Day 3

Today didn't seem too bad.

Must be getting used to the rhythm. I expect it helped that I stopped lugging my laptop around after the first day.

On the way to the bus stop, I noticed a couple joggers padding by. Later on, Oliver Stone mentioned at his talk (more on that later) that he ran into waves of joggers. I guess a lot of Austonians get into fitness mode on the weekends.

At 9 A, I attended a "Doing It Yourself" panel where some indie directors talked about the hassles they faced while completing some recent and/or first productions. Useful to know when I cut my teeth on short films at the future directing workshop I'll take.

10:45 A, I attended "A Conversation with Oliver Stone." Shortly before then, a contest Finalist from NYC exchanged cards, saying he wanted to rap about stories. Very flattering.

As I waited for Oliver Stone to come up, a guy at the head of the room with a handlebar mustache and clothes out of the '70s, said into a mike, "Excuse me. Is there a Mr. Redpath in the room?"

A woman in the audience said, "Do you mean Reddick?"

The guy shuffled some big note cards and peered at 'em confused, "Maybe."

The woman said, "I hope it's not for anything bad."

Another guy straight out of the '70s behind the first guy grabbed a mike and said, "His dad died."

The first guy gave the second guy a shocked look. Then someone mumbled "No one died."

A guy with a camera and another with a soundstage mike than came up behind the '70s guys, and they repeated the sequence to a tee. Deja vu. For a second, I'd wondered if the '70s guys were trapped in a repeating time loop confined exactly to their spots in the conference room. Then an inner light lit up.

As the '70s guys left the room with the camera crew, I asked if their takes were for a short film? They said a pilot episode. For a cable show I'd wager. The short scene didn't really do anything for me.

It did pass the time, though. Oliver Stone came up, and talked about why he did the films he did. He pointed out how the presidency has become a "benign tyranny" and the press is a "fourth estate" that's supports Bush as he ignores the will of the people and circumvents Congress and the Supreme Court in contravention of the Constitution. Stone feels that it may be time to take to the streets and protest again. Unfortunately, if earlier protests are anything to go by, it won't do anything to influence presidential policy.

At noon, I indulged in an expensive hotel restaurant calzone with chicken, tomatoes, and gruyere cheese. I also got marinara sauce, which unfortunately, was nothing more than mashed tomatoe. Lacking change, I gave the waitress a larger tip than I needed to. Oh, well.

On my way to the B-Side lounge, I passed a grass roots march of flag waving locals calling out for people to support Texas' republican congressman (forgot name) for the presidency. I took a card from the first person who waved one at me to keep other people from pushing them on me. According to the card, this person champions many good and wholesome things, including freedom. How can he be a Republican? I'm an independent myself and don't care about either party, but it seems to me the Republicans are all about blindly supporting Bush and hanging onto every bit of power they can nowadays.

Anyhow, I got to the B-Side lounge, where I played some X Box "Halo" for the very first time. I was just starting to get the hang of the controller when it was time to get back to the Driskall hotel. Fun game. Good thing I don't have X Box. Too busy writing and doing important stuff.

2 P. I attended a "Writing for Animation" panel run by some Pixar writers, including Terry Rossio. They talked briefly about how they broke in and about the the good results that can come from collaboration. As they waxed on about the joys of working in a committee over as much as five years at a time, I wondered how they felt about the later "Shrek" films? Or for that matter, "POTC 2 & 3," "The Legend of Zorro," etc.?

3:45 P I attended a talk on "Writing a War Film" led by Oliver Stone. John Milius was there, too. Interesting talk. But then I found myself wondering about "Alexander," especially when Stone mentioned tongue in cheek that he may turn out a fourth version for DVD. I had a kick when Stone and Milius said they would've fragged Tom Hanks' Captain Miller character for going after Private Ryan.

I asked Stone (and Milius) how he felt about "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima." They said "Flags" was solid even if it overstressed how the US government used the flag raising to raise war bonds and that Clint Eastwood is a deeper and more interesting person since his "Dirty Harry" days. I agreed. Unfortunatly, neither saw "Letters From Iwo Jima." I was especially curious to hear their take on that flick.

Film screenings came next. I caught the "Made in China" documentary produced by a person who investigated the mountaintop where his father was born in China in the early 1900s. I was intrigued with the subject, but the focus of the documentary seemed to waver between the director's dad and a bunch of vignettes of other Americans who grew up in a vanished China. I also wondered what the director hoped to gain by going to the site of his father's cabin?

A short film was tacked on and played before the China documentary, in which an Austrian woman (auf Deutsch) detailed how her mother tried to pass on her family's religious piousness, but failed. I was relieved when it finished.

I then caught "Beyond the Pale," produced by Jennifer Howard of Friday's acquaintance. She neglected to mention that she had a part in it also. It was a hoot watching a 13 year PhD candidate scramble to finish his disertation paper to avoid getting expelled. It was like watching "The Office" on campus, complete with the moving handheld camera shots and speeches to the camera man. I didn't know that Harve, who drove Jennifer and me, to the Arbor theater on Friday night was the lead. Nice. If there was one thing I thought could be done, it would be for the film to be shortened by a third.

I capped things with the film "Control," a biopic about Brit rock star Ian Curtis who killed himself. Nice look with the black and white color and great performances, but I felt this flick crawled by at almost 2 hours and I wondered if I was supposed to feel sorry for Curtis when he fell out of love with his devoted wife, got attached to another woman, and didn't have the guts to break it off with either?

I declined going to the bar again to catch a late night bus to get back to the hostel and type this account up.

Must grab a few winks now.

Hailing frequencies closed.