Cruelty

Oh and "Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon)" came out on DVD today. Now I can get my daily dosage of black-and-white German films about cruelty. (Who knew Germans made anything about cruelty?)

Revitalization

Going to an improv meeting Sunday made me realize how much I missed improv since the Spring semester came to a close. It gave my creative side a shot of adrenaline to the heart like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction.

The bad side is the realization that I have way too many commitments in my life. I have successfully whored myself out to many productions and people, from American Idol to CC's to FRD improv to this damned play. I need a shower.

Scoop

Is it me or has their been an epic amount of journalism movies in the past 30 years? Movies like "All the President's Men" and "The Insider" take the not-so-action-packed plot of journalists getting the inside scoop on the story and turn into intense conflicts over "who said what"-coverups and legal loopholes. No really, I don't know why but I crave these kinds of stories, hence I'm attracted to other types of its genre like the romantic comedy "Broadcast News" (i.e., one of my favorite movies of all time), the hilarious comedy-drama "Almost Famous", and the thrilling "Quiz Show" with Voldemort.

Brodyquest

I don't know why but this video makes me uber happy, even though it's slightly disturbing.

Triumphant

Yesterday was the single greatest day I've had in awhile. Here are the bullet points:

- I went to CC's in order to pester them, based on orders from my intern director. I mean, I don't like pestering them because I know they want me to work but they have to wait on Corporate to finish background check. But upon getting to CC's, I come to find out I was about to get the phone call: I start working Thursday! Already, I thought that day was awesome. Little did I know...

- My first pay check came in from Brawler: $180.

- My friend Brittany who I worked with on Inventing Adam sent me a text, asking if anyone could help PA American Idol. Of course, I jumped at the chance and today it was confirmed: I am officially working American Idol in July!!!! Thank you, Brittany! :)

- I found a penny on the ground.

- I made friends at the CC's I'll soon be working at.

- I had a drink while watching The Shining.

- I met with Sarah to talk about life and the films we're working on.

All in all, it was a fantastic day! I am SO freaking happy. :)

Work

The P90X has kicked my neck in the ass. It's so freaking sore.

Substitute

Today, I used my college textbooks as weights to work out. Tis the life of a college student...

Boredom

Taken from Brooke. I haven't done a survey in awhile.

5 Famous People to Invite to Your Dream Dinner Party, Dead or Alive

Benjamin Franklin.

William Hurt.

Friedrich Nietzsche.

Gandhi.

Anna Kendrick.

5 Bands/Musicians You’ve Been Listening to a Lot Lately

Men Without Hats.

Lady Gaga.

Animal Collective.

Eiffel 65.

Nine Inch Nails.

5 Things You’re Addicted to

Facebook.

Coffee.

Burritos.

Texting.

Movies.

5 Celebrity Crushes

Zooey Deschanel.

William Hurt.

ANNA KENDRICK.

Tina Fey.

Amy Adams.

5 Songs You Can’t Stop Listening to at the Moment

"Hyperlink (Deep Down)" - Eiffel 65

"Summertime Clothes" - Animal Collective

"Alejandro" by Lady Gaga

"The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats

"Closer" by Nine Inch Nails

5 Favorite TV Shows

Ranma 1/2.

Cowboy Bebop.

30 Rock.

iCarly.

Glee.

5 Your Dream Future: 1 Job /2 City /3 Car /4 Spouse /5 Pet

Director. Writer.

Boston. Germany.

One that works.

ANNA KENDRICK.

Fox.


5 Things That Always Cheer You Up

My friends.

My family.

Animal Collective.

Malcom Tucker.

30 Rock.

5 People You Want to Punch in the Face

Glenn Beck.

Um...

Beauty

For some reason, I feel like American Beauty is the creepiest and most hipster of Best Pictures in the past 20 years. What BP winner not only has an older man trying to seduce a teenage girl and find his purpose, and discusses the abstract notion of beauty?

Veg

I have cherished these past two days of unproductiveness. After two weeks of constant movement day in and day out, I slept in till almost noon yesterday and today and did practically... nothing. Yeah, nothing. And it felt good. However, I know pretty soon CC's is going to call my butt and tell my butt to start working the 5 AM - 1 PM shift and I'll have to readjust to a productive life-style. Until then, I'll be spending my last day of unproductiveness drinking raspberry vodka and Coke because I'm a pansy and watching "Almost Famous" and "Happiness" for the first time.

In honor of Father's Day, I'll add my most WTF moment of my dad that sticks out in my head. Our whole family was on a road trip--probably to our grandparents--when we hit a gully washer. It was raining so hard, my mother, who was driving at the time, could barely see. So my dad decided to help shield us from the rain by opening the umbrella all the way in the passenger seat, covering up most of the windshield. It was so random. I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day!

Back (to the Future)

I finished my work on the film set yesterday, made a speedy escape to Baton Rouge (and my girlfriend) and am now looking forward to a semi-peaceful getaway in... Baton Rouge. Yeah, I guess to many Baton Rouge isn't the ideal spot for a getaway but it is for me. Although now that I'm finished having my soul sucked away, I can focus on other stressful things like this play I'm interning for, the wedding video I need to finish, and the part time job I'm about to start. Life is going full throttle and I don't mind as long as I don't have to make a run for props again.

Trauma

Sorry for the delay. I had a few... interesting days. Today was my break from the production from working non-stop from Tuesday til Saturday. Having a day not on set is like coming out of a coma. I have to catch up with the world (like the World Cup) after so much time away.

Amnesia

Working on a feature film again, I was rewarded with two opposing feelings:

1. Watching this old warehouse set slowly look more and more like a grungy ship hull is so rewarding. I remember quite vividly thinking to myself, "God, I love doing this" throughout the week. And it's true. I love working on films and am quite certain this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

2. I had completely forgotten just how discombobulated information gets once the ball starts rolling and ESPECIALLY if you're like me and you jump onto this ship midstream. Coming on board a movie mid-shoot is the equivalent of walking into a movie theater in the middle of a movie and asking what's going on. People don't have time to stop and give you the rundown. My group is experiencing this first hand because all three of us PAs are playing telephone along with our Production Designer. We all get slightly varied information and we're trying to piece it all together. Thankfully, our biggest issue (i.e. how we're getting our payment and will we get reimbursed) is finally taken care of.

Trying to create a potluck order of Chinese food (or "order a shitload of Chinese and everyone share") is more stressful than you can imagine. Everyone has to mostly agree on 4 or 5 items to order in bulk and God forbid if you're a vegetarian. Thankfully I had "Alejandro" by Lady Gaga to keep my aggravation at bay while I picked up the food.

But don't get me wrong. I love working on this set and love working with this crew, especially with the Art Department all working so hard on such a time crunch. Kudos to all of you if you somehow are able to stalk me and find this blog. And for those who don't know what exactly I'm doing (which is a lot of you), here's a short synopsis: we're dressing a set to look like a fighting ring in a ship's hull. The painting will hopefully get done tomorrow as well as most of the dressing. Thankfully, we have almost all of the items we need, allowing us to do finishing touches and whatever else on Saturday. I'm also hoping to call CC's at 7 AM and asking if they have any word on whether or not I got the part-time barista job. I hope so. I need stable work right now.

Exhaustion

Working as an art department PA is arduous work. So much lifting and moving of large equipment (chains, wooden crates, wooden palettes, etc.) has me exhausted and famished every evening. Hopefully I'll at least get paid this time around.

Addiction

I just applied and was interviewed at CC's coffee house. Dear God, I hope I don't overdose on coffee this summer.

I'm also about to work for my other addiction: movies. I'm PAing for the local film "Brawler" in 30 minutes. I hope the shoot will last less than 16 hours.

Age

It warms my heart to see a comedy actor make a dramatic turn like Jim Carrey in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" or Robin Williams in "Good Will Hunting". What makes me happier? Seeing a dramatic actor make fun of their own image, a la Tom Cruise in his scene-stealing cameo in "Tropic Thunder".

But nothing is more shocking than for an old thespian to play for laughs:

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/06/02/lol-ben-kingsley-submits-video-audition-for-transformers-3/

Thank you, Ben Kingsley. I'd totally choose you as Shia Lebouf's love interest in Transformers 3.

PS. Christoph Waltz, hours after winning his deserved Oscar, went on television and revealed his lesser known role in cinematic history: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUbGcRJUDu0

"Breaking Away" (1979)

The first long forgotten BP contender I watched was the sports feel-good dramedy "Breaking Away". It chronicled the rise, fall, and rise of a boy who wants to become a cyclist after he graduates high school. He starts acting Italian to be like his favorite Italian cyclists. His antics piss off his parents but wins him a girl by saying he's a foreign exchange student.

The story and dialogue is a bit hokey along with the dated direction by Peter Yates. Yates falls into the trap many 70s movies fall into with regards to zooms: they use it way too much. In some instances, the direction is inspiring and lifts the story higher, but other times it's simply bland. A lot of the blandness comes from the muted color palette. There many yellows and... more yellows. Nothing really stands out. The sub-plots also seem to not really support the story nor the conflicts. Why do we care if Jackie Earl Haley gets married to some random chick? I don't. However, the movie still has a sweet spot in the middle and sure enough, after the lofty beginning, you begin to cheer him on with each race we see. Hell, the end race even had my heart pounding.

Blast from the Past

Since three of my favorite movies (Broadcast News, The Big Chill, and All That Jazz) are obscure Best Picture contenders from yester-year, I am going through all of the Best Picture contenders over the past 40 years to find other forgotten gems. Also, to add more flavor to this blog, I'll go through the years and give my picks out that year's Oscar list as well.