L.A. Trip (Part Three)

SATURDAY MORNING

On Saturday, we all had most of the day to ourselves. We didn't need to report back to the hotel until 5pm that night (we had dinner plans), which left us with hours and hours of free time to fill to our heart's content.

Half of the group went to Disneyland for the day. They came back exhausted and happy, with Disneyland pins and tons of pictures of the rides and a parade.

The other half of us did some networking. We decided to call up Ken Sherman, a literary agent we'd met on Friday morning (forgot to mention that), and we asked him if he'd like to have brunch with us again. He was more than happy to meet with us. So Wes, Jen, and I made our way to West Hollywood and had brunch with Ken at a cute little French restaurant.

It was fun to hear him talk about his experiences. He had all these great stories about how, after college, he left to go to Europe for six months and came back two years later. He lived in Paris for most of the time, getting paid under the counter for doing everything from odd jobs, cooking in a restaurant, and writing travel guides of Paris in English for PanAm (when they were still around). That was an enjoyable breakfast.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

After that, we took an hour-long bus ride aaaaaaall the way over to Venice. Venice is by the coast, and the first thing we did was head to the Pacific (my first time seeing the Pacific in the states). We walked down to this huge pier, where there was a theme park and all this crazy stuff. I took lots of pictures.

Then we headed to the 3rd Street Promenade, which is an entire city street blocked off to vehicle traffic for a good three or four blocks. In the promenade were fountains, bushes trimmed to look like dinosaurs (that were sometimes also fountains), and plenty of street artists and musicians to entertain the throngs of people milling about.

We met Cory (the guy from Roserock Productions) again for coffee, and this was probably the BEST part of the entire trip. All the rest of the trip was just a ton of fun, but this part of the trip was the most helpful and informational.

Because Cory is our age, he really knows what the job market is like right now in Hollywood. He told us that anyone more than a decade or so older than us really doesn't know what it takes to get into the film industry anymore, because the industry is always changing. So while they mean well, taking two years off to travel the world (Ken's advice) isn't really practical-- at all-- when it comes to getting a job in L.A.

I'm so glad I got that advice now (even if taken with a grain of salt), before taking two years off to teach and then two years to go to graduate school before heading out to Hollywood.

It makes sense that taking time off before going to L.A. isn't practical or advisable. The interns that come fresh out of college and go to Hollywood are all going to be roughly in the same age group. All the interns make friends with the other interns, sharing stories and leaning on each other for help. And so they are going to work their way up together, helping each other along the way (with getting jobs especially).

So if you start way later than the others, you are going to be too old and you wont make friends as easily, get invited out as often, etc. And sadly enough, because the film industry is all about who you know, that might be enough to squash your hopes of working in Hollywood.

Basically, after Cory told us all this, we were stunned. This and all the other stuff we had learned that weekend was enough to almost overwhelm us. Later, Wes likened it to feeling like he's just been punched in the stomach. Personally, I was on an adrenaline rush right after that. I couldn't wait to get started and barrel straight into this hugely intimidating, extremely rewarding industry. Of course, I also felt that sinking sensation when the adrenaline wore off and the colder reality sunk in of being a slave to my work for the next decade (and the lifestyle that accompanies that choice). So many decisions to make!

... to be continued...

Grand Tetons

I guess I miss the mountains, because these pictures take my breath away. I need to visit the Grand Tetons someday. Preferably someday soon.

L.A. Trip (Part Two)

FRIDAY EVENING

After Paramount, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up. Then we all piled back into the van and were chauffeured out to Santa Monica by our awesome film professor/tour guide for the weekend, Dr. Horton. We were meeting some of Horton's old friends for a pizza dinner.

At the pizza party were a documentary filmmaker, a screenwriter, a man who works on the Simpsons (putting together their extra things, like books, etc, to sell), and the most adorable old couple in the entire world.

Harriet and Sam (the adorable old couple) are both 89 years old and have been married for over 65 years. They told us the story of how they met, and I literally teared up a little, it was so sweet.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Harriet lived in L.A. at the time and drove up to San Francisco for the weekend to visit a friend. On Saturday, the friend was at some sort of conference, and Harriet went to join her. She was going to go out on a lunch date that day with a sailor that she kinda knew, and they agreed to meet at the conference. While at the conference, Harriet's friend introduced her to Sam. They immediately were attracted to each other and started in an earnest conversation. They were enjoying each other's company so much that when the sailor came to pick up Harriet, she invited Sam to come with them. So two became three.

The way Harriet tells it, lunch was brief and a little awkward. As soon as the checks came, they went "dutch" and the sailor left as soon as possible. Sam stuck around. They spent the entire rest of the day together. In the evening, he walked Harriet to her friend's home where she was staying and then took three different street cars to get back to his home.

The next morning, a Sunday, Sam again took three different street cars to pick Harriet up from her friend's home. Harriet kept stressing the three-street-car part... I guess it took a lot of effort back then to travel across town, and she was flattered. They spent the entire day together again, walking San Francisco's downtown area, riding the trolley, and enjoying each other's company.

That evening Sam proposed. And she said yes.

That all happened in July. They married in November. So basically, they dated for two days, their courtship lasted four months, and they've now been married for over sixty-five years.

They are the sweetest couple you will ever meet. And still so in love. They hold each other's hands, and Sam kissed the top of Harriet's head once when he stood behind her chair.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Overall, it was a really nice evening spent with really nice people. When I got back to live in Los Angeles, I am going to visit Harriet and Sam on a regular basis. They are wonderful.

After the pizza party, we all went back to the hotel, and after a short break, we (the younger set) decided to sample the L.A. night life. On the recommendation of the guy who showed us around Paramount, we went to this little dive bar on Sunset Blvd. Don't remember what it was called, but it was great.

It had a very intimate feel, being narrow and dimly lit, and the drinks were all written up on a chalk board on one wall (a kinda common thing to do in LA, I guess?). This is the place where we had our two celebrity sightings (and another one the next night when we went again... I just can't remember that girl's name). It makes sense too, since the place is very quiet and definitely off the beaten path.

But, even with the swanky atmosphere and high-class patrons, my favorite part of that bar was the bar-back. A bar-back is a guy who keeps the bar stocked with alcohol, ice and lemon wedges for the bartender throughout the night. He's usually the guy carrying the giant ice bucket and chewing on a black straw, towels dangling out both sides of his pants.

Anyway, this particular bar-back was one of the nicest guys ever. When we first got there, we must have looked pretty uncomfortable. I definitely felt like we had the words "Oklahoma" stamped across our foreheads.

But Trevor, as if sensing our pain, came over right away and started chatting with us. Almost like I expected, he's out in L.A., working to be an actor. His name is Trevor Trout, after all. A pretty distinct screen name. And he has already been in a few things too.

For example, he's in the music video, "Hillbilly Deluxe," by Brooks and Dunn.

He's the kid with blond hair sitting in the passenger seat of the big red muscle truck at the beginning.

I hope he gets famous someday. I really do. He was nice.

.... to be continued ....

Where I want to be right now...

... instead of studying for my Marketing exam.

. . .

"Whoever said 'nothings impossible' never tried to nail jell-o to a tree." -Unknown

Star Sightings

What would a trip to Los Angeles be without a couple star sightings?

I got a picture with...

...Jake McDorman, a.k.a Evan from the television show GRΣΣK.

To be honest, I had no idea who that Jake guy was. Jen, the blond on the left, is a huge fan of GREEK and recognized him immediately. But she refused to approach him, since she didn't want to be one of "those girls." We could tell that she really, really wanted to though.

So, when Jake stepped out for a cigarette, our friend Wes went outside and approached him, telling him that his friend inside was really shy but really wanted a picture with him. Being a B-list actor and still open to that kind of thing, he agreed. Jen was ecstatic afterward. I still had no idea who I'd just met (and had to go home and google the kid to find out who he was).

ALSO...

I saw (but didn't approach)...

... Mindy Kaling, a.k.a. Kelly Kapoor from the hit television show The Office.

She didn't look half this glamorous, of course. She was tucked into the back of a booth, surrounded by comedians and writers, out for a laid back evening with friends. She actually looked very down-to-earth... the kind of girl you could be friends with easily. No excessive makeup or trendy clothes.

We definitely didn't feel like we could approach her though. At one point, we sorta got up to kinda make our way over (we were very indecisive), and, almost as if they sensed the coming intrusion, the men surrounding her tensed and drew in. It was fascinating to watch, really. I don't know if they even knew they were doing it, but I could tell that they instantly felt the need to protect her. I'm sure if I were friends with someone so famous, I'd do the same thing. In fact, it really didn't bother me at all that we didn't get to talk to her, as I was kinda glad she was able to go out for a night and not be pestered with fans.

Advice I Got from Hollywood

From L. Langs:

- Always know names. Make a list of the people that you strive to be like, so when the opportunity arrises, you'll be able to grab the chance to work with them, etc.

From K. Sherman:

- If you want to produce, make sure you are reading every single book and screenplay possible. Watch as many movies as possible. You have to know what's out there right now.

From C. Lanier:

- People here don't care about your degree. Film school doesn't really matter. They just want to hire someone who is street smart and will work hard. You move up from there.

- You have to get an internship in L.A. People wont hire you for a paying job until they see that you're serious and have put in the time to get to know Hollywood.

From M. Payne:

- Do every job that comes available to you. It doesn't matter if the job is at a talent agency and you want to produce. Get that job and learn everything there is to know about the position. You never know where your next job (or recommendation) is going to come from.

L.A. Trip (Part One)

I just got back from an amazing trip. A long one, too. I was gone so long, I feel like I'm getting back from a second Spring Break.

THURSDAY

I flew out of OKC on Thursday morning and finally arrived in L.A. at 5pm (after a roundabout trip that had me connecting in Memphis). We all got to the hotel by 8pm, and exhausted, we went across the street for sushi and to meet with Leslie Langs, a woman who has been the music editor for movies like Titanic and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She was a really nice woman, and it was interesting to talk to her. Even though she isn't exactly doing what I want to do, she had a lot of good advice. In fact, every person we met with had great advice. I feel overfilled with information and recommendations.

FRIDAY

Friday morning we went to Warner Brothers studios to visit with producer Hunt Lowry's assistant. Hunt is from Oklahoma, and his production company (located on the WB lot) is called Roserock Productions (for those who don't know, rose rocks are a rock unique to Oklahoma).

We met with his assistant Patty and his creative executive Cory. Cory was the most helpful person I met the entire weekend. A friend of mine from here at OU, Kelley, interned with him last summer, so she'd called him before the trip and told him to keep a lookout for me and Jen (another one of Kelley's friends).

We got a tour of the entire WB lot, including the backlot. Backlots on major studios are basically mini cities. You'll have an entire street where all the building fronts looks like they come from New York City or Chicago or Italy. There's a suburban neighborhood, a town square, and a courthouse from the fifties.

Part of the back lot...^

We also went into their little museum, where they displayed costumes and props used in the actual filming of some of their major productions. They had costumes from some of their old classics, like Casablanca, as well as from Miss Congeniality, 300, and The Dark Knight.

The entire second floor was dedicated to the Harry Potter franchise. Elizabeth, one of the girls in our group, almost had a heart attack. She's a die-hard HP fan. Oh, and judging from the suit that Humphrey Bogart wore in Casablanca, he is one tiny man.

I sneakily this picture on my phone,

against the rules. No cameras were allowed.

After Warner Brothers, we went to Paramount, the only studio still located in Hollywood proper. All the other studios moved out to Burbank when they wanted to expand, since real estate in Hollywood is rather expensive. So Paramount was older and smaller. It had a more classic feel. It was also a lot quieter. Warner Brothers was bustling with activity (which means that the studio has a lot of projects going on), while Paramount had a much calmer feel to it.

That being said, we did get to sneak partially onto the set of The Last Godfather, a feature being filmed at Paramount. I snapped a few pictures before we were caught and asked to leave.

... to be continued...

. . .

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thankful For...

Today, in the face of oppressive adversity (namely, an Accounting Exam at 1:30pm), I'd like to take a moment to realize that my life really isn't all that bad, despite the assets and liabilities-induced headache.

Reasons I am lucky today:

1. I fly to Los Angeles tomorrow for my introduction to Hollywood.

2. I meet my beautiful baby niece Isabella on Sunday.

3. My roommate continues to get sick and I haven't caught anything yet (Get better soon, Rooms!).

4. The tulips are bloooooooming on campus in gorgeous reds and yellows.

5. I have a mother who lets me call her at 3:30am to cry about my exam and who speaks true words of wisdom when she tells me to just go to bed.

6. I don't have to scramble around today for a green scantron (like I did before last test... too stressful).