Notes from NYC #1
This isn’t a pro photo. I handed my phone to a youngster who was nearby and he took a few snaps while the Getty photographer shot our group and portrait shots. The room was hot and noisy and crowded; I lasted about two hours before I was done shouting. Even in the “before times” I was uncomfortable in crowds, but introversion aside, it was an absolute thrill to be at the kickoff of New York Cinefest.
Everyone we talked to lit up when we told them the premise of our film. There’s always this “Wait, what?” moment when we tell them about Elvis walking into the laundromat. Doesn’t matter who we talk to, what kind of person, their eyes go wide and their eyebrows go up. “Wait. What?” Every time.
And it’s so cool to hear Amy inventory the problems she had to solve to make this film. “We needed a laundromat with a car wash, a vintage Cadillac, an airport, a husky dog, some road footage, oh, yeah, a plane, and we needed it to look like Alaska…” I sat at a keyboard and did some typing but she made things happen.
New York has been springy and mild. I went for a very long walk in Central Park. Before the event, we had an excellent Italian dinner and I kid you not, as we were walking out, the PA was playing Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.
Today and tomorrow I’m peeling off to visit my cousin and do New York-y things, but nominations come out tonight so I’ll be furiously staring at my phone while my cousin and I are having happy hour. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
The night was kind of a blur, like I said, loud and crowded, but at one point a guy said to us, “It’s kind of a big deal having your film premiere here in New York!”
Hell YEAH it is.
Wish you were here.
//Pam