So
it’s that time again. It snuck up on me because I was unable to make it
up to Toronto this year which is in and of itself, a minor tragedy. I
love the Toronto International Film Festival and all its attendant
studio pomp and circumstance. But that’s no matter. What’s passed is
past. It’s New York Film Festival time and for pure film geek glee, it’s
right up there. Sure, some films suck and the program is often lacking
in real surprises, but honestly, that’s not what I really look
for in the festival. Should it take more chances? I think so, yeah. For
example, the omission of Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York
has ruffled a few feathers this year and the the overall predictability
of the selection from year to year has been bemoaned on the circuit for
years. That said, it’s not an industry event. It’s for the public and
none of these films have played in New York. All in all, it’s one of my
favorite film events of the year and not just because I love the opening
night party/after party.I don’t always go to Cannes or Toronto and as a result, the NYFF often has 15-20 films I haven’t seen and this year, it’s got more than that. Not only that, but almost every film in the main selection has a full press conference following the press screening, something which only a handful of festivals provide. It has also provided me with one of the more surreal moments of my life in the form of John Ritter in 1996.
It was at the opening night party at Tavern on the Green. I had seen Sling Blade at the press screening and was completely blown away. At the party I approached John to tell him this (needless to say, as a child of the 70′s/80′s and a neophyte journalist, I was rather nervous to be approaching Jack Tripper). He couldn’t have been
