'Boys Don't Cry' filmmaker brings career advice to UH

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

There are no hard, fast rules when it comes to writing a film screenplay.

So says Christine Vachon, a filmmaker and industry producer who aims for unusual scripts such as last year's "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." "Boys Don't Cry," a 1999 film produced by Vachon, earned an Academy Award. Vachon will conduct a two-day workshop for Pacific New Media at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

Patience is as much as a virtue as creativity, Vachon said.

"None of our projects are pitchable. They're so odd, they defy so many common expectations," she said in a phone interview from New York. "Boys Don't Cry," the independent film starring Hilary Swank, who won a best-actress Oscar playing a woman disguised as a man, took five years to get to the screen.

"Never give up on what you believe," said Vachon, whose production company, Killer Films, releases the unconventional and the unusual. Her past credits tell part of the tale: "Kids," "I Shot Andy Warhol," "Velvet Goldmine," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."

Her two-day mission is to shed some light on the tough Hollywood scene. "The first day, I basically try to give as much information as possible," said Vachon. "The second day is for them — I allow the students to pitch a project to each other, to pitch it to me."

Of course, she said, if you pitch, somebody should catch. But it doesn't always work out that way. That's where patience comes in.

"That's one of the frustrations, the waiting," she said. "The other thing is, I could give a whole list of rules, and I've probably broken every one of them. Advice like, don't put your own money into a movie, or don't work with first-time directors."

Because of her New York base, she's really a Hollywood outsider. "But I don't feel like an outsider, or insider. I run my business away from the center, which, of course, is Hollywood," Vachon said.

This year, Killer titles include "The Safety of Objects," with Glenn Close and Dermot Mulroney, written and directed by Rose Troche; "The Grey Zone," with Harvey Keitel and Steve Buscemi, written and directed by Blake Nelson; "Storytelling," written and directed by Todd Solondz; "Women in Film," from Bruce Wagner; and "Chelsea Walls," from Ethan Hawke.

The 2002 sessions will be her third in Honolulu.

The workshop will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 16-17 in the Yukiyoshi Room, Krauss 012, University of Hawai'i-M?noa. Cost is $200. Call 956-7221 for more information.