Saint Crispin's day of the Entertainment World

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother.”

Shakespeare's Henry V came alive this past week and rocked my world as well as businesses around the country. All I could think of were the words written by Shakespeare for Henry V to raise morale. I cannot say that morale is high this holiday season but I will say that being in the belly of the beast within the entertainment world was truly unreal. Think of a battlefield where the ammunition is not bullets, but termination notices shot at you by "friendly fire" and the business/entertainment tabloids and blogs shooting everyone down with "enemy" fire. I saw notices on Perez Hilton's blog and sites like Gawker and Jossip about the massive layoffs and a company e-mail that went out early Thursday morning before it had even reached my own work mailbox. Bombs were going off left and right as various phones rang with that terrifying message: “You need to meet with HR.” My friends and co-workers, we fellow soldiers, were called one by one in front of firing squads and then left wounded and bloody on the battlefield. Lower-level positions as well as high-level executives were feeling the cut and we, as a department and even the company as a whole, truly did feel the pain for everyone involved.

As some of you may have read, MTV Networks laid off 7% of their work force this past Thursday but it is only a fraction of the jobs lost in the past two months. The odd thing about production companies is that there is only a small fraction of actual employees that work for any given studio or television network. A lot of shows and films have 2nd and 3rd party companies and production crews brought in to shoot a series or special that leave as soon as the shoot is completed. It is misleading when readers see that 850 jobs were cut at Viacom/MTV, and bloggers go on and on about how it is a show like The Hills or actors from those shows that should be fired first. The true story from the inside is that the jobs that were cut yesterday spanned across all of the Viacom companies and it was networks like MTV, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Comedy Central, Spike, Vh1, BET, and CMT that were also heavily impacted by the cuts. It was our sister company Paramount Studios that was also effected. All the way across the board each and every network within the Viacom Company was hit.

I have never experienced anything like the happenings that are currently effecting the economy and the job status of so many hard working Americans, and although I still do not know what my own personal outcome will be after this week there are a few things I have learned from those in the television industry that I would like to share. This past Thursday was blogged as a sort of D-Day for the Viacom networks and I am sad to say that I know too many people who have been cut from their current positions due to the massive layoffs. It felt like we were on a battlefield and with each phone call the number of people still standing decreased. I look around at a place where a good friend was sitting all of 10 minutes ago and now I only see an empty desk. I waited, hoping not to get a call myself. I stood next to fallen friends and amazed co-workers of one specific department that was heavily effected. We stood banded together and gave support as the events of the day progressed.

I am no soldier, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. I have never marched off to battle, I have no idea what war is like from personal experience, but I have experienced war on the front lines that takes place in the entertainment world. In the past six months I have worked six huge shows and some that truly felt like battlefields with technical difficulties and other mishaps. I have worked with crews to quickly correct mistakes before going live-to-air, assisted technical management teams to re-wire cable lines for camera feeds with only seconds to spare, and I have worked with casting crews to wrangle 1000 plus audience members from one area to another in minutes for segment tapings that have been scheduled in areas no where near each other. The teams I have worked with feels like a troop, a platoon of entertainment soldiers ready to run off to correct and assist with any needs of our production management teams to make a show a success. That is our battlefield. Shooting locations, in a studio and on-location, are our war zones and if we did not act like a comrade of soldiers reacting and responding quickly the things you sit at home or in a theater and watch would not appear the way they do. But on December 4, 2008 I witnessed a completely different battle zone in an office environment that shook us all to the core. Through the darkness of the cuts one VP who was just laid off stood and spoke a few words that could rival the speech Shakespeare wrote for Henry V, and these are the words and the lesson that I would like to share.

The former VP of MTV News Production Management stood tall in the middle of the news team with a beer in hand to salute the team that has been through it all and then began her speech something like this:

We are all shocked by this, but I am sorry I was not able
to give those of you fair warning. Too many of you were
cut before your time. But this is the way television works,
but this is not the end of us. We are a family, and we
will get through this. It has happened for a reason and there
will be something better that we will find. Do not give up
because we will all bounce back. Just don’t forget to stay in
touch because we might be able to help each other out down
the road. And if you’re not on facebook you better get on it!

Times will get better and we should never forget those who have helped us in the past. Stay in touch with co-workers because you never know who might be able to lend a helping hand down the line, or be able to return the favor to you if you are the one able to help out this time. And since times are changing, we as a country must remember to stand strong together and help those that have been less fortunate. Just be sure to keep your head up because things always turn around and sometimes it is at unexpected moments when the most amazing surprises come.

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.

Day the Earth Stood Still

In 1951 Earth was invaded by an alien from another planet named Klaatu. This December that same alien will invade once again. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic science-fiction film about another race warning those less peaceful races of an impending doom that will cause their way of life to come to an end if they are not careful. I remember watching the 1951 film for the first time in Mr. Bansak’s American Cinema class and thinking what a weird experience it would be if for just one second the Earth truly stood still. Most likely not for the reasons that are mentioned in the film, but for any reason that causes time to stop and for nothing to happen anywhere for just a split second. The concept is unbelievable, but the actual experience is unexplainable, yet recently, we have all experienced just such a moment.

In 1951 director Robert Wise presented a Cold-War era world with a film to make movie goers stop and think. Although the 2008 remake has not yet been released and we do not know to what extent adaptations and updates have been used to modernize the story, we did have our own version of The Day the Earth Stood Still. It took place on this past Tuesday night. Some of you may have been at election parties, some of you may have been at bars and local pubs with friends or family waiting to hear the election results, some may have stayed home, but I was in Midtown wandering my way through production crews and mob size crowds standing on the streets of New York City. No matter how you voted that night, around 11pm EST, everything stopped. The announcement of Barack Obama as President-Elect completely changed America-- our way of life, thinking, and perhaps even ourselves. From a production world, as well as from the point of view of a young voting American, I know that my life will never be the same.

That night, I knew the city would be absolutely insane. It made me feel like I was in some huge Hollywood feature with a call of several thousand extras to completely fill Time Square. There was enough film equipment from the various television networks to have shot a scene from over a hundred different angles, and the energy of the people was electrifying. You may have seen some live footage during the election coverage, but that does not begin to express what it was like being out there on the streets.

Beginning October 29, news networks like ABC, CNN, NBC, and CBS stormed into various portions of Midtown Manhattan to set up stations. CNN completely covered Rockefeller Center along with NBC News. There were so many camera crews within that three block area that Good Morning America, 30 Rock, NBC Studios, and the additional CNN camera crews were bumping heads because there was just no more space available to fit any additional equipment or observing audiences for the various planned shoots. ABC Studios, MTV Networks, and other network crews took over Time Square with huge jib arms (a camera-mounting device that allows fluid movement of the camera while being raised, lowered, or moved horizontally) and lighting equipment that lined Broadway from 42^nd to 50^th Street. Everyone wanted to capture the emotions of the historical event that was taking place.Then the big night came.  Just moments after the election was called, a tsunami of people flooded the streets of Time Square, Harlem, Washington Heights, and every area of Manhattan with New Yorkers, visitors from all over the country and even foreign tourists celebrating the announcement of who our next president would be. And then we all waited.  We waited in excited anticipation for President-Elect Obama to take the stage in Chicago and make his acceptance speech. As the minutes rolled on even closer to midnight and the reports were coming out that he was on his way the noise continued to grow louder and louder until they announced that he was about to appear. In that moment, you could feel the energy of the enormous crowd growing with electricity as they turned to face every jumbo screen in Time Square... and then the Earth stood still.

The moment President-Elect Barack Obama stepped out onto the stage you could feel everyone’s breath catch, and then… nothing. There was no movement anywhere in Time Square. Everyone stood stone still, traffic stopped exactly where it was, angry cabbies idled motionless in the middle of the streets, and nothing was heard other than the words of Barack Obama filling the night’s air. It was an experience like no other and there will never be another quite like it. In those few minutes we, as Americas, all over the country listened to the words of a man, who, forever, changed our country’s history, and us.

If any film ever needs stock footage of large crowds of people caught in the moment in the most natural way, that would not look staged, choreographed or rehearsed, all they would have to do is find footage of the thousands of people in Manhattan hanging on every word of the newly elected President. That moment, those images, and the experience will live forever in my memory. It was the only moment I have ever experienced where everyone, young and old, Nationals and Foreigners, Democrats and Republicans stood together amazed at what has just come to pass. I believe that this moment in time has shown that our young country is growing up. We are maturing and adapting to new ways of life, and trying to break old habits. Those imagines and footage will last forever in the multimedia world just as the election of our first African-American President will live on as part of our country’s history. Yes, history was made Tuesday night and I was lucky enough to be there and to be old enough to feel the change that occurred in our hearts and minds and I will remember it as The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Butterfly Effect

In 2004 Butterfly Effect hit theaters with Ashton Kutcher, and the saying ‘a butterfly flaps its wings and the weather changes in China’ once again became a popular phrase among movie-goers. Over the last decade Hollywood has produced several running series, as well as a few film franchises that have had their own butterfly effect on US culture. Living in New York City I have noticed that there is one series that has had such a huge impact on women that it has completely changed popular culture, the way we act, dress and approach work and life in the Big Apple. Sex and the City was an international success and HBO flourished during its 6 season run.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a new apartment and have found it amusing that about half of the 3 to 4 bedroom apartments I have looked at the ladies occupying the rooms when I was there were watching old episodes of Sex and the City, or catching up on the recent episodes of The Hills. During the apartment viewings, every conversation I had has included the question; “If you were a character from Sex and the City who would you be?” I find that many young women living in the NYC area are now basing their lives off the series. They are looking to live with people that make up a close niche of 4 people, people like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha. You will even find women writing personals in search of friends on Craigslist with headlines like “Looking for a Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda to complete my group of Sex and the City” or “Want a close group like SatC”. The ladies of Sex and the City have made an impact on males and females alike and their influence spans a wide range of ages. Everyone wants to relate to them but I wonder how far people are willing to take their obsessions.

Two weeks ago I was wandering the city with my brother who was visiting from San Francisco, and as we walked we began to notice more and more "Carrie" look a-likes. Not because they looked like Sarah Jessica Parker, but because they were dressed to the nines in designer clothes, with matching accessories, and some were even walking down the street in groups of four. I fear Sex and the City has slowly taken over NYC in real life, appearance, behavior, and personal searches. No one looks for "Mr. Right" anymore. Today every woman wants to find her "Mr. Big!” I find it interesting just how far the franchise stretches, and even more so how much it continues to influence our lives. The 20 to 30 year old women of today who religiously watched all 6 seasons are now adding that much more pressure to themselves as they continue the search of a dream life that only lives in television. For better or worse, Sex and the City is today’s fairy tale for young girls.

Before Sex and the City, the 9 season run of Seinfeld was what many people compared their lives to. We can all quote lines from Seinfeld like Soup Nazi’s "No soup for you!", or Elaine and her search for men that were "Sponge Worthy", or Jerry and George's brilliant pitch idea to the executives of NBC for "a show about nothing". And who can forget Jerry arguing with the woman at the car rental who needed to "hold the reservation". Some may have even compared their friends to characters like Phoebe, Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Ross. Friends was also a way of life that we followed religiously. Even the wild adventures of Will and Grace and the outrageous one-liners from Jack and Karen we love. We want to be able to say we had a “Karen moment” or to tell someone, “that is so Just-Jack”. The every day life of the average American is crazy, hectic, and unpredictable. We have good days and bad days, but no matter what happens on any given day we always look for an escape to relax with an activity, hobby, show, or video game that allows us to step out of our own personal lives for a few minutes. Whether it is an escape through music, or through one of the classic shows that dramatize or add a comedic flair to conversations and our personal interactions, we are all looking for something.

Classic shows live on forever in the hearts and minds of fans and those special shows like Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, and Sex and the City will influence generations long after the shows are no longer running. We just need to remind ourselves to pull back from the dream world of television and step back into the real world where we live our lives and create our own fairy tales.

A Show About Nothing...

There was a time not so very long ago when Hollywood was producing hit after hit and the television networks were producing tons of Emmy acclaimed series that were truly worth watching. But a lot has changed over the last decade in both mediums. Of course I am one to talk, since I am fascinated and amazed by big explosions and the newest CGI (computer generated images) used for visual and special effects. But, I would love to see great writing make a compe back. I feel that unless the younger generations of film and television writers are not careful we will never see classics again. I have read scripts and watched films by talented filmmakers submitted for film festivals, some of the better writers are even still in college, but the styles of their writing and the things they write about are not original concepts. From personal experience I remember struggling with my serior video project, working in a crew of eight, trying to come up with an original comcept that was realistic and "do-able" for a college project on a college students budget. But our project ended up just being another version of a story that has already been told, and even retold again recently. I believe, and even regret that almost everything currently coming out of Hollywood has already been previously made at some point in the history of film.

Repeat offenders and modern adaptations to classics have infiltrated the media market in a way that has warped the minds of younger generations. Ask almost anyone under the age of 25 "who starred in the original Manchurian Candidate or The Day the Earth Stood Still" and they will give you a blank stare. Ask them which film Steven Spielberg's Disturbia was adaprted from and most won't be able to tell you it was the classic Hitchcock film Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart. Even ask waht film is similar to the recently released Eagle Eye, and I bet most will not think of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The newer filmmakers do not neem to have the creativity that the older generations had and it is beginning to show by the excessive number of remakes about to be released. Fewer and fewer stories are original ideas, and most are just modern remakes with larger explosions, more elaborately choreographed chase sequences, scarier looking villians, and enough blood to make any horror/gorror fan cringe.

But that is just the film market. Look at what is happening to the television market. About 75% of the offerings airing on cable networks are either reality television or competitive game venues. Each year we are seeing fewer and fewer written shows. We have very few sitcoms that could truly rival Mash, Seinfeld, Friends, American Dreams, or any other series that has run longer than 2 seasons. I wish we had more creatively written stories made for television that make watching TV more enjoyable.

The next time you’re at Blockbuster, ask to rent Seinfeld season 4, disk 1, and watch episode 43 (The Pitch) where George and Jerry make plans to go into NBC and pitch the idea of a new show that would be about nothing. This episode simply says it all. Good writing with an original idea, even if it is about nothing, could become one of the greatest series ever created. Today, unfortunately, we have shows that have no substance, shows that truly have no point and yet we are drawn into their creator’s “reality” and yet reality television is not realistic. There are shows about nothing, that go nowhere, that truly have no point, yet they are still written series. Every episode has a writer credited for each and every episode. Game shows, competitive reality series such as The Mole, Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, Wipe Out, Hole in the Wall, and The Bachelor are all produced reality shows. “Reality” television like The Hills, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Bridezilla, Real World, Big Brother, and any upcoming reality show is a very special genre called produced television. It has the full appearance of being from the real world, which we all live in and we all watch because we find it fascinating, but it is not true to real life. The characters in the show are not always video taped 24 hours a day, so when the camera crews do arrive they are given topics to discuss so that the producers and directors have the conversations needed to edit segments in order to complete episodes. The main characters are given a list of topics to be covered and told to bring them up so that the camera can capture the footage. Late things are gone through and edited together piece by piece to fine tune everything until the product is finished, which we watch on any given network on any given night.

Produced television is the new craze that is about nothing and it is very easy to become involved with it and connected to it. We all watch it and get wrapped up in the drama, some of it true, some exaggerated truths behind disagreements between friends or couples, and yet we love it because it allows us an escape from our own lives and daily troubles. We look forward to the struggles that the characters go through each week being thankful that we do not have to go through the type of drama that is being portrayed as reality. One must just keep in mind that it is staged reality that you are watching that is being marketed and promoted as “true reality”. So take a back seat in life for an hour a night and catch up on the latest fight between Lauren and Audrina or on the adventure of Survivor and Amazing Race. Enjoy the short stay in their world, but just remember to make the return trip to the real reality that we live in. Come back to smell the fresh flowers which are used to remind us that life is real and not a façade like those Hollywood uses each and every day as they pitch their shows about nothing to the viewers, for every show is truly “a show about nothing.”

House of Illusions

I have always thought of Hollywood as one big circus, not because of the craziness that goes on, but more as a Fun House amusement feature. More specifically I look at it as the Hall of Mirrors. I say this not because it is always changing or because the same street looks completely different from day to night, but because Hollywood is a city of illusions. If we did not have Penn and Teller, Chris Angel, Houdini and other amazing illusionists and magicians I would say that the city of Hollywood is one of the oldest and greatest magicians ever.

Hollywood has always been known for its ability to create anything it wants through the magic of smoke and mirrors. The director finds the most talented magicians in the arts and skills required to accomplish the desired look and effects needed to achieve their vision. For example, when the latest TRL (MTV Total Request Live) set was built the set designer was asked to create colorful light panels on the smallest budget possible. After doing some research they found that they could create the desired effect by painting metal pasta strainers bright colors, drill a whole through the bottom of the base large enough to fit a light bulb through to screw into a power source that would be attached to set structures. If you were to attend a taping of TRL or catch one of the final episodes before the show ends in November, you will see the bright lights lining the entrances to the main studio and they look as though they are amazingly bright color fixtures, not the smoke and mirrors that truly make up the visual appearance you are seeing.

These are common practices throughout the industry. Former sets are restructured and painted so that they do not appear to be the same house, street, car, or room show after show. The Munsters’ house has been seen in multiple films and television shows throughout the years, yet you would never know it was the same house unless you were made aware of the tricks used by the set designers. Even more impressive is the fact that the most elaborate sets could in fact be nothing more than large amounts of Styrofoam sculpted into whatever furniture, technological equipment, or fictitious shape needed to create the world of film and television. Nip/Tuck is one such set.

Walking around the Paramount Studios lot, you will pass several sound stages that are currently used for multiple scenes including the operating rooms used for some of the shows more graphic scenes. The unusual thing about the set is that each piece of equipment is nothing more than huge pieces of styrofoam that have been sculpted by the art team, which are full sized replications of an x-ray machine, CAT scan machine, and other large medical equipment they did not have budget for renting or a location with the equipment in the room, so they did the next best thing and created it in a cheap and effective way.

Dirty Sexy Money is another set that using magic tricks to create the elaborate sets that are seen in each and every episode. The limousine that the Darling’s are seen riding in is actually only half of a limousine. If you were to see it in person, it would look like a vehicle that had been ripped open by the jaws of life but the effect this trick has is that it allows for a camera operator and audio technician to be in the vehicle with the cast while shooting the scene. The trick is used to make the appearance that they are seen riding in the vehicle without limiting camera movement and acting limitations due to minimal space. Even their Manhattan penthouse is a façade with a window that opens to a cement wall. During an actual shoot when the window is in the frame, a canvas is placed in front of the wall that is a scaled painting of the New York skyline. Matte paintings and canvas are used all the time to complete a set when the actual location is not available or non-existent in the real world. Scaled models and matte paintings complete the façade that is sometimes needed with all of the fantasy worlds that Hollywood creates for us to escape in, yet little hints of the real world like a vase of flowers or fresh fruit in a kitchen make all the smoke and mirrors feel a little more realistic for the actors, as well as the audience.

Sets design is not the only use of magicians that Hollywood has been using since the first moving picture was released. Make-up, visual effects, scaled models of all sizes and animatronics are all tricks of the trade. Hollywood can turn the most beautiful actor into one of the most hideous monsters, which we hope not to encounter in our dreams. It can animate a metal skeletal structure covered with dark fur into a creature we know as King Kong. It can transform a Ford Mustang into a an outer space being we know as the autobot Bumblebee in a seamless visual effect that makes Transformer fans mouths’ water. It can also create worlds we only dream of from some of the greatest pieces of fantasy and science fiction literature, such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Interview with the Vampire, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the upcoming release Twilight, and many others. But Hollywood is learning to adapt in many other ways.

Hollywood has adapted with the always-improving technology advances. Action films have bigger bigger explosions, more impressive fight sequences and amazing visual effects. Horror films have scarier villains, more graphic gore and the storylines are more twisted than ever. Drama films have more elaborate sets and wardrobes to fit the elegance of the period in which the stories are set in. Romantic–comedies are a little more physical in the humor and the dialogue and courting methods are changing with what it is like to date today in the real world like in Kate Hudson’s latest film, My Best Friend’s Girl. The language was harsher, the physical action more obviously sexual and frequent. All this would have embarrassed my Grandmother’s sensibilities and her era of the romantic comedy, such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat or Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment, but all this said, the essence of the Hollywood Romantic Comedy is delightfully the same. All of these adaptations are needed for Hollywood to stay up-to-date with its story telling so that audiences continue to enjoy and love what the magicians come up with.

Down the Rabbit Hole and Into Hollywood

September 1 - I walked off the plane and into a world I know little about. My last trip to Hollywood was for a 3-day shoot, which left very little time to see any sights. I arrived on a Saturday and spent Sunday night driving around at 3am because I wasn’t sure when I would be able to make a trip back to Hollywood. I remember feeling like a criminal driving up and down Hollywood Blvd, passing police vehicles patrolling the streets for prostitutes and illicit drug deals. I made sure to keep my windows up as I repeatedly drove back and forth in hopes of finding the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, which is now used for the Oscar ceremonies, and a glimpse of that historic sign that watches over the city of Hollywood. . . But this trip was completely different.

I flew in on Labor Day, picked up my car and drove straight to the Paramount Studio lot to begin working in preparation for the VMAs, which were to take place the following Sunday. But when I called my supervisor I was told to take the day off and enjoy the city before showing up on site for a 5:45am call time the following morning. I was ecstatic with the news and jumped on the 405 freeway heading straight for the Hollywood hills. I made a full day of sight seeing in only a few hours, including a trip to Universal Studios.

During the studio tour that Universal gives at their theme park, I was able to see some of the back lots, sound stages, props and vehicles that have been and still are being used in various Universal films and ABC television shows. I was able to take a drive down Wisteria Lane since the ladies of Desperate Housewives had the day off. I was blown away by the history that filled the streets at Universal studios and all that it has to offer visitors. For example, I found it very interesting that the house Betty Applewhite lived in is the same house that the Munsters used back in the mid-60s. The Youngs’ lived in the Leave It To Beaver house used from the late 50s and early 60s. Even Jimmy Stewart’s house from Harvey is now used as Gabie and Carlos Solis’ residence. The only thing I was disappointed with was not being able to see the famous Courthouse Square from Back to the Future and the King Kong set that was lost during the horrible Los Angeles fire back in June.

Other than Universal I was able to get a very intimate tour of Paramount Studios. This was something I never dreamed of experiencing, and it made me feel like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. I was able to enjoy a tea party with many Mad Hatters which I know as the MTV crew, for we were all a little crazy for taking on such a huge endeavor and putting on a show from the back lots of Paramount Studios. Our production offices were set up in the Crosby Building and I was able to work every day just upstairs from the orchestra room where Bing Crosby recorded famous songs like those sung in White Christmas. The experience was straight out of a fairy tale and every day I walked by something new.

I was able to see the sets of Everybody Hates Chris where the locker room scenes are shot, and where shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Nip/Tuck are shot in various sound stages around the property. With over 30 sound stages and the ability to shoot anything on the back lot due to the magic of film I was able to walk down a street in New York City, turn the corner and end up in the middle of Chicago, and then walk down a side street and bump into a military platoon in full traditional gear who appeared to be in the middle of shooting a new film. I even got to walk down the old streets that were known as Desi Productions, where Ricky and Lucy shot ‘I Love Lucy’ in the 50s, which included their bungalows on the left and little Ricky’s park which is now used as the studio lot's daycare center on the right. The history is still standing, but it has been expanded though the original structures and landmarks still remain. In addition to all of these sights, I am such a film geek that I had my picture taken with Bumblebee from Transformers before he was driven down the lot to continue filming Transformers 2; and all this during the day.

At night Hollywood comes alive with the famous characters wondering the streets for visiting tourists who want to have a moment with their favorites, but with the VMAs in town it wasn't just characters but the actual actors known for such characters that were wondering the streets. The VMAs was a day that will be my poison. I am fully addicted to the stress and strain, with the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from working such an intense show. Being able to work the red carpet as crew and assist casting with the shuttling of audience participants for the closing performance that was truly a show to remember. It is something that I dragged myself out of bed for with a smile and I know that there will never be anything like it ever again. Even future VMA shows will differ and I can say that I was part of the walking dead that survived the 2008 show. I have survived and I cannot wait for more. Although I was only a very small piece in a very large production, I am very happy to say that I have contributed a piece that allowed MTV viewers a behind the scenes glimpse of the red carpet build.

If you log onto the MTV website and look up behind the scenes coverage of the VMAs you will find a time lapse video of the red carpet being build, the pre-show rehearsal, the pre-show and even the beginning of the carpet tear down, which spans 5 days into a total of 90 seconds. That video was part of my many projects and the experience of coordinating the project was something that took over 2 weeks to put together. But if you had logged on during the first week of September you would have seen the video streaming live, in real time, and would have been able to see us working in Los Angeles and the Paramount lot crew building the pre-show set. All that remains now is a small imprint of my work, a 90 second clip of the entire week’s activity.
In Hollywood everyone wants to leave a mark. Julia Roberts left hers on the famous motel that was used in Pretty Woman and can be seen driving down Las Palmas. Studio lots have famous stars marks all over them. Lucy and Ricky left Desi Productions to Paramount and yet their mark still remains visible for everyone who is interested to stop by the studio entrance on Grower Street. Hollywood Blvd has their hand and foot prints right out in front for us to see. The VMA’s clip is the beginning of making my mark and I am looking for my next mark when it hits theaters on September 19 during the prom scene in My Best Friend's Girl. But as I drink my medicine and return to the world of reality from Wonderland I can only wait for and dream of what my next adventure will be, and if I will be able to follow the white rabbit back to Hollywood.

So find your nitch and leave your marks, and if you have to take a fall down the rabbit hole do it. Free fall down that long hole and then run after the rabbit. But if you get time stop by the Mad Hatter's tea party, come and say hi.