The D-Word's life is one of glamour and riches, as only a documentary filmmaker can live it

---

Just got back from 10 days of riding an emotional rollercoaster called Sundance.

I'm totally exhausted. Left at 5 am today (well, actually yesterday now) for the shuttle to the airport. 14 hours later, Marjorie and I arrive in our apartment . I leave for Rotterdam in another 12 hours for another 7 days away.

Is this glamorous folks, or what?

I hug Lucy all night, so tight she thinks I'm Saran Wrap. Still haven't packed for Rotterdam, but I owe it to my growing legion of fans to at least report in.

Didn't keep a Sundance journal a la the IFFM. Things just too crazy frantic, largely due to seeing a whole slew of really good films (mostly docs), mixed in with a couple of dozen interviews Justin and I did with the press (which will all dribble out over the coming weeks).

The six Home Page screenings were exciting beyond words, with extremely appreciative and responsive audiences, and lively Q&A sessions afterwards. Justin would get on these giddy rants with lightening-fast wordplay and connections that left me cracking up.

It was so great to finally hang with Justin without a camera on my shoulder. He's a hoot, and it was good to see him have a good time.

The highlight of the festival, though, was simply sitting around the gas fireplace at our Mine Camp Inn condo with Justin, Debbie, Angie, Danny, Esther, Amy, Shira, Chris and Carrie, drinking tequilla, trading laughs and stories, and shrieking as we hopped madly on the icy steps to the outdoor hot tub. It truly was worth all the trials and tribulations to share the Sundance experience with these wonderful folks.

And then the lovely Marjorie came for the second half and I got a different, equally blissful kind of loving. And some sleep.

Sleep is good.

As for the business side of things, other films got more attention and bigger deals, and it's hard not to get caught up in that game. But in a year when the docs were the talk of Sundance, it really was a fantastic accomplishment just to be part of it. I thought about that a lot. (And when I forgot it, the others were there to quickly remind me.)

Didn't win an award this time, but when Roger Ebert asks you and your wife to pose for pictures onstage before the ceremony because he really likes your film, well, it's hard to bitch.

My biggest regret in not winning is that I didn't get to publicly share what I told Marjorie privately afterwards. Which is that the biggest prize I'll ever get was meeting her 17 years ago. And the biggest reward I'll get from making Home Page is that it helped me to realize it.

More details on Sundance after I return from Rotterdam. Scouts honor. In the meantime, read what others have to say:

• Like the prolific young Justin. He even wrote movie reviews while he was out there. I bow down before the guru.

• TNT's Roughcut.com was the first to pipe in on the Home Page story.

• Wired News thankfully didn't think the film was tired news.

• On the other hand, Matt Goldberg in The Village Voice had a slightly cynical, web biz-oriented take (misreading the D-Word's ironic use of the term "cross-platform media convergence", I might add).

• And, finally, my new best buddy, Roger Ebert, couldn't resist quoting Yours Truly in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times (even if he confuses Super-8 with Hi-8, the dear).

Previous:
Next:
Newest:
Archives