Whew! I'm finally back at my NY abode after a whirlwind day!
It was so great to see Ben, Larry and Jose (and I love the picture!) and hear all their juicy Broadway dish---even though I don't know half of the shows they're talking about, I just love sitting back and listening to it all. So much fun!!
After I left our merry band of HHW, I grabbed a cab and picked up the director, who was having someone from his apartment help him to the street. I found an arm sling---two actually---for him. The first one I bought was cheap and an ugly blue color. Since we were going to a formal event, I also picked up a more expensive and stylish black one. That turned out to be a lucky find since he was wearing a black suit.
So we cabbed it up to the DGA to see Clint interviewed by Lillian Ross, who must be in her late 80's but still very sharp! They had a piano on stage and Lillian coaxed Clint into tickling the ivories for a bit. It was about an hour and a half talk, with a long montage of film clips from select movies. I was introduced to Clint's director of photography, who was very jovial, and his editor, who wasn't. He seemed a bit stressed because he had a lot of details to worry about.
When we went to leave, the director called out to the biggest guy around to help him out of his theatre seat. In the process, his coat pocket got hooked on the chair arm and ripped his pocket away from his coat. So I found a nearby cleaners and he made it worth the tailor's while to fix it then and there. (Money talks!)
He didn't want to go back downtown so I came back to change into my evening duds, and then headed to Nobu. The director had been standing in front for about an hour waiting for them to open, because he was afraid to go anywhere and sit down. So I got to Nobu about an hour earlier than we planned and hung out with him. Finally we were allowed inside---very beautiful in there!
The tables had bowls of nigiri and rolls, and some cooked fish (someone decided it was cod) and we thought that was it. But then people started firing up hot food---I had a huge scallop, some skinny mushrooms on a bed of brussells sprouts, (OMG good!) tender sliced beef...I wish I hadn't had suchi to begin with so I could have tried everything.
There were about20 tables at the party, and most had names on them, so we didn't know where to sit. We ended up at a table with Clint's table on one side and Angelina Jolie's on the other. I only saw her for about 5 minutes, but Brad Pitt was with her (in a goofy checkered hat!) and at one point I noticed he was just sitting there with no one to talk to, so I took this as my cue to do just that!
I told him that my partner and I had made the S & V documentary and that someone in his office had requested a copy. He said that he had two people that worked with him who always had their eyes out for potential new ideas for films. He said they were really smart and had great taste, so our film must be very good. I know he probably says that kind of thing all the time but it was still nice that he treated me as a fellow filmmaker.
I also had a chance to talk to Colm Feore. I like him very much (I did trailers for his film NUREMBURG so it was a good entree) and hardly anyone was talking to him, so he seemed glad to chat, and his wife was very sweet, too.
Clint, his wife and daughter arrived after most people were there, Brian Grazer was there along with another producer. (His daughter has a one shot cameo in the film...she's about 12.) His wife is beautiful and seemed very nice. The director introduced Clint to me and we both said we were looking forward to the project. His hand enveloped mine. He seems very unpretentious, and I didn't feel intimidated by him at all.
The director had already seen Changeling several times, so he got one of the Clint cars to take him home. I hung out with the woman who headed up the film program at MoMA for decades (she recently retired due to health problems) and her husband. They were wonderful company. They live near Madeline, and I told them about the macarons there, and the husband told me about a place that used to be on 9th that had amazing ones, but that they were really easy to make yourself. Yeah...right... I can't imagine them being anywhere in the ballpark of Madeline. They also decided not to go to the movie (it ended after midnight...it's 140 minutes long). I wish I'd known all these people were going to bail out so I could've called a few friends, but oh well...
I really enjoyed the movie. Angelina Jolie was great and the story was very gripping. The audience seemed to like it very much.
So, now time to hit the hay, after completing my cat-sitting duties.
Whew!
Thanks again to Larry, Ben and Jose for getting up early to meet me!!
