I was flipping through the television this afternoon and came across VH1 Classics. They were playing U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" clip.

It got me thinking about what happened to the director of some of the other U2 videos, Phil Joanou.

He and the band, especially Bono, were great friends and I assume they still are.

Phil has directed five or six of their videos, well as the concert film "U2: Rattle and Hum."

But after "Rattle and Hum" in 1988, Phil got his shot at the big time (eventhough he had already directed a feature that I love called "Three O'Clock High" in 1987) with the 1990 Irish Mob thriller "State of Grace." Which starred Sean Penn, Robin Wright (this is where they met), Ed Harris, and the always bad ass Gary Oldman. This is a really good film, check it out if you haven't already.

Don't worry, I'm getting to the point.

Anyway, "State of Grace" was a critical hit but kind of a bomb at the box office. Yet in Hollywood you fail upwards (not that "SOG" is a failure in any sense to me). So, Phil next directed the Hitchcockian thriller "Final Analysis" in 1992 starring Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, and Uma Thurman. I thought it was an ok film when I first saw it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Next came the adaption of a James Lee Burke novel, "Heaven's Prisoners" in 1996. This film starred Alec Baldwin, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kelly Lynch, Teri Hatcher, and the coolest Bad-Ass Mutha FuckaEric Roberts. Again, this film didn't go over well with critics and the box office but I enjoyed it. Mary Stuart Masterson just looked completly fucking sexy. I have not seen her look this goo before or since. Also, Teri Hatcher does full-frontal, so there you go.

Phil kind of disappeared after this film.

That is until I had the conversation with "Lisa" (which has been referenced on this blog eariler). After the dinner she and I shared, while talking through our problems, I went to the local Hollywood video and got a bunch of VHS tapes. One of them was a film I had never heard of (nor could pronounce at the time) called "Entropy." It starred Stephen Dorff, Judith Godreche, Kelly Macdonald, and Bono. Bono plays himself and an emotional idol to Jake (Phil) sort of like Elvis/Val Kilmer in "True Romance" and John Wayne in the "Preacher" comic books. It is a quasi-fictional account of the making of "State of Grace." But it mostly is about a relationship Phil had with a model. It is a really good film that I think is not available in the US any more. I taped it off of HBO at like four in the morning two or three years ago.

Basically Phil is making his way back into the mainstream. He has "Gridiron Gang" coming up starring the Rock and Xzibit and the "Sharky's Machine" remake with Marky Mark.

So go out and get these little known gems: "State of Grace" and "Entropy"

This has been the_film_ geek's film corner.

Tune in next week when we have a review of Debbie Does Everyone.

God! I need a life!