TheEEStory.com

Original Poststed to TheEEStory.com

Thanks Nekote for your prescient email. I'm happy to see that people are interested to see what happens with the movie. I've shot a little over 80 hours of interviews and documented my own personal journey grappling with this story. I have to say I really lived it. I know you all remember that towards the very end of 2008 there was still a glimmer of hope that something dramatic would happen before Jan. 1. I was so intent on being there to film the big unveiling, that I packed my car with as much film/editing equipment as I could, and I drove from LA to Austin on 1/1/09. My plan was to stay until at least March, at which point my money would run out. I subletted an apartment and began putting the film together, thinking that I probably had Acts 1 and 2 already shot, and that all I was missing was Act 3. I also hoped that by being in Austin I might stand a better chance of getting an interview with the Weirs. I had, afterall, completed interviews with some few people close to the story, including a trip to Toronto to film at Zenn headquarters, and trips to D.C., Florida, and Northern California. I had been sending email updates to Dick and Tom all along the way, detailing my progress and trying to demonstrate a spirit of inclusiveness. In the end, I made absolutely no headway in establishing contact with EEStor, as I was only there for 3 weeks. While I was home in LA visiting my wife at the end of January, I got hired as a staff writer and filmed segment director for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon . I got the call on a Friday. They asked me if I could be in NY ready to start work on Monday, which was Feb. 2nd. I've been caught up in the Late Night vortex since then. My wife was nice enough to fly to Austin, pack all my stuff into my car, and have the car shipped back to LA. I never had time to properly wrap in Austin because the pace of this job is mind blowing. Bear in mind that I spent all of October, November, December, and most of January working on a 1.5 hour EEStor documentary.

At Fallon, we produce an hour (44 minutes with commercials) of programming every day. Granted it's a different sort of programming, but it is nonetheless a huge undertaking. The net result is that I have had almost almost zero free hours to devote to the documentary. There was an unintended bright side. I can't say for sure what would have happened if I had stayed in Austin as per my original plan. But we all know that the big 3rd Act spectacle I was hoping for hasn't happened. In all likelihood, I would be back in LA anyways by now, looking for work. The other possibility is that I would still be out there chasing the story, heading into financial ruin. Working on this documentary gave me a sense of purpose, and gave me a very clear goal. It is the most enjoyable and fascinating project I have ever undertaken on my own, and it is something I will finish. But clearly, I was obsessed. It is a great story to get obsessed with, and the community of like-minded obsessees is a thoughtful and hilarious bunch. I have spoken to many of you, but not nearly enough. I still have hopes of filming an EEStor conclave someday. I get weeks off here and there, so hopefully during one of those, maybe one day when there's something to celebrate, we can try to converge in one place. I did have one major personal victory before I left Austin. I had no foreknowledge that when I left Austin to visit LA in January it would be for good. But perhaps I had some subtle inclination, because the day before I left, I decided to walk into EEStor and say hello. I did not want to antagonize them, or be a bother. I also did not want to bring a camera or try to ambush them. I just wanted to see if I could help them put a face to the emails they were receiving. I am not a confrontational filmmaker, and I am am not interested in doing a 20/20 style piece where cameras go where they are not welcome. That's just not my style. I've also said all this before. Bottom line is I was very conflicted about doing the spontaneous drop-by. Nonetheless, I had driven so far in hopes of meeting those guys, since phone calls and emails hadn't worked, I felt that I would really regret it if I never tried knocking on the door. So on my way to the airport, I drove out to EEStor, walked in the front door and rang the bell of the inner security door. I tried breathing to control my pulse, but it only worked a little. I knew that I wouldn't have the temerity to ask any serious questions that day, but being in such close physical proximity to heart of the story was awesome.

I remember that there were some auto magazines on the coffee table in the waiting room, and there was some sort of promotional poster which had a positive phrase about EEStor. I don't remember what it said, but I found it comforting that they had taken the time to say something positive about themselves. I thought to myself, "so they DO care what people think." There was also a big sign with the outline of an SLR type camera with a red circle and slash. No photography allowed. Eventually a woman opened the door and said hello. She was polite and patient when it became apparent that I had not rehearsed what I was going to say. I stammered out something about being "the filmmaker who's doing a documentary," then asked if I could see Dick or Tom Weir. She said they were unavailable. I thanked her and left. This may sound strange, but after that moment, it almost didn't matter to me whether there was an EESU or not, and that's perhaps the danger of getting obsessed with this story. All I would have been to them is a distraction, but knocking on their door was something I wanted to do for myself. And I have to admit that I felt really great about doing it. Thinking back on it even now makes me feel like I accomplished something significant. Exactly what I can't say for sure. Maybe it's because my job is telling stories and I think I knew it would be a good story. But if everyone who was as into EEStor as I was went out there and knocked on their door it would be chaos. Or would it?