It has been a really sad, heavy 24 hours--reading Sue Klebold's painful essay about Dylan's role in Columbine, reflecting on it, and talking about it--so I thought I'd lighten the mood a bit with an odd moment I just had.
It is of no consequence whatsoever, but I had a Kevin Costner moment tonight. You might know that in "The Big Chill" Kevin played the part of the hands of the guy whose funeral brought everyone back together. (He filmed more than that: he played the character, which appeared several times in flashback in the screenplay. But in editing, they decided to drop all that. So you just see his hands and other body parts--no face--as the body is prepped at the funeral home.)
So I just watched Nightline's piece on Sue's essay, which was very moving. I was very pleased to hear Brian Rohrbough express such compassion toward the Tom and Sue Klebold and Wayne and Kathy Harris. I hope that helps them.
I sure felt awful for them. For some reason, the image of Sue crying into a dish towel really tugs at me.
In the midst of watching all that, something peculiar jumped out at me, which I am probably the only person in the world likely to notice. While someone was talking, they showed footage of some hands flipping through Dylan's journal. (TV people call that B-roll.) Those are my hands. They shot that B-roll for the Nightly News segment I did today, and I guess their comrades at Nightline edited it in to their piece. Only my hands appear on Nightline tonight. I found that oddly amusing. I needed a smile tonight. I'll take them where I can get them.
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
kfujioka
Nick Leshi
Judy Berman
Christopher di Spirito
SaucyB
gaypersonsofcolor
Salon.com
Comments
My hands were on Good Morning America, too.
And I should have mentioned that my book was, too--though it was barely noticeable. That spare off-white cover with the white-on-off-white title is beautiful in person, but really bad for TV.
They encouraged me to get the book in the shot, and the cameraman suggested I hold it in one hand, with the journal laid right beside it and covering part of it. I did that, and it got in, but the school at the bottom is covered, and you just (barely) see the title. It pretty much disappears, unless you're looking for it.
But if not for that, I probably would not have noticed my own hands.
With suicide as the common theme to both, I can't help but think the tendency of artistic types (which Kostner's "Big Chill" character certainly fits) and teenagers to romanticize suicide in their darkest hours, makes your observation all that much more intriguing. Both individuals took an extremely self-destructive step. Both took that step in an effort to rectify a deeply troubling series of issues that could have been resolved more satisfactorily for all concerned in other, less permanent ways.
Sadness all around. But of course the compelling difference is that while Kostner isn't really gone, Dylan is. And the younger, far more damaged boy will never be the sympathetic character he might have deserved to be, had he handled his emotional trials in a less destructive manner.
Hey Dave, I just finished your book Columbine and its the best best book I have read in years. Great job
On a lighter note, I hope you have updated your CV with the entry "Hand Model." I was involved in some local "B reel" stuff in a lab, and it's a fun secret when what the voiceover says has nothing to do with what you are doing on screen.