William Friedkin signing at Dave's Laser

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Site created 12/15/97.

page created: 10/16/98

William Friedkin Signing
Dave's Video: The Laser Place - Studio City, CA - 10/15/98

Dave's Laser hosted yet another great 'meet and greet' event last night, at their store in Studio City. The guest this time was Exorcist director William Friedkin. Dave and Linda Lukas have been sponsoring these events for many years now, and the terrific thing about it, is that a portion of the sales proceeds get donated to a charity of the guest's choice.

The other nice thing about events like these, of course, is that film fans get an opportunity to meet some of the people responsible for their favorite films. And dozens of fans were in attendance last night, some lining up hours early for the chance to meet Mr. Friedkin.

Mr. Friedkin himself was extremely cordial - truly a gentleman. He greeted everyone personally, and took a few moments to shake hands and chat with each person in line. The line was quite long, but he stayed late to make sure that everyone who had waited got their chance to visit with him, and receive an autographed laserdisc or DVD.

When I spoke with him, he told me that he was very excited about the new 25th Anniversary DVD release. Mr. Friedkin was personally involved in nearly every aspect of the disc's preparation, including recording a brand new audio commentary track for the title.

Thanks to the efforts of Garrett Lee of Image Entertainment, and the kindness of the folks at Warner Home Video, those in line were allowed to purchase the DVD's Snapper case (for this single event only), in advance of release date, so that they could be autographed by the director. The DVD has been delayed until the end of November, and those who purchased the case will have to return for the actual disc then. Rest assured that the new DVD will be loaded with extra features - it should blow the previous release out of the water.

When asked about my work here on The Digital Bits, Mr. Friedkin was even kind enough to tell me that he's going to check it out personally. Given how genuine he seems to be, I have no doubt that he will (so if you do happen to read this, Mr. Friedkin, you have my thanks - I'm truly honored).

The other fun thing about the event last night, was the chance to meet a number regular Bits readers. Several people came up to me to introduce themselves. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible for me to respond to the torrent of e-mail I receive daily (although I do read it all), so I really do appreciate the opportunity to meet people in person. Thanks to all of you who took the time to say hello.

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention my fellow DVD cohort-in-crime Peter Bracke (of The DVD File). He's a great guy, and works as hard as anyone I know (Pete, I'm still blown away that you managed to update your page, despite having your car stolen!). You all know what I look like from my VSDA reports, but I know that a lot of Peter's readers are dying to see a picture of him. He's been reluctant to show his face over on his own site, so I managed to convince him to join me in a quick digital snapshot (which you'll find by scrolling down)...

Peter Bracke (DVD Man of Mystery) and yours truly

OK, so I managed to convince him to take the shot - I didn't say he had allowed his face to be shown! You'll just have to trust me, when I say that that IS Peter on the left. Hey, I gave it the old college try... take it up with him!

Thanks to everyone who made last night's event possible. As they say, a good time was had by all.