Emily Watson and John Turturro star in “Cradle Will Rock.” Written and directed by Tim Robbins. Photo credit: Demmie Todd Touchstone Pictures
Right after John Turturro played Jesus in The Big Lebowski, but before he starred in O Brother Where Art Thou, he did something completely different.
In 1999, Lycos (remember searching the web with Lycos? Or were you more of a Netscape Navigator type?) produced this "community service video" starring Turturro in an effort to introduce everyday Americans to the internet. You might even remember: A Beginner's Guide to the Internet was a free rental at Blockbuster back in the day.
In the short film, Turturro's character breaks down in a small town on a cross-country trip. He ends up at a cafe where he grabs a phone book, calls his local internet service provider, plugs the cafe's phone into his computer, and starts teaching the locals how to surf. It's all so quaint by modern standards, but this was 1999 and the World Wide Web was the Wild Wild West. So click your way back in time below. It's worth it for the sound of the dial-up modem alone!
