How I got Jason Reitman to say: “Fresno”

Is this really blogworthy? Maybe not, but ah well, here it goes…

Jason Reitman, the Academy Award nominated director of “Juno” and “Thank You For Smoking,” recently did a live podcast with the popular film blog Slash Film. I’m a fan, so I decided to listen in. The live podcast went down over at ustream.tv, which includes a live chat room where listeners can discuss and potentially ask the guest questions. But normally the guests ignore the chat room completely, that’s no fun. However, Jason Reitman seemed to be entranced by it, often ignoring the hosts in favor of reading the chat. So I took advantage of this to ask Jason a Fresno-related question.

Now, Reitman says he’s a lot like Ryan Bingham (the lead character in his new flick “Up in the Air“), in that he loves to fly and collect frequent flier miles. So I asked him if he’s ever flown through FAT (which is Fresno’s FAA airport identifier code). He spotted my question and had this immediate reaction…

[podcast]https://www.dumbdrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/fresno1.mp3[/podcast]
 

So I responded in the chat, confirming that indeed when you fly through Fresno your ticket and your baggage will be labeled FAT.

[podcast]https://www.dumbdrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/fresno2.mp3[/podcast]
 

It IS bad ass. Funny stuff, eh? So now I lay it on. YOU DO NEED TO FLY THERE, MR. REITMAN. I type back, “Fresno Filmmakers Conference – March 2010. Will pay for your ticket from LAX to FAT.” His eye catches my words once again…

[podcast]https://www.dumbdrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/fresno3.mp3[/podcast]
 

Funny, but not a REAL answer, Mr. Reitman. We want you for the FFA conference. So after bugging him several more times, I finally got this response near the end of the chat…

[podcast]https://www.dumbdrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/fresno4.mp3[/podcast]
 

Yes, I do. And you didn’t give me a straight answer, sir! So I guess I’ll have to go through your agent. But thanks for the Fresno mentions, that was a hoot. “Up in the Air” hits theaters in Fresno on Christmas Day, and I suggest you check it out. It’s already getting rave reviews and recently earned recognition from the Motion Picture National Board of Review as the best film of the year.