I get offered a lot of really unwholesome, unsavory, dangerous people
January 28, 2025 12:40 AM Subscribe
I was a young actor, talking to an older actor. I’m not going to tell you who. As I was leaving the room, he said, “Chris! Be careful.” I walked out the door, and I don’t think a day has gone by that I don’t think about that. “Be careful.” Every day, I think that. And I don’t know what he meant. from Christopher Walken Has Never Owned a Cellphone [WSJ; ungated]
Oh gosh, as I'm reading the interview, I can hear the responses in Walken's voice. Which is lovely.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:19 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:19 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
I came here to say the same rabia.elizabeth, that chopped up kinda prose, and an un-anoying whine, or something like it. Great writing.
posted by unearthed at 1:25 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
posted by unearthed at 1:25 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Does being insulated from technology help protect your mindset as an artist?
I don’t think of it that way. Then again, even the last time I was on stage [in 2010 in Martin McDonagh’s “A Behanding in Spokane”], phones rang in the theater, people answered them. If not that, they’re taking a video of your performance. I thought, that’s it, it’s over. I can’t do it anymore.
This. Cellphones are in limited ways great, but limited. As in, just cause you can doesn't mean you should (cellphones enabling all kinds of dumb behaviour just because they can.)
posted by From Bklyn at 3:03 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
I don’t think of it that way. Then again, even the last time I was on stage [in 2010 in Martin McDonagh’s “A Behanding in Spokane”], phones rang in the theater, people answered them. If not that, they’re taking a video of your performance. I thought, that’s it, it’s over. I can’t do it anymore.
This. Cellphones are in limited ways great, but limited. As in, just cause you can doesn't mean you should (cellphones enabling all kinds of dumb behaviour just because they can.)
posted by From Bklyn at 3:03 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
Wait wait wait: he's never had a watch?!
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:43 AM on January 28 [15 favorites]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:43 AM on January 28 [15 favorites]
I wonder how he stays in touch with people when he’s traveling? Maybe an assistant who has a cell phone.
posted by waving at 3:51 AM on January 28 [4 favorites]
posted by waving at 3:51 AM on January 28 [4 favorites]
Somewhere in the middle he says he just borrows one if he needs it, but it doesn't sound like he has a designated phone squire following him around.
posted by Ashenmote at 4:14 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
posted by Ashenmote at 4:14 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
"Wait wait wait: he's never had a watch?!"
Oh, he's had a watch alright.
posted by chillmost at 4:24 AM on January 28 [40 favorites]
Oh, he's had a watch alright.
posted by chillmost at 4:24 AM on January 28 [40 favorites]
^ you beat me to it!
Watches are kind of a liability if you think about it. A lot of responsibility for someone to carry.
posted by in_lieu_of_fiction at 4:25 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Watches are kind of a liability if you think about it. A lot of responsibility for someone to carry.
posted by in_lieu_of_fiction at 4:25 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
While his dancing in the Fatboy Slim music video is more well-known, I much prefer his tap dancing routine on the 1985 show "Night of 100 Stars".
posted by jeremias at 5:12 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
posted by jeremias at 5:12 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
Somewhere in the middle he says he just borrows one if he needs it, but it doesn't sound like he has a designated phone squire following him around.
Not like anyone would decline to lend him a phone if he asked.
posted by ocschwar at 5:30 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Not like anyone would decline to lend him a phone if he asked.
posted by ocschwar at 5:30 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Without having a consistent phone, and thus phone number, on hand people can't call him, he can only call them (referring to his small, worn black travel address book with numbers penciled in, naturally) if he is relying on using other people's phones. If he wants to be accessible I guess he can just do it the old fashioned way and give his potential callers the name of the hotel in which he's staying.
posted by waving at 5:51 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
posted by waving at 5:51 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
I wonder how he stays in touch with people when he’s traveling?
Probably the same way people did before cell phones. You by-and-large didn’t. It’s not that bad. Honest!
posted by Thorzdad at 5:52 AM on January 28 [33 favorites]
Probably the same way people did before cell phones. You by-and-large didn’t. It’s not that bad. Honest!
posted by Thorzdad at 5:52 AM on January 28 [33 favorites]
An underrated Bond villain.
posted by Lemkin at 6:21 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
posted by Lemkin at 6:21 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
He reads shampoo bottle labels while sitting on the toilet.
posted by Dr. Curare at 6:30 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
posted by Dr. Curare at 6:30 AM on January 28 [3 favorites]
He reads shampoo bottle labels while sitting on the toilet.
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose! Methyl laurel sulfate! I can hear him saying these!
posted by briank at 7:04 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose! Methyl laurel sulfate! I can hear him saying these!
posted by briank at 7:04 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
I've also read that Walken is a pacifist who despises guns so much that, when possible, he appreciates when a PA can hop over and take the damned thing out of his hands right away after any take where he happens to be holding one.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:06 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:06 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
Probably the same way people did before cell phones. You by-and-large didn’t. It’s not that bad. Honest!
I would hesitate to cut off communication with my elderly parents and kids for any length of time while I travel for work or pleasure, but I get it if others don’t share that sentiment due to various reasons.
posted by waving at 7:09 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
I would hesitate to cut off communication with my elderly parents and kids for any length of time while I travel for work or pleasure, but I get it if others don’t share that sentiment due to various reasons.
posted by waving at 7:09 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
I would hesitate to cut off communication with my elderly parents and kids for any length of time while I travel for work or pleasure, but I get it if others don’t share that sentiment due to various reasons.
Which I get, but I grew up in a time where you had to go actively find a pay phone or someone willing to let you use their phone if you needed to call someone. I miss that. Being able to just be gone for a while and no one knowing where you were is something that needs to come back.
posted by azpenguin at 7:21 AM on January 28 [13 favorites]
Which I get, but I grew up in a time where you had to go actively find a pay phone or someone willing to let you use their phone if you needed to call someone. I miss that. Being able to just be gone for a while and no one knowing where you were is something that needs to come back.
posted by azpenguin at 7:21 AM on January 28 [13 favorites]
I wonder how he stays in touch with people when he’s traveling? Maybe an assistant who has a cell phone.
Yeah, I'm not sure if I buy this as presented. In law school a partner at a firm I interned at also "didn't use technology" but that just meant everyone else around him was forced into doing it for him. His secretary would print out his email and type up his dictated responses! It was very frustrating for everyone but him.
I imagine a star at Walken's level also has people around him handling these issues so he doesn't have to think about it.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:22 AM on January 28 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I'm not sure if I buy this as presented. In law school a partner at a firm I interned at also "didn't use technology" but that just meant everyone else around him was forced into doing it for him. His secretary would print out his email and type up his dictated responses! It was very frustrating for everyone but him.
I imagine a star at Walken's level also has people around him handling these issues so he doesn't have to think about it.
posted by star gentle uterus at 7:22 AM on January 28 [5 favorites]
I'm sure Christopher Walken is at a level where he has an assistant or a manager or someone around him (i.e. his wife) who is who you're supposed to call him via anyway. If you don't directly know Walken, you go through someone. If you're close to Walken, you know how to get a hold of him.
I'm always surprised when people get a famous person's direct cellphone number, like, for one, that it isn't constantly getting compromised and changed, and two, I would think that it would be kept a super big secret so #1 doesn't happen.
I've been noticing that "gap" in social media -- when you're ultrafamous, you're expected to have social media for your fans; if you're trying to get started in the industry, you need social media to get noticed -- but if you're a talented workhorse, you don't exist on social media. You're too busy for social media. Your reputation is solid enough, you have enough credits that it doesn't matter how many followers you have.
(The first time I heard a celphone ring in a movie theater was 1994, the original release of Pulp Fiction, and the guy did answer and talk for a little while. It was definitely a "this is what the future is going to look like" moment.)
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:31 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
I'm always surprised when people get a famous person's direct cellphone number, like, for one, that it isn't constantly getting compromised and changed, and two, I would think that it would be kept a super big secret so #1 doesn't happen.
I've been noticing that "gap" in social media -- when you're ultrafamous, you're expected to have social media for your fans; if you're trying to get started in the industry, you need social media to get noticed -- but if you're a talented workhorse, you don't exist on social media. You're too busy for social media. Your reputation is solid enough, you have enough credits that it doesn't matter how many followers you have.
(The first time I heard a celphone ring in a movie theater was 1994, the original release of Pulp Fiction, and the guy did answer and talk for a little while. It was definitely a "this is what the future is going to look like" moment.)
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:31 AM on January 28 [7 favorites]
Yeah given his stature I'm not sure what kind of situation, professionally, people are imagining would require Walken to respond to someone on a moment's notice. That's why he has representation. And if they can't wait half a day for him to get back to them, well, then they can't want him that much I guess.
posted by AndrewInDC at 7:48 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
posted by AndrewInDC at 7:48 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
I think it's more that once again, we lionize the men who are rugged and rustic and eschew modernity, and part of the reason they can do that is that generally there are entire family structures, largely women, doing the work of caregiving and connection and emotional labour around them. Looking up the dry cleaner listing on Google Business. Booking the tables. Picking up the phone when someone breaks a hip or throws up at school or whatever.
If he has paid staff, then at least there's that.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:51 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
If he has paid staff, then at least there's that.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:51 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
If you're close to Walken, you know how to get a hold of him.
Yeah, calling him is useless. I just show up and let myself in. If he's home and he's not in his office or den, he's probably in the kitchen or out by the pool.
posted by loquacious at 7:54 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
Yeah, calling him is useless. I just show up and let myself in. If he's home and he's not in his office or den, he's probably in the kitchen or out by the pool.
posted by loquacious at 7:54 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
So, so many air miles earned. So, so many air miles wasted.
posted by loquacious at 7:54 AM on January 28 [4 favorites]
posted by loquacious at 7:54 AM on January 28 [4 favorites]
For many years (maybe even still?) the only way to reach Bill Murray was to leave a message on an answering machine and hope he went to a phone to call you back.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:00 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:00 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
He is wonderful. But the tech thing is a bit misleading. His wife is (was?) one of the most important and powerful casting agents- their house is fully connected communication-wize. She is a force. Used to be my neighbors on the UWS.
posted by T10B at 8:20 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
posted by T10B at 8:20 AM on January 28 [9 favorites]
I think some people are really overthinking the cell phone bit - presumably he has a home phone and regularly uses it. He's not living a hermetic life per se, just the life most of us still lived in the 90s (and which some people lived well into the 2000s - myself include). Plus do we know he travels much? Neither of my parents had cell phones until around five years ago - no staff or anything, and they managed fine - they only got cell phones once it became clear it would actually be cheaper than their phone bill.
Anyway, I enjoyed the interview, thanks for posting.
posted by coffeecat at 8:34 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
Anyway, I enjoyed the interview, thanks for posting.
posted by coffeecat at 8:34 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
Chris is one of my favorite actors, him and Willem Dafoe. Imagine them together!
It's truly damaged, but if you get a chance, watch New Rose Hotel. So much going on there. William Gibson. Asia Argento. Abel Ferrara as director.
But King of New York is, I think, his best work. Abel Ferrara again.
posted by valkane at 8:40 AM on January 28 [8 favorites]
It's truly damaged, but if you get a chance, watch New Rose Hotel. So much going on there. William Gibson. Asia Argento. Abel Ferrara as director.
But King of New York is, I think, his best work. Abel Ferrara again.
posted by valkane at 8:40 AM on January 28 [8 favorites]
He plays villains so well, it's hard for me to get my mind unstuck from that. When I heard one of those sleaze-journalism reports that maybe an actor on board the boat with Natalie Woods may have murdered her, I thought, Robert Wagner? No way! And then, reading the report, Christopher Walken. Oh, okay. (Sorry, I can be Hollywoo mental at times.)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:53 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:53 AM on January 28 [2 favorites]
I'm always surprised when people get a famous person's direct cellphone number, like, for one, that it isn't constantly getting compromised and changed
In John Mulaney's Baby J comedy show, he has a bit about how, on entering rehab, he got a call from Pete Davidson, who was constantly changing phones, like every couple months. Mulaney started putting Davidson's new number under unlikely names to keep changing it up, so in rehab, a nurse wakes him to hand him his phone because Al Pacino is calling.
posted by fatbird at 9:27 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
In John Mulaney's Baby J comedy show, he has a bit about how, on entering rehab, he got a call from Pete Davidson, who was constantly changing phones, like every couple months. Mulaney started putting Davidson's new number under unlikely names to keep changing it up, so in rehab, a nurse wakes him to hand him his phone because Al Pacino is calling.
posted by fatbird at 9:27 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
I wonder how he stays in touch with people when he’s traveling?
He's old enough to know cursive.
posted by bonehead at 9:52 AM on January 28 [8 favorites]
He's old enough to know cursive.
posted by bonehead at 9:52 AM on January 28 [8 favorites]
During the recent snowstorm my phone kinda quit charging. At all. I really don't want to spend money on a new one, and it was really interesting to ask myself exactly what I would be missing by not having one any more. I only ever go voice with bureaucracies, there's a lot of lag on my connection that makes actual conversations really unpleasant. Mostly I think I'd miss having GPS.
posted by egypturnash at 10:01 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
posted by egypturnash at 10:01 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
I think it's more that once again, we lionize the men who are rugged and rustic and eschew modernity, and part of the reason they can do that is that generally there are entire family structures, largely women, doing the work of caregiving and connection and emotional labour around them.
Very much this. My father, who is 86, does not have any internet devices whatsoever and has never googled anything in his life. If he wants to know something, he calls one of his children and gets them to look it up for him, and it's usually me he calls because he soon figured out that I was the best of my siblings at internet research. (I'm an editor and research is a big part of the job.)
It's sort of like how when I was in early adulthood I liked living very, very simply and owning as little stuff as possible. But I came to realize that when you do that you're always scrambling to find ways to do the things you want to do, which usually means borrowing things from other people, and I didn't like imposing on others that way.
I'm a cell phone refusenik myself, mostly for financial reasons, as I have been below the poverty line in terms of income for over 12 years now, and didn't have much money before that. It is getting harder to get by without one, mostly because it's becoming more common for companies to set up processes such as account verification that require a cellphone and don't offer alternatives. Otherwise I don't mind it for my own sake. A little planning and preparation goes a long way in terms of workarounds, i.e., I can print out coupons for Michaels and Value Village and put them in my wallet before leaving the house. There are things I really like about not having one. I am after all the kind of person who jumps and swears every time my landline rings. Being out and about on errands and not having to deal with a device is so peaceful.
I'm at home most of the time and pretty reliably reachable via my landline and email, so I don't think I'm inconveniencing anyone, but if I do find it's becoming a strain for other people I will try to finance a cellphone somehow.
posted by orange swan at 11:09 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
Very much this. My father, who is 86, does not have any internet devices whatsoever and has never googled anything in his life. If he wants to know something, he calls one of his children and gets them to look it up for him, and it's usually me he calls because he soon figured out that I was the best of my siblings at internet research. (I'm an editor and research is a big part of the job.)
It's sort of like how when I was in early adulthood I liked living very, very simply and owning as little stuff as possible. But I came to realize that when you do that you're always scrambling to find ways to do the things you want to do, which usually means borrowing things from other people, and I didn't like imposing on others that way.
I'm a cell phone refusenik myself, mostly for financial reasons, as I have been below the poverty line in terms of income for over 12 years now, and didn't have much money before that. It is getting harder to get by without one, mostly because it's becoming more common for companies to set up processes such as account verification that require a cellphone and don't offer alternatives. Otherwise I don't mind it for my own sake. A little planning and preparation goes a long way in terms of workarounds, i.e., I can print out coupons for Michaels and Value Village and put them in my wallet before leaving the house. There are things I really like about not having one. I am after all the kind of person who jumps and swears every time my landline rings. Being out and about on errands and not having to deal with a device is so peaceful.
I'm at home most of the time and pretty reliably reachable via my landline and email, so I don't think I'm inconveniencing anyone, but if I do find it's becoming a strain for other people I will try to finance a cellphone somehow.
posted by orange swan at 11:09 AM on January 28 [6 favorites]
During the recent snowstorm my phone kinda quit charging.
You may already know this, but just in case you or anyone can use this:
Trying to charge cold batteries is probably the number one way that cell phone batteries die.
People tend to keep their phones in outside pockets for easy access which causes the available battery capacity to drop by half or more, then the phone runs out of battery sooner than expected, and then it's really common for people to just put them on the charger in their frozen car and leave it there even though the car is also at or below freezing inside.
I see people do this kind of thing all the time, especially the part about throwing it on a charger in their freezing cold car or right when they get in from the cold, and it doesn't seem to be common knowledge that this is a sure fire way to ruin a battery.
When a typical lithium ion battery gets near (or worse, below freezing) this causes the electrolyte "jelly" in the jelly roll construction of these batteries to freeze, and when you apply a charging voltage to it, this causes the formation of dendrites in the electrolyte gel which usually permanently damages the battery and reduces total capacity.
Once that happens there's no coming back without replacing the battery (or phone), and it's also a potential fire hazard.
Thankfully the charging and battery management circuits in phones are (usually) smart enough to prevent overcharging and detect damaged batteries so they might refuse to charge at all, or won't do fast charging ever again and other behaviors in an effort to prevent battery fires.
You can safely use/discharge most lithium ion batteries down to about 10-15 below freezing, but for charging they need to be well above freezing, typically at least 35 F at an absolute bare minimum, but the battery chemistries are happier closer to at least 40 F, and room temps are even better for battery health.
I deal with this all the time with my ebike when it's cold out, and I sometimes will ride or use it in snow or temps down to about 15-20 F. But it can reduce my total range and power by as much as 50% or more, so if it's really cold out I will tape a pair of those disposable handwarmers to the battery case and then insulate the whole battery with some aluminum foil or sheeting strapped over the whole case and taped-on handwarmers.
But when I get back and it's time to charge I will let the battery rest for 4-8 hours to come back up to room temps and drive off any condensation before charging for best battery safety and longevity.
Electric vehicles deal with this by having thermal management systems, including battery heaters integrated into the system and packs. This is why some EVs won't run in cold temps if the battery gets too low, or why they won't accept a plug-in charge right away. Depending on the vehicle they will be using some of that plug-in power to heat up the battery before starting a charge cycle. Typically you won't ever even notice this as a user because part of the calculated battery reserve is for thermal management and overhead.
Anyway, for best cell phone battery health in winter weather, keep your phone in an inside pocket next to your body heat and don't try to charge them if you've been out in the cold or have any reason to think that your phone's battery is not close to room or body temps.
If you want to be extra sure use one of those hand warmer packets in the pocket where you keep your phone. Those things are super great for keeping batteries warm because they can't exceed about 110 F, which is well within safe operating ranges for discharging and charging for most lithium ion batteries, and, well, it's not going to get anywhere near that warm in the cell itself if it's cold out.
posted by loquacious at 11:16 AM on January 28 [20 favorites]
You may already know this, but just in case you or anyone can use this:
Trying to charge cold batteries is probably the number one way that cell phone batteries die.
People tend to keep their phones in outside pockets for easy access which causes the available battery capacity to drop by half or more, then the phone runs out of battery sooner than expected, and then it's really common for people to just put them on the charger in their frozen car and leave it there even though the car is also at or below freezing inside.
I see people do this kind of thing all the time, especially the part about throwing it on a charger in their freezing cold car or right when they get in from the cold, and it doesn't seem to be common knowledge that this is a sure fire way to ruin a battery.
When a typical lithium ion battery gets near (or worse, below freezing) this causes the electrolyte "jelly" in the jelly roll construction of these batteries to freeze, and when you apply a charging voltage to it, this causes the formation of dendrites in the electrolyte gel which usually permanently damages the battery and reduces total capacity.
Once that happens there's no coming back without replacing the battery (or phone), and it's also a potential fire hazard.
Thankfully the charging and battery management circuits in phones are (usually) smart enough to prevent overcharging and detect damaged batteries so they might refuse to charge at all, or won't do fast charging ever again and other behaviors in an effort to prevent battery fires.
You can safely use/discharge most lithium ion batteries down to about 10-15 below freezing, but for charging they need to be well above freezing, typically at least 35 F at an absolute bare minimum, but the battery chemistries are happier closer to at least 40 F, and room temps are even better for battery health.
I deal with this all the time with my ebike when it's cold out, and I sometimes will ride or use it in snow or temps down to about 15-20 F. But it can reduce my total range and power by as much as 50% or more, so if it's really cold out I will tape a pair of those disposable handwarmers to the battery case and then insulate the whole battery with some aluminum foil or sheeting strapped over the whole case and taped-on handwarmers.
But when I get back and it's time to charge I will let the battery rest for 4-8 hours to come back up to room temps and drive off any condensation before charging for best battery safety and longevity.
Electric vehicles deal with this by having thermal management systems, including battery heaters integrated into the system and packs. This is why some EVs won't run in cold temps if the battery gets too low, or why they won't accept a plug-in charge right away. Depending on the vehicle they will be using some of that plug-in power to heat up the battery before starting a charge cycle. Typically you won't ever even notice this as a user because part of the calculated battery reserve is for thermal management and overhead.
Anyway, for best cell phone battery health in winter weather, keep your phone in an inside pocket next to your body heat and don't try to charge them if you've been out in the cold or have any reason to think that your phone's battery is not close to room or body temps.
If you want to be extra sure use one of those hand warmer packets in the pocket where you keep your phone. Those things are super great for keeping batteries warm because they can't exceed about 110 F, which is well within safe operating ranges for discharging and charging for most lithium ion batteries, and, well, it's not going to get anywhere near that warm in the cell itself if it's cold out.
posted by loquacious at 11:16 AM on January 28 [20 favorites]
Most of my Cell Phone dependencies seem like "poor person's PA". Even "writing recreational code while waiting in line for groceries"; if I had a PA, I wouldn't be in line for groceries in the first place.
posted by NotAYakk at 11:16 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
posted by NotAYakk at 11:16 AM on January 28 [1 favorite]
I would hesitate to cut off communication with my elderly parents and kids for any length of time while I travel for work or pleasure, but I get it if others don’t share that sentiment due to various reasons.
Off-topic story from the Ye Olde Phone Days: I was due to drive to my parents' house, about 1.5 hours away, from my dorm at college. My father, a keen amateur worrier, was out of town on a business trip, but knew I was coming. I arrived, Mother and I had dinner, watched TV, went to bed. Sometime after midnight there is knocking on the front door. My mother answers the door -- it's my brother, who lived about 15 minutes away. He looks at my mother and says, did Janet get here? Mother says yes, and he then goes over to our wall phone, picks it up, listens, and says, Your phone is out. Turns out Dad had been calling all evening from out of town to make sure I'd made it okay. He could hear ringing, but we heard nothing. He then assumed I'd been in a horrible car crash, and Mother was at the hospital/funeral home with me, and then finally he couldn't stand it any longer and woke up my brother and made him go over to our house and make sure I wasn't dead. We didn't know the phone was out because we didn't need to make any calls.
Another time my mother was coming to visit me but her plane had been turned around because of snow in my area, and I was reduced to calling the airline to ask pitifully, Can you help me find my mother?
I miss old school phone life; however, I am sure the world of cell phones yields stories equally as good.
Meanwhile, back to Christopher Walken -- wow, Dyan Cannon is really hanging on to his arm for dear life, ain't she?
posted by JanetLand at 12:13 PM on January 28 [3 favorites]
Off-topic story from the Ye Olde Phone Days: I was due to drive to my parents' house, about 1.5 hours away, from my dorm at college. My father, a keen amateur worrier, was out of town on a business trip, but knew I was coming. I arrived, Mother and I had dinner, watched TV, went to bed. Sometime after midnight there is knocking on the front door. My mother answers the door -- it's my brother, who lived about 15 minutes away. He looks at my mother and says, did Janet get here? Mother says yes, and he then goes over to our wall phone, picks it up, listens, and says, Your phone is out. Turns out Dad had been calling all evening from out of town to make sure I'd made it okay. He could hear ringing, but we heard nothing. He then assumed I'd been in a horrible car crash, and Mother was at the hospital/funeral home with me, and then finally he couldn't stand it any longer and woke up my brother and made him go over to our house and make sure I wasn't dead. We didn't know the phone was out because we didn't need to make any calls.
Another time my mother was coming to visit me but her plane had been turned around because of snow in my area, and I was reduced to calling the airline to ask pitifully, Can you help me find my mother?
I miss old school phone life; however, I am sure the world of cell phones yields stories equally as good.
Meanwhile, back to Christopher Walken -- wow, Dyan Cannon is really hanging on to his arm for dear life, ain't she?
posted by JanetLand at 12:13 PM on January 28 [3 favorites]
Chris is one of my favorite actors, him and Willem Dafoe. Imagine them together!
I was gonna say "unfortunately, it was in New Rose Hotel", but you already got there. What a fucking waste of those two. Just watch Last Temptation of Christ and then Prophecy and pretend it's a sequel.
posted by cortex at 1:27 PM on January 28 [2 favorites]
I was gonna say "unfortunately, it was in New Rose Hotel", but you already got there. What a fucking waste of those two. Just watch Last Temptation of Christ and then Prophecy and pretend it's a sequel.
posted by cortex at 1:27 PM on January 28 [2 favorites]
I feel like loquacious' note on lithium batteries should go on the sideblog. That was all new to me.
posted by Ashenmote at 3:43 PM on January 28 [4 favorites]
posted by Ashenmote at 3:43 PM on January 28 [4 favorites]
"I've watched on-stage people talking. Video me like a monkey and the boss doesn't care, I've watched deserts burn and watches melt like a DALI and I'll turn all phone into salt. now, I need a taxi cab.
posted by clavdivs at 4:34 PM on January 28 [2 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 4:34 PM on January 28 [2 favorites]
OK , fine, Thorzdat rulues
posted by waving at 5:49 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
posted by waving at 5:49 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Fucking dendrites, man.
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:13 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:13 PM on January 28 [1 favorite]
Another great Walken film is Dogs of War. It's also broken. But. His performance is. Phenomenal.
posted by valkane at 5:53 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 5:53 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
If you read that in Christopher Walken's voice: Then my work here. Is DONE!
posted by valkane at 6:02 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
posted by valkane at 6:02 AM on January 29 [1 favorite]
He reads shampoo bottle labels while sitting on the toilet.
And?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:11 AM on January 29
And?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:11 AM on January 29
A thrift store find I haven't got around to watching yet, which I picked up because it had Christopher Walken's name on it — Puss in Boots.
posted by rochrobbb at 4:20 AM on January 30
posted by rochrobbb at 4:20 AM on January 30
Ooh, good find. It's overall deeply mediocre, but Walken is enjoying every minute of it.
posted by cortex at 4:28 PM on January 30
posted by cortex at 4:28 PM on January 30
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posted by Lanark at 1:06 AM on January 28 [4 favorites]