By Adam Justice
Cavalier Daily Life Editor
Monday the University got a taste of Hollywood when Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke arrived to screen his directorial debut, "Chelsea Walls," and promote his new novel "Ash Wednesday."
After the 4 p.m. screening in the Newcomb Hall Theater, Hawke paused to answer questions from the audience.
"Over the last 15 years or so, I grew a little complacent over my relationship with acting," Hawke said, explaining that he prefers directing because the director ultimately decides which scenes go into a movie, whereas the actor has little influence on such decisions.
"I ultimately got really bored with acting," Hawke said.
Hawke made the film using a five person crew. Kris Kristofferson and Hawke's wife Uma Thurman star in the movie.
The film focuses on the lives of four guests staying in New York City's famed Chelsea Hotel.
Hawke said he felt Jack Kerouac and the other Beat Generation writers inspired him to do the movie. The Beats were an experimental literary group during the 1950s. The Beats were "dreaming of a life in the arts," Hawke said.
After the screening, Hawke trekked across Grounds to the Amphitheater at 8 p.m., where he gave a dramatic reading of the first chapter of his book.
The University Bookstore set up a series of tables to the left of the Amphitheater's stage, where fans could purchase both his new novel and his previous one, "The Hottest State." Hawke also stuck around for a book signing.
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