On October 4th I got a Facebook message from Melanie Miller, Artistic Director of the Jackson Hole Film Festival, (above, right with Festival Programmer Cevin Cathell and me) announcing the closure of the Festival due to lack of funding. 
And this is the sight that greeted me upon returning home:
Unaltered pictures reflecting my altered life. Altered by the fact that I've been so fortunate to travel to so many cool places, and meet so many cool people. All because of this little film called SHERMAN'S WAY. For a "road trip" movie that doesn't go anywhere, it's taken me on one helluva fun trip so far.
I spent the morning working on a screenplay, at first at the desk in my room, then down by the stream. It was a perfect work environment. I even managed to make a number of business calls from my al fresco office. At one point, an agent in New York interrupted our negations asking if I had just quacked at him. No, I said. I’m surrounded by ducks. I assume he thought I was in L.A., and I found it humorous that he didn’t follow up my comment with anything other than a nonplussed “Oh.”
After lunch I finally had the opportunity to meet Pat in person. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more enthusiastic festival director anywhere on the planet. His infectious smile and enthusiastic love of movies goes a long way to explain why Sedona Film Festival enjoys such a great reputation among filmmakers and filmgoers alike. As I pulled up to the Harkins Theater, I took note of the many construction/traffic workers outside the theater. They seemed to be waving people into the cinema with their big orange flags. When Pat greeted me in the same reflective yellow vest and hard hat, I became aware of all the traffic cones and street signs leading into the theater where the film was going to be playing. It was all for us! I was so amused and impressed with how they decked the place out with the Sherman traffic sign motif. Very clever. Very effective. 
We went inside and did a sound and picture check on the film before I dashed back to the hotel, where Mike was due to arrive at any minute. The theater lobby was already filling up with people buying tickets to the 4:00 screening – including Joaquin’s mom and dad, sister and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. The place was crawling with Sedillo’s!
Following the Q&A, Pat introduced Mike and I to Mary and Suzy, festival board members who were graciously hosting a dinner for us at their home between screenings. And what a home it was. A stunning, sprawling pueblo-inspired ranch home nestled in one of the most beautiful spots I’d ever seen. The delicious food was topped only by the delightful conversation. It was certainly an evening to remember. Time for us to return to the theater came quickly, and Mike and I arrived just as the film finished up. 
The scenery got increasingly beautiful as I neared the Red Rock desert city and, aside from a plethora of construction workers buzzing around a series of brand new roundabouts, the town looked exactly as I recalled. As I checked into the L’Auberge de Sedona (this fest really knows how to spoil filmmakers!) I was taken by the amazing views surrounding the luxury resort. I snapped a picture of the view from my cabin (above).
Fest director Pat Schweiss called to make sure I was settled in and asked if I needed anything. I looked around the sumptuous room replete with King Size bed, wood-burning fireplace, big screen TV, spa bathtub and a private porch overlooking a duck-filled stream. “I could really use an additional 5 days here!” “We’d be delighted,” was Pat’s cheerful reply. I, of course was kidding. Not sure if Pat was. 
Okay, how trippy is this? A screen capture of this blog was utilized on TV personality Tamara Henry's blog, and now I'm posting the altered blog in our blog. It's all getting a bit Escher. Tamara's show IN WITH TAMARA HENRY (which will air this coming Monday, October 6 in the Los Angeles area on Time Warner Cable channels 43, 77 and 98) features a segment on the Gaia Film Festival where SHERMAN'S WAY was honored with the Audience Award for Best Feature. I'm the in-studio guest, and had a fun time chatting it up with the delightful Ms. Henry. Unfortunately, I have no idea what time the program airs. Perhaps you can just park yourself in front of the TV and watch public access programming all day long.
One of the biggest personal by-products of directing SHERMAN'S WAY was my new-found enthusiasm for British cars in general, MGB's in particular. Little by little, I've seen my mailbox filled with all sorts of publications relating to British motorcars -- some I've subscribed to, and others that just mysteriously show up in my mail. One such publication arrived today, and as I was perusing its contents over lunch, I was surprised to see a mention of our very own MGB movie. Appropriately titled BRITISH MOTORING magazine sent reporter Kathleen Mangan to the MG2008 Car Show, where as you may recall, we screened the film to an enthusiastic crowd of 300. Thanks, Kathleen for mentioning the film! We appreciate the publicity! If you'd like to read the article online, click HERE and scroll down to page 35. 
We've also started getting some press surrounding the upcoming SEDONA FILM FESTIVAL Second Tuesday Screening on October 14th in Arizona. Check out the latest online edition of RED ROCK MAGAZINE for a feature article on SW.
Almost ten years ago I was fortunate enough to win Best Feature Film with RHAPSODY IN BLOOM at the Sedona Film Festival and am thrilled to be invited back to screen SHERMAN'S WAY as part of the festival's prestigious SECOND TUESDAY SERIES. We'll screen twice at the Harkins Sedona Six Theatres (at 4pm and 7pm) and both Mike and I will be on hand for Q&A after each screening. I absolutely love Sedona and its very art-oriented community. I'm bummed however that our cinematographer Joaquin Sedillo won't be able to join us (he's shooting a series for CBS in San Diego), especially in light of the fact he was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona -- just minutes away from Sedona. But I'll use the tie-in to feature an interview with Joaquin on this blog in the coming days. 
Looks like we'll be concluding our festival run at the prestigious Hollywood Film Festival on Saturday, October 25 with a 9:00 PM screening at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood! We've a 200 seat theater to fill, so start spreading the news! Tickets will be on sale through the Arclight website and I'll notify everyone on this blog exactly when they become available.
We made it back into Middletown just in time for the Q&A following the 4pm screening. Again, we were greeted by an enthusiastic audience filled with friendly faces, some of whom were quite familiar -- including Isabella Mattina, the adorable young redhead who has an interesting on-screen encounter with James LeGros' Palmer. She was a terrific sport and joined us on stage for the Q&A. (Click on picture to enlarge.)
Rob Brown, the county official who not only helped us with road closures but also served up an amazing Bison BBQ for the entire crew during the shoot, was there with his lovely wife and daughter. Missing was his son Jordan who had better things to do than see himself up on screen as an extra! Also in the audience was local realtor Rick White, who shared with us the above photo he took during the shoot, as well as our wonderful hosts, the McLaughlins, who invited us back to the main house for post-screening drinks. 
Tom Nance, a key member of the SHERMAN'S WAY family, and one of my closest friends for nearly 30 years, was struck and killed while riding his motorcycle in Los Angeles late yesterday. The tragic loss that we all feel is almost indescribable. Tom's laugh-out-loud script and years of hard work on the film were invaluable. His late in life pursuit of an acting career began in earnest with his debut as DOUGIE the car salesman in SW and will always be a reminder of just how multi-talented he was. Tom also designed our logo, website, poster and other sales collateral. To say he is irreplacable is putting it mildly. He was one of a kind.
It seems that no matter where Mike and I go, there is something named SHERMAN! I spent the Labor Day Weekend with he and his girlfriend at their lakehouse in Connecticut, when we stumbled across this sign at a local county fair!
