My Kiwi friend David White is in the U.S. this week on business, and I arranged for him to go say hello to a few of my American friends in New York and L.A.  I always like introducing folks with similar passions and goals.  You never know what kinds of great things will result.

A budding entertainment mogul, David writes and develops feature films, television shows, and documentaries. He currently has two projects in production – The Red House (a feature-length documentary) and Toi La Who? (a short film).  He already has Fringe Festival productions, TV pilots, award-winning music videos, a new production company (White Balance Pictures), and a feature film (The Last Great Snail Chase) under his belt.  Busy guy.

David, Emmy-winning/Oscar-nominated actress Patricia Clarkson, and
Sundance-honored Lesli Klainberg.

His first hello for me in the U.S. was to my friend and former client Lesli Klainberg. Lesli and I served together for many years on the GLAAD board of directors.  I also had the great pleasure of doing the legal work for a film that she produced, Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer’s End, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.  I last saw Lesli when she took the train down to DC from New York to attend my swearing-in ceremony.  And yes, she is as warm and wonderful as her smile indicates.

Lesli e-mailed me the photo above, taken after lunch with David.  Coincidentally, she was heading off to a shoot with another person whom I had arranged for David to see, Bruce Cohen, so she took David along.  Bruce is a great friend from Los Angeles who produces movies for a living, and does it grandly.  Bruce has a best picture Oscar on his mantle for producing American Beauty, and he was nominated again most recently for Milk.  Like Lesli, he is a peach of a person, a generous philanthropist, and an involved citizen who makes a positive difference. 

My favorite pic of Bruce (far left), beaming with other
American Beauty Oscar winners.

From all that I have seen and heard, David is having a great visit to the U.S.  I look forward to chatting with him when he gets back.