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Dear Paul

M y friend Paul LeBlanc and I have had many wonderful adventures together over the years. I knew we were going to be friends when we first met on a film called Silence of the North in 1981. We were shooting in northern Canada in40 degree temperatures. I had a scene where I had to run out of my cabin because a bear was on the roof, and shoot the bear. Paul and I were inside the cabin, just the two of us, waiting for my cue. When the bear went on the roof, the rafters of the cabin started sagging and the snow came pouring in. It looked like the roof was going to give way and the bear fall through and join us in the small cabin. We were terrified. At which point, Paul wailed, Oh, please, I just wanted to be a hairdresser! I laughed so hard I dropped my rifle.

And what a hairdresser he is. Hes always been my favorite, not just for his amazing artistry, which he demonstrated on me over and over again in many films, but most particularly in Requiem for a Dream in 2000. Hes done my hair not only for films, but also for the Oscars, the Tonys, in Paris, in London, in limousines, in all temperatures and under every imaginable condition. But weve always had a great time together and hes always made me laugh, as Im sure readers of his book will.

Ellen Burstyn (2006)