Two thumbs up for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Runyon Canyon was amazing. Taking music from everybody in UTLA has made my computer go from 6 gigs to almost 15 gigs.
I watched Into the Wild this week with Y217. I found it surprisingly moving. It took us 2 nights to watch, and after we finally finished I found myself lying in bed talking to Sarah about existentialism, which is becoming one of my new favorite topics to ponder before going to sleep.
On a less fortunate note, I have super large amounts of homework going on. Our 3 final projects are due next week. Producing, producing, producing.
Moonlight wraps today and premiers tonight. Unfortunately I cannot make the wrap party at the Dodger's game on Sunday because we have our alumni beach party thing all afternoon. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Yesterday was unbelievable. Alex, on, and I waited in line for hours and hours to see Flight of the Conchords play, then waited in live for more hours to get Jemaine and Bret to sign stuff. And, we succeeded with both. I feel like I have accomplished so much. The boys were so cute, it was great.
Tonight is Magic Castle. Magic Castle is an exclusive magic club in Hollywood. It's the prize for participating in the scavenger hunt Jon and I did ages ago. Just a conscience that the only weekend Phil was available happens to be our last weekend here. The affair will be quite the celebration for us and our +1s.
Next week will be the last post, because after that it's back to Kansas and the end of one of the most unforgettable periods of my life thus far.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
watching family guy at work
On account of being exhausted from Huntington Beach all day Saturday, we didn't go hiking on Sunday. However, I did finally visit an authentic CPK, which was fantastic. And I went to Yogurt World (again, I know) that night with Sarah and Thai. Sunday was mostly just homework all day. I already got the stuff we have to do for next week done, so this weekend will be homework free for me!
I got to see the Royals beat the Angels down in Anaheim on Wednesday night. Their stadium is pretty nice. Our seats were in left field, right behind the bullpen. So we were like 5 feet from all the pitchers, it was great.
Thursday four of us went to the taping of ELLEN. We got $50 itunes gift cards. And saw Ewan McGreggor, Jason Segal, a record-setting skier, and the girl who just got voted off of American Idol. That night we celebrated being finished with Lisa France's directing class at Lisa France's friend's apartment in Hollywood. It was a pretty swanky place.
This weekend: free movies on the Fox lot, possibly seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and definitely hiking Runyon Canyon.
I got to see the Royals beat the Angels down in Anaheim on Wednesday night. Their stadium is pretty nice. Our seats were in left field, right behind the bullpen. So we were like 5 feet from all the pitchers, it was great.
Thursday four of us went to the taping of ELLEN. We got $50 itunes gift cards. And saw Ewan McGreggor, Jason Segal, a record-setting skier, and the girl who just got voted off of American Idol. That night we celebrated being finished with Lisa France's directing class at Lisa France's friend's apartment in Hollywood. It was a pretty swanky place.
This weekend: free movies on the Fox lot, possibly seeing Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and definitely hiking Runyon Canyon.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Getty Center and Pink's (check!)
Six Flags Magic Mountain was insane. Never before have I ridden more roller coasters in such a short period of time. Thank Josh and Aaron for the tickets, because I do not think it would have been worth it if it wasn’t free. These coasters were INSANE. The Tatsu leans you forward so you are essentially lying on your stomach the entire time. The first part is like you’re flying, but the whole free-falling headfirst is not so fun. My favorite was SCREAM, the suspended roller coaster. It's a lot like Superman at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.
Saturday-Sunday we did Lawn Boys until sunset, and Pauly Shore into the night. Kudos to Scott, Brett, and Elliot, who worked crazy hard on Lawn Boys then turned around to help out Marcela at night. Sunday night was a great relief, and being done with it made for a very good time. However, the Pauly project still has a lot to be re-shot and organized; I really hope everything works out.
Tuesday at Moonlight I met the new director, whose credits include Lost and Alias. I overheard my superiors discussing my closest pals, Greg Grunberg and Jordan Levin, and kicked myself for not mentioning my connection to them. Plus they talked about Michael Cera, mentioning, but not appreciating the true genius of clarkandmichael.com. I should have said something... dang-it.
We went to Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night and saw Thomas Haden Church, Adam Ferrera, and Phantom Planet. The band was the best part. Yesterday was one of the most amazing experiences thus far, The Price is Right. Aaron got to “come on down,” and we went CRAZY. He ALMOST won a car, and almost got to do the Showcase Showdown, but instead just came away with a $3000 fireplace.
We’re going to Huntington Beach tomorrow, shooting more of Pauly Shore, and going hiking through Ruynon Canyon on Sunday. If the weather is anything like today- it will be perfect.
Saturday-Sunday we did Lawn Boys until sunset, and Pauly Shore into the night. Kudos to Scott, Brett, and Elliot, who worked crazy hard on Lawn Boys then turned around to help out Marcela at night. Sunday night was a great relief, and being done with it made for a very good time. However, the Pauly project still has a lot to be re-shot and organized; I really hope everything works out.
Tuesday at Moonlight I met the new director, whose credits include Lost and Alias. I overheard my superiors discussing my closest pals, Greg Grunberg and Jordan Levin, and kicked myself for not mentioning my connection to them. Plus they talked about Michael Cera, mentioning, but not appreciating the true genius of clarkandmichael.com. I should have said something... dang-it.
We went to Jimmy Kimmel Tuesday night and saw Thomas Haden Church, Adam Ferrera, and Phantom Planet. The band was the best part. Yesterday was one of the most amazing experiences thus far, The Price is Right. Aaron got to “come on down,” and we went CRAZY. He ALMOST won a car, and almost got to do the Showcase Showdown, but instead just came away with a $3000 fireplace.
We’re going to Huntington Beach tomorrow, shooting more of Pauly Shore, and going hiking through Ruynon Canyon on Sunday. If the weather is anything like today- it will be perfect.
Friday, April 4, 2008
last night we discovered the yogurt world in burbank
We shot Elliot's project last weekend. It wasn't that fun, but he seems pretty happy with how it turned out. The whole experience reminded me that my favorite part of filmmaking is the part that happens right up to when the cameras begin rolling. It was pretty cool to be working towards being so professional. I was working on call sheets and script breakdowns for the projects at work on Tuesday, and felt a little more knowledgeable having my own stuff going on. Lawn Boys and Pauly Shore are this weekend, which will be crazy-busy and tiring. And to make things even busier, I got a free ticket to Six Flags tonight from 7-12am, meaning I already know I'll be tired in the morning. But you can't pass on a chance like that.
I went to my first hockey game on Sunday. The Ducks beat the Stars in overtime + a shoot out. I saw a bunch of power plays, and a fight broke out within the first 15 minutes of the game. Baseball season started on Monday and the Royals are 3-0. They swept the Tigers, and Greinke did great. That doesn't relate to LA though... however I have been reading up on the Dodgers so I'll be ready for the April 26th game.
Also this week we shared our scripts for TV writing. iSean was a great success. We're essentially done with that class, meaning the work load just got a little bit smaller. Even though pilot season is totally out of whack because of the strike this year, the daily updates are pretty interesting. Television is fascinating.
One hour left of work today. The bosses are dealing with budgeting and the door is open so I get to hear everything. It's awesooome.
I went to my first hockey game on Sunday. The Ducks beat the Stars in overtime + a shoot out. I saw a bunch of power plays, and a fight broke out within the first 15 minutes of the game. Baseball season started on Monday and the Royals are 3-0. They swept the Tigers, and Greinke did great. That doesn't relate to LA though... however I have been reading up on the Dodgers so I'll be ready for the April 26th game.
Also this week we shared our scripts for TV writing. iSean was a great success. We're essentially done with that class, meaning the work load just got a little bit smaller. Even though pilot season is totally out of whack because of the strike this year, the daily updates are pretty interesting. Television is fascinating.
One hour left of work today. The bosses are dealing with budgeting and the door is open so I get to hear everything. It's awesooome.
Friday, March 28, 2008
UT v. Stanford game day!
Saturday: DCA was glorious. The best part were the freshly made tortillas at the Mission Tortilla Factory. We missed Wine Tasting by about 35 minutes, so will just have to make a trip to a real vineyard within the last month we're here. I got soaking wet on Grizzly River Canyon, which was not fun at all, but we road Screamin' Over California a total of three times, which was indeed quite fun. And we went to the Anaheim Sonic, the closest LA location. I have never appreciated Sonic more than I did last Saturday night.
Sunday: I was reminded about how much homework sucks. What a happy Easter, spending nearly 10 hours struggling at adapting my book into a screenplay to pitch to class on Monday. The work paid off though, we all passed and Kerew said I did a nice job with my pitch.
Elliot's directing project shoots this weekend, and somehow I have taken on the role of UPM/Line Producer. So I've been busy with pre-production for that. We'll see how smoothly it goes. I hate being on set for things like this, but the pressure is off me come Saturday morning, and I feel pretty confident with the things I've done thus far. We're schedule to shoot Saturday noon-7pm and Sunday 8am-7pm, so that's pretty much the entire weekend. Except for the part tonight were we are having our TV Themed Costume Party. I'm quite excited to see what everybody comes up with. Oh, and the part on Sunday evening where I'm going to the Ducks v. Stars hockey game.
Moonlight is keeping me busy 2 days a week. Today it has been pretty stressful trying to plan the concept meeting. I almost wish I had a higher position so I could be stressed out about things like this, instead of amused. I had to call the same people twice to tell them the time had changed. I knew it wasn't my fault, so I didn't feel too terribly sad about it. I also had to go to the commissary twice today to get people food. That was a pleasant break from the office atmosphere. Driving around the Gilmore Girls set in the golf cart never ever gets old.
Sunday: I was reminded about how much homework sucks. What a happy Easter, spending nearly 10 hours struggling at adapting my book into a screenplay to pitch to class on Monday. The work paid off though, we all passed and Kerew said I did a nice job with my pitch.
Elliot's directing project shoots this weekend, and somehow I have taken on the role of UPM/Line Producer. So I've been busy with pre-production for that. We'll see how smoothly it goes. I hate being on set for things like this, but the pressure is off me come Saturday morning, and I feel pretty confident with the things I've done thus far. We're schedule to shoot Saturday noon-7pm and Sunday 8am-7pm, so that's pretty much the entire weekend. Except for the part tonight were we are having our TV Themed Costume Party. I'm quite excited to see what everybody comes up with. Oh, and the part on Sunday evening where I'm going to the Ducks v. Stars hockey game.
Moonlight is keeping me busy 2 days a week. Today it has been pretty stressful trying to plan the concept meeting. I almost wish I had a higher position so I could be stressed out about things like this, instead of amused. I had to call the same people twice to tell them the time had changed. I knew it wasn't my fault, so I didn't feel too terribly sad about it. I also had to go to the commissary twice today to get people food. That was a pleasant break from the office atmosphere. Driving around the Gilmore Girls set in the golf cart never ever gets old.
Friday, March 21, 2008
haaaave you met ted?
And now the semester is halfway over. Sad.
Alright, well I'll try to make this as exciting as possible, which will be challenging because this was by far my most unproductive week yet. Today is Good Friday, so the WB lot is officially closed, meaning I only worked one day this week. Since my schedule at Moonlight is Tuesday/Friday. I had had such a busy week before and had spent so much time in the car that I didn't have a huge desire to check out all of those places I have been wanting to see. Instead I spent a lot of time focusing on my future.
Things I'm worried about:
Where I'm going to live for one semester next fall in Austin.
What classes I need to take (only 12 hours to graduate).
When I can register for my last semester of ASL, to fulfill my last language requirement, at the community college in KC over the summer.
How much it will cost to volunteer in Africa/Australia/South America next spring and summer, and what all I need to do about going to those places.
Additionally, it seems like all the school work is hitting us all at once. We're working on a television show pilot script. I am so not a writer, so it's a challenging project. And there is our producing project. We have to adapt a book/play into a feature-length script. Thank goodness we don't have to write that script, but we do have to do coverage on the book, pitch the project on Monday, and then create a treatment for the movie as our final project. And then there's the Lisa France project. Our crazy directing teacher. There are three short video projects floating around. They involve lawn mowers, spray painted roses, and Pauly Shore.
So what did I do this week in LA? Monday night the music class watched Band From TV's rehearsal. That was sweet. I cooked dinner on Tuesday. And the highlight of the week? Besides meeting Greg Grunberg, was finishing season 1 of How I Met Your Mother. This weekend's goal is to finish season 2. It will happen.
We're going to California Adventure tomorrow. And Sunday we're doing homework. Serious, serious amounts of homework.
Alright, well I'll try to make this as exciting as possible, which will be challenging because this was by far my most unproductive week yet. Today is Good Friday, so the WB lot is officially closed, meaning I only worked one day this week. Since my schedule at Moonlight is Tuesday/Friday. I had had such a busy week before and had spent so much time in the car that I didn't have a huge desire to check out all of those places I have been wanting to see. Instead I spent a lot of time focusing on my future.
Things I'm worried about:
Where I'm going to live for one semester next fall in Austin.
What classes I need to take (only 12 hours to graduate).
When I can register for my last semester of ASL, to fulfill my last language requirement, at the community college in KC over the summer.
How much it will cost to volunteer in Africa/Australia/South America next spring and summer, and what all I need to do about going to those places.
Additionally, it seems like all the school work is hitting us all at once. We're working on a television show pilot script. I am so not a writer, so it's a challenging project. And there is our producing project. We have to adapt a book/play into a feature-length script. Thank goodness we don't have to write that script, but we do have to do coverage on the book, pitch the project on Monday, and then create a treatment for the movie as our final project. And then there's the Lisa France project. Our crazy directing teacher. There are three short video projects floating around. They involve lawn mowers, spray painted roses, and Pauly Shore.
So what did I do this week in LA? Monday night the music class watched Band From TV's rehearsal. That was sweet. I cooked dinner on Tuesday. And the highlight of the week? Besides meeting Greg Grunberg, was finishing season 1 of How I Met Your Mother. This weekend's goal is to finish season 2. It will happen.
We're going to California Adventure tomorrow. And Sunday we're doing homework. Serious, serious amounts of homework.
Monday, March 17, 2008
"i like you guys"
Lauren came to visit me all the way from Houston. We were hardcore tourists for two days and explored Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Hollywood. Fatburger > In n' Out ?????
On Monday morning we left for the 14 hour journey up the coast to San Francisco. The trip was a long time in the car, but was absolutely beautiful. A few stops were made along the way: surfer watching in Malibu, lunch in Santa Barbara, a 2-hour tour of Hearst Castle, a brief photo-op of the elephant seals, gas in Caramel, and dinner outside the city. Evan greeted us with open arms in Berkeley, which I loved. It is very much like Austin, but bigger, more hippy-ish, pedestrian friendly, and has fewer homeless people.
Tuesday morning Evan showed us the parts of Cal we had not seen the night before and we proceeded into the city. We were even better tourists this time and visited many Chinatown gift shops. We also walked up and down a lot of hills. San Fran reminds me of Chicago. The original itinerary had us spending Tuesday night in Palo Alto (Stanford) with John, but after driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, we decided to nix that part and head back to LA that night. Taking the highway saved us close to 10 hours, and were home before midnight.
And on Wednesday, Lauren got another LA adventure as we tried to find some trails to hike. The trusty Not For Tourists Guide to LA told us about some good spots... but basically we spent another 2 hours driving around the mountains trying to find our trailhead. However, we had a very successful backup plan. We hiked to the top of the Hollywood sign, narrowly escaping the $103 fine for crossing the fence to touch the sign. I swear I saw Hilary Duff on our walk down.
Thursday she went back home... and I had a day to vacation from school and work. And prepare for trip number two, Las Vegas. Vegas is weird. My friends won money, and then lost it, then won it back, but in the end most people just lost. It was a fun trip, but like I said, just such a weird weird city. I'm glad I went.
So now it's back to reality, kind of.
On Monday morning we left for the 14 hour journey up the coast to San Francisco. The trip was a long time in the car, but was absolutely beautiful. A few stops were made along the way: surfer watching in Malibu, lunch in Santa Barbara, a 2-hour tour of Hearst Castle, a brief photo-op of the elephant seals, gas in Caramel, and dinner outside the city. Evan greeted us with open arms in Berkeley, which I loved. It is very much like Austin, but bigger, more hippy-ish, pedestrian friendly, and has fewer homeless people.
Tuesday morning Evan showed us the parts of Cal we had not seen the night before and we proceeded into the city. We were even better tourists this time and visited many Chinatown gift shops. We also walked up and down a lot of hills. San Fran reminds me of Chicago. The original itinerary had us spending Tuesday night in Palo Alto (Stanford) with John, but after driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, we decided to nix that part and head back to LA that night. Taking the highway saved us close to 10 hours, and were home before midnight.
And on Wednesday, Lauren got another LA adventure as we tried to find some trails to hike. The trusty Not For Tourists Guide to LA told us about some good spots... but basically we spent another 2 hours driving around the mountains trying to find our trailhead. However, we had a very successful backup plan. We hiked to the top of the Hollywood sign, narrowly escaping the $103 fine for crossing the fence to touch the sign. I swear I saw Hilary Duff on our walk down.
Thursday she went back home... and I had a day to vacation from school and work. And prepare for trip number two, Las Vegas. Vegas is weird. My friends won money, and then lost it, then won it back, but in the end most people just lost. It was a fun trip, but like I said, just such a weird weird city. I'm glad I went.
So now it's back to reality, kind of.
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