Long Time No See

So, the reason that I have not been writing for some time is that I have been on family leave since the beginning of November and am enjoying it way too much. I love being a father, I love watching my kids grow, I love how my first son (I shall refer to him as nugget from now on) imitates everything I say like "Mother of sin and death!" Believe me, coming from a two year old, it's pretty funny. I love they way my new son (whom will be referred to hereafter as Bean) is so freakin' pudgy that he has cellulite on his knees and laughs hysterically every time he sees me. Yeah, being a father was what I was meant to do. However, I know my reign as lord of the home will come to a close soon, either because I have to go back to work, or more accurately, I can't do half as good a job as my beautiful wife. So, if I'm such a homebody, I guess I have no chance of ever breaking into an industry that requires 18 hour workdays....we shall see. Anyways, I know nobody really reads this but my Dad is narrowing his options for cancer treatment and is doing really well. I enjoyed Thanksgiving at my Wife’s Family in central Oregon, and all the throw up, diarrhea sickness that came with it. So that's all for know as I am just getting my feet wet right now. One last shameless plug for my studio.... go buy The Polar Express; Kid's love it (especially if like nugget, they are into trains) and it really is a pretty darn good movie.

Rage, Rage...

Cancer is never a great diagnosis, and when it comes to someone so close to you it seems like you dwell on the little things in life a little more than you usually do. My Father was diagnosed with a pretty aggressive form of prostate cancer last week. He still has many years ahead of him and a lot of treatment possibilities, but it still angers me. I have been thinking about it a lot recently and am amazed at the amounts and ranges of my feelings towards it. My father has been my hero for as long as I can remember, always putting aside his best interest for his family or others. Unfortunately, karma seems to have always dealt him a little bad luck and this seems to be a trend in the same direction. He is reviewing options for treatment now and needs to make a decision as to how to tackle this thing. Yes, it is unfair, mean, horrible, tragic, sad and inconvenient but he so far has handled it with the grace and dignity that demonstrates why he is my hero. My dad has always been able to get back on his feet from any setback; including unemployment, brain surgeries, bankruptcy, moving etc. and this will be no different. I will be there to cheer him on.

Earth, Mud, & Fire

So, there was a mudslide yesterday above out apartment and I didn’t even know about it. The video is pretty cool though. It’s because the fires have weakened the hillside so much. I wonder what’s next for our little village hamlet. Also, I warned you before that cuts and downsizing was coming to my movie studio. It looks like the mainstream media got a hold of it as well so I am sure I will be getting calls from my family wondering if my job is secure. Like I care. I’m off on Paternity leave in three weeks anyway. I great comment comes from a fellow worker who adds their two cents (in parenthesis) to one of the funniest paragraphs in the article about the budget cuts and layoffs:

“At Warner Bros., efficiency has been the watchword for months. Four months ago, Meyer and Horn held a three-day meeting with 95 top Warner Bros. executives at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point. (with rates starting at $395.00 per night x 95 x 2 nights = $75,050.00 + meals) There, the studio chiefs instructed their division heads to comb their 2006 budgets looking for ways to shave costs. What they came up with is under discussion.”

All Hail large corporations and big thinking!

Blood and Bowling

I went bowling with my family for lunch break today. It was quite refreshing and fun. There is a bowling alley right down the street, and we were giving our son a reward for good behavior. I was amazed that he could bowl all by himself (with the help of those little bumper things). I also donated blood today. It is becoming quite routine for me, but I feel it’s my duty, as well as I get free cookies. They were putting together a pretty outrageous set for ‘ER’ where they are redoing all the facades and bringing in wrecked burning cars and plane wreckage to spruce up the place for some disaster. Pretty cool stuff. And…in Shark news, great whites go all the way.

Birthday Cuisine

My son; of the Blackfoot tribe. Actually, it’s just so cute when they get their newborn footprint stamp. I have found the true way to a woman's heart is Root-Beer-Float Cake that you make from scratch. Working on it for two hours was well worth the reward. It looked really cool to boot. I consider my wife's birthday a success because we got my 2 year old son to eat crawfish, crab and octopus at a Chinese restaurant. My wife’s parents are in town so I took them around the movie studio to see cool things being filmed. Unfortunately, the place is WAY busy right now and we could barely go anywhere because everything was off limits for filming. We did get to see George Lopez and Clint Eastwood walking around though. I guess I should look forward to these busy times however seeing as Hollywood is calling it quits.

Mormon Porn

Now this, is funny. My cousin works for Halestorm, the production company that made the 'Everclean' boy band spoof film. I wonder what he will have to say on this. Oops!

Pizzaz says "Take That"

So the paparazzi are getting it out of their system before the new law goes into effect Jan. 1st forbidding them to harass and destroy people’s lives and fining them if they do. Poor, Poor Lindsey Lohan…she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight or famous at all so leave her alone. In other News, Los Angeles has officially boycotted Root Beer. I spent days trying to track down some root beer extract to no avail till a wonderful family friend came to the rescue with a smuggled bottle from Utah. They do not carry it at Ralph’s, Albertson’s, Vons, Trader Joe’s, Smart and Final, Brewery stores or restaurants, specialty shops or food manufacturers. I only needed a tablespoon full to make my wife Root Beer Float Cake. Curse you LA, for disdain for the great mid-west, non-alcoholic red state drink nectar of the gods. As much as I am a movie person, we do get around to playing board games every now and then. Unfortunately, one of our favorites is also one of the most ghetto. Our scrabble was made in the 30’s and has pieces missing, paper ripped off etc. Despite these deplorable conditions, there is an even more white trash version available…printed on paper. scrabble (pdf)

*UPDATE* Lindsey Lohan is a crash magnet! There was NO paparazzi involved, just an innocent worker making a U-turn. Darn, I really wanted another reason to hate the Pizzaz!

Take That Pizzaz!

Shwartzenegger, Sczenegger, Shortsineger...Our governor puts a smack down on all those eager Paparazzi who are running into Lohan and stalking Witherspoon. Bout time they get some come-uppance! Oh, and Dilbert predicts that I will be fired.

We're On Fire!

Ok, so we’re not really burning, but there is a lot of smoke and Ash. From the studio, it looks like the hill above our house is an erupted volcano. My son thinks that there are a lot of bugs flying around. The fire over in Topanga is worse and my department head came home from a trip to find his family evacuated and Firemen sleeping in his driveway. They saved his house so mad props to all the fire fighters out there who work endlessly so we can live comfortably. It has been one year exactly since I started my job here…that’s all I have to say bout’ that. I couldn’t resist adding this link to show you the power of editing. This clip takes one of the scariest movies ever the Shining and re-cut a feel good family movie trailer for the film Shining. He he, the power of cinema.

Lost in the Jungle

So it’s not a shark, but its got teeth and my son kept talking about a tiger as he was walking through someones landscaped yard and calling it the Jungle. We took this pic at the zoo where they still don’t have that alligator that is running loose in Los Angeles. Yesterday I was taking a walk after lunch around the studio when it began to rain out of nowhere. Yeah, rain in LA, that’s weird. The closest production office was closed so I holed up inside the ranger station on the Invasion set. There are big signs all over that say “Authorized production Staff Only.” But hey, it was raining and there was nobody around. The show is actually OK, even though I am a fan of Lost. I’ve started watching season one from the beginning and realized that they need to start making movies that are this good. In other news, it seems like Disney is making a movie version of The Bridge to Tarabithia, which was a favorite childhood book of mine. Then I thought, wait; wasn’t there already a movie made of this thing? Turns out I was right, and once again Hollywood slips into the safety of the remake. In employment news, I gave my resume to some contacts that are in the studio’s feature development department so we will see if that leads anywhere, and I also got a raise, so now I make enough to pay our gas bill.

Corporate Cuts and Thievery

News from the boardroom: I just got out of a meeting where they explained the new merger of all our television divisions under one roof. The big announcement was cause for celebration since it streamlines procedures and puts a face to afore mentioned individual units. In discussing this however, I found out it was also cause for dismissal. When you take two divisions, each with their own advertising dept. and put them into one, the corporation goes “hey, we can completely do away with one of the advertising departments, and save a lot of money!” So of course, now 40-some-odd people are out of a job, but of course that is never mentioned in the official press release. In another vein, a little birdie in archives (where they take care of all the props and costumes from all the movies we’ve made) informed me that a lot of people from the productions take off with a lot of the props and costumes from the movies before the studio can gather them back up for display/storage etc. I witnessed this firsthand when I worked on Alexander packing up all the costumes. The only ones from the principles that were left were the bloody war armor…all the cool stuff that was shiny and clean was probably swiped before it was even shipped back to the states. All of this stuff is the property of the studio that paid for it, but I know some do get taken. I was told a certain leading man kept a Batman hood from the most recent movie, and our studio never got back any of the original Willy Wonka outfits. We do have prototypes, but if it wasn’t for them, a certain pirate might be indicted for the pilfering of very feminine, purple, Michael Jackson looking costumes.

Box Office Slump

The real reason is that they are making Crap movies and spending a lot more doing it. But the inside jokes here are priceless.

Los Angeles Blackout

So, I’m sitting here wasting time at work by reading the Internet and all the power goes down. So much for that, I got to manual tasks like reading the pile that has accumulated in my Inbox. Then word starts trickling in that downtown, Burbank, Glendale and the Valley are all without power! This is Major. We’ll have to find out the cause. So we shot the breeze for an hour and now the power is back on…for who knows how long. That was a nice break, now it’s off to lunch!

*UPDATE! - No terrorists, it was some worker who cut the wrong line or something. Wonder if he got fired? Actually, he could use the excuse that he saved the county millions of dollars by shutting down the power for an hour or so.

Traffic, Pollution and Alligators

Oh what fun, it is to live, in Los Angeles wonderland. And just think, we are going to pay to get into the Zoo tomorrow.

I heard they caught the big Alligator, but alas, news this frivolous is bound to be a hoax.

Katrina

This Blog is neither political or all that current, but in the light of recent events, I feel it is my duty to comment on Katrina and its aftermath. What I have seen and heard has been appalling, heart wrenching and depressing. The very night Katrina hit New Orleans, I had a very vivid and emotional nightmare about living through a disaster where everything was taken from me. I can’t express the sadness and hopelessness that I felt. I feel so bad sitting here with my safe job and responsibilities, which so far don’t seem to be in the least effected by the hurricane. I wish there was so much more that I could do besides the donations we give for situations such as this. In a word, tragedy like this makes me want to end all human suffering. Yes, I too am angered at the slow response, racial profiling, governmental squabbles, and finger pointing; but feel we need to get beyond all that and do what we can do. I respect everyone’s right to vent, but creating dissentions, disagreements and discord in a time like this shows ones lack of self control over issues that my enrage them personally. Think more universally, help with selfless abandon and then rant and rave all you want later; there is no time for that now.

Leaving, Eating and Poking Fun

I am leaving Los Angeles for the weekend. This makes me happier than I first realized, for the sole fact that I am on the move. We are going to show off our kids to my parents so it should be eventful. Something always happens when we get together. Our eldest son has been acting up for attention recently and hardly ever sleeps or eats without a fight. Thanks to my wifes prize chart though, he now looks forward to rewards if he obeys. It's either use that as motivation or feed him a constant flow of sugar (like cotton candy)! On a different note - It's always good when your studio has a success on its hands; it's even better when they rub it in the face of their competition.

Ego

I am so utterly tired. My wife takes the brunt of it but our new baby boy has a cold and it keeps him up all hours of the night. I feel like a zombie when I get into work, which is OK I guess since we are pretty much drones churning out the same thing day after day. In this stupor of consciousness, I received a call from another irate employee berating me for not doing what she asked (even though she never asked it). I explained the procedures to her as set up by our CEO and she proceeded to tell me she was going to call Mr. CEO himself since they were friends, then hung up on me. Now, up until this point I was OK with how she felt because I realize how important subscriptions are to our eternal salvation, but mainly because she had status in our feature film department. But when she pulled out the ol’ Hollywood “look who I know” ego trip thing, I was done. Where do they get off!? It seems like status and power give everyone here a right to totally disregard those lower than them and simple manners and honor flee out the window. Remind me if I ever make it, to not let bitterness and pride turn me into another psycho narcissist beast! Oh, yeah...I never heard from her again and everything went according to how I explained it. Hmmm

Birth Announcement

Last night I made a birth announcement to send out to family and friends, only two weeks after it happened. As you can tell I never procrastinate and am really on top of everything I need to do. No excuses other than I simply forgot. Also, here is a great publishing faux pa from Gawker. It seems Cosmo put an article about a famous death in the “what you’re dying to know about” section…not really considerate if you ask me.

Runaway Production

So, honestly, a lot of films are made outside of Los Angeles for the simple reason that it is way to expensive to do anything here. With the average price of a house hovering over $500,000 and the teamster union threatening to give you an offer you can't refuse, then I'd film somewhere else too. The only problem is, it sucks for us that live here. The onion plays off this conundrum with this visual homage. Pay attention to Alabama...what does it mean that the Dukes of Hazzard was just shot there?

CRAP! The link is gone. It really was funny...really

And it's back...the magic of the internet!

Zoolander for Free

The picture is just because my son is so freakin' awesome. My brother taught him to pose evry time you say "Zoolander" and he puts on this Stiller face. I am also enjoying another perk of working at a movie studio and that would be free DVD rentals. We have this little rental store where we can rent DVD's (and VHS if you are a dinosaur) and not pay a cent. They have a pretty good selection, and a lot of films from other studio's as well. The organization isn't the greatest, but hey...it's free. Coupled with my netflix membership, I can drive my wife insane with my constant barage of movie watching. Oh, and here's a cool link called Google Moon. Make sure to zoom all the way in.

Back to the Grind

Family life is how it is supposed to be. Sure, I am exhausted and hungry as well as a little glazed over, but I miss my kids. I returned to my corporate cubicle job to find that the computers didn’t work right and it has basically made my day a complete waste. This is a shame since I could have taken off Friday as well and then I would have had 9 days strait without work. However, when you work for the largest media company in the world, there are certain protocols that interfere. If I take five or more days there is all this paperwork and approval process and everything else since I just recently took vacation and don’t have any official vacation time. I used up my two days this July. I have accrued more vacation days but they are not available for use until next year (another weird policy). So instead, I took four sick days to care for my new son and wife. It was really difficult going back to work, even more so than when you come back from a vacation. My eldest son is already asking where I am back at home and that touches me. I realize that this is probably a really boring blob for most of you to read…so to summarize, GOING BACK TO WORK SUCKS! Nothing new in the realm of filmmaking possibilities other than an old friend asked me if I did any writing because a couple of his acquaintances are looking for a short script to produce. Maybe I should break into production through acting or writing. I am sure my skills of portraying the Fonz or my uncanny ability to write engaging prose could break me into the biz!

Boston Cooper Hutchings

Born at 9:35pm on August 12th 2005 weighing 9 lbs. and 8 oz. and 21 inches longMommy only had to go through about 9 and 1/2 hours of labor considering it took her 27 to get the last one out. Here she is seconds after delivery with brand new Boston!Kayden is beyond excited for his new "Baby Brother Boston!" and is already asking when he can play. As you can see he is going to be a great brother.Daddy is so in love and is so proud of Mommy, Boston and Kayden. Here he is showing of Boston like a recent fish catch!We are so excited for our new edition and thank you all for all the wonderful congratulations and conversations. One last picture...

Induce Me

So we are attempting anything to get this baby to come. My wife does these pregnancy Yoga/exercise things and of course sometimes my son joins in. We have also been taking a large number of long walks and of course a lot of sex which is supposed to help the baby come. We’ve even looked into alternate methods such as massaging the breast and eating a famous labor inducing salad at a local resteraunt. Keep in mind we are not due for another week, but my wife is getting so uncomfortable and the baby is getting so big we want it to come as soon as possible. I’m thinking that going the “lots of sex” route is our best bet. Personally, I would be willing to work with my wife on this over and over, repeatedly, for the sake of the baby of course.

Yes!

All I have to say is ....AWESOME!and a little bonus too.

Edit out the mistakes

Straight from the Onion, the numbers that shape my world. Funny thing is, people actually do say "naw, don't worry about it, we'll fix it in post."

Corporate Shark

Speaking of large film corporations, film moguls and sharks, George Lucas compared large entertainment companies to sharks. Is this a subtle jab at fellow frienemy Spielberg’s creation of the mega movie Jaws? Probably not but it would be nice to stir the pot a little.

"A big company has its downsides," (Lucas) added. "It's kind of like a shark. If it doesn't swim then it dies. If you grow and get bigger and bigger then you collapse. ILM has reached a level where we don't want to get any bigger. We're the oldest and most advanced visual effects studio today."

I’m willing to make a bet that Lucas arts and ILM get way bigger. With their huge Star Wars franchise just getting started…wait, scratch that. Looks like Lucas has one heck of a huge shark with nothing to feed on.

AIM

Because I know that you are all dying to see whay a husband writes to his wife, here is the most recent AIM conversation. That is a great posotive to a desk job, the ability to communicate with her virtually whenever. would I give that up?

ME: hi love!
Wife: hi!
ME: how was swimming?
Wife: good
Wife: how is your day?
ME: mine is good, gave blood, got woozy and now playing catch-up
Wife: got woozy? you don't usually do that do you?
ME: no, but I had to walk a ways so when I got to my desk, I just sat for a few
Wife: wow! I'm sorry. Luckily you didn't black out on the way
ME: It was OK, is kayden asleep?
Wife: no. he played for about 5 minutes then came and told me he wanted to go in the crib. Our little 2 1/2 year old is doing his happy arms and feet under the mobile.
ME: great, newborn regression
Wife: exactly.
ME: and you, labor yet?
Wife: I wish.
Wife: I'm getting more and more uncomfortable.
ME: I know, I wish there was something I could do...I guess you'll have to rely on my massages
Wife: you are so good to me! I couldn't make it without you!
ME: I will bask in my glory now
ME: Is there anything you need? do you want me to come home?
Wife: no. I think I'm good. Just have some work to do now.
ME: Okay, loves
Wife: love you!

so maybe not as entertaining as you though but they can get racy...like I'd ever post one of those for the world to read.

Trickle Down Let-Down

So the studio I work for hasn’t been doing too badly in the movie department recently. They are still releasing a few more this summer, but the big ones they have release have been doing pretty good. Of course, we don’t see any of the residuals from that. I am sure upper management is going to their back-slapping, self-appraising cocktail parties and getting high on the notion that their work has rendered the company successful. I on the other hand realize that if I suddenly left, nothing would happen. Sure there would be some angry employees and execs that want their subscriptions or cart washed, but they would get over it. I guess in a way I was hoping that the good luck and extra cash flow would somehow trickle down to us grunts. Maybe they require some sort of ritualistic sacrifice? The only way I know how to oblige is to feed my only son to a huge fiberglass photo-op shark. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure every immature dad has done likewise when visiting Universal Studios so I’ll bet money it’s not nearly original enough to qualify.

Vacation

The reason I have been gone so long was Vacation! The word that makes anyone’s brain salivate for the anticipation of relaxation. Ours brought my family to southern Utah where we camped near Bryce Canyon. That’s actually me and my son in a backpack out on the ledge overlooking the canyon. It was a fun hike, especially for my wife who is 8 months pregnant. We also went to a ranch for a family reunion and got to ride horses, swim in a lake, country dancing, roping, games and all kinds of stuff. Right now our son is at my Mom and Dad’s for Grandma’s camp, playing with his cousins and trains. This gave my wife and I some alone time in Las Vegas. Overall impression: hot (115 degrees), tiring, dirty, expensive. There were some good parts like the Mandalay Bay Aquarium, Bellagio gardens and fountains and Caesars Palace Forum. Other than that, you get a thousand times more for your money camping.

Suck It Up

This has nothing to do with film other than it could make an interesting premise. We have new neighbors upstairs who have an obsession with vacuuming. For some reason, they spend hours almost every day vacuuming their apartment. Now, these apartments aren’t very big mind you, we do live in LA; we’re talking about 900 sq. feet. So the other day, they are vacuuming the rooms, and then get to the Family room and spend about an hour doing one room! Per-chance, this ritual seems to always take place in the late afternoon, when our son takes a nap. We have a fan in his room creating some white noise, so it isn’t that much of an issue. What worries me is what is causing them to vacuum for so long, so often. Is there some kind of self populating dirt, a roach infestation, carpet bugs, genetically modified biological carpet growth? It concerns me since we live underneath it. The lady even seemed distraught when my wife mentioned that our son takes naps in the afternoon. She looked forlorn and said “I guess there’ll be no vacuuming then.” Now that’s obsessive compulsive.

Red Tide

This is a black tip reef shark in its death throws due to red tide. Now, I know fist hand what red tide is. I received a Fathers day present to snorkel off the coast of San Diego. It actually was very fun and peaceful and I did get to see lots of fishes and things that swim in the water. I also got to dive in some caves and rocks which were also very neat. However, vision was limited to about three feet because of the red tide that had drifted in choking the shores. I never knew what an adverse effect it would have on sea creatures though. The poor girl who took these pictures thought she was being attacked since it leapt out of the water and snapped at her. I guess we could blame all these shark attacks on red tide. Curse you Red tide and your bite inducing, blinding fog!

Happy Anniversary!

It was 4 years ago today that I knelt beside my wife in the Portland, Oregon LDS Temple and was sealed for time and all eternity. I could not have asked for a better wife or a better life for that matter. We have come a long way and there is still so much that we have to experience. I relish the fact that we will be together no matter what happens, both in this life, and beyond. I know this may sound sappy but it is because of her I feel like I can do anything, and I guess that's why I'm sticking around here and trying so hard.

Shin Splints and Batman's Incest

My legs kill cause’ I started this new boxing aerobics class. Unfortunately, it is mainly populated by people who are skinny enough that they don’t even need to be there. Whilst jumping around and throwing punches at an invisible foe, my legs began to hurt. Now they are searing with pain because I contracted shin splints. So, I have been instructed to take it easy and take care of my legs till they heal. Silly me, I should have known better than to do something worthwhile and healthy. I have been sending out tons of applications to different production companies and films with minimal success. I was in the running for an assistant to the director of the upcoming The Fog, but they had already started someone earlier. Unfortunately this happens a lot since I have to get the trade jobs from a friend, who gets them from a friend, from a friend and so on…until it’s a little outdated when it comes to me. Interesting note of the day deals with the incestuous nature of Hollywood. Case in point…the Batman movies. Michelle Fifer (as catwoman) plays Batman’s love interest in Batman Returns, and then in One Fine Day, she plays George Clooney’s love interest. Hence, George Clooney is Batman: correct in Batman & Robin! Now apply the same logic to the more recent Batman. Michael Keaton plays Batman in Batman, then Katie Holmes’ father in First Daughter. Hence, Katie Holmes should be Batman’s daughter….but in Batman Begins, she is his lover. A father/lover dynamic is disturbing…see, incest.

From Cunningham to Fonz!

I've been tapped to play the Fonz in our church road show (according to my wife). How crazy is that! Back in college, my fraternity called me Cunningham cause of my red hair and lack of coolness, and now I've gone the other extreme. Keep in mind that I look nothing like the dude pictured above and that I havn't seen Happy Days in forever so I really don't remember how he acts. Ohh goody, this looks promising. Wish me luck and I'll keep you informed as the first rehersal is tonight.

Shake, Rattle & Roll!

I felt my first earthquake since arriving in Los Angeles. It was minor, but enough to shake some stuff on my desk. My first reaction was to run home, back to my wife. It was the weirdest thing, I mean my body instinctively stood up and the only thing I could think was “I need to get to her”. Of course it was over before I could make it out the cubicle, but it made me realize two things.
1. That I’m terrified we will be split up if anything major happens, and
2. What matters most to me is in the right place, since that is all I wanted in my reflex.

Coming home

One good thing about working so close to home is the ability to go home for lunch. Those with huge commutes never get the chance to tuck their son in for a nap, relax at home or give their wife a much needed kiss in the middle of the day. Even though I do gripe about my job a whole lot, it would be terribly difficult to give up a perk such as I have. Nothing is more important to me than my family and I'm grateful I work somewhere close enough to show them more often. Speaking of complaining about work...I better be a little more careful or I could end up like this guy!

Pick-Pockets

Looks as if I won't be buying this version. already got the earlier one that came out like...4 years ago. The article has it right, Universal didn't plan this one very well or they just think that they have sway over our general conscience. Love the movie though. My sister got me a kickin' Jaws t-shirt for my birthday, so now I can wear it and go to star wars conventions and challenge people there to a nerd duel.

The movie doctor is in!

George Lucas has officially declared himself the savior of the movie world. Not only is his new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in San Francisco supposedly the next wave of the movie studio future, but it's being built over an old hospital. Does Lucas think his new site will heal more than our relationship with the movies? In all actuality, I am just jealous. I really would love a job there, but then I would have to move there, which I can't afford. I don't think anyone can except for those rich moviemakers. and the rich get richer...

Batman Begins

It's not everyday that I get to go to the movies. In fact, it's become quite rare for since it is harder and harder to get out of the house with a youngn'. But with a little help from some neighbors, and an pre-screening for employees, I was able to see Batman Begins. Great movie! I recommend it to anyone. If you want a mini review go here and check it out. As far as job prospects go....I'm still getting in slowly. I got a call from a major production company since my contact here put in a good word for me. I will let you knowif it goes anywhere. I have also started attacking production companies with my resume and letter promoting myself for upcomming films. Will it work? Probably not, but it dosn't hurt to try!

Crash and Burn

213 - Oh the horror… So I was in the running for theirs Directors Guild Producers Training Program. What it is for those who don’t know is a training program set up to place a certain number of people as second, second assistant directors on film and TV projects for two years. Thousands apply since it is the only real training plan in the industry. So I made it past all these initial steps, the application process, the test (which is harder that any ACT/SAT) then the essay and resume section, and even went to something called the group assessment center. Basically, they stick you in group situations, then have you work together to see how you perform. Now, I felt I did pretty well as far as the tasks were concerned even though we didn’t finish one of them. I even though I did OK in a debate section. However, I crashed when we had the follow-up interview. Talk about impersonal representation for the Guild. Believe me; it isn’t populated by people who want to see you make it. They really got hung up on me having a family, and saying I was never going to see them, and what would happen if I was with a director who wouldn’t let me go home to my family etc…. So I got a call that night telling me that I didn’t make it past that section and had been cut.

Cut..

And on with the show I would like to say. I wasn’t really expecting anything from it (since there really isn’t a special effort to get white males into the industry since there are so many of us overrunning the place anyway) but I still had high hopes for it. My desire and aspirations far outweigh my luck. I honestly don’t have any connections down here in Movie land and whenever I talk to someone on the inside they always say things like “what you really need to do is talk with someone who is in the biz”! I know, the irony is not lost on me. Everyone is so worried about their own skin and trying to survive in this cut-throat industry they could care less about the newbie’s. The ones who are set in it are so far from reality they have distanced themselves from all of us wanting a break. Talent, it seems is only worth something here after you have established yourself.

My corporate job isn’t helping any. I feel like my eyes are bleeding because I accidentally resized my screen and I can’t get it back to it original size. Poop! I went to the networks Upfronts meeting where they announce all the new shows and schedule in the fall and was un-impressed. A lot of talking, a lot more of the same kind of TV and the whole thing is set up to excite investors into advertising. The funny part about it is that they took place in NY and all the shows are shot out here. Corporate companies will undoubtedly spell the end of creativity in any form of the film medium.

I just got off the phone with my son. He mainly just says “yea” or “yes” to all the questions that I ask but today he told me about going to the park, worms and sung me a lullaby because his daddy was tired. I hope that I will always be able to find beauty in simplicity in everything that I do. It’s amazing that no matter how jaded you feel by the world, feelings of peacefulness can overshadow the negative through intimate contact with those you love. That is beauty

Growing Boredom

214 - So I got this massive Chocolate cake for Mothers day to give to my wife (so I could eat it of course). Now this thing is 7 pounds of pure sugar and fudge and is honestly the best tasting thing on the planet. The only problem with that is that you constantly want to eat it and it fills you up so bad. Basically, it's like injecting pure sugar an fat into your bloodstream as my wife puts it, but oh, is it good! The consumption of this much cake makes for an ever expanding waistline that unfortunately has been a bane to me for as long as I can remember.

My boredom from my job is growing unfortunately just as fast. It seems that they pile as many menial tasks as possible into one position, make it impossible to do them all with any sort of consistency, for the sole purpose to have someone to blame in case anything goes wrong. Mind you, I haven't done anything wrong, nor been accused of doing something wrong, but the mundane rhetoric of my job and its importance in the overall scheme of things is so underwhelming. I mean, here I am on one of the biggest lots in Hollywood, employed by one of the most successful movie studio's and I am not doing anything remotely related to movies (unless you consider keeping track of subscriptions and golf carts vital to the production). I do have contacts all over the studio though and would really love to move into creative. That's the place where they have say over what movies they are going to do, casting, sets, production etc. I would love to be a part of that. It seems to me that creativity is a fleeting and precious gift that is given to all. If that gift isn't constantly honed and practiced it becomes dormant, and eventually leaves. Sometimes I feel creatively stagnant and I can attribute it to these cubicle walls. Who though up office cubicles on a movie lot anyways...Oh yeah, the New York Corporation that bought us out!

My comfort comes from the end of the day when I get to see my family. It is a healing time when your family is excited to see you and you get to spend time talking and eating and just being together. My son and I went to the museum together to see dinosaurs and butterflies. He does this little happy dance where his feet march away standing in place and his arms flap wildly as he takes in whatever he is seeing. Watching him do that and exclaim "see daddy" makes my job bearable knowing that I am doing this for them. It's like feeling the baby grow in my wife's belly that fills you with a sense of awe and wonder and you realize you are willing to go through anything for them, a bad job, a bad whatever just so they can grow up happy. Somewhere there is resolution to this but right now I am content to live with a lackluster job, and a remarkable family.

First Time!

212 - So, there is a first time for everything and I suspected it would be pretty useful to document my attempt to break into the movie biz. I know, I know, me and everybody else but there are some unique circumstances for my position and reason behind this adventure, that you will come to realize as I continue to post to this Blog...I will from now on call it my blob. It sounds funnier! Anyways, wish me luck in what I am about to do. To give you a brief background, Right now I work for a major studio in Burbank as a grunt, not doing so much in the way of production but hopefully that will soon change! Follow me on my adventure to see how far I go, and learn about all my little quirks, loves, and disappointments on the way. Mainly, this is for me to look back on and really reminisce!