10:25 AM - MON 4.15.24
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Well, the Pasadena International Film Festival has come and gone...

(As has Jane R. - She left Saturday afternoon.)

We were both concerned about getting an audience - As I said in my last entry, I worried anyone in LA interested in the film had already seen it (The film debuted in LA to an audience of maybe 75 people) - but happily, on Thursday night, the theater was somewhere between half and three-quarters full,

(Before our film was the short doc, When Beverly Met Reitta, about the friendship between 86-year-old Reitta Green "The Wallpaper Queen" and her 50-years-younger protege, Beverly - which we both enjoyed a great deal.)

It was especially nice to have some friends on hand - after the screening and Q&A, we went to a nearby pizza place with Cary, Mike, Seth, and Liz, where I had more spaghetti and pizza than was strictly necessary and great fun was had.

The awards show was the next night.

I wasn't nuts about it having a "Great Gatsby" theme, because I don't even have a black suit that fits, let alone a 20s-style tux.

But I did what I could, and Jane had a fun headpiece and black and white outfit (And it wasn't like they were gonna kick me out for not passing sartorial muster. Especially since we were one of three nominees for "Best Feature Documentary").

Earlier in the day, I'd had a theatrical self-tape audition that Jane had helped me with (As a reader).

And I'd hoped, since the audition wasn't terribly complicated, that I'd be able to record it and get it out with more than enough time left to lay down for a while before the big show.

But sadly, that's not what happened - Instead, while it was fairly easy to record, I struggled to get it where it needed to go, to the point where, not only did I not get to nap, I worried I was going to be late in picking Jane up (Even in the age of GPS, I get anxious when driving to places I haven't been, like the venue in Pasadena).

So I was tired, and for some reason, I hadn't eaten much in the past two days, so I was hungry as well. And instead of the kind of banquet hall situation I would have preferred (With people sitting at tables), it was kind of a "cocktail party", with people milling about chit-chatting.

My least favorite social situation (It just feels like "too much" - Too many people, too loud, too hard fo focus, just not my idea of a good time). The one saving grace, in my mind, was that Cary was there...and we did snag a table.

But eventually - almost an hour later than scheduled - the actual show got started.

And while neither of us were expecting it, for some reason - though I think I was the slightly more hopeful of the two of us - when our category came, we were the big winners!

That brightened my night a bit (Jane later told me that we've won awards at about half the film festivals we've attended, so I'm not sure why we were so doubtful about our chances).

It was fun to make our way through the crowd and accept the award, but it was weird - I swear, the thrill lasted barely long enough for me to make it back to our table.

(I'm still wondering what that was all about...)

We stayed for a while afterward - because Jane had made friends with a Producer and the lead in her film ("Claire" and "Brian", I believe?) - then headed back to LA.

For whatever reason, even though it would take longer, I decided to go back on surface streets, and we both enjoyed that - It felt "relaxing" to me, and Jane enjoyed the new sights, and trying to figure out where we were (She likes geography).

(Slow day - Went to GenSpace for a class, which was nice, and have since been just hanging out, continuing my binge of The Blacklist. But anyway...)

It was nice having Jane here, though, like the time before, she was only here a week, which never feels long enough.

As you might imagine, the film festival was kind of the "centerpiece" of her visit this time out.

But we had a number of restaurant meals together - I particularly enjoyed our "Last Breakfast" on Saturday at House of Pies - and on Friday, I walked over to her place, where she fed me, and we watched the last three episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Which were very entertaining, though seeing the late Richard Lewis look so clearly like he was on the way out was sad).

To my delight, after seeming like she was leaning toward not coming back next month, Jane's decided she will (Though she certainly has the right to change her mind, because it's a lot of flying around in a short time).

It seems uncertain whether the screening at LACC on the eighth is going to happen or not (Though the woman trying to organize it apparently said to Jane, "If not this time, then...some other time", or words to that effect).

But even if that doesn't happen, Jane's expressed a desire to get together with her new friends from the award show.

(And there's also the matter of a certain actor's birthday....)

Our other two film-related things are looking kind of "iffy" as well, mostly because Jane can't get them to communicate with her - Having film screenings and art exhibitions aren't the kind of things you can do at the drop of a hat, so if any party is dragging their feet, that's worrisome.

So, to preserve my own sanity, I'm going to consider those things as "not happening", until such time as I get word from Jane that they are.

The big doc-related thing I'd like to see happen this year is it becoming available to stream (Any time I make mention of the film on Facebook, someone asks about streaming and it would be nice to be able to "tell them where to go"...so to speak).

There was the one I mentioned already (For Ryan Murphy), and then another for Lincoln Lawyer (Which was a movie years back, and is now a series in its second season).

Both fun little roles (Though if I had to choose, I'd pick the Ryan Murphy one, because that's for two episodes...and it's Ryan Murphy).

One was due Friday, while the other wasn't due till today, so...I don't know.

But to keep the "It's good to be me" momentum going, I'm going to assume they are both still "in play", so I can say, "I've got money coming in, the documentary on my life just won another award, and I have two auditions that could go my way".

In short, it's good to be me.

...and if that isn't a good note to end on, I don't know what is (Now back to The Blacklist, and hoping I'll someday get to work with James Spader).

Till next time...

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