I couldn't believe all the permits and other things I had to get in order to obtain festival approval. In the end, though, the city officials have been pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing. They can't wait to see it happen.

I asked someone what one of the most important elements of a film festival is, and he immediately said the event's destination. Because Delray is a great city with beautiful weather and ideally located, I felt that a film festival would make a nice fit.

I ran into Anthony Hopkins at a recent event and asked him if he would consider co-hosting the festival. He seemed interested in the offer and said he would look at his schedule.

There was no festival in the area in March. So we went for it. I just want to give filmmakers a new platform and they (PBIFF) want to kill us our first time out. They actually offered to merge and promised me a seat on their board. What does that get me?

A filmmaker's worst nightmare is screening his film and there's no one in the theater to see it.

People think I'm crazy, but for this first festival I wanted to give them a choice and show them what's out there. Fortunately, we have a lot of snowbirds here that can come by and see a matinee. Let's hope they do.

We're thinking that these areas are very important in voluntary control of thought processes.

When I saw the film at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January, people were literally applauding between sets of music in the movie.

We're drafting rules of the road in the new global economy. We've made progress, but there's still a long way to go.

We're giving filmmakers the chance to network with each other and with people looking to distribute movies. Also, local residents can enjoy some great cinema.