I wish i had a time machine

So I could travel back and forth and have more than 24 hours in a day because there's so much to do in LA!!! :)

Hollywood Halloweenie parade + afterparty

Random photos of funny people all dressed up at the parade.


Example of how many gays there were at the parade. Even the Flintstones are both male.


This guy was a walking advertisement for recycling.


The X-Men crew. they were really cool.


These people were facebook lovers and twitter haters. really funny.


this couple was the best. such elaborate and shiny costumes.

So since we had to film all day and couldn't have a proper Halloween (plus people here are obsessed about this holiday), we had our very own LAFSC Halloween afterparty. people dressed up as characters, from YouTube to a jellyfish to Lizzie McGuire to Superman to LOST/Avatar/Star Trek characters, it was funny. we had a competition to determine who had the best costume, and my roomie the jellyfish from Planet 51 won movie vouchers. plus there was free food, so that was fun :)


Tera, my roomie, as Lucille Ball from I Love Lucy


Steve as House. doesn't he look totally like Hugh Laurie?????


Sarah as.. i don't know who that is, but she looks like her. she's our residence director, and she's awesome :)


Eric and josh as Jack Shepard and Sawyer from LOST.


Nicole as a YouTube video and Brandon as the little kid from Avatar. haha.


Bethany, my roomie, the awesome jellyfish.

And then we went Karaoke-ing after that, in true Asian style (a.k.a. in a tiny room to ourselves instead of screaming our lungs out in front of the entire room), in Koreatown.

Conan O' Brien Show

On thursday, faith, brent, jeff and i rushed from class to the Universal Studios lot to see The Conan O' Brien Show!!!! it was absolutely awesome. we ran all the way there from the parking lot (i realize i get all my exercise from dashing to premieres and TV shows lines) and waited an hour before we got in!!!

Oh funny story. we were so paranoid we weren't gonna get in, faith and i made the guys go and get in line first. so at a traffic light, we told jeff to get out, and he seriously took forever to open the door and get out. so the light turned green. and faith MOVED THE CAR. and of course, he had ONE FOOT OUT the door, and at this point everyone was SCREAMING, including the random terrified guy on the street, who had his hand out and ran toward us in slow motion. i was shrieking, get out, get out! faith was yelling, get in, get in! brent was... i don't know what he was doing. i think he was too shocked to say anything. jeff was confused and put his foot back in. and then we were all yelling and traumatized 'cause jeff almost got run over!!! but looking back, it was kinda funny. at least he's still alive -- that's what i tell him, 'cause he's such a drama queen and keeps telling anyone about how faith nearly killed him. haha.

So anyway, we got into the studio, which was pretty small, and waited excitedly for Conan to come out. he was HILARIOUS. the show was WAY better than any others i've been to here. he showed us this video where he randomly met this asian IT consultant guy at the Universal souvenir shop, and they hung out for a day. and this guy, named Wing, told him he volunteered at a women's defense class (as the assailant) and did tai chi and fencing in his spare time. he was so funny!! when Wing did tai chi, he made a circle with his hands and moved it from side to side. he was like, now pass the circle to mary. and Conan was like, who's mary? and Wing was like, just an imaginary friend. hahaha.

And then JIM CARREY came on the show!!!! he looked different, with longer hair and a beard, and he put on weight (for his next movie). but he was so funny!!! totally like how he is in movies. goofy and weird. and he gave us FREE SANDWICHES!! for everyone in the audience!! he randomly pulled out a sandwich and started munching, and was like, you know how everyone at the Ellen show or at Oprah always get free stuff?? well, now everyone here is getting a free sandwich!! and we were all like, YAYYYY!!! free sandwich from jim carrey!! life can't get much better than this!! haha.


Jim Carrey promoting his new movie, A Christmas Carol.

And then Olivia Wilde came on the show, she's from The OC and House. and then the Zac Brown Band (some country group) performed.

Olivia Wilde. she was absolutely gorgeous. and apparently she's married to a REAL LIFE PRINCE. lucky.

Definitely the best and funniest TV show so far :)

The last of HPW

YES now my life is back in full swing. yesterday marked out last HPW film shoot!!!!! when jeffrey yelled 'it's a wrap!!' we all jumped around and rejoiced.
But omg, it was a crazyyyy 7 hours before that. crew call was at 4.30am at the mall, so i was up at 4am and ready to go. and when we got there, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

it was SO noisy the entire time, people were cleaning the place at 5 in the morning. then there was music blaring over the speakers, and people kept walking by INTO our shot and staring INTO the camera. so our sound editors were going crazy 'cause we now have to record the actors' voices separately, which is gonna be hell 'cause they have to match exactly the movement of their lips. sigh. but there was just too much background noise in the mall.

and i was running around, begging and pleading people not to walk by our cameras, and yelling at people who did, and then just waving madly at people to walk by without staring directly into the cameras, 'cause we can't use those shots. it was pretty crazy, especially when the mall opened at 10am, and people started standing right by us and watching, like they had nothing better to do. i guess since it's a ghetto mall, no one's ever filmed here before. sigh. so it was hard to get good shots. and i approached all kinda of random people to ask them to be extras in our film, 'cause we didn't have enough. and as if it wasn't hectic enough, our Executive Producer (our professor) turned up to observe and make sure we were running set properly. and we only had 4 hours to film 3 pages of script. so yeah, tensions were running high and people were not very happy.

BUT IT'S OK, because it's over!!!!!! at least my part is. YAYYYYYYY!!!!! now i'm tossing the footage over to the picture and sound editors and i'm home free!!!!!!! :))

So we went shopping today after church to celebrate :)

Premieres!! Celebrities!!!

AFI Festival


Robert Deniro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale!! :)

This week's the American Film Institute Festival, it's pretty much AWESOME! it started on sunday with the premiere of Precious, which we didn't go to, unfortunately. and then we heard all kinds of celebs were at the premiere, including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey and Jamie Foxx. sadness. OH WELL.

And then monday we rushed from work to Hollywood and Highland to the Chinese Theatre for the premiere of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. we waited anxiously in line for rush tickets, meaning we would get in if the theatre wasn't full. so after 30 mins of stressing out, WE GOT IN! and got to see the movie for free! and we thought johnny depp/jude law/colin farrell might be there, since they're IN IT. but no... the director introduced the movie and told us to lower our expectations (wisely said, because the movie was awful), and Lily Cole (i think she's a model) was there, so was Verne Troy (the midget Mini Me from Austin Powers). So that was kinda cool, but not as cool as it would've been, had mr. Johnny Depp been there!!

Anyway, like i said, the movie wasn't that great. which was sad, this being Heath Ledger's final film and all. visually, it was stunning and very quirky, but it was also weird and too artsy for me. about this guy who sells his soul to the devil for immortality, and he can allow people into his mind, where their imaginations come to life, and they have to choose been good and evil. it was the weirdest thing ever. i almost fell asleep.

And then today, we rushed back to Hollywood and got in line again for free tickets to Everybody's Fine, and we GOT IN!!! and i saw KATE BECKINSALE and ROBERT DENIRO on the red carpet!!!!! SUPER EXCITED.
and then we got good seats too, very near the front, so i could see their faces when the director (Kirk Jones), Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Robert DeNiro came on stage to introduce the movie. i was seriously THIS CLOSE to them!!! the girls were SO beautiful, now that i've seen them in person, it's so weird! it's like they really do exist, and they really ARE gorgeous, no photoshop needed!!

And the movie was really good too, about family and relationships and all. it was a good holiday movie, although it was really sad and emotional too. but best free movie i've seen so far. and definitely BEST celeb sighting. I LOVE DREW BARRYMORE!!!! :)





Crappy pictures, but better than nothing! (from my friend's camera, since mine's not working) Drew and Kate on the side, and DeNiro introducing the movie.


Work

Monday was an accomplishment. i FINALLY finished shredding that MOUNTAIN of paper in the office. everyone cheered and rejoiced, especially me. no more breathing in paper dust! and now... i have nothing to do. haha. it's been pretty quiet around here. wonder where are all the breakdowns. doesn't anyone need actors anymore???

Can't believe it's november already. THREE MORE FULL WEEKS of work, and i'm DONE! YAYYY!

Happiness on a platter

Holding the boom mic yet again, this time at Tas' shoot last weekend. You would think I've become an expert grip, but nope. One of the actors actually came up to me and taught me how to hold it. And can I just say, never again. The 'real' way to hold a boom is gripping it WAY above your head with arms extended all the way. like a real workout!!


SIX FLAGS -- X2, BEST RIDE EVER.


Vertical Superman ride!!


I LOVE THEME PARKS!


I seem to have this fetish with photos of myself in 'jail'


If you look past the blond's big head, those creepy creatures did the Thriller dance.


I refused to pet the goats at the petting zoo because they looked like they were going to EAT me. Doesn't this goat look dangerous??


With the Six Flags man!


YAY we made it to SIX FLAGS after weeks of anticipation and excitement :)

Video-making while bored

Me and Faith bobbing our heads to 'Butterfly' in the computer lab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PXRPGNhICQ

Me and Faith (and Jeffrey) reading 'The Adventures of Brutus' -- this weird story we got from the screening of 'Gentlemen Broncos'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4WACCYMfk

Yes, we were pretty bored :)

Most exhausting weekend ever

Seriously. Definitely. It's only 8pm and i really really really want to go to bed. Plus I have to work tomorrow. THIS sucks. feels like i didn't even have a weekend at all.

It all started on friday night...

Filming of 'Two Hours' - Day 0.5

So Friday night, my co-producer and i called a meeting to prepare our crew for our weekend of filming, and we had EXCITING NEWS, because we finally found a damn office to film in, after FULL DAYS of searching and calling and waiting and hoping. And then everyone just slammed our hopes to the ground by totally bringing up all the risks involved in going to the office we found. And i guess i understand what they mean, i was a little worried about that too, because we just found the place (at the Christian school), we've never seen it before, we don't know how big it is or how much lighting it would need, we don't know how well it would fit into our script, we don't know if we'd be able to shoot again next week if we need pick-ups, we don't know if we can finish shooting 7 pages of script in less than 6 hours.

So after lots of arguing and heated discussions, i called the nice guy back (at 11pm) and told him we wouldn't be needing the office the next day after all. i felt SO bad for inconveniencing him, it was so unprofessional. and they were letting us film for free, too, and they didn't even know us! we just had to pay a fee of $100 to the guy 'cause he was giving up his sat to open the school for us.

But anyway, after we changed our location last minute to our casting suite at our school, tensions cooled and people felt better. and i did too, i wasn't as stressed out. i was just VERY UPSET because it wasn't my fault that we didn't have an office in the first place. my co-producer was supposed to find the office, i was supposed to find the mall. i got the mall after calling at least 50 places, not kidding. he didn't get the office, because he only called THREE PLACES. and then i scramble last minute to find another office because our crew was disappointed and didn't wanna film in the casting suite. so i try to help the situation, but then i find an office, and they turn it down, don't want it anymore. i was like, WTH, if you didn't want it, you could've told me so i wouldn't waste DAYS and DAYS trying to find a place. and i just felt like people were looking at me like it was my fault, because i was the one who found an office last minute and didn't know what it looked like. PLUS i'd been praying so hard and begging so many people to let us film, and i REALLY FELT LIKE it was GOD who answered my prayers and gave us this damn office. but then we just threw it back at him because everyone freaked out and was so paranoid that the office would be nothing like what we wanted. SIGH. i was just like, fine, u wanna shoot in the damn casting suite, GO AHEAD. if it turns out to be a crappy film, which it probably will, it's NOT MY FAULT.

And so we spent friday night working out butts off trying to make the casting suite (which is an empty room) look like a real office. so of course we were there till 3+am, even when crew call the next morning was 8am. and honestly, i would not work with some of my crew members ever again. people just weren't doing their jobs, and then us as producers had to do it for them, because we were supposed to make sure everything was happening smoothly. UGH. the incompetence of several crew members was just GETTING ON MY NERVES and that is why i HATE group projects because some people are just useless bums that really don't do anything unless they're kicked in the butt.

So i was annoyed and upset and frustrated most of friday night, but i still had to be professional and work to get things done like setting up the set to make the office.
if producers have to deal with all this last minute stuff falling through all the time, and people giving them such a hard time 24/7, i can safely say this is one job i know will not be in my future.

Day 1

Everyone in our crew was pretty much tired from having to do last minute set-up the night before, but i was surprised at how hardworking they were. no one complained, everyone was so efficient and productive and we got stuff done and wrapped up at 6pm. i was very pleased at how smoothly it went, because people keep saying things ALWAYS go wrong during shoots.

And can i just say, our little 8-year-old kid actor is just about the cutest thing in the world. floppy blond hair, dimples, playing with his dinosaur... omg adorable and perfect for the innocent little kid part. And our other two actors were so good too, i'm so glad we picked these people. So i felt a little better about the film. Plus i didn't have to do anything on set, since all my work was pre-production. so i just sat around and ran errands, got lunch, made sure everyone was happy :) i liked that part.

Halloweenie events

Even though we were super tired, some of us went to the Annual West Hollywood Halloween parade on santa monica boulevard!! it was crazy fun. EVERYONE was dressed up, except us, because we were SO tired and had no costumes. but it was insane seeing everyone dressed up in ridiculous outfits, from Wall-E to Twitter to X-men to Michael Jackson... and there were a ton of trannys. at least half the people there were gay. it was so weird. a car of gays tried to hit on my friend, and he gayish-ly responded, 'hiiii!' with a gay wave (he's not gay). it was hilarious. and there were stages set up with performances and crazy acrobatics. it was so fun but didn't stay long 'cause we were exhausted. i actually went to bed at 11pm. earliest ever.

Oh and we had daylight savings yesterday, so the time difference is now 16 hours, not 15.

Day 2

Today went really well too. early crew call again, but i didn't really have to do much except buy snacks. bought a lot of cookies, which was a mistake, 'cause our kid actors ate at least 5 donuts and went CRAZY. he was on a sugar high for an hour, jumping, crawling, running, telling stories to anyone who would listen...then he CRASHED and was so lethargic he couldn't do anything. it was pretty funny but after lunch he was back to his good old cute self.

So thank God our shoots went well, unlike others' shoots... my roomies are pretty stressed out 'cause someone dropped the camera and something broke, and an actress fell over in her chair during a shoot and injured herself, and some actors didn't turn up for another shoot... so comparatively, ours went great. phew.

Totally don't wanna go to work tomorrow. feels like i didn't even get a weekend 'cause i didn't get any time off since we've been working all day yesterday and today :(

Countdown

Less than two weeks from now, my producer stresses and worries will be OVER! just need to get this weekend and next weekend's shoot over and done with, and YAY i'll get my life back!! :)

After calling a gazillion schools and churches (found them randomly online -- they were all Christian because we realized Christians are nicer and more likely to let us film for free. haha), we got a few maybes. so... we're crossing our fingers and toes and hoping to God that someone, anyone, says yes. please yes. we just need one office to shoot in, that's not too much to ask for! and we already got our request to shoot with our own cameras turned down, so we're shooting with crappy cameras, and people aren't happy about that. if we have to shoot in the crappy casting suite as well, this is going to be one crappy film. again, it's not like i care because this isn't crucial for my future career, but it means a lot to others. so here's looking forward to two weeks from now!!! :)

Went to the advance screening of Gentlemen Broncos at The Archlight, and saw another premiere going on for some movie called Boondocks II. no idea what that was, but there was a red carpet and everything. and then the star of the movie, jemaine clement, who was in Flight of the Concords and other TV shows, came to the theater to introduce the film. he was funny, the movie was not. at all. i guess coming from the producers of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, i couldn't have expected more from it. it was the lamest crap ever, filled with slapstick humor and lots of unnecessary puking. and some people actually found it funny! don't know why. but oh well it was free :)

And i'm almost halfway through with my script!!! 45 pages of screenplay! my new title is Miss Match. I kinda like it. it's cute. haha.
And here's my logline - Convinced that the celebrity of her dreams is her true love, a psychic matchmaker attempts to meet him face to face, and realizes that love can be found in unexpected places.
It's not perfect, but my prof said it's 85% there. so... getting there, slowly but surely! and i'm realizing there's lots of me and my life in the characters and the script. haha. i guess writing what i know best is easiest.

Overwhelmed and overloaded

Producing stress

OMG. if i knew how much of a hassle producing was going to be, i wouldn't have signed up for it. and i know i'm just getting a little taste of what real producers do, since our film is only 10 mins, but even this is driving me insane. i now have tremendous respect for all producers everywhere - they do all the crap work for pre-production, production AND post-production, and they hardly get credit outside the industry. we've all heard of famous actors, directors, sometimes writers. but producers? never. i hope they earn lots of money (they probably do), because doing all this crap for measly pay is not fun at all. not that i get paid.

I'm so over this whole producing thing. can't wait to start filming and be done with it. it's just that producers are the ones who are overall in charge of the film, and anything that goes wrong will probably be blamed on us. so much stress with everything weighing on my shoulders!

We did our casting callbacks on Sunday and THANK GOD we found three amazing actors - the cutest little kid with floppy blond hair and adorable eyes, an old funny british man, and a versatile boss. seriously, i'm so glad we locked them in and got them for the miserable pay of $25 per day. so that part's settled. hope they don't disappear the day of filming (because that's happened before).
also, THANK GOD i finally secured a mall. it's a little on the expensive side, but we really didn't have any choice. so we went to check it out, and our director of photography and production designer really liked it, so YAY that's a huge load off my shoulder.

But then we found out yesterday that our office, which is our main filming location, FELL THROUGH. total insanity followed. now i have to spend the entire day tomorrow calling any and every office in LA to beg for them to let us film (hopefully for free). sigh even though there aren't any exams or tests in this program, this whole internship/producing thing is more stressful than any pop quiz.

I need to go do something fun. soon. if not i'm gonna go crazy, because my entire life has been revolving around this film.

Weekend

We did a service project at the Dream Center on saturday. it's a really cool place that has a few hundred outreach ministries across LA, and we met some people who actually stay at the center and reach out to people on a regular basis.
So even though i think they weren't expecting us, we ended up going to a small community and helped clean the streets, gave out free food and stuff, and played games with the poor kids. it was kinda sad to see this... poorer part of LA.

Then the rest of my weekend was consumed with FILM SHOOTS. three shoots in two days. so tiring.
Helped josh with sound (holding the boom mic again) on sat, helped maggie as an extra in her film the same day, and helped tas (my roomie) with errands and set design and sound on sunday. didn't even have time for church.

But we did have an awesome '80s dance scene during maggie's shoot, which turned into a crazy dance party afterwards for two hours. haha. let loose all the stress. it was funny to dance to no music/sound during the shoot though, since the sound would be added in post-production. we were at a 'party' and had to pretend to be talking, so we all had to converse and laugh soundlessly, and pretend to be dancing to an awesome song when there was actually no sound. funnyyyyy.

Work

Work has been the same. I just wish I would get paid. money is a wonderful motivator, i've realized this. oh well. at least i have a new goal in life now - FINISH SHREDDING THAT RIDICULOUSLY HUGE PILE OF PAPER before i get done with my internship.

I am a backpack

We had to think of a metaphor for class that described our lives at this point in time, and i thought that was really interesting. some people had funny descriptions, like a puzzle, dolphin, sponge, beard, ocean, car, iceberg, piano....
So here's mine :)

I am a backpack because I’m a laidback and easygoing person, and I rarely get flustered or bothered over things. I’m pretty stable and reliable, and I am responsible in keeping my word and doing what I set out to do. Sometimes I help carry others’ burdens in my effort to lighten theirs’, and I end up carrying more than I can handle because it’s hard for me to say no to others when they need help.

I am a backpack because I’m usually zipped shut and closed up, and it’s not easy for me to be outspoken about my inner thoughts and feelings, unless I’m with close friends. Sometimes I’m afraid that people will judge me or reject me if I open up and let myself be vulnerable, but I know it's not healthy to keep things bottled up, so most of the time I unload to close friends or family.

I am a backpack because God is my ‘owner’ and He guides me to the path where He wants me to be. Although I have no idea what my future looks like, He knows where He’s leading me to, and He has my best interest at heart. He carries me through the highs and lows of life, and when my burden becomes too heavy, He unloads some of it and only takes the essentials.

I am a backpack because backpacks have lots of different designs and colors. My backpack has many pockets with varying depths, because there are facets of my personality and life that go deeper than the surface. There is a mix of different pastel colors to portray my neutral and easygoing nature, and to show that I’m not one who yearns to be in the spotlight. There would also be several
patches and holes where I’ve made mistakes and been broken and learned from them.

I am a backpack because I enjoy being that source of encouragement and support for others, and I like being able to help others with their problems. But sometimes I take on more than what I can handle, and I end up lugging this huge weight on my own strength, without realizing I can actually ask for help. I also tend to carry things I shouldn’t, like fears of the unknown, of failure and of rejection, and past experiences I haven’t been able to let go. Most of the time it ends up being God, my family, or close friends who set me down and unload some of my burdens with advice, encouragement and prayer, so that I can continue on my journey toward the destination that God has planned out for me.

So that's me. What are you?

All the above

On the search

On Friday, we all piled into faith's car and went on route to find the 1 out of 3 Olive Gardens here in California, only to find ourselves stuck in a ridiculous traffic jam on Hollywood and Highland ave. Why? No idea, there must be some huge concert going on at the Hollywood Bowl. Seriously, we moved slower than a sleeping snail. There were probably ants crawling along the sidewalk, snickering at us as they passed. So after an hour, we gave up and went to the next nearest Olive Garden (faith was determined to get to one cuz it was her birthday celebration, and birthdays in the midwest usually means Olive Garden/Flattop/Cheesecake Factory. there isn't much variation with the traditions).

So we happily arrived at 9.30pm, starving half to death, parked the car, and walked around the block 1000 times before asking someone where on earth this legendary Olive Garden was. And they laughed and told us it closed down TWO YEARS AGO. great. so much for breadsticks. we ended up at California Pizza Kitchen, which was pretty good too, but it wasn't Olive Garden. so that was the end of that.

Oooh funny quote of the day: 'why am i sitting next to the two food coma patients??' -- Dana
Because Hani and i were slumped over in the backseat of the car, ready to fall asleep after stuffing our faces. haha.
Also, i was cleaning my side of the table with a napkin before we left, and josh was like, 'whatcha doing?', in a really confused and amused way. i think i've given off the impression that asians really love cleaning. and then he was like, is it true that it's bad luck to stick your chopsticks straight up in food? i was like, um, no, i don't know where you get this kinda information from. haha

More Flags, more fun!

Sat we went to SIX FLAGS!!! it was completely awesome and totally exceeded my expectations. the park was HUGE! i think it's one of the bigger Six Flags in the US.
we got in for only 10bucks 'cause of some discount coupon, and paid 30 more to get the FlashPass! totally worth it, because we waited in line for like 5 mins for all the rides, except those without Flash passes. so while everyone else was in the hour-long line, we flew right by and went on all the rides!!! it was one after another so fast that i actually got a little dizzy from non-stop rollercoaster rides.

the Superman ride?? it shoots you right out of a tunnel, and you go straight up in the sky, VERTICALLY. and there's a Superman figure waving at you in the sky on the top of the ride. COOLNESS.
the Tatsu ride was awesome too. you're strapped into a harness, with your legs dangling, face and stomach toward the ground, so it's like you're flying. i was actually kinda scared, cuz if the harness were to give way, there'd be nothing to stop me from falling and splattering all over the pavement.

But the best was definitely the new X2 ride. OMG. you get on, and it flips you so you're lying on your back, facing the sky, and then you go up this slope, and it plunges you down backwards, headfirst!! and then it spins you around so you're upright again, with your legs dangling in the air, and throws fire at you, and spins you 360 degrees at least 5 times!! it was totally INSANE and i've never been this scared on a ride before, but it was also definitely the BEST RIDE i've EVER been on, and i've been on a ton of rides!

If you wanna see the X2 ride from the rider's point of view, here's the link (start from 2:30min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrVO1wiFmw




CRAZINESS! :)

And then since Halloween is approaching, the park got all decked out when the sun set, and they had people dressed up as scary creatures prowling the park, jumping on people and chasing them around. it was pretty intense! and they had a Michael Jackson Thriller dance off, and a huge stage, and crazy music and lights. it was so awesome!!! they had tons of haunted houses and mazes too, but i was too chicken. haha.
SO fun though. i love six flags and all 10++ rollercoasters and crazy rides they have!! we were there from 10.30am till 9.30pm :)

Mondayyy

Today was another slow day at the office. lots of shredding paper again, which was actually kinda fun. i got to read a book, a magazine, and play my DS while waiting for the stupid shredder to cool down every few mins.

Watched the movie Rear Window for class tonight, it was interesting. the first Alfred Hitchcock movie i've ever seen. i always thought Hitchcock was known for his scary movies, but this was not scary AT ALL. i think maybe we've become so desensitized to violence and gore that a movie from the '50s hardly even raises our eyebrow.

Randomness

Flinging my hair in the wind

Holding the sun as it sets

Me and Faith at Venice Beach. we saw DOLPHINS doing flips in the air right near us at the pier!

Me and hani at the Fame premiere at The Grove

At chinatown eating crappy chinese food during mooncake festival

Work

Tuesday my entire day was spent shredding paper. i know right, fun stuff. well, actually it was kinda fun, for the first hour or so, then it just got monotonous. and it didn't help that the shredder was another ancient piece of metal that overheated every 2 minutes and took 10 minutes to cool down. but it was ok, i read magazines and books in between.


Wednesday this script supervisor who worked on all kinds of movies in Hollywood came to talk to us about crafting stories, and she was really interesting, talking about how to structure stories to keep audiences on their toes. you know what i realized? audiences are a tough crowd. that's you. and me. all of us! we judge movies, or any form of entertainment, so harshly and our expectations are so high that people in the entertainment industry have to keep pushing the limits and raising the standards just to keep audiences coming. it's kinda ridiculous.

Went to The Grove at night to chill and read free magazines at Barnes and Nobles, and i tried this dish called Jambalaya at the Farmers Market. it was so good! rice with spicy sauce and chicken and sausage. yums.

Still on the search

Today stressed out more about our film location search. sigh. we start filming in two weeks, and i don't even have the stupid mall permit. why do all these malls have to charge a few thousand for us to film??? do they not understand we're poor college students on a tight budget?! doesn't help that people are breathing down my neck and looking over my shoulder, pressing me to intensify my search.
And then... okay this is going to sound awful, but faith told me everything was gonna be okay, and then she said, 'you need to just trust God that He will provide.'
And i was like, wait. trust. God? so... i realize i've been relying on my own abilities and i totally forgot i could actually pray and ask God for help. says alot, doesn't it. but yeah, now i'm just going to surrender this whole thing to Him and trust He will provide the best mall for us (for a low cost).

New York I love you

Went to the free advance screening of 'New York I love you' today, it was really messy and confusing and i spaced out after a while. so glad i didn't pay to see this movie, because it was so not worth it. sure, it had tons of famous people in it, but it was just a mess of short love stories that didn't have endings. they didn't tie anything up, everything was just mixed into another story and no one ever found out what happened to the characters. very disappointing. although.. it did make me miss NYC. a lot. i've never actually missed a place this much before. sure i miss sgp, but for the people (and the food), not the place. but New York... i'm honestly just counting down the days till i can go back and live there. i love it so, so much! and i don't even know why!

anyway, sometimes crappy films like these make me think there's hope for amateur writers like me, because if these awful movies can somehow make it to the big screen, i'm sure i can write something better than this. i just need the right person to read it at the right time. easier said than done.
although... i thrashed out 7 pages of my script, tentatively titled 'Cut to the Chase,' and brought it to class today. after reading/acting it out, people seemed to really like it, which is awesome. and i feel very relieved, because i was so sure it was a shitty first draft. now i'm kinda motivated to continue and finish the script! 20 pages down, 90 more to go!

One and a half months later...

Time flies
So excited for all the plans my friends and i have.
Six flags, Universal Studios (yayy for seasonal pass!), Road trip to LAS VEGAS, Chilling at Venice Beach, Trying out lots of different restaurants, Thanksgiving meals, Black Friday shopping madness, Christmas shopping at outlet malls, Halloween madness, and tons more premieres and free movies!!! -- All this to do in only 2 months! :)

Film Geek night

Figures at a film program they'd have a movie night called 'film geek night.' i went for the first time on friday, just 'cause they were showing WOLVERINE on the big screen in class. LOVE that movie. can't understand why all guys hate it. but most girls love it and i'm one of them. superhero movies = awesome.

Venice Beach

Saturday was kinda chilly, but we still headed to Santa Monica for some much needed Panera Bread!! One of the 5 Paneras in the entire California! haha i don't actually know, but it seems that way, because California just has something against chain restaurants.
And then on to Venice Beach, right next to Santa Monica Beach. but Venice was WAY better. it had a skateboarding park, TONS of cute little shops along the boardwalk, a pier with people fishing... and we saw lots of people surfing in the cold waters, AND dolphins doing flips in the ocean right by us!!! it was so cool. we stayed till the sunset, and it was beautiful. although there were lots of people smoking weed, it felt kinda like Jamaica actually, for some reason. but i love that beach. totally going back to go cycling and shopping!!

Koreatown

We failed at our second attempt to go karaoke-ing at Koreatown. haha. they said a minimum wait of 30 mins, so we just headed into the Korean cafe next door and ate till we burst of happiness (and still managed to bring back leftovers).
Why is it that the korean and jap food here is so authentic and delicious but the chinese food sucks and is totally catered to americans??? i've tried 3 chinese places and have yet to find a decent one. really disappointing, all that greasy food.

Casting call

Sunday was another casting call... this time the pressure's on, because we're casting for our huge Hollywood Production Workshop class, and we HAVE to find the right people, if not we're screwed. so... only like 3 old men turned up for our elderly british man role, and 3 cute little boys turned up for our little kid role. most of them were sick at the last minute. sigh! need to do another casting call.

Jay Leno show

Today i went to the Jay Leno show with faith and brent!! it was fun. some people cancelled on their tickets, so we snapped them up! and we got there an hour early too, so we managed to get into the soundstage! and sat RIGHT IN FRONT of the stage, SECOND ROW. we discussed it and decided that they liked us because we were young and full of energy. 'cause when the show started, we had to run up to the stage and crowd around Jay. and i got to high-five him, so that was pretty cool!
The guest star was this comedian named Dana Carvey, he was funny. and then Justin Timberlake appeared via satellite to answer 10 random questions. i was like, i see JT on the screen ALL THE TIME, i wanna see him in PERSON, not on the screen again!!! but he was in Vegas, sadly enough. he was so cute though. and brent got a free 'jay leno show' t-shirt. the crowd was pretty old, but REALLY energetic. everyone was clapping and dancing and having fun. a day off well spent :)

back to work tomorrow!

Stress and de-stress

Classes

Really feeling the pressure to perform in class now. this whole entertainment industry thing is no joke. there are TONS of people wanting to make it big everyday. actors, directors, producers, writers... and i'm just another face in the crowd. i'm beginning to realize this is hard work. WRITING is hard work. inspiration doesn't just strike with perfect timing. you have to sit at your computer and let it flow, even if the writing seems to be nothing of value. then from those 100 pages of nonsense, maybe there's 2 pages worth using. sigh. that's what my professor said - writing is not an easy task. those people at Walmart working the monotonous, brainless 9-5 shift? yeah, they used to have dreams and goals too. but somewhere along the line, they gave up, they let go, they settled for financial stability and an ordinary life. because being an artist requires more time and effort for less results.

sometimes i wonder why God placed me in this... creative industry. writing. producing works of art. it's all so subjective. and there's really no guideline, no path to follow to ensure success. it's just a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, tears, and luck. meeting the right people, being at the right place at the right time. sounds very risky huh. but it's a risk i'm willing to take. i'd like to know i gave it my best shot before settling for a dreary and mundane 9-5 office job. it'd be easier to follow a straight path to be a doctor or lawyer, at least you'd have jobs after graduation. but a media comm degree in the outside world? means absolutely NOTHING -- this fact has been pounded into us since day one, to make sure we understand what we're getting ourselves into. it simply means we can maybe write or read better than the average person. but it doesn't really consist of any real skill, unlike practicing medicine or manufacturing a computer.

so yeah. i'm feeling the pressure to work hard. very hard. i'm pretty satisfied with my script outline now, working toward starting it soon. the rest of the class + my prof seem to like it too, at least i'm getting positive responses, unlike some others. but this whole scriptwriting thing... i'm not sure if i truly love it. it's fun, definitely, coming up with ideas and plots and falling into this world i've created with characters of my very own. but getting down to business and actually writing the script is very... grueling. and exhausting. i wish i could just pass my idea on to someone and let them write it. that'd be easier huh. but nothing in this life is easy.
anyway, i'm excited about my script. it's a ROMANTIC COMEDY! and the more i write it, the more i'm like, I TOTALLY WOULD GO SEE THIS AT THE THEATRE! I WISH SOMEONE WILL BUY MY SCRIPT AND MAKE IT INTO A MOVIE! can totally imagine Sandra Bullock being the lead!! haha. more about the plot later. when it's fully developed and locked.

also, this whole thing about being a producer is HARD WORK. who knew it'd be so hard calling every single mall in LA and surrounding areas, trying to find a dang place that's nice and colorful and has a carousel and photo booth -- that will let us film???

Disney mania

wednesday was our day off for producers. instead of working hard, hani and i took a break. haha. we attempted to find a dim sum place for lunch, but ended up at this tiny chinese restaurant on Sunset Blvd, which turned out to be like any other chinese place - crappy.

but then we went to the Disney El Capitan theatre in Hollywood to see the special double feature - TOY STORY 1 & 2 in 3D!!! it was pretty cool. the theatre was magnificent. majestic red velvet curtains draped over the walls, huge screen, colorful organ on stage playing disney songs, even Woody and Buzz performed a little dance sketch! it was terribly cute.


Woody, Jessie and Buzz dancing on stage. haha.

Coolest organ ever.

El Capitan theatre!

Crazy day

Thursday was crazy. class in the morning, class in the afternoon. i think Theology in Hollywood has got to be the world's most boring class. all we do is talk about film. every. single. detail. of. the. film. from lights to color to music to tone to atmosphere to dialogue... omg. i'm so tired of analyzing films i couldn't care less about.

Anyway, we went to the free advanced screening of Law Abiding Citizen, starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx! my roomie worked the premiere two days ago, and she got to go to the after party, where she BUMPED INTO Gerard Butler and RAN AWAY speechless!!! funny. the movie was gruesome and had lots of unnecessary scenes of grisly violence. it had an interesting message about the justice system and how justice isn't always served, but i don't think i'd go see it again.
It made me think of what my prof said about creating characters in our stories. he said the best villains are those who absolutely BELIEVE without a doubt in their cause. it can be something horrendous, like Hitler's, but he did believe his cause was righteous and true, even if it was twisted to the world. interesting huh. the best villains are also those we can kinda relate to. 'cause they're human too, and circumstances just turned their life down a different path from others.

As we left the theatre, fire alarms were going off in the parking lot, and security people RAN PAST US, muttering something about a fire/bomb threat!!! and then tons of security people were checking cars and closing off exits. omg. it was kinda scary.

And then since the night was still young, partyyyyy!!! :) i still think partying in NYC was more fun. oh NYC, i will be back! the place was 18 and over, so the crowd was... very hyper and adolescent. they even had a dance group perform on stage, and it felt like i was at some high school prom. haha. but it ended up being fun :)

Until...

I woke up today and hated myself for staying up so late last night. ugh. had to go to work too. wasn't a very happy person, or cheery. but i got to sit in on an audition at work, and watched 2 adorable kids perform a monologue. it was so cute :)
and then the bus took 2 hours to get me back home.

but YAY THE WEEKEND'S HERE!! and it's a long weekend too!!!! off till tues!

Beginning of fall

Crunchy leaves

Fall has officially begun in California. and it's kinda chilly, not as warm as i'd expected, which is fine with me, because i get to whip out my coats, scarves and boots! yay! i think fall is my favorite season. it's cool but not cold, and not ridiculously hot either. although... i've been wearing my winter coat, and it seems like i'm the only one. other people are still in t-shirts and shorts. haha. i guess i just can't take the cold. i'd rather be nice and toasty and have people stare at me weirdly than be shivering in t-shirts and shorts, thank you very much.
I kinda miss the changing of the color of leaves, like in Indiana. it's SO gorgeous. one of the most beautiful sights i've ever seen in my life. the leaves go from green to red to orange... it's so pretty. definitely should be on the list of 'must-sees' in life.

Reality LA

Sunday i tried out this church called 'Reality LA' with a couple of friends, and it was actually really cool. not what i was looking for, because it was all young people, even the pastor seemed to be in his late 20s. but the worship was so awesome, something i haven't experienced in a while. very contemporary and moving. the worship leader's voice was so enchanting and soothing, i totally fell in love. haha. besides that, the sermon was long but good, and they had a long worship session after the word, and everyone just did their own thing, worshipping God in different ways, as the lights dimmed and it was just us alone with God. it was pretty cool. i think i might go back there.

Twilight craze

So... faith, dana and i are officially Twilight fans. we went to Barnes & Nobles, planning to do homework, but instead we sat and read the Twilight magazine, complete with pictures and bios on each character. haha. we're totally going to camp out the night before the New Moon premiere in Hollywood, so we can see Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner!!! and dana was like, you should pretend to be Cho Chang from Harry Potter ('cause apparently she's good friends with R.Pat) and get us into the premiere and the after-partyyy!!!!
i was like, all asians don't look alike!!! now people think i either look like
a) Cho Chang (we didn't even know her real name, so we googled it and found -- Katie Leung)
b) Mulan
c) Pocahontas
seriously??? i don't look like any of them!! oh well. guess i have options for Halloween costumes now. haha.

Working life

Work is getting kinda exciting. i think they're trusting me to do more as they get more comfortable with me being there. everyone's so nice and funny, it's pretty cool. and when i get free time, i usually work on homework so i don't waste time.

This week i got to make more rejection phone calls. it amazes me how no one picks up their phone here. what's the use of having a phone if you're not gonna answer calls??? and then i got to pull more headshots of actors for roles in TV shows. i realize some of the actors they represent have been in a TON of things! granted, they're small, supporting roles, but still! these people got to work with major stars!! that was cool.
OOH i also SAVED MONEY last week! only spend about $20 the entire week, because i brought my lunch to work and ate dinners at home. YAY proud of myself. the temptation to take the easy route and buy food is always there, but i resisted! :)

Today i got to do coverage for a script. OMG. it was seriously the worst script i've ever read. not that i've read a lot. but still. it was just a pointless, meaningless short film that simply emphasized horror and gruesome things.
it was about this writer who goes to the countryside to find inspiration for her writing, and she ends up being assaulted and raped multiple times by a gang of guys, and then she falls off the cliff and fakes her death. so they think she's dead, but she comes back for revenge and kills each and every one of them in gruesome, horrific ways, all the while savoring their suffering. one guy she pulled out all his teeth, one by one, then castrated him!!!! another guy, she pushed into a hole with spikes jutting out (which of course pierced his feet and legs), and then sewed his eyelids to the top of his eye so he couldn't blink, and let crows bite it until his eyeballs were completely gone!!! another guy she let piranhas eat him alive. and then she goes psycho and gets addicted to torturing random guys. WHAT KIND OF SICK WRITER IS THIS??!?!! i was totally traumatized for the rest of the day.

PLUS i was reading Shutter Island at the same time, which is an awesome book but also about psycho people, so my mind was just overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of the day. the twist at the end was major. i think the movie's gonna be awesome. coming out in feb!

Night classes

I hate night classes. walking to the center at night is a little creepy. yesterday we had to watch a movie for class, 'The Lives of Others' -- was a pretty interesting foreign film, about a government spy who becomes attached to the people he spies on and helps them at the cost of his career. and then today we had a guest speaker - this producer guy who was really nice and like a friendly grandpa, but he just went on... and on... and on... and never stopped. it was cool how he met the legendary Walt Disney himself, and Walt actually paid for his tuition for film school!!! and he did lots of other cool things too. but man... the talk was 3 hours too long. my friend was like, if only i had a tomato (to throw at him). hahaha.

Conversations

So every morning and evening i get a ride to work from this guy who works a few blocks away from me. he's pretty cool and we got to talking about a lot of stuff. one day we were talking about homeless people.
there are 60,000 homeless people here in LA, isn't that crazy??? that's a TON of people pushing shopping carts and begging for change on the streets everyday!!! i get at least 5 people asking me for change daily, and i feel so bad but i can't give all my money to every single one of them. it's so sad, i don't know why the government doesn't do more to help. makes me wonder how they ended up homeless and why aren't they doing anything to change that. also wonder how come there are so many more homeless people here than in singapore.

All's well ends well

I'm recovered!!!! or at least halfway there. SO HAPPY i ate a cookie today and didn't cough my lungs out.

Work

thank God i got better because i had to go to work on friday, and i didn't wanna be forced to go home again because of my germ-infested body. but i was fine throughout the entire day, except for one or two ridiculous bouts of coughing. YAY i made it through! and i actually got to do some productive work in the office.

i did some filing, then wrote practice breakdowns for characters in a new upcoming TV pilot called... maybe i shouldn't name it, for confidentiality reasons. so anyway i read the script for the first episode and summarized the characters. i was pretty eager to read the script to see what kind of story, among the millions that get sent in everyday, gets picked to actually be aired on TV. BUT... it was such a disappointment. the worst script in the world. well, maybe not. but it was pretty awful. sounded like the lamest story about a boring character that i didn't give two hoots about. i'm pretty sure no one i know would tune in for a show like that. but i guess it caught the network's attention 'cause it's being produced! really have no clue why.

and then i got to do some phone work! i called a whole list of people in the 'reject' pile -- those who sent in their resume and headshot to be (hopefully) represented by my company, but got rejected. for some of them, i had no idea why. they were STUNNING, like seriously very good-looking. i had a very enjoyable time gazing at their photos while calling them. and they had a reasonable amount of experience, some even in popular movies and TV shows! so i don't know why they got rejected. BEATS ME. but anyway, i called them all, some went to voicemail, some answered, but all were generally SUPER nice and thanked me for bothering to pick up the phone to inform them of the news, even though it was bad news. i guess in this town it's understood if you don't get a callback, you're not wanted. harsh reality.

after that there was nothing else to do, so i caught up on homework reading and worked on my script some. really proud of my improvements. i'm one step closer to understanding my characters in greater depth and carving out the plot! in screenwriting class, my prof asked if i was always a 'good student.' i was like... yeah... i guess i am. since i always like to get my work done in advance. although i've been slacking since i got here. there's just something about California that screams VACATION, not STUDY HARD. but he seemed pretty impressed by my work, although i only did it the night before. haha. but i'm determined to work hard now. he really made me feel like i was wasting a great opportunity, being here, because i wasn't making full use of the class to learn.

so i'm gonna spend more time thinking, living and breathing my screenplay. because he said we're competing with film students from UCLA, USC, and all kinds of Ivy League schools. and these people are CRAZY passionate about their work. so we have to be like that too, if we ever wanna make it in this town. i guess that kinda made me think. i'm not crazy passionate about anything, really. i'm fine with anything, as long as it's fun and has something to do with writing. i think. that's why i'm having second thoughts about graduate school. why study something you're not sure u wanna do? and compete alongside all these HARD CORE students who LOVE what their doing to the point where they worship it???

and then i took the bus back, and would ya know it, a fat annoying old man, who felt the need to make weird comments every so often, sat next to me. and took up one and a half seats, leaving me with a measly half. it was an awkward hour, made more uncomfortable by the awful brakes on the bus and the freezing cold air con. couldn't wait to bolt out of there.

Film shoot

Awoke at the crack of dawn to help Faith with her film shoot today. luckily, it was at the center, where we have our classes, so it wasn't very inconvenient. her script took place in a bomb shelter, so we painted walls and stuck newspaper on them and put lots of cardboard and blankets around. it looked pretty dang awesome, especially with the lights dimmed and a greenish light cast on the scene. it's amazing what the camera can do, because our homemade 'bomb shelter' was TINY -- two walls and no ceiling or door. but with all the close-ups and tight shots, you'd never know we were filming in a normal room.

Our actors were AMAZING. two guys - who played brothers - one guy was in his 30s, he was originally from south africa, and he's the only one from his family here in the US. the other was the adorable 15 year old kid, who i found out was from Europe, and he and his parents were the only ones from their family here in the US! it was so funny. because i was the make-up artist, so i also told them i was the only one from my family here in the US! and we shared a bond for a second. it was cool. they totally understood where i was coming from because they've been through it. and they were pretty good actors, too, they got along like best buddies even though they just met.
i think it's crazy how EVERYONE in LA wants to be an actor. so much so that they'd even act in student films for free. but the kid was pretty talented. hope he gets far, 'cause he was so sweet and funny. he chattered incessantly, and was like, in spanish class, after a spanish exam, we watched jumanji! dubbed in spanish!! hahaha.
and he had the cutest big brown eyes :)

anyway, i've finally found my CALLING in life. i want to be a make-up artist!!!!!!!
seriously.
it's so fun! i've always been fascinated by makeup. i should go to beauty school!!! and i could do crazy makeup for films!!! OMG it's perfect!!! shall go research beauty schools now. i did the guys' makeup for the shoot, and it mostly consisted of making them look dirty with dark brown eyeshadow smudged all over their faces and necks, newspapers rubbed all over their arms, and lots of gel in their hair to make it look gross and tousled. it was SO fun. the most fun i've had on a shoot so far. way more fun than holding a boom mic, that's for sure!

oh. and i realized. a Director of a film doesn't do everything. did you know that?? i certaintly didn't. i thought directors were in charge of the entire film! but no. they are the ones with the vision, who tell the actors what to do and what they want the film to look like. very big picture. but the Director of Photography is actually the one operating the camera, focusing on shots, choosing which angle to shoot which scene. isn't that weird? i never knew that!!! and then the Producer is the one who handles all the logistics, like meals, permits to shoot, schedules to shoot, film budgets, all that stuff. and then the Production Designer creates the set and decorates it however the director sees it. and of course there's the sound grips and lights and all that. and then in post production, sound and picture editors cut the film and put it together. isn't it crazy how many people it takes to make one little film???

Mooncake Festival

Today was the annual Mooncake Festival, or Moon Festival, they call it here. so we went to Chinatown to celebrate, cuz that's where the party's at. they had crazy martial arts people from Shaolin temple, a fire breather, acrobats and dancers perform. and then we walked around hoping against hope to find a dim sum restaurant, but failed. hani and i were so sad.

here's the story...

we went into one seafood restaurant and asked if they had dim sum, but they didn't. then i asked if there was one nearby, and the waitress looked at me incredulously, like i was deaf and dumb and had five eyes. she said no, dim sum is only served during lunch (spoke really slowly too, like i was a newborn baby). and she muttered something that sounded like an insult in cantonese.

and THEN, this entire chinese family next to us proceeded to turn around and gawk at me and hani (the only asians in our group) in shock and disgust, as if it were some sort of blasphemy that Asians would dare ask for dim sum in the evening (it was about 8pm). they glared at us like we had somehow violated an asian code of conduct and embarrassed our entire race. all the women shook their heads and muttered under their breaths about the stupidity of asking for sacred dim sum at such an ungodly hour, and gave us the evil eye. then the grandfather took it upon himself to reprimand us. he wobbled up to us with his cane, wagged his finger in my face, and said, 'no dim sum!' repeatedly. he looked upset, like he'd just found out his restaurant business was given a 'B' in hygiene. he was so fragile that i held back my urge to say, 'but the website said: open till 1am!', just in case he died of a heart attack upon hearing my words. i think the entire family thought we were a disgrace to asians, that we would actually think there was dim sum available at night. obviously we fled the scene rather quickly, and got laughed at the entire time by our non-asian friends. we finally found another restaurant and settled down, but alas, the food was even worst than those asian american cheapo buffets.

i really don't like all these asian american 'chinese' dishes. they're not chinese! there's NO SUCH THING as 'beef chop suey' or 'crab rangoon' or 'egg drop soup' or 'moo shoo chicken'!!! even if there is, i've never heard of it!!!!!! so weird.

Down

Sick-ish

So that little sore throat i had on sunday? yeah. full-blown cold/flu by tuesday, and it's gotten worse till now. sucks.
went to work on monday, only to be told by my boss that i should go home, lest i make everyone else in the office sick. so he gave me a couple quarters to take the bus back, and let me take tuesday off too, which i was happy about. who doesn't want sick days? the bus ride was an hour long, and the bus itself was filled with fat old grumpy people, mostly blacks and hispanics. there was also a strange musty smell, which kinda weirded me out. i'm glad i get a ride from my friend back and from work. i really don't like that everything's so spread out here in Los Angeles. much prefer the accessibility of New York.

Piles of homework

So i spent most of my sick time finishing homework, since i've been neglecting it the entire time cartoon was here. had a ton of stuff to do, but got it done and got some much-needed sleep too. and then for Hollywood Production Workshop, we got a TON of new homework assignments for producers. Script breakdowns, schedules, budgets, casting calls, location scouting... ugh so much to do! at least we kind of know our budget now -- about $1600. hopefully that's enough! now we need to find a mall and an office to film in, hopefully one that is cheap-ish and fits with our script too. sigh so stressful. doesn't help that everything's so far away and gas is so expensive.

Lecture from an actor

oh and last night, Tony Hale, the guy who acts in the TV series Arrested Development, came to talk to us. he was really funny and cool and gave us lots of advice. he said to remember that in this business, rejection is normal. in fact, TONS of rejection is normal. and not to worry, because everything will somehow turn out alright. that, and the fact that he's a christian in this crazy industry, was strangely comforting.
oh and he used to live in NYC in his 20s to early 30s, it's where he got his start as an actor. that was so cool. he said he absolutely LOVED it there and would recommend anyone young to go there and get their start, because it's such a great melting pot where people of all trades get together. and it's much more accessible and easy to get around, too. i totally agree!!

Jews in Hollywood

Today a Christian Jew came to talk to us for our Theology in Hollywood class. she said some really interesting things, like how Hollywood is literally run by Jews. did you know that? i certainly didn't. about 70% of people (especially top level executives) who work in Hollywood are JEWISH! whoa! all the major studios were founded by Jews! they totally dominate film and they control everything we see on the screen! that's... news to me.

and you know how that made me feel? slightly ashamed to be Asian -- Chinese, in particular. what have we done? Built restaurants with crappy food, invented powdered eggs and kids' toys painted with lead? sometimes i wish us Chinese had more of a community. really envious of Koreans.. everywhere they go, they accept each other with welcoming arms, all their fellow Koreans. But Chinese don't really care... and then i come from Singapore, which narrows it down to... no one. no singaporean community overseas, except maybe Malaysia or Australia, which sucks. but oh well, nothing i can do about it. sometimes i actually like being the minority. makes me stand out more. haha.

Anyway, she said that so many Jews nowadays don't even know the Old Testament - their own bible. and that they're afraid of Christians because all we want to do is show them love. i think that's so true. sometimes us Christians keep trying to LOVE one another that we just become too un-engaging and too spineless. we don't dare to speak out or do anything that causes controversy because we have to love one another and accept each other. which brings me to the topic of... is there such a thing as GOOD christian art? i think.. sadly... not really.

Oh christian art

when you think christian art, you don't think awesome movies like Gladiator or Slumdog Millionaire. you think lame movies like Left Behind and Fireproof. granted, christian music isn't bad, but it doesn't appeal to non-christians because they don't understand our lingo -- sacrifice, cross, jesus, sins, atonement. and so we're just preaching to the choir. plus i think christians are too scared to offend. i mean, if a pastor were to produce a movie that involves sex, drugs and violence, the entire christian community will go CRAZY with outrage. even if the movie was simply highlighting these issues in a realistic manner and showcasing the need for change. these things are real. they're happening every day. yet we ignore them and produce fluffy 'christians love everyone' movies 'cause we don't wanna cause an uproar. so that results in bland, bad quality movies that don't provoke people to discuss issues and do something about the problems in society. i think that's sad. what's also sad is how every single filmmaker-wannabe friend i have hold lots of disdain for christian films. that says something when even christians can't bear to support christian films.

i could go on and on about this.

Casting call + cute guys

I love casting calls. they're SO fun. u get to sit beside a desk and watch actors act out scenes, then you get to pick and choose which ones you want! isn't that awesome??
today i helped faith with hers -- she needed 2 guys to act as brothers, one teenage-age, one 20+. so the 15-year-old kid that came to audition for the little brother role was ADORABLE. like a cute little skateboarder with black skinny jeans and floppy over-the-eyes hair and the BIGGEST, CUTEST eyes ever. so he got the part, no questions asked. hahaha.
the other older guys were alright. some were a bit weird, but i guess actors are always weird huh. one guy had the WORST headshot in the world. it was like a facebook profile pic, NOT professional at all. anw that was fun and we're gonna be filming sat :)

Jump up let's get crazyyy

The weekend always flies by :(
Friday was an adventure. got a ride with my friends to Hollywood, where this little guy dressed up as chucky from the movie 'the bride of chucky' scared me to death. he's the creepiest little person i've ever met. anw went to meet cartoon's friends at a sushi bar, they were really cool -- they all had a chinese minor in college! isn't that weird? so many people wanna learn chinese, and here i am, hating it. they told us good places to go clubbing, but since it was still early, we sat around at hollywood and highland, and a TON of guys kept walking past us and making comments to us. it was so entertaining!

we were just sitting there, minding our own business, and these random guys would walk past and ask us to go clubbing with them or make some comment.. and then this weirdo came and sat next to us and started asking us where we were from, what we were doing there, etc. he was so creepy i was genuinely terrified! and i tried to escape but cartoon was just SITTING THERE. so i gave him one-word answers, and finally we got up and left, cuz he wanted to hang out with us (ew)! then he wanted to shake my hand, but that was the last thing i wanted to do. who knows what kinda germs he has??? but i was like, what if he stabs me 'cause i refuse to shake his hand?!?!? so i did. and quickly walked away. cartoon was laughing so hard cuz she thought it was hilarious i would think he'd stab me. haha. he was a creeper!

but other than that, it was a fun night of partying. i love being far far away from taylor.
i accidentally gave my number away again. oops. he looked kinda cute in the darkness, but you never know. well hopefully he won't call.

Movies

yesterday i finally got to see Inglorious Basterds. everyone else has already seen it, so i watched it with cartoon at The Grove. people always spot celebrities there on the weekends, but we didn't. just my luck! but the movie was pretty awesome -- was an interesting take on hitler and the war.
ooh and i found this singaporean restaurant called Singapore Banana Leaf at the Farmers market in the Grove!!! so excited. they had laksa, satay, prata, mee goreng, and lots of other stuff. we tried the mee goreng and prata, and it was pretty good. met a few ang mohs who used to live in singapore too, they were lovin' the food. haha.

then cartoon left for thailand, and i went to watch Fame with faith. it was pretty disappointing! i thought it'd be like Step up or Honey or Stomp the yard, you know, a dance movie with awesome dance moves, but it was lame. halfway through the movie, i wondered what it was about. it was lacking a plot -- there were all these life stories of different people, without any central theme to tie them together. the dancing and singing was lame too. sad.

Church
Today went to another new church - we didn't know it was gonna be like 40mins away, so we were a little late. the service was alright, it was a nice, small family church. i wouldn't mind going back, just that it's kinda far.
feeling a little sick-ish now. sore throat. ugh. no more eating out.