The lesson to take from Isabella Rossellini's amusing presentation Thursday night at Miami Book Fair International is simple: You really should be happy you're not a male bee.
Drones, you see, live to mate, which doesn't sound so bad until you find out what happens afterward, one of the many subjects of Green Porno, Rossellini's entertaining series of short films for The Sundance Channel. (What happens to calamari if they're caught isn't all that much fun, either.)
On an evening when LeBron and Shaq faced off against D-Wade across the street at the AmericanAirlines Arena, and fair-goers got to haul out their light jackets, Rossellini talked about Green Porno's companion book, how the series got started and showed six of her short films (including the one about the unfortunate boy bees, which was the favorite, judging by the applause).
Rossellini, ever glamorous in a red velvet jacket, said the idea originated with Robert Redford, who was interested in making short online films that could be easily viewed on cellphones or iPods.
"If you see Apocalypse Now‚ on your iPod, you really don't see the film,'' said Rossellini, who was introduced by Miami filmmaker David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me). "But with animation, you could make a really colorful film.''
Rossellini had long been fascinated by insects - "It was incredible, what was happening in my backyard!'' - and decided to focus on insect and animal sex.
"We're not all interested in animals, but we're all‚ interested in sex,'' she joked.
The series drew millions of viewers at sundancechannel.com, and landed Rossellini on David Letterman, who "made fun of me, because I did Blue Velvet, and this is how I evolved.''
Michelle Sas of Sunny Isles Beach came to the appearance because she's a Blue Velvet fan. She read about the concept of Green Porno, and couldn't resist.
"It seems so bizarre, I just have to see that,'' she said before Rossellini took the stage.
Three-fifths of the Five Forks Book Club of Albuquerque, N.M. - so named because when they meet monthly for dinner to discuss a book, they order one dessert and five forks - were also happy to be there. They wore matching sweat shirts; bless the cooler weather!
Carol Hoffman, Barbara Pierce and Lea Wilson arrived in Miami on Thursday for the fair and plan to binge on books all weekend.
"We're going to be here every hour on the hour,'' said Pierce, indicating the Chapman Conference Center.
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