Aaron Allard, James LaFleur and their crew preparing to immortalize me
This morning I went down to Bernie Rosenblum's studio and met the Canadian film crew making their documentary on Manos: The Hands of Fate. Bernie ducked out for lunch after being interviewed on video and they sat me down to go over much the same territory I've covered in my two articles.James LaFleur told me they settled on the deliciosuly appropriate title Hotel Torgo.
"We tried taking different film titles and replacing one of the words with 'Torgo,'" he told me. "When we got to Hotel Terminus we realized we'd found the right one. I think the low point was when we thought of Torpocalypse Now."
Even before the interview my boss was ringing me from back in Colorado, pressing me to head back to the office and clear up the latest mess, so after we were done shooting and Bernie had returned from lunch, I had to make my goodbyes and leave. When I got outside I found a $25 ticket on my car for staying in Bernie's loading zone too long.
Ah. The price of fame.
I wouldn't have minded staying; in the afternoon Bernie was taking the crew on a tour of the different Manos locations, and tomorrow they're screening the film at the University.
As I drove off beneath an overcast sky like someone sailing into a premature twilight, I felt as if I was leaving a big part of myself back in El Paso, and perhaps the best part at that.
