There are so many ways in which I am not like Ted Turner.

1. Ted Turner was named 2002 Angler of the Year by Fly Rod & Reel: The Magazine of American Fly Fishing. I was not.

2. Ted Turner likes his movies in color--even the black-and-white ones. My first movie was shot in black and white, and it remains that way.

3. Ted Turner is the largest private landowner in the United States. I rent.

Last week, I tried to become more like Ted Turner. While I don't think I'll be colorizing my first feature anytime soon, I did do some fly fishing while I was in Taos, New Mexico, for the film festival. There was a caddis hatch (read: bugs all over the place) on the Rio Grande, and one afternoon I went out with a veteran guide and local legend named Ed Adams, who taught me how to catch the rainbow trout that feed on the flies. I used an Elk Hair Caddis imitation much like this one.

Another way in which I might have become more like Ted Turner would have been by winning 5 acres of land on Taos Mesa, the grand prize at the Taos Talking Picture Festival. While in my last diary entry I wondered if they were still giving away the land, I soon discovered they were--but I wasn't eligible for it. Turns out that only a few films at the festival were eligible. So even before the awards ceremony, I was out of the running.

Oh well. The film hasn't been eligible for a festival award yet--Slamdance only qualifies first-timers, SxSW was a "Special Screening." But I have my eye on the Palm d'Or. Of course, we'll have to get into Cannes first, I suppose.

By the way, the Taos festival was everything I expected it to be--a town full of people who love indie film. Plus, the thing ran like clockwork, which is a rare achievement for a film festival. Props to Jason Silverman and the rest of the staff.

What is the next fest? Don't know yet. Stay tuned.

Best,
Brian Flemming
doc@nothingsostrange.com