Well, the day started with a celebratory note to begin with. We were off to a 100th birthday party out on the eastern end of Long Island at the Sparkling Pointe Vinyards in Southold. Betty, the centenarian in all respects (she after all, was a Marine) was in great form and ate and drank wine as if she were 80... alright, not a smidgen over 90. It was a rare and wonderful affair, on a terrific sunny unseasonably warm day in a interesting vineyard tasting house of Méthode Champenoise Sparkling Wines.
Geez, by the looks of it, they seem to be eating from the same menu as we were. It could've been that we were watching the program in different surroundings, or that there weren't any commercials or host, just a roving camera that played the part of one for the evening. But, the best part of the show came from the actors who were so inviting to join them without an agenda or ulterior motive.
It was difficult to make out at times what was going on in the background. Click the pic above to get a glimpse of Jeff Bridges helping out Michelle Yeoh to find her bearings after she unloaded the most innocent "F" bomb and said "I'm gonna walk away now"... without a dry eye in the house. And there were so many inspirational, genuine and sentimental journeys of when actors got their first SAG card. As an audience member...and as a SAG card holder, I got a strong sense of communal belonging and a ton of positive reinforcement. When you're in this business, it ain't such a bad thing to do the Susan Walker mantra of: I Believe every once in a while.
Oh, and there was no exit music played to signal actors to wrap-up their acceptance speeches. And because of it, fervent speeches like those of Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Coolidge and Sam Elliott wouldn't have happened. They didn't conform to the play book and what a difference to not feel the vicarious discomfort an actor must feel at a moment that is already a tad strenuous.
These days, it goes with saying that our pal Stefan Nadelman (Master of the digital graphic environment) has been (in my best Keanu Reeves) prodigious these last 6 months and has a few award contenders he's worked on himself. Stefan did the graphics and animation for Sr. (a movie about the life story of Robert Downey Senior) as well as supplying the Main Title animation for Steve Carell's The Patient.
Stefan, is also working on 100 ft. Wave 2, a Hollywood grifter series, a WWF insider project and something about NFT's. This could be very inside track stuff... so, please as the Metropolitan Transit Authority has repeatedly advised; "if you see something well, you know, just keep it to yourself". (in my best Buddy Bizarre) Wrong!
