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.