Norman Mailer is ready for his close-up. Again. (Photo: Emmanuel Bastien)

Today's Times features a profile of Karen Kramer, the on-and-off New York filmmaker who spent 12 years bringing her latest work, The Ballad of Greenwich Village, to the screen this Friday.

As someone who can relate to the difficulty involved in putting out a film, I must applaud Kramer's persistence. Nevertheless, as Times writer Julie Salamon is quick to mention:

(Kramer) wasn't able to interview everyone she said she had hoped to. Many significant Villagers died before she got to them, including the activist lawyer William M. Kunstler; Bella Abzug, the feminist politician; and Lucille Lortel, the grande dame of downtown theater. A major figure, Allen Ginsberg, agreed to participate but died before Ms. Kramer was able to film him. Bob Dylan is alive but wasn't willing.

Well, Jesus Christ. Twelve years, no Ginsberg, no Dylan, and it does not look like she got Jane Jacobs—the woman who saved the Village from Robert Moses—either. But she did get Tim Robbins, who evidently "speaks about growing up in the Village and going to early protest rallies," Woody Allen and Norman Mailer.

Really, though, if you cannot get Mailer, who can you get? Perhaps we should ask the Times the same question; Salamon's story features his second movie section quote in less than a week. From the White Horse, no less. Way to stay busy, Norm.