My name on the big screen!

Apr 26, 2009 23:59

Saturday afternoon I went to the little premiere of the film I worked on last summer...now called "Of Yesterday And Tomorrow" (and formerly known to some of you as "Long Time Gone"). I had my uncle drop me off (driving our car with my mom & aunt along) outside the Central Cinema in Seattle. There were lots of people there, some I knew and some I didn't. We ended up waiting long past the scheduled start time because there were technical difficulties. They ended up playing the film through the editor's laptop onto the big screen, but in the end it worked fairly well.

Anyway, we did a lot of standing, first outside the theater and then a bit inside. Then I spotted some friends (crew members) from the film and went to talk to them. It helped pass the time, sharing stories about vacations and other work projects. I talked a lot with Jordan, who was our assistant cameraman. He's just a bundle of energy, this guy! He can totally talk your ear off! LOL So we hung out and once we got inside we decided to sit together, so it was nice to be with someone during the film.

Once inside and seated we had to wait again. This is a dinner theater and one waitress was going around taking people's orders (she never did get to our row, btw, but it was cool 'cause I didn't want anything anyway). So that took another half hour! The show was supposed to start at 3:00, but it didn't actually start until a little after 4.

The film though, looked great! It's so awesome to see something you helped create come together as a whole piece. The director/writer/producer, M. Korolenko, warned us ahead of time that it wasn't completely finished, but just about everything was done. Outside of one missing sound effect and a few awkward music cues, it looked great to me. It all worked, the story, the acting, all of it. And me being me, I was checking my own work as well, trying to see if I could find any continuity errors. I'm happy to say I didn't find any and if I couldn't spot them, I'm sure nobody else did either.

I found myself reminiscing as the film played. I could remember clearly certain days and moments, mostly revolving around how hot it was shooting certain scenes because we were either out in the hot summer sun, or inside a completely closed up house. But the audience laughed at the right times and you could feel the emotional moments hit them too. After the film, there was a brief Q & A with the director and the reactions were all positive. It made all of us who worked on the film feel very good!

Everyone slowly trickled out of the building, saying goodbye and I called for my relatives to come pick me up. Then I met with an old friend while I waited.



Some of you might recall me talking about MG, the guy I went to college with, developed a friendship with (and I thought it might become more), and then he suddenly quit all communication for over a year. Yep, he was there at the premiere. I first spotted him while we were all waiting outside. Actually, I was just inside and could see him outside, standing in line. He'd come alone, no girlfriend in sight. But I decided I was going to play this cool. I'd wait for him to notice and come to me. I lost sight of him once we were inside in our seats, but soon enough I spotted him....sitting in the same row, but on the other side of the room.

Was I happy to see him? Yes...and no. I gotta admit it was thrilling just to see the guy after so long. We'd been good friends and I was glad he was there. However, his presence made me feel very nervous and awkward. How would I deal with this if he saw me and wanted to talk? What if he didn't? It was great to look over at him (as I kept doing off and on) and see him drinking his typical coffee (the man can't go anywhere without a coffee in his hand...lol) and several times during the film I could hear his familiar laugh. It made me so happy. He quickly disappeared once everyone started to leave and I thought for sure he'd gone. But while I was still waiting to talk to some people I saw him briefly out in the hallway and I had some hope again. I made my phone call for my ride and then I headed towards the doors out. I saw him outside saying some final goodbyes...and he saw me. He waved, I waved back. That was it...the door had been opened.

I went outside and waited for him. Sure enough, once everyone else was gone he walked over. I said "Hello, stranger" and we went from there. Yeah, it was a little dig. I couldn't help it. I still acted a little cool towards him. Was I going to ask for an explanation? Was I going to go for it? Despite our friendship, I was still a little ticked off at him for basically dumping me and everyone else he knew for so long. But I waited to deal with that. We talked about the film, the other movie I worked on after this one, and then we moved to what he'd been up to. Once he'd invited me onto Facebook a couple of months ago, I'd decided to see if I could find out what he'd been doing. I had found some things. But I proceeded cautiously....I asked questions and he answered and backed up all that I'd found out on my own online. True to his character, he didn't lie to me. I was pleased. Naturally, he mentioned his girlfriend. I tried not to flinch and I think I pulled it off. He said he'd been friends with her for a while before they'd started dating. However, she was down in California and he's still up here, so they've been doing the whole long-distance relationship thing. He said he was planning on moving down there, but he didn't say when. Anyway, he didn't dwell on her for very long at all and I was grateful.

He seemed happy and the same guy I'd always known him to be. The same light in his eyes, smile on his face, it was all there. He stood close to me, like he always does. It felt like old times and I felt myself start to feel comfortable. I found an opening and I asked him about the sudden lack of communication. His explanation was sincere and while I didn't understand it completely, I accepted it. He'd been in a stressful period and he basically "dropped off the face of the earth" for a while. He'd seen the announcement for this film and decided it was a good chance to get back in. I told him it was a good first step. I'd seen him talking to Korolenko (who he'd also cut out of his life), so I knew he'd taken steps with him as well.

Anyway, it was a great talk, even though it was brief. He had to leave for a meeting, so we said goodbye. I was so happy when he hugged me goodbye (pretty typical for us). It felt just like I'd remembered...safe, caring. It was wonderful. And he's not one of these quick huggers either. He holds on for a little bit. I took the opportunity to tell him that I'd missed him and he really sounded touched by that. :) Oh, and he's also taller than me, which is doubly nice. I can't tell you how rare it is to find a guy that's my age (or older) that's taller than me. Ah....love it.

So that was it. He went to his car, made sure I had a ride home (another great trait of his...making sure I was okay before he left me), and then gave me that wonderful wink and smile that I'd nearly forgotten.

I was left feeling really happy by our encounter and I'm hoping this opens up communication with us again. I'm perfectly happy to just remain friends. It's been hard for me to keep friendships going for long. Everyone always stops communicating with me (am I really that forgettable?) and I don't do anything either and soon a once thriving friendship is down the tubes. I don't want that to happen with MG. I knew the day we met that he was someone special and not just a classmate in college.

Sure, I'd be happier if he didn't have a girlfriend. But heck, she's down in CA and he's still up here. And even though he mentioned moving down there, he didn't say "soon" or give any time frame. He also talked about some film projects he wanted to do and with people around here, so to me that sounds like he's not in a huge hurry to be with her. Just my impression. Goodness knows I've been wrong before. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there was a small opportunity here. I won't count on it though. Friendship only is fine with me. He's been a great friend and I'll just hold on to that for now.

Man, can I ramble or what? Hurray for anyone who read all of this. *hugs*
You wanted the full report? You got it! LOL! :D

mg, real life, seattle, filmmaking, ramblings

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