“Dude, Where’s My Ennui?”
In an interview with Hammer-To-Nail, stalwart indie filmmaker Hal Hartley let drop an interesting little nugget. He was once offered the directing gig for “Dude, Where’s My Car.” We’ll let him explain:
H2N: Have you ever been lured to go make studio work or work that was more industrial?
HH: Yeah. In the beginning of my career, perfectly nice people from movie studios would take me out to lunch all the time and ask me if I wanted to direct scripts they sent me, after “The Unbelievable Truth.” Even a little after “Trust.” They thought I might be a good guy for comedies like… I don’t know who made them, but things like “Dude, Where’s My Car?” I got a lot of that kind of stuff after “The Unbelievable Truth.”
So, we’ll leave it to your imagination how potentially strange/awesome it could have been. Seann William Scott and Ashton Kutcher in a Hal Hartley film? The mind reels. In any event, if you’re wondering “Who is this Hal Hartley guy and why should I care?” get thee to a video store post haste. Pick up “Henry Fool,” “The Unbelievable Truth” (just released in a new 20th anniversary DVD edition) and “Trust” and get back to us next week. Okay? Good.
