Alone in the Dark

This weekend, I had the unique experience of seeing a film with it's screenwriter. That film was Alone in the Dark, and the screenwriter was Elan Mastai.

It had been years since I'd last seen Elan, back when Jess was still going to Queen's. That my have been the weekend when I decided that this was where I wanted to go to school. Elan, Justin, and some of Jessica's other friends had formed an improv troupe that was playing in a small bar in downtown Kingston. The show was absolutely hilarious. To this day, I'd rank their comedy as some of the best I'd ever seen.

After a few hours on the 401 and an interesting phone call with my mother ("Hi Mom, can't talk... going to see a movie in Toronto... call you tomorrow. Bye.") we found the theatre in question. Oh, Toronto. You don't appreciate how nice it is to have a Burger King in a movie theatre until they close down every single Burger King in Kingston. Oh, Burger King. How I loved to have cabs go through your Drive Thru when I was drunk.

Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the film was seeing the names of people I'd known for years appear as characters on the screen. "What's the situation, Krashinsky?" "Kill him, Pinkerton." "Barr, get this man medical attention!" "FEEEEENSTRA!" Good times.

On the way to the Elephant and Castle, I had the chance to speak with Elan about what it's like putting a script together. It was a very insightful discussion. I think my favorite part was when he mentioned that originally, there had been no sex scene in the movie, but Christian Slater and Tara Reid were both game for it, so in it went. Ah, Hollywood.

I ran into Justin as well, another guy that I haven't seen in ages. He does comedy shows in Toronto with a group whose name escapes me for the moment. But he, again, is probably one of the funniest writers / comedians I've ever met, and so I will post details for his group the next chance I get. There may be another at-a-whim road trip to see one of his shows. If such is the case, there'll likely be additional passenger room.

Anyways, at around midnight I presented Elan with a celebratory Cuban cigar and we made our way back to Kingston. But all in all, a good time that I hope to repeat one of these days. And inspiration to GW writers everywhere - you too can become a Hollywood screenwriter.