Las Vegas Weekly

June 12, 2008 · 7:33 PM

He’s no Cormac McCarthy, but still …

By Julie Seabaugh

I'd be willing to wager a crisp Mr. Hamilton … er, Lincoln, that the general populace would overwhelmingly recognize the name "Chuck Palahniuk" over "Sam Rockwell." Nothing against the Confessions of a Dangerous Mind star and this year's Half-Life Award winner, but folks have actually been known to vomit and/or pass out at Choke readings; the same can't be said (as far as we know) of Charlie's Angels. Not to mention that David Fincher wouldn't have earned mad propers for directing Fight Club if the cult literary hero hadn't penned it in the first place.

Why is it, then, that the 142-page CineVegas '08 guide spends half a "Sure Bets" page on Choke, yet makes no mention of Palahniuk? The handy-dandy CineVegas '08 Pocket Guide? A mere 19 Palahniuk-less words (though neither "Sam" nor "Rockwell" make the cut, either). There's a blip on CineVegas.com's official blurbage, but over there you have to scroll to the end of the page to learn that this year's Marquee Award winner, Anjelica Houston, is even in the thing.

I know it's Las Vegas, where people allegedly don't read. Those that do, however, read Fight Club and Choke and May's Snuff. Unfortunately, when it comes to CineVegas getting the word out about their high-profile offerings, seems the first rule of Choke is you do not talk about Chuck Palahniuk.

Share This