The other night we attended a screening of our friend Peter Tolan’s new film, “Finding Amanda,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Peter is the co-creator/writer/producer of Denis’s FX show “Rescue Me,” as well as the writer of major television and film hits such as, “Analyze This”, “Guess Who,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” and “Murphy Brown.” “Finding Amanda,” stars Matthew Broderick and is a really funny movie about a gambling addict who must go to Vegas to rescue his wayward niece.
There was a press line outside the screening. Here’s Denis being interviewed:
And here’s something you might not know about red carpets: almost always, the people on the other side of it – photographers, journalists,etc are more attractive and more animated than the actual stars. You just never get to see them, but I do, because I am usually hustled off to the side so that they can photograph Denis either by himself or with another actor. I am what’s known as a waste of editorial space. Photographers will usually take photos of Denis with me, to be polite, but then will insist on some with Denis and somebody worth photographing.
I hope I don’t sound bitter, because, in fact, the photographers are so gracious and good-humored about the whole thing that I’m usually thrilled to step up next to them, out of camera range. There, nestled in amongst the guys lugging the sound equipment and cameramen, I have heard some of the juiciest gossip and filthiest jokes you can imagine, and Denis usually has to drag me away.
“Wait,” I’ll say, as he tugs on my arm, “here comes that crazy Ramona from “Real Housewives of New York City!” And then my new friends will tell me all about the other times they’ve seen her hustling press, and all her outrageous antics. They make it look so easy, these journalists, that I have often thought I would like to have their jobs. Once, at an Emmy party, a TV interviewer asked me to interview Denis and instead I grabbed Cloris Leachman, who was walking past, and interviewed her, because she’s my childhood comedy idol, and I get to talk to Denis all the time
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