Close Encounters of the Famed Kind

When I was little I used to always hope that one day I would get to meet (enter name here). When I was figure skating I would watch the pros on television and think to myself how could would it be to meet Victor Petrenko, Michael Weiss, or Kurt Browning. Then Harry Potter happened to the world and I wished that one day I would get to meet the actors. Today there are still actors, directors, musicians, athletes that I would love to have the opportunity to meet out of sheer admiration for their careers, but what happens to a girl in her twenties when she does.

My first encounter with a celebrity was when I was 9 and taking figure skating lessons from Rudy Galindo. Of course that was before he won the men's U.S. Figure Skating Championships title. He was a great coach, granted he cursed me by teaching me to skate "goofy". Like him, I skate lefty rather than righty which always made for interesting experiences during the 4am practice sessions. Following those days I was lucky enough to have skated on the ice along with such great skaters as Tanya Harding (pre-Kerrigan scandle), Nancy Kerrigan (post-scandle), and Brian Boitano (pre-South Park song). I looked up to these people for their skating abilities, but when meeting them I was sadly disappointed. Now if Scott Hamilton had been on the ice at any point I don't know if I would have been able to continue skating during that session. Had that happened I would have been SOOO over whelmed that most likely I'd be the idiot kid standing in the middle of the ice, frozen in place with my mouth hanging open quick getting ran over or with several toe-pick scars to remember the moment. But kids can dream right.

Fast-forward ten years and I have moved beyond the fame-whoring of actors. They are people just like you and me, so they should be treated as such. At this point I am a college student spending all of my free time volunteering and applying for various internships in the film industry trying to build a resume and reputation. I was very lucky and was able to work the Boston International Film Festival. The event that killed me that year was getting to meet the man who introduced me to figure skating and made me love the sport. No I'm not talking about an athlete. I'm talking about an actor who happened to have changed my thoughts and opinions of what to expect when meeting a celebrity. Lets be honest, most people don't recall the film The Cutting Edge, even though I ran my VHS copy into the ground I watched it so much. "Toe-Pick". No, most people remember DB Sweeney for his role as "Shoeless Joe" Jackson in Eight Men Out, or Benjy Taylor in No Man's Land. We actually had even joked about the various films while sitting in a bar after the opening night of the festival. I, being the geek that I am, mentioned to him that it was The Cutting Edge that made me want to figure skate, his friend who joined as at the bar quickly joked back with "yes and its what made me want to quit" while giving DB a joking grin. He even pulled a quick one on me just before the Q&A after the screening of his film Dirt Nap. It was one of the most insane evenings I had experienced, and one I will never forget. But not all encounters go that smoothly, and some you even flat out embarrass yourself over.

Shortly after the Boston International Film Festival, I volunteered myself for a week of hard labor for the opportunity to attend the Nantucket Film Festival. There is where I encountered one of my all time favorite actors, Steve Buscemi. I was quite the spaz after watching the screening of his film Lonesome Jim, and when it was time for the Q&A I sat in my chair, trying to be as calm and cool as I possibly could, rehearsing the question I wanted to ask over and over again in my head so I wouldn't say something totally uncool. When I was called on to ask my question I felt myself turn beet red and I could not seem to get my question out without stuttering. I felt so uncool in that moment, but asking my question, and having him actually look at me, and answer my question made me feel like I was on top of the world in that moment. It made me feel special that he actually took the time to walk towards the middle of the room and stand right in front of me and look at me while he spoke. It was much different from the responses that he gave to the genaric "What was it like working with..." and "How was it acting in Sopranos..." or any other question like that. And it was in that moment my favorite movie came to life for me. Not that I needed anything other than just watch Living In Oblivion, but listening to Mr. Steve Buscemi talk about what it was like directing Lonesome Jim and what he went through while filming Living In Oblivion, it just made my day. Yet sadly if I ever see my old college roommate, I'm sure she'll start to laugh again and joke about how red I was and couldn't stop from shaking for the rest of the day. Not exactly my proudest of moments but what can I say, he is just "one of those guys".

I know it's probably a bit out there to hear that Steve Buscemi is someone's favorite actors, as he's not a Johnny Depp or Brendon Frasier or anything of that style. But he's not alone when it comes to obscure actors that make my favorite actors list. Danny Trejo is another one of those guys you may not know by name, but you will definitely know him by appearance. Mr. Danny Trejo is only 5'7", but his presense and engery make him feel so much taller. I was lucky to have met him after the opening night screening of his documentary film Champion, (which of course I recommend for any one to watch -- it will blow your mind to hear about this man's life) and after the event he showed such kindness to the audience it was unbelieve about. I mean when you look at it he just looks like a guy you would never want to bump into on a dark street, but after watching the film and listening to him speak and offer advice to a man in the audience after his story hit close to home for him, he truly did deserve to be honored with the humanitarian award that was presented to him. The funny thing about my encounter with him was that I was a nervous wreck and was too nervous just to go up and meet him. I also wasn't sure if it was proper protocol being an employee of the festival. My good friend Jess, who at the time was my intern supervisor during the festival, was the one who made a comment to Mr. Danny Trejo and it was from there that he walked over and said hi to a teary eyed girl. Yes, now I can laugh about my reaction to him, but in that exact moment I was over whelmed by everything and it was such a shock to the system that he was so nice. I mean, just look at any photograph of him -- he just looks like one tough son of a bitch and its not because of all the knives he's wearing. Today and forever forward, he will that guy that changed what a "bad boy" is for me.

But now, working in the entertainment industry I find my encounters a little more frequent, but an official introduction is quite rare unless the talent is "old school". What I mean by that is that today, thanks to media and the paparazzi, I believe that talent find it difficult to feel like normal people so they must always be on their guard in fear that someone is going to catch them, or get them to do something and then post it online. It's sad in a way, to have to feel like that all the time and live like that, and some I feel bad that they are hounded as much as they are. Yet then again they did "ask for it" by entering the world of the rich and famous. But even keeping that in mind, sometimes you happen to work on a production or a show where the talent is just totally cool.
When I was interning during the days of TRL I can recall a few stars that came in to promote a new show that were just amazing. Kal Penn, prior to his days working for President Obama, came in to promote Harold and Kumar from Guantanamo Bay and some how our conversation ended in laughs and me feeling like such a nerd because I had confessed that I had a hula man that sat on my car's dashboard that I had named, with my friend Sammie, after Kumar. Something I would not normally share. I also recently met Tim Blake Nelson and he was such a cool guy. I mean what New Yorker isn't cool when he gets in a car with a bunch of strangers, introduces himself and then asks to put the game on. Just totally relaxed and chill.
My favorite place to meet people though is at comic cons. I know, I just scream GEEK but what can I say it is my place on comfort and no matter who is there or what character you go dressed as, there is only love for your fellow nerds and all that talent seem to genuinely enjoy being there and meeting fans. Earlier this year I was lucky to have been able to attend the New York Comic Con and sat in on several panels. By far the wild and craziest was the Dollhouse screening and Q&A with Joss Whedon. But meeting him and hearing him speak about what goes through his head and how he works is just amazing. He is a geek at heart and thats what makes the rest of us love him so much. The one person I met that threw me for a loop was Yvonne Strahovski. Beautiful and so friendly, but man that accent. I know there are so many foreign actors and actresses that are playing american characters but wow. This the Big Apple Comic Con brough someone that I love and was more than willing to pay the $40 to get a sign photo with. Linda Hamilton has always been one of my favorite female action stars. I can never get enough of Terminator, and I am saddened that Fox cancelled The Sarah Connor Chronicles. But being able to sit in a chair next to THE Linda Hamilton for just a few minutes, and chat with her about the film and how much I loved it, and all that other "yadda, yadda, yadda". But the funny thing was I felt a little tongue tied sitting next to her. I left with a goofy grin and now that I think about it I can't help but to laugh. I guess that's what happens when a geek meets their favorite character's creator in whatever medium it happens to be in. But yay to the geeks, and yay to those that make of feel like a giddy little kid all over again. Thank you!

But of course in the fashion of saving the best for last there is the always amazing Mr Francis Ford Coppola. It was a film geeks dream come true. I grew up on his films. My aunt introduced me to the mafia genre at a very young age with Godfather and I have never looked back since. With Godfather as one of my favorite films of all time, and having studied Apocalypse Now in school I was in shock. Truth is I was in disbelief when I heard that he was coming into the building for an interview. Not only was I in shock, but I also couldn't believe that some of my coworkers had no idea who he was. I mean how many people honestly don't know who Coppola is? Well I made myself get past the shock and asked if I could be a fly on the wall and sit in during the interview. All I wanted to do was to hear him speak. Be able to have the opportunity to listen to him speak about his filmmaking and his process. I got a lot more than I had bargained for.
It was raining on the day he came in to speak about his upcoming release Tetro. The star of his new film, Alden Ehrenreich, came in for the interview as well, and as he was prepping for the interview Mr Coppola was being microphoned. He asked those of us in the room if there was a comb anywhere that he could use, and as none of us could produce one he turned to me and pointed to the head band I was wearing and asked if he could use it to run through his hair. Until this point I had been the goofball in the far corner of the room that looked like a mental patient because I had one of those "creepy smiles" one my face and didn't know what else to do. I knew before I entered the room that if I had the chance to speak with him I would have said that I was a huge admirer of his work, but once I was in the room I couldn't think of a single thing to say, and the only thought I could produce in my head was "I'm not worthy". But once I was able to get my head on straight, i took my headband off and held it out towards him, a little unsure if he was serious. He took it and quickly ran it over his hair before handing it back and asking how he looked and saying thanks. From that point on during the interview he actually joked about having to borrow the headband to make sure that he looked good sitting next to his young star. I still have yet to have used the headband since it touched his hands and sat in aw of the director listening to him speak about Tetro, his new stars, and various things about The Godfather that I never knew before. It was unbelievable.

Here is a video of the interview I was able to sit in on.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

As a little treat here is the trailer for Tetro. Enjoy!

Zombie Invasion

Zombies have been the talk of the town for the last few years. The number of zombie survival guides that have been released continues to grow, but I bet very few people expected a zombie invasion to take place this year.

On September 30 I walked down 42nd St to attend an early screening of Zombieland, but to my surprise I got way more than I had bargained for. Standing in line I was quickly surrounded by the livinging dead. Seeing the infected swarm around the 42nd St AMC theater was a sight to be seen. These were not your normal zombie fans who just dressed to impress. No. These zombies brought their A-games with full on blood, gore and the famous slow-zombie limp walk. It was like walking into a theater performance full of actors all waiting for the main attraction, but before that could happen we were surprised by a very special guest. Sitting in an auditorium of 300, and watching the living dead stagger in is an amazing experience. The NYC zombie crawl that coincided with the Zombieland screening was a perfect pairing and it brought out any zombie imaginable. We had zombies that looked as though they had been dragged begin a moving vehicle prior to their arrival, we had zombie families that came out to the 9pm screening which included a baby zombie in carriage, zombie cheerleaders, and a Beetle Juice zombie which was all too perfect for the appearance of Bill Murry in the film. But the event that topped the night was not just the zombies, but the guest appearance of Woody Harrelson. Hoops and hollers followed his entrance along with several press photos, and just as the film was about to start he stood before us with megaphone in hand to talk all of the zombies for coming out, and then apologized for the carnage we were about to witness. It was a fitting event for what would be an amazingly entertaining film, and one that any zombie fan would feel pleased with.
I sat on the edge of my seat cheering for the "zombie kill of the week" and give full credit to the genius end battle at Pacific Playland. I will never be able to look at an amusement park in the same way ever again, and I love it.

The only thing that made the night complete was leaving the theater and exiting onto the street of Time Square behind several groups of zombies. Watching these performers make their way down the streets was a horror fans wet dream. Women were screaming, people were jumping out of the way, and the NY Police seemed clueless by the invasion. I only wish I had a camera to catch the zombies down in the subway.

Picture this... A woman is walking up the stairs, exiting the subway station. Clinging to the handrail a man in a business suit is struggling to make his way down the stairs, using the railing to support his weight as he hobbles on one leg to get down the stairs. The woman looks over at the man and asks if he is ok, or if he would like some help. In response he slowly turns his head toward her, revealing a pale white face, white eyes(contacts) and several layers of flesh pealing away from his face as he and lets out a deep guttural moan. She screams and takes off up the remaining stairs two at a time. The zombie, emotionless and not effected by the reaction, turns back and continues to make his way through the subway and onto a downtown N train heading towards Brooklyn. I only imagine what that subway ride must have been like.

Interviews with Vampires

Trends in the entertainment world are something that we always watch closely. Everyone looks for what the next hottest fashion trend will be. We wait to see which A-list celebrity has a baby and what the new name trends will be. And then we patiently wait for the next greatest thing to come about that will clearly dominate all the markets. Well, the wait is over. The newest greatest thing since pizza bread has finally arrived and it is blowing all of its rivals clear out of the water. Actually it is sucking the blood out of any competitor who poses a threat. Vampires are taking over the world. Our fascination with the dark creatures of the night is something that no one has truly been able to describe or explain completely. But as you watch the reports coming back from this weekend’s Hollywood releases you will see that vampires are taking over the big screen, as well as every other media market.

I was first bitten by the vampire bug after reading Christopher Pikes' The Last Vampire series back in elementary school. Today I find myself completely glamoured by the dark and mysterious creatures of the night, although the vampires I speak of are not actually creatures of the night at all. Stephanie Meyer, the author of the Twilight series, has created a story and character that has captured the hearts, minds, and even souls of many tweens, teens, and adults alike. The ember eyes of Edward Cullen first captured us in literature, but after this weekend he, along with the entire Cullen family, will have captured the hearts of fans and non-fans alike.

In 2005 a new teen novel was published by Little, Brown and Company written by an unknown author that was like no other. It brought out a whole new side to the mysterious creatures that have been previously known to stalk the innocent at night. The type of characters that are usually described as being soulless and wake to live an undead life only during the night hours are being introduced as supernatural beings that are far more complex than any other vampires before them. Of course they do resemble previous vampires like those from the Underworld series with their dislike of lycans (werewolves), and even a resemblance to the characters from Charlaine Harris’ Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, which is sweeping the broadcast market called True Blood as one of the greatest HBO series since The Sopranos and Sex and the City, as beings having a conscience regarding their previous actions and ways of living that they wish were better understood. The Cullen family has more heart than any other undead creatures I have previously read about, and I believe they are the first vampires that have retained a soul. Twilight fever has truly swept the nation and when word reached fans about a film option the craze grew exponentially and the anticipation for further news became painful to endure as Twilight nation became obvious to the author and director.

Film options for literature are always something to be desired; yet they create a sense of fear for both avid fans and those involved with the actual production. The writer is usually consulted in final decisions and the creative aspect of casting, set design, and story editing; but the process can be tedious leaving mixed feelings. The author is also consulted on any gaps that need to be filled in for visual story telling purposes that may not have been covered in a novel due to the point of view from which the story is told. The director strives to create a film that best represents the original story, but sometimes there are things that must be altered for timing and budget limitations. All of these factors make any news of leaks, exclusive clips and interviews, and official releases dyer information coveted by fans. We waited a year after the release of Eclipse for the final book in the series, with many avid fans participating in mid-night release parties that could rival those during the days of Harry Potter. We waited in long lines just to pickup a book hours before it would be released, we waited anxiously for casting photos and the ballet room scene to be released this past June, and then on Thursday, November 20 we waited one last time.

In mid-town Manhattan I saw fans wearing Twilight merchandise wandering the streets passing time to stand in line for a mid-night screening. 42nd Street theaters were all sold out, 34th Street theaters were all sold out and $7 million dollars in sales for just the mid-night screenings has been reported. I was one of those avid fans standing in line for over 6 hours waiting to see how director Catherine Hardwicke adapted the newest pop culture phenomena.

Standing in line you meet many interesting people. I stood at the front of the cue with fans of the novels that varied in ages from 16 to middle-forties, and as we spoke with each other about various details from the books, our expectations of the film, and our hopes for scenes in the film, I realized that this author had done something I did not expect. Stephenie Meyer has brought complete strangers together in such a way that while we waited I felt like I was surrounded by friends. Sitting and waiting for over 6 hours was an experience that surprised me as much as the final film did and I will say that I cannot wait for New Moon to hit theaters in 2010. If you have read the Twilight series, I believe the film will delightfully surprise you. It is everything I expected and more. I felt like I was watching a film with all my best friends and everyone in the auditorium was included and involved with the running inside joke. I have never before had so much fun at the theater. I laughed and cried along with everyone sitting around me in a stadium theater that sits 300. We laughed, cheered, and gasped together. Every emotion I felt reading the book was intensified by watching the film version unfold before me, and it was fun being able to share that with people I had never met. It was an unusual experience to have at a theater and one that I hope to experience again.

Stephenie Meyer and Catherine Hardwicke could not have done a better job to make their fans happy with this film. It is truly something that has surpassed all expectations and it was a roller coaster ride that we enjoyed together. It is something that those who have not yet read the books can also enjoy and understand because of how everything has been brought to the big screen. It is a story of forbidden love between a human and a vampire, unlike any other vampire genre. It has enough adventure to keep any action fan entertained, and it has so much heart and soul that it reminds us of things we have forgotten or experiences we are going through in our own lives. It brings the supernatural world close to the human world unlike any other vampire story. I am only disappointed to say that I now have to wait for the next installment in the series to hit the theaters. So if you are looking for something a little different this Thanksgiving weekend, take your friends or family to the theater and check out the newest vampire trend to sweep the nation. The newest addition is the upcoming CW's season of Vampire Diaries adapted from author L.J. Smith.