We can come to only one conclusion…Dan Rosen is the
Center of the Universe.

When Your Baltimore Content Team heard that Dan's movie
Dead Man's Curve would be in production at Towson University
in August, we called him to pitch the idea of a web site.
The opportunity was golden. All the angles were there:
Local Boy (Dan, from Pikesville) Makes Good in Hollywood,
and comes back to his alma mater to film his triumph
as Writer/Director. It's a chance to work with some big names,
and give some local trades-people a credit on their résumés.
Everybody wins.

We pitched the idea of joining the Crew in the same way that the
Still Photographer does, but in a dynamic "making-of"
documentary web style -- following the day-to-day,
behind-the-scenes action in graphics, video and journal entries.

But…back to Dan Rosen being the Center of the Universe.

Dan is a great guy, so he certainly deserves the distinction.
A few years ago, he was known only locally as a stand-up
comic and forhis work making commercials. Then, as they
say in such stories, fame beckoned. You might have seen
his recent HBO movie, The Last Supper, a tasty comedy
in which five grad students invite right-wing hardliners to
dinner, poison them, and bury them in the garden,
resulting in a lush crop of tomatoes.

Only a local boy could relate to tomatoes with such affection.
Perhaps that's why he chose Paolo's in Towson, where so
many tomatoes fulfill their higher purpose, as the place to
"take" our meeting.

While Dan nursed a salad and a bowl of bean soup,
Curve's Production Coordinator Robbie Chafitz cased
the restaurant for waiters with SAG cards in their pockets.
Dan offered our waitress a small role in the film.
And Content pitched.

Perhaps it was all our pitching that attracted Stan Charles
- Stan The Fan - to the table, but we doubt it. He and Dan
have been friends for years. At that moment, though, Stan's
mission was to jokingly berate Dan for not including his nephew,
Josh, in the cast of Curve. We then were treated to some juicy
(albeit unprintable) tidbits about local sports figures. Someone
in the back of the room whispered, "Isn't that Dan Rosen?"

We began to suspect that we were truly in the presence of the
Center of the Universe. The proof, though, came when Dan
mentioned that his soup was a little too hot. At that moment,
the fire alarm system went off. Blue lights flashed. Mechanized
voices asked us to remain calm. Rescue vehicles pulled up outside,
releasing swarms of suited firemen. the whole schmear.

It was a moment of comedic greatness. Truly we were not worthy.
But, thankfully, Dan accepted our humble pitch, the results of which
you will see on www.InBaltimore.com and the upcoming
www.DeadMansCurve.com.

Then, one of the four women at the next table turned around.
"Aren't you Dan Rosen? I went to elementary school with you!"

Dan Rosen is the Center of the Universe.