11:00 Press conference for the swells; 1:00 mingling with the masses.

Now with linky goodness!

And the day is listed as Monday but the date is when???? Did I miss it or should I camp out at the Depot starting Sunday evening? Because hey, I got nooooooooo life.

Yeah, the article is not very clear on that.

same link, eh?

I believe it is this coming Monday as a friend from the Duluth News Tribune is attending (her last big story was breaking the Windchill horse scandal so this is a slight step up).

It's on Monday the 24th at 11 a.m. for those with a press pass, 1 p.m. for the "fans," as it were.

There's still time to read the true story before the movie comes out, so you can see where fact and fiction collide (and if you think the movie previews look like a hodge podge of screwball antics, wait until you read the real stuff!): http://www.x-communication.org/xcomm/books/leatherheads.html

(By the way: local book written by a local author and published locally.)

Time to update my press passes, and just in time to see Clooney--rrrrrroooow.

The real questions is will John Krasinski be there ... gggrrrr

I have a thing for Jim Halpert.

Oh my, traceydee, I hadn't thought of that. My 17 year old daughter will now be amongst those lobbying for tickets!

Ricki McManus and Ken Buehler are the most popular folks in town right now.

.....soon to be the most unpopular.
I was told it is Terri Mattson from Visit Duluth who deserves all the ass-kissing.

Well, if I had to choose one of them to bum-buss, it wouldn't be Terry. He's so full of himself, he'd probably fly around the room like a popped balloon!

Sorry, traceydee & gfnc--no Jim Halpert appearances on Monday. It will be quite difficult to get a press pass no matter who you are. Universal studio approves a list created by MN Film Board/Visit Duluth, but it is first filtered through a PR firm in Mpls. that Universal hired to set up the Duluth event. In short, not even those on the list created in town will be guaranteed a press pass to the 11 a.m. news conference--not even legitimate members of the press. (This visit is part of a "whistle stop tour" of four small towns set up by the studio.) But you never know...good luck!

OMG! what will we do? How will I live if I cannot see the stars? I'll feel like the world's tallest midget!

Tony's right. I tried for a press pass and I write for a national publication. No go, totally blown off. Their loss, I say. Big deal. I did like Renee Z in Bridget Jones's Diary.

As boffo as this is for Duluth's PR (and it is pretty cool), and as much as I dig George Clooney (Zellweger, I can do without), I think I'd be equally excited to see, like, George Kessler at the Depot. But maybe that's just me. I'll settle for watching it on the news, I think.

chuckle, as if they'd let a pack of "common" midwest hucksters get *too* comfortably close...

personality cults...i can do without 'em.

besides, i gots better stuffs to do. like work.

Clip, a link is something that links. You just wrote out a url which you have to cut and paste into your web browser... heaven forfend! I find that people are more likely to follow a link if they can click on it instead of copying and pasting. Just an opinion.

WOW! Thanks ironic! Hey, are you that "Video Professor" guy from TV?

I just asked to be let in. No problem. Not sure how exciting it will be.

Claire, who do you write for?

I write for Publishers Weekly, it's a book publishing industry trade mag, owned by the same gigantic conglomerate that owns Variety. It's just weird, I'm not used to being blown off when I ask for a press pass! I asked for one for the Greg Mortenson event -- not only did they meet me at the door, take me to the guy, introduce me, let me talk to him, but they sat me up front! No biggie, I've never even seen a George Clooney movie in my life. I'm just surprised, it says a lot to me about Riki McManus and Terry Mattson's priorities, when they're handing out press passes to their friends and blowing off working media.

I'm with Mary on this one. On one hand I'm happy for Duluth and for everyone that's stoked about seeing them. But I really can't imagine missing work, and I dislike my job, to go see George Clooney. Nothing against George, I've liked a number of his movies, but I can't imagine standing in a throng of people just to see him from 100 ft away. I admit that I'm kind of Rube- like in that I have found it cool when I've seen random celebrities out and about over the years. Morris Day of The Time at the old Carrigans, David Copperfield walking through the MGM Casino, Cris Carter at Senser's after a Vikes game. I find that kind of thing way cooler than some cheesy staged event.

I'd like to start a conspiracy theory: The real reason the library is "closed for carpet installation" is so that we can't watch on Monday from the windows above Michigan Avenue.

I agree with Chris, the impromptu celebrity sightings are a lot more fun than standing in a crowd, hoping for a glimpse of someone at a cheesy staged event. I go to a booksellers convention every spring, I run into all these celebs there. I sat next to Dr. Ruth once, crashed a party for John Grisham, hung out with Meg Tilly, shook hands with Hillary Clinton, got close up to Bill. This Depot thing doesn't cut it for me. My favorite celeb interaction was talking to Lemony Snicket with my daughter. I was assigned to cover his last book launch in NYC and brought my kid along. The look on her face when we got our private audience was *priceless.* It was like if I met Springsteen. And he was more than gracious, in his own Lemony Snicket way. It was pretty cool.

In 2000, on our honeymoon in Italy, Echo and I were on the train with this guy who we both recognized, yet couldn't identify by name. We sat ten feet away from him the entire ride from Milan to Florence, and couldn't figure it out. He caught us staring at him several times, but never gave us a dirty look or any other indication of annoyance. But neither of us felt comfortable approaching a celebrity without knowing that celebrity's name. So we chickened out. Months later, I woke up from a nap and yelled "Beau Bridges." I knew I had seen those bushy eyebrows before. Oh well. Missed opporunities...

Chance celebrity meeting -

In 1991 I crushed .. as Wil Wheaton told me about his new Honda Prelude.

It's a long nerdy story

I bagged Ani DiFranco's groceries, if you know what I mean!

Actually, I just literally bagged her groceries. When she was in town for a concert she and her entourage came by the old Whole Foods Coop to get food for a picnic.

I remember seeing her with her dreadlocks and tattoos in the produce area and thinking to myself, "Pfft! Another Ani DiFranco wannabe!" And then when I carried a box back up from the basement and saw her again I realized that, no, in fact it was her.

after working in the industry in hollywood, and smaller time in music, it's really not that exciting. i think you just get used to them,and see that they're just people. they can be real pains in the asses, just like anyone else. big time fact-lenny kravitz is boring. smaller time side note-mason jennings & co are super nice & laid back but they're fans are crazy!!!!

Darren Hall was a Nettleton kid. Grew up with my son. Now lives with his Dad out East. Talent is genetic.

I sat near the stars of North Country at the Whistling Parrot in Gilbert when they were filming the movie nearby. My friend who shall remain nameless wanted to follow the star, what is her name again, Charlize?, into the bathroom, I held her back.

Darren Hall, was that the kid that John Hall fathered with a local woman? The whole paternity suit was news for awhile? If so my older sister used to room with the woman who had John Hall's baby. She freaked the hell out of me when I was a little kid, a little wierd. I remember thinking when it happened, that I thought the main guy from Hall and Oates could have done better.

ironic, was that in '93? Cause we sat with her at the 2 Harbors Folk Fest that summer.

Beret, I think it must have been the summer of 2001 because I wasn't working at the WFC that long and I'm sure it was in the summer. Yeah, it was July of 2001 because a singer/songwriter friend of mine from San Francisco was playing Amazing Grace the same night Ani was playing the DECC and, out of great friendship and loyalty, I went to her show. Me and about two dozen people.

So whose in charge of capturing the Monday celeb sightings and posting to PDD?

First time I saw Ani DiFranco, she was performing at an arts festival in Seattle. I was exhibiting books there and the auditorium was next to the exhibit hall. The line of people snaked all over the book hall for hours before the concert. I remember thinking, who in the hell is this woman, and so I went to her show. She rocks.

Lucie -- not me! I applied for a press pass for the event, as I thought it'd be a GREAT story, how a local publisher timed the release for a book by a local journalist and writer to coincide with the release of a big movie starring George Clooney. But the local yokels in charge of suggesting to the studio's publicists in Mlps who should be let in to the press conference think it's more important that the members of the old boys and old girls network be there -- because it's all about them. So ix-nay for me. A year ago, only some middle-aged fart from the NY Times named Chip McGrath and I were the only two media allowed onto the set of Good Morning America to interview Dave Barry, Stephen King, and other members of the Rock Bottom Remainders when they were performing there that morning. I had to, in fact, tell Mr. NY Times who was who in the band, as he only recognized Amy Tan and King. And, this week, I'm chopped liver in terms of media. Just goes to show -- someone told me this once -- it's hard to be a hero in your own hometown. Especially if your hometown is Duluth.

this one time, i was, like, in duluth, like, at uncle loui's cafe. and, like, starfire, was there, like, 5 feet away. like, totally, like, 5 feet. and i was SO nervious. but, like, he was totally cool. he was, like, the bestest. that's, like, the closest i've come to celebrity. it totally blows that i didn't, like, have a camera with me.

(note to geeks: first blog post from my XO computer!)

Quote from the movie: "Being the slickest operator in Duluth sounds a lot like being the world's tallest midget."

...like...who's starfire?

the only celebrity i've ever seen is claire.

Christa, are you the Christa who acts in Renegade theatre? If so, you are the BIG CHEESE in my humble opinion! If you're not. . . oh well. She totally rocks the Teatro Zucchini.

I stood on line at the P.O. downtown once behind Alan Starhawk, who was mailing a bunch of packages. When I got up to the desk (finally!) with my packages, the woman P.O. employee was quite star stuck and asked me if i knew who I'd been standing behind. "Alan Starhawk!" she told me -- I kid you not. I was pretty psyched, what can I say, I'm, once you come down to it, just another groupie. Wish he hadn't had so many packages to mail though, that day. I was there *forever.*

I danced with kevin spacey outside the 2harbors train station, later that winter merv griffin pinched my butt...really

I sat across from a group of PDDers at a Pizza Luce brunch, they laughed and smiled... *sigh*

About 15 years ago, I almost ran over Grant Hart with my car outside First Avenue.

And I saw Baci get in his car today.

Live from the scene...

WOW GEORGE CLOONEY AND RENEE ZELWEGGER ARE OFF IN A HURRY????

BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEIR UPCOMING MOVIE OF DULUTH IS GOING TO BE (((((( BAD ))))))!!!!

( FIRST OFF ) IT WASN'T FILMED IN DULUTH! BUT ITS BASED ON DULUTH?????? THAT MADE NO SENSE! NICE HOLLYWOOD! BUT THAT IS HALF OF HOLLYWOODS MADE UP BASED ON TRUE STORY'S ARE! DULUTH ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE THE MOVIE??? IF THIS IS BASE FROM DULUTH? WHY WAS IT FILMED IN NORTH CARLOLINA????

( SECOND OFF ) THEY CHANGED THE NAME OF THE TEAM!

WHAT A THRILL MOVIE THIS IS GOING TO BE!

If the people at Upper Midwest Film Office and Visit Duluth and the Duluth Chamber of Commerce are so great, how come they didn't persuade George Clooney & Co to film this movie here in Duluth?

Sounds like they had their shooting schedule run through February, which we all know is the worst month in Duluth. There are a lot of considerations when scheduling the shoot, including actor availability. I would think working around the wishes of the Upper Midwest Film Office and Visit Duluth is low in priority.

I could not stay the whole time, but it seemed that Clooney was speaking the most. It was an interesting, humorous event. I think Ness even talked more than Zellwegger!