Roger and Me

Roger Ebert Blvd. (Photo credit: rexb)

I've had the pleasure of meeting Roger Ebert, and like so many, I was terribly saddened by the news of his passing.

(Name-dropping disclaimer: The older I get, the more I catch myself name-dropping.  At first, I felt embarrassed that I seem to always have a story about someone well-known.  But the truth is, I've been "out in the world" working for over 30 years, almost half of them in the entertainment industry, so I've been fortunate to meet and work with a lot of celebrities and notable business folks along the way...)

Critical Mass

Just read the outpouring of love and adoration for Roger Ebert and you can sense what an amazing impact he has had on an industry and a culture.  His career, long and rich, is unrivaled and remarkable.  His grace, strength and determination when faced with incredible health challenges can only be viewed with awe and admiration.  When he lost his spoken voice, he embraced technology, the Internet, and Social Media and found a stronger, more resonant voice than ever before.  His wit, wisdom and way with words was perfect for a world of blogging and tweeting and texting.

Cannes Do

I met Roger Ebert sometime in the early 90's at a party in a villa in Cannes during the film festival. I know it sounds pretentious, but it is the truth. I was working for Troma at the time, and even us schlocky "B-movie" guys were occasionally invited to the right parties.  I was standing next to Mr. Ebert at the buffet, getting food, and we struck up a conversation.  He was there with his wife, Chaz (they may not yet have been married, I can't recall) and rather than movies, we started talking about food.

CompuServing Up Tofu

I mentioned that I had recently become a vegetarian, and that immediately sparked Ebert's interest.  He said that Chaz had been encouraging him to make more healthy eating choices and he was curious about variety in vegetarian cooking.  I told him, as we were fairly new vegetarians, my (then) wife and I had been experimenting with a wide range of interesting veggie dishes.  I mentioned one of my favorite meals, tofu "breaded" with yeast flakes, and promised to send him the recipe.  We corresponded a few times after Cannes via CompuServe (we were both active back then in CompuServe's "Showbiz Forum.") I shared the tofu recipe with him. He thanked me and said he and Chaz would try it. I like to think he gave it a "thumbs up..."

Rest In Peace Roger...  Like the great films you loved, your mark will be long-lasting.

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A Colorful Tribe, Just Be-Cos (At Florida's Comic-Con)

Some tribes are hard to spot, but we know they exist.  People with similar interests have greater opportunities to find each other today than ever before... if you know where to look.  Other tribes are very visible when they come together and are quite easy to spot.  There's a large gathering of one massive tribe of comic and pop-culture fans going on right now in San Diego at Comic-con. 

Con-Men (and women... and children...)

 If you've ever attended a "con" before, you have probably witnessed a very colorful sub-tribe of attendees, dressed as their favorite characters, competing and collaborating in "cosplay" (short for "Costume Play.")  Where else can you go to see people of all ages dressed in elaborate costumes to rival the best of Halloween and Hollywood?  From toddlers to grandparents, a good con gives everyone the chance to release their inner superheros in a very public way.  As an attendee in "civvies," it is a blast to witness this tribe in action and see such a motley cast of characters so comfortable dressed so colorfully.

A Super Time at Supercon

I was recently invited to speak at Florida Supercon, which, while smaller than the San Diego uber Con, still attracts an awesome local crowd as well as many comic and film world celebrities (including Alex Kingston of Dr. Who and ER fame, cast members from The Hunger Games, and many more).  At Supercon I interviewed my former employer, Troma's Lloyd Kaufman, and I gave a workshop presentation based on a book I am working on called "Everything I Know About Business I Learned From The Toxic Avenger."

Why Finding Your Tribe Rocks

While I enjoyed catching up with Lloyd and giving my own schpiel, the most fun I had at Supercon was watching the cosplay tribe in action, and seeing so many people, young and old, embrace their fandom so fully.  It really demonstrates the best aspects of finding your tribe.  Once you do, you have the comfort of being part of a true community and the satisfaction of fitting in and belonging, no matter who you are or what you may look like.  At a comic con there are no geeks, freaks, whackos or weirdos...  there are only fans!  It was fun to be one for the day.

Have you ever dabbled in cosplay?  If you need some inspiration, here is a video of some pictures I took at Florida Supercon .  Enjoy.

Do The HARD Stuff First! (or, What Are You Going To Blow Up Today?)

Here's some good advice: Do the hard stuff first. Every day.

Hate exercising? Do it in the morning, first thing. Nervous about calling a big account to see if they will re-order? Make them the FIRST call of the day. Have a relationship issue that's been on your mind? Don't sneak out the door with a quick good-bye... Stop, look him or her in the eye and discuss it NOW.

"Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff."

Procrastination is nothing more than fear of the hard stuff. Conquer that fear and you WILL get things done. Conquer that fear and you will feel productive, every day, because every day you tackle the hard stuff first is a day you accomplish something important.

Easier said than done!

Doing the hard stuff first IS the hard stuff! I am guilty of being a master procrastinator. But I am trying hard to mend my evil ways, and with some inspiration from reading Tim Ferris' 4-Hour Workweek, I am working hard to pick at least one HARD thing to tackle every day.

Of course, I should have learned this lesson a long time ago. One of the best examples of doing the hard stuff first came when I was making movies, in the late 80's. I actually worked for Troma, the masters of low budget filmmaking. Although we operated on shoe-string budgets (eventually upgrading to Velcro budgets) and we didn't take ourselves (or our films) too seriously, we DID take the business of filmmaking seriously, and I learned many great lessons from Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.

When we made a movie, we always tried to schedule the hard stuff first. On a Troma set, it wasn't uncommon to schedule a complicated stunt or to blow something up on the first day of filming. By tackling something really hard on Day 1 we were ensured to establish a quick bond amongst the cast and crew and create a level of focus and teamwork that set the tone for the rest of the shoot. If we could do THAT (stunt, explosion, etc.) then WE could do anything, and we were ready, willing and able to face the challenges ahead. Bring it on!

So what are you going to blow up today? Go ahead, do the hard stuff first, and let me know how it goes in the comments below. How do YOU conquer the fear of the hard stuff???


Photo: A stunt AND an explosion from TROMA'S WAR (1988).