As soon as we arrive at Sugar, Heather kicks right into Hollywood mode with ‘Dahlings!’ and hugs for everyone. She introduces me to Emily, the lead actress, who just resonates with intense energy. I leave them to catch up and wander towards the tables in back, hoping to score a good seat, when I hear my name shouted in one direction, but someone else is smacking my arm in another. I turn, looking for the offending person to see Deb, the audio engineer from my last 2 shoots, grinning impishly. As we hug, I hear my name again, and twist to see Gene, the rigger, gaffer and general MacGuyver guy entertaining a table full of ladies. I haven’t seen him since Nantucket and heard rumors that he’d been in a bad accident. “Naw,’ he says, ‘just a few hairline fractures, so I spent a month off, on good painkillers, watching TV…”I join him and we catch up, entertaining the ladies with lurid tales from the Nantucket adventure, when Producer Lydia starts her speech, to good natured hooting and catcalls. Everyone crowds into the table, and I’m wedged between Erica and Yana, two cute ladies who are also involved with the whole movie scene. We jostle each other for elbow room, nearly upsetting the table. Smacking each other and laughing. And then the movie starts… 

Fucking wow. Even if Ninjascott hadn’t been playing the lead, if his name had been stricken from the credits, I still would have known this was his work, the dialog ranging from the bizarrely hysterical, to stab you in the gut brutal honesty. For the next hour, I’m sucked into this microcosm, the story, and seeing friends ply their art to maximum effect. Strange how people you know in real life can affect such believable personae on screen, you almost forget that you know these people. And its over all too soon. Thunderous applause. Instant dialog and dissection. More ale.The rest of the night is conversation and praise, talk about how things worked, side stories about the filming process and just that connective energy of a bunch of talented people working on a common goal, and seeing the final product on screen, there’s no rush that can compare…

 

 

  

We wrap up the evening with a nightcap at The Pub, The Director stuck working his managerial shift on a quiet Monday night, and we fill him in on the details of the evening, and audience reactions to his role, a slick wheelin’ and dealin’ upwardly mobile type. With a Brooklyn accent. I start to fade soon thereafter, having been up since 5 in the morning, and as I make my farewells to everyone, Ninjascott pulls me aside, asking, “When are you quitting your job? Don’t you fucking dare get another one!” 

You know, I think he’s right… 

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