I am invited to a screening of the new film, The Big Short. In addition to having a Q&A, I am also invited to the reception after to join the "filmmakers and members of the cast." I ask Jill to come with me and she accepts.
The movie, based on the book by Michael Lewis, is great. It takes a complicated topic (the financial collapse of 2008) and makes it both understandable and entertaining. it's a fast-paced movie with great performances all around. After the Q&A, Jill and I head over to The Ribbon, a new restaurant and bar on the Upper West Side where the reception is being held.
We arrive after the movie, and see it is packed. Everyone at the screening (about 200 people) has also come. Apparently, most of the movie's actors aren't there, but Steve Carell is. We decide to make it a goal to get a photo with him.
Waiters come around with hors d'oeuvres and drinks of any kind. We start with a mini-tuna tartare and a vodka drink called The Big Short that is so good you can't taste the alcohol. We make our way to the back room, and find a table with shrimp, clams on the half shell, and an abundance of other foods. We also spot Steve Carell, so we take a seat near him. He is engaged in conversation with two people.
We decide that since no one else is taking any pictures, we'll use Jill's iPhone vs. my little camera to be less obvious. But we still need a strategy to meet him. What can we say except, "You were great in this movie." It all sounds so pedestrian and lame — because it is.
Steve is soon standing near us, maybe a foot away, and everyone wants to talk to him. Then Paul Rudd out of no where appears. He's not even in the movie. But two people are now talking with both actors, totally oblivious to all the others who would like to do the same.
Finally there's an opening and we walk up to Steve. Jill begins. " I'm not sure I understand the technical part of trading any better after seeing the movie than I did after reading the book, but that's no statement in your terrific acting, only of my ignorance."
Okay, I know Mr. Carell is an excellent actor. But I don't think he's acting in his genuine likability and interest in hanging around talking to Jill and me. He is very very nice. Doesn't rush us. Reacts with what appears to be sincere interest in our questions. Seems honestly touched by our accolades. Really, he is such a pleasant, easy-to-talk to, unassuming guy. At least that's how he seems in our 10-minute conversation. And when I ask "Would you mind talking a picture with us? And feel free to say no," he responds immediately with yes.
We probably could have talked to him even longer, but there's a line of people also waiting, so we step a few feet to our right and begin a conversation with Paul Rudd,. My open to him is, "I've been a fan ever since I saw you in Neil LaBute's play Bash a million years ago." Like Steve Carell, Paul Rudd is gracious, funny, talkative, and nice. I ask him if he lives here or in LA. He says here, and I ask where (rather stupidly), and he says, "123 East 56th St. Apt. .." and laughingly gives me his real address (not revealed here). He, too, agrees to a photo with Jill and me.
Whenever I hear talent from a film speak in a Q&A, I am almost always impressed with their intelligence. But when I meet someone I know only from film or television, and they seem normal and nice and friendly and likable, well, it's just a great surprise. And I don't think it can all be faked, or they're even better actors than I think!
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