‘Useless’ Film Redeemed

Empire thought it 'hugely self-indulgent'. 'There isn't a worthwhile moment in two hours,' declared The Observer. However the critics at this year's Vienna International Film Festival have declared Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny, their favourite film of the season. The re-edited version of the film that US critic Roger Ebert described as '90 minutes of uneventful banality' won the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Prize. That'll please director Vincent Gallo who's been busy recently slagging off other people's films. In the December issue of Empire Gallo says; 'That film with Cameron Diaz, The Sweetest Thing, was more shocking to me that filming the blow-job scene in Brown Bunny, because it was so fucking awful.' Gallo goes on to confirm that the sex scene in point was unquestionably real, 'I really orgasm, I really am erect and I am really crying,' he tells Empire. 'When I look at Chloe now, she stands out from everyone. I don't know if I fell in love, but I was definitely shaken up.' The December issue of Empire magazine goes on sale on Friday 31 October 2003.