Tag Archives: The Way My Way

We’re back!

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After 4 months on the road traveling with our movie The Way, My Way, we’re finally back at home in Mudgee – and my goodness, it’s great to be sleeping in our own bed again.

It was an extraordinary trip –

  • 8 weeks in the US and Canada doing Q&A screenings,
  • Three weeks in Germany supporting the film’s theatrical release.
  • A side trip to Hungary for a special screening in Budapest with our dear friends Balazs and Laszlo – both feature in the film.
  • Three weeks or so in England, Scotland and Wales.
  • Then back to Canada and Vancouver to attend the annual North American Gathering of Camino pilgrims with a special screening.
  • Then back to Europe and Malta to attend the European Assembly of Camino pilgrims, with screenings for the Spanish Ambassador, the Australian High Commissioner, and other dignitaries.
  • Then from Malta back to London then back home!

Overnight I slept for nine hours straight.
I never sleep nine hours straight!

I have emails long overdue need replying to, finances to sort, social media needs attending to, plus I started writing a new novel while I was away and I have a deadline in two weeks to deliver the first 25k words to Penguin Random House. Then there’s the sequel to The Way, My Way that Jennifer and I are starting to ramp up – not to mention kick starting my exercise routine once again, getting my eating regime back on track, and so on and so forth!

I never want to travel again.

Until August, when I have to go back to California for more stem cell treatment for my Parkinson’s.

I tell you what though, I love Australia.
I’m proud to be an Australian.
We’re not without our faults and problems, as with any country –
But I’d prefer to live here than anywhere else in the world.
And in Mudgee in particular.
With Jennifer.

Now, back to work!

Germany, Hungary & Beyond ~

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Our mammoth global tour of The Way, My Way, continues.

We’ve been in Germany now more than three weeks. We’ve driven the length and breadth of the country in a rented (and brand new) Audi A5 that has a warning badge on the dashboard that says I’m not allowed to drive it faster than 220 km/hr.

Damn.
And I was wanting to hit 250!

The autobahns here allow drivers to go however fast they want. Some must be hitting 260km/hr easy. They flash past in their Mercedes and BMWs and Porches (and yes, Audis too) You see them as a speck in the rearview then they’re there and then they’re not there.

It’s a wonder there aren’t more horrific accidents.

But unlike speedsters in Texas or Florida, the Germans are incredibly safe and disciplined drivers. It’s actually more dangerous driving on Australian highways where the speed limit is a mind-numbingly slow 100 km/hr. At least on German highways you have to stay fully focused the whole time.

Enough of German driving conditions!

So far I’ve driven about 2,500 kms up and down and around the country so that Jennifer and I can attend the various Q&A screenings set up for us by the film’s German distributor, Happy Entertainment, led by Thomas Steger.

(too much headroom!)

Thomas and his team have done a terrific job preparing the film for its general release on 80+ screens across the country, and Austria, on April 24th/25th. He’s geared the film’s campaign specifically for a German audience – and I have to say the audiences have responded to the film differently to Australian or American audiences.

Australian audiences were a little shy and tentative and dare I say it, initially suspicious that an Australian film could be any good. But the film ended up having a 20 week run. In America and Canada, the audiences were enthusiastic and exuberant right from the getgo.

The German audiences are a little more restrained – and this could be cultural or it could be a function of the dubbing and translation – however they have been no less impacted by the subtle power of the film, as have audiences elsewhere, and the Q&As have been largely fully attended and the questions have indicated a deep engagement with the material.

During our time here we’ve been able to hang out with our dear friend Rudi Wiesmeier, who lives in a beautiful village south of Munich and whose support of the movie brought it into creation.

(perfect headroom!)

His two friends, brothers Jonas and Julian Bachmann, featured in the film as the musicians in the Hontanas party scene, then later in the snail scene. (“Mein Gott! Ist er tot?”) They saw the film in Munich and loved it.

(forgivable headroom)

Tomorrow we drive 400km+ to Leipzig, for a screening there – then to Berlin for a screening there – then we fly to Budapest in Hungary for a special screening hosted by our Camino buddies Balazs and Laszlo – stars of the film. That’s on Sunday 27th April.

From there we go to the UK for about ten days, then we fly back to Canada for a screening at a big annual Camino Gathering in Vancouver, then we fly to Malta for a similar screening with European Camino leaders – then… we fly back home.

We’ll have been away four months.
I wonder what the lawn’s like?

(unforgivable headroom!)

The Way, My Way finishes its US & Canada Q&A tour – for now!

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This afternoon Jennifer and I did our final Q&A in Carson City, near Lake Tahoe, in Nevada.

It was our 48th Q&A screening in 44 different towns/cities in 51 days.

We attended screenings in these states and provinces:

  • Arizona
  • New Mexico
  • Colorado
  • Texas
  • Florida
  • Ohio
  • Indiana
  • Illinois
  • Wisconsin
  • Washington DC
  • Virginia
  • New York
  • Ontario (province of Canada)
  • British Columbia (province of Canada)
  • Washington
  • Oregon
  • California
  • Nevada

I’ve driven 4,314 miles.
I’ve rented five vehicles.
We’ve taken 56 Ubers.
We’ve taken 12 internal flights.

You might think we’re utterly exhausted but actually we’re not.

Camino walking legend Johnnie Walker joined us for our NY, Canadian, Seattle, Portland OR and most of the Californian screenings. He was a big hit with the crowds. They loved him!

And he energised us.

But what’s really kept us going day to day, screening to screening, has been the audiences. Most of those 48 screenings were sellouts. In Ottawa we had a sellout crowd of 650. In San Rafael we had a sellout crowd of 340. Dan the manager there said he could have sold twice that number of tickets.

So even though it’s been a long haul for Jennifer and me, and Johnnie too – it’s been worth it! We’ve met some wonderful people, many of whom have become friends – and we’ve seen first hand the impact the film is having on people.

Before we left home we were concerned that the North American audiences maybe wouldn’t “get” the film. That’s turned out to be something we need not have worried about. The audience response throughout has been even more demonstrative than in Australia. And the Q&As have been vigorous and they’ve asked some fascinating questions.

There hasn’t been one screening where the audience hasn’t clapped twice – one when the film cuts to black at the end, and then again at the end of the credit roll. It’s been incredibly humbling – but also gratifying.

Behind all this has been the engine room of Paul Hudson, head of US based Outsider Pictures, and our Executive Producer Marc Wooldridge, head of Maslow Entertainment in Australia.

Tomorrow we drive from Carson City, Nevada, to Los Angeles where on Monday we fly out to Germany to meet up with another of our Executive Producers, Rudi Wiesmeier. The film is getting a major theatrical release in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

It premieres in Munich on April 8th, and Jennifer and I then begin a 12-15 city Q&A tour throughout Germany. Then we’re coming back to North America in early May for further screenings.

This film has a life of its own.
It’s now running on what we call: Pilgrim Power!

The Way, My Way Q&A tour – 4 wks in ~

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For the first time in nearly 4 weeks, we have a day off!

We’ve been going flat chat since the end of January – pretty much a new city, a new screening, every day.. Here’s where we’ve had screenings so far –

  • Phoenix
  • Sedona (2 screenings)
  • Flagstaff
  • Albuquerque
  • Santa Fe
  • Denver
  • Flat iron Crossing
  • Dallas
  • Austin
  • San Antonio
  • Houston
  • Jacskonville (screening cancelled – Valentine’s Day!)
  • Orlando
  • Miami (two screenings)
  • Cincinatti
  • Columbus
  • Indianapolis
  • Chicago (two screenings)
  • Milwaukee
  • Washington
  • Arlington

That’s 2,470 miles.
In 24 days.

I drove all this except for Cincinnati/Columbus/Indiapolis – these sectors we were very kindly driven by Brian and Michelle Coleman – 283miles. It took a huge burden off me, plus we had a great deal of fun Cruisin’ with the Colemans!

From here we go to New York, then into Canada where we have sellout screenings in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. From Vancouver we drop back into the US where we have a screening in Seattle. Then Portland Oregon – then we shift on down into California.

Johnnie /walker joins us in a couple of days now in New York, and he’ll be doing Q&As with us up to March 23.

It’s been interesting seeing the differences and similarites between the Australian audiences and the US audience.

Overall, the US audiences have been more demonstrative, more effusive in their praise of the film, they are happy to discuss spiritual matters more openly, and they are more interested in the transformative aspects of the Camino.

There are some questions the US audiences ask that are the same as the Australian audiences. They are:

  • How is your knee now?
    (Still buggered)
  • Why are the trails so empty?
    (Because most days we started shooting at 7pm or so to get the magic hour light – and most pilgrims have bunked down in their alburgues by this time of the evening.)
  • Why did I cast Chris Haywood as myself?
    (Because he’s a great actor)
  • To Jennifer: Has he really changed?
    (Jennifer: Yes. He now divides his life into the years before the Camino and the years after the Camino.)
  • What’s your favourite part of the Camino?
    (The Meseta,)

How are we holding up?

It’s been tough at time, I have to admit. All the driving, no real time to rest – but what’s kept us going are the wonderful people we’re meeting. Pilgrims really are extraordinary people!

The Way, My Way – updated Showtimes with ticket links ~

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Finally, we have a place where you can go to find showtimes and buy tickets for the Q&A tour – and when the film opens in general release on March 7th, you can use this link to find your nearest cinema too –

Go to the website’s home page – find the SHOWTIMES tab on the menu bar, click on that, choose your country, search your zip code, and there it is!

Showtimes

Sorry it’s taken so long – it’s a difficult and time consuming process getting commitments from exhibitors to play a small Australian movie about a stubborn man walking across Spain!

The Way, My Way Q&A Tour – If it’s Tuesday it must be Cincinnati, right?

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Yes, but is it Tuesday or is it Monday?
This Q&A tour is becoming a bit of a blur. Here are the screenings so far:

  • Phoenix – SELL OUT
  • Sedona x 2 screenings – both SELL OUTS
  • Flagstaff – SELL OUT
  • Albuquerque – 95% full
  • Santa Fe – SELL OUT
  • Denver – SELL OUT
  • Flat Iron Crossing – SELL OUT
  • Dallas – 95% full
  • Austin – SELL OUT
  • San Antonio – SELL OUT
  • Houston – SELL OUT
  • Orlando – 90% full
  • Miami Nth – 90% full
  • Miami Sth – SELL OUT

So across 15 screenings in 17 days so far we’ve had 11 sell outs, and those that didn’t sell out had only the front two rows close to the screen left unsold. The screening tonight in Miami’s Coral Gables Art Cinema sold out the first day tickets went on sale. It was a 141 seat cinema, but they put in extra chairs to cater for the overflow, making it 150 seats in all.

We flew from Australia to Phoenix (8,809 miles), and have taken 2 internal flights totalling 1800 miles. Most of our travel though has been by car – with me driving…

In 17 days I’ve driven 1875 miles, or 3,017 kms through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Florida.

How are we holding up?

Overall, pretty darn well. There have been a few times in the past 17 days when we’ve felt like we’ve been newly exhumed – but other than that we’re having a huge amount of fun, meeting some truly remarkable and wonderful people, making new friends and catching up with old friends – but the thing that keeps us buoyed is the audiences’ response to the film.

It’s been humbling – and has far exceeded our expectations.

We have another 36 screenings to go.

The Way, My Way – US & Canada Q&A Tour – UPDATED

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Here is an updated list of screenings on our US and Canada Q&A Tour, as of Feb 15.

Please remember that the film opens in general release on March 7, so even though your town or city may not be on this list, the film becomes available in cinemas across the US and Canada on March 7.

Camino legend Johnnie Walker will be joining us on the tour – arriving into New York on Feb 27 and doing Q&As after screenings with us right the way through to March 23rd.

Also please note that this is not going to be available on Netflix or any other streamer in the foreseeable future. Sorry. But if you want to see this movie you’ll have to go see it in a cinema. But if I can humbly say: it’s worth it! The film is a big screen experience. It really puts you on the Camino.

So here’s the list.
There’s still a lot of gaps, but we’re filling these as fast as we can –

15-FebOrlando7:00 pmRegal Pointe Orlando
16-FebMiami2:00 pmAMC Aventura Mall
17-FebMiami5:30 pmCoral Gables Art Cinema
18-FebCincinnati7:00 pmAMC Newport on the Levee
19-FebColumbus6:30 pmGateway Film Center
20-FebIndianapolis7:00 pmAMC Indianapolis 17
21-FebChicago South7:00pmMarcus Orland Park 
22-FebChicago North (19)7:00 pmWayfarer Theatre Highland Park
23-FebMilwaukee3:00pmMarcus Ridge Cinemas. New Berlin
25-FebWashingtonTBCAngelika Pop Up
26-FebArlington6:30 pmAMC Shirlington 7
27-FebLong Island5:30 pmIsland 16 Cinema de Lux
27-FebLong Island7:00 pmCinema Arts Center
28-FebNew York7:00 pmEmpire 25 234 W 42nd Street
1-MarOttawa 6:15 pmByTowne Cinema
2-MarToronto2:oopmCineplex Yonge-Dundas
3-MarVancouver TBC
4-MarSeattle TBC
5-MarPortland7:30 pmAlberta Rose Theatre (TBC).
6-MarLos Angeles (Beverly Hills)7:30 pmLumiere at the Music Hall. Beverly Hills
7-MarLos Angeles (Santa Monica)TBCLaemmle. Santa Monica
8-MarAMC Orange tbc
8-MarRegal Aliso Viejo7:00 pmRegal Edwards Aliso Viejo
9-MarLaemmle Claremont TBC
10-MarRest day TBC
11-MarOjai TBC
12-MarSanta Barbara TBC
13-MarSan Luis Obispo7:00 pmPalm Theatre
14-MarSan Jose TBC
15-MarSan Rafael7:00pmRafael Film Center
16-MarSan Francisco2:00 pmSports Basement/Presidio
16-MarBerkeley TBC
17-MarTBC TBC
18-MarSan Rafael TBC
19-MarSonoma  TBC
20-MarSacramento  Tower Theatre
21-MarTBC TBC
22-MarLake Tahoe2.00pmTBC
23-MarMODESTOTBCTBC

 

A new book coming soon!

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Very soon I’ll be publishing a new book – it’s called:

The Way, My Way –
Posts from a BLOG
that became a BOOK
that became a FILM.

Catchy title huh?

It’s a compilation of all the posts I wrote on my blog leading up to, during, and after my first Camino, and posts from my second Camino, the Portuguese Camino.

It has an incredible amount of detail about the two walks, including some wonderful photos. It includes multiple “audits,” analysis and breakdowns of gear, personal insights, what I did right, what I did wrong, etc.

Here’s the front cover – it’ll be up on Amazon in a week or so. I’ll let you know when it’s available –

The Way, My Way – Texas all but sold out ~

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The Q&A tour that Jennifer and I are currently doing is going surprisingly well –

  • 10th Feb – Dallas. 90% sold out. (It will sell out by the screening date.)
  • 11th Feb – Austin – SOLD OUT.
  • 12th Feb – San Antonio – SOLD OUT
  • 13th Feb – Houston – SOLD OUT.

Jennifer and I fly into Dallas on Sunday the 9th and we’ve been invited to a Super Bowl party.

How cool is that?

Today driving through from Santa Fe to Pueblo on our way to a screening in Denver tomorrow night (93% sold out so far) – we drove through some magnificent country in Colorado.

We had lunch at Del’s Diner. It was such a wonderful place – and my Bacon Cheeseburger (hold the cheese, please) was delicious.

Yesterday at the screening in Santa Fe I met up with a Facebook friend who many years ago contacted me, after having read my book, asking to buy a particular photograph featured in the book.

I said I wouldn’t sell it to him – I gave it to him – and a friendship developed from that time on. We met for the first time yesterday at the screening. His name is Troy Buckleiter. He runs a very prominent art gallery in Santa Fe – and our friendship took a quantum leap yesterday.

That’s the power of the Camino.

Day 5 Q&A tour / US & Canada

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Well, I’m a-standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me

Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win
Though we will never be here again
So open up, I’m climbin’ in
So take it easy…

The iconic song, written by Jackson Browne and Glenn Fry – Take it Easy – the song more commonly known as sung by The Eagles.

I stood on that corner today –

Jennifer and I stopped in Winslow on our way from Flagstaff through to Albuquerque tomorrow, and a screening tomorrow night.

Had lunch at La Posada – an historic hotel in Winslow –

And then stayed overnight at the (again, historic) El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, a town which has been the base for a lot of classic westerns.

The screening in Albuquerque tomorrow is filling up fast – here’s a link for tickets:
https://www.harkins.com/movies/the-way-my-way-with-qa/2025-02-02

And Santa Fe the day after looks like it’s going to be another sell-out.
https://santafe.violetcrown.com/movie/VC002247

I wrote yesterday about grabbing those moments of joy when they capriciously appear – well. this today was one such moment –