Hi, I'm a big fan of The Delicious, which I saw on Wholphin No.1. I was just wondering if your film Sargossa was based on the polish film The Sargossa Manuscript at all. I'm guessing the title is a reference... and both films have recursive plotlines. The Sargossa Manuscript is also referenced in a book I'm reading right now called Tripmaster Monkey. I guess I just like finding connections. I really enjoyed Sargossa! Jennifer Dolson
Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:26 -0400

YES YES YES in fact - SARAGOSSA is based (in part) on Jerry Garcia's favorite film, the SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT. Actually, I mostly based it on some movie I read a review of when I was in high school. I think it was Hollywood High? Some horror movie. Where they kept fooling the audience with dream sequences and fake movies within the movie (some girl gets killed again and again and again). Since reading the review, I always wanted to make a film with a bunch of flashbacks telescoping backwards at once. And then I heard about, and saw, SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT - and used the name as an homage. Anyway, it sounds like the random coincidences and connections have bled over into your real life now. If I start showing up as your mailman, please let me know. (And also thank you for using the word "recursive").

Loved the Delicious, and got inspired.
thanks, L, m.
Monday, April 17, 2006 10:44 AM

So my friends and I love "The Delicious" and we hear that it is part of a trilogy. Where can we view the other two films?
Vanessa
Sun, 05 Mar 2006 21:01:42

Hi Vanessa. Well... we haven't exactly made the other 2 films yet. We'd like to if we find the money and the time but right now I'm working on KABLUEY, a feature length film. I can tell you that in the delicious sequels the man in red finds a whole group of people wearing colored suits: green, blue, purple, orange (and the man in yellow of course). How'd you hear about the delicious?

oh my goodness... I can't wait! My friend found it on someone's myspace account one day and when she came to visit me, she started to describe it. She could barely get through it without laughing and she had to stop talking and take a break. I finally saw it and pretty much cried the whole time and sent the link to everyone I know. That weekend, when I first saw it, we went to Atlantic City and the weekend was filled with delicious quotes. We even did 'the dance' at the borgata... you could say we are a little obsessed! This pic is from the weekend in AC!
Mon, 06 Mar 2006 4:48 AM

Hi there. Just wanted to touch base to say something about your page devoted to the Oscar book under 'This Book Is A Winner.' The great irony in me stumbling across this page is that I am the 'Rhett Bartlett, Melbourne Victoria Australia' mentioned in your article. I found your page extremely interesting to read and a lot of fun :- people like us keep those movie books right.
Cheers, Rhett Bartlett.
Thursday, March 2, 2006 2:30 PM

OH MY GOD! WOW! Thanks so much for writing in! I was so mad when I read that book! But now I feel kind of guilty. Keep up the Oscar-book-fight-for-justice!

Hey, I came across your sight beacuse I was looking for information on filming in Prospect Park.  I really enjoy your films and love your site.  I have 2 questions/comments.
1. I keep reading about "Anna Being Stalked" but nothing seems to come up when I try to watch it on Atom Films or own your site
2. Who desgined your site? ( and what programs did they use?) I love the design.
Moji Shabi
Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:45:40

Hello - thanks for your comments.  All filming we did in Prospect Park (delicious and saragossa) was done completely illegally and totally guerilla.  I would not recommend doing more than a few hours at a time in the park (or subways or greenwood cemetery for that matter).  You will be chased out.  But if you're shooting one scene and you don't have a lot of equipment or crew you can get away with it.
1. For some reason people seem to have a lot of trouble with atomfilms.  We complain but they don't do anything about it.  I would HIGHLY recommend sending them a complaint through their site.
2. Shari Gottlieb designed my site.  You can link to her info on my LINKS page or email her at webmaster@astateof.com.  I don't know what program she used - but i'm sure if you email her she will tell you.

Please put me in touch with your Stunt Eye talent from Saragossa.  I found her performance to be deeply penetrating and brilliant.
Regards, Peter Rice
Fri, 13 May 2005 14:59:03

I just saw your films and i think The Delicious and Stalking Anna are really great, but Sargossa is totally unique - reminded me of Bunuel a bit.  I am a filmaker, graduate of The London Film School in 1987 and then worked for Jim Henson for several years. Really enjoyed your work.
Daniel
Thu, 28 Apr 2005 14:56:53

i just threw a spider off my balcony, and then apologized to it.
you are so bizarre. i think i might be in love with you.
please come do a show in chicago. or just sit on my couch. whatever.
gretchen
Monday, April 18, 2005 9:29 PM

I have just watched SARAGOSSA, after months of anticipation. Although it is hands down the most beautiful film on your site, I don't know that it is quite as successful narratively (?). Maybe i'm wrong. Perhaps, as an insane dedicated slave to THE DELICIOUS, my expectations were too high. Or maybe I just didn't get it (I've only watched it once so far). I was highly entertained by each story-ette, and I LOVED the visuals (especially the seeping liquids) but I must admit that by the end I was a little muddled about what it all meant. My girlfriend does NOT agree with me on this. She has now watched the film twice (once at work and once with me) and she seems to see a much greater cohesion - a larger design at work. So let me just ask three questions to further my own appreciation: 1. where does 'SARAGOSSA' come from? 2. what language are the maids speaking? and 3. is there greater significance to the gorgeous spilled liquids? Thanks,
Ed McNaughton, St. Louis, MO.
Friday, February 18, 2005 12:05 PM

Hello Ed. Thank you for your honest assessment. The answers to your questions are 1. SARAGOSSA comes from THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT, a 1965 Polish film which is told completely in flashback. It's 4 hours long and Jerry Garcia claimed it as his favorite film. 2. The maids are speaking a completely made up nonsense language (it was supposed to sound like french, spanish and jibberish). and 3. the idea behind the spilled liquids shots is that 'all stories bleed together.' I liked the idea of inarticulate people trying to use their personal stories as explanations for misunderstandings - a device that spins out of control. The film may develop more meaning and significance if you watch it a few more times. Or not. But I'm very, very glad you liked the visuals. Thanks!

"Anna is Being Stalked" is one of the best short films I've seen.  After watching it, I've decided to make my own short films just by watching it.  I love it and I'm hoping to be up there with the other filmmakers because of you.
Rock, On.
Tommy Kha, Memphis, TN.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 4:26 PM

I'm a technical director at a television station, and all of my co-workers have now watched "the delicious" - many of which have been to film school, and everyone loves it! The first time I saw "The Delicious" on Sundance I laughed & laughed, then looked it up on sundancechannel.com to see when it would be on again, then taped it. The lighting & colors are amazing, and the story is hillarious! Everyone's looking for red jumpsuits! If you ever decide to venture to TN let me know, it's really inexpensive to make a film here. I can't wait for Saragossa and I'll let you know about everyone that wants a "Delicous" DVD. I'll be waiting for parts two & three; I can't wait to find out what the man in the yellow jumpsuit reveals...
~ Amy ~
- Wednesday, October 20, 2004 10:24 AM

Thanks Amy. The DVDs are available through this site, and cost $12, which includes shipping. All four films are on the DVD. Send an email to emergency@astateof.com for more info. The Delicious sequels will probably get made in mid-2005. Thanks!

i just watched 'delicious' on the sundance channel. just brilliant. beyond that. genius.  i was laughing out loud.  i want to thank you.  i live pretty much on my back with chronic pain. that was the best medicine, i haven't felt this good in months. so thank you.
you have a great talent. i hope you have continued success and get all the recognition you deserve.
rob woerner
- Friday, October 8, 2004 11:15 AM

I have seen the Godhead …and it is “The Delicious”.  Pure genius.  Thank you. I will scuttle back to the dark recesses of my lair now.  I saw it on the Sundance Channel, on the Film Shorts program, which my wife and I had almost given up on because they kept showing [mostly] tedious animated stuff from the Canadian Film Board (or whatever it's called).  Favorite scene: “The scissors are a part of it!”  Brilliant, just brilliant.  I just read the guestbook, and while I think the points about the need we all feel to “come out” (regardless of our [fill in the blank] orientation) were well fleshed out, I didn't see anyone really make the one point that for me was what took the whole thing to the “next level” (pardon my cliché): when our hero is attempting to describe “The Delicious” to the drones he's entertaining at his home, he says, “It's taking…”, “It's showing…” He's very clearly intimating that while it, “The Delicious”, comes from within, it is also, paradoxically, an objective, force-unto-itself, that can only be discovered, or perhaps revealed, by “The Delicious” itself. And of course, it's objective existence is absolutely confirmed by the meeting in the park of someone to whom “The Delicious” has also been revealed, who could not possibly have “invented” the same experience as our hero, in all its idiosyncracies.  Not to get TOO serious with all this, but (as you may know) it's very much like the esoteric Hindu/Buddhist version of religion/reality: the Self (and there's only one real Self, but many illusory selves (egos)) is both within (it is who we all ultimately are) and yet it is discovered and self-revelatory as if it were “external” or “separate”; it is the ultimate liberation, it is bliss and knowledge and true awareness. It is who we are, but it is also who we are becoming.  Wow! I've gotta go towel off now.
David Jenkins
- Sunday, September 19, 2004 1:09 PM

Thank you David.  All I can say, is "yes."

"Anna is Being Stalked" was fookin brilliant!!! The most brilliant thing is that when the viewer meets the characters, their relationship has already evolved into some kind of absurd truce. Your actress, Pat Buckley, is indeed highly stalkable, and you, Scott, are nothing short of... well, brilliant. Oh, by the way, I work for the Red Cross, and you should probably cease and desist using a red cross on your homepage, since it is a protected trademark of The Red Cross. But if you keep making, you know, BRILLIANT films, I won't report you to my superiors.
Narchoblaster
- Friday, September 10, 2004 9:03 AM

thanks for your kind words Narchoblaster.  I have made an agreement with the Red Cross.  If I donate 11 pints of blood a month (minimum) then I can use their symbol.  So far, it works.  Altho I am quite tired and thirsty...   Anyway, thanks again - enjoy the film and site.  We have DVDs for sale too - but they are region 1 encoded and it seems you are in Denmark?  Or Netherlands?

I just watched "The Delicious". Now... perhaps you just intended it as an absurd, slap-stick comedy, with no deeper meaning. But I really don't believe that. To me, it spoke volumes about alienation, about something we all keep bottled up inside that struggles all the harder to get out the more we tamp it down, about being the person we think others expect us to be, about self-acceptance, about there being room in our relationships for all sides of the person we truly are.

It was really well-done how, at first, little bleeps and squaks of The Delicious seemed almost to leak out of The Man in Red like a dam starting to fail. It seemed clear to me that it was not something he was inventing as he went along, but rather the faint echos, or the surfacing, of something already fully manifested and raging somewhere deep inside him. It's a tale about coming out, but in the way that we all need to come out.

I thought it also really insightful that the man knew the name of it immediately; I believe that all of us can put words on what we truly want. Whether we're prepared to admit to these wants or not is another question.

And of course it's made very clear that the man wasn't getting any of his needs met from the dron ing (pun intended)conversations that pass for human interaction. Of course the color-scheme of the costuming is powerful symolism: button-down black vs. the flamboyant colors of life. At first the man only sees The Delicious as a reflected, remote part of himself, then as something he still vaguely conceals beneath his costume of normalcy. At this stage The Delicious enables him to engage others with genuine human emotions, as if quitting the denial of a fundamental part of himself has awakened his soul again. Of course there's nothing lonelier than sitting at a party where everyone else is speaking some strange language about meaningless things and having nothing to hang on to. For me, in that context, hearing a Joni Mitchell song playing in the background enables me to laugh and smile in the face of inanities, having that secret lifeline to my soul. That's how I saw The Delicious under his shirt, something for him to hang on to.

Well, now I've revealed far too much. But The Delicious was both very moving and hilarious and inspired these thoughts. Good work.
Narchoblaster
- Thursday, September 16, 2004 5:10 AM

You really hit the nail on the head.  that's the most insightful and astute reading of 'the delicious' that I have heard.  yes, it was intended to be much more than an absurd, slap-stick comedy.  I knew what the suit represented, and what the story meant, but I didn't know if anyone else would get it.  I thought other people might just take it as a simple, silly comedy about a wacky "cross-dresser."  (In fact a lot of people do think it's about a cross-dresser and it's interesting how many people refer to his suit as "the dress.")  I don't have much more to say about the film that you didn't cover in your analysis.  You really nailed it.  In fact I was thinking that I should take your email to the next festival screening of the delicious and just read it aloud at the end.  Thanks!

So, even though my relationship is ruined and I've run into some trouble at work (it's no big deal, I just had to move my desk to the storage room in the basement where it's dark, since the glare from my metallic space suit bothers my cube mates), The Delicious and The Delectable are totally worth it.  Thanks for everything, Scott! "rockstarbob" Fri, 20 Feb 2004 07:58:19

I viewed "Anna is Being Stalked" the other night on the Sundance Channel. Wow! What can I say about a short that made me laugh, giggle and cry. I can not recall the other shorts I viewed the same evening as "Anna is Being Stalked", probably because it is in a league of its own. I do hope the film is not lost on all who view it. I am not positive, but I believe I did grok it. How could the Albino not stalk Anna? They truly belong together, as neither one exists without the other.

Today I googled "Anna is Being Stalked" and found your web site. I watched all the shorts currently available on your sight, including "Happy birthday". Scott Prendergast is truly an insane genius. "the delicious" is amusing, insane and poignant. I truly hope the collaborative group who made these films never lose their creative edge should they ever go mainstream. As for Patricia Buckley; words can not describe what an incredibly beautiful, intelligent, sexy and talented performer that she clearly is. Is she married? I am not. Where can I stalk... ah, um... write her? ;) Keep making dreams happen! Fred Kurtzweg II Tue, 6 Jan 2004 16:58:51 -0700

I probably can't give you Pat Buckley's email address - but you can send your mash notes to emergency@astateof.com and I will forward them on.  She is not married at this writing.

Easily the best short I have ever seen. I relate so totally to my daily absurdity. Can't wait for the home distribution. One question: in the final scene, why couldn't the second delicious be female? I'm sure women are just as susceptible... Thank you for a real gem. William Anlo - Sunday, January 4, 2004 9:20 PM

There will be a female member of the delicious team eventually. Several, in fact. All will be revealed in the sequels.

Thanks, Joan! At this time "the delicious" is only available here on this site, and on the Sundance Channel (apparently you can TIVO it by title). We should have a home distribution deal soon. Sign up for our EMERGENCY ALERT email list on the CONTACT US page and you'll hear about it. I would be willing to meet in Grant Park, in my suit. I would also be willing to start any kind of revolution. Any kind.

Just saw it on Sundance. Cracked me up. Thanks for bringing that wacky, loony character to screen. Reminds me so much of my brother. Do you have VHS or DVDs of "The Delicious" available for purchase? I'd love to share it with my family, but the Realplayer version doesn't quite do it justice. Thanks. Sincerely, Conrad Pawlowski - Sun, 21 Dec 2003, 16:10

Home video coming soon! I swear!

the delicious truly is!  
I can't stop thinking about this brilliant film!!!  I saw it on Sundance on Sunday night and I've shared it with all my co-workers (some of whom now think I'm a little batty).  My fiancee and I were practically hypnotized by it.  I'll be looking for a DVD so as soon as one is available, please yell really loudly.  Is it ok to eat Cinnamon Graham Crackers for lunch if I have a big dinner later? Claude Keswani
- Wednesday, 03 Dec 2003 at 10:33:49

Thank you Claude.  I'll add you to the EMERGENCY ALERT list (see CONTACT US for more info) so that you will hear about DVD distribution.  I should come clean and say that it was my true intention to actually hypnotize viewers with 'the delicious.'  Your need to eat Cinnamon Graham Crackers for lunch is just one of the 'suggestions' I have planted in your brain.  Other suggestions will become clearer as the New Year approaches.  (Healthwise, on the graham crackers, you're OK as long as dinner involves some sort of meat product and not Lucky Charms.)

Scott, you really need to make a feature length film - I love your shorts (and pantsuit). Have you considered running for president? Cheers!  Adam Zeitz
- Friday, November 14, 2003 3:14 AM

Thanks Adam, but I am not Presidential material.  Trust me.  I was barely able to make Eagle Scout, for several reasons, but mainly because I would not back down from my 'I am an atheist!' platform.  Regarding the feature length film, I have finished the script.  Let's plan to meet up at the screening, at an as yet undetermined film festival, in 2005.