Once upon a time, in an uncertain world without Netflix, I had a job at a little campus movie theater in Minneapolis called the Oak Street Cinema. We showed indie films, classics, foreign films, and the occasional trashy horror flick. It was a beautiful little community of nerds and weirdos and if I had never been a part of it, I would not have written this book. Sadly, it no longer exists, but my treasured memories of stale Dots and obscure Icelandic comedies live on.
And without my father, Sal Bognanni, and his contagious love of cinema, I might not have fallen in love with movies the way I did. I think we saw forty matinees of Return of the Jedi, and you never complained. You showed me there was no better way to spend an afternoon. And Kathy Bognanni made sure I was always reading books, too. For that I am forever grateful. I think books and movies made up at least 50 percent of my childhood, and I have you two to thank for that.
Thank you, as always, to my family. Junita, who still says encouraging things no matter how many times I’m convinced that a book is no good. You believe in me more than I believe in me. Thank you to Roman who is now old enough to ask me, when I’m alternately laughing and frowning at the computer, “Are you writing, Dada?” And to Nico, who was just born, for sleeping sometimes, and smiling at me. I can’t wait to take you to the movies.
Thank you to Namrata Tripathi for vastly improving this book. I wish you the best of luck on your new journey. It was a true privilege to work with you. Thank you to Jessica Dandino Garrison for bringing it all home with such insight and enthusiasm.
And to everyone else at Dial who seem to exist only to do nice things for my books.
Thanks to Kirby Kim, the man, the legend, for always going above and beyond, and to Brenna English-Loeb and the rest of the crew at Janklow & Nesbit. And thanks to Macalester College for letting me talk about stories all day with the best colleagues and students in the world.
Finally, since I have a tiny soapbox: go see independent films at your neighborhood movie theater! It will grow your soul and give you an excuse to eat a box of Sour Patch Kids.