Letters 1-18-2007

True Repentance I took to heart Bunny
Bernhardt’s letter exposing my nihilistic incompetence in not
listing Borat! among my top films of 2006 [“Movie Mishaps,” Jan.
11]. She was right! How could I have left out this film? I needed
to rectify this wrong the only way I knew how: by inviting Sacha
Baron Cohen to be part of the 2007 Santa Barbara International Film
Festival. And I can gladly say that Hollywood is not the only place
you will find happy endings — Mr. Cohen has accepted the invite and
will do a conversation at the upcoming Film Festival following a
special screening of Borat!. So, Bunny, this is sexy time!  — Roger
Durling, executive director, Santa Barbara International Film
Festival

Memory Serves

Michael Ableman’s In Memoriam to Norman Paulsen [Jan. 11] was
not only well written but also a testament to the author and his
incredible power to forgive at a level few people are able to
reach. I have another view of Paulsen, that painted for me by the
author and many others after they were evicted from Sunburst with
only 24 hours’ notice, their version of reality completely
overturned, leaving them to fend in a real world that is often not
as kind or protective as the environment in which they had lived.
Paulsen spiritually, and perhaps otherwise, screwed these people
for his own gain, taking advantage of their inheritances, trust
funds, free labor, and — most importantly — personal trust, to
build his empire. He even put in writing that he would share
Sunburst with all of them, only to leave them out in the cold. He
prepared and signed fraudulent income tax returns for his following
and after fleecing them for all he could, he and his inner circle
sold the Santa Barbara property and fled to Nevada, where it would
be hard to sue them for their misdeeds. Ableman and a handful of
others tried, but they just didn’t understand the system and what
it took to take Paulsen down, so they went on with their own lives.
Some prospered like Michael; some haven’t done nearly as well.