Esteemed People Newspaper culture stud Glenn Arbery has a preview of AFI, which begins tomorrow. The Celeste clan is scheduled to attend the opening night gala and screening at Neiman Marcus and the Majestic, respectively. (See the AFI Dallas website for all your fest questions.) I’m pretty fired up about the festival this year, primarily because I’ve got a buddy who is on the board and who allowed me into some of the AFI backstage planning sessions, so I know how genuinely thrilled the organizers are. That’s how I got to meet James Faust and Sarah Harris (pictured), the folks who actually pick all 255 of the festival shows (Glenn profiles them here). That’s how I got to see the big Post-It board (also pictured here) where they keep track of all the films that will be shown. Kinda cool, no? Based on my excellent taste in the cinema, as well as my conversations with various AFIers, I can safely say the AFI highlights, for me, will be as follows:
- My report from Thursday night
- Charlize Theron
- Tim’s report on Charlize Theron
- The Family Friendly series (especially Jump)
- Seeing Big Bob in full-on Big Bob Mode
