During my first week in June, 20th Century Fox invited me to cover a press conference for "Minority Report" in which Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg would be in attendance. I had only covered "Exit Wounds" and the first "Harry Potter" film at that point and so to go from chatting with Steven Seagal to Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg was a tall and intimidating order. Furthermore, I was new in the junket circuit (a fledgling 20 year old who didn't know what he was doing) and did not know any other reporters at the time. 

It was at the prereception in a hotel room at the Essex House that I met Daniel Robert Epstein (as he frequently referred to himself on paper) for the first time. I told him I was from Cinecon.com, he told me he freelanced for several online publications. Usually at these things, the most common and obvious ice breaker is to talk about the movie you are there to cover. What you like, what you didn't like. And so naturally, the first thing we talked about was "Minority Report." I, being naive and super excited that I was covering a major summer blockbuster,  chatted on and on incessantly about my love for the movie because of the action and special effects. Dan, on the other hand, took a much more subdued approach in talking about the movie. He talked about how he liked the shots of the camera going around above and how he thought it compared to Brian DePalma. Eh? I said to myself.

It was time for the press conference and we were led to the downstairs area where they were setting up. I couldn't have been more nervous since at the time, I was not used to speaking to celebrities. I wanted to impress the studio, Cruise and Spielberg but the truth was that I did not prepare any questions. Dan, on the other hand, had a list of questions he wanted to ask both of them and offered me to borrow his if I needed to.

A stranger helping out another stranger in the same profession? I read his list of questions and they weren't generic, fluff things you'd ask Tom Cruise in a starstruck mood; they were good questions.

That was the thing that struck me about Dan and that I carried with me through the five years of knowing him. He was always thoughtful and had a great respect for his colleagues, whether he agreed with them or not. He had a wealth of knowledge in his head that rivaled that of even the strangest pop culture nerds. He could recite lines to you that you had forgotten. He could name obscure indie works of a filmmaker and put most reporters' so-called research to shame when he talked deeply about them.

At these roundtable interviews that studios have for press outlets, there's a certain level of trust you need to have with your fellow colleagues and rivals as it takes everyone to be on top of their game in order for you to come away with material for a good article. A bad reporter asking ridiculous, trite questions could ruin the mood and sink the room discussion to an unbearable state.

But out of all the times I sat in an interview room with Dan, I don't think there was ever a time I regretted it. Dan would always ask the pointed, insightful questions and would have the guts to ask the things that nobody dared asking.  I remember Dan asked Angelina Jolie at the "Taking Lives" press day whether she believed she would ever reconcile with her dad. Angelina gave a polite smile and said, "No." When Angelina was finished with her interview, I looked at Dan and said, "Dude, that was a ballsy question." "Well," he said, "nobody was going to ask it." Another time, Dan mustered the courage to ask Val Kilmer, "What is it about you that makes people say bad things about you?" It was a tough question to ask and probably tougher to answer, but Kilmer gave a great response in return. At the "Troy" junket, a group of snobby, tabloid journalists were even annoyed at his in depth questions. They wanted to ask Brad about his skirt, Jennifer Aniston, etc.. Dan asked questions about working with Wolfgang Petersen. "Good," Dan told me. "I don't want them to like me."

But Dan also had a playful side to him, too. While speaking with Dakota Fanning for "Man on Fire," he asked her what kind of dog she wanted as a pet. "A long haired chihuahua!" she exclaimed, to which the room erupted with adoration and laughter. While speaking with Kate Beckinsale as she was promoting "Underworld," Kate had expressed concerns that she was popping out of her outfit, to which Dan assured her, "I don't mind."

As our group of online journalists grew, Dan was always the guy that we could all count on, and was always the guy we wanted around. He would help share in transcribing pieces, help us out with publicist information or let us know of any press opportunities on the horizon coming up. When we weren't working as press, his presence was still a joy to have around. The one time I was able to hang out with Dan outside of New York City was almost three years ago at the Toronto Film Festival where we hung out at the hotel bar and checked out the local Toronto scene after our press duties. Heck, he even stood up for me when a friend of ours grew increasingly annoyed at me in Toronto for personal reasons.

Dan was a good guy all around and for those of us who knew him, we'll miss him dearly. Good luck Dan, wherever you are. Hope you continue to have some great conversations.

~ T.C.