It’s July 1st. Seriously?!
I’d like to know where the Spring went. This year is steaming along at much too fast a rate for my liking. But quite a lot of stuff had gone down since last we blogged. So let’s get to it.
Reviews:
Man did I crank these bad boys out in March and April.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian:
A Previous Engagement:
Before the Rains:
Mister Lonely:
The Fall
By the way, all the reviews except Caspian were due on the SAME DAY.
Press Junket Coverage:
I got to attend the press day for The Fall and sit in a room very close to Lee Pace. I was good, I didn’t jump him. I just admired his giggle and the freckles on his arms. Lee and Tarsem.
Back at Comic Con last year I went to a series of roundtables with the cast from Pathology. The filmed opened in very limited release in April so I transcribed the interviews:
Milo and The Director and Writers.
Paley Fest:
The Museum of Television and Radio did its annual Paley Fest in March. The lineup was spectacular. I managed to see my first, and really only choices: Chuck and Pushing Daisies.
Chuck vs. The Paley: Pretty much the entire cast of Chuck, minus Sarah Lancaster, was there. Joshua Gomez “Morgan” and Vik Sahay “Lester” had everyone laughing. Gomez is pretty much just like Morgan. There were two people sitting between him and Zach which was a source of some separation anxiety. The moderator was Damon Lindelof, one of the creators of Lost, so the geek level was really high in the room.
I have a huge girl crush on Kristin Chenoweth after the Pushing Daisies panel. She and Chi McBride had me crying with laughter. Lee was rather reserved, Anna was adorable, Ellen Greene seems to be all kinds of crazy (and not necessarily the good kind) and Bryan Fuller shared with the audience that Lyle Waggoner made him gay. The moderator was that Kristin woman from E!. This brings up a new issue for me that I’m hoping to have the where-with-all to blog about some time: TV reporters/correspondents who think the are celebrities. This Kristin woman tried so hard to make herself as important as the people she was supposed to be interviewing. It’s maddening! Whatever happened to journalistic integrity, the 5th estate?!
Wendy’s Shoot:
I don’t know if you recall my producing and working on my friend Wendy’s short film last year. One of the two leads was none other than Natalie from this past season’s Survivor. “Stage One”, the first in a series of five shorts based on the five stages of grief, “premiered” April 20th. “Stage Two” shot the last weekend in May. Once again I was a producer as well as the Assistant Director for the three day shoot. This time around we even held auditions which were a total learning experience for all of us. My hat goes off to the incredible Director and cast and crew. Despite some crippling technical problems we got through it and I think it’s going to be great!
Concerts:
This year I’m getting to see some great concerts. First off: Matchbox 20 at the Staples center.
angieb70 was 50 kinds of awesome and gave me her second row seat. I have NEVER been that close to the stage at the Staples Center. I have to say, it doesn’t suck! Great show, Alanis Morrisette opened and she was very cool. Thanks Angie!
The Police and Elvis Costello at the Hollywood Bowl. You forget just what incredible musicians all of these people are until you get to see them live. Sting, despite having a total Grizzly Adams beard, looked and sounded incredible. He came out and sang “Allison” with Elvis. Score of the night: I found $10 on the ground as my brother Mark and I were walking in!
Last week I got to see George Michael live, something I’ve been hungering for for years! What can I say about George? His voice is velvet smooth (though he doesn’t get quite as many high notes as he used to), he shakes that ass like no one else and he was so grateful to the audience for coming. He did so many of my favorites and there so many more he could have done. It was just a fantastic show all around. I’m going to do a separate picture post to try and show you the super cool stage set up he had.
Next up: Neil Diamond at the Bowl! I’m finally seeing Neil the day before my birthday. I’m telling you, that week is going to be amazing!
Hate ‘Em Girl
One of the sketches I co-wrote with Wenona, whom I work with, and two of her friends is up now on YouTube. Enjoy!
Click to viewI finally saw Wicked when my parents were here. I think I waited too long to see it. I thought the sets and costumes were incredible. The first act is solid: some great songs. I thought the second act was just so-so. The girls had great voices but even mic-ed I had a hard time hearing them. That was probably due to where we were sitting, way back under the balcony. I’m reading the book now and can’t get over just how different they are. Where did they come up with the story for the musical, because it’s clearly NOT from the book?
daisybuttercupburnt me a copy of the original cast recording and I love listening to Idina and Kristen. If I can win lottery tickets again before the show closes in November, I’ll go again.
Plans are firming up nicely for my big Birthday Trip next April to New Zealand! A small group of intrepid friends are joining me for 12 days in an RV, tooling around the South Island. There are some spots in the North Island I’m dying to see including the beach where the Pevensie kids first return to Narnia in Caspian, so they must be worked into the itinerary. I’m so excited to go!
I will be attending Comic Con again this year. I don’t know how much I’ll be writing up since I’m more concerned with seeing the panels I want to and having fun. There will be another Supernatural panel on Sunday and a whole host of my baby daddies!
I think that pretty much brings things up to date. Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends. And celebrate the Fourth safely to all the yanks.