I have mixed feelings about the Q & A.
Ken's behavior was definitely perplexing. The screening itself was fantastic. "Tommy" never looked and sounded so good. And the entire audience appeared to love the film too. Just seeing Ken in person was a real treat. I really wanted to go up to the Enfant Terrible and thank him for making so many great films, but the theater's security kept everyone at arm's length. After the film ended, Ken received a standing ovation as he was escorted up to the front of the theater for the Q & A. Physically Ken was very frail, which didn't surprise me too much since I've seen many recent videos of him on-line. Once he sat down things got weird. I think the best way to describe the interview, would be like an Abbott and Costello routine. Basically Ken would coyly dodge every question he was asked by the interviewer. For example:
Interviewer: "Did you storyboard the film."
Ken: "Storyboard?"
Interviewer: “You know. Did you draw out the scenes in advance?"
Ken: “What did you mean, draw?â€
And it went on like that for the entire interview.
And whenever Ken was asked about how it was like working with a particular performer, he claimed he never talked to anyone. For me Ken's behavior started off very funny, but towards the end I really wanted him to switch gears and answer some questions. Disappointedly, I never had a chance to ask him BoyScoutKevin's question. I feel a lot of people sitting around me believed Ken's lack of clarity was due to old age. I believe he was fully aware of what he was doing. Ken did get some genuine (though somewhat uncomfortable) laughs from the audience. For example, when one of the ushers was using hand motions to let the interviewer know that it was time to wrap up the interview, Ken responded by saying something like, "That boy is doing something obscene right in front of us." I did feel bad for the interviewer, who asked some very relevant questions to no avail. His frustration was really showing at the end of the Q & A. Maybe the strangest part of the interview was at the end when the defeated interviewer asked Ken if he wanted to hit him over the head with his cane. Subsequently Ken playfully began raising his cane, but before it got dangerously high he dropped it. I'm curious what other people who were there felt.
