"He Wouldn't Stop Calling Us!"

On Saturday night, the husband and I went to see Wordplay, the documentary about New York Times Crossword Editor Will Shortz and other crossword fanatics. Upon arriving at the theater, we were happily surprised to learn that Patrick Creadon, the director, was in town on a promotional jaunt (apparently he's a Chicago native, so I think he was also pleased to have an excuse to visit), and would do a Q&A session after the film was over.

I'd highly recommend the movie, and not just because I'm a puzzle geek. As Creadon observed, "It's like when you make a documentary about a band you love, and you want to show people why you love that band... you're not making it for the hardcore fans, you're making it for everyone else." He's really hoping that people who don't love crossword puzzles and gaming will still find something special in this project.

Anyway, there were lots of questions about his processes (both artistic and financial), the world of crossword puzzling, the annual crossword tournament, etc. Pretty quickly, however, one audience member threw out the question, "So how'd you get Bill Clinton to appear?" Clinton is just one of many big names to espouse his love of The New York Times Crossword Puzzle onscreen, but it seems this questioner was particularly impressed by his inclusion. Creadon, however, replied, "He wouldn't stop calling us!" Apparently the former president was incredibly enthusiastic and excited about being a part of the documentary, and had an awful lot to say on the subject.

Creadon then observed, "Jon Stewart was a lot harder, though... until we called his people and told them Bill Clinton was going to be in it, and then they were like, 'Wait, who else is in this movie? Really? OK, hey, next week's wide open, what's good for you guys?'"