Chickensh*t Bingo: Zalman King's Texas Filmmaking Ties

Actor and filmmaker/producer Zalman King died last week. Judging from reactions on social media, it appears many people remember him for producing the popular Showtime erotic TV series Red Shoe Diaries. But me, when I heard he had died, my first thought was, "Chickensh*t bingo." Here's why.

The first SXSW Film Festival I covered professionally was in 2006, and although I was writing for Cinematical -- a website with national readership -- I was still interested in the Austin-shot movies. My attention was caught by a documentary about musician Dale Watson called Crazy Again, which screened at the Dobie. I was on a festival press email list for the first time and was even invited to the film's after-party at Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon on Burnet Road. (I didn't go. I didn't want to stop watching all the movies. This is often my problem at film fests.)

Dale Watson used to perform regularly at Ginny's, which is also notorious for its weekly game of "Chickensh*t Bingo," in which patrons predict which square at the bottom of a chicken coop is the one that the bird will poop upon. The game is included in the documentary, and I found out there really is a Ginny, too, who runs the establishment. She was at the screening, along with Dale Watson. (I believe that's Ginny Kalmbach on the left in the above photo.)

What does this have to do with Zalman King? He directed Crazy Again -- yes, the guy who wrote 9 1/2 Weeks decided to shoot a doc about a Texas alt-country musician. Here's my review. The movie is primarily about a road trip that Watson and King took together -- partly a music tour, partly a long sequence in a New Mexico ghost town where Watson recounts the eerie tale about his nervous breakdown, which pulled him away from making music for awhile. King narrates the documentary himself.

I haven't seen the documentary in about six years, although judging from my review, I didn't think it was especially great. I remember parts of it being fascinating, but also irritating when King tried to re-create visuals related to the nervous breakdown Dale Watson was describing. The thing is, the only article out there that I can find to refresh my memory is my own. I can't find any other reviews, or info about whether Crazy Again was ever screened theatrically after its SXSW premiere ... and it only screened once at SXSW 2006. My suspicion is that if you're not a Dale Watson fan, you probably haven't heard of it.

Fortunately, Crazy Again is available on Amazon Instant Video -- you can rent it for a mere $1.99, and it's worth that much just to watch the Ginny's Little Longhorn scenes. I'm thinking of watching it myself again soon. It's a nice way to remember that Zalman King was more than just the softcore-late-night-TV guy ... and that the most unlikely filmmakers can be drawn to filming in Austin.

Here's a Crazy Again trailer I found on YouTube -- low-res but it gives you a good idea of the film's shifting tone.

[Photo credit: "Chicken Shit Bingo at Ginny's Little Longhorn" by Gary J. Wood. Found on Flickr; used under Creative Commons license.]