Producer Paul's Ramblings

The trip started out fine, if a little late. I wasn’t late. Thanks to Tony, I was at the airport in plenty of time, but the flight was delayed about an hour. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise anymore, I suppose. I went to the checkout to check my one piece of luggage and the helpful clerk at the counter told me at my luggage would go all the way to Porto Alegre. I asked if she was sure, because I had to recheck myself in when I got to Brazil. She said “yes,” so I believed her. Silly me. 

Got on the plane that would take me to Miami. A tiny plane. One of those puddle jumpers that has two seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other. Tiny. But at least it had jets and not propellers. I got to my seat to find a man sitting in the seat beside mine and a young boy in the single seat. The man said the boy was his son and if I wanted the single seat the boy could take mine. Score! Of course I agreed, so I got the two- hour Miami flight in relative comfort. Time to do some writing and read a book. I’m reading “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. Excellent book.

So we land in Miami. Easy, smooth flight. The plane to Rio is an hour behind schedule, so at least I don’t have to rush to get to the plane.  I grab some overpriced pasta from the little Pizza Hut and just as I sit down to eat it, they announce a gate change. So I truck down to the new gate, pasta and carry-in in tow. Turns out there really wasn’t any reason to rush. We sat at that gate for another 45 minutes, so the flight actually ends up 90 minutes late.

But we finally get on the plane for Rio just before 10 pm. Hooray. This is a big plane, a nice 767, so it’s going to be fairly comfortable. But then things get better. I’m in the center row, with three seats, and no one else shows up to sit in the row. I have it all to myself. Another score. So after dinner (chicken and rice, which was decent for airline food) I stretch out in the row and actually get some sleep, something very unusual for me on an airplane.

We get to Rio at around 8am and this is where the words of the agent in Charlotte return to bite me, although I don’t know it. I should have been more alert. The signs were there, but I had just finished an overnight flight and so wasn’t at the top of my game. Plus the flight delay left me with less than an hour to get my flight to Porto Alegre (or so I thought). Went to passport control which took about 30 agonizing minutes to get through, so now I’m having to book it to get to my next flight. I go through customs, which is a breeze, but I should have noticed other people taking luggage. No, I’m in too much of a hurry. I get to the checkout counter, where there is a line, but an agent asks for people going to Porto Alegre and takes us to the front. I check in, and the woman seems surprised I had no luggage. Second clue, and it was here I began to get a little suspicious, but I seemed to remember seeing a tag on the bag that said Porto Alegre, so I hope. Silly me again.

Once more, on the flight to Porto Alegre, I had a row all to myself. I certainly can’t complain about ever being crowded on the trip. We arrive at the airport and I go to baggage claim. As you know by now, that was a silly waste of time. I speak to the baggage agent and he explains that I should have claimed my luggage in Rio and rechecked it. As I’ve sort of worked this out for myself, that is not very helpful. But he takes my information and says they will deliver the bag either that evening or in the morning. As  I write this, it’s 10:30 the next morning and still no bags.

But, that aside, things have been pleasant . My hosts, Joao, Nicolas, and Filipe, are all very gracious and accommodating. I have had some wonderful food so far, and the screening went well. My hotel is nice and spacious. People seemed to enjoy the movie and asked a lot of good questions. They taped the session, which is something that hasn’t happened before, so I’m hoping I can get a copy.

So now it’s the next morning and I’m waiting for my hosts to arrive. We are supposed to go to the public market today and then Joao is having a barbecue for us tonight (there are other producers and directors here, but so far the only one I’ve met is Italian horror director Luigi Cozzi, a very nice man.) It is raining though, so I’m not sure how much that is going to change our plans. But so far it’s been an enjoyable trip. I do wish my luggage would show up though. I’m wearing a Fantaspoa shirt that was a gift, and two day old socks and underwear. It’s not pleasant.

More later.