Back in the day....

Wednesday, I spent the day with one of my favorite people from college. Colin is in about 35 frames of 'Matewan,' but he tells good stories. When I transferred to Concord College he was a junior. Colin was the first person I met who said, "Oh yeah, I was in 'Matewan'." He's a fun guy who's really got things going well for him now. We spent some time after the interview talking, watching tapes of commercials from our college TV station, and reminiscing.

In the midst of making this movie, I've spent way too much time trying to quantify significance - accomplishments, recognitions, structural changes, etc. Colin's interview took maybe fifteen minutes, but I had the best time just hanging out with an old friend. It reminded me that this movie isn't about the tangible change of a location or person, but the impact ideas and people have on each other.

Most of my best friends I can't point to one particular thing that encapsulates their importance in my life. And really, if I could, I'm not sure what kind of friend that makes them. More importantly - what kind of person would I be to treat people that way.

People change us, improve us, enrich us. It's rarely something you can put down in a ledger or a call sheet.

j.brown