The Front Man screened at the IFC Center in Manhattan as part of Tom Powers’ and Raphaela Neihausen’s film series, “Stranger Than Fiction” (now re-branded as “Pure Nonfiction"). Paul produced, directed and edited the film, distributed by The Orchard: 

“Christie’s outrageous appearance on the Howard Stern show is NARRATIVE GOLD! Several of The Front Man’s threads and themes collide here, most notably pursuit of fame versus pursuit of family. 

This episode is so hilarious and pivotal, I assumed it would be a breeze to put together - basically the Howard Stern action would just carry it. So naive! Once I dug into the material I quickly realized how tricky this scene is: 

Christie’s appearance requires context - How the hell did she get on the Howard Stern show? The Christmas party framing helps solve that problem, but introduces another complication that needs explaining: If Christie announces her pregnancy to the world on the Howard Stern, how come her friends don’t know she’s pregnant? And then when she finally does announce to all her friends, how to maintain the emotional impact of the second announcement, finally answering one of the major questions of the movie? 

A close examination of this scene reveals layers of a complex editing puzzle. Of course once all those pieces fit together, the solution seems obvious. But not when you’re in the middle of it, bogged down in exposition and fumbling for solutions. I struggled with this scene for a long time - plenty of misfires and wrong turns before I was satisfied. 

That process was emblematic of the post-production challenges presented in every step of completing this movie.”