Dear Friends,

As you may have guessed by now, "Mister Rogers & Me" was not one of the 2% of submissions accepted for the Sundance Film Festival. Chris and I always knew it was a longshot, but would never had made the submission deadline without your support. We're now focused on Tribecaca, Nantucket and beyond.

Meanwhile, many of you may be wondering when your signed DVDs, CDs, and photos will arrive.

I just ordered 50 8x10" prints of one of my favorite spots on Nantucket. It's a photo I took in Madaket looking west towards the sunset from the Ames Avenue Bridge over Hither Creek. It's the last print in this series: http://www.benjaminwagner.com/2007/09/04/nantucket-2007.

Signed CDs and prints, then, will ship within the next ten days. Before I can ship anything, though, I need you're "snail mail" addresses. Please send me a message here, or via benjamin@mtvi.com.

DVDs, of course, will have to wait until the film's official release. At this point, we don't really know when that will be; it all depends on what happens with the premiere... whenever and wherever that is. We'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, best wishes for a happy, healthy and joyous new year.

:), Benjamin

Dear "Mister Rogers & Me" Neighborhood Friends,

I wanted to give you an update as to how we're spending your well-appreciated pledges.

Christofer spent four full days editing in the last two weeks, a record for our project which -- as you know -- has been produced in after-hour and weekend fits and starts. Your resourcing made that possible.

Likewise, your support enabled us one more shoot, this one with Dr. Susan Linn in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to being an award-winning puppeteer who has appeared on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," Dr. Linn is the author of "Consuming Kids," and co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
Dr. Linn was, not surprisingly, a delightful interview. Her segment will lend terrific factual gravitas to the film. You can read all about our visit with her at my blog, Making "Mister Rogers & Me."
Chris continues editing this week, adding b-roll, photos and statistical graphics (like "32% of two to seven-year olds, and 26% of children under two have a television in their bedroom."). We're sending a revision to the Sundance Film Festival on Friday.

For those of you who have inquired as to film credits and other contribution rewards, I will update Making "Mister Rogers & Me" shortly, and follow-up with signed CDs and photos by the end of the year. Signed DVDs, of course, will have to wait for the film's release.

Again, many, many thanks for your support. Please follow our progress at Making "Mister Rogers & Me." And please don't hesitate to email me with questions, comments, remembrances, and anything else that crosses your mind.

Just wanted to thank all of you; on Tuesday night just before midnight, we hit our goal!

We're in our final 36 hours of fundraising. If you're so inclined, please tell a friend, or send a Tweet.

Tomorrow morning, I'm doing a public radio interview on Saturday Light Brigade that will be broadcast in three states.

Next week, Chris and I begin editing. On Thursday night, we'll FedEx our rough edit to the Sundance Film Festival offices in Los Angeles.

And in the coming weeks, we'll conduct and then add "Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood " author and Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood co-founder Susan Linn's interview to the film.

The truth is, we have a long, long way and many, many hours of editing left to go. But with your confidence in our project and in us, I have no doubt we'll make it wherever it is Mister Rogers wanted us to end up.

Love, Benjamin

Wow! What a day!

I received an email from USA Today Pop Candy Blog Editor Whitney Matheson today. "This is so great," she said of the "Mister Rogers & Me" link I sent her last week. "I just wrote about it. Good luck, and please keep me posted!

I clicked on over to her blog and read her piece, How many lives were changed by Mister Rogers?
I got goosebumps! Then I emailed my brother, called my wife, and emailed Whitney.

"Wow, Whitney. Thank you so much! I have goose bumps. We've been
quietly, diligently and (often) frustratingly plugging away at this
little indie for years. Sometimes it feels like an albatross, like an
impossibly difficult assignment from Mister Rogers himself (I mean, what
do you tell America's Favorite Neighbor when he asks you to "Spread the
message"!?!). So to have it see the light of day for real is really
exciting. I REALLY appreciate it, Whitney, and will absolutely keep you
posted."

Pretty cool.

Thanks, Whitney!