I walked a few steps behind the skirted student down the dark street behind the hallowed halls of UVa on my way to a meeting between university and city police and students about safety, attention and folks that rob you in the night.

She wasn’t thinking about who was behind her. She was zooming with tunes in her iPoded ears with a laptop backpacked and books under arms and couldn’t hear the click of my boot heels three yards away.

That’s not necessarily good. It seems some of us locals, probably the kind of folks who don’t read dailyprogress.com or the hard-copy version very often, are making money off UVa students at the points of guns, knives and fists. There’ve been between a half and a dozen assaults and stick-ups in the past 90 days according to police, all victims students and all perps apparently locals.

There are ways to avoid it, cops said. Watch your back. Watch your front. Get other people to help watch your back while you watch theirs or get a ride home. Students had some good ideas, too. Put a pedestrian crossing over the railroad tracks that most students cross to get to their off-grounds apartments from an evening of fellowship on the Corner. That’s not likely to happen, given the fastidious nature of railroads, governments and funding, so the students will just have to go around and stay off the tracks.

NOTE: Police are ticketing track crossers crossing tracks at non-crossing points for trespassing at the railroad’s request.

So be careful out there. Don’t drink too much, ‘cause crooks like you intoxicated. Don’t take shortcuts through dark places and keep an eye out for trouble, even as you unlock your apartment door.

It’s not a jungle out there, but there are a lot of animals and they will bite.

Hollywood’s writers went on strike Monday, but the effect of their impending walkout was felt much earlier in Charlottesville.
Word has it that the it was hard for actors to commit to attending the Virginia Film Festival this year, because they were so busy getting “films in the can.”
While late-night TV shows already have been forced to go to reruns, the film industry worked overtime to shoot enough footage hopefully to carry it through the strike. Time will tell. The last strike --- back in 1988—lasted about five months.
Here in Charlottesville, we were pretty lucky to get writers, directors, producers and even a couple of actors to attend this years festival. In my opinion, the writer stole the show. Oh sure, audiences flocked to fill the seats for a chance to see John Turturro. We all love to see the stars. But Stewart Stern was one guest I would love to see return.
He was charming. The only thing I would have changed was his shot-by-shot workshop on Sunday. Forget running the film, just let him sit up there and tell his stories of Hollywood—mooing with James Dean, how Tab Hunter or Robert Wagner almost had the lead in “Rebel Without a Cause,” what happened when a prankster changed the men’s restroom sign with the sign on Jack L. Warner’s office.
“They were trying to figure out why people coming out of Jack. L. Warner’s office were zipping their fles.”
Stewart is a treasure.
Which just goes to show you: Actors are pretty to look at, but writers give them something to say.

Do you know what I miss at the Virginia Film Festival?
Popcorn.
By the end of Day 3, I have seen seven films and been to five discussions but I have yet to have one kernel of true corn.
In the old days, like last week, I never would have imagined sitting down in a theater without my favorite butter covered treat ... but no food is allowed in the Paramount Theater. So this weekend my treats have been up on the stage and not in the form of greasy calories.
Saturday, my symposium class—you really need to check this out next year—has a special treat. We got to sit in on an actor’s forum. John Turturro, who came to town to showcase his latest film, “Romance and Cigarettes,” met with Richard Warner’s drama students at the University of Virginia’s intimate Helms Theater. We got to go too.
Dressed in jeans, a blue button down shirt and blue pinstriped jacket (I loved his red glasses), the actor who has appeared in more than 70 films sat down and answered students questions for about an hour and half. He was very forthcoming, sharing his stories from how a broken hand had ended his hoop dreams to working with the likes of Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers.
Earlier in the morning, the symposium classmates also had the opportunity to meet with new producer Perrin Chiles. (Again, you must, must, must watch his “Autism: The Musical” when it comes out in April on HBO.) Some of “making it” in the industry, he said, is indeed “who you know.” He encouraged the students to tap into those UVa alums already working in L.A. He even shared his email with a handful of students who stuck around after class.
As for the hit off the day:
Heck with that. The hit of the festival has to be “Romance and Cigarettes.”
I don’t believe I have had so much fun watching Susan Sarandon dance and sing since “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Director Turturro filled the screen with stars, wit and twists. I haven’t laughed that much at any film this year.
Heck, who needs popcorn.

Keep your ticket stubs. This is a special moment. Wake Forest placekicker Sam Swank, one of the nation’s best, missed a field goal from inside 50 yards. To Swank’s credit, the missed attempt did clang off the left upright. ... Virginia’s offense has been Wake Forest’s best defense. Sound weird? In other words, Virginia keeps making stupid plays in an attempt to self destruct. Dropped passes. Bad passes. A fumble. It has been ugly, but the Cavs are still in it. 

Virginia and Wake have exchanged a pair of field goals in the first quarter. Thus far, the two teams looked pretty evenly matched. ... Josh Zidenburg had a pretty good kickoff return for Virginia. The senior raced 55 yards. Wake will likely kick it away from Jay-Z next time (I would have never imagined saying that). ... Tom Santi has played and looks comfy on his bad wheel (high ankle sprain). ... Rashawn Jackson has been in the game a few times, but has spent most of his time riding the stationary bike. ... Chris Cook has played on Virginia’s nickel and dime packages. Cook has not really fast a test. ... Wake Forest offensive lineman Joe Birdsong was injured with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. The sophomore appeared to roll his ankle. ... Whitelaw Reid has been begging for a Darren Childs reference. Here you go - Childs has not played (and I doubt he will).