This year’s Atlanta Film Festival was held April 20-25 in Atlanta (natch), Georgia.   I was on hand, along with some friends, minions, associates, and, of course, our cooters, to present a special screening of our short film, NIGHT OF THE COOTERS, based on Howard Waldrop’s classic short story.

The film was very well received, I am pleased to report.  (I do wish Howard had been on hand to enjoy the applause, but alas, he’s still in Texas and not able to travel for the present).  Vincent d’Onofrio, who directed the short and starred as Sheriff Lindley, took a short break from playing the Kingpin and flew down from New York to join us.

I don’t think I have been back to Atlanta since worldcon went there, many years ago.   It was great to be back.  The weather was perfect.  We got to enjoy a Braves game from one of the owner’s boxes, and they brought me out onto the field to the sound of the GAME OF THRONES theme to start the game by shouting “Play Ball.”  (I was tempted to shout “Let’s Go Mets” instead, but (a) the Mets were not playing, and (b) the Braves fans might have stoned me to death).   It was a great day for the Braves, fwiw:  they won 11-0, with five home runs, and the pitcher had a no-hitter going for seven innings or so.

We stayed at the historic Clermont Hotel.   The festival folk were wonderfully hospitable, and we got to visit some great old movie theatres… I have a soft spot for old movie palaces.   A ballroom at the historic Fox theatre was the site of the festival’s awards presentation.  Very cool.

Vincent and I were honored with a couple of awards from the festival:  his was the Phoenix, and mine the Originator.   We were in great company.   Jimmy Carter was also presented with an award, accepted for him by one of his grandsons and Francis Ford Coppola.

Baseball games and awards are wonderful, of course, but the real highlight of the visit was getting to have dinner with Francis Ford Coppola, one of the greatest directors of this, or any other, age.   A fascinating guy, and I loved our conversation.   He spoke with such passion about the film he is now making that I can’t wait to see it.

Current Mood: cheerful