The Devil and Daniel Johnston

The UK premiere of The Devil and Daniel Johnston is at the ICA tomorrow night. Johnston plays the same venue on Thursday night. There's a Q&A tomorrow night with himself and the director. It won the Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival. Here's an article from the Guardian.

A superb article on LD at the New Yorker. It's the best article I have seen regarding him. He rarely does interviews. Watched Sour Grapes. A tad disappointing. There are snatches of dialogue that are pure David, but sadly not enough to make it a worthwhile film to watch. The acting seems somewhat stilted also. I didn't realise that LD directed it. Maybe that was a mistake. A rare one.

There's an episode of CYE where he's accused of racism (he makes an ill-judged joke about affirmative action). He later bumps into a black woman, played by Karen Bankhead, who tried to get a job with him on Sour Grapes. She says that her experience was ideal and that she was perfect for the job. LD says that he gave the job to one of his wife's friends. She continues to accuse him of being a racist, slating Seinfeld for never having any black characters. Anyway, having watched the film, one of the main supporting characters in the film is played by Karen Bankhead. LD goes post-modern, again...


UPDATE: Daniel Johnston has had to cancel his appearances. Take a look at his website announcement. Looks like his mood has darkened....