The Call

Family Communications CEO Bill Isler just called.

We talked for about ten minutes. He was patient, warm, and candid.

In short (because we agreed to keep the conversation off the record, and I don't want to do anything to jeapordize the possibility of this documentary actually happening), he said neither yes nor no.

We hung up about five minutes ago. I'm still a little bit shaken. I have a ton of my heart invested in this project, so I'm worried about how well (or poorly) I represented our best intentions.

I called Chris right away, and re-capped the conversation.

"I'm not sure we moved much at all," I said. "I think he just has a better sense of the color of things."

Chris could tell I was rattled.

"Think about those guys who made 'Hoop Dreams,'" he said. "They spent eight years with those kids, and didn't even shoot any film until the third year. So don't worry about it, dude. You spoke your truth. That's all you can do."

So Chris and I are going to finish the second trailer early next week, and send it off to Bill and FCI along with a more fleshed-out "pitch." We'll go meet Davy Rothbart. And we'll continue to seek interviews. Next up: Katie Couric, Yo Yo Ma, and Michael Keaton.

The journey continues...