I recently had the fortune to be in the company of two very great men. In the short time we had working together these two greats imprinted my heart with a memory stamp I will hold dear for some time.
The first, American film director, Tim Burton, and the second, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Glenn D Lowry (Tim Burton photo above, Glenn D Lowry below).
In Melbourne, where I live, I don't often cross paths with people of this stature so when an old work buddy asked me what I was doing for the week Mr Burton was due in town to open Tim Burton: The Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), I cleared my diary and jumped at the chance.
You see, I've wanted to be an actress from the moment I knew what it meant to be one. Growing up, I thought actors never aged, that every time I saw the same film (and I would have seen Grease and The Wizard of Oz some 300 times), the director had to rally the actors all over again, and they would assemble to replay their parts. That of course was when I was little. I thought it was a wonderful way to cheat growing old.
I realised acting wasn't for me at 22. I could act, but I would not be able to rely on my acting skills alone - they weren't of the calibre that would see a legendary Hollywood career and having a size 14 figure, I realised I wouldn't be able to fall back on a model figure, unlike so many young actresses who began on the catwalk and moved to celluloid with one smoulder and unclipping of their bra strap.
So instead, I forged a career in PR with aspirations to one day work in the creative arts.
I've always loved being around people who are making a contribution and have made a difference to their vocation. That's why I've steered my career to include working with politicians and high-level business people. I've met and worked with the Prime Minister and many other Ministers at Federal and State level as well CEOs of Top 500 companies.
And so when Mr Burton came to Melbourne in June 2010 - I was psyched (along with the several journalists scheduled to meet Mr Burton).
Nonetheless, I am a pragmatic person and of course, those we put on pedestals rarely live up to their heights. But Mr Burton did - and then some. And so too, Mr Lowry - the Director of MoMA, MoMA the first exhibition space to host Tim Burton: The Exhibition. Apparently in season three of Gossip Girl one character (Jenny) turns to the other (Nate) and asks: “Do you want to go check out the Tim Burton exhibition at MoMA?” Classic. Art imitates life and vice versa.
Devoid of pretension, full of appreciation, graciousness and gentile - these men demonstrated to me that being top of their fields does not mean they escape their manners and common courtesy.
I suspect (particularly before the Global Financial Crisis), a lot of Wall Street bankers and corporate heavyweights practice their days just like this - treating people as necessary tools to use and abuse in the A to B pathway towards sating their own greed.
Both Mr Burton and Mr Lowry are powerful, rich and successful. The exemption is, and this is what impresses me, they are both extraordinarily NICE.
Mr Burton spoke to journalists about the importance of forging a connection with people, to tap into people on that emotional level, to relate to the everyday man.
This sentiment carries to his movies. Mr Burton shook my hand, looked me in the eye, smiled and greeted me with ease. On the job, he approached his numerous media interviews with humility and enormous generosity.
From all accounts media interviews are not Mr Burton's favourite thing but he revealed an intimate piece of his private life, for example answering one journalist's questions to do with “What I know about women” with candid charm.
“You could say our meeting was quite primal,” he said of Helena Bonham Carter whom he met on the set of his film Planet of the Apes.
As well: "It's better late than never..." for him and Helena to have children (Mr Burton was in his 50s when his son and daughter were born).
He talked about old girlfriends, meeting one, a German woman in London, and feeling an instant connection to her and his new city. Everything about the circumstance was foreign but to him, he felt like he'd come home. This experience appealed to him having grown up feeling like a foreigner in his own country.
He noted that no matter how successful one becomes in life, no matter what great things can occur, that if you have a predisposition to feel sad or lonely, a tendency to gravitate to the melancholy that it's in your DNA, and thus remains so. No amount of success or happiness will diminish that side of you.
Here I was sitting next to and listening to a man who has directed some of Hollywood's biggest names: Johnny Depp, Dianne Weist, Jack Nicholson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito – the list goes on.
Mr Burton was so human and grounded. But I felt like I’d met an angel.
Glenn D Lowry is the Tim Burton of the art world - ie you don't come much more successful.
The day he was lined up to do three consecutive interviews on ABC Radio - Virginia Trioli, ABC Breakfast; Jon Faine, ABC Mornings and; Amanda Smith Art Works - Labor called a leadership spill and Julia Gillard was contesting Kevin Rudd for the role of Prime Minister.
Overturned by local and hard news, the first two interviews with Mr Lowry were cancelled. The grace with which he reacted to the last minute cancellations astounded me.
There was no drama, no tantrums, no: “Do you know who I am?” rants.
“It happens, I completely understand," Mr Lowry said, adding: “It's a good time to be in Australia. You see what happens when Mr Burton comes to town?” Magical.
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