Glitterati (film)
Glitterati is a 2004 film directed by Roger Avary assembled from the 70 hours of video footage shot for the European sequence of The Rules of Attraction in October 2001. It serves to expand upon the very minimally detailed and rapidly recapped story told by the character of Victor Ward (portrayed by Kip Pardue, featured in Avary's other film The Rules of Attraction) upon his return to the United States after having traveled extensively around Europe. Expanding upon those events, the film was intended as a connecting bridge between The Rules of Attraction and a planned film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' 1998 novel Glamorama, which was to be directed by Avary and star Pardue. Avary has called the film a "pencil sketch of what will ultimately be the oil painting of Glamorama."
Plot
The film is highly musical, primarily using song lyrics to tell the story of how Victor Ward becomes involved with a Florence bombing and then plans a second bombing in Rome, after sightseeing the ruins of the Colosseum and the Vatican. The film is a highly meditative and moody piece.
Creation
The film was shot non-stop over a fifteen-day period throughout Europe, with Pardue remaining in the character of Victor Ward the entire time. The characters in the film, with the exception of Kip Pardue, are all non-actors. Apparently, the entire film was improvised, with Pardue remaining in character as Victor Ward 24 hours a day. The people he met during his travels (mostly models) through over 15 cities "fell into the movie" and became part of it without knowing that it was a movie.
Release
During an interview in French Premiere, Avary called the film "ethically questionable" and stated that he has no intention to release it on DVD, but only to show it privately in "sporadic surprise screenings". Bret Easton Ellis said of the film that "for many legal reasons, it will never see the light of day" as it's "basically about 90 minutes of him (Pardue) actually in character seducing women throughout Europe."[1]