Happy Birthday Dave & Joe Swanberg! Yay1!!

My trip to NYC so far has been okay. I've been down to New York many times in the last decade, but this is the first time I've had a chance to experience what it feels like to be a New Yorker--conversations with random people, jumping on trains without a second thought, and so on.

After I arrived at my apartment Friday afternoon, I took a nap, then went over to Greenwich Village, bought the movie tickets, ate a pizza, then headed back over to the IFC Center.

The first movie I saw was Aaron Katz's Quiet City, which was really good. An awkwardly adorable slice-of-life piece set in New York. A girl comes up to visit her friend, whom she can't get ahold of. She meets up with this guy and ends up spending time with him.

After the screening, Aaron Katz, the cast, and crew answered questions about the movie. When that was over, I came to the front, gave him a copy of Are You From Bingo?, and told him what an inspiration he, Joe Swanberg, and Andrew Bujalski are. I told him that I hoped that we would meet again. He said the same.

The next movie I saw was Hannah Takes the Stairs. That movie was AWESOME, but before that, I saw the movie's director, Joe Swanberg, outside, talking on his cell phone. I would've gone down and given him a copy of my movie as well, but he left before I had a chance to get him.

Anyway, as I said, Hannah was RAD. Greta Gerwig plays the title character, and we see her going through relationships with three men. The movie seamlessly transitions from one relationship to the other. If this movie comes out to your neighborhood, run out and see it! If not, put it at the top of your Netflix Queue.

I'm really tired. I would like to take the opportunity to say "Happy Belated Birthday" to Mr. Swanberg. He recently married his longtime collaborator (and frequent co-star), Kris Williams. Below I have linked to his wedding video, along with Hissy Fits a short film of his that I uploaded.

Finally, I'd like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Dave. He also turns 26 today (it's after midnight as I write this), so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!! You, Mr. Indie Rock, you! Yippee!!