I Shot Andy Warhol

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Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film I Shot Andy Warhol is a 1996 biographical drama film about Valerie Solanas' life and her relationship with Andy Warhol.<ref>Kaufman, Anthony (December 3, 2009). "Decade: Mary Harron on 'American Psycho'". indieWire. Retrieved November 29, 2011.</ref> The film marked the feature film directorial debut of the Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lili Taylor as Valerie, Jared Harris as Andy Warhol, and Martha Plimpton as Valerie's friend Stevie. Stephen Dorff plays Warhol superstar Candy Darling. John Cale of the Velvet Underground wrote the film's score<ref>John Cale - Music - The Austin Chronicle</ref> despite protests from former band member Lou Reed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yo La Tengo plays an anonymous band that is somewhat reminiscent of the group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">Template:Cite web</ref> To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was selected to be shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016.<ref name="Panorama1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Plot

The film opens immediately after Valerie Solanas attempted assassination of Andy Warhol at The Factory in 1968, followed by her being put into custody for the attack. The film then uses flashbacks to when Valerie was living in New York as a sex worker, then to her difficult childhood, then to her success in studying psychology at college. Here, Valerie discovers that she is a lesbian, that she can write, and that she has a distinctive view of the world. This leads her to New York City and its downtown underworld. Through her friend Stevie, she meets Candy Darling, who in turn introduces her to Warhol.

Valerie also meets Maurice Girodias, the publisher of Olympia Press. While Valerie wants Warhol to produce her play, Up Your Ass, Girodias wants her to write a pornographic novel for him. The group steals her manuscript and lies about it, saying it was lost. Once she signs a contract with Girodias, she comes to suspect his offer is not a generous one and may not be in her best interest. She comes to regret signing this contract. At this point, her increasing derangement leads her to believe that Warhol and Girodias are controlling her. The film concludes, where it began, with Solanas' attempted murder of Warhol. Warhol lives in fear that Valerie will strike again and never fully recovers from the shooting. Valerie dies in a welfare hotel. The SCUM Manifesto becomes a radical feminist's classic eventually.

Cast

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Background

Initially intended as a BBC documentary, the film was directed by Mary Harron who also co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Minahan.Template:Sfn

Dr. Dana Heller, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Michigan University, argues that the film stages the conflict between Solanas and Warhol as less the result of gender politics – particularly because Solanas intended no connection between her writing and the shooting – than of the decline of print culture as represented by Solanas and the rise of new non-writing media as embodied by Warhol and the pop art movement.Template:Sfn In the screenplay, Harron and Minahan describe Solanas as "banging at an ancient typewriter" and the film frequently shows her typing, for which she is mocked by Warhol and other Factory regulars. Solanas' writing is set against the new technologies of reproduction championed by Warhol.Template:Sfn

Many people who knew Solanas and Warhol tried to rationalize the shooting. Stephen Koch, who in 1973 wrote a study of Warhol's film, stated: "Valerie lives in terror of dependence: That is what the SCUM Manifesto is about, an absolute terror before the experience of need. Like Warhol, Solanas is obsessed with an image of autonomy, except that... she has played the obsession desperately, rather than with Warhol's famous cool."<ref>Harron, I Shot Andy Warhol, Grove Press NY, 1995</ref>

Reception

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 77% of 31 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.<ref>"I Shot Andy Warhol" at Rotten Tomatoes</ref> On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 75/100, based on 20 critics, denoting "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>"I Shot Andy Warhol" at Metacritic</ref>

Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, writing that Harron had done "two remarkable things in her movie: She makes Solanas almost sympathetic and sometimes moving and funny, and she creates a portrait of the Factory that’s devastating and convincing." Ebert stated that the film would not be for everyone, but praised it for showing "the person beneath the skin, and to reveal that even the strangest behavior is often simply a strategy for obtaining what we all require, love and recognition."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and nominations

Wins

Nominations

Home media

I Shot Andy Warhol was released on Region 1 DVD on January 23, 2001.

Soundtrack

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Additional songs from the film

References

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Bibliography

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