Hamlet 2 features Coogan as a profoundly unsuccessful actor who turns to teaching high school drama, just until his agent can round him up a better gig, of course. Coogan is quite possibly the worst drama teacher who ever lived and after years of producing wretched stage adaptations of movies like Erin Brockovich and Mr. Holland’s Opus, he is informed that the drama program is being cut. Inspired by his arch-nemesis, the school’s 14-year-old drama critic, Coogan throws himself into creating a re-imagined Hamlet; a Hamlet where, thanks to a helpful time machine and lots of Freudian therapy, Hamlet is able to save the day and everyone lives happily ever after. Lest you think I’ve given away the entire plot, I assure you this is really only the introduction.

Lots of voices at ShoWest were talking about Hamlet 2 as if it were the next huge thing, destined to eclipse the indie success of Little Miss Sunshine. Personally I thought it was a funny, entertaining, imperfect film which, I hope, can escape the burden of over-expectation. It’s not going to cure cancer, or win anyone an Academy Award. But it will make people laugh and, one hopes, inspire communities to invest in their school arts programs so as to avoid anything like what happens in the film.

Hamlet 2 was followed by a luncheon "Celebrating the Importance of Independent & Specialty Film in Today's Marketplace". Steve Coogan opened the lunch with a pretty funny joke about Governor Spitzer but quickly went downhill trying to find amusing things to say about movie suits that no one, including Coogan, actually knew. This segued into the first award du jour, the ShoWest/NATO Freedom of Expression Award, which was awarded to Ang Lee, in part for agreeing to release his latest film, Lust/Caution, with an NC-17 rating.  I actually felt pretty psyched to be there for this particular award since freedom of expression and MPAA ratings are two things about which I know way too much, care a bit too excessively about, and have been known to bore people with at cocktail parties.

The NC-17 rating was created by the MPAA to give filmmakers an alternative to the "X" rating which, due to the MPAA's failure to trademark it like the rest of its rating scheme, was immediately taken over by the porn industry as a means of marketing its wares. The first feature film to be released as NC-17 was Henry and June, an art house picture about Henry Miller and Anais Nin, which well reflected the hope and the intent of the NC-17 rating: a category for films that dealt with adult topics, including sexuality, in ways both explicit, intelligent, and artistic.