fin

The screenplay is finished. 94 pages, which would be short if it weren't a kid's movie. But it is, so I win! I'm pretty much completely done with school out here now. Which means it's all movie watching, surfing, and hanging out from here on.

Today was also my last day at IFP . Working there was a good time with lots of sweet perks. I'm really hoping some miracle will happen and I can come back out for a few days of the LA Film Festival, because I'd get some hot celebrity exposure again, as well as some good film watching action.

We shall see.

screenwriting

I haven't talked much about my screenplay lately, which is odd, because it has been consuming my life. Now that I'm done making films (and I got an 'A' on my last one, Jackson!) I've been devoting all my time to my screenplay, "The Peanut Butter and Jelly Pirates." If I haven't already mentioned it, it's about pirate kids. It's been fun to write, but also trying.

I'm currently on page 60, which is something of a feat. In a week, when it's due, I'll be done and it'll be 90 to 100 pages. I'm pumped for that. It's been nice, because my professor says the writing is really professional, and last week when I pitched the film to this guy who won sundance a long time ago, he said my pitch was great. So even though I feel like I'm just goofing around writing it, it's nice to have affirmation that maybe I'm not wasting my time.

When we did the pitches we made posters. Here's my poster. It details the cast, etc, which was fun to choose... and photoshop!

and another thing...

Yeah, so I forgot an important piece of information about Tony Hale...

He finished up his talk and we were standing around chatting with him, and my friend Mike (motto: incredibly ambitious, incredibly hilarious) asks him to come take a look at his latest film.

A brief word: Mike's latest film began when he asked a bunch of 6 year olds to tell him stories. He recorded these stories, and picked one to turn into a film, using the actual 6 year old narration and filming a story to go along. The story is about lemonade stands. It's hilarious. For the opening credits I stop motion animated some blocks to come in and spell out the cast, etc. That was my part.

But back to Buster. So he agrees to see the film, he watches it, and he loves it. Then he says, "Man, those credits alone are awesome." So, Buster likes my work. He wants a copy of the movie, which is cool, and he may come back to see the final production films. Though it's not the biggest deal ever to have Tony Hale complement your work on credits, but it was still pretty great.

Here's a snapshot of those credits:

buster!

Here's me and a few LAFSC kids with Tony Hale, aka, Buster from Arrested Development. He came to our program to talk to us. My favorite part of the evening were his stories from the set. There were some pretty good ones. Especially about him and that Roomba that he's in love with in recent episodes. Man, what a great show. If you don't watch it, you should. It's in danger of being cancelled next year because it's viewership consists of an incredibly devoted minority. But seriously, the best writing on TV.

work, work, work

Once again, it's been a while. Between our "spring break" and making my latest film, I've had very few moments of free time. And now, a recap:

Ari and Meghan (friends from Chicagoland) came in to see me and the sights last week. It was great having them here. We did a few of the "typical" Hollywood things, the walk of fame, looking at the Hollywood sign, etc, but we also did a bunch of other fun stuff I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. I finally sampled some of Beverly Hills' sushi, swam in the ocean in beautiful Santa Monica, and spent an evening in Tijuana. TJ, as I'll lovingly call it now, was pretty great. It was totally sketchy, but as three blondeish gringas we were constantly being offered deals on food and trinkets. We ate, had some drinks, and I bought a giant sombrero. As a bonus, no one got sick. And now I've been to 3 countries: the US, Canada, and Mexico. Go North America!

Also, I just finished my third and final film. That's the stop motion one I've alluded to so frequently. I ended up changing it slightly due to a series of unfortunate events involving my actors (the barbies) but I think it turned out decently anyhow. I think I'll clean it up, and when people ask to see the stuff I did while out here, I'll show that. Here's a picture of me with Jackson, the artist's figure from the movie.

an update

It has been brought to my attention that I have not posted anything on this site for some time. This is, of course, true. I've sort of been intentionally avoiding it, thinking that there's no way I'll be able to top the last few posts. Secretly I was waiting to run into someone along the lines of, oh I don't know, P.T. Anderson or Woody Allen, on the street or something. Then I would have interesting news. Sadly, no favorite director run ins. Sigh. Though I think I'm going to start stalking PT Anderson at that piano bar I mentioned some time ago. He's buddies with Jon Brion, so maybe he'll show up? Wishful thinking, I know.

Anyhow, no star-studded news, but I suppose it is significant that I'll be starting my final film this weekend provided the barbies, I mean, actors, come in the mail on time. This is the stop motion one. I'm really hoping that it will live up to my vision, which is clouded with grandeur.

In other news, I should be working on a paper for a class right now. The paper is a theological examination of the message of Boogie Nights, tentatively titled "One Special Thing: Suffering and Redemption in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights." People laugh when I mention it, but it's totally workable.

My screenplay, "The Peanut Butter and Jelly Pirates," is slowly progressing. I'm on page 8. Hopefully one of these weekends I'll kick my own butt and spit out 50 pages or so.

California, despite my lack of famous run-ins, is still great. If I had time I'd spend every day by the pool trying to ignore the aspiring actor kids. As such, I'm still waiting for my tan.

celebrity count: up tenfold

It's finally here, the long awaited follow up to my Independent Spirit Awards experience. This week has been unbelievably busy, which has resulted in a loss of contact between me and the outside world. Ironic, how I try to reconnect myself through this incredibly isolating medium...

But right, the awards. I had an amazing time. The ISAs (Independent Spirit Awards) are held annually on the beach in Santa Monica, so I finally made it out to the ocean. It was a beautiful day-the sun was shining, there was a cool ocean breeze. The event is held in a big, very nicely decorated tent, and around it are many other sponsor tents where there is lots of food and alcohol. Once again, I was my boss' assistant, so it was my job to follow him around and answer all the radio calls for him. This also gave me great access. We spent some time in the tent watching the awards as they happened, but it was more fun hanging out in the Entertainment Weekly tent, where winners and presenters went right after they were on stage. So basically, everyone went through this tent. And basically, I met everyone.

So here we go: an official list of celebrities I talked to...
I talked with Robin Williams when my boss was thanking him for coming to the awards. He was funny, as I would have expected. Very ADHD, but funny. We then met Catalina Sandino Moreno from "Maria full of Grace" and her whole family. They were cute. I have the picture posted of me and Maggie Gyllenhaal, but that may have been the highlight of my day. She's my hero, and she's ridiculously cute. We chatted a while. I swooned. I also met Jake Gyllenhaal, but he was sort of in a hurry so I didn't say much. I told Cate Blanchett I admired her work, I talked to Elijah Wood about the movies he did as a kid, I talked with Philip Seymour Hoffman as Chad proposed a movie idea to him, and I told John Waters that my first rated 'R' movie ever was "Serial Mom," and that I am sure that has had a strong impact on my taste in film. He thought that was funny and scary. I ate breakfast with Carson Kressley of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," which was humorous. I also met David Alan Grier, David Duchovny, Jeff Bridges, Paul Giamatti, Jon Gries and Jon Heder (of Napoleon Dynamite), Tom Arnold, and I talked to Quentin Tarantino a bit more, now that we're buddies. I stood next to Kevin Bacon, but I didn't talk to him. There were more people I met, too. If you care to look at a list and pictures (many of which you can find me in the background), you can go to
http://imdb.com/features/rto/2005/gallery/ifp05-redcarpet/1
and
http://imdb.com/features/rto/2005/gallery/ifp05-show/1

So that's that. An incredible indie-celebrity filled day. People are slowly finding out about it, apparently, because I've gotten more hate emails and phone calls this week than ever before. But even I'm jealous of myself. Needless to say, Hollywood can be pretty great. Even though I get no sleep and traffic is like a sick joke, I'm having a great time.

feast your eyes

There is much to say, but I'll sum up shortly for now: Feb 26th=best day ever. Here are a few pictures. More on it all later.


This is me and Quentin Tarantino. As if that needs clarification.


Here's me and Chad and Johnny Knoxville of Jackass.


This is a large part of the reason why it was the best day ever. Me and Maggie Gyllenhall. Look how happy we are!


Oh yeah, and here's that Charlie Kaufman picture I promised. He's since won an Oscar, so the picture just increased in worth.

my friend quentin

And now for the much anticipated post-spirit-award-reception-celebrity update: the party was a hit, fun for all. Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal (both of Y Tu Mama Tambien, etc.) couldn't show for various reasons, but otherwise it was decently hot with celebrity action. My experience was incredible as it was my job to personally escort two very awesome people from their hotels to the elevator, up to the penthouse, and then show them around the party.

So yes, one of my duties was to schmooze with Quentin Tarantino as I took him up to the party. He's an awesome guy, pretty much exactly like you would expect him from interviews and his roles in his own movies. He's a huge movie geek, of course. If anyone said anything remotely related to cinema he'd start going off on all this random stuff. Chad asked him about Godard's "Weekend" and "Zombi 2," which gave Quentin about 7 minutes of stuff to go off about. He also has this funny mannerism of chuckling really loudly anytime he hears something remotely funny. So I'm in the elevator with him and these girls are talking about how they're not giving up alcohol for lent, which is kind of funny, but Quentin keeps doing that half-laugh kind of thing where it should be a quiet chuckle, but comes out a hearty "ha ha!" That was probably my favorite thing about him. And that he was incredibly nice and obliging, remembered my name, and let me take a picture with him. Which I will post later.

I did the same thing, limo, elevator, etc, for Salma Hayek, too. She was really cute. She got there late so she was constantly apologizing to me, but I assured her that it was cool. Then she made me promise her that she wouldn't have to talk when they gave her the honorary award. That was fun, but less fun than hanging out with Quentin.

There were plenty of other smaller celebrities there, but the Tarantino/Hayek connection was the coolest. Tomorrow's the big day: the Independent Spirit Awards. Hopefully the celebrity contacts will increase exponentially from here on.

more famous people

So I went with a few friends to a pre-release screening of "A History of Violence" tonight, which turned out to be pretty awesome. We were the first audience to see the movie, and the audio wasn't done, but it was still a cool experience. The film stars Viggo Mortenson, who did a great job. The exciting part, however, occurred after the movie when we met the director, David Cronenberg. He wasn't announced, but he was just standing quietly outside the theatre as we were leaving. Few people even know who this is, but he's an awesome director. Chad, one of the guys I went with, is in love with Cronenberg, so he sort of has this halo-ish glow after he talked to him. The best part was, Cronenberg blessed Chad (like, benediction, cross and bless) for loving his film "eXistenZ." So now we think Chad will make awesome movies.

In addition, tomorrow night's the party for IFP. Ah Hollywood. Cronenberg Wednesday, Tarantino Thursday, all my other favorite stars Saturday.

music and animation extravaganza

So I was going to post last night after my awesomely cool music experience, but I was too mad at the world after losing my wallet. I left it at the club where we saw the awesome music. Luckily, I got it back, but the $50 cash I had in there is no longer with me. But at least no one stole my credit cards.

Enough of that though, back to the music. My group (the LAFSC gave us groups so we can "get to know" some of the staff) went to this little club near Beverly Hills to hear Jon Brion play. He's the guy who did the scores to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Punch Drunk Love, he collaborated on some Eels stuff, as well as a heap of other things, I'm sure. We waited hours for this show, but it was worth it. He played a few songs straight on the piano and a few on guitar, but most of the night he played and looped his own stuff (drums, piano, bass, guitars, random bells, other parts of the piano) and then distorted it. The sound was really original and incredibly cool. He was sort of one man band meets dj. Jon Brion's playing with The Polyphonic Spree this Monday; I'm hoping to coerce some people into going with me.

Tonight I went to "the Animation Show" (Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt), which is a series of "the best" animated shorts of the past few years. It was pretty great. I haven't seen claymation that good in a long time. I was further inspired for my upcoming stop motion film.

Me with Zack Braff

Me with Zack Braff
Originally uploaded by walkingdistraction.

Here's one of those pictures I promised. It was taken with a friend's camera, so it's not so tragic that I have a strange look on my face. Hopefully mine will turn out better. But here I am, with Zack Braff of Scrubs and Garden State. Woo woo. Soon I'll post the one with Charlie Kaufman.

starstruck

So, yes. It's finally happened. And the exciting thing is, this is only the beginning. Tonight I attended the "Beyond Words" Writer's Guild event in Beverly Hills featuring most of the nominated screenwriters for this year's WGA awards. Sadly, Tina Fey couldn't make it (though I might have fainted if she had, so maybe it's better this way) but many of this year's hottest screenwriters were there giving a very humorous Q&A. The featured writers were:
Keir Pearson (Hotel Rawanda)
Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby)
Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries)
Alexander Payne (Sideways)
John Logan (The Aviator)
Julie Delpy (Before Sunset)
Zack Braff (Garden State)
and Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
also Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) was the host, and she was funnier than I expected.

So anyhow, I saw all these people, and then we had a chance to mingle with them. Julie Delpy was leaving quickly, but she said hi to me and a few friends on her way out. I had a chat with Charlie Kaufman, and got a picture with him that I will post here as soon as it's developed. He's a strange little dude (literally, the guy's maybe 5 feet tall). I talked briefly with Alexander Payne, too, but more about the deserts than his movies. Surpisingly, though, the coolest part of the evening was probably talking to Zack Braff. I like his "Scrubs" stuff more than I liked Garden State, but it was still really cool talking to him. He was really down to earth, and he stood around and chatted with me and a few of my classmates for about 10 minutes. He gave us some advice, we joked around, it was pretty relaxed conidering the icon he's become as of late. So that was crazy. Oh yeah and I have a picture with him, too. We've got our arms around each other, buddy style. Strange and awesome, this place called Hollywood. Look forward to seeing those pictures updated here soon. I know I do.

great things to come

spirit awards
Originally uploaded by walkingdistraction.

Good news abounds. Since I'm working for IFP (non profit independent film sponsor/ educator/ promoter/ all around good guy) I've got all access to a number of insanely awesome events. Firstly, I'll be at a 20th anniversary Independent Spirit Awards Nominee reception on Thursday February 24th. It's for this years nominees and past winners of the Spirit Awards. An impressive list of celebrities have been invited. So far the following are coming (but many more will show):
Quentin Tarantino
Selma Blair
Javier Bardem
Catalina Sandino Moreno
Gael Garcia Bernal
Diego Luna
Like I said, many more incredibly awesome indie icons have been invited. I hope they come.

But if not, there's always the actual Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, which I'll also be at. Everything is working out wonderfully. Especially since I tried to get into the Spirit Awards as a volunteer before I even came out here but since I couldn't be present for a training day in December they shot me down. But now since I work there and am a highly trusted intern, I get to not only be there, but have a lot more access and cooler duties than the average volunteer. Here's a list of people who will for sure be at that event (they are presenters):
Benjamin Bratt, Patricia Clarkson, David Alan Grier, Maggie Gyllenhaal (all my dreams are coming true), Salma Hayek, Val Kilmer, Laura Linney, JaneLynch, Ewan McGregor, Michael McKean, Bridget Moynahan, Megan Mullally, Annette O’Toole,Robin Wright Penn, Quentin Tarantino, Marisa Tomei, Robin Williams, and Elijah Wood. Samuel L. Jackson will be the Master of Ceremonies.

In addition, anyone who is nominated for an award this year will be there. Big names there, too. Check out the website, www.ifp.org

I'm sure I'll post again regarding all this after it happens, but in other news tomorrow my screenwriting class is going to a Writer's Guild conference with many of the nominated writers for the WGA awards. We'll listen to them talk, ask questions, and then eat desert with them. Here's who will be there (that I care about):
Zack Braff, Julie Delpy, Charlie Kauffman, and Alexander Payne. Tina Fey was nominated for Mean Girls but won't be there. I shed a tear for that one.

So that's a lot of name dropping, but after all, isn't that the point of this blog? Hollywood's a good time.

monster

monster
Originally uploaded by walkingdistraction.

I made this monster. His name is Rex. He recently starred in my stop motion animation. He is fierce. Beware.

valentine's day

joyce valentine
Originally uploaded by walkingdistraction.

happy v day, all. now james joyce will play us a tune.

film update

I finished my first LAFSC student film this week. It was more work than I was ready for, and I ended up wishing I would have attempted something a little simpler, but overall I'm okay with it. It's about a guy who can't find a quiet place to work. The sound wasn't what I had hoped it would be. I'm more excited about my next few films. I've been looking on Ebay for Barbie Dream Houses all night for my last movie. It'll be a stop motion animation featuring a jealous artist's figure and some Barbies. Barbie Dream Houses are far more expensive than I had thought, though. I'm thinking of befriending all the 8 year olds at the apartment complex in hopes of using one of them for their doll collection. That'll teach them who's boss.

recent celebrity sightings

Alright, these aren't celebrities I personally have seen, but they have been seen by my fellow LAFSC colleagues:

Baby Spice
Mel Gibson
Wilmer Valderama (Fez on "That 70's Show")
David Hasselhoff
Ron Jeremy


I'll add more as we bump shoulders with the rich and famous of Hollywood

copy of mass email #1

Here's a copy of my first mass email from Los Angeles. You know, for prosterity.

Greetings one and all from the palm tree filled wonderland that is Los Angeles. I’m here in one piece after braving about forty hours of driving through rain, ice, more ice, and tricky mountain passes. On the record, the state of Missouri and I are now mortal enemies. But after all that, my mom and I made it. It rained for the first 4 days I was here, but since it has been sunny and 75 every day. I think people are sick of me talking about how it’s the most beautiful day ever and that I can’t believe it’s January every day. Supposedly the rain cleared a lot of the smog, too, so the views are fantastic.

Outside our apartment you can see the back of the “Hollywood Hills” (where the Hollywood sign is perched) and all around us are palm trees, birds of paradise, and various other flora. Inside our apartment we have a kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, really nice furnishings, a deck, and a fireplace. I have four other roommates who thus far have been really cool. It’s nice to be in a place where so many people share an interest in film.

I’m quickly making friends both from our school and the apartment community in which we live. I’ve been frequenting the hot tub at night where I meet all sorts of interesting Hollywood types. I’ve met a producer, a stunt man, a few acting kids, and a band that will be touring with Papa Roach soon. I also found out that the kid who plays Dewey from Malcolm in the Middle lives in the building next to me, that Alien Ant Farm lives in the apartment next to the hot tub, and that Rick James died in these very apartments. Oh Superfreak. I’ve been here a week and I’m already brushing shoulders with the stars.

Speaking of stars, as I was taking my mom back to the airport I passed the premiere of that awful “Racing Stripes” movie and saw on the street none other than Snoop Dogg. We’ve made a list of famous people we’ve seen on our fridge. Thus far Snoop’s the only real star to make it up, but we have lofty ambitions.

Soon, after a series of interviews, I will have my internship. Right now the LAFSC is trying to line me up with Persistent Entertainment, a company about which I know very little, but I guess I’ll find out soon. I would most likely be doing a decent amount of coverage (reading screenplays and critiquing them), which is something I wanted to do. That’ll be 24 hours a week with a bit of commuting, but again, it’ll be good experience. On top of that I will be taking screenwriting and filmmaking. Between the two I’ll write a full length screenplay and write, shoot, and edit three short films. It’ll be a busy semester, but I’m sure it will be fun.

Anyhow, this email is reaching epic length, and I should probably go enjoy the beach or something, but I hope you’re all well in your respective locations. If you notice anyone who is not on this mass email list with a particularly bored disposition and may wish to read periodic ramblings about my time here, forward this to them and then send me their name. Or they can do that.

That’s all for now, but look forward to more star-filled adventures as Kate conquers Hollywood. Maybe someday I’ll get a website up with pictures, but for now this is as high-tech as it’s getting.

Come visit me, everyone!

Blog #1

Well, here I am. A brand new blogger. I feel fresh and alive with the power of technology. Anyhow, you've now seen my first post, hopefully there will be more. My inspiration will come in the form of celebrity sightings that I want everyone to know about, I imagine. Good luck to me.