Pizarro: Movie satire wows Cinequest audience
By Sal Pizarro
Mercury News – March 3. 2006
Sal Pizarro Mercury News of Cinequest PDF
The Cinequest Film Festival unveiled its 16th edition Wednesday night with a great movie and packed after-party at the Paragon
Bar and Restaurant.
“Thank You for Smoking,” a satire about the tobacco industry, had a crowd lined up at the California Theatre, and the
moviegoers left buzzing about its hilarious, amoral tone. And if all they wanted was to see the Katie Holmes sex scene,
mysteriously “lost” at the Sundance Film Festival screening last month, they weren’t disappointed.
Later at Paragon, Cinequest co-founders Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen Powell were like new parents making the rounds
among the scores of sharply dressed partygoers, independent filmmakers and movie lovers. The crowd included familiar
Cinequest faces — longtime supporters Al and Carmen Castellano, and artist Carlos Perez, who designed the trophy Cinequest
gives each year to its Maverick Spirit Award winner. One of the new faces was Donald McDonald, a VP at Intel, which signed on
as Cinequest’s major sponsor this year and is using the festival to show off new products.
OSCAR PRIDE: San Jose Gay Pride has been hosting an Oscar Night for eight years, but this year is special because two movies
with gay or transgender themes are up for major awards. “I think especially in the gay community there’s a lot of excitement
because `Brokeback Mountain’ and `Transamerica’ have gotten so much attention,” said San Jose Gay Pride board member PJ
Matarese.
Sunday’s party at downtown San Jose’s swanky Corinthian Event Center starts with red-carpet coverage at 4 p.m. Tickets are
available for $70 at (408) 278-5563.
MORE OSCARS: Rhonda Marion, general manager of the Park Place restaurant in Cupertino, reports that the popularity contest
between its five Best Picture-themed drinks has gotten tight as the awards approach. “Crash on the Long Beach” has taken over
as the most-ordered. The “Brokeback Martini” started out strong, Marion says, but has dropped to fourth place. . . . You’ve
heard about all the free swag handed out to guests at the Academy Awards ceremony? One of the cool collectibles being inserted
into every bag this year is a colorful pop-art watch by South Bay artist Sonya Paz. You can check out the watches at her Santa
Clara gallery or online at www.sonyapaz.com.
BILINGUAL HONORCecilia Barrie, principal at Grant Elementary School in San Jose, was honored Thursday as the
Administrator of the Year by the California Association for Bilingual Education. The group is holding its annual conference for
about 7,000 people this week at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, and will cap it off tonight with an awards dinner and
dance, featuring the music of Bay Area Latin funk band Mystique and the Herrera Sisters.
UPON FURTHER REVIEWMy scope was too small when I wrote about the food drive being held Sunday at the Mercado Shopping
Center. It’s actually being hosted by 23 of the Curves fitness clubs in the South Bay, not just the Sunnyvale club. Get information
at www.southbay curves.com. . . . For anyone seeking information on the March 11-14 Irish Week celebrations, the correct
Web site to go to is www.sanjosedublin.org.
