Last night I attended the Closing Night Gala for the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival…

Bill Pullman, Freddy Rodriguez, the director Randall Miller and his wife were all on hand to present the movie to us. My friend and I were sitting in the third row because at least half the-ginormous-movie theatre was reserved for SIFF sponsors and the entire board of directors, so we were definitely feeling "in" the movie, but it was a great spot to be when the cast and crew were brought up to the stage before and after the screening.

At the end of the show, Carl Spence, one of SIFF’s Artistic Directors, came up to the stage again to re-introduce the cast for a Q&A session…

One audience member asked if the movie had been screened in France-an apt question since the premise of the film rests on attempting to debunk the myth of the "irreproachable French vine." Miller responded and said that the film had indeed been screend to several distributors in France. "Some of them were very offended" he said. In regards to others he explained, "the French were…confused," a line at which the audience laughed. There were a few other French quips but nothing that I wouldn’t laugh at along with everyone else.

When the cast was asked "How have your drinking habits changed since working on a film involving so much wine? Do you drink more now? Are you a snob?" Miller responded that he and his wife had always been content with "Two-Buck Chuck" and the others agreed that once you have really good wine it is very difficult to go back. When Pullman was handed the microphone he put his hands up in front of him and backed up a few steps. He was not going to touch that one. I was very surprised, actually, at how shy Bill Pullman was in general. He answered questions with incredibly brief answers and even looked visibly uncomfortable. I’m not sure why. We all loved the movie from what I could tell of the audience reaction-the director said we gave exceptional response, which is natural since most of the people there have been faithful SIFF-attendees for the last 25 days!

So InKleined

Our third film was Bottle Shock (6:30 pm, Cinerama), the SIFF closing gala film. It’s about an international wine tasting between US and French wineries in 1976, and about one of the US vineyards and its people. It will no doubt draw comparison with Sideways; it shares the wine theme, and is very good, but otherwise isn’t very similar. I enjoyed it a lot.

Before Bottle Shock, SIFF officials gave some speeches, and then invited the film-makers on stage. Among them were director and co-writer Randall Miller, his wife and co-writer Jody Savin, and stars Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez. They were delightful, and interacted nicely with the crowd. They came out afterwards for a Q-and-A, which was very nice. Several signed my SIFF book. I took lots of pictures, but I haven’t checked whether they’re good yet.

One of the Usual Suspects – three films, SIFF closing party, and the Fools’ ballot-counting party

Saturday’s closing night film selection is Bottle Shock, based on the true story of how the Napa Valley wine industry made a name for themselves: by beating out the French in a blinded Chardonnay tasting.

Seattlest: For Your Consideration: The Last Weekend of SIFF