Aaron

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JASON REITMAN’S BLOG

FEBRUARY 26, 2006

The Locals Like It!

Yesterday, I arrived in DC. Capitol File magazine put Aaron on the cover and was throwing a screening/party to celebrate. The screening made me pretty nervous. Here we were, making a film about Washington politics and now we were finally giving the locals a glimpse. I actually got a little lost for words while introducing the film.

While the film played, we went to Café Milano for dinner. Apparently the hottest spot in the city and one of Clinton’s favorites. It was a great chance to catch up with Aaron who’s been in NY preparing for this new movie with Catherine Zeta Jones that’s directed by Scott Hicks. Sounds great. He plays a chef and has been learning to cook in a real Manhattan restaurant. So, if you’re eating out in the city, who knows, you could be eating ala Eckhart.

After dinner, we headed back for the party. They went all out. Loud and lots of people. After a few interviews, we were ushered into a private space were my wife and I read the Capitol File article. It was great and the photos of Aaron were very much in keeping with the style of the movie. I poured what I thought was an apple juice and wound up with a mouth full of red bull.

The DC folks seemed to really dig the film. People were stopping me left and right. However, nothing was quite as special as the woman who pulled me aside and said, “Your movie was hilarious. You nailed it. I should know. I’m a liquor lobbyist.” My eyes popped out of my head. I demanded her card. She was the real thing. Big company too. I won’t name names. She said all of her people couldn’t wait to see the film and her friends at Altria (Phillip Morris) we’re equally excited.

Sunday morning, I woke up and watched Sweden beat Finland in ice hockey. Then, Chris Buckley and I had lunch to discuss our new idea. We’re cooking with gas. Tomorrow will be DC press. Lots of stuff lined up.