Tribeca 2009: Day 3 Recap

Day 3 started with me waiting 25 minutes at my bus stop since the bus I wanted to take must have come early and the second bus came late. I skipped the DirectTV Press Center (ie, my free Snapple) and ran straight to the theater. I made the screening with 2 minutes to spare before the most controversial film of the festival played. I am of course talking about OUTrage, Kirby Dick’s documentary about closeted gay politicians. I had heard good things and I loved Dick’s This Film Is Not Yet Rated so I had high hopes for Outrage. Luckily, it delivers. It is a fantastic documentary that is both informative and very entertaining. No matter what your position is on gay marriage, you need to see this movie.

After the film I headed back to the Press Center and Free Snapple. I worked on questions for my Hysterical Psycho interview later in the day and questions for another interview in case things worked out. It was nearly time for my next screening and I was getting hungry so I headed back towards the theater just as they were setting up for some party at the press lounge. Movies come first for me so I skipped the free booze (I don’t drink anyway, no really, oh don’t look down at me) and I headed over to see Don Mckay. I grabbed a bite to eat at Subway but then I went to the theater. And yes, when I walked in and told the girl “Don McKay† she asked me if that was my name or the movie. I settled in to my seat and saw a movie I did not really expect. I thought it was a mature dramady in the same vein as Sideways since I heard people compare Thomas Haden Church’s performance in this to his role in Sideways. Instead I was treated to a Pitch Black Comedy that I am still not sure how to react to. I did enjoy it and I would recommend it. There was some subtle humor that I did not find very funny but the other critics did seem to enjoy it. I did laugh really hard at a few things though and I never knew where the story was going. I wasn’t sure where I was going after the film either.

I may have had an interview scheduled but I wasn’t sure. There was also a movie that I wanted to see but cancelled for the interview that wasn’t definite. Earlier in the week I had set something up for around 3-ish at what I assumed was the Press Center. Then I was told the person I was interviewing wasn’t available but some cast might be available. I emailed back that I would interview the cast but didn’t get a response. So I waited in the Press Center but never received a call. I worked on a few more questions for my Hysterical Psycho interview and eventually headed out to it. I of course grabbed a free Snapple first.

I decided to walk the 30-something blocks to Dan Fogler’s studio for the interview, which proves that I am an idiot. I obviously learned nothing from last night’s walk to the SVA theater for the Hysterical Psycho premiere. And today was hot, really hot. Anyway, the studio was awesome. Nothing too amazing but the kind f place I could imagine owning/working in myself in a few years. I settled in for my interview with Dan Fogler and some of the cast from the film. Actually, it was pretty much the whole male cast of the film. And when I say interview, I mean I occasionally asked a question or made a statement amongst nonstop rantings and ravings of these madmen. It was so much fun and I can’t wait to show you guys the footage. When I received the signal that it was time for me to wrap up, I asked one final questions which prompted another barrage of stories and jokes. I had absolutely no control of the interview and I loved it. Unfortunately about half my questions were left unanswered, mainly questions for Dan not pertaining to Hysterical Psycho. Hopefully, we will get a chance to interview him sometime soon for those.

After my interview, I thought I’d ask to stick around for a little. In my experience, most reporters/journalists/bloggers hate having to sit through other people’s interviews. At Comic Con, all I heard while waiting was other people complaining about having to wait. Depending on the interview, I almost never mind and actually enjoy it. So I decided to hang around for a bit. I am so glad I did. In between interviews I got to talk with so many great people like Randy Baruh, Nicky D. and Ariel Shafir who are three of the very talented cast members from the film. I also loved hearing more about the film and the making of it. The interview that is going up on MakingOf.com is great and will be especially interesting for filmmakers. And the interview for IFC will be amazingly entertaining when cut together. They let me shoot some behind the scenes for it but I won’t post anything until a little after they do. Towards the end I even ran into Weston who has contributed to our site in the past. It was really an awesome experience and I want to thank everyone at Stage 13 for talking with me and letting me hang around. (I hope I didn’t come off as annoying or stalkeresque or anything like that)

Overall, this was another great day at Tribeca. I don’t have any interviews lined up for tomorrow but I am looking forward to all 3 movies I have on my schedule. If all goes as planned, I should get home early enough to catch up on all my reviews and maybe even my HW.

  Jerry Cavallaro – www.AreYouStuckLikeChuck.com