R.I.P Ron Silver.

I was very saddened to learn of the death of one of my favorite actors, Ron Silver. He was incredibly versatile, and has appeared in a variety of roles on the stage, and screen. He originated the role of "Charlie Fox," in one of my favorite plays, "Speed-the-Plow," by my favorite playwright, David Mamet. He played Alan Dershowitz in, "Reversal Of Fortune," opposite Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bulow. He had a great stint on "The West Wing," and was in so many other TV shows as well.

He was also, for a time, my neighbor. Mind you, not my next door neighbor, but he lived in the same village in Westchester County where I lived prior to moving to Rochester. He was a frequent visitor in the camera shop in the village center where I would go to get my film developed and my camera serviced. He was always quite cordial, though also a little stand-offish. I suppose this was to protect his privacy, for which I can't blame him.

He was also very politically active, which came as a surprise. He was very much a maverick, having voted for Bush in 2004, even after being a staunch Democrat for much of his life. In reading about his political leanings, it would appear that he was more of a pragmatist than anything else. Personally, his political leanings don't concern me. He was an exceptional actor, and that is all I really cared about.

He will be missed.

Ugh...

It's been a busy weekend, and it has no intention of slowing down. The script read went very well, and Ali's professors gave some very good constructive criticism. It is an excellent story, though some more development is needed. The website for the film is here. It is in pre-production, and casting will begin soon. It is partially funded at this point, and as soon as all of it is complete, he should start shooting around May of next year. Ali has already invited me to Turkey to watch the shooting, and while I don't know if I could swing it financially, I'd love to try.

So, apart from that, I spent most of yesterday playing tour guide at my theatre. The Landmark Society of Western NY has these neighborhood tours every year. We participated in one back in 2005, and they asked us if we would do so again, so I volunteered to act as a guide, and give a history of the theatre to people coming throgh it. I had no voice left by the end of the day ,and my knees were aching.

Today is going to be just as busy, lots of house stuff to do, then work tonight. Ugh...

Please pass the script and the couscous.

I was overjoyed when I received an e-mail from a student director that I have worked with in the past, telling me that he was back from Turkey to finish his Master's degree in film direction, and that he wanted me to be part of a script-in-hand reading of his thesis. In this program at the Rochester Institute of Technology, (RIT) the thesis is a full-length film that he will eventually shoot in his native Turkey, but he needs to have it read in front of his professors first as part of the process.

Ali Vatansever is an incredibly talented guy. I worked with him two years ago in a short film he made during his first year as a grad student, then did a voice-over character for one of his other films. He and his sister have their own film production company back in Turkey, and his story about how he got to RIT is really something.

Ali was originally slated to attend the University of New Orleans in 2005. Hurricane Katrina forced him to change his plans, and as he was studying on a Fulbright Scholarship, this was something that had to be done quickly. He chose to come to Rochester, and talking with him a little over a year ago, he told me that in many ways he was glad he wound up here instead of New Orleans.

Apparently, if he would have gone to N.O., the number of foreign students attending would have been significantly less. RIT has a large number of students from other countries in attendance, and Ali feels pretty good about that. Also, he is incredibly impressed with the acting talent here in Rochester, which is no surprise to anyone that has lived here for some time. As I have mentioned before, the theatre community here is quite extensive. He has been able to accomplish things that he might not have been able to do elsewhere.

He will be returning to Turkey, and his dreams are to make his home country the next Bollywood, without, as he puts it, "all the glitzy stuff," and make "serious films." I feel very privileged to be part of it, and hey, if he needs an American for one of his films, he's got my number and e-mail.

A Comedy About Bad Habits.

My friend Matt Ehlers' first feature film, "Smoking Laws," will have a series of screenings starting this Sunday here in Rochester. You can see the trailer here. So if you're around, come and catch it. I am helping him promote it, and...I am in the flick. You can also see me in the trailer, if you can guess who I am. ;-)

Matt's company, Eggwork Productions, can be reached here, where you can access his award winning short films that have been screened at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals.