International Velvet
Acting
Biography
Susan Bottomly, also known as International Velvet, is a former American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in several of Andy Warhol's underground films.
Born: January 1, 1950
Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Known For
Andy Warhol Screen Tests
The films were made between 1964 and 1966 at Warhol's Factory studio in New York City. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong key light, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film at 24 frames per second. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in 'slow motion' at 16 frames per second.
Midnight Cowboy
Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.
Screen Test: Susan Bottomly
Susan Bottomly/International Velvet's screen test is dark as her piercing eyes stare into the camera, as Warhol plays with the lighting and zoom features.
Slogan
Commercial director Serge Faberge is having an affair with Evelyne, the 18 year old fiancee of friend Hugh. His own pregnant wife Francoise usually does not mind his dalliances, until he actually walks out on her and their newborn baby to move in with Evelyne. The shoe is on the other foot when dashing stuntman Dado catches Evelyne's eye in Venice.
Chelsea Girls
Lacking a formal narrative, Warhol's mammoth film follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City. The film was intended to be screened via dual projector set-up.
Candy
A high school girl encounters a variety of kookie characters and humorous sexual situations while searching for the meaning of life.
Four Stars
Photographed entirely in color, Four Stars was projected in its complete length of nearly 25 hours (allowing for projection overlap of the 35-minute reels) only once, at the Film-Makers' Cinematheque in New York City. The imagery in the film is dense, wearying and beautiful, but ultimately hard to decipher, for, in contrast to his earlier, and more famous film Chelsea Girls, made in 1966, Warhol insisted that two reels be screened simultaneously on top of each other on a single screen, rather than side-by-side. The film's title is a pun on the rating system used by critics to rank films, with "four stars" being the highest rating. From Wikipedia.
The Velvet Underground Tarot Cards
Documents each member of The Velvet Underground having their cards read at a big apartment party. The tarot reader is continually interrupted in her readings by the chaos created by the characters around her.
Since
Andy Warhol's experimental reconstruction of the assassination of the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, which serves as his critical commentary on the way the media presented the tragic event.
13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests
Between 1964 and 1966, Andy Warhol shot nearly 500 Screen Tests, beautiful and revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, from Warhol superstars and celebrities to friends or anyone he thought had "star potential". All visitors to his studio, the Factory. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong keylight, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in slow motion, resulting in a fascinating collection of four-minute masterpieces that startle and entrance, mesmerizing in the purest sense of the word. Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, incorporated original compositions as well as cover songs to create new soundtracks for the 13 films.
Filmography
as Serge's Friend (uncredited)
as The Party
as Extra
as Jacqueline Kennedy
as Self
as Herself
as self
as Herself
as Self