A screen shot during a GSFF film about Asbury Park. But it kept freezing and then stopped totally. Paul Goldfinger screen shot. 3/29/20. Blogfinger.net
Screen shot from the GSFF Bob Ellis film which shows him walking in A. Park. Paul Goldfinger screen shot. We never were able to see the entire film. 3/29/20. A portion of the movie came on briefly 2 hours later, which we found by chance.
Screenshot of Bob Ellis by Paul Goldfinger from his film “Here’s the Story–I Talk to Strangers. ” In this scene he was interviewed in his Ocean Grove North End home. 3/29/20.
By Paul Goldfinger, Film Critic, Blogfinger.net.
We wanted to see the Sunday, 11:45 am, Paramount Theater screening (3/29/20) of the 59 minute Bob Ellis move called “Here’s the Story, I Talk to Strangers.” Blogfinger had already posted a piece about the film. See the link below. The tickets cost us $38.00 for two, and then, when the virus hit, the Festival arranged for Internet streaming. That seemed like a wonderful solution.
The tickets, printed off the Internet strangely did not mention the film which I wanted to see. It just said, “Paramount Theater, P6-GSFF 2020 Screening Event, Sunday March 29, 11:45 am.”
The Festival producers waited until the morning of the screening to send me special directions regarding streaming access, with a code number. The instructions were unusually complicated, and the schedule was confusing. All that seemed bizarre.
I thought the Ellis movie was at 11:45 am, and we arrived at the digital Paramount at 11:15 am. But the movie wouldn’t start on time. By the time GSFF tech support got us going, the Ellis movie was over. At least we thought it was over, although we later learned that there was a mix-up. Tech support did not ask us which film we were interested in, and we later discovered that the Ellis film was to go on last.
So we stuck around to watch part of the film currently running, a love letter to Asbury Park and its heroes. It was well done, although too long, and the sound and imagery were superb, but it kept freezing and then I couldn’t get it to continue at all. It looked like the show was over. That’s when we gave up.
I asked tech support to refund my money. The last thing a film festival needs is for a critic to get shut out. Maybe others did not have trouble, but my equipment and Wi-Fi were otherwise working fine. 2 hours later I checked again and stumbled on the last part of the Ellis film.
I give them credit for finding a way to live up to the old adage, “The show must go on.” The high tech world where music and film now live is extraordinary and continues to evolve. When I saw the high quality of the GSFF streaming, I sat back prepared to see more. The imagery and the sound were excellent. But unfortunately, for me, the technological experience was mostly a failure.
Hopefully they will do better next year. I feel bad for the film makers and the Festival producers. Maybe the GSFF could realign their 2020 program and give ticket holders like me, including those who might pay to see the shows later, a chance to see the films at any time, a la Netflix.
As for the film program in the Paramount about Asbury, I did see in part, a woman from Asbury being interviewed, and she burst into tears as she described how “loving” everybody over there is. I thought they overdid that theme, and I could not forget the reality; when the Asbury Park town fathers cruelly refused to support Ocean Grove’s application for FEMA funding after Sandy.
And here’s our recent post on Blogfinger about Bob and his movie:
At Blogfinger we wish the GSFF well, but as for my experience today, it reminds me of the Longfellow poem:
“There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.”
ROY ORBISON “Uptown”
Leave a Reply