The real world

I went in to this movie with my dad and his girlfriend with very, very, low expectations. A film starring Sandra Bullock, based on the true story of a wealthy southern family, helping an abandoned African American kid get into college and pro football, just had to be the perfect, cheesy, Thanks Giving holiday, film. I bought a coke and chocolate covered peanuts, snuggled into my parka and comfy movie seat ready for failure on every level.

Instead, I got to see a very well made and acted movie. I was so surprised by how simply the filmmakers took this sure-to-be-sad-happy-cutesy story and created a nicely done film.
Sandra Bullock gives a great performance. The critics aren't lying.
The entire cast is talented. The story is smooth and doesn't hover on the negative, nor does is dwell on the positive. It's all there, tastefully.

It's a difficult story to tell. By this I mean, rich meets poor, white meets black, the ghetto south meets the southern bell. The balance between these two worlds is painful to pull off in the art of filmmaking. The Blind Side wasn't perfect, but it came damn close.

At the end of the day, this is a film about a real family that took in a boy without a family and some how became his family. It's an amazing feat in this day and age.
This film makes you think, reflect and wonder. Isn't that what you want from a movie? To be entertained and challenged?

I recommend this film to any audience.

You should see it.

Contribute to the table

It's the night before Thanks Giving and if you are an indie filmmaker like me, you are on pins and needles waiting for calls from Sundance & Slamdance Film Festivals.


I have 5 projects submitted to Sundance and 4 submitted to Slamdance.





I've arrived in Utah, where I am spending the holiday with my dad, his family, his girlfriend and her family. I'm booking flights for a commercial shooting this weekend in Seattle so I can try to take the entire day off for some snowboarding, food and a lot of wine tomorrow.

Once I'm done wrapping up work, only to get back to it on Friday morning, I'm planning on making homemade cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. I'm adding cinnamon, brown sugar, pepper, orange zest, orange juice and water. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I am terribly excited.I'm not a cook by any means and I haven't baked a pie for over a year. Yikes!

Each year at Thanks Giving I sneak by with being so busy with work, that all I'm every expected to serve is a bottle of wine.

This year I want to challenge myself (mostly because of the nervous energy caused by the festivals) to contribute to the holiday table. I'm also bringing two bottles of wine and a cranberry White Stilton cheese block.

So, if my homemade cranberry sauce fails miserably, I have the wine and the cheese to make up for it.

The most important thing for me to take away from this years Thanks Giving is having had attempted to make something fresh for everyone to share with me, just like the meal of Thanks Giving itself.

Happy Thanks Giving to you and yours.

I hope to have good news about my projects next week.
Yeehaw!

Family

I love this band. You should too. You should see them Live. They are great.

Make that a Decaf

A comedy by Heidi Van Lier. Produced by Joe Kraemer and me, joy. Cast and crew premiere in Los Angeles at Cinespace Thursday October 15, 2009 at 7:PM.
See you there. xoxojoy

sneak peek at the best show on Television

I'm so looking forward to season 4!

It's tricky to rock around

The truth about WHIP IT.
It's a good movie. You should see it.
Why? Because Drew Barrymore has spun a magical mix of indie film making with the ugly monster that is Hollywood and its formula spell.

The script reeks with the scent of a fat, sweaty, fugly, male Exec. producer. However, the cinematography, acting, music and underlining themes of the film are very indie.
It's a wonderful story of a small town girl growing up in Texas with a controlling mother and sports loving father.
Girl hates life, finds a new hobby, mom hates hobby and the story ensues.



The cast and the music are the films strengths for sure.
Ellen Page is Juno once again, but still, talented and convincing as Bliss, her character in the film.
The women in the film are amazing and I would love to have the opportunity to work with any of them. I was especially impress with Kristen Wiig. She's rad!

I'm delighted to have Juliette Lewis back on the big screen. She is a rare talent with an unique look that a director can do so much with. She is sexy, biker chic hot as Iron Maven, Bliss's Nemesis.

Congrats to Drew for growing up Hollywood, yet able to produce a real experience for the audience!
I love, love, love, WHIP IT. See it suckers! xoxjoy

New fan of cool bands

I've discovered several new bands this summer and fall of 2009.
Check out these three.
I heart them so......

Au Revoir Simone


Ki Theory


The Drums

Take a Paws

Grizzly Bear - While You Wait for the Others from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

One of my summer of 2009 projects realized!

I worked with the amazing mind of Sean Pecknold, the brilliant eye of Michael Ragen and the immeasurable patience of Tristan Seniuk, aka. The Fencer in August on a Grizzly Bear music video.

The crew for this master piece also includes, Britta Johnson (who I have never met in person, but have worked with and talked via email a few times in the past) who is one of Seattle's best animators and fabulous illustrator, Toby Liebowitz.

Special thanks to Jennifer Popochock for Murphy the bird and

Center Valley Animal Shelter http://www.centervalleyanimalrescue.org/

for Snowflake, the bunny.

Center Valley Animal rescue is an amazing facility for abused, abandoned and troubled animals. Check out the website and donate if you can.

Coming Soon

more music videos from summer 2009

check back in October for the Angel Deradoorian awesomeness

The royal family

I woke up this morning planning on blogging about the near end of summer and my dreams of Friday Night Lights and which characters will come back and when the show will premiere. I brewed myself a latte and put eye drops in my right eye, which is cursed this week with an eye infection due to stress, lack of sleep and never taking my contact lenses out. Boo

Anyway, as I sat at my lap-top to write about my thoughts, on my little blog, in my sister's house in Seattle, I read that Ted Kennedy had lost his battle with brain cancer last night at the age of 77.
2009 has been the year of winning the race.
It was only yesterday, it feels, that I was flying back to LA from the Sundance/Slamdance film festivals in Park City, UT. It was only yesterday that I lived with baby B, eating vegan dinners, dark chocolate and sipping wine while reading scripts for work.

Now, nearly 9 months later, 2009 has claimed the life of another American Icon. Ted Kennedy is all we had left of the efforts of JFK and RFK in the sense that he was with them in life. He played football with them; shared a bathroom with them; talked about girls with them; had dinner with them; he laughed and loved them; was raised by the same parents with his larger than life brothers.

Despite Ted's behavior as someone who was forced into politics by his father and inevitably followed in the foot steps of one commander and chief and one civil rights apostle, both savagely murdered for their beliefs and political stand points, Ted meant well and failed miserably.

This said, he is still Ted Kennedy. The Kennedy's, all of them, have stood for people and the rights of the American people.
We haven't seen a political system similar until Obama.
I often wonder what America would be like if Bobby had made it into the role of commander and chief.

We'll never know.

Good bye to an era of politics that has long been a dream of mine to see come to fruition.
xoxoxojoy

I love the 80's

John Hughes, one of the greatest writers, directors and producers of my 80's film and VHS experience passed away today of a heart attack at the age of 59.

I was in the 4th grade laying on the front room floor with my mom and sister the first time I watched Sixteen Candles. The three of us laughed the entire screening and I've had a crush on Jake Ryan ever since.

When friends announce their marriages I always comment back with, "She getta married!" in my Long Duck Dong Voice.

No one can deny how cool The Breakfast Club was when it came out. I was in the 5th grade. A pre-teen, but I understood the stereotypes that the film represented and enjoyed the way the characters were written and portrayed by the cast.

Since then I've had a boyfriend who would sing the movies theme song, Don't You Forget About Me, to me when we would be out at karaoke and I run into Paul Gleason at the 3rd Street Promenade in the MAC Store all the time.

In high school my sister and I owned a copy of She's Having a Baby. When we would have parties and a group of us girls would be drunk, one of us would pop in the tape, fast forward to the montage under This Woman's Work by Kate Bush and sing aloud to the panicy and distraught faces of Kevin Bacon as he feared for Elizabeth McGoverns life.

John Hughes celebrated teenagers, Children and family dynamics through comedy in screenplays and films. I can't thank him enough for reminding to laugh at myself, my friends and my family. We are all human and we all feel awkward, nerdy, insecure and forgotten at times. John Hughes reminded all us to take our lives by the riens, cast our fears to the wind and take a well deserved Day Off.

Thank you, John Hughes!

xoxojoy

EvEryDaYiWaTcHtHis

Every day I watch this trailer at least once.

It makes me laugh, cry, smile, sing, sigh, love, HAPPY.

Please watch this trailer. Read this book to your kids, if you have them. Read the book to someone elses kid, if you know them. Read the book to yourself, make time for it.

See the movie

October 16, 2009

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/

Surfing

The summer of 2009 started for me in late May.
I packed up my life, put it in Storage in Venice, CA., drove up to Seattle for a paid producer gig and have been couch surfing ever since.

Thus far I have crashed on 9 separate couches.
Tim & Jenny's in Maple Leaf, Seattle.
Matty's also in Maple Leaf.
Dawn & Ben's in South Park, Seattle.
Jennifer's in West Seattle.
Megan's in Eastlake, Seattle.
Chris & Nicole in Venice, CA.
Heidi & Joe in Sherman Oaks, CA.
Alesia in Hollywood, CA.
Noel & Katie in Wallingford, Seattle.

My Dad's in SLC, but I don't think dads count, cuz he actually has a bedroom for me and he feeds me and pays for everything. All that rad stuff that parents do for their kids in their early 20's coming home for the summer from college.
Thanks, Dad. I'm definitely out of college and totally old enough to take care of myself, but we are in a recession and therefore I surf. The couch!

It's now August 1st, ( may dad's birthday, BTW) and I am still surfing couches through October 1. By October 1, I'll have surfed 10 couches in 2009. I'm hoping to bring this amazing summer of couch surfing to an end by moving into an apartment with my Santa Monica loving bestie, baby B.

We aim to stay near the beach and in Santa Monica due to our love of surfing the waves and her return to school for the next two years.
I miss Santa Monica when in Seattle and Seattle when in Venice and normal communities when in SLC.
This has been an amazing summer and I'm happy that there is one month left to enjoy.

xoxojoy

Oh, My!

I'm in Seattle producing a short film for Oh, Hello TV and Dan Brown.
http://ohhello.tv/ check out the amazing reel.

Dan Brown is pretty much a bad ass in disguise. Dan and his partner in crime, Thai Tran know what's up.
Check it: http://www.vimeo.com/374330
http://2008.sxsw.com/film/screenings/film/F9443.html

Principal photography on YOUR LUCKY DAY begins tomorrow at 6pm. We roll until 6am. I'm crashing with the SF/X Make-up artist, Jennifer Popochock http://www.jenniferpopochock.com/film/. We're trying to stay up late by sipping tea, blogging and watching The Reader.

Seattle is beautiful but I miss Santa Monica.

I am an absentee blogger and will be through mid July 2009.
I'm producing three short films, Your Lucky Day directed by Dan Brown, Night Blind directed by Robert Parks and Some Boys Don't Leave directed by Maggie Kiley. They all shoot within weeks of one another on top of Seattle International Film Festival and Seattle True Independent Film Festival.
I worked on two films screening in SIFF this year. True Adolescents directed by Craig Johnson and The Spy and The Sparrow directed by Garrett Bennett.
Check the SIFF line up here: http://www.seattlefilm.com/index.aspx

I'm looking forward to being in Seattle for nearly 6 weeks with the occasional flight back to LA for SomeBoys and Maggie.

I'm seeking financing for Someboys and you can help by clicking here: http://www.someboysfilm.com/
It's an amazing opportunity for both Maggie and me through the AFI DWW program. For more info click here: http://www.afi.com/education/dww/

So for now, you'll have to read some other blog or follow me on twitter. joysays

Aside from all this freelance film producing, I'll be surfing a lot next week while back in Santa Monica and I'll be camping on the beach in the Pacific Northwest over the 4th of July holiday.
Oh, how I can't wait for this.

Until my next blog, live long and prosper! Cheers! xoj

Atlanta Film Festival 2009

I'm with Heidi Van Lier at the Atlanta 2009 Film Festival. Check out the screenings here:

callingallfilmcrew.com/component/option,com_cac/Itemid,27/

Check out the filmmakers in attendance here:

http://atlantafilmfestival.com/content/view/215/132/

Check out the festival parties here:

http://atlantafilmfestival.com/content/view/227/140/

Check out one of the panels Heidi was on here:

http://atlantafilmfestival.com/content/view/229/141/

We've been in town 24 hours and have met up with Slamdance 2009 alum, sponsors and new filmmaker besties.

The gang from Heart of Stone is here. Chris Holland from

B Side is here and on all the panels with Heidi. We've met the

cast and crew of DEADLAND. They're awesome and I am

looking forward to the premier screening on Saturday night.

I'm heading over to the Lab 601 Beer Pong Party to meet up

with the Heart of Stone and DeadLand crew for heated competition.

Saturday I'm screening; The Death of Alice Blue;

It was Great But I Was Ready to Come Home(shot by my Seattle bro, Ben Kasulke);

DeadLand and then the Filmmaker Appreciation Party

or the DeadLand party which is also in our hotel.

So far the festival has been eventful, accommodating and fun.

Atlanta is beautiful and one of the most friendly cities I have ever been.

I am a lover of film festivals and this is one I hope to attend again and again.

Thanks to Gabe, Elizabeth, Lee, Sue Ellen, Joe, Malcom and Paula.

You're a kick ass festival staff. xoj

I am unable to stop myself from doing this

I logged on to blog about my mundane existence while using Friday Night Lights as a metaphor and found this.

Thank you BWE.tv

http://www.bestweekever.tv/category/save-friday-night-lights

I really have nothing to say at this point. I'm cracking up and

very happy to know that I am not the only person

completely obsessed with Friday Night Lights

and/or Tim Riggins.

xoj

twitter jitters

photo: Stefan Moore

I just started my twitter account today due to all the rave it received at the 2009 SXSW Film, Interactive and Music Festival. It's all Greek to me at this point, but I have a feeling I'll be speaking twitter fluently in a matter of days. I'm a lover of people, their opinions and company. Twitter is just one more way I can stay in technical contact with those who are far far away from me.

I spent more time texting people that were not with me in Austin then talking with the people I was with in Austin. I felt guilty and bizarre by this impulsive behavior. I was unable to stop myself from obsessive texting. I was most definitely not the only person glued to the screen and keypad of their cell phone. I sat at many dinners, attended many parties and stood in several lines with everyone around me on their cell; texting away. Moments would go by before one word was spoken among those of us standing next to one another. A new experience for me for sure; yet one I'm inclined to grow comfortable with.

Alas, I had an amazing time at SXSW 2009. Between text messages I managed to meet new friends, screen great independent films, check out informative panels, eat kick ass cheeseburgers, drink many cocktails and wear my cowgirl boots. Austin is a great city and SXSW is a great festival.

The best part of my experience was, Casino El Camino. This is the best place to get a cheeseburger in Austin. (Maybe on earth.) This is first-come-first-serve seating establishment. Come hungry and patient. There is a back patio complete with small wild birds that poop on your steadicam operator friend while your eating. (yes, this happened and it was awesome.)
The staff is heavily pierced and tattooed as well as extremely nice and efficient. I heart the staff. (Be nice to them and tip them well when you go.) You walk up to the kitchen and order your food through the window. Through the kitchen window you are able to watch the cooks prepare fresh beef by hand. It's amazing. Fresh beef and they build fat patties right before your eyes. Wowee!
I tried 4 of the 6 burgers on the menu during my week in Austin. I shared each time we stopped in for a meal because the servings are huge. (yes, I was sharing with guys and all they could eat was half of a burger.) I tried the L.A. burger, the Pitts burger, the Buffalo burger and the K.C. burger. I ordered all of them MR temp and I liked all of them. My favorite is the Pitts burger.
check the menu out: http://www.casinoelcamino.net/menu.php

I was able to stay for the first day of music and caught a performance by M. Ward. He was brilliant and although a short performance; well worth it. He rocks.
Check these indie films and music videos out when you get a chance:
http://www.trueadolescents.com/ dir. by Craig Johnson
http://www.humpdayishere.com/ dir. by Lynn Shelton
http://www.littledizzlefilm.com/ dir. by David Russo
http://www.bestworstmovie.com/ dir. by Michael Paul Stephenson
http://www.that-go.net/ (Thunderheist; Jerk It) Winner Jury Prize
dir. by Noel Paul and Stefan Moore
http://vimeo.com/1309452 (Fleet Foxes, White Winter Hymnal) Winner Special Jury Award dir. by Sean Pecknold

I'm off to sip wine with friends who have moved to the west side of LA. I'm sure I'll be twittering and texting as much as I'll be chatting with the peeps. Santa Monica and Venice beaches all the way. xoj

Hot Potato

Okay. For those of you who watch Friday Night Lights, I have great news.

NBC is in negotiations with Peter Berg and his production company for two more seasons of this most brilliant television series.



"How are they going to pull this off after letting some of lead characters leave for life after football and high school?" you ask. A table spoon of writing magic, a teaspoon of disbelief and a sprinkle of fans begging to keep the show on the air(or online); that's how.



Needless to say, I am extremely giddy about the news. Please go to NBC.com right now and watch this show if you haven't yet. You have no idea what you are missing out on or how much you suck if you don't.
xoj

SXSW 2009

I've been back from Austin TX and the SXSW Film & Music Festival for 24 hours. I think it's one of the best festivals on the planet. The staff is courteous, knowledgeable and friendly. The panels are informative, interesting and fun. Austin is mellow, eclectic and eccentric.

I screened; True Adolescents; Humpday; The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle; Best Worst Movie; Observe and Report and the Music Video block.

My favorite of all the above is Best Worst Movie. My least favorite is Observe and Report. Totally sucked.
I wish I could have seen Alexander the Last, but I was at the premiere party for True Adolescents taking photos and excessively drinking.
The Seattle films are all amazing. I worked on True Adolescents as the production coordinator and feel very proud of the work I did and the final product. I have to admit that David Russo took me to extremely cool places while watching Little Dizzle. His cast is amazing and I'm highly impressed with the lead actor, Marshall Allman.

My favorite place to eat in Austin is El Camino on 6th st. on the 500 block. The best cheeseburgers ever. Try the LA burger when you stop in. My favorite movie theater is the Alamo Ritz which has the best grilled cheese to boot. The best Guacamole is at the Iron Cactus.

My favorite place to cocktail is anywhere on 6th street. Mostly Maggie Mae's. My favorite coffee is the Hideout on Congress close to the Paramount theater.

The weather in Austin is unpredictable and extreme, which made for some wardrobe misery.

My friends Stefan and Noel of That-go.net won the Grand Jury prize for best music video for Thunderheist, Jerk It. Our friend Sean won Special Jury prize for his music video for the Fleet Foxes, White Winter Hymnal.

It felt as if Seattle had taken over Austin. Everyone I knew was from Seattle and everyone I met was affiliated with a Seattle film or music video. Seattle is kicking ass, people. Check it.

I was laid off while in Austin, which was awesome because I was able to stay 3 days longer and I found another job while I was there. I met Paul Rudd, Catherine Hardwicke and John Sloss while out and about. I'm a hustler, baby.

The SXSW Film Festival was life changing for me. It will go down as the best festival ever in my book.

The only bummer about being in Austin for SXSW was not bumping into Taylor Kitsch or Aimee Teegarden of Friday Night Lights. Boo.

xoxoj

When in Doubt; make it red and send it out

Does this movie; with its star studded cast deserve the accolades it received in 2008? DOUBT IT!

Doubt was one of the most overated and over nominated films I've seen recently. I was having flash backs from 2004's, Sideways. From the obnoxious child actors, uneven score and the force fed message in each and every painful scene, Doubt failed on all of its pretentious levels.

I'll call it a piece of shit complete with the stench of over acting from Meryl Streep and little acting from Philip Seymor Hoffman. Did I mention all the kids in the cast sucked? They did. They sucked. John Patrick Shanely lacks subtlety. In his efforts to take the audience on a journey into Doubt in all of its contemporary forms, I found myself laughing or groaning at everything coming my way from this film.

This film was awful. No doubt about it. It sucked. Avoid it if you can. You'll walk away bored, unphased and a little pissed off.

Friday Night Lights is something you should watch on NBC.com. Have I mentioned this? You should. Trust me.

*****Coming Soon*****

Milk, W and Watchmen

QOTD: (text) Baby H

"What are you doing?"

Baby J

"Watching him bake french fries."

Baby H

"Is that a new phrase for something nasty and sexual?"

xoj

Oscar licious

So Slumdog rules the universe. Kate skated away with Melissa's statue. Heath can finally RIP. Sean Penn deserves the statue for playing Harvey Milk and 3somes with foreign women and a hot, talented wife.

Robert Pattinson has huge feet. Alicia Keys is beautiful. Mickey Rourke needs a shower.

Friday Night Lights is still the best show on television. Watch it people. xoj

It's over. It never happened!

In early December 08, a business partner of mine was in LA for meetings we had set up for a current project. Each day of her 4 day biz trip we rushed here, there and everywhere. In the blur of meetings, auditions and lunches, she mentioned she bought tickets for us to a secret show hosted by Funnyordie.com.

FYI-I spend hours of my life on Funnyordie. com. The video that hooked me to prominent website was THE LANDLORD. I've watched Pearl threaten to smack Will Ferrell hundreds of times! Bitch, bitch, bitch! I've always liked Will Ferrell but he became my favorite comedian after I watched Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. I have a hard time between Will Ferrell and Dax Shepard, but for blogging purposes, Will wins.

Back to the biz at hand: We have tickets to a secret Funnyordie show? "Sweet" I proclaim. Her last night in town, the only time we really get to hang out and it's a surprise?! I can't wait. Honestly, we are both hoping it turns out to be Will Ferrell who is always working with the Funnyordie.com crew. The real question is; can we be that lucky?

The night of the secret show arrives. We are both mentally and physically exhausted, famished, parched and not to mention running super late to the secret show which doors will be shut and locked automatically at 8:30PM Sharp.

8:25PM we pull up to secret venue to find rock star parking. (That's how we roll.) 8:26PM we are in the reception which is just now being called into the theater. (On time suckas) As we walk in; threats are made on our cell phones..."NO TEXTING....NO PHOTOS....NO CALLS...this is a secret show folks. No communication with the outside world. We will take your cell phone and we will flush it" The Theater manager raged. The theater sat about 150 people, all struggling with cell phone separation anxiety, me included.

We found our seats. They were awesome. No one tall in front of me or smelly next to me. We were happy clams waiting for the secret surprise to reveal its mystery self! It didn't take long for everyone to sit down, be reminded to turn off all cell phones and shut up. The lights went black for a moment. Suddenly...a narrator from the darkness and into a microphone explains we are about to see a one man show with a series of songs and a projected slide show; that actually won't be in tonights show. Silence...darkness...the rustle of the eager audience. I was begining to doubt how funny this show was going to be. Who and WTF?. A slide show? Lame. I'm far to tired to pretend a show is funny if isn't funny and slide shows suck!

Finally a small theater spotlight shines center stage to reveal Will Ferrell as George W. Bush in his one man show, You're Welcome America ***A Final Night with George W. Bush****. I screamed out like a horny groupy; as did most of the audience. I had a surge of energy and alertness. I had to grab my biz partner; wrap my arm around her arm and ask her if that was WF to believe it was happening. She laughed, unwound her arm from mine and confirmed that it was indeed WF. Will Ferrell on the stage in front of me with only 148 other people? It was the truth! Damn straight. (This was one of the nights I also realized how freaken cool it is to live in LA County)

The show was fierce; hysterical; brilliant. I was shedding tears of laughter while bending over to prevent an oncoming hiccup attack from disrupting my amusement midway due to laughing non stop. The show consists of Will Ferrell in a suit, well known songs from the 70's, 80's and 90's and a photo slide show, that didn't exist but WF told us who the imaginary photo would be, eventually. WF had notes in his hands through majority of the show and a ball point pen. He would make quick notes, scratches and marks as the show went on. Barely noticeable BTW. It was hard to notice anything other than how believeable Will Ferrell is as GWB.

When the show was over WF thanked the 150 of us and told us we were his first test audience and that he actually was taking notes and making changes, based on us and our reactions for his broadway show. AWESOME! We left feeling so lucky that we should stop and purchase lottery tickets. It has been a great business trip with a kick ass ending.

CUT TO-

Last night I was at dinner with a new business colleague at Versailles on La Cienega. As we grubbed down on our Cuban cuisine, I spotted a billboard out the window with Will Ferrell pasted on it. I found myself studying the billboard rather than listening to the client list of my new colleague. I thought about the secret show in December and just how freaken cool it was. I realized the billboard was infact promoting WF's one man show and its live premier on HBO March 14, 2009.

You have to see this show people. As hilarious as it is(and it is) it is also heartbreaking on so many levels. Our country has been through so much BS over the last 8 years. We deserve an apology from our former president and his whitehouse staff. We will never get it! I know this and have come to terms with it. We have been left in a terrible recession, a never ending war and a freshly brewed war. WF and his one man show helped me get to that space where I can forget about the liver cancer that was farmed for 8 years on America and move forward with the Obama cleanse as if the past never happened.

Thank you, Will Ferrell for bringing the chaos full circle and leaving me with laughter and surprise! xoj

Life long friendships

Valentines Day! So Valentines Day and I have a relationship the same as most mostly single people do.....we hate each other. Usually I am out with a close girlfriend or group of girls and the day/night goes by with a few bottles of wine, delicious gossip and tastey food. This year my friend MK, a guy that I have known since I was 16 that I grew up with in the small hick town where I went to high school, sent me a text asking if I wanted to be set up on a date?!.

Before I get into the details, I have really known MK for over 15 years. He has lived in Burbank for about 6 years and we were roommates in Burbank in 2003 for a few weeks.

My first attempt at moving to LA fresh out of film school. I left when I got an internship at an ad agency in Seattle that I had wanted more than anything in LA.


The ad agency is now defunct and the owner now owns one of the trendiest night clubs in Seattle. A much more fitting business for him.


So, back to it, MK and I have known each other forever. We know who each other has slept with, dated, hated. We've partied way to hard together. He knows things about me that I hope he never tells anyone in LA and vice versa. We still hang with a lot of the same people when we are back in Seattle. In some ways, MK is like a brother.


So when my long time friend/brother sends me a text asking if I want to meet and go out with an Oscar nominated(this year) crew guy coming in from NYC, I think....sure. MK has my best interests in mind, so it must be a good idea.

Turns out the night he wants me to meet this mystery Oscar nom is Valentines night. PRESSURE! However, I'll be with MK and his wife, so I'll be fine, right? No! It turns out this mystery blind date shows up with his wife and MK has no idea what to do next.

MK has set me up on a blind date, on Valentines Day with an unsuspecting married man. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of Valentines Day and it doesn't appear I will be any year soon. VDay can eat a dick for all I care.

Lesson learned: Never let one of your GUY friends set you up on a blind date. They forget about the minor details!

I've promised in a past blog to blog about dating in LA. The problem is, I haven't really dated in LA yet. I'm not sure how ready I am to date in a city with 9,948,081 people living in it. There are billboards stating that over 30,000 women get STDs a year in LA county alone. That is disgusting. Also, LA gets smaller and smaller each day that I'm here. Everyone knows everyone in the industry.

All I want to do is get screenplays made into movies; movies distributed and money for my investors. I don't need anyone knowing anything other than that about me.
xoj

Ex Boyfriend Letters

Every so often I receive emails from Ex Boyfriends bleeding with apologies, regret and warm regards. It has been a good 3 years since I've been sent one of these disruptive, intrusive and self indulgent emails. Guess what folks?; I was sent one tonight. Lucky me. I was hoping to sip a Martini, blog and watch a movie in my jammies, when bam!; the said email waiting for me in my inbox. Whatever with the 2 year later admittance of your play by play as to why you think we broke up. You Ex Boyfriends are never right; you're always wrong. It is absurd that you EB's think that a simple email with an askew POV will make up for the time spent with you and even more, the time that has passed since you. Are you EB's really that retarded to think we ladies want an email from you? I'm speechless. No words. My thoughts; Why? Really? WTF are you talking about?! We'll my EB certainly got our history all wrong, which makes the apology useless. 2 years have passed, buddy. 2 years! Next time just send an email that asks me "what's up?" "How you been?" What's new with you?" I'd be more inclined to reply to those questions and the sincerity of them than your old ass, way over due, apology.

Golden Globes and Oscar noms

I'm finally beginning to fulfill my goal of watching all the Golden Globe and Oscar nominated films before the Oscars on February 22 2009 on ABC.  Last night I watched Revolutionary Road directed by Sam Mendes, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.  This is a beautiful film with an amazingly well told and acted story.  The cast deserves every nomination they have landed and the most deserving in my opinion is Michael Shannon.  Shannon plays the mentally ill son of the Real Estate agent (Bates) that sold the Wheeler's their home on Revolutionary road when the couple was forced to move to the burbs in the 1950's due to April's (Winslet) first pregnancy.  Frank (DiCaprio) and April have another child and appear to be the most perfect couple on Revolutionary Road.  The family and the marriage are far from sound.  This is a harsh film and although lengthy, kept me on the edge of my seat.  I was nervous, anxious and desperately wanting this dismal and harrowing story to come to an end. The Wheeler's and their world were originally written and created by Richard Yates.  Yates is an original at layering disguised, emotional, conflicts.  He forces readers to reflect on themselves and the world around.  Mendes keeps true and sincere in the movie version.  The film left me happy that 50% of marriages in America NOW end in divorce.  We have options people!  Options!  I'll stick with the single slice, cheese only. xoj

The True Adolescents Experience

I have worked on a dozen independent films wearing many hats on all of them. Two of the short films I have produced and managed have gone on to win awards at the Florida Film and Musica Festival (First Date dir. Alesia Glidewell), Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Twin Rivers Media Festival (Courage Doesn't ASK dir. by Joe Acton) but none of the features I have ever worked on have gone on to screen at festivals in competition. That was until Yesterday when SXSW posted this years lineup announcement. True Adolescents written and directed by Craig Johnson and produced by Thomas Woodrow is the little indie film that could. Craig is originally from Bellingham WA and ended up in NYC attending NYU where he met Thom. Together they flew out to Seattle met Sean Porter and Laurie Hicks and the rest is history. I worked as the production coordinator on this project and met and have made some of my greatest friends on this film set. As any low budget indie does, you have your days. Ours had to have been when the camera truck caught fire and the entire crew spent the day cleaning the camera equipment as apposed to shooting when one of the lead actressess was schedule to fly away in 2 days. Although this day was awful, the NYC & Seattle crew bonded, pulled it out and made it happen. I loved working on this film and I love the crew. I'm so excited to reunite with my TA family in Austin for the world premiere. Thank you Thom, Craig and Jenny Lee for all your hard work in post production. This amazing news speaks loudly of your determination and dedication to this project. Thank you Gil Holland, Emanuel Michael and Stu Pollard for supporting the project. Look out Austin, here we come. xoj

The blogger dilemma

I'm not really a blogger per se. I'm much more a person who tries everything once and then if I like it; twice and then maybe three times. Usually I move on to the next thing and forget about what ever the last thing was. There are a handful of things I am obsessed with and I can count them on one hand. #1. Sex (with the right partner(partners may vary or evap0rate all together causing dry spells which increase the significance of #1)). #2 Excercise/Outdoor activities: a. jogging b. surfing c.snowboarding d.horseback riding e. golf/driving range g. long walks with baby B on the beach; bitching up our storms. #3. Movies #4. Screenplays #5. Friday Night Lights.

Friday Night Lights is the best television on the planet, people. If you haven't seen it; log onto NBC.com and get busy. We are now on season 3 and I just finished watching the 3rd episode of what I feel is a kick-ass season. The cast is beautiful, talented and perfect. (Taylor Kitsch is my ideal boy toy(Totally want to cougar out on him). The show is well written, brilliantly shot & edited and the production design is amazing. Sometimes I get caught up and dream of moving to Austin in hopes of bumping into Taylor or Aimee on the street and becoming besties.

Because I'm not really much of a blogger and it isn't one of my top 5 obsessions, You won't see blogs often from me. 3 a week tops. What I will try to post daily is quotes from my favorite TV show, friends, family, aggressive old guys at the grocery store, disaster dates, confrontations or prank phone calls. This I can promise on a daily basis.

Yes, it is Saturday night. Yes, I am sitting in my apartment, drinking wine, eating chocolate cake, watching FNL online and blogging. Hey man, it's a recession out there. I'm saving at least $30 bucks this way and watching Taylor Kitsch in the privacy of my own world! All for Free!

Today's quote is from Friday Night Lights;"Buddy, I don't give two Farts what the boosters think." Coach Taylor. ( I love fart jokes.)

Happy Super Bowl. Go Steelers!

He's just not that into you.....missing the eye candy

Today I found myself sitting in traffic on La Brea heading South out of Hollywood. It took me 3o minutes to get from Beverly to Venice Blvd. The slow jam was the ripple affect of a horrible accident at a huge intersection where a black Tahoe met some other car which was now unrecognizable. The driver and passenger of the Tahoe both left craters laced with shattered glass in what was once the windshield. The coroners attempt at hiding the bodies with the coroner van doors wide open, failed. The shattered windshield left a surge of just how dangerous driving in LA really is. I've been here only 10 months and have grown accustom driving the race that is LA. You have to be aggressive, fast and pissed off. I have a point to this tale and it actually has nothing to do with driving in LA. I'm sorry people lost their lives today in a fatal LA driving accident, but I believe that we are here in shells and we arrive in a much more powerful and peaceful place when we move on.

What I really want to bring up is that everywhere you look in LA there is a billboard with a movie poster on it. Above your head on the street, on the bus, on the side of the gas station, painted on the walls of the tallest buildings, sparsely and strategically built between downtown, Hollywood and Culver City. Movies, Movies, Movies and more movies all around you. Tempting the LA driver to look away from the road, their cell phone and GPS and look to the grand movie billboard. While stuck in the fatal traffic jam, slowly working my way to the 10 West back to Santa Monica, I had 30 minutes to stare at the billboard for the upcoming movie....He's Just Not That Into You. Just in time for Valentines Day, reminding me that I am forever a single bachelorette and will be lucky to get a phone call from my father on V day; non the less a date. I stare and stare at the poster slowly despising it's image. Not just because of V day, but because this cute dating, ensemble movie has some of the sexiest actresses cast and 4 of the worst looking guys. Justin long? Kevin Connolly? What? I see guys like this at the coffee shop day in and day out. Where is the ever so sexy Ryan Reynolds? Where is the insanely sexy Taylor Kitsch of Friday Night Lights? Where is Matthew McConaughey? I could go on. The point is, this is a chick flick with hot chicks. When is Hollywood going to get what women want? We want hot dudes to look at just as much as guys want hot chicks to look at.

I was never planning on paying $12 to see this movie. I would have rented it, but after 30 minutes of seeing clearly that Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper are up against the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Scarlet Johansson(Kanye's favorite white girl.FYI) and Drew Barrymore, I'm going to pass.

After all, I am a single woman who loves attractive men.

The producers of HJNTITY must be dudes or duds. I am unable to ethically support their poor judgement. Flower Films, you should know better.

Winners and not winners.....

Okay, so the winners for both the Slamdance and Sundance Film Festivals 2009 have been announced.

Check the happy kids out on the websites:

http://http://www.slamdance.com/news/permalink/2009/1/26/183247.html

http://http://www.sundancechannel.com/festival/blog/2009/01/award-winners-will-be-announced-tonight/

So, I'm really happy for the winners. Ya, Ya and Ya. Congrats to everyone who got into the festivals. Thousands of films didn't and you should feel great that your project made it into the screenings of one of the two of the largest international film festivals in the world. Good for you.

I'm back in Santa Monica, soaking up sun, sweating out booze and prepping up to read hundreds of Teleplays, Feature Screenplays, Short Screenplays and Horror screenplays. I'm in severe need of deep R&R, a long shower, waxing and a massage. It has finally occurred to me that it is 2009 and the beginning of a new year. For those of you who write screenplays, I hope to read yours. For those of you who work on indie films, I hope to see yours. I have a few screenplays to finish this year and a short film shooting in Seattle WA in late summer. Not only am I judging and programming all of you, I am being judged and programmed. Sweet potato pie!

I hiked one of the trails in Topanga Canyon yesterday after unpacking my winter attire. (On four hours of Park City sleep) with my SM pals. It was an amazing view and reminded me of how beautiful California is. I'm so happy to be back. I missed my non filmmaking friends when I was sober or sleeping while in festival village. They are excited to have me back and to be drug from movie, to festival, to restaurant or bar, outdoor adventures and then some. Ya, friends! I heart you, LA. Here's to movies, food and dudes! xoj

The Festival comes to a close

Today is the big day for the Slamdance filmmakers.  As we, the festival staff pack up the offices, take down the theaters and decorate for the award reception (well, I'm actually blogging) it's hard not to feel somewhat melancholy.  Tonight a few of our films and the filmmakers that made them will walk away with the Jury Prize,  Audience Choice Award and some rad prizes from our sponsors like Kodak, Gibson, Indie Road just to name drop a few.  Odds are that one of these filmmakers will be the next big thing in 5 to 10 years.  Slamdance did discover Chris Nolan, Steven Soderbergh and Marc Forester just to name drop a few  brilliant directors.  Lives are going to change forever and for the better of filmmaking tonight.  The Slamdance staff is going to party hard, hug, kiss and weep due to the end of what feels like summer camp.  I've met new people that I hope to call friends until my shell becomes a delicious snack for vicious looking insects.  I'm tired and extremely delighted to get back to Santa Monica, watch all the movies nominated for Oscars and write up my personal reviews for you.  Congratulations to Melissa Leo, an amazing actress that I have had the pleasure of working with on her Oscar nom for Frozen River.  Yay, Melissa!  Congratulations to Lynn Shelton (Seattle sister) and the HumpDay crew on your Sundance awesomeness.  Yay, Lynn!  Thank you Park City for putting up with Hollywood and all of our brazen demands on your beautiful ski town.  As the posters from all the movies begin to fall off onto your sidewalks, storefronts and dance floors remember how much money we spend on food, drinks, chap stick and deodorant.  Also, you should think about a restaurant that isn't fine dining and isn't a cafe.  We like places to eat like that a lot.  You'll make bank, promise! Thank you mother nature for snowing for us today.   Only 7 hours left before life changes are made.  I'll post the winners tomorrow just before my computer is put into a box, loaded onto a truck and driven back to Hollywood.   It's Movie Time!

The Slamdance Film Festival 2009

The 2009 Slamdance Film Festival has made it through the first weekend, which is always the most hectic.  Starting Thursday night, the parties, seminars, screenings, bands, actors, producers, writers and directors take over Main Street in Park City, Utah.  It's now Tuesday, or Inauguration Day as we Americans are referring to it presently.  I watched Barack Obama and his historical swearing in on my computer on CNN.com this morning.  It has been my only interaction with the world outside of Park City since I got here over a week ago.  Due to the daily activities, which include, but not limited to; sledding in high heeled bitch boots; Can Can high kicks and teenage bear reenactments,  I haven't seen any films yet.  I plan to see HUMPDAY dir. Lynn Shelton and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle dir. David Russo both at the Sundance Film Festival.  I recommend Weather Girl, Spooner, Drool and I sell the Dead screening at the Slamdance Film Festival.  It's oddly warm in Park City and sadly empty this year.  The recession along with global warming have taken a bite out of the industry and our festive festivals.  I'll be posting plenty of photos and a few blogs while in PC, UT.  Mostly this blog is reserved for reviewing movies, restaurants, film and music festivals, surf spots around the world and the occasional dating scenario.  The festival comes to a close January 23 with the traditional closing night ceremony.  We'll announce the winners of the film, short, documentary, music video and screenplay competitions.  This is going to be difficult people.  We have a great lineup and a brilliant list of filmmakers.   I'll be announcing the upcoming 2009 Teleplay, Feature Screenplay and Horror writing Competitions.  If you have a screenplay you would like to submit, check out  www.slamdance.com/writing.   I'm off to the Kodak Filmmaker party and must bid you ado.  Cheers!