Photos by Donald Fortnum | Photos by Lawrence I. Charters | Photos by Richard Sanderson
A sunny Saturday morning, a room full of Pi members, and a movie about Apple: is there a better way to spend the day?
It all started with my trip to San Francisco for the Macworld 2009 Conference. After meeting up with James Savage from the RetroMacCast, I was invited to lunch with Josh Rizzo, and Rob Baca from Baca Films. During the lunch I was invited to the Macworld screening of Welcome to Macintosh. That night, I was slated to go to Jillian’s across from the Moscone West convention center for a Mac Meet and Mingle. A great opportunity to, well ... meet and mingle! I figured I would go to the movie screening, and then take a cab back over to Jillian’s afterwards. I arrived at the Sundance Kabuki Theater and was about to take a seat in the middle of the theater, when I noticed a microphone stand in the front corner of the room. Guessing this would be used for something afterwards, I sat in the very front row. Sure enough, after the movie there was a six panel Q&A with Steve Wozniak, Andy Hertzfeld, Ron Wayne, Guy Kawasaki, Leander Kahney, and Jim Reekes. I was glad I stayed at the theater, because I was able to get permission from the creators to share this movie with the Pi, and they were kind enough to send us some promotional gear!
Robert “Bo” Huttinger presented the movie in classic Mac user fashion: the DVD played from his MacBook, which was plugged in to a digital video projector. Bo used his iPhone as a remote control for the MacBook. Photo by Lawrence I. Charters.
On February 7, the clubhouse was generously prepared with coffee and doughnuts, the seats were laid out. The members started to pile in. We had a full house, and we needed every chair. There was a brief introduction and we started the movie. This screening was no different than the screening in the Sundance Theater. There were many laughs from the crowd, and some information some of us had never heard before. This documentary led us down a path of many different perspectives from the realist ex-Apple employee, to the rabid collector, to the movie director. Several perspectives were ones we had not encountered, but all were beneficial to the storyline. In the movie following the main presentation, there were interviews with the directors, and footage of the Q&A session at the theater.
All Pi members present at the screening were entered into a raffle for some prizes sent from Baca Films! We gave away: a refrigerator magnet, mug, t-shirt, poster, and a copy of the DVD! There were some additional items that have since been distributed through other channels.
As mentioned at the showing, the Clubhouse was available for the movie showing, but it can be available for many things, limited only by time and imagination. If you have an idea about something you, or a group would like to do in the Clubhouse, contact the Pi (office@wap.org) and see what can be done!
All in all, the event was a great success and hopefully the first in a line of great events to come to the Clubhouse. And remember, sometimes it pays to break out of your carefully planned day!
Cheers!
Important! RSVP to office@wap.org if you'd like to attend, as we have limited capacity.
We have a copy of the soon to be released movie, Welcome to Macintosh. We have authorization to show it to our membership. And so we will.
Welcome to Macintosh - The documentary for the rest of us is the first documentary of its kind to mix history, criticism and an unapologetic revelry of all things Apple into a movie experience. Whether a long-time Mac fanatic or new to computers, Welcome to Macintosh takes you from the early days of the Apple I to the latest the company has to offer.
At the premier Woz (Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak) said, "I've been involved in some other independent films and this is by far the best one I've ever seen."
So here's the plan: we will be showing the movie at the Pi Clubhouse on Saturday, February 7 at 10:30 a.m. The movie is just under ninety minutes long. Afterward, there will be some eats and drinks and you can enjoy some additional material featuring interviews and a Q&A session associated with the movie.
Seating in the Pi Clubhouse is limited, so if you would like to attend, please send an RSVP email to office@ wap.org.
We will be passing out a discount code for members at the event so you can get your own copy of the film.
Hope you can make it!
Information about the movie: http://www.welcometomacintosh.com/
Questions: Contact the Pi at (301) 984-0300.