Film marketing mavenChris Pulawas laid to rest this morning at a funeral held in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
And then leaving town abruptly and never looking back.
They called it the Merry Meeting House, where the same lodgers would show up year after year.
Chris PulaGordon Paddison
So those are four distinct chapters.
Theyre all very different.
Ill probably hold something, because it was so special and important to him.
Chris PulaCourtesy/Provincetown Soup Kitchen/Facebook
That was evident when Pula was at the height of his professional prominence, making the rounds at Cannes.
He would call everyone goofy, Biggert recalled.
But then they realized he called everyone goofy, goofy, goofy.
So he changed it to the more generic, honey.
Only some figured out the reason: It was because he couldnt remember their names.
He definitely didnt have any filter.
Pula more or less transferred that personality to the East Coast.
He was very generous with friends here, picking up dinner tabs all the time, Biggert said.
He loved to make muffins and hed pass them out to neighbors.
He did that every week, twice a week.
Hed make blueberry muffins and hed put too many blueberries in, and theyd sort of fall apart.
But they were fabulous.
And people loved them.
He was always generous of soul.
Hed be in the store, and he would know everybody.
And he was loud.
You probably remember that, how loud he was.
He just never stopped talking.
In Hollywood, that wasnt always a virtue.
He jumped around more than I thought he should have, Biggert said.
There would be an offer, and maybe a little better title, and he jumped at these things.
Im sure he did; he never shut up at the marketing meetings.
He would command the room and he just wouldnt stop.
But like I say, its always more complicated.
But he had a knack for crystallizing the message on a movie.
OnThe Sixth Sense, he included the line I See Dead People.
He was really proud of that too.
And this was one of his major Hollywood battles, to put that line in the marketing materials.
Chris put it in anyway.
And thats why he got fired, basically.
What else could you sell, except for that?
He saw the potential for it to become a Christmas film with perennial potential.
He was most proud ofHome Alone, I think, Biggert said.
Someone the other day mentionedA Christmas Storyto [Pula], when it came on TV recently.
He said to them,Home Alonewas a much better movie.
And I won that battle.
Thats the best Christmas movie of all time.
You see so many Christmas movies at this time and everyones rating them.
IsDie Harda Christmas movie or not?
There became no doubt thatHome Alonewas a Christmas movie.
Pula flourished in his early days at CNN when the news online grid was finding its footing.
It was that success which prompted Barry Diller to recognize Pulas worth and bring him to Hollywood at Fox.
But his penchant for outspokenness led him to be shown the door a number of times.
And also then the whole consulting thing, he said, I dont want to do consulting.
I think he just had had enough.
He was ready to just let it all go.
He wasnt too sentimental about it and I dont think he missed it that much, Biggert said.
He was not bitter.
Its a small town.
In summer it becomes a big town, and then it goes back to me a small town.
So its the best of both worlds and Chris really loved that.
Perhaps it was there that Pula was happiest.
He loved the soup kitchen, Biggert said.
Weve volunteered there since we got here, so thats almost 22 years.
He just loved doing that.
And instead of being in the kitchen, he would be out on the floor busing tables.
He didnt care that this is lowest level job in the place.
He would talk to everybody.
He would sing the first two lines, just out of nowhere.
He did it probably every time he was there.
And oh, people would laugh at that, and join in.
They would say, Oh, theres Chris.
They knew he was there.
