That's all folks

I am packing up tonight getting ready to head back to Austin in the morning. It has been a great tour.
Thanks to everyone who came out for mars and the q and a's. Thanks to everyone at the receptions. Thanks to all the hosts who showed me around the wonderful towns. Thanks to the cinema grad student who served me fish and chips tonight. Thanks to south arts.
I hope everyone enjoyed mars.

Savannah

I have been having a leisurely day her in beautiful Savannah. I ate some red beans and rice while watching the shipping boats come down the river. Took a beer to go from the restaurant...can't do that most places...and then settled into my haunted inn for the night.
 
This morning I learned I missed an earthquake back in Texas. Also very very unusual.
Couldn't handle waiting the two hours for Mrs. Wilkes lunch, so I opted for an awesome sandwich at zunzi's. South African yummy. Then stopped into the Lucas theater. An amazingly beautiful venue. With mars up in lights!
While there I judged a high school art competition in conjunction with the screening. They were all good, and Congrats to the winners.
Now I am going to check out a graveyard and a fort and a beach.
I am also going to try to fight off this cold. This tour is a tough schedule...tougher than me it turns out.
Fingers crossed for a great screening tonight.

Thomasville!

Getting a post up from Texas now. I am recovering from the road and making sure thomasville didn't feel left out.
First, it is one friendly town. Second, I shared a plantation guest house with a giraffe. Third, that was some great cheese.
Thanks again Natalie. You guys really rolled out the carpet...even if airport security confiscated my jam in tallahassee...considered a liquid.
And I even got an early morning trip to wakulla springs...for more Manatees and gators.
And I want to thank everyone who came out to the screening...and thanks for talking politics after.

It's not over till it's over...

...just like some joker said...
Driving out of Montgomery in the predawn light. Watching the fog roll off fields like they were on fire and the traffic change from school buses to semi trailers. Trying to make it to thomasville in time to teach a class. Listening to vic chessnut and feeling very southern.

The week is almost done

On one hand I feel like I've been on the road for a month...on the other hand I'm a little sad to be coming close to the end.
We have had audiences of all different sizes...but all have been really excited about the film. Tonight I got to speak to a perspective future film student as well as some of the great film supporters here in Montgomery.
But before the screening I git a quick tour of Montgomery...and it is a town rich with history...and rich with some strangenesses too. They have seven buildings that look like the white house. They have a statue to the father of modern gynocology. They have a corner where Rosa parks and hank Williams share opposite sides of the same historical marker.
Jim deserves a huge thanks for putting me up at the lattice inn...amazing place...and for the scrabble welcome...and Martin for showing me around!
Seriously though, the lattice inn is fabulous. Stay here when you are in Montgomery.
Now, sleep for four hours...then back off to thomasville at 5 am!

The pics that crashed Mobil phone Blogger

Gotta love the auto correct on my mobile phone above. Ha!

Back to the future part 2

Ok, I am calling this back to the future part 2 because yesterday over lunch in ashville I wrote ... at the risk of sounding less than modest...my best blog post yet. It was also the longest. But the Carolina mountains have a special way of disabling my smart phone...and that post has been labelled "publishing" for about 36 hours. So, this is part 2. Like most sequels it will not be as good as the original.
The screening at Johnson city was our best yet. Not only did I get to visit with old friends from Texas, but we had a nice full room with 109 folks watching the film. It was followed by a great reception AND a late night visit to the cook out...where 4.39 buys 2 quesadillas, with a side of corn dog and hush puppies, and a cheerwine float. Yeah!!
But back to the movie. Shara and the rest of the faculty really got the students out. We started with an informal pizza dinner chatting about filmmaking...had a long q & a following the film, and then I spoke to two separate classes about how we made mars. It was really a great feeling to see how interested the students were in it!
I also got to have a pleasantly southern day. I got some photos with the neighbors awesome Halloween decorations and then set out in the drizzle...to go BACK TO THE FUTURE! Future 26 that is...east future 26 this time.
On the way I passed the brilliant colors of the leaves changing in the mountains, mars hill road (made me feel right at home), and the inmates doing road work under the watchful eyes of armed guards. I ate a burger with a side of dill and ginger coleslaw in ashville, and I browsed through the most impressive collection of 1970s belt buckles I have ever seen. I overheard the girls eating next to me talk about moving to Austin. I felt right at home.
Then I moved on toward culowheeeeeee. I drove along the smokey mountain expressway, and they looked smokey. And let me say that there is no finer place to get a flat tire than the smokey mountains! After a little setback, I rolled past the huddle house and on into town just barely in time to speak to another class. Lori took me for organic goat tacos and dinosaur themed restaurant and then we screened to another nice crowd of maybe 60 enthusiastic college folks.
Then all that was left was to spend the night in a cool 4 bedroom haunted mansion with 6 beds, 7 couches, 2 bathrooms, a chandelier, and just me. So I watched Thor.
Then a quick stop at the mad batter and back on the road. I ate my Veggie burger with Bacon and drove along the river. On the way to clemson I hiked a beautiful waterfall trail with lots of sparkles. Then I hiked another trail...which I thought was .8 miles but ended up actually being 2.7 miles each way. I crossed 7 creeks, 3 bridges, moved 2 downed trees, saw a turkey, an army of squirrels, and a cool snail, and did 1000 feet of elevation change.
And I still managed to drink a 44 ounce cheerwine and roll into clemson in time for tacos with some of Amy's students. Now they are watching mars on Blu ray. Yay!
Ok, here are a bunch of pictures!

Future west 26 - Geoff Marslett for "Mars"

Okay, I am still not convinced anyone is reading this blog of mine...but ill keep posting just in case.
After a successful dining experience in Athens ga I drove up to ashville to stay with and visit my friends Jeff and alphie...and my new friend sawyer...
Let me mention that the south isn't always what you would expect. In Athens I ate a seitan bahn mi and overheard my server and a patron talking about playing magic...and a magic lite called the ascention...which I think I am spelling wrong...but basically, it is not the south everyone expects. Well long story short, the sandwich was awesome and my waiter was applying to film school. I had a great talk with him and the world was again proven tiny afterall.
Then I drove to ashville. I ate farm fresh meals and hiked a beautiful mountain overlook with the leaves changing. Another cool town.
So next I drove across the mountains to Johnson city...where the screening is happening right now! (See picture below) . The folks have continued to trickle in and I think this is the biggest turnout yet on this mars tour.
Let's hope they like it.
I also got to meet up with old friends shara and dan. And they are trying to convince me to move here.
But enough of this prelude...the most important part of today was driving into...no, directly on...the future. And I hate to say it but the future is west...and 26...and goes right past mars hill. So it all seemed appropriate today.

Winder, GA - Geoff Marslett for "Mars"

Ok, so I learned several things about Georgia today:
1. No matter where you fly in the southeast, you likely connect through Atlanta
2. Basically everything...including but not limited to the original chick fillets...is closed on Sunday.
3. The rental cars are extremely far away from terminal E.
4. There are really cool looking places to eat (likely unhealthy but delicious) food...but they are closed on Sunday...see #2 above.
5. The cultural arts center in winder, ga is cool. In particular they play the film audio in the hallways during the show...so I can listen along to the film while I am in the hallway blogging right now. And it is cool to listen to Howe's soundtrack whilst walking through the place. Seriously...well done winder.
As far as the southeast in general I keep being pleasantly reminded it is packed with friends and family. Today I met up with a friend from Atlanta and tonight I will see some used to be texans in ashville!
Well, enjoy the photos...ill let you know how the q and a goes...
Ps. I get to wear a headset microphone for the q and a!

Another sunrise from the plane - Geoff Marslett

Thanks again to David and nicole for the hospitality in Alexandria...
I am looking forward to not flying to Atlanta at 6 am tomorrow!
I am also looking forward to playing the film this afternoon in winder, ga

Wonderful tour of Alexandria today... - Geoff Marslett

The holcombes have been wonderful hosts here in Louisiana. They have a great house full of local art and made me some delicious gumbo tonight. I particularly like their quixiotic yard sculpture.
The screening just started in large comfortable concert hall right downtown. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Earlier today I got an impromptu tour of the city. I saw the grand old hotel and the red river and learned a little civil war history...
On the down side, in my rush to get on an early morning flight I broke my new retro sunglasses.
Now if I am lucky I can see an alligator

Sometimes groundhog day...

So what do the southern circuit and groundhog day have in common?
A: a great movie...I say immodestly...but something else
A2: repeating the same morning. Yesterday I took the predawn flight to the Atlanta airport. Today I took the predawn flight to the Atlanta airport. Guess what? Tomorrow I am on the predawn flight to Atlanta.
And sonny and cher just played on the intercom...now if Chris Elliott would just show up with a news camera...

Great screening!

Ok, so it wasn't packed...no big deal...but every single person there stayed for the entire q and a! That's the big deal.
Audiences like yall make it worthwhile. Thank you for coming out to see the mars.
And I want to thank the john rivers communication museum for an awesome after screening...after hours tour of the antiquated recording devices. Even got to play a theramin...
And got out to the beach to see my family out here. And brought my niece Morgan out to see the film...she is in mars and this was her first time to see it...and she really enjoyed playing with the microphone in the auditorium!
Great first day.
Now to find out if my room is haunted...