As I was relaying the ongoing melodramas of shooting I Love Your Work to my parents via phone yesterday, my father observed that success at producing films, like in so many other endeavors, seems to very much hinge on knowing lots and lots of people. With which I whole-heartedly agree. I’m the first to admit that whatever small successes I’ve achieved in my life have almost invariably been the result of being able to pull the assistance of others at key moments.

As a result, I take my contact list fairly seriously. Which is why I’m particularly thrilled to say that I’m about to cross the two thousand contact mark. That’s right, two thousand contacts. Two thousand people I know well enough to trade emails with at least once every six months (my minimum requirement before pruning people from the database).

Which, I think, is pretty good. But it’s all relative – I’ve been told that Bill Clinton, while Governor of Arkansas, had a contact base of some twenty thousand people that he drew upon regularly. I’d better get moving on shaking hands and kissing babies if I ever intend to catch up.