Yes, my friends, the action starts right here, right now, right after the jump.

New comments will go above older remarks, so if you’re reading this later and want to start at the beginning, you’ll scroll down to the end. Got that? Good. Let’s hope for an interesting night and don’t forget to keep refreshing — the page and yourself with the commestibles of your choice.

9:30 — A few quick final thoughts. All in all, I have to praise producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman for a swift and entertaining production, traditionalist though I am and even though I still feel the Academy badly shortchanged tonight’s lifetime honorees. The hosting team of Baldwin and Martin did a fine job, though I’ve seen both men individually be even funnier, but these guys clearly know their shtick.

Also, though I admire “The Hurt Locker” a lot more than I actually like it, I think it says something very positive about Hollywood’s respect for craftmanship and serious intent that a film that didn’t even come close to setting the box office on fire can win best picture and, I’m sure, get a whole new life as a result. Awards like the Oscars might be inherently silly in that comparing films is invariably like putting apples and oranges up against avocados and hamburgers, but occasionally they can also fulfill a function. And I say that even though I personally would have voted for “Inglourious Basterds” in a heartbeat over any of the other films. (“Up in the Air,” which I finally caught up with last night, would be a strong second.)

Well, time to wrap up, but they’ll more here on the awards later on tomorrow. Stay tuned…

9:21 — Tom Hanks has apparently been told to cut to the chase and eschews listing all ten nominated films for simply saying the winner’s name, which I have to say kind of hampers the drama. Anyhow, the prognosticators turn out to be right. Ten nominees or not, “The Hurt Locker” still won the way it probably would have had there only been five nominees. The film’s three main actors run up on stage and act kind of the way their characters did in the film would if they had won something, as Mark Boal and the producer who isn’t Nicolas Chartier thanks Nicolas Chartier, along with many others. Again, Kathryn Bigelow seems genuinely overwhelmed and takes the time to thank all sorts of military heroes.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin end with more funny shtick in which Martin praises Baldwin and Baldwin does not.

9:20 — Barbara Streisand, mentioning that tonight might be the night the first woman or the first African-American wins. Not at all surprisingly, it’s the first woman’s turns and Kathryn Bigelow wins for “The Hurt Locker.” She seems genuinely thrilled and intimidated, thanking writer Mark Boal, the cast and notes that the secret to directing is collaborating. She thanks lots of other people (including banished producer Nick Chartier) as well as soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. “May they come home safe.” The band plays “I am Woman.” (Would they have played “(Say it Loud) I’m Black and I’m Proud” if Lee Daniels had won?)

9:10 — Another group testimonial for Best Actress. Forest Whitaker talks about directing Sandra Bullock for “Hope Floats”; Michael Sheen discusses working with the great Helen Mirren on “The Queen” — “Is it wrong to be so wildly attracted to a queen…Royalty with a tattoo”; a shaven-headed Peter Saarsgard talks about Carey Mulligan falling in love with him twice (on stage and in “An Education”) and praises her work to the sky; executive producer Oprah Winfrey talks about Gabourey Sidebe getting the title role in “Precious,” “a true American Cinderella on the threshold of a brilliant new career…congratulations Gabby Sidebe”; and Stanley Tucci, who really does enjoy a lovely chemistry with Meryl Streep onscreen — the camera misses a joke about his two films with her being “the highlight of my career” but he then jokes about capping the number of nominations at 16 while seeming to like her quite a bit.

Sean Penn presents the award, alluding interestingly to his non-membership in the Academy, to Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side” who does a funny bit of actor-joke business with Meryl Streep. “Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down?” She humorously and graciously praises all her competitors in various ways, including Streep and her kissing abilities. She ends by thanking “the moms that take care of the babies and the children, no matter where they come” which she says is the theme of the film, and then tearfully thanks her own mom for not letting her ride in cars with boys (she apparently was ready to engage in a parental worst case scenario had she).

8:55 — An all star cast assembles to present pre-award testimonials the best actor award — Michelle Pfeiffer about Jeff Bridges drawing capillaries on his face while making “The Fabulous Baker Boys,” Vera Fermiga about George Clooney (as she talks about his concern with making sure his costars do as well or better than he does, he seems genuinely touched); Julianne Moore talks about working for only three days on “A Single Man,” though her scenes are in many respects central to the film; Tim Robbins kids about becoming the friend of Morgan Freeman on “The Shawshank Redemption”: “Being a friend is about getting the other a cup of coffee, can you do that for me, Ted? It is ‘Ted,’ isn’t it?”; finally, Colin Farrell talks about, apparently sleeping, literally, with Jeremy Renner on “SWAT” and seems genuinely impressed with his great work on “The Hurt Locker.”

I think using people who actually worked together beats the somewhat random selection of actors last year.

Kate Winslet actually presents the award to, of course, Jeff Bridges, who is certainly pleased if not hugely surprised. “Thank you mom and dad for turning me on to such a groovy profession.” He talks about being trained by his dad for a role in “Sea Hunt” and thanks his director on “Crazy Heart” and as many of his coworkers as they’ll allow him (and they seem to be allowing him a lot). He really does say “man” a fair amount.

8:40: More time wonkyness caused by a phone call I kind of had to take. Two of cinema’s most talented bad boys, Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino present the Best Foreign Language award.  The winner is one of the less hyped films, “The Secret in Their Eyes” from Argentina. The producer thanks the Academy for not considering Na’vi a foreign language. Good to know they have “development hell” in Latin America also.

8:30 — Gerard Butler and Bradley Cooper present the best visual effects award to “Avatar.” Not a surprise and, considering the advances in motion capture and 3-D, it’s kind of a given — though I’m sure techies might want to school me on that point somewhat in case I’m over-simpliflying it any case. One of the award winners (sorry, didn’t catch his name) notes that: “The world that we live in is just as amazing as the one we created for you.”

Nice head-bobbing to the “Sherlock Holmes” music by George Clooney. His hair is getting younger, even if no man can achieve that.

Matt Damon presents the Best Documentary Feature award. It’s nice to see these films get a nice amount of publicity with some good and lengthy montages. “The Cove” wins. Not a big surprise — except that this can be a wonky category at times that likes to honor less well known films, but not this year.

Tyler Perry: “They just said my name at the Oscars. I should enjoy it because it’ll probably never happen again.” He presents the editing award to “The Hurt Locker,” another “technical “award that tends to go to the film people like the most.

8:00 — James Taylor sings John Lennon’s  “In My Life” over the annual “in memoriam” montage. Makes up a little bit for the lack of “Best Song” musical numbers otherwise and, as always, it’s stunning the amount of great talent we lose every year. This year it ends with Karl Malden who passed on at 97 this year and was pretty widely beloved in “this town.”

That’s followed by a dance number set to this year’s nominated scores. Not to put down the obvious talent and acrobatic talent of these folks, but quasi-breakdancing to the music from “Sherlock Holmes” and “The Hurt Locker”? Things improve a lot with the music from “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and the lovely score from “Up” by Michael Giacchino. The “Avatar” music works nicely with the spectacular dancing and the audience seems pleased.

The award for best score goes to Michael Giacchino. Well deserved and very nice words to young people about the importance of creativity.

7: 40 — Elizabeth Banks helps the Oscars give short shrift to the “sci/tech” awards.

Quentin Tarantino seems pleased with the “Inglourious Basterds” montage. I think he’s made peace with the likelihood that Christoph Waltz will be getting the film’s only award tonight. When you make films that are the opposite of Oscar bait, you can’t complain too much about not getting Oscars, no matter how deserved they might be.

Sandra Bullock is funny explaining that the first job of cinematographers is making stars like her look pretty. (I like hearing her say “mishegas.”) It goes to Mauro Fiore of “Avatar.” Again, this is an award as much for the fact that people liked the movie as it is for Fiore’s good work. He’s also probably getting credit for the 3-D and motion capture work.

7:37: What’s that thumping behind Baldwin & Martin? It turns out to be appropriate as they are following it with a parody of “Paranormal Activity” to set up the coming horror film tribute.

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner present the horror montage. Not exactly Karloff and Lugosi. Also, some shmoe of a writer says that no horror film has won an Oscar since “The Exorcist” to which I say, “What was ‘Silence of the Lambs’? Musical comedy?” Horror-loving film blogger Dennis Cozzalio will be delighted happy to see Chucky of “Child’s Play” represented, but having a clip from “Leprechaun” in there might be going a bit far. On the other hand I love hearing the music from “Young Frankenstein” alongside the iconic music from  “Psycho.” On the other hand, “Marathon Man” and “Edward Scissorhands” are not really horror films at all. They also show the alien-from-John Hurt”s-chest gag from “Alien” in all it’s bloody gory. What is this, the Scream awards?

Morgan Freeman explains the awards for Sound Editing and Mixing for people who never went to film school or made a film. There are some of you out there, right. Lautner and Stewart present the awards for both categories to  “The Hurt Locker.” Movies with a certain amount of effects work tend to get nominated and the movie which people generally like the best of those tends to win it. If you marked “Hurt Locker” on your Oscar pool, things are seriously looking up.

7:15: Sigourney Weaver presents the  production design/set decoration award. (Have they always been combined like this?) “Avatar” wins and she seems a bit excited about it. People who don’t realize the importance of this category should take a page from Ms. Weaver. She can’t do what she does if they don’t do what they do. An emotional moment from one of the designers who discusses an old illness. Lots of compliments to producer Jon Landau and, of course, James Cameron.

Clothes designer turned director Tom Ford of the excellent “A Single Man” and Sarah Jessica Parker present best costume design to the expected winner, “The Young Victoria.” Probably somewhat wrongly, this category always seems to go to period pictures and the two-time award winner, Sandy Powell, graciously acknowledges designers on other kinds of films. Classy move.

7:10: Robin Williams presents the Best Supporting Actress to, of course, Mo’Nique, for “Precious.” I can’t say she was as good as her opposite number, Christoph Waltz, in being a fait accompli award winner in a highly villainous supporting role, but she certainly brought the fire to her work and I can’t argue with it. She also brings the fire to her acceptance speech. She makes her point.

7:04: If you’re noticing that my times are slightly wonky, it’s the miracle of the DVR at work without which this would be a lot harder. Rachel McAdams and the hard to spell Jake Gyllenhaal present the award for best adapted screenplay to Geoffrey Fletcher for “Precious.” He won an Indie Spirit award yesterday for best first screenplay. Having seen the film just yesterday, I can’t agree with this award, especially considering how great “In the Loop” and “Up in the Air” are in terms of their writing, but I understand the feelings behiind it. Very emotional speech.

Montage of Governor’s award honorees to Roger Corman, Gordon Willis, and Lauren Bacall. Sorry, but these people all absolutely deserved to get their award live and have their own lenghty montages, rather than just waving from the audience. They are all true motion picture greats and, as gracious as  they are being, deserve more.

6:50: Similarly heighted — and similarly amazing looking — Zoe Saldana and Carey Mulligan present short film awards, almost stumbling over their dresses as they walk out on stage. John Lasseteer on short films (paraphrased): “You know what I like about short films; they’re short.” Award fo Aninmated short goes not to Nick Park’s latest, but “Logorama.” Best documentary short goes to “Music by Prudence” — the two filmmakers seems to be fighting for airtime or something before getting played off. Live action short goes to “The New Tenants.” Second award winner gets his mike cut before he say anything. They’re being brutally efficient.

And now Ben Stiller is a really funny, frightening Na’vi. (Wasn’t this related to the deleted Sacha Baron Cohen gag?) Great contact lens, hands, and tail gags. “I see you,” he says to James Cameron. Presents award for Best Make-Up to “Star Trek.”

6:30: Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick pay nice tribute to the late John Hughes. He says he’s frequently accosted by peole who ask: “Hey Ferris, is this your day off?” Nice montage following; I’m sure Hughes’ millions of devoted fans will be getting all misty eyed. Nicely done. Followed up with many of Hughes other stars, ranging from Ally Sheedy to Jon Cryer, Macauley Culkin, and Judd Nelson. It’s a nice tribute that it’s a shame more filmmakers can’t get.

6:27: Tina Fey and Robert Downey, Jr., very funny on the tensions between writers and actors. Downey: “It’s a collaboration between handsome gifted people and sickly little mole people.” Award for Best Original Screenplay goes to Mark Boal for “The Hurt Locker” — and so the sweep begins? He dedicates his award to the troops, well and injured, in Afghanistan and Iraq and to his recently deceased father.

6:20: Cameron Diaz and Steve Carrell introduce Barbara Walter’s “interviews” with characters from animated films. Cute. Nice shot of a happy looking Ed Asner. Award for Best Animated Feature goes to “Up.” Not a shocker by any stretch, but it’s a lovely movie, so hard to complain. (Also, I missed all but one of the other nominated films.) Pete Doctor, like everyone else at Pixar seemingly, is one of the good ones.

Next up Miley Cyrus and Amanda Seyfried of “Dear John” and “Mamma Mia”…who I’ll be meeting in a couple of days (along with scads of other journos; maybe I’ll get to ask a question, maybe). They’re introducing the Best Song with clips from the films rather than the usual production number(s). I wasn’t too thrilled about the change, but the clips aren’t badly orchestrated and certainly give an idea of how the songs are used in the films.

Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett win for their song, “The Weary Kind” from “Crazy Heart.” Mr. Burnett is a long time hero of mine. And Mr. Bingham’s backpack seems full enough. (Sorry. “Up in the Air” joke.)

6:10: If Christoph Waltz doesn’t win tonight’s first award for Best Supporting Actor award for “Basterds”  the earth under the Kodak may just open up. He does a good job of acting surprised and mentioning everyone’s name. Nice to know the earth doesn’t need to open up and Waltz’s historically good performance has been acknowledged.

6:00: Baldwin & Martin heating up. Funny/silly gags about various nominated actors, though that gag about “Frida” and Brad Pitt’s “Inglourious Basterds” mustache will fly over many heads. Good reaction shot of George Clooney when the two couldn’t think of who was nominated for Best Actor other than Jeff Bridges.

5:51: Funny threesome gag about Baldwin and Martin’s work with Meryl Streep on “It’s Complicated.” Another good gag: “Anyone who’s ever worked with Meryl Streep always ends up saying the exact same thing: ‘Can that women act!” and “What’s up with all the Hitler memorabilia?” Martin calls out to “The Jerk” re: “Precious.” He too, you’ll recall, was born a poor black child.

5:49: Opening monologue okay so far, though the passing off between Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin seems slightly contrived rather than a comedy. Still, I liked this bit:

Steve: Oh, look, there’s that damn Helen Mirren.

Alec: Steve that’s Dame Helen Mirren.

5:43: Best actor and actress nominees all on stage at once. Ms. Sidibe seems to enjoy it. And Neal Patrick Harris lied, sort of — Martin Short is nowhere to be seen. Doesn’t quite nail his song as well as other shows, probably a bit nervous, but mostly pretty great, as usual. Song moderately clever

5:30: Jeff Bridges is “all Gucci’d out.” He also looks just like my semi-insane boss from a long-gone Orange County job. Gabourey Sidibe is a texting demon and very excited to be at her very first Oscars. Meryl Streep’s favorite part of the Oscars is sitting down in her seat and “getting off the Jimmy Chus”. The ladies hosting liked Sandra Bullock, Zoe Saldana dresses and Ms. Sidibe’s blue thingy. And we get ready to start.

5:14 — So they tricked me into being on time and watching some of the flackery on the pre-show. J-Lo loved “Precious” and Sarah Jessica Parker looks fantastic in Chanel, they tell me. Matthew Broderick is trying not to smirk, I think. He’s wearing Tom Ford. Must be uncomfortable for Mr. Ford. Yes, and I will be here all night.

Stay tuned for…

Bullz-Eye: Hello, Hugh!

Hugh Dillon: Hey, man, how are you?

BE: I’m very good. So I have to think that it’s got to be a little surreal for you to be sitting here, promoting the US premiere of “Durham County” two years after the series made its debut on Canadian television.

HD: It is and it isn’t, y’know? It’s like…well, actually, it isn’t, really. It’s part of my life, you know?

BE: So how did you first come on board to the series? The idea of a show based around a cop chasing a serial killer might not be all that unique, but “Durham County” certainly feels unique.

HD: You know, for me, it was just a question of…I got these scripts, and I couldn’t believe just how well-written they were and how compelling they were. And, quite frankly, I found it pretty addictive. I remember picking up the first one when I was at a cottage, and I thought, “Ah, I’ll just start reading this, I’ll get to it.” And I read the first one, and it was like reading a fucking Stephen King novel. I read all six scripts, and I thought, “This is fucking awesome.” (Laughs) And then I kept flipping back to the cover, because I thought, “Fuck, this is a woman that wrote this? This is pretty brutal!” And then I met the lady…well, the three producers, really (Janis Lundman, Adrienne Mitchell, and Laurie Finstad Knizhnik), and they’re incredibly intelligent , they’ve got integrity, and…well, you know, they’re just very smart women. It was like meeting the witches of Eastwick. (Laughs) I realized, “Fuck, I’ve just got to be honest around them, or I’m gonna fuck this up.” And they were great! And then we got to be friends, and I passed the audition, and the network said I was in, then we cast the rest of the shit, and the rest is history. And Adrienne, the director / producer, is, like, a…she’s got a great vision, she’s got a great aesthetic, and they’re people who really don’t compromise, you know? And that’s why I think this show is so successful: because they really know what they want.

BE: Were you surprised when you found that it was finally going to make it across the border?

HD: Surprised…? (Considers the question)

BE: I guess you’d had some experience with that kind of thing, though, with “Flashpoint” turning up on CBS.

HD: Yeah, I mean, so I wasn’t surprised, but…you know what it is? When you’ve seen somebody else work so very hard, and you know that the work is good, you’re just happy for them and proud of them. So I’m just excited that we’re getting this shot, because I love this show. I don’t know how many you’ve seen…

BE: Just the first two.

HD: Oh, okay, well, it really goes someplace. Hopefully they can get you the rest, because it continues on, these first twelve episodes, into… (Hesitates) It’s like…do you remember all of the independent films in the ‘90s? That’s what it reminds me of. And we’ve got Michelle Forbes who comes along, and it just unfolds beautifully. It’s really something. There’s something hypnotic about it that I love.

BE: It’s funny that you say that, because I watched those first two episodes with my wife, and after the first one, she said, “Well, it’s good, but it’s a little slow.” But after the second one, she said, “Was that one shorter? Because it just flew past!”

HD: Yeah, once you get into it, it’s addictive. And it’s so haunting that…like I said, there’s something hypnotic about it, because if you just sit down and watch, the time just flies by. You’re in, and you’re a fan. There’s just something about the way they’ve captured this hyper piece of the human condition. It’s unique.

BE: It very much reminds me of a David Lynch production.

HD: Yeah!

BE: Are there any other points of comparison that you’d offer?

HD: Someone else said, “It’s like ‘Twin Peaks’ meets ‘The Sopranos.’” And I thought, “You know, I can live with that.”

BE: So how quickly did the family relationship develop between you and Helene Joy, Laurence Leboeuf, and Cicely Austin?

HD: I think…you know, so much of it comes down to the great producers, these women again, because the casting was just right on the money. I mean, the funny thing is, with us, we shoot that in Montreal, and so, for me, there’s a disconnect right out of the gate, because I don’t speak French. So all of a sudden, we’re in Montreal, we shoot in the fall, and everything’s kind of dying. The days are getting shorter. And for me, when I walked in, I met Laurence, who plays my daughter, and we had that natural chemistry. We just hit off. We had a lot in common. Even in real life, I’m a little protective with her. So there were a lot of things in real life that helped when you see the show. It translates, the whole “art imitates life” thing, or whatever.

BE: I’m glad you responded that way, because I’d been thinking about retiring that question from my repertoire. Everybody generally tends to give me a variation on, “When it’s on the page, it’s on the stage.”

HD: Yeah, and it’s that, too. (Laughs)

BE: You made a comment about the changes in the landscape as a result of shooting in the fall. I’ve interviewed some folks from the cast of “Harper’s Island,” and many of them spoke of how, while shooting in Vancouver, it got progressively colder and darker as they filmed the series, but it worked in the show’s favor. Do you think it helped “Durham County” as well?

HD: I think it did. And does, because now we’re going into Season 3. I start shooting that next month. And, like I said, the first two seasons worked like a charm. When Michelle Forbes came on board last year, it was just fun to watch the whole progression with her, because she showed up, and she’s amazing in the show. She just got it, you know? She got it. She went, “Wow, this is weird.”

BE: And she should know weird, given her “True Blood” stuff.

HD: Yeah, I know! (Laughs) She said, “I’m on these dark shows, and this is fucking darker than any of them!”

BE: But, of course, she made it through “Kalifornia,” too.

HD: Yeah, and that’s what I first knew her from.

BE: I mentioned earlier about “Flashpoint” getting its US screening through CBS, but to talk of surprises again, did you expect it to take off here the way it did?

HD: You know, from my personal point of view, I’m not surprised, because it comes back to the writers again. I read that pilot, and I thought, “These people really know what they’re doing.” And it’s because Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morganstern, who wrote it, talked to the real guys. And they got us, the actors, hooked up with the real guys. So I wasn’t surprised. I just thought they had such integrity, and they were such decent people, that they just did their due diligence, so to speak, and they covered it so beautifully in terms of…I mean, it’s an action show, but it’s got such an emotional core, and they were able to hit that, so much so that the real SWAT guys are very proud of the show. So I just had a good feeling about it, so I guess it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

BE: When “Flashpoint” premiered here in the States, I guess the show’s matinee name was Enrico Colantoni, because of his work on “Just Shoot Me” and “Veronica Mars.”

HD: Of course.

BE: But you were already pretty well established in Canada as both an actor and as a musician, so were you viewed at the matinee name up there?

HD: Yeah. I mean, me and Enrico laugh our asses off about that all the time. We’ll be shooting in Toronto, and people will go by and say, “Hey, Hugh!” Or, “Hey, Rico!” It’s just funny.

BE: I didn’t realize at first that you were the star of “Hard Core Logo.” In fact, for a minute, when I saw the name of the film, I was, like, “Wait, that sounds familiar, I think I’ve seen that.” But almost as quickly, it was followed by a horrifed, “Omigod, the ending…!” It all came back in a rush.

HD: Too funny. But that’s good! And, yeah, that was really a huge moment for us when (Quentin) Tarantino picked that up and released the movie.

BE: It’s really phenomenal. I mean, I’m a fan of…well, technically, it’s a mockumentary, but it’s certainly not a comedy in the traditional sense. Not the ending, that’s for sure.

HD: Yeah, that movie was really what got me into the whole acting thing, ‘cause I just got to work with such a great director and a great cast. And, y’know, he allowed me to do a lot of stuff. I wrote the ending to that movie. So that movie was really…I just thought, “You know, I fucking like acting!” (Laughs)

BE: So what’s the status of the “Hard Core Logo” sequel? I’ve read some stuff online about it, but nothing concrete about a start date.

HD: Um, they might do one, where Joe Dick is the Devil, and he comes back. They’re looking at shooting it in Japan, and it’s kind of interesting. It’s like “My Dinner with Andre” meets “Die Hard.”

BE: That sounds like the best movie ever. Or possibly the worst.

HD: Or possibly the worst. (Laughs) But, fuck, you’ve gotta go. If it’s not a big risk, it’s no fun.

BE: Well, in the piece I was reading about it, (director) Bruce McDonald was talking about doing, like, four sequels.

HD: Yeah. (Snorts) They’ll never get to four. But there’ll be at least one if the funding comes together, and it’ll be interesting.

BE: I sent an E-mail to my friend Jaimie Vernon, who’s kind of a Canadian musical historian (not to mention a label owner and a musician in his own right), and asked him to give me a bit of background on The Headstones, since I’d heard of them but didn’t know anything about them. And he wrote back, “They put out five albums, it’s loud hard-ass, three-chord rock and roll, and there is no American equivalent to their style.”

HD: Wow. (Laughs)

BE: So how did you first find your way into music?

HD: I loved it. I had older brothers and sisters, and when I was growing up, I was kind of an outsider, and I just gravitated towards music…and it became life. There was nothing else I wanted to do, so I just wrote songs and wrote songs and played in bands. I moved to England when I was 19, and I played on the street. I had a band over there called the Caulfields, and then I moved back to Toronto when my visa ran out and worked at shitty jobs. Well, one was good: I had a job at a hospital, working with sick children for a couple of years. That gave me enough money to pay for demo tapes. And then I got a record deal with Universal, and we just…well, we were kind of an anti-social rock band, and it was just a crazy existence for a lot of years. And then it got…y’know, it just got very unhealthy (Laughs) And so I caught a couple of breaks with acting around “Hard Core Logo,” and I found a couple of other movies. I did a movie with Vera Farmiga (“Down to the Bone”) that got to Sundance and really opened things up in the States, and I moved to L.A.

BE: I saw that the Headstones were on MCA, and since I was thinking of Canadian bands, my mind immediately went to the Tragically Hip.

HD: Oh, yeah, I grew up with the guys in the Hip, and that’s… (Pauses) Fuck, you did your homework!

BE: (Laughs) I try, man, I try.

HD: No, man, you really did, because I hadn’t even thought about that. But truth is, my showcase gig…we used to play CBGBs in New York, and the Mercury Lounge, but for my showcase gig, the guys in the Hip showed up, and that’s how we ended up getting a record deal: because they were already established in Canada. And MCA’s A&R guy saw that the Hip were there, and people liked the music, so…there you go. Paul Langlois, who’s the guitar player in the Hip, just recorded my solo album for Warner Brothers in Canada. It’s going to be on iTunes, and I got songs on “Flashpoint” and “Durham County.” But, yeah, Paul Langlois was my producer on that. (Pauses again, then laughs) Fuck, you did your homework…

BE: Yeah, but I’m still embarrassed that I wasn’t really familiar with the Headstones before this. I mean, I worked for a record store for five years, for God’s sake.

HD: No, but you wouldn’t be. It was so independent, so underground, and for so long that you wouldn’t be. It was pretty explosive, but it was…it was its own thing. It was a real cult rock band. I mean, we had songs that you couldn’t hear. We had one called “Fuck You,” if you ever go to… (Hesitates) I’m trying to think where you can download it, but it was on an album called Nickels for Your Nightmares, and it’s track 10. It’s a great song, and we could play anywhere, and as soon as we played that song, people would just fucking go off, because it was just…if you’re drinking a beer and you hear a band playing a song called “Fuck You,” then first you go, “What the…?” And then you go, “Oh, okay, I get that!”

BE: Did you guys ever make any real attempt to break in the States, or were you just not concerned about that?

HD: Not concerned. I mean, we played in New York, we’d play with some American bands, and we played Mexico, we played Europe. We were big in border towns like Buffalo. We did okay in New York. But we were huge in our own country. We were successful in our minds. We didn’t need world domination for validation.

BE: I saw that you were also in the Trailer Park Boys’ movie.

HD: Fuck! (Laughs) Yeah, I was in that, too.

BE: Were you a fan of the show itself?

HD: I hadn’t watched it that much. I was living in L.A. at that time, but Mike Clattenburg called me, and I knew it enough. They’re good guys, and it was Canadian, and Ivan Reitman was involved, so I thought, “This’ll be fun.” And it was fun.

BE: I’d also totally forgotten that you were in “Surveillance,” too. I interviewed Bill Pullman and Jennifer Lynch when the film came out.

HD: Fuck! (Laughs) Yeah, Jennifer’s a friend of mine, and she’s an exceptional human being. It’s funny, because when I did that movie “Down to the Bone,” it was with this director Debra Granik, and that’s when I started working with this string of female directors. I just find that they’re exceptional people, and Jennifer Lynch is another one, as is Adrienne Mitchell of “Durham County.” But Jennifer’s just a sweetheart, and she used some of my music in her movie, and it was just…it was a blast for me. I mean, me and Cheri Oteri sat in a car for two weeks, shooting the shit. It was fun.

BE: She’s so sweet. I met her earlier this year, and she couldn’t have been nicer.

HD: She’s just fun.

BE: And I complimented Jennifer on her choice of using someone like Cheri, who’s traditionally comedic, in a film with as dark a tone as “Surveillance.”

HD: She’s a great actress. And she’s a hard worker, and she’s fun to be around. And Jennifer’s just go such a great vibe, and she’d do anything f0r you. I hope she continues to make movies, and more regularly, because she’s got a great talent.

BE: Last one, and it’s a two-parter. First, what’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved?

HD: “Down to the Bone” is a movie that I think deserved more love, although it did win them prizes at Sundance. I think Vera Farmiga’s performance was exceptional. (Writer’s note: Farmiga took home the Special Jury Prize, Dramatic, for her performance, and Debra Grank won the Directing Award, Dramatic.) But it should’ve gotten a wider release.

BE: And the other part, can you recommend an underrated movie that you’re not in that you think people should see?

HD: Good question…but, wow, my mind’s going blank. Um, “Easy Rider”? No, everybody’s seen that. There’s got to be something. Why can’t I think of something? (Pauses) Oh, I saw a movie called “Hard Candy” that I thought was phenomenal. You know what it was about that movie? The performances were great, but I always look at making movies myself, and the point of view was that the film had two characters, one location, and yet it could hold your attention for the entire run time. And I thought, “That is great moviemaking, when just the writing and the two characters can lock you in.”

BE: All right, Hugh, it’s been a real pleasure talking to you.

HD: You, too!

BE: And I promise that I’ll hunt down some Headstones stuff.

HD: (Laughs) Okay, thanks, man! Ciao!