Huili

I met Huili during film school, and thought of him as the foreign exchange student from Argentina. Quite frankly, he kind of scared me. I remember our first interaction was coaching each other in an acting class, and he was very upfront about telling me what a big loser he was. At the time, I was like, hey buddy, let's try to have some self-esteem here. That amuses me now.

Huili also had the habit of behaving in every class as if he were Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. You know, the scene where Pacino says, "If I were half the man I used to be, I'd take a flamethrower to this place!" Imagine sitting through that every hour. I ascribe some of this behavior to him being an Argentinean and Italian mix. Some, but not all.

Huili helped me cheat in photography class by going with me on a road trip to Vegas and shooting pictures with me. During that trip, we visited the pig farm where the leftovers from all the buffets are dumped, multiple whore houses, and the electric light graveyard. It was one of the best road trips I've ever taken.

Huili is also the elucidator of what I call the Sota Curse: every girl who has ever rejected me will realize that they totally blew it, but by the time they have this realization, I will no longer be interested. And as far as I can tell, no one has ever escaped this curse.

Huili is shooting his first feature film in Argentina, he's the founder of one of Argentina's most popular political websites, and he has received German arts fellowships in order to fund projects related to his imaginary friend Chumbacca. He also worked on Highlander II.

Huili took me to my first Jon Brion show, he's the best cook I've ever met, and he's been kicked out of the United States for violating the terms of his Fulbright Fellowship agreement. He currently lives in Madrid with his wife Alina and three-year-old daughter Miranda. I await the day that the State Department allows him back in Los Angeles with much anticipation, as does he.

Download: Judy Talks About Huili - July 2003

Download: Judy Talks About Huili - March 2006