Well, I fulfilled one of my life goals last night. I met writer/director Tom DiCillo and saw his excellent film “Living in Oblivion” on the big screen. He was in Portland last night introducing his newest effort “Delirious” at the Living Room Theaters downtown and threw in “Living in Oblivion” to make the $20 ticket a little more worth it. I’m not trying to downplay “Delirious,” a fine film starring Steve Buscemi centered around fame and the paparrazi, but I was definitely there for “Living in Oblivion.” It’s a movie about making movies and is one of the best examples of the difficulties of independent film production. I used the film as a teaching tool when I was a Cinematography teacher in Oklahoma.

The whole evening I was trying to figure out the best way to chat with Tom, without coming off as a star fu*ker. All of the other local film nerds were there trying desperately to get his attention and present themselves as just a little smarter than they actually were. The opportunity never presented itself… until I went into the restroom and moseyed up to the urinal beside him. Now this is a tricky situation, because as we all know, conversations are not to be had while urinating. So, I just looked down at myself and kept my mouth shut. Oh well. At the end of the evening I was able to shake his hand and thank him for coming, but that was it. Next time, I guess.