Time marches on. Also cinema names. Osgood Perkins, son of Mayflower descendant and Oscar nominee Tony Perkins (Norman Bates in “Psycho”), directed the new film “The Blackcoat’s Daughter.” It stars Emma Roberts, niece of everyone’s favorite, Julia Roberts.
Emma, beautiful in giant platform shoes and frilly lavender dress shorter than her résumé: “The Chloe dress goes back. I’m into these black velvet Birman shoes but only 30 minutes — then it’s flats.
“Joan, the character I play, is twisted. I got into her mind by reading. You get a lot that way. I read many books. I can scan one in minutes. It puts your head into a different space. Like love letters written by a belletrist. Time travel’s ‘The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells’ gives you a mindset. Joan Didion’s a favorite.
“I love to read. I read in the bathtub, in a car. Checking my bag one airport security lady asked why so many books? I said I’ve now started my own book club, and we began to talk for quite a long time.”
For a literary club this conversation was great. For a movie interview, not so great.
Osgood, who’s handsome, tall, lush beard, lush jacket, said: “Acting’s plain bulls—t. I’ve done that s—t. Doing nothing with an idea doesn’t help so, sitting in front of a computer with notes, I wrote what I wanted to say. It’s my first movie and first shot directing. I reach people the right way. I have a way around me. As for a first time directing, I have intelligent friends. I’ve been around enough with my father.
“There’s been difficult times in my life and I was inspired by horror movies, but not like ‘The Shining’ or ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’ They were just sad human beings. My background is big people doing big work. So I wrote about a young girl who uses her parents and comes into that special space. My brother and I inherited a house in Wellfleet, Cape Cod. I’ve written about experiences there. This is about visions, menace, evil forces.”
Another next generation — Daniel Day-Lewis’ musician son Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis showed for the Cinema Society screening.
Fixing up my mix-up
Tony Hale of HBO’s “Veep” got a mix-up in an interview. I somehow mixed it up because I, somehow, got mixed up. I now unmix it.
Recently “Veep” shot here at Bronx Community College. Tony did not go there for schooling, which is where dummkopf me put him. Nor did he and his mom go to Barney Greengrass. Also, he loves Italian restaurant L’Artusi.
I may lack efficiency, Tony, but I make up for it in charm.
Bits and pieces
“Gong Show” creator Chuck Barris, whose own tacky story was “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” was sensitive about low quality accomplishments. My last memory of Chuck was in a fast food joint. Eating a burger. All alone … Enough already with tattoos. Anyone know 1886 Thomas A. Edison invented the first electric engraving machine? Later modified, tattoo artists used it on human skin.
Writers’ corner
Despite Black History Month, there’s no movie of any James Baldwin work. Heirs, offered big money, comply with his will’s stipulation that none ever be made … In the ’70s, Joan Didion and late brother-in-law Dominick Dunne toured the deep South. Her journal notes comprise part of her new book … Jim Fragale’s novel “F.U.! (Follow Up)! The Answer to Life Revisited” contains 50 of his mama Louise’s old-world, Calabrian recipes.
On new T-shirts: “I don’t need Google. My wife knows everything” … “Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes” … “The ass family: wiseass, smartass, dumbass, kickass.”
Only in New York, kids, only in New York.