S2:E7 - Keep 'Em Laughing

 

Sara and THE LAST MARATHON team

The blog this week has a very special guest blogger. My dear friend Sara Eolin, co-owner of Rocket Film and the force behind the making of THE LAST MARATHON documentary. I'll be back next week live from PORTUGAL!

...remember make good days great, no bad days allowed - Anton

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Hello everyone. Long time reader, first time writer. I have been asked to hop on to blog this week which is a great honor and I hope I do it justice. While prepping, I realized I have NO pictures with Anton. None. Nada. Had to remedy that, so I was VERY lucky to get THIS!!! WOOO!!!! 

 

Totally adorable

We look super happy, not just because we were laughing for 2 hours straight, but that the ACT for ALS bill passed the SENATE and was going to be signed by President Biden the next day! (Should have happened Friday!) This is a total gamechanger for the ALS community, and Anton and Mari had a hand in getting lawmakers to see the brutal reality this disease brings to both patient and caretaker. The mere fact that 100 Senators could all agree on something is a true miracle, but Anton has always been very persuasive!

 

Ok, now back to me…I met Anton in late 2007 or early 2008. I was head of production at an ad agency in New York. (Names redacted to protect the innocent…) I had worked with Backyard Productions a few times and had heard of their favorite line producer - the man, the myth, the legend, Anton Maillie - but hadn’t worked with him till this job with Rob Sanders. (For those of you following at home, that would be the Rob that inspired Anton’s misstep when he was on the pre-pro call with Nick Piper and called him Rob. Full circle!) I could tell you things about the job, but I remember very little. It was a commercial. There was a product that was trying to be sold. Yada yada yada. Anton and I became quick friends. He made the transition from line producer, to friend, to therapist, to life coach in the span of 8 days. My life was in… ah…. a moment of flux (Aka a shit show.) After an SNL-skit-esque moment of me oversharing, he was like, “Fuck it! Move on. Be happy. Don’t feel guilty about love and happiness.” Those words have been what I try to live my life by now. My dad once told me that when I’m not sure about a decision, think about what I’d be happiest about in 5 years. Short term fixes fizzle. Play the long game. Anton and Dad would have gotten along.

 

I chased happiness and started working on the vendor side of the production world, because I’m a glutton for punishment apparently. I brought Anton into my new fray and kept him on every job possible. “Oh, this is a tough job, we need Anton… Oh, this is a fun job, we need Anton…. Oh shit, they need to shoot when?? We need Anton.” You get the picture. Anton won an Emmy with my business partner Klaus Obermeyer because Klaus’ vision was amplified by Anton’s unrelenting pursuit of greatness. That sounds like a cliché poster headline, but you all know Anton, and you know it’s just purely a fact. You need a plane landing in bumblefuck Greece near a refugee camp?? And 45,890 people said you can’t?? Well, person 45,891 was the one that said yes, because why would you say no to Anton?? See? Persuasive little bugger.

 

That's the chap!

I knew something was going on with Anton before he ever said anything. It was really subtle, but my co-worker/BFF/Wind-Beneath-My-Wing/Comedy-Routine-Partner Marla and I noticed a change in his balance and speech and started to watch him like a hawk. Which annoyed the shit out of him. Like telling a woman who’s mad to calm down-- don’t ask Anton, hey you ok? You need anything? Can I grab that for you? The answer was no, and go sit the fuck down… He got a lot of bumps and bruises on jobs, and we were so worried…. (And not just because the paperwork was a bitch!). He went through years of new diagnoses and you could see the determination in him and we were all in to help, as he’d helped us a gazillion times before. When he realized he needed to stop working in the field it was a huge blow. He was pissed. We were sad. It wasn’t a great time (duh). He started bidding and EP-ing jobs. Desk work and Anton aren’t a great match, but keeping his brain whirring certainly was… and being able to still work with him was awesome. This is when the famous S&M/B.Eagle text chain really began to soar. Marla named her and I the S&M Show and Anton’s nick name is Bald Eagle (bald… wise… you do the math…. Put it all together, you got a B.Eagle as that’s easier to say and adorable.) B.Eagle got a front row seat to the S&M Show whether he wanted it or not. I went through the chain to share some of our gems with you all, and WOOF. We’re pretty inappropriate! Many are Florida Man jokes (the gift that keeps on giving), or crazy shit we come across on the interwebs, but here are some recent favs… 

 

I won’t lie, Marla and I have both had the panic that our last words to Anton will be a dick joke. But I hope while he’s laughing, he remembers how much he’s loved and what a difference he’s made in the world. I know my life is better because of him. Having Anton as your champion and cheerleader is one of the greatest feelings in the world. It’s such an honor and a gift. There’s no way to repay that, and I’m mad and sad that he doesn’t have more time to have others feel the Anton Affect (It may be "Effect", but I am a sucker for an alliteration.) 

 

I’m sure most of you know about the film THE LAST MARATHON, following his and Mari’s battle with ALS. My other business partner Ken Arlidge, the gentle yet tough as nails soul that he is, took on directing this documentary that was supposed to be a 1-2 days shoot for the Go Fund Me campaign, but turned into a 33 min short film ready for the Oscars. Working on the film was a difficult balance of emotions for us all (especially for Ken). Often, I would compartmentalize them away so we could get the job done. I would find myself during the day speaking to the music house and commenting on cuts very matter of fact, and then at night reduced to a puddle watching my beautiful friend trapped in a body that’s failing him. It’s just so fucking unfair. Why him? I can give the good lord above a whole list of assholes that should have come first! 

 

Anton would be the first to say that this is an unproductive thought… and I do try to make good days great. I do. I try. But I feel we’ve all been cheated, and we deserve more time with him. But I’ll take all the days we can. All the laughs. The Florida Men. All the dick jokes. I’ll take it all and think of him always. I’ll always hear his devilish giggle in my head. I’ll always hear him reminding me I have the best job in the world. I’ll remember to follow happiness and shed the guilt. I’ll remember his smile, his wisdom, his generosity. I’ll remember to make good days great. After all, you’re a persuasive little bugger, Anton. 

 

With all my love and gratitude. Promise to look up my dad. I think you’d get along.