Julia's Mexico City

366/2012: Day 132 On The Lot

I was on the Sony lot for a job interview. Fingers crossed it works out.

New Year Book Stack: Update!

So a month ago it looked like this:

And I blogged about it.

Suddenly I turn around and as of today it looks like this!

The books simply seem to multiply like rabbits!! Leave them alone in a dark room for a couple of  weeks and whamo - more books! Okay okay, to be honest, I know what happened. After reading my previous blog post, my  mom sent me (surprise!) the two books I wanted to get (Franklin and Eleanor and Diviner's Tale. Thanks Mom!) The Patton Oswalt book was a gift for my birthday. (Thanks Tom!) The top two on that stack are a little harder to explain. And by explain I mean excuse. Mom and I were talking about Hawaii stories, books, movies, etc and told me that George Clooney had been there to shoot a movie based on a book called The Descendants. So I thought I'd read is as RESEARCH (no really) because there is a tv show or mini-series idea I have that takes place in Hawaii and I want to see what's out there being made...The Paul Theroux book is there because it was in my cart on Amazon and if I bought it (along with a third book that hasn't come yet) I would get free shipping. So yeah, free shipping is always better, right??

Getting an e-reader of any kind is going to be tough for me (and probably won't happen for a long long while - no mom, DO NOT buy me one!) Finding more space in our 950 square foot house for all these books is also going to be tough, but that is a challenge I am looking forward to solving.

I have finished two books -- Russel Brand's Booky Wook 2 and Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw. They are similar in that both writers are loud, opinionated and passionate about themselves and their careers. I love them both for that and more power to them. I'm finishing up the Vanity Fair with Beiber on the cover and will probably start my RESEARCH by reading The Descendants. Looking forward to it.

Oh and Russell is in a remake of "Arthur" (a movie I also love) and I'm really looking forward to seeing it. He's perfect for the part and OMG Helen Mirren as Hobson??? Oh yeah. Here's the trailer. (Sorry for the ad up front...)

Lean and Mean!

Remember that scene in Stripes where John Candy explains why he joined the army? No? Well, let me jog your memory:

This is how I'm feeling here in the early days of 2010. I've been swallowing a lot of aggression along with a lot of food (some of it pizza) in the last month and I have to figure out a better way to deal with it. So, instead of joining the army, I will be focusing on better ways of expressing my FEELINGS! Like, oh I don't know, writing, exercising? Yes and yes.

I will be a lean mean fighting/writing/creating machine in 2010!

Movie Stars and Me

Very rarely does this happen. The only reason I have a photo with Liev Schreiber is because I worked on Kate and Leopold in 2001 and went to the wrap party. Both Liev and some other guy...what was his name...Oh yeah, Hugh Jackman were there, both super nice, chatty with all, took photos, etc. (I do have a picture with Hugh, but it's somewhere in a box and I don't have the energy to find/scan it. Not sure why I have scanned this one...)

 

In my normal every day general "fan" life, I would never ask an actor for a photo or autograph. I have been known to say to an actor that I adore how much I love their work. But I never bother them when eating or if they are talking with friends or family or having a personal moment. For example, I saw Elliott Gould at my local Whole Foods in the produce section and very quietly said, "I love your work, you make me laugh, so sorry to bother you!" and he said, "No bother, thank you so much, that's great!" I did a similar thing with Allison Janney while she waited for her coffee order at a counter at the Grove. She was so sweet and kind and I was in and out in 20 seconds. I figure, if I'm not intruding at all, who doesn't want to hear that they are loved and adored? I had it happen to me recently in Belfast (okay, not "loved and adored" so much) -- and it felt GREAT.

Okay, wait. I *have* asked for autographs four times in my life but they were always for other people. 

1) 1988 - Michael Jordan was filming a Nike commercial in our gym at LMU (where the lakers would sometimes practice) and I happened to be walking across the parking lot as he was walking to his car with a large group of followers. I thought -- oh I should get his autograph for my boyfriend (who was a HUGE basketball fan, probably still is). Then I thought -- no, too many people around. Then I thought -- when will I have this chance again? So I opened a notebook to a blank page, jammed my way to the front of the crowd and just held the book in front of Michael who had a pen already. He just signed it and moved on to the next piece of paper. I gave the autograph to the boyfriend and I hope he liked it because I can't remember what he said or did.

2) 1988 - James Worthy came into the restaurant I worked at (Italy's Little Kitchen "Hi, two? Smoking or non?") and I am about 80% sure I also go his autograph for the same basketball loving boyfriend.

3) 1995 - Shaquille O'Neal was the star of my 2nd VFX producing job -- that's right people, I worked on Kazaam! He was freely signing basketballs for anyone, everyone. When my chiropractor found out I was working with Shaq, she said her 12 year old son LOVED him so I got Shaq to sign a ball for him. 

4) 2007 - Dog The Bounty Hunter was in Toys-R-Us in Culver City (no, I'm not making that up) and I was laughing as the show is a guilty pleasure of a good friend of mine. So I got his autograph and he proved his great intellect by asking how to spell "Sarah". And not just "is there an h at the end" but he wrote the S and then looked up at me, confused. So I continued, "A, R, A, H." Oy. Sarah did find it amusing. 

Somehow it's mostly basketball related. Funny that.

Anyway the whole reason I even wrote this blog post is because a friend on Twitter commented that a guy who looks like Liev just came into her office and she swooned. 

Seeing "Up" While Grieving

**Please don't read this blog post if you haven't seen the movie and don't want any bit spoiled for you.**

It was tough. 

The movie itself is great, funny and gorgeous to look at. 

But I highly recommend if you are in mourning of some kind to know that (spoiler alert) it is about death and grief and working your way up from those things.

The first 15 minutes had me silently sobbing behind my 3d glasses. Then the more typical Pixar movie took off and there was much fun and laughter. Then toward the end when the old man reads through the adventure book I was totally losing it again. We got home and I was doing the dishes and thinking about that part and the message that Ellie left for him about how much she loved her adventure and for him to go on a new one. It's wonderful but still so brutally sad because whatever adventure you go on next, you want to share it with that person more than anything.

My sister didn't like to travel much, but she seemed interested in all the places I went or was planning to go. And I always knew she would like to get postcards from me. There are still so many adventures I have yet to go on and it's hard to think about not sharing that with her. And that just makes me so sad.

Go see Up. Just be prepared if you are grieving. 

Praise To Buddha!

This is one of the hottest old skool unrequited love scenes evar! 

Seriously, Yul Brynner was H O T.

Etcetera! Etcetera! Etcetera!

Hollywood Swag

Most times, when you work on a movie for some length of time, you get a crew gift at the end.  Depending on your rank, you might get even more if the project spans the Christmas holiday. I walked across the lot this morning, wearing my "Die Hard With A Vengeance" crew jacket -- black letterman style with black leather sleeves. It's a silly memento that I actually paid for myself, but it was my first VFX producing job and I was proud of myself. I think I only produced about 30 shots, but I managed a crew and got a credit so I gave myself this gift.

The only other jacket I bought was my Boss Film jean jacket. I still have it in the back of my closet and will never give it away. It represents the first real job I ever had in the biz and the start of my VFX career -- a career path that found me and has treated me well.

The stuff I got for free?

Alien 3 -- 2 crew jackets, I gave 1 to my sister years ago and sold the other on Ebay a while back. I also got a 20th century fox jacket which I wrote about here.

Contact -- at Christmas in '96 I got a leather Nike weekend bag (still use it all the time) and a few other gifts that I can't remember, but that I know I gave to the coordinators working with me. At the end of the show, we got wind-breaker type jackets in that Contact blue color. I still have that one as it doesn't have a loud logo on it. We also got an army style jacket which I gave away or sold on ebay. Then my friend Tom gave me his a few months ago! Hilarious. I'm meant to have that jacket.

Kate and Leopold -- we got a black wind breaker type jacket with a very modest logo on it. I still have this jacket and wear it a lot.

Identity -- a heavier jacket with a modest logo on it. I wore this jacket a lot as well, good for weekends running around. I think I still have it, but might have given it away in a round of closet cleaning.

Walk The Line -- a jean jacket with a small logo on it. The jacket itself was size small. I gave it to a friend who peripherally worked on the project.

Memoirs Of A Geisha -- a jean jacket with a small logo on it. Again, the jacket itself was size small. I gave it to the same friend! Over that Christmas I got a bottle of sake from the director. We also got snow globes from the studio at the very end. This is a Sony studio thing. I find them to be not my style and gave mine to one of the guys I worked with. He loved it and gave it to his mom, I think.

Vantage Point -- No official crew gift or jacket but it seemed half the departments made t-shirts to give away. We (the VFX crew) (VFX crew=me and Paddy) made one too and it became the most popular t-shirt ever. 

Body of Lies -- Often times the stars will give out gifs to thank the crew. Leonardo gave out really nice backpacks with the movie logo on it. That is something I use. I'm sure other stars did on other movies, but smaller things like leather CD cases or gifts to charity in our names, etc.

I'm sure there was lots more but I'm not into dust-collectors or chachkis (how do you spell that?). So unless it is something I will use, I usually don't keep the crew gift. I know there are people in my family or friends who love the movie stuff and I am more than happy to give it all away.

Job Day Two and 9/11

Day one went fine, met a lot of people and got a semi clear view of what the gig will be. Good people, which I already knew. I mentioned before that I'm five minutes from work. But I have to amend that because I forgot how far I would have to walk from the parking structure to my office. So here's the breakdown:

Got in the car at 8:30 this morning

Arrived at Sony Studio Overland gate at 8:37

Arrived at my office at 8:49

Drive time:  7 minutes

Park/walk time:  12 minutes

Hey, I'm not complaining about a 19 minute commute, 10 minutes of which are me walking.  

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Tom Hanks is on the lot today. I haven't seen him so how do I know? I know they are shooting Angels and Demons here and I also know Mr. Hanks has an AWESOME Chrome/Silver Airstream trailer that he uses when shooting and there it is, awnings down, windows open. I forgot how being on a lot can be interesting.

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Today is 9/11 and it makes me think of Jen as she was the person who called us at 6:30 or 7 am to say that the towers were being destroyed.  My mom was here helping me plan our wedding and she and Kurt and I sat staring at the TV for hours and hours.  Then in the afternoon, because we were freaked out and exhausted by the events of the morning, we decided to go wedding dress shopping anyway.  We had planned on going to David's Bridal that day anyway and it was surreal.

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Maui Celebrity Sighting

Mom and Jack and I were driving down Stable Road yesterday to look at stuff (small town, that's what you do...) and a bunch of surfers and windsurfers were parked along the private road. In a group of three guys, my mom said, "Hey, that's the guy that's friends with Laird Hamilton."

Dave Kalama

You may recognize him from this American Express ad (that's him on the left):

The photo was shot by Annie Leibovitz, right here at Baby Beach in Spreckelsville. My mom went down and watched and had a quick chat with Ms. Leibovitz.

"Contact" -- Gone But Not Forgotten

I'm perusing my favorite blog, Boing Boing, today and see this awesome post about a wind turbine self-destructing. (The full post is here.)

Here is the video:

That was amazing and cool enough, but then I was reading the comments (the comments are often just as good, if not better than some posts, sometimes) and saw this written by AirShowFan:

It's ok, they built a second one in Hokkaido...

O M G!!

A few comments further down, The Strong Rope wrote:

#20. LOL!!! That is freaking hilarious. Where is Jodie when you need her?

Which is only funny if you WORKED ON THE VISUAL EFFECTS FOR THE MOVIE CONTACT!!

Sorry to shout but holy cow. NOBODY makes Contact references or jokes. I had to email Tom immediately and he wrote back:

LOLZ!!1!

"interstellar space travel machine...you're doing it wrong."

It's good to have a guy like Tom in my life. Just a few weeks ago, after cleaning out his closets in preparation to move, he brought me his Contact crew jacket (that he never wore) and some Contact props paraphernalia. Yowza. Old times! Good times! Thanks Tom!