Inside, I offered "Wordplay" pencils and buttons to those around me, but not everyone took them. Don't they know who I am???? The people next to me were an older woman who was a puzzle fan, and her daughter just there for the ride. Watching the movie, it was nice to see the daughter get REALLY into it, cheering and laughing in all the right places. Doug from ex-work was a few rows in front of me.
Patrick, Jon and I did a Q&A afterward which went well. This smaller audience was almost more enthusiastic than the people at the premiere. So if these people tell their friends, and their friends tell THEIR friends, we could have something.
Out in the hallway, Christine gave me a movie theater chain's magazine with us on the cover (we beat out Al Gore - hah!). Michelle our IFC contact said that this was the last of our Tribeca obligations; there are 2 more screenings over the weekend, but they won't have Q&As.
There was time before the next movie, so I took a bathroom break and ran over to Barnes & Nobles to buy a mother's day card. I mistakenly thought it was that Sunday. Coming back, someone recognized me on the street, but he had just been at our movie so that doesn't really count. I headed back into the theater for the next movie - Ed Burns' "The Groomsmen." This performance was quite crowded. Almost all the screenings I attended were pretty much filled, even though they were in the middle of the day. This is a popular festival (or no one has real jobs).
I liked this movie a lot. It was the story of a group of City Island guys on the eve of one's shotgun wedding. The characters were well-portrayed and the movie was very New Yorky. I also liked "The Brothers McMullen" and "She's the One" which are essentially the same movie. Ed Burns himself did the Q&A (yum). I gave it 2/5 though I liked it a little better than "The Treatment," which also got a 2. If there were a 1.5, that would be ideal as I couldn't quite give it a 1.
I did some shopping on Broadway and walked toward home, where I was randomly recognized for the first time. The woman had won tickets to the premiere from the classical music station (WQXR, I assume). We talked a bit, and I told her how surreal this all was.
