第16部分(第5/7 頁)

ucer。　？The　genius　filmmaker。？

？She？s　the　next　Bertolucci；？　Ken　Mogul　corrected　Duke；　or　whatever　his　name　was。　？Give　me　a

year　and　she？s　going　to　be　a　household　name。？　Ken　was　dressed　like　an　urban　cowboy　in　a　silver

Culture　of　Humanity　down　vest　over　a　black　Western…style　shirt　with　pearly　white　snaps　instead　of

buttons。　His　curly　red　hair　was　tucked　into　a　black　Stetson　hat；　and　he　was　even　wearing　black

cowboy　boots　with　his　Culture　of　Humanity　boot…cut　jeans。　He？d　flown　into　New　York　that　night

from　Utah；　where　his　most　recent　film　had　just　been　introduced　at　the　Sundance　Film　Festival。　It

was　an　ambitious　piece　about　a　deaf　and　mute　man　who　worked　in　a　cannery　in　Alaska　and　lived

in　a　trailer　with　thirty…six　cats。　The　man　didn？t　talk　and　spent　a　lot　of　time　at　his　puter

e…mailing　girls　on　singles　Web　sites；　so　Ken　had　had　to　be　extremely　creative　with　the　camera　to

keep　the　action　going。　It　was　his　finest　work　yet。

？Dude；　watching　your　film　was　like　being　born　again；？　Dork　told　Vanessa。　？It　made　my　day。？

The　corners　of　Vanessa？s　mouth　turned　up　in　a　half…bored；　half…amused　Mona　Lisa　smile。　She

wasn？t　sure　how　she　felt　about　being　called　？dude；？　but　she　was　glad　she？d　made　Dork？s　day。

The　Culture　of　Humanity　by　Jedediah　Angel　after…party　was　an　even　bigger　deal　than　the　fashion

show　itself。　Highway　1　had　been　decorated　like　a　Hindu　wedding　tent；　and　bikini…clad　models　who

hadn？t　even　been　in　the　show　were　lounging　on　leather　sofas；　drinking　saffron　martinis。　or

dancing　to　the　live　bhangra　music。　Vanessa　tugged　on　her　tight　red　top。　It　was　kind　of　hard　not　to

feel　like　a　porker　around　so　many　bony；　seven…foot…tall　models。

？Okay。　Here？s