On Mail, Imagination, and Resolutions

As we get back from vacation, the e-mail boxes are full. Kim, several of the other producers, and I have been doing our best to get to it all, but it’s beginning to pile up. We’ve been pretty good about getting to mail regarding damaged discs, missing inserts, and Rohmer box replacements, but if we’ve missed yours, please let us know. If it’s a title suggestion or inquiry about when a title will be released, we’re reading it, but I can’t promise when we’ll get back to you.

I really enjoyed the wonderful HBO series From the Earth to the Moon. Al Reinert, who directed For All Mankind and who became a good friend of mine, wrote a couple of episodes. The series is the best document of that magical time when, despite all else that was happening, we were able to do what was in many ways unthinkable. The second episode deals with the Apollo 1 fire. When the Frank Borman character is asked why the astronauts were killed, he answers, “The lack of imagination. No one imagined that something would happen on the ground.” That has stayed with me ever since. It’s the same answer for every disaster. September 11: no one imagined that people would fly airplanes into buildings. The Titanic: no one could imagine an iceberg striking the ship in such a way as to damage more than two watertight compartments. On the other hand, it is because of very fertile imaginations that we dreamed of going to the moon, explore what’s over the next hill, or seek out the answer to the next question. As we enter this New Year, here’s to imagining all the possibilities.

Well, only a few people asked me about my New Year’s resolutions, and it’s not something I give too much thought to. Anything worth doing in January was probably worth starting last November or August or May. You get the idea. I love new ideas and thoughts—it’s what Peter and I spend most of our time chatting about in the office. And there will be some exciting new things at Criterion (in addition to Eclipse) happening over the coming year. Speaking of Peter, he’s away for a couple of days with lists and lists of movies. I have no doubt there will be the foundation of exciting Criterion and Eclipse schedules for the next couple of years when he gets home.