Back to Life

The Christmas holiday is now over and my son is going through Daddy withdraw. He was really upset that I had to go to work today, but when all of my vacation days were taken away when I transferred into this department, I had none left to take off the week between Christmas and New Years. Now, I am the only one in the office with my boss and it’s kind of driving me nuts since she has to know every exact detail of everything that I am doing. Right now, she’s asking me what I am typing, so officially…this is a memo to the President of the division summarizing the gifts that were sent out in his name. Fun huh. It’s back to real life I suppose. I’m reading a book called World War Z, about a worldwide zombie takeover (fiction) and it was talking about all these people who suddenly became useless during a crisis because they made their living sitting at a desk pushing papers and did not have a real contributive skill like a doctor, construction or farmer. It hit me then that I would be one of those useless ones in the event of a zombie takeover. It specifically mentioned the entertainment industry as being especially worthless. Its great to know that if there ever was any kind of natural disaster or crisis, I would have almost nothing to contribute.

Sick

So I went to Thanksgiving in Utah, saw all my family there and had a great time. Then I cam home and got sick. I'm talking the really horrible kind of sick where you have no control over your body. I'm getting over it now, but this marks two thanksgivings in a row. Thanksgiving in general has never been a forgiving holiday for me, but I am thankful for it.

Reading Time

For lunch I went to the back lot* to an area made to look like a small Midwestern town square. I sat on a bench and proceeded to read a book, and it was quite peaceful. Then, the TV shoot that was going on down the street got out and all the workers came out for their lunch break. They started playing this amusing game of throwing metal rings into on old wood box. I didn’t mind at first, but then more crew joined them and everyone was cheering and cussing up a storm and it suddenly didn’t seem like an old Midwestern square anymore (which it wasn’t). It sounded like I was back in my high school football locker room, so I left.

*the back lot is where they shoot outdoor scenes and usually is created with fake facades to resemble another section or theme of a city.

Ho-Hum

Don’t really have time to post anything worthwhile. I did see the really tall blonde guy from the Drew Carey Show and Who’s Line is it Anyway. He was just walking around. Hey look; Sharks! And here is what curiosity for candy will get you. Poor Deer.

Game-Face

My brother is completely addicted to an addicting website called Warfish. It is basically like an online Risk game but with more options and things you are able to do. The funny part is that he pays for this service, which allows him to make stupid board games like this using my fathers face. How random. I’m getting tired of trying to watch all the shows I’m addicted to. I think I want to start transitioning back into movies. Fist to go; The Nine where nothing has really happened in 5 weeks.

Halloweenie

I was a boy scout for Halloween. I dusted off my old uniform, put on some bells and whistles and was set. I got a lot of compliments, but my wife was ravishing as a Geisha! Woot. My boys were a cow and a Bumble Bee, as you can tell, there was really no rhyme or reason or theme to our madness. I was going to be a ninja (similar in ethnical origin to a geisha) but it would require the purchasing of too many materials for one days use. I was gone in Providence during all the Halloween parties, trunk-or-treats and other events. It made me kind of sad. I live for those family type events. Providence was pretty though, maybe I’ll post some pictures….um, or not. Is this a boring blog or what? “Studio 60” will not be cancelled…just heard that.

Hahahaaaa....

My favorite magazine came the other day and on the front was this adorably frightening picture. I mentioned to my wife that is sort of looked like our monkey baby son but he doesn’t have the hair thing going. I lauged my head off when I saw this over at Defamer. If you know who Brian Grazer is, then this will crack you up.

Greatest American Hero

While my “Studio 60” may not be doing so good, “Heroes” seems to be breaking records. Not near the wit or charm as 60, Heroes does boast a lot of cool special effects and my favorite new character Hiro, a Japanese teleporter who reminds my of my sister cause she yells randomly and lived in Japan. I almost bought a vacation to Hawaii today. I think I’m addicted. It’s like an opiate of the mind in terms of releasing stress. I really wanted to take my son since he is going to grow up to be a marine archeologist underwater camera biologist. Rad!

Handbags

Not much to say here except I hate having a sprained ankle. It is slowly getting better but it’s such a nuisance. It looks like “Studio 60” is going to get the axe sometime soon, which I don’t understand; it seems like everyone is hating. I think it had the most touching scene in television last week, but hey, that’s just my sentimental side begging for more quality TV like 60. Sorry there are no violent deaths, serial rapists or partner swapping like in all the other high rated TV shows! I thought this little bit about designer handbags, and the monsters that inspired them was , well…inspired!

Producers really are nice!

I’ve been calling and verifying a lot of personnel from executives and producers that we work with. What surprised me the most though is that there were actually a good number of producers who answered the phone themselves. It was surprising because the executives all had their assistants answering the phone, so the producers actually came off as unpretentious. Strange, considering the stereotype of producers as self centered Hollywood Mongols seems to be completely untrue. And yes, they were very nice and accommodating. On a different front, I thought this article from defamer was precious. I wish there was a funky merit badge like this when I was growing up. The design is hideous. It reminds me of these patrol patches that were supposed to be eagles, but were so ugly, we just called them the flying banana’s patrol. See…

Sprain!

I sprained my ankle a little yesterday. I am so not a basketball player but I like the fun of it. After making a shot the other day, I got my foot stepped on and I fell backwards. Of course pain and anguish ensued, but being a guy in front of a bunch of other guys, I had top be manly and walk it off. Needless to say, it didn’t get any better and I had it swell to “tennis ball” size as my wife puts it. I finally went to the doctor who diagnosed it as a severe sprain (cause it hurts on both sides) whatever that means. I have to walk with crutches and it’s already a huge nuisance. I feel so stupid. Everyone always tells me ho much sprains are supposed to hurt but I’ve actually been doing OK with the pain. Maybe it’s the Vicodin.

Picture of the day: This is my last photo of Hawaii. I guess that means I have to go back and take more! Ha

Boss' Day

Today was Boss’s day but she wasn’t in the office. I brought a gift and just left it on her desk for tomorrow. It won’t have the same impact having to explain to her what it is, but it’s the thought that counts right? I was supposed to get a whole lot done while she was out of the office, but I am working on these really mundane lists where I am verifying peoples work titles. So even if she asks me what I got done today, All I can say is “well, I verified some work titles” and it looks like I did nothing. How disappointing. On the news side however, this is really weird…especially the part about having Angela Jolie act along side John Wayne.

Picture of the Day: My infantile self in the arms of Mother Hawaii

Sick Day

I have a new habit and that is not writing in this Blog. It just gets so hard to keep up with it when I am constantly rushing to just to do basic tasks for the day. I went to Disneyland on Wednesday because I was really sick. It’s such a cool place, especially because I know my sons are going to remember some odd things about it just like I did when I was a child. So far here at work, we have had one of are shows cancelled and it is not looking good for another three. We’ll see how the rest of the season pans out. In the meantime, I am itching for a good movie to come out. Has anything good hit the theaters since Pirates? Let me know.

Picture of the day: A view across Waikiki Bay

Can you believe that my favorite shows aren’t doing so hot? I mean, I though “Studio 60” had a chance because it is so smart and quirky, but all the criticism it gets is that it’s not funny enough…..FUNNY!.....I can’t believe that people don’t realize it is a drama. It’s different and that’s what I like. Then there is “The Nine”. Nobody watched it…it is great. Honestly the best new show out on television, that is until “Traveler” debuts. At least I have found solace that “Heroes” has a full season order, despite unspectacular ratings. I will be able to finish out the season with those superheroes. Lost is the only bright spot on the radar, but they don’t really count since they’re not a new show. Still way addicted though…best show on TV period.

Yom Break

I swear Hollywood shuts down on Yom Kippur. I never realized the extent and number of Jewish people actually work in the Industry. It’s pretty fascinating. Everything is pretty non-functional today. The other day some kids found a mouse outside which of course excited my son so much, he had to run out there and catch it. I was skeptical since catching a mouse is pretty dang hard even for a full grown adult, let a lone a 3 year old. That’s why we use mousetraps. He proceeded to go outside, and like the Crocodile hunter very charismatically snatched up the mouse. Then, the mouse turned and bit him on the finger, even breaking the skin a little. It terrified my son and he kept saying we should go after it and put it in a jar forever and ever. I felt bad for him, but how do you tell him to be careful when he is so excited about it. Shoot, I had no clue the mouse would turn and attack. Then I read an article about sharks (yay! sharks) where the author was interviewing an expert about nurse sharks and how they can sometimes be dangerous.

Schwartz: "The 14-foot ones can be real bad.”

Me: "So the big nurses are mean?"

Schwartz: "Right. Some scuba divers like to grab them by the tail.”

Me: "They grab the nurses?"

Schwartz: "Right, and the sharks wheel around and bite the living daylights out of them."

Me: "Don't you have to be pretty stupid to grab a 14-foot shark by the tail?"

Schwartz: "Scuba divers' mentality is not always the best."

My son may not be a scuba diver, but he does tell me frequently that he wants to be an underwater camera man; or a “paleontologist”, because they’re “experts at dealing with prehistoric bones.” I kid you not, my 3 year old son has the vocabulary of most high schoolers.

Picture of the day: These Tihitian dancers shake their hips so fast they just look like blurs.

Borat vs. Khazakstan

I watched the trailers for the new Borat film and they left me laughing my head off. Then I go and read an article like this and laugh even harder. So…freakin’… hilarious. Levity is always appreciated when things are busy. It stinks when you focus in and work your hardest all day long because you think that you will get caught up on stuff and instead, you end up further behind because of the amount of things that are dumped onto your work load. I love my job, but I caught a glimpse of the salaries for everyone in the dept. (since I deal with budgets) and realize that I get paid way less that what I am worth. But isn’t everybody? I feel like dressing up in flowers and being the King of Hawaii.

Wedding Work

Weddings, I have decided, are not as fun as people initially make them out to be. In going over my schedule for the weekend I thought it would be fun to make a few trips for my brothers wedding, the reception etc. but it turned out to be quite exhausting. I was doing some of the videography as well, which I think will turn out good, but it just seemed like I was working most of the weekend. I have another wedding coming up the end of October, but this one is not a relation and so I’ll be able to hopefully, just enjoy! It’s back east, so I get to go back where the leaves actually change color. Here in Los Angeles it just gets really dry and windy, and the only oranges and yellows you see are from the wildfires. My job seems to have gotten back to a level of normalcy as of late, but we are already preparing for the holiday season. I am just grateful there is not a party thrown on top of that as well.

Picture of the Day: If I had to ride around Hawaii in a dune Buggy, I would take this one too!

Sleep Depravation

I am so tired. Never stay up till 2 am two nights in a row especially I you have to get up at 6:30 in the morning. And I have to drive for 6 hours after work tonight to my brothers wedding. AHHH!! I’ll let you know how it goes.

Wedding Pixelation

I am trying to create a video of photographs for my brother, and he is sending me some digital pictures at 72 pixels per inch, at about 3 inches wide making it about 216 pixels wide; which looks great on a web page, but when you blow it up to 740 pixels wide like a television screen, it looks not so good. I requested that he send larger files but he just complained saying his computer couldn’t download or send pictures that size. What, and computer that cannot download and send a 1 meg file needs to be thrown out. Well, I hope he is happy with the results? I did the best I can, it’s not like it’s for anything important really, just his wedding. Oh, well…his call. Oh yeah, and this is the bay we went snorkeling in on Hawaii!

Celebrity Status

I am really unsure about what to say in this blog and that is not a good thing. Blogs are supposed to be inspired and witty. I keep getting requests for me to make a list of all the famous people I have seen and talked too, but it has been so long since I have been here, and honestly, I really don’t feel like putting in the effort. Besides, the other day I was speaking to a friend and telling him I saw Jeffrey Tambor. “Who ?” was his reply. I realized then that my view of who is famous is greatly skewed by the fact that I am saturated with the entertainment industry a lot and a commonplace name to me might be completely obscure to someone else. I guess it’s like the Critics Syndrome” where they have become so accustomed to the whole zeitgeist of the movies, they can no longer approach it from an audiences perspective, hence they give crappy reviews on good movies and great reviews to dull ones. In essence, any list that I could make up of celebrities would undoubtedly be dull to most people, and those that do seem exciting, don’t interest me at all anymore. Who knew? Below is a picture of where me and my wife had our 5th anniversary dinner, right on the beach in Hawaii.

Party Downtime

So I am recuperating from two parties less than two weeks apart. Our Emmy Party (movie) and the Party for one of our television shows were really fun but a lot of work. I will jump back into posting soon, but in the meantime, enjoy yet another picture of Hawaii!

No Time

I honestly have no time to write anymore. I should do it at the beginning of the day, but then there are no cool experiences to relate like seeing George Clooney (Monday) or Jerry Bruckheimer (Today). But enough with the name dropping, enjoy the picture of Hawaii…yes, I jumped from this rock!

Shark Week

This was a picture of Waimea Bay we took right off the road. I wouldn't have put that explanation in other than the fact that it looks so much like a postcard. My eyeballs are burning because I have been researching addresses and sending out invitations to the Emmy party that we are having. I'm already bored of this topic. Across the parking lot, they are filming Ocean's 13 and I was lucky enough to see almost the entire cast shootin' the breeze on the top of a heli-pad (completely fake with green screens and everything). Other than that, I am headed down to Anaheim to go visit my sister and hopefully find a place to go snorkeling. I am a little freaked out since my wife and I have been watching Shark Week all week on the discovery channel. We are taping it for my son who is completely obsessed with the ocean, especially monsters, dinosaurs and sharks. His favorite thing to do is watch documentaries. He's already smarter than me. I have no clue how I’m going to convince him not to do all the stuff I wanted to do growing up with logic. He'd win. Here is a picture of the next pilot, not much going for it so I’m not going to write much. It’s supposed to be a comedy about pregnancy but it didn’t make me laugh. Oh well.

Preparations for Food

I’ve decided to put up a Hawaii picture of the day, just so you are in a good mood before you start reading my blob. This one is an old church in Haleiwa that had a beautiful Redstone arch and was so lush. I am in the throws of making up invitations for an Emmy party the company is throwing. It takes a while to get everyone’s name and address, especially for the talent (the celebrities). I am excited about the party because there is going to be a lot of good food. It’s going to be in a really nice restaurant, the one that Richard Geare and Julia Roberts eat dinner in “Pretty Woman”. And just for all the guessers out there, here is a pic of an upcoming pilot, about three friends that have been framed for terrorist activities. I think the dude in the middle is that flame thrower guy from the X-Men movies. But I could be wrong. Really good show, too bad it’s only a mid season pick-up.

112

I know that everyone has been having hot summer days around the country so I am not going to lament on the stifling heat without real air conditioning. I will lament on the workload that I have as it seems that even though we are planning 2 huge parties, are usual day to day functions have not waned leaving us struggling to get caught up or even get things done on time. Luckily however, we have been having great success as a TV Production company with new deals, lots of Emmy’s and a ton of new shows. The studio is struggling with their theatrical releases…none of them have lived up to expectations. I have actually enjoyed our films immensely, but the rest of the country seems to have Pirates on the brain. Personally, though entertaining, I thought the movie was very convoluted and the characters never stayed true to form. Aha, the critic in me is talking. I have decided to try out for American Idol, mainly just to say that I did.

Paradise Part 2

Well, we had a lot of Emmy nominations this year for our productions here in TV. Because of this, our company is throwing an Emmy party the night of the awards. Needless to say I am heavily involved with this and it is actually a lot of fun coming up with ideas and getting everything arranged. We are also having a party for one of our shows that is having it's 100th episode 2 weeks after the first so I am swamped. I am just amazed at the amount of money that is thrown into these things. It could pay my salary for years, let alone help some starving country with its economic crisis. But this is Hollywood and we do enjoy patting ourselves on the back every now and then don't we.

And now for some more in extravagant living...more pictures from Hawaii!
You could swim right up to the fish at Hanuma Bay.
The USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor was great, but never try going on a July 4th weekend.
The Polynesian Culture Center really does give you a taste of the Islands. A wonderful day trip!
We rented a kayak for the day and scouted out the coolest places on the island.
On an offshore island, we had a great view of Oahu, and a little place of calm to snorkel and relax with sea turtles.

Hawaiian Paradise

So I promised a few pictures and here they are. These are just a smattering of what went on but man....awesome! It has been really difficult to get back to real life, but I'm sure it will happen soon. In the meantime, Enjoy these:
This was the lobby of our hotel. Too bad we didn't enjoy it much as we were gone every day, all day!
Yeah, those are sharks behind me. We got to go SHARK DIVING!
We got pretty close as you can see.
We went to the LDS Temple in Laie on our anniversary!
A view of Oahu from the Pali lookout.
This blowhole shot huge gysers into the air, and was right next to the beach where they filmed the kissing scene in "From Here to Eternity"
Our favorite thing to do was snorkel.
I will have more pictures later. It seems like I can only post a few at a time.

Hawaii

Sorry it's been so long. went to Hawaii....trying to get back to real life.

Talk about busy, there is way too much going on here. I went to a writing seminar for people interested in writing TV specs (I’m not, just took some friends) and they laid it out truthfully about how difficult it really is. I believe her because there is so much out there that is not up to par. I had a wonderful father’s day. My kids are the best. I got a little book my son drew about all the things that make us similar and different. It makes everything I do worthwhile.

Pilot 5: I think that I’m on pilot 5…but it’s been too long. Anyways, this one is about a woman who is an expert in relationships. On one of her book tours, she finds out that her fiancé is cheating on her and goes into a downward spiral. Forced to readjust her life, she decides to stay in the remote town on her tour where the men outnumber the women 10 to one. The show was actually very pleasant to watch. The director of “walk the Line” did this one and it was apparent. Some very touching moments, but the only problem is that it completed it story arc. I was satisfied with the ending and it seemed as though everything was resolved. I’m not sure what would draw me to watch more episodes.

The Golden Boys

Pilot 4: This pilot is pretty much a buddy comedy, in the same lines as the odd couple. A freewheeling doctor and a straightedge judge are best friends. Facing a crossroads in life, they realize they may only have a limited number of years to live and decide to do so in style. What makes it funny is the over the top performances and the willingness of the show to be completely silly. The age of the actors might alienate younger viewers, but if they continue to write well, it may become a hit.

Wrong Crown

So I thought this was the funniest thing in the world. One way to start a catfight is to crown the wrong girl at an international Beauty pageant. Awesome! My days of peace and solitude are coming to a close now that the TV executives are returning from their retreat. I took solace knowing that the weather was cruddy down at the beach the whole time so those of us left at the office didn’t miss much (other than a five star hotel and all meals catered). Also, women should never fret about never having hair like Jennifer Aniston. According to one of our departments, they would shell out $3,000 bucks just to get her hair done for a TV appearance. Wow, it makes me appreciate how wonderful my wife is for doing her own hair.

Pilot 3: A show similar to Friends, but this one revolves around a group of people pulled together for an elementary school class reunion. Needless to say they have all changed and all out for either revenge, or hooking back up. I wasn’t impressed with the acting, but the writing is top notch and it made me chuckle genuinely. I wasn’t too keen on the moral message of the show (cheating on your husband doesn’t sit well with me…no matter how much of a loser he is) but any comedy amongst the slew of Dramas is a breath of fresh air.

A Great Thriller

Pilot 2 deals with a bunch of people that go into a bank and get held up as hostages. What makes it so cool is you see them going in, and then coming out without any explanation of what happened the few days they were inside the bank. It’s told in flashbacks and putting clues together. This was probably one of my favorite pilots and has a lot of style, good acting…and already characters that I care about. It seems that most of the pilots this year are dramas. Oh well, I could use a few laughs every now and then.

Guess the Pilot

Pilots are out and as an employee I get to watch all the new ones that our Television group makes. It’s actually really fun to see shows you know won’t be on TV for at least another couple of months. Needless to say there are my favorites and then some I am not so enthused about. I will try giving you a breakdown of what they are about and what I though of them without getting in too much trouble (like giving out the name). So put on your thinking caps, and your internet research skills as I present clues as to what the “New Show” is and you send me your best guess as to which one I am describing. All the shows have been picked up by major networks so there is a possibility of actually finding out which ones they are. Good luck!!!

Pilot 1: A devoted family man turns out to be a career criminal specializing in high stake robbery's. His team of thrill seekers includes cold blooded murderers, wise cracking show girls and ex-cons. In the pilot, a major robbery of rare works of art goes awry and the lead questions the depth of his involvement in the underworld. The show had great special effects (explosions) and was directed beautifully, but the story was too disjointed and slow-moving for me to be completely engaged. I would give it an OK rating.

Upfront Mother

Mother’s day came and went and I tried as hard as I could to make it worry free fro my wife. It was tough as our littlest is pretty sick right now. The best part was watching old home movies of when she became a mom with our first. It’s always nice to remember, and made me so thankful all over again for everything that she does. On the professional front, all the execs around here are in New York for the Upfronts* It makes it a little quieter for everyone else, but since my boss is the executive director, and we are in charge of the executive affairs, we have to handle all the little things that come up like “so-and-so doesn’t have a room”, “I forgot my scissors”, “Where are we eating?” and we have to take care of it all here in LA. So far the Upfronts have been uneventful, but that’s because only the struggling NBC has announced their line-up** I am excited for Heroes though.

*Upfronts – when the individual networks announce what shows they will be picking up for the coming TV season and they are usually accompanied by last minute deals, lots of brown nosing and huge Dog-and-pony shows.

**Line-up – A networks TV schedule for the upcoming fall; what days and times different shows will be on.

San Diego

This picture didn't turn out half bad. But try to take pictures of dolphins jumping around the boat and this is what you get. Lots of splashes. I feel so inept. I guess I was never destined to become a nature photographer.On a side note, the president of our company was speaking about films and how they're made and why they're made and his exact words are "The goal of the Studio is to make money for our shareholders." Wow, he had no qualms in saying it. Forget entertainment value, artistic expression or even the employees for that matter....movies are all about the money.

The Slate

Last Thursday I went to "The Slate" where we got the inside scoop on the movies that are coming out. The best part was watching extended trailers of the movies and some that haven’t even come out yet. Poseidon looks a lot better than I had initially though. I’d been to all the sets and watched them film it last summer, but it came together really well. Definitely one to watch in the theaters. Happy Feet looks hilarious. It’s about penguins and their mating rituals which involve singing. However, the hero can’t seem to sing a lick, but can tap-dance up a storm. The Reaping looks a little to satanic for my taste and The Lake House could turn out to be a very promising romantic drama. The Lady in the Water pre-vis* trailer renewed my hope in the movie. Not only does some water-nymph end up in a pool, but supposedly, the door to “fairy tale land” has been thrown wide open letting in all the fairy tale creatures…which include the big bad wolf and other things that go bump in the night. In all it was good to get psyched about upcoming titles as well as for the studio. Other great titles that look promising are Fred Clause, We are Marshall, The Good German, The Departed and The Blood Diamond. I also found a great article about what it’s like trying to make it down here. Pretty insightful stuff, considering how mean it really is.

*pre-vis: meaning a very, very rough cut of film. Usually characters are not fleshed out and it has time code all over it, hasn't been color corrected and the sound hasn't been done.

Easter Beauty

Could he get any cuter! I love my squish. On the Hollywood front, I will be attending a "slate" meeting today where they overview the upcoming summer movie releases for the studio. I will be sure to report back any pertinent information.

Public Safety

A great part about my work is that they allow for emergency warden training. This involves First Aid, CPR, disaster relief and all kinds of things. We even got to dress in fireman's gear and put out some small fires. My wife thinks I look pretty hot as a fireman. The class was really good and was especially fascinating / morbid when we went over triage in mass accidents with multiple casualties. In all it was a great refresher course from my Boy Scout days. Yes, I was in Boy Scouts. Don’t laugh, I was pretty hot in a scout uniform too, just ask my wife.Another class member fighting the fire!

a common serf

I have decided to write, and to do so more frequently. My new job affords loads of possibilities for quirky stories as I am not dealing with the mundane tasks that I had before. I am now with the Television company under the studio and my job has become more…shall we say, secretarial. It’s because my boss is pretty old-school studio minded. She has me make coffee and get people on the phone for her. You heard me right; I make someone else’s coffee. I don’t even drink the stuff, it smells like burnt dirt. Oh well, I’m hoping this leads somewhere. It was a raise in pay and despite the eccentricities of the dept. I like what I do. If this doesn’t pan out, I am planning on being on Steven Spielberg’s new reality show that is attempting to find the “next big Hollywood director” Booyah!

Pager Problems

I handle all the pagers for the studio. Meaning I’m the guy they come to if they have a broken pager, need a new one etc. Part of my job is making sure that pagers get activated and swapped in a timely manner. For a little while there our pager company was having some technical glitches which made my work horrid. We eventually got them resolved, however, the company still wanted to come speak to us about the resolutions. Of course, two of them flew out from Texas for a little meeting where we basically said “everything is working now.” I guess they just wanted an excuse to get away or something, but talk about your inane business trips. 1 week till I start my new job.

Changes

I haven’t even been using this blob to document what I said it would, and that is my inevitable rise to prominence in the film industry. Well, that isn’t going too fast but there are changes. I just accepted a new job with out TV department here. Basically, I will be handling our relations with network executives so we remain in close ties with them when they decide to order shows or pilots for their new line-ups*. Our studio has a great reputation of putting a lot of shows on TV so I have to maintain that relationship with them. My title: Administrative coordinator. How boring. I was also helping on and independent short film over the weekend. I started out as a PA/Grip and moved more into Gaffing and Camera. It was great to do something creative again but I had forgotten how relentless the hours and work were. I fell in love with the HD camera there, wanna get one. Maybe when I win the lottery; but that is a different rise to prominence to be documented later.

*a line-up is the listing of shows that a network (such as ABC or CBS) decides to put on the schedule for the upcoming TV season.

Jurrasic Park 4

Because I am in love with the movie franchise...( I saw the first one 11 times in theaters), this is exciting news!

whinning

According to my inside contact the position that I really want at the studio in feature development has postponed hiring because the VP is out of town. But, I just received word (from an outside source) that indeed they were already in interviews. I haven’t heard a thing. I can’t just go and out my contact in the department as a liar but I wish I had the facts. Oh wells, another chance that might not come my way. I have been submitting to jobs like a madman and average of 8 to 20 per week and have only been contacted once about potential hire. I keep thinking there is something wrong with my resume or cover letter but each time I review them I am quite impressed. Maybe it just goes to show that they way to move up in Hollywood is not through the traditional corporate ways….and that resumes, experience or education means nothing. I attended a panel discussion with executives in different departments and they told stories of how they “made it” in the biz. My hopes were high until they mentioned their past (Harvard Business Grad, Computer prodigy w/ own game company, Business developer for Coke/IBM)… too bad I don’t have any of those qualifications in my arsenal when I’m “trying to make it.” I’m headed out of town for the extended weekend, pray the weather improves.

My Valentine

Sometimes I seem to neglect to tell my wife how much I love her. The only reason I am able to be out here trying to find a way to follow my dreams is because my wife supports me in everything. All her time, talent, finances, planning and thoughts are used to make us work and for that I can never be grateful enough. Our love story may not be the most unique, nor the most grandiose; but I would be remiss if I did not proclaim my undying love and thanks for the woman who makes me possible. Happy Valentines day, I love you.

mumblings...

Netflix is ripping me off…no not really but from this article I wouldn’t be surprised if I was suspect. I am a movie fanatic and love watching them all the time. I have been more limited in how much I watch though. Ken has a new look, and Viginia Madsen outed him as gay…only in a post Brokeback Mountain would this be safe to laugh at. And last but not least, I got reamed for showing up 15 min. late for a meeting I planned. Honestly, I completely forgot about it but I used my kid as cover and told everyone that he was sick. Nice, huh! I am one twisted dad.

Viva Portugal!

I went and visited my family for the weekend because my little brother came home from living in Portugal for two years on his mission. He has been proselytizing for so long he was a little freaked out by all the worldly ways and about America in general. I know what he’s feeling considering I spent two years in Russia, and coming back to America was way more of a culture shock that going to Russia. I must say though that Russia is a little more sober after I left, either because of my preaching or they’re just running out of alcohol. But anyways, he’s home safe now and brought cute cultural staples like the ones pictured. I had fun playing games, eating, watching the super bowl and of course going to the Train Museum with my eldest son. He’s officially obsessed. We got a new inter-company memo from the president explaining why they sold off the book publishing division, even though they had great returns. Lots of changes to a media conglomerate.

Nominate Narcissism

The Oscar nominations came out yesterday, and despite the applause everyone has lauded on these pictures; it proved to me something that I have been harping on for some time – “Hollywood is out of sync with the rest of the world.” I found a great article that explains more people have seen March of the Penguins than any of the films nominated for best picture. True, the Picture nominees are great films, but what has happened to the grand epics and sweeping love stories that capture the minds of millions, rather than a select target audience. A polite name for these artsy so-so’s is Niche films, or “films that didn’t do near the business we wanted them to so we will tell everyone it was for a specific group of people” It’s the same tactic used when distributors say they are advertising by “word of mouth”. It is sort of fun watching all these executives smile and accept the nominations with pride and honor while inwardly cursing their shortsightedness in mass appeal. True they may say they are happy backing such artistic endeavors, but I’m sure they and their shareholders would be happier if it had been a success. I know I’m ranting, and probably saying a lot of un-PC things, but it seems that the voters are roped into nominating films for PC reasons. Little tyke Brokeback Mountain received a nomination in all of the main categories, whereas behemoth juggernaut the Passion of the Christ last year did not receive a single one in the same categories. People might blame artistic differences, critical acclaim or what have you but the truth of the matter is: Hollywood’s morals are not embraced by most of America, and America’s mainstream morals are not embraced by Hollywood. Hence decline in movies addressing America’s morals, hence decline in ticket sales, hence an upswing of Hollywood patting itself on the back because that is the only way they will get recognition (and hopefully draw more of the mainstream America on whom they despise and rely on) into the theatres! I’m proud to be a part of it.

Merger

So this morning, all the employees at our studio got a memo saying they were merging our Network with a rival one. Now, to me this sounds like an excuse to fire a lot of people but here…decide for yourselves:

“Today we announced, in conjunction with CBS Corporation, that we are launching a fifth broadcast network, “The CW” in September 2006. This new network is a joint venture between Warner Bros. and CBS. As a result, at the end of this current season, we and CBS are ceasing to operate The WB and UPN, respectively, to create a dynamic new enterprise. Press release

This was not an easy decision to make. While we are extremely excited about this new opportunity, it is a bittersweet moment as we conclude the 11 year run of The WB.”

True that is only part of it, but it seems that other people have picked up on the same sentiment (Here and Here). Not only is our resolve being tested on the professional front, but my wife is being tested on the home front. Anyone that can hold down a full time job, raise two kids and do most of the housekeeping should be gilded and have a month named after her, or at least a season. Maybe a good trip to Hawaii would be reward enough though, sometime in the…future.

and because the idea is so very, very funny: Narnia Rap Battle

Not That Famous

Job hunting just isn’t what it used to be. Here, nobody calls you back. Everything moves at such a slow pace. I went to the La Brea tar pits and tried climbing a statue of a sloth and my wife took a picture. It came out looking like I was trying to hump the thing. To break the slothful cycle of the never ending job search I have decided to throw caution to the wind and outright ask people for a break. One such attempt was for a semi-famous actor who started his own production company. Since I am distantly related to his brother’s family, I wrote an e-mail congratulating them and asked about employment possibilities. Well, the wife of the brother of the somewhat famous person got very upset that I had her e-mail address and was scared I was going to forward it on and cause a lot of problems for her privacy….Hmmm. Number one, we live close by, talk every now and then so I am not a stranger. #2 we’re distantly related (by marriage) so I’m not going to forward on a relatives e-mail address for the world to use. And lastly, she’s not that famous. Sure, related to a semi-famous celebrity, but I doubt anyone would be clamoring to get her autograph. I’ll probably get in trouble for writing this but hey, I wanted to let you see how Hollywood works. It's not who you know, it's who you know that's willing to help.

Rose Parade

So rather than go to the actual parade in Pasedena, we went around 10pm the night before to see all the floats. There was very little rain and we felt bad for all the suckas who got drenched, haha. Anyway, the floats were amazing, everything covered in organic material. Leaves, flowers, beans, corn, fruit…you name it. My personal favorite was adobe made out of cinnamon oatmeal. It smelled great. Here is a picture of just one of the floats. We were able to get up really close so it was well worth it. And by the way, I did pick Texas to win…I’m a fan of the Big 12.