Some of my biggest Filth Influences

Gore Vidal. Playwright, social commentator, and general threat to polite society extraordinaire.

Elinor Glyn. One of the first female scenarists who never held back, and paved the way for the next two waves of feminists.

Adrian. One of the film industry's most prolific and daring costume designers.

Barbara Stanwyck. Always told it like it was, before it was even legal.

Alexander McQueen. His designs and contribution the the fashion world elevated sex into an art form.

David Bowie. Nuff said.

Sam Fuller. The man who said 'fuck you' to the Hollywood censors and got away with it.

Quentin Crisp. The Naked Civil Servant.

Otto Dix. Perhaps the most explicitly controversial painter of the 20th century.

Gus Van Sant. A master of sensuality and subtext.

Joan Crawford. Fucked everyone in her path to get to the top and never apologized. Why would she?

Marilyn Monroe. If she hasn't taught you a thing or two you're doing it all wrong.

The Marquis de Sade. Banned, condemned, imprisoned, institutionalized. His writing was that saucy.

Paul Verhoeven. Extremist is his middle name.

Vladimir Nabokov. His greatest novel 'Lolita', which was banned in most countries upon release, influenced my writing the most.

Edie Sedgwick. Warhol's most beautiful of superstars.

John Waters. The filthiest filmmaker of all time.

Anaïs Nin. Made biographical writing all about sex.

Tennessee Williams. The most controversial and brilliant scenarist of ours or any time.

Andy Warhol. The great voyeur.

And of course, Oscar Wilde. Who spent ten years in prison for his work, his beliefs, his loves, and his brilliance.

Brigid Berlin: Her Cock Book, Daily Warhol Phonecalls, and Key Lime Pie

I recently watched Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story (1999) which is a documentary about the only still sane/alive survivor of the Warhol Factory crowd back in the 1960's when pop-art ruled, amphetamines ran a rampant spree through middle-class white America, and the small tits were the epitome of beauty, and overseeing all of these culture changes was Andy Warhol, the prince of post-modernism and the prophet of commodified existence. Ok now i'm starting to sound like my thesis and i promised myself that wouldn't happen. So in laymen's terms, Brigid Berlin was the overweight plain looking incessant talker who loved to hang out around Warhol with her polaroid camera or tape recorder and no shirt on ever. 

Brigid Berlin as she looks now in her ridiculously kitschy but lovely West Village Apartment.

You expect his superstars to be tall thin, gorgeous and a bit surreal, but Brig was brash, masculine, and unapologetic for everything, including sticking a hypodermic needle filled with dexedrine through her jeans casually at a dinner party or partaking in everything from mellow dinner parties, to loud hugh end parties at the factory to a quiet look through her Cock Book completely nude (well at least from the waist up). 

Unlike the others, Brig never appeared that she had something to hide, or something to be particularly ashamed of. She was almost as much in control as andy was, objectifying the rest. She can exist, standing topless and 150 pounds overweight, defiant and bold against the silver wall of the factory, look you up and down and then make a decision regarding how you might have come off to her. Were you going to remind her too much of her judgmental and small minded mother Honey who expelled her from Upper Crust East Coast society because of her weight and give her shit for it incessantly? or were you going to bring her house warming gifts of key lime pie and needles filled with benzo's and diet pills? If you were in the latter category, consider yourself on her good side.

Considering her masculine demeanor as contrast with the other superstars who wore hideous amounts of make up and high heeled shoes, Brig started to serve as intermediary between Andy and his hangers on. Perhaps that's why she's still around, still relatively sane, and still as much a talker as she ever was on an amphetamine binge, and who wouldn't be considering she grew up in on of those tragically doomed 'Grey Garden' situation, and aside from Edie Sedgwick was also the personification of the 'Poor Little Rich Girl' But at least this girl new her limits, and her own identity. So when the newspapers, the factory boys and girls, and even her family started applying labels popular at the time to her like 'pill popper' 'lesbian slut' 'fat cunty junkie' and what not, she was able to let it roll off her back, for the most part. Particularly if it came from the violently frustrated Fatwa that had been broiling inside Honey Berlin since the early 60's. 

I guess what really comes through for me in this film, with disregard to Warhol, is just the idea that everyone in our lives deserves respect enough to understand the consequences of their actions. Brigit Berlin is a symbol of a very empowered woman not only of that generation but i think in general. Confused like the rest of us, she clung to rituals to maintain normalcy in her life, whether they be eating, recording, or taking drugs. This is how she seems to function normally in a world of complete abnormality and that is why she's still here. Measuring out celery snacks every morning and organizing her shoe closet, right after that taking her two beloved pugs for a walk and sometimes binging on that giant key lime pie that never leaves her mind, that she will hopefully split with Warhol when they have their Pie in the Sky together in heaven, Andy with his 16mm camera and Brig shirtless with comically bright pink lipstick on. And even if they sit at the same table I would imagine they are talking via phones they brought and put on the table. Just that whole image is so divine. 

Pie in the Sky: Brigid Berlin Story currently available on Netflix Instant

Pretend 'Factory Girl' Never Happened: Alternative Casting for Edie Sedgwick

I wrote an article for the Washington Square News back in 2006 for this travesty of a film directed by now kaput director George Hickenlooper and starring Sienna Miller in the role of Edie Sedgwick, Guy Peace as Andy Warhol (which was actually pretty impressive) and (gulp) Hayden Christensen as the ambiguous Bob Dylan composite character billed only as 'the folk singer' the reason for this being Bob Dylan was so shocked by the inaccuracy and blatant disrespect for the history that he threatened to sue if they decided to bring his name into it. He is among many who decided not to be associated with this film and publicly denounced it, among them David Bowie, Richie Berlin, superstars Viva and Ultra, as well as Warhol's second in command Gerard Malanga. So you're warned before you even turn it on just out of sheer curiosity that this is going to bite the big one. And it does. The biggest problem I have among the many, is the casting of British sex kitten Sienna Miller as the incomparable and tragic Edie Sedgwick. Her amazing story is ripe for dramatic interpretation, and it killed me that the first try was so cosmetic, superficial, and cliche. Miller barely scratches the surface of the mystery that is the 22 year old heartbreakingly beautiful heiress who was exhaled and subsequently destroyed by her association with Warhol and died terribly at 28, leaving an unforgettable imprint on not only underground film but pop-culture and perhaps most importantly, Warhol himself. Back in my writing days, I immediately tried to adapt it, just for fun, started writing some character sketches and scenes right after I first saw her in Beauty No. 2. It's a Warhol sound film in which she and superstar Gino Piserchio lie half naked on a bed, discussing art, philosophy, and sex while getting increasingly drunk. Edie's friend from Cambridge Chuck Wein assaults her off camera with increasingly personal and hostile questions. After which, I have seen almost all of the films she made with Warhol at the Warhol retrospective at BAM cinematek. And realized after screening Factory Girl that none of that material came close to being relayed in a bio-pic narrative, and were greatly misunderstood by both Sienna and Hickenlooper. So here is my hypothetical list of who I think both in aesthetic and spirit would have much better chops for adapting Edie correctly to a contemporary audience that is probably not aware of her at all. Every time a writer sits down to create a narrative, the first thing he should consider is telling the story to a person who hypothetically has never heard it or of the people and situations in it before. And epic fail on everyone's part. Hopefully someone like Julian Schnabel, Todd Haynes, or Van Sant decides to adapt it again with one of the following actresses.

Anna Torv (top) from Fringe fame. This stunning and statuesque Aussie actress proves she can play both strong and yet vulnerable, both requisites of Edie. The pic below is from a photo shoot Edie did for Vogue in the early 60's in which she was also named America's new 'It Girl' 

Ellen Page (above). This smart and versatile actress has the essence of Edie in that she is universally beautiful and appealing. She is charming and devastating. The pic below is of Edie towards the end of her time with Warhol, probably passed out because of a heroin trip, at her lowest point. The bandage on her hand is from when she was so doped that she didn't realize her apartment had caught fire. She crawled to the door and upon touching the brass door knob severely burned her hand. She was rescued, but her reputation never recovered. 

Natalie Portman (above). Natalie i think resembles Edie better than anyone. She's very elegant, petite, and poised. Aside from the obvious physical similarities, this is perhaps my favorite hypothetical. She's proven she has immense range as an actress from pixie rom-coms to her oscar-winning shocking and unique performance in The Black Swan. And her ballet training must come in handy considering Edie was a prolific dancer doing ballet, jazz, and modern, in fact her 'look' of the black tights and a shirt or leotard over them was because she was so busy with her dance classes that she just wore her uniform around all the time. Below is a still from footage shot of Edie for the 4-years-in-the-making opus she starred in as herself called Ciao Manhattan completed after she had long left New York and Warhol. 

Rose Byrne (above). This could be a stretch because Byrne is already well into her 30's, but something about her seems right. She is a very interesting performer and has a completely unique way of emoting. I think this would be a real challenge for her. One of those unorthodox casting choices which delights the audience when we see them actually pull it off rather well. Also, the British thing is a problem for me. It just is. Edie is such an American institution to where I feel it should be an American actress, but hey this is all hypothetical. The picture below is of Edie at a happening at the Ansonia hotel (the most beautiful in New York on Broadway and 72nd.) It was a pool party that turned into a completely insane amphetamine-fueled sex romp. The staff later stated that when they drained the pool they found dozens of cyringes at the bottom. 

Rooney Mara (above). This stunning actress you may remember as the love interest of Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, soon to collaborate with director David Fincher again in the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Go ahead and hate, but I for one am excited to see what Fincher brings to it. She has really unique features and probably resembles Edie the least comparatively to the previous actresses chosen, but she has a powerful disposition and is a total original. She is able to captivate just like Edie did. In Network, she has maybe 12 lines, but completely steals the show when she's on. A very important quality to have when reinterpreting Edie. Below is Edie's first screen test that Warhol shot. Amy Taubin, a factory girl and film critic said of this screen test, that no one looked more beautiful than when Warhol shot them. 'Tis true. 

Here is my article from WSN on Factory Girl back in 2007.

The real 'Factory Girl' as seen by Warhol's camera

And here's a real treat. This is lost footage from Ciao Manhattan, Edie's last film in which she plays herself essentially. This film took 4 years to shoot and portrays Edie after breast implants and extensive shock therapy and heroin addiction, thereby is rather wobbly, and not all together lucid or coherent. She looks back on her 'heyday' in New York for which footage was shot while she was still with Warhol. It's rather cryptic that the directors (David Weisman and John Palmer) foresaw the inevitability of Edie and her tragic end enough to start shooting in advance. This clip comes with awesome directors' commentary considering the directors themselves were at times just as doped as Edie and her fellow superstars. Where else are you going to get commentary like 'this was during my samurai phase'? Please check it out. 

edie sedgwick - "Beauty #2" (Bad Quality, but worth watching)

Spotlight on Edie Sedgwick

Out of the three outlines titles given to the subjects of this blog, it would seem that Miss Edith Minturn Sedgwick fits all of them eqauly.

Regardless of how many films are made about her, Edie Sedgwick’s story will always be clouded in mystery, though a few facts remain intact. She was a socialite who dropped out of college and moved to New York, where she became Andy Warhol’s newest muse. Then, there was drug abuse, self-destruction, and eventual accidental death at 28. 

  From her first film, “Vinyl”, in which she appears as an extra for a few minutes to the final catalogue of her own disenchantment; “Ciao Manhattan”, there is an evolution of deviance that only seduces our interest rather than puts us off. 

When I first became aware of Edie, I realized that one of the most paramount reasons behind her intrigue was the idea of being able to live vicariously through her as she was portrayed in Warhol's experiments. This is not to say that all of us at one point of another wish we were skinny blonde and cute girls with a never ending supply of drugs and money living in manhattan and fucking the rich and famous, but strange as it is to say, i believe I wanted to be a part of the deviousness she lived in Warhol's scenarios. I wanted to be completely oblivious to consequence and live as if I could forever, I wanted to be sans guilt and predictability, and I feel that if only for a bit, Warhol's silver factory provided that kind of environment. None, graced it better or more memorably than Miss Sedgwick, and none paid a higher price at the door. 

Upon first laying eyes on her, Warhol quipped about how many problems she had, and as genuine as a privileged spoiled heiress could be, she hid her debilitating personal life very well from Warhol's camera if not from Warhol himself. In her films, "Poor Little Rich Girl", probably being the best example, Edie makes us believe that we have every reason to be jealous of her and hate ourselves for loving her. She says very little, and less of value, and yet we are drawn to her aloofness and childlike innocence that she displays even when drinking vodka tonics and sprawling out half naked on a bed. Not very seemingly smart, and yet so compelling, it's no wonder she was Warhol's most significant and most memorable superstar. 

 Warhol’s voyeuristic camera exposes Edie’s many quirks. In “Poor Little Rich Girl”, he shows us a side of Edie that would appear to be most evident about her as mirrored in the title, where she lounges about in a posh apartment, smokes a pipe, and tries on various articles of designer clothing. Her most provocative film is arguably “Beauty #2”. In it she is seen sitting on a bed, stripped down to her lingerie with a man in his tighty-whities, chain smoking and gradually getting drunk as a third off-screen character (Wein) bombards her with increasingly personal questions until she becomes so upset that she throws her ashtray at him. Though the static camera and Edie’s redundant banter would lead certain people to consider it monotonous, it is on the contrary, a profound study of human nature and impulse. The only non-Warhol directed film is the feature length part docudrama/biopic; “Ciao, Manhattan”, screening April 8th. 5 years in the making, the film is Edie’s recollection about her tumultuous past as told through her fictional counterpart Susan Superstar. Now living in the drained pool of her mother’s house, Susan has already lost most of her ability to function and is assisted by a live-in house servant with elementary tasks like making lunch. Filmed partly in New York immediately following her Factory days, and partly in California right before her death in 1971, Sedgwick’s self-imposed downfall is easy to catch. For most of the film, Sedgwick walks around in a haze, topless, wobbly, reveling about the nostalgia of her “modeling career” in Manhattan.

It is safe to say that Warhol’s most intriguing films were those in which Sedgwick acted. And though at times they are out of focus, or completely inaudible like certain parts in “Kitchen”, they are worth watching as he is able to find a way to exploit, intimidate, and immortalize Sedgwick by merely sitting back and letting the camera roll while she plays different nuances of herself. 

In Edie, there is an air of sophistication coupled with absent-mindedness, despair and optimism, innocence and deviance, remaining an enigma even when Warhol's camera enters the most private recesses of her psychology. It is this mystery that makes her irresistible, not to mention her cute little face.