COFFEE AND CIGARRETTES: IGGY POP AND TOM WAITS SHORT
Authors: Mariana Berríos, Gala López and Cristina Palomeque
Whole article available in Aula de Innovación Educativa, NOV 2006, Graó
Worksheet
1. Film information
Title
Director
Actors
Place
Time
Genre
Plot
2. Culture. In the film, two North American films are mentioned.
a. Which ones?
b. How are the restaurants translated in…
i. The dubbing
ii. The subtitles
c. What kind of restaurants are they?
d. Why does Iggy take it as an insult?
Restaurants
Dubbing
Subtitles
3. Vocabulary. Describe what they are wearing and what they look like
TOM WAITS IGGY POP
Clothes
Physical
appearance
4. Vocabulary: Personality
4.1. Match the adjectives in column A with an adjective in column B that has a similar meaning.
Friendly outgoing
Polite greedy
Selfish considerate
Childish calm
Thoughtful happy
Easygoing immature
Sociable kind
Cheerful courteous
4.2. Think of the opposite word of each adjective in column A.
PREFIX OR SUFIX
Friendly
Considerate
Sociable
Interested
Thoughtful
IRREGULAR
Polite
Shy
Selfish
Childish
Easygoing
Cheerful
4.3. Write a description of Tom’s and Iggy’s personality in the film using some of the adjectives above.
TOM WAITS IGGY POP
Personality
2. Listening. Who says...
- I ordered you some coffee
- Whichever way you go, I go either way
- I delivered a baby this morning
- I feel sorry for suckers, still puffing away
- The beauty of quitting is that now that I have quit, I can have another one
- Cigarettes and coffee man, that’s a combination
- You hang out here a lot?
- We’re really like the coffee and cigarettes generation
TOM WAITS IGGY POP
3. Comprehension and reflection on the film
a) Do Iggy and Tom know each other well? Why?
b) Do you think Tom is telling when he says he is a doctor?
c) Whose is that packet of cigarettes? What does Iggy say? Do you think that’s true?
d) Do you think Iggy is telling the truth when he says he has to leave? Why?
e) If you had to divide this short film in three or four parts. How would you divide it?
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
f) Why is the short called “Somewhere in California”?
g) Can you think of another title?
h) Subject of the short Is it familiar to you? Why?
7. Creative writing
a. Discussing composition: Who do you like better Iggy or Tom? Why?
b. Dialogue to act out: Iggy is on tour and has just arrived to California.
He’s going to stay there for a few days. He calls Tom Waits because he
lives there and they decide to meet in a bar. Write the phone
conversation between Iggy and Tom.
c. Dialogue: Iggy and Tom have a strange dialogue at the end when Iggy is
leaving. Write what they really wanted to say to each other.
d. Write the storyboard of the short film