When we were younger, Chris LaMont and I were like brothers. I could not have been more excited when my family decided to move to the neighborhood where he lived. I often spent nights over at his house. We had an old trailer as a clubhouse to get away and "do our own thing". Our time was spent together along with our friend Greg, together we went through all the things that kids do.

At school we were a gang of geeks, our common bound being a new movie. Like millions of other kids, we instantly recognized the greatness of the movie and fell in love with it. For some of us it was complete infatuation. We knew every utterance of dialog, all the melodies, each actors name & bio, and all about each character in the movie.

Chris and I even tried our hand at publishing an unofficial newsletter for fans. As a hobby we studied special effects and started to make little movies of our own. When we could, we went to see the movie again and again until we had seen it 100, then 200 times!

As Chris, Greg and my interest grew, we began to dream on a grand scale. We envisioned a fantastic place where you could go and see great things from movies, a museum of sort. Together, our collection was the best in town. We had everything including cards, magazines, comics, toys, posters, stickers, and absolutely everything you could think of including my priceless and irreplaceable historic film footage. Since no one could be this great of a collector without some of the cherished cells, I gladly gave Chris a strip from each of the several scenes. It was worth a fortune and made him the second greatest collector in the world!


As the years went on we remained inseparable, even when one of us would move away and change schools, we would talk on the phone and see each other on weekends. During the summer our parents would drop us off to hang out together.

Over time Chris became persistent about my adding the film to our "museum" so he could study and catalog the entire collection. It was something I didn't want to do, but also I didn't want to offend my friend. "If I couldn't trust him", he said," then who could I trust?" Besides, he was willing to give me his very best promise that all of my film would be returned shortly. He swore on his life, he swore on his families’ life, he swore on his future children and family's life, he even gave me the most sacred of all oaths on the movie itself. I made it very clear that I was not going to trade my film for anything. Then, I made a HUGE mistake and trusted Chris Lamont just a little, only once! ...I agreed to let him "help me" catalog the collection.

we would make movies for a living

As we got ready for high school it became apparent that we would all make movies for a living. To attend a better drama program, Greg and I had to walk through town dressed in uniforms. Chris, all of a sudden, didn't want to hang out with Greg or I anymore. He now claimed to have no interest in making films and chose to attend a school several mile away.

Eventually I also had to move, and suddenly started seeing a whole lot less of "Weasel" and "Wolfie" ...but it was ok, we would have cars soon. We had girls to keep us occupied as we grew further apart. Every time I saw him, I would ask about my film and Chris would reassure me that it was fine and he'd return it soon.

cars and girls take money...

Cars and girls take money, so of course I had a job after school. It soon became full-time work plus full-time school, and girls on the weekend. I found myself moving around a lot and always having to work. I had a good paying job, an older girlfriend with her own place, and nowhere to live. Naturally, we moved in together and were engaged to be married. We both worked all the time and partied when we could. I got emancipated so I could finish high school, and moved back to the old neighborhood with my fiancée. Greg and Chris had moved into a condo on the far side of town and we never saw each other. I had new friends, new girlfriends, new jobs, and would party in different circles. I didn't think I should have to, but I kept asking Chris if he would return my collection, including my film. He assured me that he would return my stuff the next time he saw me. I didn't see Chris or my film ever again.

Years later, I packed my bags to set out for a new life in California with my girlfriend. I was entering the new field of computer graphics, my girl was a surgery technician. She wanted to help people, and I wanted to convince somebody that I could make a comedy children film about ants (generated entirely with a computer), or that we could make a low-budget TV series based on my experience of living in a house full of teenagers, or living in a vehicle while traveling across the country. In the months before we left, I tried to call my old friends, but the number was disconnected and information didn't have a listing. I asked around and tried to find them but it was to no avail. Just before I left for California, I finally got a hold of Greg. He was on his way back from Texas but didn't have a phone number, ...or know the whereabouts of Chris. I told Greg I was leaving and we arranged to meet when he returned, which would be the week I left. I guess he came back late because I left without ever getting to say goodbye to either of my "best friends".

Almost twenty years later I'm still the same dedicated film-freak. When new films are released, it makes me feel like that little kid in our old clubhouse, and really miss my old friends. Did they feel the same way? Where could they be? Were they still alive and well? Why had I not heard from them? I realize that time and distance separate people but it was getting absurd. I had other friends popping out of the woodwork to find me, but these were my two "best friends" (with my priceless and irreplaceable historic film collection). Are they mad at me? Did I disgrace their families somehow and not even know it? Once again, I decided to try to locate my friends. To my astonishment, this time I got results. Had I forgotten the web was doubling in size all the time? There it was... Greg Wolf - Phoenix Film Festival Technical Director, and Chris LaMont - Phoenix Film Festival Co-Founder ...my search was over.

This was weird though. If they're fine, why haven't they looked me up? I missed their weddings?! My two friends are working on films without me?! What else have I missed, and why? ...not because I'm hard to find.


Glad to hear from me because you've been looking for me too? ...you've taken care of my film and you finally wish to return it, with an apology? You could use my help, ...where have I been?

 - OR -

...has the unthinkable happened? "Drifting apart" was not coincidence. Tell me that my best friend didn't conspire against me to steal my film footage, ...my future children's college fund. Tell me my best friend didn't take thousands of frames and leave me with only three after I had given him strips from every roll. Tell me that my best lifelong buddies didn't trade our friendship out of greed.