From The Mouth of Jesus

Wrapped up Al Pacino's autobiography this morning.

The book was like the Bible in my hands. His words were as if they came from the mouth of Jesus.

Love the man.

The people who inspire me, I love deeply. I suppose everybody is like that. These people mean so much to me that they are deeply a part of my life. In my mind, my heart; they inform my soul.

It is not an abstract thing.

Most of my idols are creative people. Pacino is fiercely creative. So his perspective comes from that angle. He sees life differently, he talks about his life uniquely, his perspective is original. He as a man and everything about him springs from creativity and a worship of the arts.

People like that touch me deeply because I wish my life was the same. It could have been, should have been, but wasn't. 

I am familiar with most of his movies so I could picture in my head what he was talking about. But the inside stories make it all more real, more interesting. Like the fact that he almost got fired while filming The Godfather. Can you believe that?

Apparently he was not bringing the intensity to the role that they were looking for. They gave him a warning. The next scene they filmed was the restaurant scene when he kills Sollozzo and McCluskey. He was so focused and intense that any doubts about him vanished.

My life is better for knowing that.

A well written, honest autobiography reveals a lot about the author if they are brave enough to be truthful.

You get a sense of who they really are.

Pacino did it right. 

He was often self-deprecating, and also often proud of his work. He revealed some of his insecurities and some of his fears.

I got to know him as a human being, which fleshed out my reverence for him and makes it more meaningful.

He's 84, man. He talks about friends and relatives who have died, he reflects about what's coming for him. But of course he does it with soul and sensitivity.

When I turned the last page I was spent, because I did not want the book to end. I want to know him even better.

So Al, please pop over to my house. We'll drink wine, eat spaghetti, and talk like brothers.

It will be devastating.