The 'Film Guy'

By my third day working as a student intern at The Sun Chronicle, it seemed as though I might have made a mistake in taking the position. It seemed as though I had shackled myself with the ball and chain of boredom.

This was not the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker wasn't waiting impatiently outside the editor's office with new photos of Spiderman, trying to get an advance on his weekly freelance salary.

The newsroom was without the crazed reporters of television and movies usually depicted running around, waving reporter's notebooks while panicking over deadlines. In fact, the most exciting thing that happened was when I was admonished for finishing off the coffee in the pot without brewing a new batch. Oops.

One Tuesday morning I sat at a desk belonging to one of the paper's senior columnists, aimlessly surfing the Internet while waiting for the next story assignment to slowly trickle down from my editor.

Looking up from the massive font on the computer screen (apparently the senior columnist was 'senior' in more ways than one-a family photo showing his gray hair and thick glasses confirmed my suspicion), I glanced across the isle at the long counter that held staff copies of local publications like the Providence Phoenix, Boston Globe and the Norton Mirror.

I first noticed the expanse of brick red fabric stretched across his back. The shirt was tucked neatly into a pair of clean-pressed khakis, complete with a thin, black leather belt and matching black Oxfords.

I was intrigued.

As the guy in the red shirt walked slowly back to his desk (which was no less than fifteen feet from the one I occupied each day), completely engrossed in a copy of the Phoenix, I vaguely remembered my editor, Ken, mentioning him to me the previous week.

What was his name? Brian? No... Ryan? That sounded right.

Ken had mentioned him in passing when I told him about my interest in film. Apparently Ryan (that's what I was going to call him, anyway) was "the film guy" around the newsroom.

This certainly had potential for making my experience at The Sun Chronicle a little more interesting.

An internship position that allowed me to write on a daily basis.