"I stalked him like a strange fan," said Madonna of getting Ukrainian musician Eugene Hutz to play the philosophical narrator and one of three main characters in her film Filth and Wisdom. - Billboard.com
"I had become obsessed with Eugene," writes documentary filmmaker Pavla Fleischer. "That's what it was. One drunken car ride with him in the summer of 2004 and I could not get him out of my mind.
He was loud and obnoxious but with a passion I rarely saw in men I have known. He serenaded me with Gypsy songs, and enchanted me with his spirit. I needed more time with him but sadly, Eugene did not need me.
He was after all the lead singer of New York's notorious Gypsy Punk band, Gogol Bordello, with no shortage of female fans. Like a woman possessed I played my final card, and appealed to the only thing I could: his ego.
'I'll make a film about you,' I proposed and to my delight, he agreed." - Pavla Fleischer
A few weeks ago I didn't even know who Eugene Hutz was. But I'm reading Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer for a reading challenge, and even though I hadn't finished the book I asked my husband to bring home the DVD from Blockbuster, where he works. Playing the Ukrainian translater for New York-Jewish Jonathan was Eugene Hutz, turning in a remarkable performance for a non-actor. Now, like these other women, I'm quite obsessed with him.
I find it comforting to know that two creative women resorted to making films in order to spend time with this man. What is it about Eugene that inspires such wild attraction?
I'm certain it has to do with his passion.
It oozes from his pores.
Like most people whose lust for life is infectious, Eugene's energy spills over to whomever he's with. Including complete strangers like myself who have never even met him before.
I started thinking about Eugene's charismatic hold over women.
I believe it's his Unattainable Man persona.
Who could be more unattainable than a part-Gypsy globetrotter whose undying passion is Music?
Here's a little taste of what drew me to Eugene - a scene from Everything is Illuminated:
And here is the authentic Eugene, speaking for Unattainable Men everywhere with Wanderlust King.
This is the documentary Pavla Fleischer made so she could hang out with Eugene:
And here's a performance documentary made by yet another woman, Margarita Jimeno, showcasing the carnival atmosphere of Eugene's band:
And this is part of an interview promoting Madonna's film Filth and Wisdom.
