Day 13 and the festival is beginning to get to me. Thankfully, I've not tried to repeat my experience of a few years back when I attempted to see 60 movies and ended up in a zombie-like state after trying to catch 7 films in a row. Even so, it's a draining experience for anyone - only one fun packed weekend to go.
This year, the festival has certainly upped the star quotient, and we've had Kate and Dougray, Brian, Billy, Tilda, Tim, and, of course, Sean. Mr Penn provided his own laconic views on filmmaking to a packed out UGC. If you want to know more, take a look at the comments he made in yesterday's diary.
One of the favourite games which publicists play at this time of year is promo one-up-manship. So far, amongst the goodies on offer have been "reviewer's" pens from The Studio, featuring a cool little green light so you can see what you're writing; Ghost World t-shirts and comics enclosed in dinky purple bags; and free CDs a plenty. However, the best freebie - and one which audiences to Battle Royale snapped up - had to be some ultra-chic clear plastic umbrellas, perfect for that Edinburgh weather.
Writer/director Philippe Le Guay, in town for the tense Nightshift, reminded us of the golden rule of scriptwriting. Never ever start your script: "Early Morning. Winter. Thirty workers start their shift at a factory." because you know it's just going to be a miserable shoot. So watch out for "A beautiful day in Provence. A dozen young women dance through the cornfields." at the start of his next film...
Finally, a little gem from the doors of the Filmhouse toilets: a sticker proudly proclaiming "The Mike Schank Fan Club". Mike, the loveable musician from American Movie, has a cameo in Todd Solondz' Storytelling - so if you need your Mike fix, you know where you can see him.
