The 3 AM Hustle

My flight for Austin leaves at 7:30 AM, which means I’ll be pulling an all-nighter just so I know I’ll be up in time to be at the airport by 6. I really hate waking at 4 something in the morning and I fucking despise forcing myself to crawl into bed at 10 at night to try and get a semblance of a full night’s sleep (I blame my mom passing along her night owl genetics). So this is the silly dance I perform every time I travel early in the morning. Yes, it’s probably crazy, although not a whole lot more than tossing and turning in bed for a few long hours as I try and trick my body into aping the sleep habits of a two year old.

And it’s not like I’ll be want for activity to keep me awake and alert. I’m planning on putting in my second workout in a span of twelve hours. I’ve been skipping a few lately and it’s not like the binge of booze and BBQ over the course of the next week will help keep me in fighting weight. Plus, I’m quickly trying to get caught up on the first season of “Friday Night Lights” so I can weigh in on the supposedly awful second season premiere and when I’m on the elliptical seems to be the only time I get to watch.

I’m also trying to cram in as much research as possible for my Austin panels which don’t technically start until Saturday but I don’t see myself having access to the net between now and then. I know I found myself watching the film Over the Hedge TWICE today (once with less illuminating than I’d hoped commentary track on) to get ready and even still I feel woefully under prepared. Right now I don’t even want to think about my Sunday panel where I’m sitting with two entertainment lawyers and a venture capitalist to talk about the nuances of contracts (yeesh).

Of course Austin won’t be all drunkenness and trying not to embarrass myself in front of thousands of people (those two things really are at odds though, no?). I have a lot of activities (read: parties) planned for the week but my passion first and foremost is film, something that’s usually forgotten or overlooked when talking about film festivals. In fact I’m already bemoaning the films I *won’t* be able to see either because of conflicts or that they’ll be screening after I leave including Before the Devil Knows Your Dead (thankfully opening in LA shortly), Grace is Gone (ditto), The Savages (will have to wait for AFI) and Paul Schrader’s new film, The Walker.

What will I be seeing? A couple definites on a few strong maybes. I’ll be at the opening night Gala of Chicago 10, the divisive animated documentary which opened Sundance earlier in the year as well as at the Centerpiece Premiere, Juno which is Jason Reitman’s follow-up to Thank You For Smoking (yes!) that was hailed at Toronto as this year’s Little Miss Sunshine (uh oh). I also hope to see Lars and the Real Girl and Control, both of which are opening in LA soon but I care not as well as a few films that played Sundance earlier in the year but aren’t scheduled to open for several months. I’ll try and keep my ear to the ground, but so much of these things are dictated by scheduling, energy, and distance from where you’re standing at any given moment.

Oh as if that weren’t enough, the Sox are also in the ALCS.

Game 1 is on Friday, Game 2 is Sunday. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about I now need to sneak away and find an unguarded tv to watch the Sox play the Indians. The irony is last year I gave Brian, our director, endless shit for blowing off the festivities to go watch the Cardinals in the World Series. I’ve also pretty much given up any hope of catching the Pats/Cowboys game (in Texas no less!) because it runs right into my Sunday panels and the Juno screening.

Because I’m a luddite without iPhone or laptop, this will be my last entry till I get back next week. Hopefully by the time I return the Pats will still be undefeated, the Sox will be in strong position against the Tribe and I won’t have imploded due to my lousy public speaking skills.