Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise film “War of the Worlds” has raked in over a half-billion dollars worldwide. However, the money will not be deposited in the rural Virginia home Cruise had initially rented for his five-day stay while filming scenes near Lexington. It seems Tom wanted a safe installed – not for his pocket change but for the then-super-secret script, the ending of which was known only to Spielberg and Cruise. While the local owner was willing to accommodate substantial redecoration by Cruise’s personal interior designer, he was not willing to let the designer drill holes in the living room floor for a script-secure safe.
Moments to remember
As we go through life, we’ve all thought about things we want to do before we die. Former Washingtonian Michael Ogden and illustrator Chris Day – both living in London, where they met at an Internet company a half-dozen years ago – collaborated on the book “2Do Before I Die.” They enlisted friends from around the world to contribute personal essays. Many of the Washington-based contributors gathered recently to celebrate publication of the book, subtitled “The Do-It-Yourself Guide to the Rest of your Life,” on the patio of Carol and Landon Butler’s Northwest home.
The idea originated when Ogden sat with his paternal grandfather – author Chris Ogden’s father – on his deathbed. “His final stories differed from his obit,” related Ogden. “He told me stories I hadn’t heard about little moments like his first love.”
Ogden said, “My grandfather gave me a perspective on life.” So he made a list, and then asked others to pick out a single moment from their lives and to think about their list for the future. The book is about those individual answers from people ages 21 to 81.
For Ogden it was about recording a record album – not selling copies of the records, but hearing the songs. Paige Evans wrote an essay about returning to her childhood home. Her parents, former Rep. Tom Evans, R-Del., and artist Mary Paige Evans, now living in Florida, came to the party to celebrate publication. Others on hand and proud of their essays were: Eric Beach, who wrote about climbing Mount Fuji; Andy Myers: his road trip across the U.S.; Bernie Aronson: raising his daughter, who is now 15; Landon Butler, who would have written about taking an intensive French course in France; and Diana Walker, who would have written about taking her granddaughter to Paris.
Both of Ogden’s parents celebrated the publication. In fact, one of the most dramatic essays was written by Ogden’s mother, Deedy, 60, a local photographer and artist. The essay, titled “Come out of the closet,” tells of her “jumping off a cliff” – her deep love for another woman.
Calling all … artists?
The Dupont Circle art community strikes again with Art on Call. Twenty-two artists – including painter Nicholas Shi, Cherif Mamadou, muralist G. Byron Peck, photographer Colin Winterbottom, watercolorist Arlette Jassel and graphic designer Supon Phornirunlit – have revitalized abandoned fire and police call boxes with their own interpretation of Dupont’s famous fountain as a tribute to an earlier time, pre-“dial 911.” That’s when the boxes played an official role in our emergency alert system. Dupont isn’t the only community collaborating with local artists on this project. If you drive around Mount Pleasant and Capitol Hill, you’ll see others.
Love makes the world go ’round
We’re delighted to report that political consultant Ed Rollins has been happily married to Shari Scharfer-Rollins, a former TV honcho and now a real estate executive in New York City, for the past two years. His dear friend, Lyn Paulsin, is engaged and about to marry. Oops – so much romance, we get confused.