It's easy to just blindly say how influential Chantal Akerman is/was. It's another thing to give concrete examples of her influence. Below are a few examples of her influence on modern film straight from the mouths of the filmmakers who took/borrowed from her.
Enjoy...
Its loose story of a journey seems inspired by (and comes to close to sharing the philosophy of) Chantal Akerman’s Les Rendezvous d’Anna - David Gregory Lawson on Linklater's It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books
(Linklater sites Akerman as an influence on his work on the commentary track of the Criterion disc for It's Impossible To Learn To Plow By Reading Books)
Saute Ma Ville / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...
Les Rendezvous D'Anna / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...
Je Tu Il Elle / It's Impossible To Learn To Plow...
She made films which meant a lot to me at the time. She was already a heroine in the cinema world - Claire Denis
Les Rendezvous D'Anna/ Chocolat
Toute Une Nuit / U.S. Go Home
Toute Une Nuit / 35 Shots Of Rum
Les Rendezvous D'Anna / 10 minutes older
No doubt Jim Jarmucsh was taking notes - Scott Tobias on Akerman's (possible) influence
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to. - Jim Jarmusch
Je Tu Il Elle / Stranger Than Paradise
News From Home / Permanent Vacation
Saute Ma Ville / Stranger Than Paradise
Seeing Jeanne Dielman for the first time was just a formative jolt of inspiration - Todd Haynes
It was brought to my attention that on all the previous seasons I never talked about the actual fish that John & his guests search for (an important aspect of the show that I completely ignored), so I'll be correcting that from this point on...
EPISODE 701: NICOLETTA BRASCHI
Braschi, her husband Roberto Benigni & Lurie promoting Down By Law
Relationship/Connection:
1. Both worked together on Down By Law
2. Lurie did the soundtrack for a film in which Braschi co-starred in (Mystery Train)
Fish Species: Acipenser
Fishing With John is now officially a hit (seven seasons with two more on the way equals success to me). Because of the shows now crossover appeal, Lurie & IFC would end up getting a lot of viewer complaint mail about the lack of women on the show (up to now Claire Denis & Madonna have been the only two female guests). This season would align with the crossover success of Life Is Beautiful - a film co-starring Lurie's personal friend Nicoletta Braschi (wife of season two guest Robert Begnini). This is the perfect opportunity for these old friends to catch up, and for Lurie to get more international exposure for the show by going to Italy (Braschi's homeland). Besides last season's Lars Von Trier episode, which had to take place in Denmark as LvT doesn't fly, this entire show has taken place on North American soil.
EPISODE 702: FOREST WHITAKER
Smoke
Relationship/Connection:
1. Nothing directly but Lurie did appear (briefly) in the sequel to Smoke (Blue In The Face)
Fish Species: Guadalupe Bass
This one is interesting. Forest Whitaker & John Lurie always seem to "miss" each other in the world of film. Forest Whitaker co-starred in Smoke yet didn't reprise his role in the sequel (Blue In The Face) which featured John Lurie (only a brief scene) as both an actor and music composer. Forest Whitaker worked with Scorsese on The Color Of Money and Lurie would go on to appear in Scorsese's follow-up film The Last Temptation Of Christ. Lurie stopped working with Jim Jarmusch in the 90's, and Forest Whitaker went on to work with Jarmusch in the late 90's (Ghost Dog).
This is probably around the time that Jarmusch & Whitaker started prepping for Ghost Dog, so naturally these guys would have plenty to talk about as they fish for Guadalupe Bass (a fish common in Forest Whitaker's hometown of Texas).
EPISODE 703: BENECIO DEL TORRO & JEFFERY WRIGHT
Basquiat
Relationship/Connection:
1. Wright & Del Toro appeared in a film about Lurie's friend Jean Michele Basquiat *Basquiat also features two original Fishing With John alumni (Willem Dafoe & Dennis Hopper)
2. Lurie would go on to score a film co-starring Del Toro (Excess Baggage)
3. Jeffery Wright would go on to work with Lurie's friend Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers & Only Lovers Left Alive)
Fish Species: Porgy
Will John Lurie embrace these two young actors who are on the rise? Or will he use this entire episode to correct them on what they got wrong about both Basquiat's life and the whole down NYC seen shown in Basquiat? You'll have to tune in to find out...
EPISODE 704: JOHN TURTURRO
The Big Lebowski
Relationship/Connection:
1. nothing directly but both have worked with a lot of the same NYC-based filmmakers & actors. It just makes sense...
Fish Species: Blue Fish
The Big Lebowski would have been around this time so it's the perfect opportunity for Turturro to promote what would go on to become a future cult classic. Both guys are native New Yorkers so I see them travelling to some obscure fishing spot in Queens or Long Island (sidenote - my uncle, another native New Yorker like Lurie, is quite the fisherman so I know a lot of cool fishing spots to go between Queens & Long Island).
I envision Turturro taking this time to ask Lurie why Jim Jarmusch hasn't cast him in anything yet (I don't know about you but I find it odd that Turturro has yet to work with Jarmusch given they both travel in the same circles and have worked with a lot of the same people). John would probably get annoyed at the question because he's sick & tired of being associated with Jim (something that commonly happens in this series).
EPISODE 705 & 706: TAKESHI KITANO
Fireworks
Relationship/Connection:
1. Again - nothing directly but it just makes sense
Fish Species: Sanma
I know Takeshi Kitano doesn't need to work in "Hollywood" or English-speaking cinema. He has his own fanbase/following in Japan but I really think Hollywood/English-speaking cinema dropped the ball by not casting him as a villain in more mainstream films over the years. Perhaps his appearance on this now hit show could give him some more exposure to American audiences.
Kitano's homeland of Japan would serve as the perfect backdrop for this two-parter (parts of Japan are obviously big on fishing) yet the language barrier might cause some friction (if I'm not mistaken, Takeshi Kitano speaks little to no English).
This season is probably the best mix of household names, important indie filmmakers, close personal friends/collaborators & obscure (almost unknown) figures in the world of film.
For the first time John will go overseas due to one of the guest's phobia of flying and we also have our first walk off.
Enjoy…
EPISODE 601: Quentin Tarantino
Relationship/connection:
1. none that I can think of but Quentin Tarantino was heavily influenced by quite a few films that John Lurie acted in or composed music for.
This episode is a quick one. At first QT would just ramble on & on about cool violent movies like he always does but eventually John Lurie would ask him about Jim Jarmusch’s subtle influence on his work which would then in turn piss QT off causing him to storm off the boat leaving John to fish by himself.
It's probably better this way. Who seriously wants to listen too Quentin Tarantino talk endlessly about how cool Sam Fuller is or how awesome Japanese movies are? I certainly don't...
EPISODE 602: Kevin Smith & Ben Affleck
Relationship/connection
none that I know of...
Look...it was the late 90's. This had to happen. Between '97-'99 these two guys were everywhere. Kevin Smith was on a pretty good run (Clerks through Dogma) and Ben Affleck was about to win his first academy award (Good Will Hunting). Behind the scenes I feel like John wouldn't be too thrilled about this one at first, but eventually he'd warm up to these guys.
This appearance would give Kevin Smith a good opportunity to show folks that he knows more about movies than just Star Wars references (say what you want about his movies, but Kevin Smith is quite the cinephile).
EPISODE 603: Chris Parker
John Lurie (L) & Chris Parker (R) in Permanent Vacation
Relatipnship/connection:
1. John Lurie did the music for Permanent Vacation, which starred Chris Parker
A few years ago I attended a Tom Jarmusch retrospective at Anthology Film Archives and one of the shorts they screened featured Chris Parker - star of Jim Jarmusch's feature film debut Permanent Vacation, which featured a cameo appearance from Lurie. Apparently this short film was made in the mid/late 90's. I approached Tom after the screening and asked if Chris Parker was still alive and to my surprise he assured me that he has
yeah sure, he's still around - Tom Jarmusch (2010)
This surprised me because based on what little I know about Parker, he seemed like a mysterious guy. Not like a shadowy figure, but more like a lost free spirit who could easily go off the grid without warning (during the filming of Permanent Vacation Jim Jarmusch & Sara Driver spent hours tracking him down each morning because he didn't have a phone or a steady place to live). Plus his IMDB profile is pretty spotty.
This episode would act as a great "where are they know?" Chris Parker seems like an interesting/twitchy character which makes for a good guest.
EPISODE 604: Tom Jarmusch
Relationship/Connection:
1. Tom helped on the production of Stranger Than Paradise
I know a lot of these episodes are Jim Jarmusch-related in some way, but this is a film site, Jim Jarmusch is a PINNLAND EMPIRE favorite and Lurie was involved in his first four films. Deal with it...
Tom Jarmusch, Jim's brother, is an unsung figure in the world of semi-recent avante garde American cinema. I wasn't even aware of his work until that retrospective at Anthology film archives that spoke of in the previous episode (I knew he made a super 8 documentary on the making of Stranger Than Paradise, but other than that, I didn't know he was a filmmaker). Although Tom's work wasn't screening at any big art house cinemas at the time this episode would have taken place, he was still very active, churning out a bunch of work. His appearance on Fishing with John would expose him to a whole new audience...
EPISODE 605: Tom Dicillo
Relationship/connection:
1. Tom shot the first two films John acted in
By '97 Tom Dicillo had moved on from being just a cinematographer (which is how he and John know each other) to becoming a fairly well known director during the American independent renaissance of the 90's (Johnny Suede, Living In Oblivion & Box Of Moonlight). John & Tom would catch up and reminisce about old times while promoting Tom's latest film; The Real Blonde.
EPISODE 606: Lars Von Trier & Udo Kier
Relationship/connection:
1. none that I know of but Lurie & Von Trier were both involved in films that premiered at the '84 Cannes film festival. Perhaps they crossed paths without realizing it?
For those that don't know, Lars Von Trier only travels by car, boat or train and has never been off the continent of Europe. Because of this, John would have to get on a plane to Denmark to meet up with Von Trier and his muse Udo Kier. Given Von Trier's many documented phobias, I imagine it would take him a while to build up the courage to get on the fishing boat with John, but after a while he'd finally overcome his fear.
In this season finale, Von Trier, who wasn't the super controversial figure that we know of today, would discuss his "beef" with Roman Polanski that started at the '91 Cannes film festival, the Dogma movement which was right around the corner and Udo Kier would reminisce about working with Rainer Werner Fassbender.
Jazz musician (The Lounge Lizards), film score composer ('Get Shorty', 'Variety' & 'Excess Baggage'), actor (most notably for the films of Jim Jarmusch), former TV Show host ("Fishing With John") & painter John Luire was kind enough to bless this blog. I'm in disbelief. If you follow this blog you'd know that between my fictitious "Fishing With John Series" and my constant exploration in to the cinema of Jim Jarmusch (as well as the "No Wave" scene which Lurie is commonly associated with for both film and music), you'd know that Lurie is a PINNLAND EMPIRE-favorite.
I've been a fan of his since I was a teenager so this really means a lot even if it may not seem like a big deal to some of you (Lurie included haha).
We're on celebrity status now...
1. What are the last 3 movies you saw?
-John Lurie:Ides of March, Contagion, The Bill Cunningham documentary
2. Who, in your opinion, is the best active filmmaker working right now?
-JL: I like the Coen brothers - or kind of every other film I like a lot, PT Anderson, Fincher is pretty great but havent seen the Dragon Tattoo yet
3. Putting aside the imaginary Fishing With John episodes I've done on this blog, realistically speaking, had the show gone on to have a 2nd, 3rd or 4th season, what guests would you have wanted on your show?
-JL:Mike Tyson, Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky, Rashied Wallace, Rebecca Hall, Claire Danes, Larry David, Vincent Gallo, Michael Moore, Serena Williams, Vince Vaughn, Louis Black
4. You've done quite a bit of film scoring in your lifetime so far. Given the recent interest in film scores and soundtracks thanks to guys like Cliff Martinez (Drive & Solaris), The Tindersticks (35 Shots Of Rum & White Material) and Trent Reznor (The Social Network & The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), what are some of your favorite RECENT film scores? And if you cant think of any recent ones, what are your all time favorites?
-JL:I am thinking. Hollywood doesnt really allow composers to do good scores any more. American Beauty is the last one I can think of.
5. What is your favorite piece of art to come out of the "No Wave" Scene? (this could be a film, album, painting, etc. it doesnt matter)
-JL:Youre right - doesnt matter
*BONUS QUESTION: What's you're opinion on "Hipsters"?
We're back with season 4! The show is now a hit and there's even rumors of knock-off/copycat shows being kicked around all the major television studios so this year we gotta come correct and show everyone who's the boss. Lurie was able to lock down some of the BIGGEST names in the shows history (but don't worry. he hasn't "sold out" or anything. we still have typical "john lurie" guests as well). We even have our first female guest. Its perfect that season 4 takes place in 1995. It was a helluva year for Mr. Lurie ('Get Shorty' and 'Blue In Face' were both released in '95)...
EPISODE 401: Mike Tyson
Relationship/Connection: None that I'm aware of, but i received a facebook message from Lurie (i hope its him) mentioning Mike Tyson as one of his dream guests
Assuming this is really from John Lurie (and I hope it is), I'll go ahead and assume he's been reading these and I'll take this as a request. How PERFECT would this be? If I'm following the correct timeline, season 4 would be in 1995, which is the year Mike Tyson was released from prison. What better way to relax after a prison stint (after being convicted for something you probably didn't even do) than to go fishing with a laid back guy like John Lurie? Now that the show has gotten so big (in my imaginary world), its only right to spread out and invite more guests that don't really know John personally (like herzog in imaginary season 2 or spike lee in imaginary season 3). Normally a guest like this (one of the greatest boxers to ever live that just got released from prison) would be a great season finale, but why make the people wait? Lets start season 4 off with a bang. And besides, we got a great season finale guest anyway. I just hope Mike Tyson doesn't have the same love for fish that he does for pigeons because if he does this is gonna be an awkward episode. I'm not sure where they'd go to fish but it couldn't be that far as I'm sure it would be against his parole to venture too far out of new york.
EPISODE 402 & 403: Danny Devito, Gene Hackman & John Travolta
Relationship/Connection:
1. John Lurie did music for 'Get Shorty'
Here's another episode with multiple guests like we did with Billy Martin and John Medeski last season. To celebrate the release of 'Get Shorty' (Lurie did the soundtrack), the stars of the film would get together on a big yacht and go fishing somewhere in L.A. In 1995 John Travolta, who would probably be the one providing the yacht, was officially back thanks to 'Pulp Fiction', and his popularity continued with 'Get Shorty' (a film quite similar to 'Pulp Fiction' if you ask me, but whatever...). I'm sure many jokes would be told and a good time would be had by all in this 2-part episode.
EPISODE 404: Victor Argo
Argo (left) w/ Lurie (right) in 'The Last Temptation Christ
relationship/connection:
1. Appeared in 3 films together (last temptation of christ, blue in the face and smoke)
Victor Argo is one of my all time favorite actors. He may not be as popular as his peers like Harvey Keitel or Deniro, but he's still great and was one of Scorsese's original regular actors. Lurie and Argo should be familiar with one another seeing is that they were involved in numerous films together. I see the 2 of them going somewhere in Brooklyn to fish in celebration of the release of 'Blue In Face' (another film released in 1995), which is a movie about Brooklyn. Victor Argo would later go on to co-star in 'Ghost Dog' directed by Lurie's friend Jim Jarmusch.
EPISODE 405: Fab 5 Freddy
relationship/connection:
1. Both came from the same no wave/nyc early 80's scene, and knew a lot of the same people
At this time MTV was still actually playing music videos and even though '95 was the final year for YO! MTV Raps (i don't count that comeback they tried to do years later), most people knew who Fab 5 Freddy was even if they didn't listen to hip-hop. Much like previous imaginary guests, Lurie and Freddy could share stories about Jean Michel Basqiuat and the early 80's nyc art scene while they fished in some exotic place far away.
EPISODE 406: Madonna
Madonna's cameo in 'Blue In The Face'
relationship/connection:
1. Madonna has a cameo in 'Blue In The Face'
2. John Lurie has a cameo in 'Desperatley Seeking Susan'
Wow, this is pretty historic as its the first female guest to go fishing with John. ...and its Madonna?! They must have crossed paths in life more than once. They've been in the same movies and both started their careers out in nyc. People weren't as annoyed with Madonna in the mid 90's as they are now (the Kabbalah trend, the British accent, her trying to be this political pundit, etc). We need to make sure this show stays on the air, so we gotta go big. Madonna = Ratings. Whats funny is that i think Madonna is a vegetarian. And if she isn't, I'm sorry for the mistake, but she comes off as one of those people that's against killing animals. Somehow the title of the show would have slipped past Madonna until she showed up for the filming of the episode and she'd spend the entire show arguing with John about how its wrong to kill fish. Everyone loves drama, especially on reality television, so this would be a perfect end to a great season.
The more of these i do the more I'm starting to think that John Lurie should take Kevin Bacon's place as the "6 Degrees of..." guy. Season 3 of Fishing With John probably has the most diverse lineup yet, with guests ranging from talk show hosts to semi-militant black directors. It would get such great ratings that the show would go on to be signed for 2 more imaginary seasons. And just like the last one (fishing with john: season two) we're going to keep within the time period that season 3 would have taken place (probably around 1994).
EPISODE 301: Arto Lindsay
Arto Linday (far left) w/ John Lurie (middle) in The Lounge Lizards
Relationship/Connection: 1. The Lounge Lizards 2. Both make appearances in 'Downtown 81' & 'Desperatley Seeking Susan'
I figured we'd start season 3 off with a guest that's not all that recognizable (Arto Lindsay) but is still an important figure in the world of music (experimental/punk/noisy/john zorn-ish/new york city artsy music to be exact). But don't worry, we've still got plenty of well known people lined up for season 3. Lindsay has collaborated with everyone from Daivd Byrne to hip-hop artist Beans and of course was the front man for the band DNA. His music has been featured on the soundtracks of 'Downtown 81' and 'Blue In The Face', he makes a cameo appearance in 'Desperatley Seeking Susan' (along with John Lurie and a few others) and was a fixture in the new york city art scene of the 80's. In this episode John Lurie and his former bandmate Lindsay would travel to some random place in Brazil and after they were done fishing they'd put on a performance of loud, noisy, punk-influenced jazz music for the confused locals.
EPISODE 302: Harvey Keitel
Keitel & Lurie in 'The Last Temptation'
Relationship/Connection: 1. Have appeared in numerous movies together (The Last Temptation Of Christ, Blue In The Face, Smoke) 2. John Lurie did the soundtrack for a movie Keitel was in (Get Shorty)
Around the time this episode would have aired Harvey Keitel would've been riding high on his early 90's comeback (Reservoir Dogs, Bugsy, Bad Lieutenant, Thelma & Louise and The Piano). 'Smoke' (in which John Lurie has an uncredited role and provided additional music) and 'Pulp Fiction' were on the verge of being released, so Keitel was pretty much the man. Less than a year later Lurie would have a bigger role in the sequel to Smoke; 'Blue In The Face', which also starred Keitel.
EPISODE 303: Rockets Redglare
Rockets & Lurie in 'Stranger Than Paradise'
Relationship/Connection: 1. Close friends in real life 2. Have been involved in numerous movies together (stranger than paradise, down by law, mystery train, etc)
Some of you may not know Rockets Redglare by name but i can almost guarantee you've seen him in something. Aside from the many independent films he's acted in, he's also been in studio films like 'Desperately Seeking Susan' and 'Big' (remember he was the landlord in the building Tom Hanks lived in). To say Rockets is a "character" is an understatement. He's another guy who emerged from the "No Wave" scene like Steve Buscemi, Vincent Gallo, Jean Michel Basquiat, etc etc. He's also pretty notorious outside of film as he was Syd Vicious' bodyguard at one point. His loud, abrasive, "new york attitude" would be great entertainment. For this episode they would have to get a big boat, as Rockets Redglare was a large fella.
EPISODE 304: Conan O'Brien
John Lurie on Conan in '98
Relationship/Connection: 1. Lurie wrote the theme song for Conan's show and was a musical guest
This might be one of the best ones yet. We've all seen Conan O'Brien go hunting with Hunter S. Thompson so I'm sure he'd be right at home on a fishing show. Judging from the interaction they had with each other on Conan's show (video below), there would clearly be some good chemistry between these 2 and Conan would naturally be a hilarious guest.
EPISODE 305: Billy Martin & John Medski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood)
Billy Martin & John Lurie
Relationship/Connection:
1. Have collaborated on numerous music projects with John Lurie
Growing up in a mostly white liberal college town (and eventually working in an independent record store when i was in high school), it was almost impossible to NOT hear "madeski, martin & wood" mentioned at least 10 times a day, every day. I don't think I've actually listened to a Madeski, Martin & Wood song all the way through because that kinda music treads WAY too close to hippie culture, but for some strange reason i know all about them. Now i am a huge fan of their work with John Lurie and around this time, Medeski Martin & Wood were pretty popular and this would be the first episode with multiple guests
EPISODE 306: Spike Lee
Relationship/Connection:
None that I'm aware of
Much like the season 2 finale with Werner Herzog, there isn't much of a connection between John Lurie and this guest. Although Spike Lee is friends with Jim Jarmusch, they were both involved in films that were up for the same award at Cannes in '89 (mystery train and do the right thing) and Spike Lee did threaten to beat John Lurie's other good friend Wim Wenders (who was an imaginary guest on imaginary season 2) with a baseball bat, so I'm sure they'd have plenty to talk about. And both Lee and Lurie are important figures in the NYC film scene, so it does make some sense. Plus i doubt Spike Lee has ever fished in his life, so this would be funny.
'Fishing With John' was a BRILLIANT idea. Take a hip yet somewhat obscure/cult-like figure (John Lurie) and send him all over the world to fish with one of his many cool celebrity friends (Willem Dafoe, Dennis Hopper, Matt Dillon, etc). What some people fail to realize is that not only is John Lurie a pioneer in modern jazz music, and a frequent collaborator of Jim Jarmusch, but he's also done the soundtracks for movies like 'Get Shorty' and 'Excess Baggage', was a cast member on HBO's 'OZ', and has acted in plenty of other films outside of Jarmusch's (most notably 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' and 'Paris, Texas'). So even though he may be kind of obscure, he's certainly worked with plenty of famous people. For years i always wondered what kind of guests he would've had on his show had it not gotten cancelled. Well I've got about 4 seasons worth of guests in my head so I thought I'd share them with you one imaginary season at a time. The rules to being on the show is that you have to have more than one connection with John Lurie, whether it be a personal friendship or some kind of an artistic collaboration. Also, we're going to keep within the time period that season 2 would have taken place (probably around 1992 or 1993). So here's my list of guests for season two...
EPISODE 201: Roberto Benigni
Lurie & Beningi @ Cannes in '86
Relationship/Connection:
1. Lurie and Begnini acted together in 'Down By Law',
2. Lurie did the soundtrack for a film Benigni's wife acted in ('Mystery Train')
This would be an interesting episode because Robert Benigni doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd want to do anything semi-dangerous with because he's so hyper all the time and might cause an accident. They could reminisce about acting together in 'Down By Law' and possibly tell funny stories about Jim Jarmusch. I'm leaving open the possibility that Benigni might drown. I picture him capturing a fish and getting so excited that he jumps in the water, but he cant swim (like his character in 'Down By law') so he'd drown. Way to kick off season 2...
EPISODE 202: Wim Wenders
John Lurie in Wenders' 'Paris, Texas'
Relationship/Connection:
1. Wender's "silently co-produced" a film John Lurie starred in ('Stranger Than Paradise')
2. Lurie acted in Wender's 'Paris, Texas'
For some reason Wim Wender's doesn't come off as an outdoorsman so it would be funny to throw him in to a situation like this. Wim Wenders isn't as popular as the other names on this list so i imagine this episode wouldn't get the highest rating. But episode 203 would definitely get things back on track...
EPISODE 203: David Lynch
John Lurie in Lynch's 'Wild At Heart'
Relationship/Connection:
1. John Lurie acted in Lynch's 'Wild At Heart'.
2. Both Lynch and Lurie are moderately successful painters outside of their main professions.
Around 1993 'Twin Peaks' had already been cancelled but at this point David Lynch was pretty well known as the "weird" oddball director. This would be perfect. David Lynch is from Montana, which i believe is like a fishing mecca in America (well that's what the movie 'A River Runs Through It' led me to believe), so that's where this episode would take place. It would be like a homecoming for Lynch. As they fly fished, they could talk about their favorite painters, colors, textures, etc. Then David Lynch would take one of the fish he caught and use it in a painting (he's used everything from live ants to dead mice on his canvases).
EPISODE 204: Steve Buscemi
Relationship/Connection:
1. Both came from the same NYC "No Wave" scene. If they aren't friends in real life, which I'm pretty sure they are, but if they aren't, I'm sure they use to bump in to each other pretty often at art galleries, concerts or movie screenings.
2. Lurie did the soundtrack for a film Buscemi acted in ('Mystery Train')
Around this time Steve Buschemi would have just blown up thanks to 'Resrvoir Dogs'. Him and John could talk about the old New York City days, and share stories about Jean Michel Basquiat and Vincent Gallo (who was considered for the part of "Mr. Pink" first)
EPISODE 205 & 206: Werner Herzog
Relationship/Connection:
None that I'm aware of (im already breaking my own rules in the first entry)
I just think that a show where people travel all around the world just to fish is right up Werner Herzog's alley. I'm sure in this particular episode (which would be a two-parter like the Deniss Hopper episode from season one), Herzog would request to go to the most dangerous place on earth and he wouldn't use any kind of a fishing rod, as he would probably use his bare hands. The climax of the show would be Werner saving John Lurie from a shark attack by stabbing it to death with a handmade spear.
