Elizabeth M. Claffey/Special Contributor
Chuck D of Public Enemy and his posse turned the red-carpet walk into more of a saunter Tuesday evening at NorthPark's AMC 15.
It's not a red carpet so much as a red-carpet swatch. About 40 feet long, nestled at the bottom of an escalator by the AMC NorthPark 15, it's where the AFI Dallas International Film Festival parades stars and filmmakers for media sound bites and the viewing enjoyment of the food-court patrons up above.
The funny thing is that most of the films represented on the carpet don't actually show at NorthPark. For instance, as Chuck D, Professor Griff and DJ Lord of Public Enemy walked the carpet Tuesday evening, the documentary Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome was about to start a couple of miles up North Central Expressway at the Angelika. But that's OK; the film wasn't nearly as entertaining as the look on Griff's face when a heavily made-up TV interviewer explained that she was a huge smooth-jazz fan. Bring the noise, yo.
An odd tradition to begin with, the red carpet takes on an extra touch of the surreal when it's laid over the floor of a shopping mall. Still, it's an efficient buffet-style setting to grab a few quotes and shake some hands.
Patrick Creadon, director of the national debt documentary I.O.U.S.A . (and the excellent 2006 crossword doc Wordplay), stopped by to explain the focus of his new film. "I feel like I'm putting you to sleep," Mr. Creadon told me after giving a long description of America's economic woes. "I feel like I'm putting myself to sleep." Let's hope that line doesn't make the film's advertising campaign.
Then came Mike Pasley, the director of Frag, a doc about professional video gamers. "What's it like to be the girlfriend of a Frag filmmaker?" asked a microphone-wielding woman of Mr. Pasley's gal. At which point it occurred to me that the state of entertainment journalism might be even worse than the state of the U.S. economy.
Finally, in rolled Chuck D and his posse. Polished and soft-spoken, Chuck is smooth enough to saunter where most merely walk. He says he finds most of his favorite jams on MySpace these days, and he keeps busy running his label, Slam Jamz. A renowned sports junkie, he doesn't think the Mavs have a chance this year.
He's a cool customer. Then again, once you've done the Terrordome, the carpet must be a piece of cake.
Video: 
Blog: 
