Leon Gast -a new film

I think I have recovered from the Woodstock whirlwind, so I can finally catch up on the whole lot of news I gathered while up there.

And here is some big news. Leon Gast, who I first bumped into at the opening night Bela Fleck concert, told me he is working on a new film, and it sounds pretty interesting. This movie is about Juan Gallela, a notorious member of the paparazzi, circa 1970s, who had a legendary relationship with Jacqueline Onassis.

Of course, I don't have to tell you that Leon lives in Ulster County and won the Academy Award for making "When We Were Kings." He also made "The Grateful Dead Movie."

Click here to read a nice recolletion of Gallela by a fellow photographer, which includes a pretty funny story about Ron and Jackie, though I don't think Jackie would find this funny.

Click here for information on a photo book by Gallela, with a great shot of Grace Jones on the cover.

Leon is directing this movie, and Doug Abel, who lives not far from Woodstock, and not far from Leon, and who worked on the Academy Award-winning documentary, "Fog of War," is editing Leon's new movie. Doug's credits also include "30 Rock," "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" and the 2002 Academy Awards.

"I've worked with a lot of good editors," he told me at the Bearsville Theater on opening night of the Woodstock Film Festival. "He's the best."