But i feel like i've already been here for months. it's weird. tons of weird/not-so-good stuff has been happening lately. my roomie got her load of laundry stolen right out the dryer, my other roomie was talking on her phone outside subway, in broad daylight, on the street in clear view of people, and this skinny white guy just whizzes by and SNATCHES the phone out of her hand!!!! her blackberry!! and after she gets over her shock of what just happened, the guy is way past gone. so the cops were called and all, but there's really nothing they can do. man, i've heard so many stories about people getting mugged in broad daylight, it's making me kinda afraid to go anywhere alone or hold any valuables in my hand. another friend got her wallet stolen at a CD shop. seriously!!! what is wrong with this place?? i guess we're all gonna be really cautious from now on, since apparently you can get robbed anywhere, anytime in LA.
ooh on tues went to The Grove in the evening (it's EVEN prettier in the evening!! pretty lights and everything! feels like a magical land. haha) to watch 500 Days of Summer. OMG if/when it comes out in singapore, PLEASE go and watch it. it's seriously the best romantic comedy i've ever seen in a while. it's different, unique, a little quirky and eclectic, but so worth it! although the ending leaves more to be desired, zooey deschanel is adorable and weird, as usual, and the story is just so cute and different from other predictable chick flicks. this movie's got more of an indie feel, but i just loved it. and the theatre we went to see it in was like some majestic ballroom! and you could tell by the steep ticket prices -- 12bucks just like in NYC. is it not enough that movies make big bucks?? do they have to rip us off too??? ooh but i learned in class that MOST movies actually LOSE MONEY! isn't that crazy?? so studios rely on one or two HUGE films like The Dark Knight or Transformers2 to recoup their losses. and here i thought they were ripping us off. although.. i still don't feel guilty for downloading movies online. hahaha.
been through several camera labs and equipment labs.. learning how to operate the crazy complicated cameras and equipments.. my head's just exploding with way too much information, and i'm pretty sure i'll forget it all. but it's so comforting to know there are other clueless people like me! there's english majors here, even an art history major! i guess most people, like me, come to this program with a basic interest in film, and they wanna find out for sure if this is where they wanna head into after graduation. we had a student film screening last night, where people got to show off their projects from previous classes, and i was totally blown away! i thought, from what i'd seen before, that student films are pretty crappy. and they usually are. but some of these pieces we saw were sooooooo professional and good! i was surprised!!! they were creative, funny, unique, and had a good message to tell. it was pretty cool, although the pressure's on, since everyone here is talented in some way.
talking about pressure... SO MUCH INFORMATION stuffed down our throats the last few days! i feel like i'm about to explode. so much homework i don't even wanna think about it. a couple who started the Hollywood Prayer Network (to support and pray for Christians in Hollywood), came and talked to us today and said we HAVE to know films if we wanna click with others in the industry and have something intelligent to contribute to conversations. so we have to watch the top 100 films on some list. omg. i looked it over, and i haven't seen like 95% of the films!!!! panicking now. this is what i get for watching mindless chick flicks all the time!! plus another huge topic in conversations is politics. GREAT. two things i'm clueless about. gotta go read up on that, because i gotta know the lingo in hollywood!!
and also we have to write a freaking script by wednesday to compete against each other cuz only 5 scripts will get picked to be made into movies in our Hollywood Production Workshop class. STRESS to the max. since obviously i'm a writer and i want to do good in this area. but i'm totally drawing blanks when it comes to story ideas. i mean, the film is only gonna be 10mins max. which means 10 pages of script. which means.. super short and crammed! and as you can see, i love to write. ALOT. people have trouble writing enough to meet the minimum, i have trouble writing lesser to be under the maximum. that's always been the case. sigh. will have to keep brainstorming.
but back to the couple who came and talked to us today... they were so cute and it was so refreshing to see people still happily married after so long in hollywood. they've worked with all kinds of famous directors, producers, actors... and they're still so grounded in the Lord and they've touched countless lives just by being an example of Jesus' love! it was pretty awesome to hear their stories. so i shall be committed to praying for one person at my office and pray that God will use me to touch that person's life. they keep telling us that most people in hollywood are jewish, which is surprising, and that people are so hungry for someone to listen, because everyone in hollywood lies and cheats and deceives. and their god is not money, it's worldview. some people will fight to the death for their beliefs in politics, saving the environment, gays... everything. it's all so overwhelming.
so anyway, i got to know more people here and there... some people here really look like some of my friends at taylor, it's weird. but everyone's really getting to know each other better, so it's cool. last night we watched Into the Wild at someone's apartment (another great thing about not being at taylor? no open house!! meaning we can go to anyone's apartment anytime! boy or girl! haha).. it was a pretty good movie. very thought provoking and a true story too! it was kinda slow and long, but still recommended. this guy actually removed all traces of his existence and went on a journey to alaska, meeting weird people along the way. he'd conformed to the expectations of his rich parents until after he graduated from college, then he 'ran away' and just started hiking by himself. it's crazy! i can't imagine living like that.. not really having any purpose but just drifting along and hunting for food everyday.
ooh and yesterday we tried to go see the Jimmy Kimmel live show in hollywood, because Robin Williams was a guest star, but we were too late and tickets were gone :( but it's ok, there are plenty of other shows!!! this is like new york all over again!! so many free shows to go to!!! Boys Like Girls is coming to the jimmy kimmel show a few weeks from now, and i signed up but only got standby tickets. hopefully someone cancels out.
so yeah. a lot to think about. have to write about my expectations for this semester, and honestly... the reason i applied for this LA semester was to get away from Taylor. plain and simple. it's not like i hated it there, i love my friends and all, but i just NEEDED to go somewhere else, somewhere where i have more freedom, where there's more stuff to do, more people to meet... i don't know. at that point in time last semester, i was running away a lot. like to new york and then now to LA. but now that i'm actually here... i think God brought me here for a purpose. i mean, i know that, and i'm excited to find out what it is :)
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