WASHINGTON 鈥� Do you ever wish you could talk to your younger self? Or, for that matter, your older self? One man has managed to pull it off, on film at least.
In 1977, Peter 鈥淪toney鈥� Emshwiller, who was 18 at the time, decided he would interview his future self. He sat down with then-state-of-the-art video equipment, run by his father, filmmaker Ed Emshwiller, and conducted half of a conversation with his future self, asking about topics ranging from sex (of course), career success and family, among other topics. He filmed the questions as well as a range of reactions to the hypothetical answers. And for 38 years, he waited to edit in his older self鈥檚 responses.
, 鈥淎 recent health scare (happily a false alarm) made me realize I ain’t gonna live forever, and that it’s time to finish this project. So I鈥檓 finally going to (gulp) face my younger self and record the other half of the conversation.鈥�
The result is 鈥淟ater That Same Life,鈥� and he鈥檚 looking for crowdsourced funding to put it all together. Toward that end, he鈥檚 released a few minutes of highlights. The Emshwillers鈥� 鈥渃onversation鈥� is by turns combative, sweet and funny. Be warned that there鈥檚 some R-rated language here; on the other hand, those are some of the funniest parts:
- At one point, the 56-year-old Emshwiller tells the teenager, 鈥淚鈥檓 old; I鈥檓 fat, and in your mind I鈥檓 a failure.鈥� On the other hand, the question 鈥淎re you exceedingly rich?鈥� elicits laughter from them both.
- Asked whether he marries, the older Emshwiller begins to rhapsodize about his wife. Then, when he realizes whom he鈥檚 鈥渢alking鈥� to, he turns stern: 鈥淥h my God, she鈥檚 12 years old now. Stay away from her.鈥�
- The most affecting part comes when the younger Emshwiller asks, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 happened to the family?鈥澛燭he elder version replies, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what I should tell you.鈥� After a long pause, he says quietly, 鈥淵ou should spend as much time as you can with them. Spend more time with Dad.鈥� The teenage version stops, wipes his eyes and asks for the camera to be stopped.
On his Rockethub page, Emshwiller writes of some of the questions tackled in the film: 鈥淲hat is success? What is failure? Who decides how to judge a life? 鈥� And, while (we鈥檙e) chatting, what鈥檚 the deal with that beard, dude?鈥�
Valid questions, each one.
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