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.

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...

An Open Love Letter

Dear Los Angeles, Hi. Remember me? Um... Gosh. Where to begin? I'm not good at this, so I'll just cut to the chase: I know I've been flirting with you a lot over the past few years. You probably think I'm just a tease, but I've been thinking a lot about you lately.

I've tried to make things work with other cities, denying that I secretly long for the embrace of your sandy shores, the comfort of your warm sunlight and the stimulation of your huge... film industry. I crave your music, art, film and media scenes. I even think I could put up with your fickle geologic temperament and abusive traffic jams, if it meant that I could walk along your beaches and watch a classic film on one of your many movie screens.

I know a lot of people don't like you. They say your traffic jams and colorful inhabitants make you a hard city in which to live. I say, let the naysayers keep their New York City with its turtlenecks and dress suits! I'll take your baseball caps and bikinis any day of the year (and I almost could in your gentle clime).

L.A., I just can't help thinking, well... maybe I should move in? Is that too direct? I know you've had some rough times lately, but we all have our ups and downs. I know we could find a way to make it work. I think it's time for us to consider a long-term relationship. Just think about it.

Well, those are my thoughts. I'm here if you need me (really, I'm here if you need me: a job would be a nice engagement gift, ahem...)

Love, Courtney

P.S. It bein' International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I just have to add a gratuitous "arrr!"

The Waiting Game

So, I thought I would give my blog readers a little glimpse of what I have been going through over the past few weeks (and offering up yet another excuse for blog slacking). Last week, I applied for an apprenticeship at Rhythm & Hues Studios in Los Angeles. It would be an amazing opportunity to get some experience on the professional "industry" side of filmmaking (uncharted territory for me), and potentially continue on to more industry projects. Don't get me wrong, I've loved working on indie projects and my own work (which falls into the realm of "avant-garde"), but a girl's got to pay the rent. I'd also like more of my challenges to be creative and collaborative- "doing things" rather than "finding work outside of my day job," which seems to be my big challenge after leaving New York. In fact, I'd say that is the greatest challenge when it comes to independent filmmaking, no matter what your role: finding work, finding money, finding talent, finding locations, finding time, finding finding finding... it's miraculous that DIY films can even get finished, let alone end up "good." This apprenticeship is specifically geared toward texture painting, which an obsessive, observant person like myself actually loves doing (for example: though I love the stories and the animation of both Ratatouille and WALL*E, I just couldn't get over how cool the tiled kitchen floors and blocks of trash looked). It would also be perfect timing, as the apprenticeship starts the day after Comic-Con ends, giving me plenty of time to drive straight from San Diego to Los Angeles without flying back to Denver. I pumped up my demo reel to (hopefully) highlight my texture painting abilities. I offer the new, improved version below. Sorry about the bad censor box. I don't want the world to have my phone number, though. :)

It took me a couple of solid weeks of work to get my demo reel, application, resume and cover letter all in order. I dropped it in the mailbox last Monday and waited. And waited. And I'm still waiting. I leave for Comic-Con tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM and I still don't know if I should be packing for three days or three weeks! The frustrating part is that it's not as simple as "you haven't heard yet, just assume it's not happening, kid." The postmark deadline for the application was only a week ago, meaning applications might still even be trickling in! They've really only had a few days to look at all of the submissions. Cutting it close...

But still, until my flight leaves tomorrow or I hear back from the studio, I'm holding on to that slight possibility of getting my foot in that oft-closed door that is the film industry.

(edit: posted later. Not sure why it didn't post the day I wrote it)

More on L.A. - The Getty Center

"There is no There there." Okay, I've heard some of my more "cultured" friends use this Gertrude Stein line on me to try to dissuade me from my desire to live in Los Angeles. First of all, she was referring to Oakland (about which I know nothing), not L.A. Secondly, there is plenty of "there" in Los Angeles, if you know where "there" is. I will admit, the greater Los Angeles area has its fair share of strip malls, chain restaurants, and uninspired suburban cookie-cutter neighborhoods, but there are a lot of unique, funky and -gasp- cultural places, as well.

I didn't make it to LACMA, through which Steve Martin roller skated as "performance art" in one of my all-time favorite films, "L.A. Story" (though I do have the shoes for it now- see right). I did, however, manage to visit the Getty Center- a huge art museum with a stunning view:

The Getty’s window’s adjust automatically to allow natural light that will not damage the art.

We’re all falling off! Or… just a humorous camera angle. Looking out at the 405 from the Getty.

The tracks of the Getty tram and a view of the hills.

Travertine squares- gaps between the stone allow for earthquake movement.

The Getty’s travertine and aluminium squares against a blue sky.

A framed landscape of Los Angeles from the Getty

Admission to the museum is free once you pay for parking. You take a tram to the top of a hill to get to the museum. I took the guided architecture tour while I was there. It's really fascinating (as you can see from the photos and read about on The Getty Center's architecture page). The entire structure is covered with 30-inch squares of travertine (a sedimentary stone) and aluminum. The grid is based on a line that is approximately eye-height and spans the entire complex. It even lines up with the horizon of the ocean (which, due to the hazy fog, you could not see that day).

Despite the museum's modern look, its specialty is Western art from the Middle Ages to the present (a more dignified roller-shoes pose may be in order). They do "mix it up" a little, though. There was a really great video exhibit there (California Video was the name of it and it runs through June 8). I couldn't take pictures there, but my favorite artists were Jim Campbell (Home Movies 920-1 my favorite by far), Jennifer Steinkamp (Oculus Sinister my second favorite), Martin Kersels (Pink Constellation), Bill Viola (The Sleepers), and Paul Kos (Chartres Bleu).

There was also a lovely sculpture garden, where I did cut loose with the camera (again- click the thumbnails for larger views/slide show):

Looking down on the sculpture garden at the Getty

Closeup of a “tree” made of rebar that had viney plants growing through it

Flowers in the sculpture garden- Getty Center

A stream in the sculpture garden- Getty Center

Succulents in the sculpture garden at the Getty

I think this is what they call a desert rose…

Day Seven

The Return. On my way out of Vegas this morning (I lost four dollars in the slots and $2.50 at Starbucks), I happened upon this song:

It's hard to hear. I posted the lyrics below. Except for being "New York City born and raised" (I was only there for four years), it's all pretty much true. I actually laughed when I heard the lyrics!

"L.A.'s fine, the sun shines most the time And the feeling is 'lay back' Palm trees grow, and rents are low But you know I keep thinkin' about Making my way back

Well I'm New York City born and raised But nowadays, I'm lost between two shores L.A.'s fine, but it ain't home New York's home, but it ain't mine no more

"I am," I said To no one there An no one heard at all Not even the chair "I am," I cried "I am," said I And I am lost, and I can't even say why Leavin' me lonely still"

So anyway, the drive back was awful and I was left with blocked and ringing ears accompanied by vertigo and an upset stomach (Pizza Hut salad bar in Utah= BAD IDEA). I also paid dearly for my In-N-Out beef fold-in. At a gas station in Grand Junction, I pulled over to grab some snacks. Suddenly, three double-decker cattle trucks pull up to the station. Not only was the smell awful (the cattle on top crap and piss all over the poor animals on the bottom), but the poor things were terrified and kept lowing. It was heart wrenching, knowing that they weren't going to a better place and knowing that I just played a part in it (not only that, but I actually ATE it). My stomach was a mess all the way home. The frequent stops meant that it took me about 13 hours, but I got there. Still, it was my journey back through Middle Earth, so I will end on the photos:

From here: To here, in a matter of hours: Quite a bit more exhausted. This was around mile 2,200- and the Pacific Ocean had taken my sunglasses: But at least I learned the lyrics to all of my songs:

Day Six

The Beach. I don’t have photos. I was too introspective for that. I love the Pacific Ocean. When I first arrived here for the Expo, I drove to the shore at midnight, just to say "hi" to the Ocean. My hello was answered by sea lion barks. It was a very magical moment. On my way home, I saw a shooting star.

This day was wonderful. The water was cold, but swimable (for a Colorado kid, anyway). More In-N-Out fries. A lot of reflection. Water is good for that. I could live here as long as I could live close to the beach.

I thought back on my trip. In Utah, where the roads were wet, every car had this kind of mist accompanying it. It made it look as if everyone was driving on their own little cloud. I must have had my own little cloud, as well. Everything has been really great (except the plastic cup wine, but hey).

I also thought forward about my film. I’m just going to produce it myself. This trip has really given me confidence in my ability to do so. I’d be very happy to have representation from one of the agencies, but I don’t think I really need the production companies. Plus, I was pitching a script, but I really have no interest in being a "writer." Yes, I’ve had to write this and I wanted to learn how to do it well, but I didn’t pitch myself as a filmmaker to the producers, so I would doubt that they would let me direct the project. If I get that far and they let me and things work out, great. But I’m not waiting any longer for someone else to give me the green light. I’m giving it to myself.

My plan was to head out to Vegas at about noon and arrive at four or five in the evening to eat and see the strip. I stayed at the beach until 4:00 and just used Vegas as a place to sleep (I didn't get there until about 9:00). It’s a strange place for a solitary girl to just "hang" by herself anyway! So here are some pictures from the road- the sun setting on a journey of self-discovery:

(This was the line of cars for 100+ miles coming back to L.A. from Vegas)

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!

Day Three

It feels a little strange and "fakey" to be posting all of this in "live" style, even though I did write all of this down as it was happening, but I guess that's movies for you! Actually, that's Hollywood for you. And this, as well- This is Los Angeles summed up in two pictures:

(The expo is in two hotels near LAX)

For those of you who may not know, In-N-Out is famously good. Everything there is made fresh- the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. are all cut right there, the buns are made of fresh, old-fashioned sponge dough (nothing frozen, no preservatives) and the cheese is real. The fries are cut from fresh potatoes and fried in vegetable oil right there in the store and the shakes are made from real ice cream (this sounds so simple, but in the fast food world, this is pretty miraculous). And the menu is: burger, cheeseburger, fries and shakes. That's it.

So as a former meat-eater and one who is really trying to get back on the full-time veggie bandwagon, this was a pretty big fold on my part. I will occasionally eat it if I feel that I "need" it somehow (sometimes are bodies just let us know), but this was pure, guilt-ridden craving cave-in! I indulged guiltlessly in the fries, though! They really are the best fries in the universe (at least this side of it).

On the screenwriting side of things, day three was pretty interesting. It was essentially a "how-to-pitch" day, with a panel of screenwriters and producers sharing their advice and stories. The most valuable piece of information that I got was that whether they end up being successful or not, everyone has their "first pitch."

One of the writers shared his story, which involved vomiting the night before the pitch meeting. Another's involved having to go to the bathroom so badly that he ended up using an Evian water bottle in his car and inadvertently "spilling" on himself minutes before the pitch. When he tried to explain it to the producers, they wouldn’t believe him (he’s a comedy writer)! It definitely took the edge off!

I also learned that what I will be doing is not a "real" pitch. This is a five minute stone throw that you hope makes ripples that might one day grow into a full 20-30 minute pitch. I’ve lost a lot of my nervousness about Saturday (six pitches in a row).

Another good thing to know is that producers tend to frown upon costumes and props! I guess a few people last year decided to pitch through puppets and wear funky costumes. Never really crossed my mind to use them, but if it ever does, I won’t!

I must add this note: this is an expo packed full of activities. In fact, there is very little time to run in and out of the hotel to get food and whatnot. There is a Starbucks in the hotel, but they charge $2.05 for a SMALL coffee!!! Way to blackmail the fatigued! This was also the case at the Stratosphere. There, it was $2.55 for a small. We’re not talking lattes here, either. Just plain, brewed coffee! I guess these are hotel franchises and don’t need to follow the corporate guidelines (which are still outrageously expensive)!

Wireless can get tangled too!

My dreams of blogging on the road have been crushed by the corporate hotel giants! The hotel in Las Vegas and the hotel hosting the expo in Los Angeles want $10 PER DAY to access the Internet. I do need enough money to make it back home, so the "live" blogging will have to wait (with the exception of the Las Vegas ambient noise below- I can call my blog, I just can't figure out how to write to it)! The wonderful woman running the Kinkos here noticed that I was making my business cards out of 6"x4" index cards cut in quarters ($1.34 compared to $20-$40) and kindly let me have some internet time. Anyway, despite the fact that I've been lugging my laptop around for no reason and killing my already tired neck (20+ hours on the road), things are great! Everyone is much more laid back than I thought. I haven't met any of those notorious "Hollywood types," wherever they might be. Maybe I'm deflecting them somehow. A few people have randomly asked my what my screenplay is about, which I wisely chose not to answer. Actually, I did answer, but I kept it vague: "It's about someone's life and something that happens to them between their birth and their death." They shake their heads, certain that I'm setting myself up for trouble with such a lame pitch and leave me alone about the details.

Do stay tuned. I have pictures, videos and all sorts of stories from the road. In-N-Out. Oh boy! Best fries on earth!!!

Day Two

Traffic into Los Angeles was a nightmare! I got stuck on I15 between Vegas and L.A. for about two hours. They decided that the middle of the day was the best time to close down a lane to repave the highway! So there I sat, in the middle of the Mojave desert with 1/8th of a tank of gas left, too much water in my bladder, and stuck in a nightmare of a traffic jam.

Traffic was smooth until I hit the city (though by this time, I was able to listen to my favorite public radio station- KCRW- and know that I was only a few miles from the station, so I was pacified). There was a major jam caused by a car accident. Not uncommon in Los Angeles, but the strange thing about this was that a car ran into an entire funeral procession! As if being in a funeral procession wasn't bad enough! I have yet to figure out what a "sig" alert is, but apparently, it means that you really, really want to avoid the area for which the sig alert was given!

Still, I managed to arrive just in time for the pre-expo party. I met some very down-to-earth people there. I was pleasantly surprised. Not a lot of food (and $3.50 for a bottle of water? You've got to be out of your f*&%in' mind), but good conversations. We'll see what the rest of the expo brings!

So, basically, The Day= Driving+Arriving+Driving+Partying+Sleeping.

An Astronomer in Hollywood- Part 3

(Because everything is better when it's a trilogy) So enter the world of the divorce where people freak out and do things that they normally would not, such as... oh, I don't know... drop their film career, move halfway across the country and go back to school for Astrophysics while working for a makeup counter in a mall? Not that any one of those things is bad, in and of itself, but when all you do at either place is think about how you can use what you are working with in a film (cosmetics)/movie(astrophysics), it's time to do some soul-searching!

So what the hell does any of this have to do with anything? Good question. If you find a blog anywhere that has the answer to that, I'd love to read it.

Just kidding.

With these two seemingly incompatible halves to my film personality, I am once again packing my bags and driving out to the West Coast alone. This time, I will be attending Screenwriting Expo 5 in Los Angeles where I will be pitching my narrative scripts to people with money, in the hopes that they might take a swing. All of this is making me laugh somewhat since the title of my first script is "Stealing First" (as in First Base in baseball- the one you can't actually steal). Hopefully, I won't need to resort to such rule-breaking behavior.

I hope to post to my blog from the road. With any luck, I will have some amusing, insightful but hopefully not tragic views on the world of screenwriting or just road trips in general. I hope to make my next post from the road!