EAST TO OLD KENTUCKY

We have had a wonderful trip out here, as usual. Things are always a little rushed but that is the nature of a film festival. You have to spend a lot of time running back and forth from the house and switching admission badges with those that want to go to a particular movie. It is a little like musical chairs because we have three passes and four adults and a kid that want to see the movies.

The nice thing about this festival is that these films are “Overlooked”. That means that, for the most part, they have had their debut and Roger Ebert thinks that they just didn’t get the respect that they should have when they were released. For the most part he is right. Everyone loves the films he picks. But since these aren't first release movies that means that there aren't a lot of folks running around trying to make contacts and break into "the business". So, it is a lot more relaxed and mostly just for the locals.

For those of you who don’t know, Roger Ebert was born in Champaign-Urbana and he is a favorite son. He is very much at home here. He is very relaxed and, we are told, very approachable. The street in front of the Virginia Theatre where the festival is held has been renamed “Roger Ebert Way”.

In the morning we head east toward Louisville, KY. We hope to hook up with my old buddy Phil but we haven’t been able to contact him yet. Phil was my best movie going buddy, as it happens, when he lived in Durham.