Extras Gig #4: The Office, Part 3

"What's up, Avatar?" "Not much, Craig Robinson, good friend! How are you today?"*

*imaginary response, actual response was a stupid grin and probably my face turning a million shades of red.

The coolest thing about working on this set was getting a nickname from Craig Robinson. He's a really good pool player. I think hearing that there were "pool experts" around intrigued him. He kept challenging us to play. The ADs scolded him (gently- extras get yelled at for breaking the cast/extras boundary, cast members get a gentle reminder that such intermingling is less than ideal).

I ignored the requests from Craig anyway, being the pool playing fraud that I was. So why did he call me Avatar? Well, as I have said before, being an extra is 10% fun and 90% boring as hell. It's important to bring things to do. At the time, I was kind of into Avatar (which is also the link to click if you have no idea what I am talking about right now and would like to read part 1 of this story). I was working on a sketch while he was playing pool:

He stopped his game to compliment the drawing, talk sci-fi, and suddenly I had a nickname. Gush.

The pool expert thing intrigued the whole cast, actually. John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer finally broke down on the third day and just flat out asked, "are you guys really pool experts? It says on our call sheets that you are. It seems crazy that you aren't actually playing pool and they just have you standing around all day." It was nice to joke and chat with them. Then we had to shoot again and we went back to being invisible, despite standing next to one another. Hollywood is weird. This whole experience really underscored that.

Take, for example, lunch. Lunch on this set was even more amazing than breakfast. Food was custom-made. Want steak? No problem. Vegan? There are actual options for you. Dessert? How about bananas foster, flambéd before your very eyes. Anything you want, it's yours. Just don't sit at the wrong table. Which I did.

Being a bit of an introvert, I picked the table that had the fewest people. There were even a couple of kids there. I said hi to one of them. She was sweet. Her mother gave me a look of derision coupled with an awkward and confused smile. A lot of people were giving me a similar look. I felt like a jerk for being nice, so I just focused on my meal and went back to my Avatar sketch.

Later, I found out that "mom" was Angela Kinsey and I was sitting at the table reserved for the cast. Oops. That's what I get for not being a regular watcher of the show. I was also told that some of the confusion might have been due to the fact that with blondish hair (which I had at the time), I look a bit like Jenna Fischer. Maybe someone thought I was a distant relative visiting the set? Of course, if someone had just told me that the table was reserved for the cast, much awkwardness could have been avoided...

For this reason, Craig's no-bullshit acknowledgements that we were actually people in the actual world made him super cool in my eyes.

Despite the awkward moments, I had so much fun on this set. My fellow pool expert extras were all really interesting people. There was a perfect balance of quiet time to read, draw, reflect, explore, etc. and active time to talk and play. Between takes, I chatted with the tech crew (always a little more accessible and willing to talk than the cast). They shot on three cameras simultaneously and did about a million different takes to give the cast (particularly Steve Carell) the chance to improvise a little. I learned a lot.

And also pitied the poor editors who had to go through all of that footage. Yikes.

When it was time to wrap everything up, I actually got a little emotional. Couldn't I just make a livable wage doing this for like a year or something? Later, I wrote a short story about a girl who lived on a studio lot. She dressed from the costume department, grabbed food from the crafty tables, slept on the stunt mats and because she was "no one," she went completely unnoticed and got to be involved in a cool mystery. Sometimes it's good being no one...

Maybe I will post the story here some day.

I ended up being on screen a lot from that shoot. Good food, good people, funny stories, fun work, fun show, fun episode, my face on TV, memories... really, I didn't see how I could top this, given my previous "background actor" experiences. I decided to hang up my background acting hat and do things that made money (part of my fantasy story above was influenced by the insane cost of living in Los Angeles) and was on a more appropriate path to my career goals.

Yes, I was done with extra work. An interesting time in my life, to be sure. I would be happy not being part of that world ever again.

Then a year later, Central Casting called me and asked if I would be willing to work on Mad Men...

Extras Gig #4: The Office, Part 2

(Go to Part 1) Wow. I never noticed how nice his eyes are. Funny how the camera can miss so much. He has really pretty eyes. Really pretty eyes that are... waiting. Maybe I should say something.

"Hello." I replied. He smiled in return.

Steve Carell and I spent what felt like an hour locked in an awkward, courteous gaze. Both of us smiled and nodded.

"So..." He said, trailing off and looking around.

Oh! He's as embarrassed as I am. Heh. He's blushing. I probably am too. This is cool! We're both blushing and confused! Wait. Actually it's just incredibly awkward. I should say something nice to end this.

"I'm... waiting for the bathroom." Brilliant. That will leave a lasting impression.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry! I thought... They said..." Just then, the 2nd AD rounded the corner.

Second ADs hate extras. We are constantly over-complicating things. Many of us are either vying for that extra little bit of screen time, trying to get a celebrity autograph (or worse), desperate to "prove" how much we "know" about their job, or begging for a SAG voucher. I've had that job. I can seriously relate. I'm sure this didn't look good.

"Sorry, Mr. Carell," he said. "Hair and makeup is through here." He gently guided Steve into the next room. Steve gave me a shrug and a smile, the 2nd AD gave me the "I'll deal with you later" look. He never did. I didn't get a SAG voucher, either. Steve didn't even say goodbye. After all we shared.

A woman left the bathroom right as the commotion was winding down. She looked into the room and then back at me with the "was a celebrity just here?" look. It's a great look. For a moment, you are elevated to celebrity status by proximity. I call it proxi-lebrity status. Or maybe celemity status? Vote in the comments below.

A bit of Hollywood advice: if you achieve proxi-lebrity status, try to keep a level head about it. "I saw Johnny Depp in line at Starbucks" is interesting blog fodder (and awesome), but it's not an appropriate answer to "how's that entertainment career coming along?" Geek out about it, for sure. I'll geek out with you. Just remember you still have work to do. Occupying the same space as another person is not actually an accomplishment. Unless you are literally occupying the same space as another person. That might get you a Nobel Prize. Though even that could just be an accidental slip into another dimension or a transporter malfunction. I digress. A lot.

After that excitement, they finally called the pool experts to the set. As I walked down the winding staircase, I couldn't help but notice a noise that sounded like a large fan. I am presenting it like was a minor thing, but it was actually deafening. It sounded like a wind tunnel. It only came on between takes. Obviously, I had to ask what it was.

"It's an indoor skydiving thing." Some PA at the base of the stairs was responsible for communicating between the set and the noise. That answer raised more questions than it answered, so I asked if I could take a look.

What sounded like a wind tunnel was actually a wind tunnel. A giant fan blew people up, suspending them in midair while giving the illusion that they were falling. So yeah. Guess what I did for my birthday later that year?

The PAs paraded us through the crowd of very tired half annoyed/half intrigued extras. We took our spots and were given the rundown. The first thing we were told was that the balls were fake. Since actual pool balls make noise, only the stars were allowed to hit them. We had to play with racquet balls lacquered with pool-ball-colored paint.

The actual pool experts were at a total loss and understandably disappointed. Rubber balls flew everywhere for the first several efforts. I just laughed. I went back to the message on the casting hotline. No one doing this job would need to sink shots, do tricks or even make contact with the balls. In fact, the fakers had a much easier time than the experts.

Once we were in place, they brought in the stars.

I have to confess something here: at this point in time, I didn't actually watch The Office. I had seen an episode or two and knew the general storyline and the major characters, but I just couldn't get into the show. I wasn't in love with my job when the show first came out and the last thing I wanted to do was to go home from my real-life awkward office world and watch a fake awkward office world.

I fixed that after this job. I had so much fun on this set! Actually, I probably had a little more fun than I should have...

Extras Gig #4: The Office, Part 1

Part 1? Yeah. I've done this before- broken a long narrative into multiple posts. People appreciate shorter blog posts, or so the blog gurus/content optimization experts say. I'm also really good at cliffhangers.

That didn't count.

Moving on. I've chronicled my "career" as an extra in a few other posts spanning several years. Want to catch up? First, I explain the process of becoming an extra. Then, my first gig on 100 Questions. (The first of those questions being, "is that an actual show?") After that, I moved on to a chilly night on the set of Cold Case. From there, I had a sadly un-Fillion experience on Castle. I wasn't exactly excited about doing these things anymore. Especially after having been passed as an "Avatar fangirl."

courtney hoskins avatar freak

I was about to give up on it entirely. Until...

One day, I hit the extras jackpot. It wasn't all luck, mind you. Like all big breaks in Hollywood, it took skill, determination, persistence, and a fair amount of lying.

A random call to the casting hotline surprised me when I heard they needed people for The Office. I didn't hold my breath. Popular shows fill up fast. This was a four day shoot, to boot. That's about as long-term as one can get as a TV extra. I actually skipped past the general call, fairly certain all the spots would be filled. I paused, however, when I got to a message asking for extras with a specialized skill set.

Having an unusual skill can get you a featured extra role or a coveted SAG voucher. Alas, I have no facial tattoos, cannot ride a unicycle and my car at the time was the useless color of black (they don't use black cars for background because they distract the eye). I can, however, play pool.

"We need males and females who are pool experts. Please don't submit for this role unless you can sink shots and do tricks." I immediately submitted.

Before you send me a message challenging me to a game, you should know that technically I can do neither of those things. I CAN sink shots. Sometimes. And I can do really neat tricks where balls jump over other balls. Accidentally. This was my best chance at getting on the show, though, so I submitted anyway. I knew that they were not going to get a lot of female applicants. I also knew that they did not actually require pool experts. All I would really need to do was make my blurry shape look like it knew roughly what to do at a pool table.

Of course, this didn't stop me from worrying about it. What if they DID need me to do trick shots? Do I actually hold a cue the right way? Do I lean over the table with the proper form? And then there was the guilt. What if I just took a job away from someone whose ONLY skill set was "pool expert" and here I am, a talentless hack, raking in the fame and money? Oh, right. This is Hollywood.

I was accepted on the spot.

The set was "on location" at Universal Citywalk. My Winter-in-Scranton sweater and the 90 degree "location" weren't the best match. Luckily, all of our scenes were indoors and they had the air conditioning cranked up to "Arctic Front."

Climate control wasn't the only luxury. I meandered over to crafty. Unlike my previous experiences, crafty was not a folding table with a box of assorted chips and a Costco-sized tub of pretzels. The set of The Office was fully catered. I had my choice of drip coffee, tea, espresso or freshly-squeezed orange juice. For food, I could choose from fresh Belgian waffles, made-to-order omelets, granola, yogurt, (gluten free, of course) toasts with jams or peanut butter, bagels with real cream cheese or a variety of fruits. The good ones. This wasn't just soggy melon balls and grapes! This was mango, papaya, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and ALSO melon balls and grapes!

It didn't take me long to realize that the "pool experts" were the royalty of extras. (Yes, that's tough to envision when everyone is making minimum wage, but... work with me.) We got to laze around between pool shots because they couldn't risk reusing us in the background. It might destroy the continuity. It also didn't take me long to realize that almost all of us lied about being "pool experts."

All of this made my job a little boring. After several hours of reading and not a single moment on the set, I got a little restless. I wandered over to the restroom. Thwarted by a locked door, I leaned against the wall, stretched my back and started wondering what I would read once I finished my book.

That was when Steve Carell said hello.

Extra! Extra!

Ah, yes. It's about time I got around to writing about this! It's been, without a doubt, the activity my friends and family are most interested in hearing about. I had a bit of cash saved up before I moved out here, so I was able to play a little bit before "buckling down" and finding a "real job." I decided to skip on down to Central Casting and sign on to be an extra- sorry, "background actor." That's right; I just basically implied that being an extra is not a "real job." Also, I used a semicolon. Read on THAT!

Granted, some people have managed to make it such, and I applaud their success (and wonder how much Top Ramen they must eat), but it is NOT for the faint of heart. Often times referred to as "dots" or "blurs," extras are treated with absolutely zero respect. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect respect (soon to be a new hit song), but here I am referring to such an extreme lack of respect that you don't even feel like a human being. The props are quite literally treated better than you are. As a non-union extra, you make $8 an hour to stand on your feet all day, often in uncomfortable attire, and to be shushed like a five year old every time you yawn, sneeze, or say "hi" to your fellow extras. But if it's worth it to you to have a little bit of yourself attached to a project or to see that star you always wanted to meet, read on:

Here's how it works: you go down to "Central" at the most inconvenient time on a weekday morning. You listen to their spiel. You stand in a long-ass line with dozens of other Hollywood hopefuls. You register with them (SSN, DLN, W-2, height, measurements, dress size, special talents, car type, "how far will you go," the works). You stand in another long-ass line. You stand in front of a camera (about as sophisticated as the DMV) and get a picture taken. One. You do not get to see said picture. They hand you a packet of papers and give you a phone number to call. You call said phone number. Again. And again. MANY times per day. You listen to pre-recorded job postings and hope to hear one that sounds like something you match and that is something you might actually like to do. You listen to the WHOLE THING because often they only want your car, or your specific breed of dog, or they want you to jump into a swimming pool with all of your clothes on (repeatedly) or shave your head or be a professional soccer coach or a biker or stripper or something (yes, I've heard all of these) and they seem to want to put this critical information last. You call another number to talk to the agent that posted this call. This number will be busy. Always. (I guess a lot of people fit "non-union woman between the ages of 21 to 71.") You call again and again and again (because you have nothing better to do) or you pay $75 a month to have someone else do it for you (keeping in mind that you will still only make $8/hour when they find you work). IF you get the gig, they will give you almost NO information about where it is or what you will be doing or how long it will take because again, you have nothing better to do and can put everything else on hold. If you don't get the gig (after all of that), you spend the next several hours worrying that you sneezed or a bug landed on your face in that headshot you never got to see. They give you yet another number to call the night before your job. You call that number (note: get a phone plan with unlimited minutes). They pre-scold you for being late and/or not having everything you need. They tell you to bring your own clothes and often something you would never own and will need to buy (i.e. pantyhose). You try to sleep the night before because your call time is often early in the morning (6:15AM) or late at night (10PM), running until early in the morning. You fight traffic to get to set on time. You fail. You park as far away as possible from the set. You arrive and check in with the 2nd AD or a PA who will either ignore you or call you sweetheart. You go sit in "holding" which is often a tent with a bunch of metal folding chairs in it. You talk to some cool people and a couple of crazy folks. They tell you to be quiet. They tell you to go to costume, hair and makeup, all three of which will tell you to go away because no one is really going to see you and they don't want to waste their time. You swallow sadness and immerse yourself in a good book. You get called to set. They tell you to be quiet. A lot. Even if the crew is making all of the noise, they will blame the "background talent" for the hammering. You do your thirty seconds of bad "casual conversation" pantomime. You feel good because you SWEAR the camera is, like, totally right on you the whole time! They feed you (usually). You finish your "day." You go home and tell all of your family and friends to tune into whatever show at whatever time. A week later, you get a paycheck for approximately $80 for ten+ hours of work. Your episode airs or your film is released. Two people report possibly seeing the back of your head for half a second. One of them is your mother. It turns out that it was not your head, but you don't tell anyone that. You swear you are never going to do it again. Two weeks later, you call the pre-recorded line and start the process all over again. This time you just know you're going to get that SAG voucher!*

However, like all experiences, crappy or otherwise, being an extra expands my library of fun stories to tell, and I shall share them here- with pictures (where possible)! You know, someone should make a television show based on their experiences as an extra. It might be really funny! They could get awesome actors to guest star. Ooh, ooh! I'd love to see Ian McKellan do something on a show like that...

(*You need to get three vouchers before you can join the Screen Actor's Guild, which is every non-union extra's dream. Once you have your vouchers, you pay SAG a large sum of money and then you can actually begin making a more livable wage from doing "background" work.)

Stargazing

You know that you are living in the land of celebrities when the local Whole Foods has a sign that says that you are not allowed to photograph people in the store. I’ve tried to train myself to notice the stars, but I only seem to notice them when someone is beside me and says, “hey, isn’t that so-and-so from such-and-such?” I also notice them on the set, if I happen to be working on their show or movie. Sometimes… I have been mistaken for a celebrity on a few occasions and it has really piqued my curiosity. I’d like to know who people think I am so that I know how to sign the napkin and ask for my “famous person” discount. Regardless, it is kind of fun to play with it. One year at the Cannes film festival, I put on my celebrity disguise (black t-shirt and jeans with a black baseball cap and sunglasses… not that this departs greatly from my usual attire) and had my friend take pictures of me as I was walking down the street, acting indignant. That turned a few heads.

Still, even as a non-celebrity, it’s a bit strange to think that there are actually people watching you as you go about your business. Just to say they saw you, say, at the local Pinkberry after their yoga class… Ohai, Fran Kranz. You were awesome in Dollhouse, luvyakbai! It does make life in LA-LA land kind of fun, though. I hope I don't tarnish the reputations of Jennifer Connelly, Jenna Fischer, Michelle Williams, Christina Ricci and other random celebrities whom I have been told (and don't believe) I resemble by walking down Rodeo Drive with my fizzy hair while eating copious amounts of chocolate and enjoying the company of a guy none of those women is reportedly dating (I'm talking to you, shirt-wearing Matthew McConaughey lookalike).

And yes, I can confirm that so-and-so is hot, that such-and-such is probably going to be canceled and that celebrity-couple-portmanteau will probably be breaking into their own pronouns soon, especially with the arrival/adoption of the baby. No one really thought it would last, anyway.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Oscars

Okay, the Oscars were over a week ago. Yes, I knew Avatar wasn't going to win. Sci-Fi only really wins in VFX, makeup, sound mixing and the like* Yes, I'm ECSTATIC that a female won for best director for a very worthy film. It was weird to think they were taking place 20 minutes from my house (approximately 3.8 days with traffic) and that I had actually seen many of the winners in real life (most of them by grace of the awesome Jeff Goldsmith who hosts podcasts for Creative Screenwriting magazine, but also the crew of "The Cove" who actually debuted that film in Boulder, Colorado before I moved away). I wanted to post this before the awards, but here it is. A funny little anecdote:

So an experimental film friend of mine works at the Academy Archives. I’d heard him mention this before, but I always just thought of the job: archivist. I’d never once considered the place: The Academy. Probably some… like… military school or university or something? Didn’t matter to me. He works at an archive. I worked in preservation at a film lab. We spoke the same language and that was enough.

He invited me and my friend to explore some of cultural Los Angeles and catch a movie (which was followed by pie at Apple Pan- YUM, YUM and DOUBLE YUM).

We followed the directions. As we approached the building my companion said, “wait. Your friend works at the ACADEMY archives?”

Uh, yeah. Should I know what this means? I’m new to L.A., so probably not.

It wasn’t until after I entered the lobby, having gotten through a couple of security checkpoints and passing several displays housing Oscars, that I realized that the “Academy” was not referring to West Point. The Academy was referring to The Academy. The AMPAS. The one you would like to thank (along with your agent, significant other and hardworking crew). Oscars.

I tried to hide my embarrassment at my naïveté. What? The Academy Awards. So? I knew that. Like I care. Like… what? Like I host a party every year, glue myself to the E! channel and write my acceptance speech out in my head every time I finish a project? Pshaw! As if!

(*practices acceptance wave*)

It didn’t take long for me to completely geek out after that. We got a tour of the storage facilities and some of the screening rooms. It was pretty damn cool. Glamour aside, it was just cool from a technical standpoint. And it was cool from a temperature standpoint, it being a film storage facility and all that. (Ba-dum tish!) And *I* probably seemed pretty damn cool for appearing not to give a f&*% about it. Then again, I just blew that cool by divulging the truth here on this blog.

Me= clueless geek.

*interesting that Avatar won for best cinematography... I've already explained why that's cool to people who say "but it wasn't 'filmed.'" It was, actually- remember that there were also real actors and real sets on that film and that the lighting and camera on those sets needed to match exactly what was happening digitally. Not to mention that you still have to fuss over depth of field and all of that on the computer side AND make it match what you shot in reality... Discuss!

James Cameron and Me

Why does this man make so much money? I can't answer this question for everyone, but I can answer it for me. I'm a girl who got her first SCUBA mask at 15 and got certified in a rock quarry in Pennsylvania in winter (which means I am both nitrox and dry suit certified, thank you very much). I cleaned animal poo at at veterinary clinic to fund my voyage to Sea Camp in San Diego at around that age. I can relate to his love of exploring the "alien" underwater world.

Further, as someone who lugged a 70 lb Cousteau-style underwater housing system for a 16mm Bolex through Brooklyn and Manhattan (via subways) and got scolded CONSTANTLY for making flip books out of science texts, drawing instead of taking notes, and recreating television sets in her desk (I'm not even exaggerating- ask my mom. It was the set of Moonlighting and I was about eight years old) I can relate to the love of art and movies. EVEN MORE, as someone who went back to school at the age of 25 for astrophysics because I fell in love with the images coming back from Mars and Titan, I can relate to the love of science fiction and space exploration. I offer here his presentation at TED. If I can have even 1/3 of the filmmaking adventures he has had, I will die a happy girl. I would love to bring my love of science together with my love of films. (I'm working on it. And I've all the confidence in the world that I can.)

I will gladly fork over the cash to see anything James Cameron does. I think that his scientific background is WHY he makes good SciFi movies. (Did you know that the glowing bioluminescent plants in Avatar are based on very simple creatures found right here off the coast of SoCal? It's not SciFi, it's just science re-appropriated.)

"Curiosity. It's the most powerful thing you own" "The respect of your team is more important than all the laurels in the world." "Failure is an option. But fear is not." Seriously... I love this guy.

OH... and by the way. I twittered this and posted it on my facebook page, but I was lucky enough to have seen Avatar WITH James Cameron and to hear him talk about it with his production designers at the end. It is not a requirement for a director to know everything about the technology (s)he is using, but he DOES. It is pretty clear that his production designers DO respect him. Since I also geek out about film technology, I should add that I FINALLY got to see the 3D system they were talking about when I was in Cannes, which made me a happy girl.

(I love how they are all squatting off the edge of my soda cup. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take photos so I James Bonded it...)

EDIT: Cameron's 3D talk at Cannes can be found at the American Pavilion website, if you are interested.

Journey to the West Coast

"'And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’ She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illumined her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad.

‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’"

I left Colorado with a heavy heart. Like many people, I felt that the world I knew was kind of flipping itself on its head. “Familiar” didn’t make sense anymore. So many people I loved had died, moved, distanced themselves… My state job wasn't enough to distract me from these small town blues. I needed to either flip my own life or be subjected to the whims of this gravity. The latter was not an option. So I put my head on the ground and my feet in the air…

I have reached a very key point in my filmmaking career and I believe that makes my trip to Lala Land a little less scary. I have dispensed with any notions that I am going to "make it big" or that such a thing is even possible. The conclusion I have come to is this: I have tried many things in my life, from astrophysics to teaching. It ALWAYS comes back to film. It has been my passion since I was a child. As long as I am doing what I love, I'm happy. On top of that, I’ve always liked California. I was a bad Coloradoan/New Yorker that way. Is the traffic bad? Sure. Are the people fake? Well, yes, but no more than they are anywhere else. Is Hollywood a hellhole of trash, noise, and tourism? Yes, actually. For the most part, it really is. But no one says I HAVE to spend all of my time there.

I like Los Angeles, actually, and I LOVE Santa Monica (my new home, which is actually its own city). It’s a bit tough to find the cultural gems through all of the strip malls, but they are here! There’s no better place for a film lover- even for one who loves alternative, independent, foreign and avant-garde films. There’s even a silent movie theater! It’s a great place for independent music, as well. The big industry giants make the most noise, so I can see how people might think that there is nothing else out here, but there are thriving pockets of independence in this town. I love it. I always knew I would end up here. Everything I love to do, everything I’m good at- it’s all out here. With beaches! What’s not to love?

Still, Colorado is home. I am a fourth generation native of the state. The goodbyes were extremely hard, but the date to leave was set: my birthday. I drove out to Las Vegas with a good friend and met up with a couple of new friends from L.A. It was a great drive and a great birthday weekend, Vegas-style. That is an experience I’d never really had. I’d never stayed there more than just “overnight” on my way to California, finding it unappealing on many many many levels. But hey, I freakin' hi-fived a Pegasus! Well… low fived. And for me it was five, but he only had one… but it was still AWESOME!

I didn’t have much of a plan once I got out here. I had some cash and a great friend in Burbank, but there was a lot that was still “unknown” and quite a bit of mental upheaval, as well as an insane amount of emotional pressure. I needed it, though. I loved the chaos. In fact, to quote the musician whose video I embedded two posts ago:

“I found the secret to life: I’m okay when everything is not okay.”

And I am.

Changes!

"Greetings from California. I've been very busy. Am having a great time trying to make it as a writer in LA. It's just as easy as everyone thinks it is. I've been working the room at a lot of Hollywood parties." –Brian Griffin, Family Guy Yep, so here I am: Los Angeles. City of Dreams. City of Angels. “Lala Land.”

To be more precise, I am in Santa Monica, a much saner neighbor that is closer to the beach and smells a bit nicer, but for all intents and purposes, it is Los Angeles. The film industry spreads its sinuous tentacles all the way to the edge of the west coast and even dips them out into the Pacific (at least as far out as the surfers can go)…

If you read my blog, you might be somewhat confused by this. The last time I posted anything, I was in Colorado. Sure, I had expressed a desire to move, but I kind of just dropped everything and… went. Also, if you read my blog, I’m sorry. It was part of the everything I dropped. I plan to rectify this, however.

If you’ve been here before, you may have noticed that things have changed. I have a simplified site that has integrated my blog so that they don’t live in two places. Per people who know, it’s a major paradigm shift that has optimized my workflow and synergized my… um…

It was a big job and I think it looks prettier and does fancy things that you can’t see on your side.

So… welcome! Or welcome back. I won’t leave this hanging- won’t leave comment-leavers out on the periphery of “approval” while I try to remember my password for the 85th time. More importantly, I’ve got a lot of great stories to share and have a burning desire to do so. Hollywood is an interesting place for a lover of astronomy when most here can’t seem to see the universe for the Stars...

Taken by Taken

My friends and I have been watching the miniseries "Taken" that was on the SciFi channel a while ago. I had already seen it, but watching it again has really made me appreciate the writing, especially for a show about aliens! I have gathered some of my favorite quotes, spoken by the character Allie Keys (played by Dakota Fanning).

My mom told me once that when you're afraid of something, what you want more than anything else is to make it go away. You want your life back to the way it was before you found out that there was something to be afraid of. You want to build a high wall and live your old life behind it. But nothing ever stays the same. That's not your old life at all. That's your new life with a wall around it. Your choice is not about going back to the way things were. Your choice is about hiding, or about going right to the heart of the thing that scares you.

You know in cartoons, the way someone can run off a cliff and they're fine, they don't fall until they look down? My mom always said that was the secret of life. Never look down. But it's more than that. It's not just about not looking. It's about not ever realizing that you're in the middle of the air and you don't know how to fly.

Some people have given up all hope of anything in their lives ever changing. They just go on with it day by day, and if something were to come along and make things different they probably wouldn't even notice it right off, except for that kind of nervous feeling you get in your stomach. My mom and I used to call that "the car trip feeling," because it was how I'd feel whenever I knew we were going to go somewhere far away or somewhere new.

People like to examine the things that frighten them, to look at them and give them names, so saints look for God, and scientists look for evidence. They're both just trying to take away the mystery, to take away the fear.

We all like to think that we have some control over the events in our lives, and a lot of the time we can fool ourselves into thinking that we really are in charge. But then something happens to remind us that the world runs by its own rules and not ours and that we're just along for the ride.

The world is made up of the big things that happen and the small ones. And the part that's so unfair is that we call them "big" and "small", because when something happens to you, when you lose something or someone that you really care about, that's all there is. The world may be blowing up around you, but you don't care about that. You don't care about that at all.

I have this idea about why people do the terrible things they do. Same reason little kids push each other on the schoolyard. If you're the one doing the pushing, then you're not going to be the one who gets pushed. If you're the monster, then nothing will be waiting in the shadows to jump out at you. It's pretty simple, really. People do the terrible things they do because they're scared.

We're all standing on the edge of a cliff, all the time, every day, a cliff we're all going over. Our choice isn't about that. Our choice is about whether we want to go kicking and screaming or whether we might want to open our eyes and our hearts to what happens once we start to fall.

Some people put a lot of work into their lawn, as if a patch of green grass was the most important thing in the world. As if they thought that as long as the lawn out front was green and mowed and beautiful, it wouldn't matter at all what was going on inside of the house.

People move through their lives sometimes without really thinking about where they're going. Days pile up, and they get sadder and lonelier without really knowing why they're so sad or how they got so lonely. Then something happens. They meet someone who looks a certain way or has something in their smile. Maybe that's all that falling in love is; finding someone who makes you feel a little less alone.

People talk a lot as if the most important thing in life is to always see things for what they really are. But everything we do, every plan we make, is kind of a lie. We're closing our eyes and pretending that the day won't ever come when we won't need to make any more plans. Hope is the biggest lie there is, and it is the best. We have to keep going as if it all mattered, or else we wouldn't keep going at all.

People say that when we grow up, we kick at everything we've been told, we rebel against the world our parents worked so hard to bring us into, that part of growing of is kicking at the ties that bind. But I don't think that's why we kick at all. I think we kick when we find out that our parents don't know much more about the world than we do. They don't have all the answers. We rebel when we find out that they've been lying to us all along, that there isn't any Santa Claus at all.

Is every moment of our lives built into us before we're born? If it is, does that make us less responsible for the things we do? Or is the responsibility built in too? After you hit the ball, do you stand and wait to see if it goes out, or do you start running and let nature take its course?

What makes a man who he is? Is it the worst things he's ever done, or the best things he wants to be? When you find yourself in the middle of your life and you're nowhere near of where you were going, how do you find the way from the person you've become to the one you know you could have been?

My mother always talked to me a lot about the sky. She liked to watch the clouds in the day, and the stars at night... especially the stars. We would play a game sometimes, a game called, what's beyond the sky. We would imagine darkness, or a blinding light, or something else that we didn't know how to name. But of course, that was just a game. There's nothing beyond the sky. The sky just is, and it goes on and on, and we'll play all of our games beneath it.

People are lonely in this world for lots of different reasons. Some people have something in their disposition. Maybe they were just born too mean, or maybe they were born too tender. But most people are brought to where they are by circumstance, by calamity or a broken heart or something else happening in their lives that wasn't anything they planned on. People are lonely in this world for lots of different reasons. The one thing that I do know is, it doesn't matter what any one of them might tell you--nobody wants to be alone.

The hardest thing you'll ever learn is how to say goodbye.

The Evil League of Evil

It's pretty safe to assume that when I do not update my blog regularly, it is because I am working on a project. There have been quite a few things I've wanted to write about: how disappointed I am in this new season of Heroes (and conversely, how NOT disappointed I've been in Fringe), how excited I am that the winter constellations/Messier objects are coming back, how much I LOVE my new PS3 (favorite games so far: Everyday Shooter, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Echochrome and Stuntman: Ignition. I have others, but I haven't had time to really play them enough to know if I "love" them. Oh, and the Blu-Ray player is pretty nice, too.) Ahem. Yes, all of this and more has been on my mind lately. I find it hard to write coherently when something "big" is occupying my thoughts, however. Lately, that's been quite a bit. I injured my foot, which, despite the fact that it is purple and swollen and painful, my doctors have assured me is "nothing to be concerned about." Whew! All I have to do is stop using it ever. While I don't invest heavily in the stock market, the financial weather has kept me patiently sitting at home, doubting my desire to just jump into L.A. in the immediate future. That's fine. In fact, it's so fine that I've signed a 1-year lease for a new bachelorette pad here in Boulder, not that such a thing cannot be broken if Pixar decides to hire me (which wouldn't be L.A. anyway, but that's beside the point). My workload at my day job ballooned last week. I've also just purchased a new (and by new, I always mean "used") car from a friend who is currently in Europe. Oh, and I'm officially "single" again, which has been a strange realization. To summarize: breaking up, buying a car from someone in Italy, busy at work, moving, foot injury, and working on a new project (in addition to planning a website overhaul, but I'll save that story for later).

Now for the Project:

I would hope that the people who read my blog have seen Joss Whedon's "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" by now. If you haven't, go watch it for free from hulu. It's three 15-minute episodes. Go ahead. I'll wait.

You back? Cool. Fantastic, wasn't it? What an outstanding trio of talent, guided by that Whedonesque sensibility!

So, now that you have the background, I will give you the scoop: The DVD version of this "show" is going to be coming out relatively soon. The creators have decided to hold a video contest in which we must make our argument for why we should be included in the Evil League of Evil. The winners will be featured on the DVD and viewed by dozens and dozens of geeks worldwide! I wrote and directed the below video and made it with my friend Robert Bowen, who is probably a bigger fan than even I am. Camera and sound (and fancy equipment) by Carl Fuermann.

Oh, and there is some vocabulary you should be aware of:

Deus Ex Machina: any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot. Perepeteia: a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal. Anagnorisis: the critical moment of recognition or discovery, esp. preceding peripeteia.

All three will make an appearance...

Super Spectacular Uber Summer Blockbuster Fantastic

I am a sucker for action flicks. While I love artful, thought-provoking films (my most recent favorite that I think falls into this category is "The Fall" by Tarsem- a really touching and beautifully shot film), I also love pigging out on popcorn and watching slick effects, exciting chases... basically being "entertained" for two hours in a dark, cool room. This summer, I was taking a class on making sound/music for film and multimedia. I have since dropped it. It was a time-sucker class in which the "teaching" was "here is a keyboard, here is the computer, here is the program you need, now play around with it and make stuff." This is fine, but I have all of this equipment at home and access to online tutorials for all of it, so this class was kind of a waste of time and money. Also, it's been a while since I was a student. It's hard for me to make any video project that is "just enough" to get a grade. I kind of like work that looks completed and professional and that takes a lot of time to do. It's not something I can just "do" on a weekly basis with a full-time job.

Still, I did finish one project. Behold! The blockbuster to beat out all blockbusters! Even this one feels a little unfinished to me, but it's a spoof, so it doesn't bother me as much. Our assignment was to download some video and put some music to it. Here's a great ad for Apple. I got stuck on their trailers page. I started noticing visual "similarities" to all of these trailers. I downloaded as many different ones as time could allow and edited them with Quicktime Pro (this was part of the assignment, I would never choose to do this). I then played sounds and put music to it with Garage Band (which I loved). It took me a couple of hours to do, once I knew what I wanted to do. Enjoy!

Day Nine- LOOP Can Cannes!

I was a nervous wreck all morning! I downed about five of these free coffees that they offer folks in the palais (really excellent futuristic style stuff from "Nespresso" coffee cartridge machines) and passed out the remaining postcards and bookmarks like a madwoman! I ran into a friend in the palais and made him pace through the halls with me. I was getting nervous because I wasn't seeing anyone going into the screening room. My roommates (who I thanked in yesterday's post and thank again here) showed up- all smiles with their necklaces aglow. I was expecting to walk into the screening room and only see the four of them. I was shocked to see the room half full! It's impossible for me to know who ended up watching the film, but people with market badges get scanned at the entrance and Pericles tells me that nine different buyers/distributors ended up on the list of "scanees" in a 40-person screening room, along with about ten people that I had given special invitations to!

Nineteen people might not sound like a whole lot until you read my previous posts and see what LOOP was up against! This little film was competing with Steven Soderbergh's "Che" and about thirty other screenings slated for that time slot! I've been to other screenings in the market- even some with far better marketing campaigns- for which five or six people were in the audience. Some folks were speechless (it's an intense film- particularly where it leaves you), but others had quite a bit to say. I was told they loved the editing and the direction (one guy was shocked that it was directed by the director of "Redneck Zombies," which is a film he claimed to love and had no idea it was connected to "Loop" in any way). The effects got some praise, too. Of course, I was standing right there, so they had better said they loved them :) !

It took a good day for all of this goodness to really sink in. I left the theater a little shell-shocked and desperate for a beer! I was disappointed by the dismissal I personally received by some "friends" who didn't bother to show up after feigning excitement, but more on that later...

I felt this was a victory for LOOP. We may not have those "super delegates" of the film industry yet, but it's gaining momentum with the people. Only time will tell.

Days Seven and Eight- Guerrilla Filmfare

As the screening of LOOP approached, I had very little time to blog, so forgive the lateness of these posts! After a good talk with Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment, I felt a little better about my feelings for Cannes. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who felt that it was an epicenter of film sleaze and that the real independent voice is getting lost in the so-called "low-budget" corporate conglomerate "independent" film world that includes companies like Miramax and New Line. Not that I have a specific problem with these companies or even the giants like Paramount and Warner Brothers- I like quite a few of the films they produce, but there should be room in the world for the "under $5 million" filmmakers such as Pericles and myself, too. The term "independent" is losing its original meaning more and more these days.

LOOP is the real deal, though. I have no idea what the budget for this film was, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't even close to $5 million! The marketing team at Cannes consisted of... well... me. Without a mini-Cooper with the painted logo of the film parading up and down the Croisette, a $200,000 party in a hotel lobby, full-page ads in Variety and a crew of market-savvy sellers and schmoozers sitting in a rented booth, LOOP was something of an underdog in a very bizarre world.

Case in point: I took an hour out of my over-busy schedule to help the guy who wanted me to do animation while I was at the festival (see my post from day two). He booked a 140-person VIP screening for his film (yes, those are expensive and tough to fill). He managed to get a couple of attractive interns to help him push the film. He managed to set up a "hot" (his term) party complete with shuttles that would take people from other parties to his own (for a documentary on Dante's Inferno- I bet Lindsay Lohan was just DYING to go). He even offered me a 5% finder's fee if I sold his film (which I had not even seen and had no interest in pushing). Yet somehow getting the actual film on DVD for the screening (meaning he had no film to show) was a last-minute priority...

With a mix of irritation, annoyance, vigilance and pity (mostly pity), I agreed to help him burn a DVD with Encore on his laptop. He offered to pay me back with dinner, which I refused. I only accept food as payment for the truly poor and passionate filmmakers of the world. All others must pay cash. After he made fun of my name (ha ha- it sounds like "Corney!" I bet kids made fun of you in school), I vowed to avoid his film screening and him for the remainder of the festival.

Aggressive measures needed to be taken. With this kind of well-paid competition, LOOP needed to become the Barack Obama of Cannes! What's a girl to do?

Shine, of course!

Courtney Hoskins at the American Pavilion, Cannes

I took a deep breath and went out on the streets, telling everyone I met (particularly if they had blue market badges with purple (buyer) stripes) about LOOP! Pericles sent me hundreds of these glowing necklaces to which I affixed stickers detailing the web site, screening date, time, and location. The American Pavilion students loved them and helped me pass them out (particular thanks to Alicia, Barrett, Amber and Brittany- my roommates whose names I'm sure I just butchered- for their extra support).

Courtney Hoskins and friends representing LOOP at Cannes

I managed to pass out hundreds of postcards, bookmarks, necklaces and bracelets in the film market before I was escorted out by security (it is "strictement interdit" to do marketing in the market if you haven't spent thousands for a booth- yet another little f*%& you from the money holders). I had no idea, so I made my apologies and leveled with them to find out just how far I could push the law. I discovered that I could stand outside of the palais doors and pass cards out to whomever I wanted...

...provided that they not drop them within 10 meters of my person. Such a thing is forbided

Still, I was able to distribute the rest of the day's propaganda, saving a bit for the next day for the last minute "what should I go see crowd." I ended these rather triumphant days by watching "Blazing Saddles" outside on the beach. The film was actually projected on 35mm film and looked great! It was much needed comic relief and brought me back to reality.

An extremely bright satellite passed overhead, causing me to notice the stars that had broken out from behind the clouds- the real stars, from which we all come, famous or not. In the end, it doesn't matter how much status we are given here on this planet. We are all human. I try to keep this in mind, especially when talking with people who have some kind of "power" over what I want to do. Later that night, the almost-full moon crept up from behind the ships on the water, seeming larger than life. I tried to photograph the effect to no avail- it's an illusion that only exists in the mind, just like human "star" power. I'll write a post about that little optical phenomenon later.

Ulterior motives...

Although I'm excited to represent LOOP at the Cannes market, I have to admit, I have ulterior motives for attending the festival as well. Countless films will be celebrating their world premieres there and I plan to see a bunch of them! I try to save the big Hollywood production-type films for when I return to the states. I mean, the great thing about attending a festival like this is getting the opportunity to see foreign/independent films that might not even make it to the U.S. market... That doesn't mean that I'm not going to try to score a ticket to the red carpet premiere of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull..."

I'm totally geeking out over the thought of sitting in the same theater with Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Shia LaBoeuf, and Cate Blanchet to see the premiere of the next Indiana Jones (the first of which being a film that really sparked my desire to make movies)! Scoring a ticket might be a bit difficult, but I already had one co-worker agree to bust me out of a French prison, so I will try everything I can to get in!

I also wouldn't say no to a ticket "Synchdoche," Charlie Kaufmann's directorial debut, "Che" by Steven Soderbergh, "Palermo Shooting," by Wim Wenders or even "Kung Fu Panda." Actually, I wouldn't say no to a ticket to just about anything. I'm hoping the technology works with me so that I can keep up-to-date on my blog.

Slusho Zoom!!!

This is my official entry to the Slusho!! commercial contest. It is a fictional commercial for a fictional drink that may or may not somehow play into the new film "Cloverfield," produced by J.J. Abrams. Or doesn't it?

For those of you who think that sounds vague, let me explain:

It is.

Last summer, the movie "Transformers" opened in theatres across the U.S. (yeah, I loved it, so sue me). Immediately after the first East Coast screenings let out, Google began getting hit with thousands of searches for things like "mystery jj abrams trailer transformers" and "transformers trailer monster movie" and "1-18-08" and "free porn." With the exception of the last search, all of this was seriously pleasing the folks over at Bad Robot productions. Why? Before "Transformers," audiences were treated to a movie trailer (or "preview," if you will) consisting of a sort of first person video clip of what appeared to be a monster attack on New York City. It began with the taping of a surprise going away party and ended with the severed head of the Statue of Liberty skidding down a SoHo street. Vague bits of dialog like "I saw it! It's alive! It's huge!" could be heard through the chaos of the crowded streets below, as the party-goers evacuate their apartment and attempt to glean more information. The audience was given nothing more than the name of the producers ("Lost" creator J.J. Abrams and his parent companies, Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures), and what seemed to be a release date of 1-18-08. A wave of "what the f*@$?!" spread across the crowd. A massive viral marketing campaign was born...

Youtube was soon inundated with pirated copies of the trailer, the web world was abuzz with "what's it all about" speculation, Paramount pictures was "denying" involvement in this titleless production, and geeks and "Lost" fans like myself were salivating over having a new way to waste precious time.

Fine. What the hell does this have to do with some slushy drink thing? Honestly, no one knows! The drink was first mentioned in an episode of "Alias" (also created by Abrams, also a show that I love). Additionally, in the original trailer, one of the characters from the film was wearing a slusho! shirt. It didn't take web geeks like myself long to find the slusho! web site, where even more oddness was revealed (like a donkey swimming underwater while thinking of a blue oven mitt and a bizarre story about some "secret" deep sea ingredient that is evidentially used in the manufacture of slusho).

Now it appears that some company called "Tagruato Corp." has been harvesting this slusho ingredient (?) using off shore oil rigs, one of which (according to foreign "news sources" whose videos are available on YouTube) was just destroyed this last weekend, as the monster makes its way to New York City. Also, the main character from the movie trailer, Rob, has announced on "his" MySpace page that he is going to go work for this company...

This kind of realtime buildup to movies and alternate reality gaming is fascinating to me. The Internet is becoming an increasingly collaborative and accessible space for the human race.

I'm really looking forward to the film. At this point, I have an almost scientific fascination with it. I'll only be disappointed if, like so many other movies this year, this turns out to be yet another zombie movie...

Okay, I'm slacking

So I've been working on this incredible independent film by Pericles Lewnes. I haven't been able to say much about it because it's all been top secret, but I'm really excited that I might not have to be quiet too much longer. Pericles is the quintessential independent filmmaker. Whenever I start a job for someone, I always get a little nervous when it comes time to actually watch the movie. I hope for the best, but I'm often... a bit let down when it comes to "quality." People often overrate their abilities as filmmakers (or underrate the difficulty of the jobs people on productions have) and try to act, write, direct, edit, sing, fly... on their own, usually ending up exploiting me or whoever else they have suckered into working on their production. However, this was not the case with "LOOP." I was blown away by the quality of the production, the acting, the...

I still can't go into details here, but I wanted to give a little shout out. Pericles has been a great person to work with. I met him participating in the "On the Lot" competition. "LOOP" is premiering at FAIF on October 31st at 7:30 PM at the AMC Downtown Disney 12 Theaters in Los Angeles. I highly recommend anyone who is going to be there to go see this film. At least check it out online at:

http://faif2007.bside.com/?_view=_filmdetails&filmId=32395578

Additionally, if you want to hear a little true independent spirit, he was on blogtalkradio, interviewed by Jon Moody for "The Independent Corner." I had wanted to get this blog up before his live interview last night, but the wireless in my house was acting up and I haven't mastered my new iPhone quite yet (more on that later). Click on "The Pericles Lewnes Show:"

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/JonathanMoody

The poster below will take you to the the site for the film.

Brad Pitt's Secret Life

Oh boy! Juicy Hollywood gossip! There's been talk lately about tensions arising between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Much speculation exists over why this might be happening to this couple we know absolutely nothing about but who look cool and get their pictures taken wherever they go. Some of the theories are as follows: they fight over which democratic candidates they should support, which charity to donate money to, which horrific disease one of them has, who is cheating on whom, etc. (no, I didn't make any of those up.) I'd like to propose a new theory. I have discovered that Brad Pitt has secretly been directing my favorite films:

When I first read this and saw the photo, I thought, "wow, that Brad Pitt is a pretty smart guy when it comes to animation!" Of course, everything made sense when I saw that it was not Brad PITT who said this, but Brad BIRD (who looks like this):

(Also known as "the one who won the Oscar," no offense, Mr. Pitt.)

I also feel that I should point out that Brad Bird neither directed nor wrote "Finding Nemo." That honor goes to Andrew Stanton. I got to "meet" both of these heroes of mine in L.A. last year when I drove out for the Screenwriter's Expo.

"Ratatouille" is quite easily the best film of the year, so far. That's my humble opinion and that only includes films that I have seen, but I have seen a lot, so... take that! Incidentally, if you are wondering what the worst is, in my opinion, I would have to give that award to "The Number 23."

Brad Bird has a habit of directing films that I love (damn him). He directed "The Iron Giant," which I've seen about a million times, and "The Incredibles" (see previous comment). He also worked on "The Simpsons" and created "Family Dog." Does anyone remember seeing "Family Dog?" If you do (and have fond memories of doing so), we should get ice cream. I loved that show.

I should start writing about films again. Ratatouille deserves more than just a blanket "it's awesome" review. Plus, I like coercing people into seeing movies that I love without resorting to "go rent 'The Iron Giant' or the bunny gets it!"

Sweet Intuition- Part I

This was a labor of love. I say that for many reasons- romantic, obsessive, blind, sentimental- but I will leave out the personal reasons and focus on the technical for now! I split this film into two parts and I'm sharing them one at a time. It would be too long, otherwise. Part One (below) consists of Super-8mm footage I shot in Paris. Part Two will eventually be above this one. I'm not fond of this method of blogging organization, by the way. It gets quite annoying when one wants to continue a thought at a later time and can't do so fluidly without directing readers to the post just below it. It's almost like starting a book with the last chapter and asking the reader to skip to the end and read from the back. I digress.

The film is a reflection on romance. The setting is Paris (bien sûr). This first part is a fairytale daydream view of the City of Lights- complete with Eifel Tower and carousel! The second will come tomorrow...

Day Five

The big day! I had all of my pitches today. Plus, some of the creative team from Pixar were there to talk to the Expo. They were amazing! I heard Andrew Stanton (director of "Finding Nemo"), Brad Bird and Mark Andrews (director and head of story, respectively, of "The Incredibles"). It was really inspiring. These are people who love film (particularly my early love- animation) and have managed to really fight the studio system to get their work made (though Andrew Stanton warned that he is not a good person to ask for industry advice because he doesn't work in Hollywood, he works in "Fairyland"). I totally agreed with Brad Bird (who also made "The Iron Giant-" a really incredible film) when he said, "I would do this job for free. What they actually pay me for is to deal with the bureaucracy." Amen to that! Anyway, the pitches:

What a strange reality that was! All of these people were in their mid-to-late twenties. They were all junior executives and interns. It was a little surprising. It was also very eye-opening. We were on different sides of the same struggle: beginning a career in film. What they need is talent to represent or produce. What we need is representation and support! The edge disappeared and I was able to be myself. Essentially, I was meeting with peers. It was like mingling at a bar (especially since it was necessary to scream over all of the noise in the room). Suddenly, they were all just human. Out of six pitches, three producers and two agents want to see my work. I was floored! Really? The only one who turned me down was admittedly looking for television ideas.

Of course, I won't hold my breath or assume that this means anything, but at least I know that I can pitch a project and that the film I am working on at least sounds interesting! I saw plenty of disappointment and head shaking, so I didn't get that, at least. What floored me even more than acceptance was that one agency rep became interested in me when he learned that I knew Stan Brakhage. "No way! I love his work! My buddies and I were so bummed when he heard that he passed away two years ago." Huh? I would never have imagined driving to Hollywood and dropping Stan Brakhage's name to a junior exec at a talent agency! Suddenly, I was able to see that my two film lives didn't need to be so exclusive of one another.

Still, the experience was a bit surreal. At 15 minutes before your pitch, you are herded (with about 60 other people) into a room. At 10 minutes before your pitch, you are herded to the other side of that room. At 5 minutes before your pitch, you move to the "five minute zone" (a new room) and stare into the pitch pit (a bunch of long tables with numbers, pitchers and pitchees). When the referee announces that the current pitchers have one minute, you are told to file into the room, find your rep, and hover quietly over the person finishing up their pitch. When the bell rings, you count to ten and if the person sitting in your seat has not moved, move them. On my third pitch, I made the mistake of trying to move the rep rather than the pitcher. Oops! It turned out to be the most successful pitch, actually. I felt totally spent after the experience.

My day went from 8AM-11PM, so I am rewarding myself for a script well pitched and taking the final day off tomorrow to hit the beach. Oh, and my brilliant inter-species/racism scene (see day four) only got a score of 83. You needed a 90 to make it to the next round. No $5,000. Even better, I’m off the hook and can get a little sunshine on my ghostly skin!