Wake-Up Call: Ready for his screen test?

Late Monday, the Denver Film Society announced that a search was already under way for a new executive director to take the place of Bo Smith, who'd finally been dismissed just two days before. "We are looking for a permanent replacement," DFS board chair David Charmatz told me. "We'll decide as a board on who we select... the sooner the better."

And already, a leading candidate has surfaced: Tom Botelho, the former Denver Newspaper Agency marketing exec who worked with the DFS, including current interim exec director Britta Erickson and co-founder Ron Henderson, for six months last year. Botelho is a savvy guy with good business connections in the community -- connections that could really count as the Denver Film Society looks to balance its budget and smooth over some rough relationships.

Neither Charmatz nor Erickson would comment on the search process, and Botelho -- reached at an airport lounge as he waited for the plane that would take his family on a long-promised trip to Portugal -- wasn't talking about the possible job, either. Except to say this: "I can confirm I'm on my way to Europe."

Oh, and this: He'd just spotted French film actor Gerard Depardieu in the lounge.

The Denver Film Society board will be meeting again today.