It’s nearly 8 pm on Thursday, 2.6, and the Ojai-Santa Barbara area has been radiating awful, rain-soaked misery all day long. Dampness at the break of noon, eclipses of both the sun and moon.

As a result I’m in a mostly foul, wrapped-scarf, huddled mood right now, but at least I have a third-row seat at the grand Arlington Theatre, and the big hoo-hah Ralph Fiennes tribute show is about to begin.

I did an interview with Fiennes for the N.Y. Daily News back in early ‘94 (or was it late ‘93?). The focus was his Oscar-touted performance as concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (‘93).

The title of my article was “The Reich Stuff”. Other journos have used the same expression, but my use of it was the first, I think.

Sitting on-stage with Scott Feinberg, Fiennes looks a tiny bit schlumpy…charmingly, I mean…legs crossed at the ankles, thick-soled comfort shoes, projecting a certain modesty but explicityly not trying to sell the theatrical conceit that he’s chatting with Feinberg in the least. Nearly every moment Fiennes, leaning forward intently, is addressing the Arlington audience.

Best Fiennes quote of the night (as of 9:07 pm): “I liked Julia Roberts [when we met around the time of Shakespeare in Love] — I don’t think she liked me.”