PORT TOWNSEND — The red-carpet arrival of filmmakers and veteran actor Bruce Dern, cheered on by several hundred festival attendees and local residents, kicked off the 13th annual Port Townsend Film Festival for a long weekend of films and activities.
“There is something going on in this town that isn’t happening anywhere else,” said Dern, the festival’s special guest, as he addressed the crowd before cutting the ribbon of film to open the festival Friday.
“I’ve been looking for a town like this all my life.”
An estimated 2,100 attendees converged on the downtown area for fun and movies, watching 76 films running from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and today.
Also included were several special events, beginning with a salmon barbecue Friday afternoon, extending to an awards show Saturday night and continuing with filmmaker interviews and other events today.
Those watching the Taylor Street free outdoor movie, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” — the first of three to be shown there over the weekend— jammed the one-block area Friday.
“It’s really slow tonight,” said a waiter at a downtown club.
“It’s like the whole town is out on the street watching the movie.”
Also on hand opening day — and appearing with Dern downtown — was the other 2013 festival special guest, country singer Chely Wright, the subject of “Wish Me Away,” shown Friday and Saturday. [Wright will be profiled in Monday’s editions.]
Opening ceremony
The barbecue, free films and special events are familiar parts of the festival, which this year added a new component: an opening ceremony.
Right before the ribbon-cutting, a troupe of 30 dancers took over the Haller Fountain steps, running up and down the stairs in a buoyant, choreographed routine.
The ceremony included an acrobatic performance by the Nanda Ninja Theatre.
Amy Sousa approached Janette Force, film festival director, with the idea for an opening ceremony and got an enthusiastic response, she said, “although she told us we didn’t have a budget.”
The troupe’s members — consisting of local actors, wannabe actors and children — have been rehearsing on the steps all week.
During Friday’s community dinner, Dern, 76, sat at a table in front of the Palace Theater for more than an hour as people approached him requesting an autograph or a picture.
Dern, who played the villain in many of his 140 filmed performances since 1960, engaged each person in detailed conversation, asking them questions about themselves, Port Townsend or their favorite movies, and chatting amiably until the next fan interrupted.
Along with his public appearances, Dern was scheduled to visit his brother, whom he had not seen in 25 years and who lives nearby.
Talks with students
One film festival tradition is for special guests to visit Port Townsend High School, where they talk about their life and career to an assembled group of students.
Dern arrived about 40 minutes late, as mixed signals resulted in him being driven to Chimacum High School.
Upon his arrival in Port Townsend, he engaged the kids who walked him into the library in easy banter.
“So you’re a jumper? How high have you jumped?” he asked a student.
“Have you ever made 5 feet?”
“I’ve done 4-foot-10-inches,” was the reply.
“That’s not bad. How fast can you run?” Dern said.
He took his place in the library in front of about 50 students and immediately launched into a combination of recollections — as well as an admonishment for a student for falling asleep when he was talking.
Become stars
Dern told the students it was within their grasp to become successful actors, even stars, in the movie business.
“You want to gather with other kids in coffeehouses or wherever they hang out and pick their brains,” he said.
“Find out what they know, find out where there is a part in a play, and try out for it, even if it’s in a [expletive] garage.
“Try out some scenes, make up your own story, build a relationship and start working,” Dern added.
“If you really want to be an actor, you need to be honest,” he told the students.
“One honest moment calls out another honest moment, and one fake moment calls out another fake moment,” he said.
“Each one of you in this room has one thing that allows you to become a star: You have a heart and a life experience.
“And if you find the ability to be publicly private in front of other people, you can become a star.
“If you can’t, get the [expletive] out of my business because you are in the way.”
John Wayne, Hitchcock
Dern told stories, many that he had told several times before: how he killed John Wayne in the movies, what it was like to work with Alfred Hitchcock and how bigger-than-life movie stars don’t exist anymore.
Dern said later that he was assembling several of the stories — which he also told after a screening of “Smile” on Saturday night — for inclusion in a one-man show about his career and experiences.
Dern said aspiring actors will encounter resistance, especially from their family.
“You have a chance if you are excited about doing this,” Dern said.
“But when you go home, your parents are going to bang their hand on the table and say, ‘Absolutely not. You will be a lawyer, you will work in a department store, you will be a fireman before you will be a [expletive] actor.’”
Dern said the most important part of an actor’s job is working with others.
Teamwork
“You need to realize that you are only as good as the people on your team,” he said.
“This film festival has the best teamwork I’ve seen in the movie business,” he added.
“They not only have it, they get it and really know how to put on a festival.”
While leaving the school, Dern said he hadn’t properly prepared for this particular performance,
“I thought I was going to be talking to drama students. I didn’t know they were all regular kids,” he said.
“But that’s OK. At that age, most of them don’t know what they are going to do anyway.”
For more information about the film festival, visit www.ptfilmfest.com.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
