Monday, February 22, 2010

The start of another stellar week

After a rip roaring family (and fun) filled weekend, we are off to another stellar start to another work week. I'm hoping you catch the sarcasm there. We had our first two showings of our house on Saturday, one looked promising, but they needed a little more room, and the second one was, well... interesting. It was a mom and dad buying a house for their newly engaged daughter. Apparently their cap was $300k. When our realtor asked if they were pre-qualified for a mortgage, the response was, oh, they will be paying in cash. ??? Wha? Huh? That actually happens? Apparently so. So our meager little house didn't make the cut. Say la vie!

Saturday after a family baby shower, my friend Laura and I grabbed some food and went to a local theater (The Dryden) to see a new movie titled The Missing Person starring Michael Shannon. Most people would know him for his role in Revolutionary Road as the somewhat "crazy" son of the next door neighbor. We wanted to see the movie, but the extra pull was that Michael Shannon was going to be there in person to introduce the movie and do a Q&A after wards. He walked up to the podium in a pair of jeans, hoodie, and big ol' winter coat and thanked everyone for coming, that the movie meant a lot to him, and enjoy. We watched the movie, and it was a great take on past detective noir pictures. Lots of subtlety, great shots, great editing, and great acting. After the movie finished, the assistant curator, Michael Shannon, and the film editor came on stage. Now, I love what The Dryden offers, I love going there. But the curator and some of the other people who work there and introduce some of the movies just... talk out of their asses. They make me cringe with the types of ridiculous questions they ask. While listening to and watching Michael Shannon answer questions, Laura and I were like, is he drunk? High? Then after a little bit I leaned over and said, none of the above, I think he is just one of those mellow, laid back, eccentric kind of guys. He had some great, hilarious stories to tell and was just a really interesting person to listen to. I really love going to events like that, it gives you just a little bit more of a peak behind the curtain of movies.

Last week Laura sent me the link to the absolutely amazing interview in Esquire magazine with Roger Ebert. If you haven't read it, go do so immediately. Here it is: Roger Ebert: The Essential Man. As a regular reader of Ebert's movie reviews, I am a big, big fan. This is such a phenomenal look into what his life has been like since his cancer diagnosis and how he has pushed through. You can read Ebert's response here. Seriously. Take 20 minutes and read them both.

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