthy- but I think that wasn’t really the aim- maybe more movies should try this. This article had a compelling point.

I had to put my mother in a nursing home recently so a lot of it resonated with me.

[strike]the quick brown fox[/strike]

t̶h̶e̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶x̶

[bold] ̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶b̶r̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶x̶ ̶ ̶[/bold]

Irma don't miss shit.

Good grief. Swan Song is not based on a true story. The character is loosely based on a hairdresser that writer, director, producer Stephens knew from his childhood who had a big impact on him, but the story is not true.

It’s a very German movie in honor of Udo Kier. Slow, depressing, and a little bittersweet. The kind of movie a straight well-meaning German director would make for the ZDF. Heavy with symbols and full of Cliches. Music is good.

[quote] Kier appeared in a Dallesandro movie when Warhoil got shot. That is his only claim to fame.

Oh my god. You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Please kill yourself.

Udo Kier is also in Madonna's Deeper and Deeper video.

[quote]R44 It’s a very German movie in honor of Udo Kier

You mean Kier Dullea.

I call it German because it celebrates the tedium of life.

"Directed, written and produced by Stephens, the bittersweet new film, which has received rave reviews from critics, follows the real-life retired hairdresser named Pat Pitsenbarger (played by the 76-year-old German actor Udo Kier) — who was better known as Mr. Pat in his prime — who in this *fictionalized* storyline escapes the confines of his grim, small-town nursing home after being tasked to style his ex-client Rita’s (Linda Evans) hair for her funeral. In the process of collecting beauty supplies across town, Pat, whose solitary existence in Sandusky is brought into focus as one of the last surviving gay men of his generation, begins to confront the ghosts of his past on his way to the funeral home."

Emphasis on "fictionalized."

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. Had no idea the character was based on someone in real life, now I want to know more about the real Mr. Pat.

Rave reviews? This is what the NYT said: "Kier is unfailingly captivating in the film, which makes it all the more bothersome that the film itself doesn’t match him. A few plot inconsistencies seem like arbitrary land mines designed to trip Pat up, and the device of having certain characters speak wisdom from beyond the grave doesn’t land."

I was so disappointed in this film. It could have been great. Instead, the dialog was spotty, the trip from the nursing home unbelievable, and the symbolism clumsy and obvious. This was a man who could barely walk in the nursing home, and I'm supposed to believe he walked (how far?) into Sandusky? And found admirers all along the way? And people who helped him?

I found myself cringing through most of the movie at the stilted conversations. It was just awful. It was so bad it really broke my heart at what it could have been with better writing.

I eagerly await what the rest of DL has to say.

So which one of the Kier's invented Kir?

No one makes bittersweet films anymore, audiences may not even know how to watch them.

[quote] How do you prounce that anyway?

I don't know to proNOunce Dan Duryea's surname.

Great Kier interviews on YT. He's fascinating.

Dear Udo Kier publicist:

We tire of you.

Your immediate attention to this matter is appreciated.

- - DL

R51, I think you're being really hard on it. I enjoyed it tonight... I found it very endearing and... dignified. I completely understand the director's view it was a love letter to a disappearing way of life. I laughed my fool head off once I got the joke about where he was calling for Eunice... and only a gay man would. Definitely a few moments that required suspension of belief. I think this is a well done film. Genuine. Kier, I hope, gets a nomination (though not a win) for his performance. I was touched by it. I far prefer it over Sublet.

I can't believe some of you don't know who Udo Kier is. Just the camp factor alone from the Warhol films.

He was unbelievably good looking (to me) in those films.

He lives in Palm Springs now - wish I could bump into him some time.

For those unable to find it

[quote]R58 I can't believe some of you don't know who Udo Kier is. Just the camp factor alone from the Warhol films.

Does anyone watch the Andy Warhol’s he was in, Frankenstein and Dracula? Even if you’re a movie aficionado, the Warhol films you’ve probably seen are BAD, and snippets of something-or-other with Holly Woodlawn.

This is very much a niche, almost underground, performer.

[quote] the Warhol films you’ve probably seen are BAD

Yes, those films were bad.

And amateurish.

But we were starving for anything vaguely homo-erotic back in those dim, dark days.

He voiced a deranged parrot called Professor Pericles in Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated.

R62 Were those the ones with Scrappy?

r63, no, it was a series that started to air around ten years ago. Apart from monster mystery of the week it had an overall story arc mystery that unfolded throughout the entire series (three seasons).

The show has lots of twists and turns because of the overall story arc. IMO it's one of the best Scooby Doo series to date. And spoiler alert: Don't fall for what the show initially sets up between Velma and Shaggy.

[quote]This is very much a niche, almost underground, performer.

He was in Melancholia, the Rob Zombie Halloween, Grindhouse, Shadow of the Vampire, Armageddon, Nymphomaniac and his series Altes Geld was on Netflix for quite some time. He's a character actor but in no way an underground performer. Barely even a niche actor.

I finally got around to seeing this.

So beautiful So funny. So sad. Just fabulous!!!

I almost started crying when he was at the bar talking about how the gay club is closing and how much he missed being around "our people." So true. Decades of gay culture are basically gone now.

This is easily one of the best films of the year and few will care because it's gay. But I hope everybody on DL watches it!!!!

The critics adore it, too:

Is Dan Duryea related to Don Derpfuhrer?

r29 is wrong.

The John with the cleaning fetish in MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO ("Daddy Carroll") was played by gay publicist Mickey Cottrell.

[quote]some of the references are for eldergays, but they may not like it if they’re old and single because it may hit a raw nerve.

That's what good movies DO, dipshit @ r38!!! THEY HIT A RAW NERVE.

There is nothing offensive about this movie. It is a eulogy for a bygone era, an evaporating gay culture and a gay experience shared by Kier's generation. It's beautiful, touching and true. Lovely.

r51 has no soul and THE NEW YORK TIMES is not in-step with most critics. NYT is being humorless and petty.

I can tell they're talking about the point in the film where Kier gets hospitalized unexpectedly when NYT writes, "A few plot inconsistencies seem like arbitrary land mines designed to trip Pat up." But the hospital moment is the most hilarious moment in the whole show — very dark gallows humor and absolutely LOL.

I think the direction leading up to that moment could have been clearer and funnier, but it's still great. Nothing happens that's "inconsistent" — jokes are supposed to take you in a drastic, new direction. And nothing happens that couldn't happen in real life.

[quote]I was so disappointed in this film.

So what?

Can't wait to see it. I've been a long time fan of Udo Kier & Jennifer "We both love soup" Coolidge.

[quote]Available to stream on Amazon now.

No it's not. It's available to rent/buy for $6.99/$16.99 on Amazon. Streaming doesn't cost extra of the service, which will come later.

Kier has been in a lot of big, mainstream hits that lots of people saw, even if they weren't good shows. He was in IRON SKY, a CALL OF DUTY iteration, ARMAGEDDON, JOHNNY MNEMONIC, ACE VENTURA and SUSPIRIA.

He was in several award-winning, critical favorites, too, like DANCER IN THE DARK, THE END OF VIOLENCE, TRACEY TAKES ON, EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES; MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO,

The Warhol horror flicks were harmless fun.

What makes you think Amazon Prime will ever offer it without an á la carte charge, r73?

Kier played "Hans" in MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO.

Because that's the life of movies now, Theatre, DVD/Blu-ray, PPV then streaming. If they don't, then Netflix or Hulu will.

Is Udo of the gay?

R79 Yes Rose.

Wrong, r78.

Amazon Prime does not put the majority of its streaming titles on Prime. You have to pay extra to see most of them at all.

And tons of indie productions like SWAN SONG never go to theaters at all — their birth and life exists online only for most or all territories.

Netflix, too, rarely gets the license to stream shows that weren't produced by themselves nowadays. Indie producers are notoriously ripped off and ignored by the service. It's a terrible place for non-Netflix indies to join.

I could have streamed an online bootleg of SWAN SONG and I do subscribe to both Prime and Netflix. But I chose to pay the $7 for SWAN SONG because it's an excellent film by gay, independent filmmakers who need the cash.

If only there were more projects like this. Please consider coughing up the measly $7 so more of these things will come along.

No thanks, I already pay Amazon and Netflix a fee and I will wait until it's streamed and it will be, and if not, ahhh well..

“Streamed” applies to movies that you pay per view on Amazon and ITunes, you numbskull.

SWAN SONG is already being streamed.

Well if you say so.

.“Streaming” applies to anything, regardless of whether there’s an additional charge or not.

I watched it in horror and was struck by how it could have been titled Death of a Datalounger.

R38, in your time in Boston, did you meet (or were you referring to) a certain fabulous Oil&Gas man who also had a complete mental history of everyone in town, as well as the stars and starlets he knew when he performed out west?

That’s who I thought of when I watched this film.

It's on Hulu now in case you want to see it.

The character in this movie is a TOTAL DL'r.

[quote] Kier has been in a lot of big, mainstream hits that lots of people saw, even if they weren't good shows. He was in IRON SKY, a CALL OF DUTY iteration, ARMAGEDDON, JOHNNY MNEMONIC, ACE VENTURA and SUSPIRIA

Also BLADE!! So he’s been around!

It for sure has moments that REALLY make one suspend disbelief. For example, The dress shop lady had a haircut from him 40 years ago or so, they remembered each other, AND she just happened to have a pantsuit in the back that fit him perfectly. (She is played by Stephanie McVay, the mom of the gay boy in Edge of Seventeen, the director’s first film.)

Overall, I enjoyed it. Would have liked more Linda Evans and cutie Michael Urie. It was nice seeing Jennifer Coolidge playing a non-ditsy bitch. Like all Todd Stephens films, it’s ALMOST good? There are always good premises and some good acting, but his films never fully develop.

Weird that there is another movie out right now, on Apple +, with the same title.

I loved so many things about this. And those pearl crusted heels live rent free in my memory.

He was also a life-long friend of R.W. Fassbinder. Here pictured with Barbara Valentin at Fassbinder’s funeral.

I had lunch with him and a couple mutual friends recently in Palm Springs. He’s the real deal, a working actor for decades, lots of films in Europe. And yes he has lots of stories accumulated- he knows everyone of his time in film. He is very proud of this film. I found it a bit depressing but he was very good, indeed.

I found him bright, articulate, a bit self obsessed (as are most actors), but very likable, normal. I think he told me he is 78. Since I’m 68, and not particularly facing old age with joy, I love to pick the brain a bit of those ahead of me. He himself is not remotely like the character he played in the film.

It’s terrific! Loved, loved, loved it!

It's nice to see a gay film about other types of gays than impossibly hot guys with relationship problems. It has something real to say about the human condition. It's good...

Very good movie. Saw it tonight. It all came together really well. I like it for its story and also as a commentary on the death of a gay culture/sensibility. Also: everyone was subtle/underplayed their roles, which I loved. I shudder at the thought of a studio version of this…where everyone would be expected to go over the top.

I liked it too.

It was kinda tepid. That director should be more advanced by now after several films, but he films like a college student.

J. Coolidge was good in her small role; she avoided her usual irritating shtick.

I haven't seen either one.

R100 fuck the fuck off