Bomb threat on USC campus today!

Don't worry, I'm fine.

As per USC Cinema School emergency protocol, I dove into the closest refrigerator I could find.

Keep Your Friends Close...

Ah, yes. It's been a long time coming but it seems whenever its finally time to start actual filming days it's like after that long, slow part of the Jurassic Park ride (or any roller coaster...I guess) where you've been clicking away towards the top and finally reaching the inevitable Tyrannosaurus Rex / splash drop.

Hey, if you can find a better analogy I'd like to see you try.

Last Friday I took that plunge and kicked off the first weekend of filming for my film with a bang. My producer worked some mojo so that we were able to shoot at a "subway car" set at CBS TV studios in Studio City - a smaller lot that, among other things, was known being home to 'Seinfeld' from 1989-1998.

Its wasn't an exact Chicago 'L' match but we did the best we could, and I think once I drop in that "The next stop will be ...Belmont" it will be all the more convincing.

Anyway, here's some pics - I will let you be the judge.




The location was great, but the real stars of the day were the amazing crew and, of course, the 'stars' - my actors.

The real joy of this project has been that I have had plenty of time to put my cast and crew together and I've been able to get a lot of quality friends to help me out, both as crew and actors.

It's nice b/c in the early days of USC you were just getting to know people and, for certain classes, you had partners and crew assigned to you. Finally I'm able to collaborate on stuff with my really good friends.

It also made me realize that one of the reasons I like this business. More and more this semester I've realized the real joy of collaborating. I've found I'm a much better writer when I can bounce ideas of others and projects are just more fun when you've got a drinking buddy as your co-writer or producer.

I mean, hell, the whole reason I wanted to get into movies in the first place is that I enjoyed making some really amazing pieces of cinema from the 'Red and Yellow' Era.

Ahhh, 'Chhk Chhk Boom' - still has more entertainment value than a good chunk of what gets cranked out of USC. - "Don't mess with Texas."

Also, I've been able to work with family on this project. My cousin Adam, who any NBA fan would recognize from the omnipotent Kobe/LeBron Vitamin Water ad last year, and I have finally been able to get together and do some cuz-laboration and that, too, has been just the best.

Yep, pretty much in the very busy home stretch for the semester now and have been very happy with the way 2010 has gone so far. Starting to set up some things for the summer and looking forward to a trip back to CHI soon.

And one more thing...

HOW 'BOUT THEM BLACKHAWKS?!

Let's just hope they can keep this winning thing going....they're probably the best bet our fair city has to raise a championship banner anytime soon. Now, I'm not saying that the genius of drafting a Benet QB (Bears) or putting your ace in the bullpen ($#*! Cubs) isn't going to work, I'm just saying....

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..

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I don't know how to finish that sentence without bullsh*tting.

Go 'Hawks!

42

Today is one of those rare occasions where I will be proudly sporting some Dodger Blue in lieu of my regular Cubs gear.

Course, this is the Brooklyn Dodgers I'm talking about, and there's only one player that would ever get me to wear the colors that is now associated with beach balls and Manny Ramirez, and that's good ole' number 42.

Major League Baseball started a new tradition three years ago that I've come to enjoy every season more and more: the official declaration of April 15th as "Jackie Robinson Day".

It combines two of my favorite pastimes: baseball and post-WWII American history.

I don't get into it too often, but post-war American history is one of my favorite topics ever. I'm taking a critical studies class that deals with post-war cinema and its been just awesome. The fifties and sixties just had so much goin' on: Cold War... Kennedy... cheap, affordable hamburgers at lightning speed...

In addition to shooting the first two days of my directing project this weekend, I also need to churn out a 12-15 page paper on "The Manchurian Candidate". Though the timing isn't ideal (course, that's mostly my own fault due to procrastination) I haven't been this excited about writing a paper on a movie since my "Independence Day" paper back at the wind-swept campus of LUC.

If you haven't seen "Manchurian", you are missing out...especially if you like cracking jokes about Joe McCarthy or HUAC. It's a great Cold War-era flick, and I've been uncovering some pretty cool info on some behind the scenes stuff in my research. For instance, there was great trepidation about making the controversial book into a movie in the political climate of 1962 and Sinatra, the star and a producer on the film, visited Kennedy at Hyannisport to test the water. The first thing JFK said when Frank brought "Manchurian" up was simply what other stars were going to be in it.

Anyway, one thing I'm not happy about ever since going to film school is that I haven't fed my appetite for history all too well. But today's ubiquitous "42"s in baseball are making me think I need to pick up some literature on Mr. Robinson to read over the summer.

Really, I need to brush up on any kind of historical nonfiction reading this summer. Though, I guess there's no rush. Once I graduate at the end of 2010 and can't find a job I'll have PLENTY of time to read all I want!

Yeah...in all likelihood, on Jackie Robinson Day 2011, I'll be out in front of Dodger Stadium, scalping tickets... becoming a full-time scalper being the only "steady income stream" I could find in the months after finishing at USC.

"I got Loge level... I got upper deck!...I got bleachers! I also got an MFA and will write a feature-length script! ....comedy, drama, horror! You want it, you got it!"

It's a marathon, not a sprint...right?

...but if you're running a marathon you sure don't want to start it off by stubbing your toe, or, say GIVING UP EIGHT RUNS IN 1 AND 1/3 INNINGS!!!!??!?!?!

Sorry, but its kinda hard to control my Zambrano-esque rage against, well, Zambrano. And the entire Cubs organization.

BUT, as many Cubs-apologists will say in the wake of yesterday's disaster: it's just one of 162 games in the season. I guess I'd have to go ahead and include myself in that delusional division of Wrigley faithful. It is only one loss.

Still though, its not that we lost its HOW we lost: in such apocalyptic spectacular fashion, in the FIRST GAME of the Cubs' supposed "Year One" - which was the Cubs' Marketing Dept attempting to lamely reset the franchise like 'Batman Begins' or something. (Though I don't know what was worse: the Cubs' 2009 season or "Batman & Robin" starring George Clooney and the current Governor of California)

Anyway, the baseball season is a marathon and you can't let every loss get you down, or ride too highly on any wins. It's funny, because many people who I've heard from while out here have said the same thing about the film industry.

It's a pretty apt comparison, when you look at it. Sure their are those who've been consistently successful for years...Spielberg... Scorsese... the Yankees... but this business has its ups and downs like a baseball season.

Anyway, the long-term up-and-down nature of trying to work in entertainment is something that's been on my mind quite a bit this semester. 2010 so far has had it low points and high points, big losses and little victories.

Might have a pretty big victory at hand this week. For my 533 short film that's coming up in a week or so, that I mentioned was set in Chicago, and also mentioned has a scene set on an L car, I am very close to being able to film the scene on an actual "subway car" set at CBS television studios in Studio City.

Not 100% yet, but going to the lot this Friday to scope it out and will hopefully know for sure sometime after that.

That would certainly be a reason to raise the blue "W" flag, wouldn't it?

Good CHI-brations

Alright. Well, I'm back in LA (have been for a while) and guess its time to get back Los Angeles hobbies, which include blogging on MGH, wearing sunglasses more than is remotely necessary, and ignoring the giant cloud of pollution that hangs over this crazy city on a daily basis!

So, pretty much the first order of business since I've been back on the West Coast is preparing for my intermediate directing project that I'm planning to shoot the last two weekends of April.

For the intermediate directing class, called 533 (again with the numbers!), we are supposed to shoot a "sequence of scenes" - essentially a collection of 3-5 scenes that link together to form a cohesive arc. A simple exercise for class.

That's what we are SUPPOSED to do. However, for many reasons that I won't get into, the class has expanded a bit and people essentially shoot 10-20 min short films that they have high hopes for. People get all kinds of crew and equipment and the whole thing becomes kind of a big deal.

Anyway, I have slightly more modest expectations for my film this semester. It's an excerpt from a feature-length script I have been writing. The script (for those who I didn't talk to this about over green beer while in Chicago) is called "Tom Needs a Drink".

The basic hook is that it's about a guy - "Tom" - who, coming off a stressful week at the office, wants nothing more than to just go out for a night of drinking with one of his best friends. However, Tom's simple dream gets more complicated when a couple of girls that the guys knew in college come to town and a series of unfortunate events keep Tom from getting even a sip of alcohol.

The story is set in Chicago and I'm trying to give the whole thing a "one crazy night" structure in the vein of AFTER HOURS, HAROLD AND KUMAR, or SUPERBAD. The feature script is.... well....let's just say its a work-in-progress.

BUT I've lifted some of my favorite scenes from the feature script to make a pretty cool short film that I'll be directing for my "533".

Anyway, I've been casting and getting crew together for the last few days. It's been especially kind of interesting because I'm going to ATTEMPT to do a little recreation of our fair city of Chicago in the "chameleon" city of Los Angeles. There is nothing better than shooting on location in Chicago, but trying to do "LA for Chicago" has made me think more about what makes Chi-town so distinctive.

Just starting the location process now so will keep you posted on how it all goes, and if I have even the slightest chance of being able to pull this off.

Oh, why did I write for a scene to take place on an "L" car? I'm already screwed!

FUNNY BUSINESS

Greetings from beautiful terminal 76D!

Yes, its been a busy two weeks and I’ve finally found some time to type away since my flight home’s been delayed, not because of snow or terrorist threat, but by “Air Traffic Control”. I’d really like one of my pilot buddies to shine some insight as to what that means, because right now I’m assuming it’s the airports way of saying “the boys in the tower had a little too much fun at LAXXX last night”.

In addition to being delayed, I’m also typing along with glittery fingers. My hands were feeling a little dry after getting through security and I decided to swing into the BodyWorks and steal a little moisturizer…it was only after I’d applied two generous amounts from the in-store sampler that I discovered I had used the “shimmering” coconut cream. So now my hands look like I spent all night making a glitter-covered birdfeeder out of popsicle sticks. Or it looks like I had too much fun at LAXXX last night.

Anyway: last two weeks = busy. The past two weekends I was knee-deep in shooting, as I was producing a friend’s short film for our Directing Intensive class (aka 533). We’re pulling a little quid pro quo, as he’ll be producing my 533 short film in a few weeks. Just a little scheme we cooked up in Sundance: no big deal.

Besides that, though, one of the more interesting things to go down in this past fortnight was my appearing on stage at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater for a little improvised comedy.

You see for the last couple of weeks I’ve been taking improv classes through UCB’s training center my class is IMPROV 101, to be exact). At UCB, when a class finishes an 8-week run of classes the “graduation” is a live comedy show for anyone who cares to watch (and pay $5).

The show went really well. I was really impressed with my classmates and even my own performance was a bit better than I thought it’d be (though I did have a bit of a rocky start). Our show was supposed to start with a suggestion from the audience, which spurns a “monologue” from one of the improvisers. The rest of the show is then the improvisers devising scenes from the funnier parts of the monologue. Okay, so our suggestion was “family meat”.

What the f***?

I’m not very good at monologues and didn’t want to kick things off, but a suggestion like that kind of threw everyone, but I had one idea pop into my head and ran with it, because I happen to know a FAMILY that sells MEAT.

So I told a little story about my favorite neighbors who own a farm and chatted a bit about some other goings on of certain cul-de-sac in good ole’ GE. It wasn’t the most coherent story, but I put out enough material to get the show going.

Like I said, the whole show ended up going pretty well AND was pretty well attended – which was a real nice surprise since our show started at 4:30pm last Sunday…when usually there’d be nothing else happening except that LAST Sunday there was a tiny event going on at 5 o’clock in Hollywood…some kind of 82nd Academy Awards or something. Whatever.

Yeah, our tiny little improv show had to go up against arguably the biggest entertainment event of the year. But we still had a great showing, and I was especially touched that a big group of my film school buddies, to whom the Oscars are essentially the Superbowl, attended.

So, yeah, the whole UCB experience was really good and I think I’m going to continue it to level 201, 301 and beyond. I must I am proud also because with my UCB class I have now been schooled in the three great comedy/improv institutions: Upright Citizens Brigade, iO (aka improvOlympic), and The Second City.

Ever since my amazing summer 2005 internship at Second City, I have been a devout follower of the United Church of Improv and Satire (if there actually was such an institution....of cours it would probably have to ridicule itself).

There are few things that I take absolutely seriously, but comedy is one of them. And these venerable institutions have been serving up comedy for twenty, thirty, and sixty years (UCB, iO, and Second City, respectively). Of course, it should come as no surprise (to those that don't already know) that all these places come from Chicago. [Second City and iO are still based there, and UCB in New York came out of improvisers from iO]

I could drone on and on about the whole history of improv and its many amazing techniques and games and legends and rising stars but I'm getting increasingly more miserable as this f***ing plane to Chicago gets increasingly delayed....why didn't I fly out yesterday to get back to CHI in time for kegs and eggs?

I can't sit here contently anymore. Its the Saturday before St. Patrick's, I've got my green shirt on, I need a goddamned drink!

(which, ironically, is the loose basis for a feature script I'm working on. life imitating art I suppose)

Anyway, that's it. See you all in Chicago, hopefully with a drunken smile, double fisting green beers.

Gone "Hollywooder"

About a week ago I took a big step in my journey from well-mannered, middle-class guy from Chicago to becoming a big fat Hollywood phony.

Or should I say, iPhony?

Yes....due to some recent SIM card troubles with my trusty ol' Blackjack II, I recently went in search of a new phone. Took a look at the Blackberry, which is great, but as I saw many of my friends who had joined the ranks of iPhoneNation, I came to a moment where I could not help but hear the voice of the wise old Rafiki....

"It is time...."

And, like Simba must embrace who he is and roar for all the kingdom, I felt it was time that I embrace my sleek, hip, Hollywood lifestyle and purchase an iPhone.

It's the Circle of Life....

The damn thing is just so damn easy to use which, for a technologically impaired person like myself, is a must. Though it wasn't easy...there's something about the whole Apple operation that feels like its wrong. I had a similar feeling of uncertainty when I got my MacBook almost two years ago and have had nothing but satisfaction since then. Still, I kind of felt like a "sellout", but I went ahead with it anyway, like all the animals of the plains were waiting for me to make the purchase.

But after just one week, I gotta say: it's awesome.

And I've started to try to change my own impression of Apple. Once it seemed like the enemy until I realized something. Apple is an AMERICAN company. Apple should be no different than McDonald's or Coca-Cola when it comes to a brand that deserves my loyalty. I guess that since Apple is a little newer in my life that true dedication is still going to take some time.

(Speaking of American, how bout that hockey game? Was there anybody NOT watching it? I'm disappointed as an American but encouraged as a Chicagoan as Toews and Kane both shined in big pressure situations... )


Anyway, like I said, the iPhone purchase does feel like another item on the checklist of "going Hollywood". Even though tons of people in Chicago clearly carry the cute little pocket computer, its still got that slick "Cupertino, California" feel to it.

I know I certainly feel like a douchebag now that I join the people I used to make fun of. The people who, at any lull at any point in their day will whip that phone out and start facebooking or emailing or playing DrunkSniper or DoodleJump.

I HATE those people - they represent how technology divides us and saps us of real life experiences! What ever happened to enjoying the world around you?! Stopping to smell the ros-

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Sorry. Just wanted to check the latest news on my iPhone's "Variety" app....it seems the cast of "Glee" is going to make a concert tour this May....how 'bout that?


What was I saying?


Ah yes: I love my new iPhone. But enough talking about it. It's my new toy and I'm happy but its time to move on and just let it stand as a quiet reminder that I'm drifting farther and farther away from the anti-cool guy who insisted on getting a landline for the the first two years of college just because I wasn't ready to embrace a cell-only lifestyle.

Anyway, this'll be the first and last of the iPhone related posts. I hope. I promise.

Happy March everyone!





Sent from my iPhone.