Filmmaker's Diary: January 2010

I just watched "i Borg" with Jason. It is my fav episode of Star Trek TNG. The human dignity is overwhelming in that episode. We ate coconut oil veggies with garlic and steak for dinner. It was a perfect night. He read to me. We drank fizzy water. I was asked to be a judge at THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2010 for the Sloan Award this week. I am going to be skiing and judging and writing this Sundance. I am so honored. I was asked if I wanted to present the award as well. David Hyde Pierce is going to introduce me at the award ceremony. I also get to get a few extra tickets and I asked if I could see BLUE VALENTINE on Sunday at Eccles, as that is the film I really want to see. Ryan Gosling is in it and it screens right after Jason's film THE DRY LAND. There are so many good films this year. I am very excited. Anne-Marie Duff is in a film at the festival too. Anne-Marie is the greatest British actress. Her face is like a reflecting pool. She can tolerate so much, her emotional capacity is enormous. She was in Peter Mullan's film THE MAGDALENE SISTERS. If you watch it, there is a scene between Anne-Marie and a garden gate (maybe it's a door, I can't remember, it may be a garden door) that is eternally haunting. It is literally an entire scene between her and a garden gate. The scene is about human freedom, or lack there of. I love it when an actor has a dialogue with a piece of paper, or a chair, or a window, or a cigarette, or a key, or a flower, or the edge of something, or the end of something, or the beginning. I love actors alone on camera. I love being alone on camera because everything around you suddenly has a justified meaning, like you are in a painting that is moving telling a story. It is a lovely feeling. It is nice too, when that feeling creeps up with another actor, like you are dancing together and the stage is part of the motion of the story is being told. Jason just came up behind me and was reading over my shoulder. I said, "Jason, you are such a nosy-parker!" Then he said, "Oh, yeah, like I can't just read it later on your blog" then I laughed a lot then he said, "I love your blog" then I laughed even more, then he said, "Do you think your Good Dick fans will know what TNG stands for?" And that made me laugh super hard. Now we are going to watch the next Star Trek episode in Season 5, it is called "The Next Phase" which is what we are all in now. The next phase, 2010. Big year.