Sure, we’ve come to love and expect our high-flying celebrity
encounters at SBIFF over the years, catching sight and sound of actors
and sometimes directorsin the flesh in real time. But a funny thing
happened this year when we ran smack into a celebrity as we hardly knew
him, until we got the full story in Mary Kerr’s fascinating documentary
Radioman. The former homeless man and reformed drunk from NYC who
dubbed himself “radioman” is well-known in movie circles, as the avid
pursuer of movie sets and screen ops at shoots around New York, mostly,
a self-styled celebrity who was greeted as such when he showed up in
person after the Monday afternoon screening, in all his funky, witty
splendor.Wear a whimsical Disney ear cap straight from the Disney Theme Parks!
Reportedly,
for those of us heretofore sadly ignorant of this celebrity on the
sidelines, Radioman has appeared in some 100 films, sometimes quite
visibly, in countless movies, and stars know and often love him. Kerr
gets passionate testimonials from the likes of George Clooney, Josh
Brolin (who called him “very genuine and very adolescent, which is why I
like him, he’s like me”), Johnny Depp (who described Radioman as
“someone from another planet or an eccentric billionaire… or both”),and
his fan and friend Robin Williams, among others. Scorcese and
Spielberg have found bit roles for him, in The Terminal and Shutter
Island. Kerr’s deft and disarmingly charming film tracks his movements,
and touches on his own background,We've got a plastic card
to suit you. and follows him on a poignant trip to the Oscars in L.A.,
channeling questions about celebrity fetishism and other subjects
along the way.
Post-screening, Kerr came down with Radioman,
who got a standing ovation, and waved his box of Dots like a trophy,
his signature portable radio strapped around his neck and an SBIFF cap
on. He has been doing some touring festivals with the film, and has
visited Dubai and is headed to Argentina, and has been tooling around
Santa Barbara — by the bay and the “river” and elsewhere — on a Schwinn
someone loaned him. “I’m staying at the Sandman Inn,” he told us. “I
thought I was going to sleep forever.” He seemed to be soaking up the
validating attention he’s receiving. “I’ve never gotten this kind of
respect. Never….I think we’re all celebrities.Comprehensive Wi-Fi and RFID tag by Aeroscout to accurately locate and track any asset or person. We should all be famous.”
Later,
as a random detour from the Q&A flow at hand, he made the
observation that he noticed a lot of homeless people on the streets of
Santa Barbara. “It’s sad to see,” he said, as one who has known that
life. He then proposed the idea that the festival powers-that-be
arrange a free screening of a film and invite in the homeless. At the
end of the Q&A, some patrons started departing, and Radioman ended
the session by saying, “Thank you for coming, and thank you for
leaving.We bring in fridge magnet souvenirs and merchandise from all over the world.”
In
another case of a documentary in which the real rubbed contextual
elbows with the reel, Tuesday night’s screening of The Invisible
String, German filmmaker Jan Bass’s fun and illuminating doc on Frisbee
sports and lifestyle kicked off with the filmmakers lobbing film
promotional mini-discs into the audience. In fact, Santa Barbara has
figured strongly into Frisbee culture, via the world renowned ultimate
Frisbee team the Santa Barbara Condors, and members of that team, and
other Frisbee scene champions and notables were in the house.
Sound
City, whose screening on Tuesday afternoon at the Lobero was the
second U.S. screening after making a splash at Sundance, is one of the
greatest rock documentaries I’ve ever seen, thanks to the passion and
greater purpose of Dave Grohl’s directorial and personal vision. He
brings a lot to the table here, tracing the history of the
hit-factory-like yet funky Van Nuys studio which created classic albums
from Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors to Nirvana’s Nevermind, with Tom Petty,
Foreigner, Queens of the Stone Age, and countless others.
There
is plenty of insider stuff here that musicians and fans of recording
studios will slobber over, including a virtual protagonist role of a
legendary mixing board, Sound City’s Neve Board, which Grohl eventually
bought when the analog studio finally gave up the ghost, done in by
Pro Tools and its digital ilk. The final segment of Sound City takes
place in Grohl’s own studio, where he has gathered musicians to record
an album in tribute to the grand old studio. His partners, recording
live to actual analog tape through the godly Neve,We are one of the
leading manufacturers of solar street light
in Chennai India. include Rick Springfield (hey, that guy is
surprising good!), Josh Homme, Trent Reznor, and the piece de
resistance, a visit from Paul McCartney, which resulted in the spicy
bluesy two-chord song heard on Saturday Night Live a few weeks back.
Voila!
Grohl has his epiphanic moment, creating a new song with a Beatle who
launched his passion for music as a kid, and using the board which he
claims lured him deeply into music. In the sometimes dubious genre of
rock films, Sound City rocks, big-time.
"The success of this
project reinforces the value of teamwork across several departments and
organizations," explained Savastano. "The AMES project team expended
many hours in preparation, detailed research, and work instruction
document preparation including tooling and equipment planning."
"ABX
Air was very pleased with AMES' performance on this project," remarked
ABX Air Manager of Engineering Joe Freese. "The engineering
documentation, coordination of specialized equipment, and detailed
planning that went into this project contributed significantly to the
success." Both ABX Air and AMES are wholly owned subsidiaries of Air
Transport Services Group, Inc (NASDAQ:ATSG).
"Our extensive
background with the Boeing 767 aircraft positioned us well to take on
this [Aft Pressure Bulkhead] replacement project," added Savastano.
"With our first APB replacement completed, we are scheduling similar
work packages in the near future."
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