All right, all right, all right: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Dazed and Confused," director Richard Linklater screened his own 35mm print of the 1993 classic at the 51st annual New York Film Festival on Thursday night. (The Alice Tully Hall audience was not instructed to watch the leather, man, before the movie began, but the request seemed all but implied.)
Linklater -- who joked that "Dazed and Confused" actually came out in 1976, and played the Southern drive-in circuit as part of a double-feature with the Burt Reynolds film "Gator" (the "Dazed" print was so beat up that it certainly looked the part) -- was joined after the screening by stars Jason London, Anthony Rapp and Parker Posey for a Q&A session, hosted by Kent Jones, Film Society of Lincoln Center director of programming and selection committee chairman. As she does onscreen as Darla, the evil high school mean girl who torments the incoming freshman with taunts and teases, Posey stole the event. Below, her four best anecdotes about "Dazed and Confused."
1. Darla's Hazing Tactics Could Have Been A Lot Worse
As Darla, Posey sprays the incoming freshman with swear words, ketchup and raw eggs. That, however, was child's play to what could have happened.
"I had heard about the hazing thing from my Aunt Peggy, who was from Texas too," Posey said about her preparation for the part. "She told me this story -- this really happened, and this is the twisted thing about this movie. This happened in this country, and it's nuts. I wanted to expose this hazing stuff. I told Rick, 'My Aunt Peggy said they used to tie oysters with dental floss and make girls swallow them and pull them out. That was their day of fun in hazing.'"
The audience recoiled in horror.
"Remember that?" Posey asked Linklater. "I was like, 'Let's really do that!' That really happened. In this country."
Fortunately, it didn't happen in the movie.
2. Brad Pitt's Future Makeup Artist Knew Matthew McConaughey Was A Star
"Dazed and Confused" was Matthew McConaughey's breakout performance, not that anyone making "Dazed and Confused" was surprised.
"I remember sitting in the makeup chair with Jean Black, a great makeup artist. She's now made a life just being Brad Pitt's makeup artist. That's a life," Posey said with a laugh. (Black has worked with Pitt since "Legends of the Fall" in 1994.) "She was like, 'Oh my God, you have to see this Matthew McConaughey!' I was like, 'Who is this guy?' She said, 'He's going to be a big star.' I walked on set and saw his whole look, and I was like, 'Oh my God, can I be in this scene?' Rick was like, 'Sure.'"
3. Bertolt Brecht Is Responsible For Darla's Best Line
"'Wipe that face off your head' was a line I said in a play called 'Jungle in the Cities' by Bertolt Brecht," Posey recalled. "I thought it was such a funny image to say to someone."
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4. Posey Has Ideas About Where Darla Wound Up
"I think Darla has a lot to yell about. I see her as an activist in San Francisco somewhere," Posey said when asked where her character would be today. After Rapp wondered what Darla could possibly be an activist for, Posey said, "Everything."
"There is a lot to be upset about," she continued, before giving up. "I don't know. Don't listen to me! […] Some crazy stuff happened, but I like to think that she got it together."
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