Another EIFF story (the last one, honest)

So, that festival story I was going to tell you about.

Every year around festival time you'll find it impossible to walk the streets of Edinburgh without seeing a familiar face. This year I breezed past Sean Connery in the foyer of the Filmhouse; had Trigger from "Only Fools and Horses" sit next to me at a Doug Stanhope gig; and saw Heather the Weather wandering about at the Scottish Parliament (trust me, Scottish people know who I'm talking about).

But the best, if not the most famous, celebrity incident occurred during the EIFF just after I came out of the screening of AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE.

I was hanging around waiting to go into the next film when an old American guy who looked vaguely familiar approached me and commented on the T-shirt I was wearing (a picture of Richard Nixon with the words LEGENDS NEVER DIE plastered across it). He began to tell me of how he had wanted to make a film about Nixon, which of course set the cogs in my brain going.

After about thirty seconds, I realised that I was chatting to D.A. Pennebaker, one of the true pioneers of American documentary cinema and, it just so happens, director of one of my favourite concert movies ever. The lightbulb above my head sparked into life.

"Monterey Pop!" I blurted out, and began a conversation about the aforementioned film. Well, really, it was more like he was telling me loads of interesting stuff and I was just blethering on about how brilliant Otis Redding was.

So that brief conversation really impressed my inner geek and I walked away happier than I had after any of the actual screenings (well, with the possible exception of that TWILIGHT ZONE episode I mentioned).

Okay, so I accept that many of you probably didn't recognise his name and that hardly any of you would recognise him if you saw him in the street - but all the same, I was tremendously excited and if you need to refresh your memory as to why then I suggest you revisit my blog entry of 14 July.

Talking of my previous concert movie marathon, I went to see ELVIS: THAT'S THE WAY IT IS at the cinema on Friday night. Sure, I just watched the DVD a couple of months ago, but you need to see it on the big screen. I swear it got more applause than half the films I saw at the EIFF.

That's the power of music for you. Well, music and a ton of burgers. Hail to the King, baby.