Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2009: Every Little Step

The wife and I went to see Every Little Step tonight. It's a documentary about the Broadway revival of the famous musical, A Chorus Line. Interspersed with footage of the tryouts for the 2006 revival are interviews and archival footage and audio recordings of the show's original producers and performers.

We get to see the 3000+ dancers show up for first rehearsals, winnowed down to the last handful of aspirants who eventually get the call. It gives great insight into how much effort each of these hopefuls put into their auditions, and you realize how talented these folks are. Don't fool yourself; people don't just decide, as adults, to become dancers. Professional dancers have been at their craft their entire lives and have sacrificed much to get where they are.

I thought it was a great movie, and it was great to see some of the hopefuls get presented with their job offers - pretty emotional stuff.

Before the show, Adam Del Deo, one of the co-directors, made an appearance to introduce the movie; he also did a Q&A after the show.

4 new KUAY (Grizzly) yearbooks!

I won an auction today for 4 yearbooks for Queen Anne High School in Seattle. After winning the auction, I drove north to pick them up. The woman came out from the back of the store with a bag and pulled out the yearbooks ('48-'51). They were in great shape. Then she said... "I didn't know if you'd want these, but..."

Whatever it is, lady, I want it.

She pulled out a couple booklets from the 50-year reunions from the classes of 1929 and 1930. They really weren't much more than a directory for those in attendance, those who could not be located, and those who had passed. Awesome!!! Within one of the booklets were a couple newspaper clippings that contained articles about the first principal's retirement. At 28, he was the first school's first principal when it opened in 1909, and was the only principal until his retirement in 1951. Now THAT'S dedication! Very cool.

The wife still doesn't get it, but I love collecting these yearbooks.

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2009: Secret Film Festival #3

Today's movie was quirky, but I enjoyed it.

Can't say much more than that, but I hope you liked my review.

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2009: Tonight's movie was...

The Missing Person

The only thing that was missing was some much needed sleep, so I rectified that situation as soon as I could get cozy. What a snooze-fest.

Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2009

So, the wife ponied up and picked up a 20-pack, somethingorother, which gave us 10 movies to choose from. We also signed up for the Secret Festival, which I'd like to tell you about, but then I'd have to kill you. I think it's best we just leave that alone.

Anyway... the "regular" movies we've seen so far:

1. I'm No Dummy (I felt like a dummy sitting through it. It wasn't terrible, but it's not a topic I have any interest in. I guess that's what happens when you don't chime in with a list of movies you want to see... Included a Q&A with three of the ventriloquists highlighted in the movie)
2. The Hurt Locker (Very good)
3. Aussie vs. Kiwi (6 shorts from the Southern Hemisphere, definitely a mixed bag.)
4. Inju, The Beast in the Shadow (getting mixed reviews, but I really liked it. The Director came out and introduced the movie.)
5. Krabat (slept through about half. What I saw was very strange.)

We're seeing another movie tonight, and I believe we have still a few more movies to pick out. When I say "we", I mean "the wife needs to finish picking out the movies we're going to see."