While the wonderfully verbose director Whit Stillman is rather elusive, whetting our cinematic appetites with the classic trio (Metropolitan, Barcelona, and Last Days of Disco) and then fading away, he hasn't been forgotten. Nor has he stopped working. Rumors have been circling his name in small bursts for years, and now the director has spoken with IFC about the work that has made him an icon of discussion cinema, and the work that is yet to come.

First: While Disco remains an elusive disc to those who didn't grab it all those years ago (it's one of the few DVDs I paid full, exorbitant price for), Metropolitan is now online, for free, over at Hulu (courtesy of Cinetic Rights Management). But if you're looking for more of Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny, Whit says that there have been slow negotiations with Criterion, which may or may not come to light.

But enough about the old. Here's a quick rundown of his upcoming projects (go read the interview to get all the gritty details):

Dancing Mood, the Jamaican Film -- Financing woes have caused delays for the film, which is a love story set mainly in gospel churches. Once they get the money, everything else is set.

Red Azalea -- An adaptation focusing on China's cultural revolution, Whit says that he worked on script drafts, but "it never really got that far along."

Little Green Men -- That wacky movie where a political talkshow host is kidnapped by aliens was once said to have John Malcovich and Peter Sarsgaard attached. Stillman says the script approach hasn't been finalized, but that Greg Kinnear is now interested in the film.

So yeah, financing has been a big pain for Stillman, which is sad. So, will one of you rich readers go invest in the guy already? Please?

Hearts, chocolates, and romantic nights symbolize Valentine's Day. Easter has bunnies and eggs. Halloween is for pumpkins, scares, and treats. Thanksgiving brings gluttonous dinners of turkey and stuffing. Christmas is awash of presents. And New Years Eve, well, that's all about champagne, count-downs, and parties.

There are all sorts of parties on film -- from those that ring in the New Year to those that regale random celebrations. There are hootenannys of happiness, shindigs of debauchery, and gatherings of dysfunction. With all of the myriad parties that have graced the big screen, it's a bit ridiculous to pick a top seven, so here are some of the films that come to mind when I think of cinematic celebrations:

200 Cigarettes

As we head out of the holidays and into the New Year, 200 Cigarettes has its place as a guilty pleasure of party-riffic ensemble cinema for the young eyes of the '90s. Set in New York City's Lower East Village of the '80s, the film follows a number of late teen and early 20-something people trying to make their way to a New Year's Eve loft party. From Long Island teens to artists and punk rockers, Cigarettes has one heck of a cast of '90s faces and some of today's big-bucks names -- Ben and Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Paul Rudd, Dave Chappelle, Courtney Love, Gaby Hoffmann, Guillermo Diaz, Janeane Garofalo, Martha Plimpton, Jay Mohr, Nicole Ari Parker, Christina Ricci, and even Elvis Costello. And if a whole bunch of recognizable names is not enough, what about Rudd's ridiculous sideburns?

My greatest cinematic weakness is the movie conversation. A great action scene or shocker can pull me in like anyone else, but it's the words that mesmerize. A good movie conversation tugs at those appealing strings of voyeurism. You watch the intimacy of words, but they, and the scene, are not directed at you. It's amazing how much can really be done with words. With the right dialogue, you don't need a gimmick for the audience. You can vicariously have fun with another's conversation, or you can watch a story play out within the span of hello to goodbye.

The following list is by no means comprehensive, but it hits on many of the big conversational accomplishments of the last 30 years. Each has its own way of relating information through words. Some are backed by the urgency of eyes, some are fueled by unnaturally delightful wordplay and some just allow the conversation to happen, wherever it travels to and whatever it says. These seven films have words that roll off the tongues of the actors, creating a cinematic verbal candy that ties into everything from the artsy fartsy to the fart jokes.

My Dinner with Andre

Long before Wallace Shawn was thinking of what was inconceivable, he headed this conversational 80's zeitgeist with Andre Gregory. It's an intellectual niche film, and not for every audience. That being said, there are innumerable subtleties that make it worthy of a first, second and third viewing. What I find most intriguing are the secondary bits that are tacked onto the words, and more importantly, the silence. Shawn is reluctant to go to dinner with Andre, which keeps him silent for a good chunk of the movie. Yet for every word and crazily interesting story that Andre relays, Shawn reacts. He says everything with minute reactions – an eye twitch here, a raised brow and chuckle there.

Ah to be young, doomed and bourgeois. You either love or hate Whit Stillman's U.H.B.s' (Urban Haute Bourgeoisies) endless dialogues in his three comedies of manners, Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco. I always think of them as a trilogy (though they aren't in a strict sense) as his protagonists are always talking about the same things, essentially (relationships, morality, class, love, aimlessness), sprinking in references to Jane Austen, Luis Bunuel, Samuel Johnson and the like. They're at heart, movies about growing up, with clever dialogue and gentle irony. I love Stillman's wry sensibility and have been waiting, like his other ardent fans, for his next project; in January, we heard he was preparing to direct his first film in seven years. He finally  tells us, in his own meandering way, what he's been up to in The Guardian. He appears to be working on a script about Jamaican music, but basically, he's looking for a good day job.

One of the first Cinematical posts I ever wrote was about Whit Stillman – specifically, I was wondering what the hell ever happened to the guy who directed Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco – three of my favorite indie films of the 90s. Well, it's time to cut from our non-stop Sundance coverage to bring you this breaking bulletin: the director is alive and well and, according to Anthony Kaufman, living in Paris and preparing to direct his first film in seven years. What's the holdup? "For me, time is the biggest luxury.” Apparently. In the Filmmaker Magazine interview, Stillman also discusses his first film, Metropolitan, at length, in advance of its Criterion DVD debut next month.