496th Post - A Brush With Greatness!

During my lunch hour today, as I was returning to my work, I chanced upon Tom Selleck walking down the street. I met him once before, when he opened up a door for me. Today, when I recognized him, I said something like, "Welcome back to Halifax, Mr. Selleck". He turned to me and said, "Thank you."

For those of you who don't know, like my friend in Northern California who reads this blog every day, Selleck has made a series of movies here in the last few years. If you haven't seen them, you should check out the Jesse Stone films, based upon the series of mystery novels by Robert B. Parker. One could quibble that Selleck is about a generation too old to be playing a character who, in the novels, is about 40 years old, max; but from the standpoint of presence, of gravitas, it is hard to think of another person playing this character.

The books take place in a fictitious New England town. Due to tax benefits, and the then-advantageous Canadian dollar, and the fact that Nova Scotia could pass for that part of the world, the decision was made to shoot the first film, Stone Cold, here in the province. The film was a ratings hit against the then red-hot Desperate Housewives, and the decision was made to shoot two more Jesse Stone films, back-to-back. They are called: Jesse Stone: Night Passage, and Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise. A fourth film was made here in 2007; it is called: Jesse Stone: Sea Change. The fifth one is called Jesse Stone: Thin Ice. It was filmed in Nova Scotia in 2007, but I have not seen it. The films are made on a tight budget and are popular enough to warrant the production of one or two new ones every year. That is why he is here for number six, if my math is correct. The internet movie database has not indicated what the title is. I wonder if "Jesse", "Stone" and a ":" will be parts of it? Probably.

We like the films very much. It is always fun to watch movies shot here, to see where this scene was shot, or to recognize streets I walk or drive on all the time. The problem is, most of the films shot here suck. They really do. I mean, have you tried to watch K-19: The Widowmaker, starring Harrison Ford? By contrast, the Jesse Stone movies are enjoyable, fun, and Selleck's laconic interpretation of the character is a joy to watch. Do yourself a big favour and watch these movies!

I am not sure how many of these films are on dvd. I know the first one is as I saw it in a convenience store in River John last year. I will do some research and report back here as to their availability.

Wrote the first draft of post #500 last night. I will read it over here in a moment and begin to revise it.

Have a good one.

Bevboy