It's October 22, 1994. I was in Vienna to introduce a Warhol exh ibition at the Museum Modemer Kunst.

As a part of the exhibition, the Warhol film Empire was scheduled to be shown. I introduced the film by telling about its premiere at the City Hall Cinema in New York in 1964.

"Good to see so many of you (the place was full). At the premie re in New York. I had some 200 people. At the end of the film I had some thirty or so. I am curious how many of you will be here at the end of the film."
They all looked a pretty determined hunch. So I went to the Apostelkeller for some wine. Two hours before the end of the film I went back to review the situation.

I found that everybody was still bravely there. That amazed me greatly but there was still a lot of time to go. So I went back to the Apostelkeller and had some more wine.

I came back to the theater some fifteen minutes before the end of the film. I could not believe my eyes: everybody was still there! ~ The film ended and nobody had left. I walked in front of the audience, almost in shock, and I said:
"You Viennese you are amazing. You are really amazing. You are amazing..... And as I was talking like that, standing there, there comes this woman on my right and she begins to talk to the audience ignoring me completely as if I wasn 't there at all, and she says:

180 "I represent Austrian Airlines. O.K. now, since you are all still here I have no choice but to have a lottery for the ticket." I shut up and listened in amazement to what she was saying and, of course, the following became clear to my stupid head: The screening of Empire in Vienna was taken by the press as a big joke, as achallenge to the audience' s patience. Austrian Airlines joined in the joke by announcing that the person who will be able. to stay to the end of this most boring film ever made will get a free roundtrip ticket to New York...

I was pretty crushed by this tum of events. I had to go back to the Apostelkeller for more wine. Later I was told that the lottery took place and a young Viennese film-maker was the lucky one.