Thursday, September 22, 2011

Radio Ga Ga


Life's too short not to let yourself bask in the glow of kind words, if only for a moment. You never know when you'll have the chance again.

Such was the case today during my radio interview with Bert Baron about The Tolltaker. The occasion was the movie's screening on Friday, September 23 at the New Jersey Film Festival. A filmmaker from the festival is interviewed once a week on Bert's show - today it was my turn.

I had sent a link to watch the movie a few days ahead of time, in case Bert wanted to take a look at Tolltaker in advance of the interview, which was scheduled for 2:30 this afternoon. I had been instructed to call in to the station a few minutes beforehand.

Bert actually called me unexpectedly this morning, right after he had watched the movie. It was around 10 or 11 a.m. and my phone rang. The number didn't look familiar, but I answered it, thinking it might be work-related. It was Bert.

As I look back on it, I'm not entirely sure what the call was for exactly, other than to offer his congratulations about the movie. He was very pleasant and cordial. We chatted for a few minutes, and then I said I would call into the show a few minutes before 2:30, as directed.

When I called into the show this afternoon, I was stunned by the words of praise he bestowed upon The Tolltaker. A few quotes, which I pulled later from the podcast:

"I thought it was unbelievable."

"I was just wowed by it. It was a real treat to see."

Bert said it "used music expertly." It's "just a great movie."

"I couldn't take my eyes off of it, it was that captivating to me. "

And there was this:

"Everybody who has a chance to come down and watch this movie is going to be absolutely blown away by it."

Some of the best praise was reserved for Cullen Clancey, who plays Bobby in the movie. Another quote:

"I'm gonna see this kid on a red carpet someday, giving an acceptance speech. I have no doubt."

Of course, an obsessive-compulsive, over-analytical sort might try seeing between the lines here. It could be that he was just offering encouragement to an aspiring feature filmmaker, and talk radio hosts tend to speak in superlatives. Was this just a pat on the head?

Who knows...I guess I'll just have to wait until The Tolltaker screens tomorrow night, and see what the audience's reaction to it will be. Then, instead of one person's opinion, I'll have a whole theater-full of them.

To hear the podcast of the interview with Bert, go here: http://www.wctcam.com/BertPodcasts.aspx.

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