Part of what makes him cool is the distance he maintains from the public and the press. Which means no autographs. Which can make him seem rather uncool to some.

Well, look what he did in lieu of an autograph for filmmaker David Walton Smith.

Coolest dude on the planet.

Can’t wait to see what he does in Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson’s new movie that opened yesterday.

Bet it’s cool, too.

That’s how I did.

I had meant to see it in the theatre, but I tend to shy away from animal movies.  Even though I knew this one was positive — it’s based on true events — I hate seeing animals in any potential, dramatized or real trauma.

But I manned up and watched it today.  And I was right.  They found ways to make the animals — and me — suffer through this supposed feel-good story.

It’s so nice to cry with people you don’t know.

Which made the e-card that popped up in my Facebook feed today all the more timely:

You got that right.

And First Position, which is currently in theatres and available OnDemand, is great.

The feature film documents the journey of six young ballet dancers as they attempt to qualify and compete in the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, the most prestigious youth ballet competition in the world. 

This contest isn’t just about trophies or medals; it’s serious business.  The winning dancers receive full scholarships to top ballet schools and contracts to the most prestigious ballet companies in the world — jobs that are few and far between.

The filmmakers have amazing access to the dancers at home, in the rehearsal studio, and in the wings before, during and after their competition performances.  It’s pretty incredible…and no small wonder the documentary was named the audience choice’s first runner up for Best Documentary at the Toronto Film Festival where it premiered.

See?  Told you it was great.

I could watch that.

But when I did, it wasn’t Captain Kirk at all.  It was Captain America from the new Avengers movie.

I had my superheroes — and my Chrises — all mixed up.

Chris Evans

Chris Pine

In my defense, the two do look a lot a like.  They’re even the same age (well, Chris Pine is one year older).  And they’ve both been seen on the big screen in a series of lighthearted romantic comedies before they buffed up for their bigger-than-life, save-the-planet roles.

Chris Evans was in The Nanny Diaries with his current Avengers co-star Scarlett Johansson (shown at left), and in What’s Your Number? with funny lady Anna Faris.

In his early days, Chris Pine romanced Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries 2 and Lindsay Lohan in Just My Luck.

There’s a title for ya.

But seriously — would you have known the difference if I hadn’t given you a primer?  I mean, would you?  Really?

(Say no.  I need reassurance that my synapses are firing correctly.)

Price is only one factor.

They hate having their movie ruined by chattering, texting, rude people in the theatre.

Let’s face it — it happens more often than not.

And it might be getting a lot worse.

At a recent CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas, movie executives from Regal and IMAX chains said they both had discussed allowing texting during movie screenings to make the experience more interactive for younger viewers.

NO.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.

It’s bad enough already, with cellphones randomly lighting up the theatre and distracting your eye from the screen.  Imagine what it would look like if they were on throughout the film.  The incessant clicking.  The chatter as people shared text messages.

If movie executives want to lose customers, it’s the perfect business model.

Text them that.

I wasn’t the one getting a belly rub in the middle of the afternoon.

Bob Balaban was getting food for his daughter’s dachshund Elliot when Rory and I chanced to meet him at the pet store. As always, Rory’s color and indeterminate breeding prompted questions and, before I knew it, Bob and Rory were sitting on the floor together.

I meet the nicest folks when I hang out with my boy.

With his travel schedule, Bob said having a dog isn’t an option.

Well, Bob, consider yourself Rory Dog’s official uncle.  It’s just a small way of saying ‘thank you’ for being so nice.

(And for Best in Show, Gosford Park, Friends, and Waiting for Guffmann, to name a few.)

They’re all in Central Park.

I noticed a large gathering of robins on the Great Lawn when I was walking Rory this morning.  They were spaced out in an almost geometric pattern, standing very still.

It looked much like the start of some sci-fi films, just before the aliens land…or creatures burst through the earth after being buried in pods for centuries.

Perhaps they were exhibiting the bird behavior that mathematician John Nash studied as a student at Princeton, which was dramatized in the movie A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe.

Of course, there is one other reason the birds could have been standing there on the Great Lawn in the early morning –

Breakfast.

So much that I boycotted the musical when it opened off-Broadway .  The original stars weren’t in it — how could the musical compare?

My heart was closed.

Then the show moved to Broadway, and the TV commercials began.  Yes, ‘guy’ and ‘girl’ were different, but their voices, the harmonies were as beautiful as the movie that inspired them.  So I decided to give the show a shot.

Last night I was in the audience for Once on Broadway. I loved the staging, a working Irish bar — they even served drinks during intermission — that was transformed throughout the evening by creative lighting.  Every actor also played an instrument, so there was no orchestra pit.

Most importantly, every voice, every note was perfection.  There were a lot of tears in the audience.  (People were talking about it as they left the theatre, so it wasn’t just me.)

The only thud in the production — which occurred at the start of the play and made me sad — was the playwright’s need to ‘funny up’ the script, making the characters extreme stereotypes of themselves.  This was especially true of ‘girl,’ who was a quirky, jokey one-liner, which was counter to her gentle spirit in the movie.

But once she and ‘guy’ began to sing, she softened and the music drove the show, as it did the movie.

And all was forgiven.

If you’re hanging out at home with family and friends and looking for a ‘bunny of a film,’ I recommend Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.

It wasn’t a big box office hit in 2006, and I haven’t seen it on premium channels much, either.  That’s why I bought the DVD.

I love it that much.

It tells the story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved children’s book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” and her quest for personal independence and publication at the turn of the century — no small achievement for a female in 1902.

She is assisted by rookie editor Norman Warne (McGregor), who publishes her books and becomes much more than a business colleague.

Their growing relationship is not happy news to everyone, and the movie tells the tale with old-world charm and romance, for which I am a sucker.  I think you will like it, too.  It is Easter, after all…

Enjoy the sweetness.

Wait for it.

In the dream, I was talking with friends I worked with back in the day in Lexington, Kentucky.

We’re talking over 20 years ago.

I can only assume that the NCAA tourney earlier this week has brought that time in my life to the forefront of my brain.  But we weren’t talking about the Wildcats. No, we were all upset that we couldn’t find Whooplers in the local stores.

Not Whoopers, which is what I think we meant. Whooplers.

Even while the dream was taking place, I was thinking in the back of my mind…

“Don’t we really mean Whoopers?

But I couldn’t seem to express it.

So I woke up this morning with Whoppers on the brain.  I hope I can find them in the local theatre.  (That’s the only place I ever eat them.)

And I hope my Lexington friend Paul Fast is doing well.  Because I dreamed about him last night.