Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Welcome To L.A.



It was just a dream, the disdain of my surroundings served up on a tray
No money and no experience, but I left anyway
22 years is a long price to pay
when you're longing for something more day after day
My friends and family, their full support on display
Choked up and speechless, was left with nothing to say
Bags were packed and loaded, all there was to do was pray
Please let it be worth it, I'd whisper in hotel beds as I lay
Trees eroded into plains, so far from the beautiful red Georgia clay
Maybe we should turn back, I thought for a moment and then said nay
Returning to my sense, something deep inside I knew I had to slay
A renewed vigor excorcised the doubt, no time for my confidence to sway
Its so easy to get lost in the grey
Immaculate complexity, all of life consists of opportunities from which we weigh
Eventually entering into the land of dreams and angels, careful to not be lead astray
My old dreams became reality, endless information on my mind like a boat on a restless bay
Go here, no go there, and endless array
Diverse and dying inhabitants gleaming in an ever-present gamma ray
Too dry to walk, no water to spray
Why am I here I pondered, then he yelled and said "HEY"
What did you say? Where you referring to me or they?
Opportunity himself pat me on the back and assured me everything would be okay
Time passed, slowly finding myself, not to sound too cliche
But this truly is a land of chances and opportnuties, an "all you can" eat artist buffet
Sometimes I feel as though it is unjust, a gift wrapped in a bouquet
The trick is to take advantage before the gift begins to decay
It's hard though, to illustrate exactly what I'm trying to convey
The pride, success, and anguish of an artist always on full dispay
Now park your vehicle of destiny, even if you have to use valet
Your journey is soon to follow, be careful not to delay
I hope one day my example will shine like a beacon to welcome you to L.A.



-Cam-








What Is Art??

What is art? It's such a simple question but its one that no one can quite answer. If you polled 5 random people on the street they would all have different responses. Now that I am slowly becoming entrenched into the world of entertainment  I have been asking myself the same question. Are studio productions any more or less artful than their independent counterparts? Should something that has garnered mainstream attention be held in the same regard as something no one has ever seen? Must we be forced to pay for art or should it be handed to the masses? Are we art? Is life art? Okay fine, I'll stop the rhetorical questions before it gets a bit too existential but my point stands. These questions are quite common despite their inherent complexity. Never have I pondered this conundrum more than when I took an impromptu visit to LACMA to "witness" the art of Kanye West.

For my dear friends in Georgia, LACMA stands for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Many of you have probably noticed the famous "Urban Lights" pictured above.  The lines between "fine art", music, and film are blurred to the point of becoming indistinguishable. Me being in film and a huge fan of all things music,  I jumped at the opportunity to see a Kanye West short film being exhibited at the museum. To make things crazier, the film was directed by none other than Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave). This union between these two masters of their crafts filled me a mixture of great anticipation and hesitancy; both in equal measure. Regardless of this, myself and a caravan of my fellow bulldogs headed to the museum for the event.

Without ruining the experience for everyone, I truly do think everyone should see this for themselves, I'll attempt to give you a little context into what I saw. First, it's important to note that the film center's around two songs from Kanye's upcoming album. For this reason it feels much more like a music video than a conventional film. Another interesting thing to point out is that the entire 9min "event" is shot in one take. There is a "chase" like aesthetic to the entire thing with many comparing it to a matador and his bull. I don't know if I completely agree with that but there is definitely some subverted text present. One on hand you can view it as Kanye running from the "gaze" of our world or you can watch it as Kanye just being Kanye; rife with pretension and all. My interpretation? That is a little more complicated.

Through a film perspective, I would be lying if I said this wasn't expertly shot. Any filmmaker's blood pressure would raise to unsafe levels if they knew they had to shoot something in one take for over 9 minutes using only natural lighting. From a musical standpoint I think most people will have to get over two major hurdles. First, you either like Kanye's music or you don't. Secondly, and more importantly, the booming base present was so overpowering that it was difficult to hear the other elements of the song during the viewing. I do not however know if the blame should be placed on the audio mix or the venue. The booming presence may have also been purposeful which is something to consider. After three viewings, I really could not decide if I liked what I saw or not. I could not shake the feeling that if this exact project was made by someone with less acclaim no one would ever see it or even give it much thought. What I can say confidently though is that when I left LACMA that day I left with more questions than answers; the most prominent of those being,what the hell is art anyway?


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Cam vs LA Housing

                                                              (www.telegraph.co.uk)

Oh how hard it is to find housing in LA!
Endlessly searching Craigslist day after day

They said moving out here would be such a good change
But everything out west seems so far out of my price range

What do I do when I have nowhere to go?
I have had many highs, but this is a very low low

Options running thin, my dealdline not very far
Sorry mom, but I may have to live out of my car

Time to move quickly before this situation turns sour
I'm not asking for much, just a couch and a shower

"Is there anyone out there that can help me?" I yell and I weep
I'll take anyone as long as they don't murder me in my sleep

Maybe I should calm down and be more positive
Something will turn up if I'm creative and causative

The city of angels is quite transitive after all
I'll have to search every nook and cranny, no matter how small

So prey for me friends as I sit here and lay
And please understand me when I say

Oh how hard it is to find housing in LA!
Endlessly searching Craigslist day after day

-Cam-


Maintain Your Contacts!




During my junior year at UGA I had the opportunity to meet Jessica Dicicco; a voice actress known for various roles including the portrayal of the Flame Princess (pictured above) on Cartoon Network's Adventure Time!. She made her way to Athens as a favor to one of my professors who had known her years prior during his teaching days at Syracuse. I was and still am extremely interested in the production of animated programs so I felt that hearing someone such as herself, being knee deep in the industry, speak would be a great opportunity. As expected, her anecdotes about her journey into voice acting were quite intriguing to me so I decided to talk to her after everything was over. I then learned that she would be exploring the Athens bar scene afterward for some drinks. Without hesitation, I jumped on the opportunity to join.

The night of bar hopping was a great experience, and yes I was of age in case you guys were wondering. Without knowing it at the time, this was one of my earliest memories of networking with a professional. We talked, I continued to learn, and then she left to prepare for her flight back to LA. I thought this was probably the last time I would ever see her; I was wrong. Fast-forward to August of my senior year at UGA. I'm minding my own business when I receive a random text message from my professor. The message said that Jessica would be coming to the annual Dragoncon in Atlanta and was in need of a handler. A handler is basically an assistant. They handle money, fan interactions, schedules ect. I quickly said yes even though it meant I would miss the first home game of the season vs Clemson. This would also prove to be the only home game I missed in my four years at Georgia. My professor recommended me and Jessica was in to the idea since she remembered me from the afformentioned night in Athens.

The morning of Dragoncon arrived and I was almost late to the hotel due to Atlanta parking. Luckily, I made it just as they were heading to their first panel. To my surprise, Jessica was accompanied by Jeremy Shada, The voice of Finn on Adventure Time!, and Niki Yang, another prominent voice actor on the show who is also an animator and storyboard artist. Being at the panel was amazing because I had backstage access with the stars. Seeing the thousands of Adventure Time! fans in the crowd was also a crazy experience. In between panels and interviews, the actors man booths where they sell merchandise. This is where the bulk of my work resided. I promoted merch, kept the line moving, and controlled fan interaction. It was a very fast paced environment but I learned quite a bit about the industry. Highlights included walking on stage during a panel and eating a fancy dinner with the cast of Arrow. 

Now friends, Jessica told me to contact her if I ever made it out to LA. In the year preceding my journey out west, I periodically emailed her just to keep in contact. She was extremely helpful in my transition including the internship search. She has also been an amazing resource for me while I have been here since I always have a TON of questions. Yesterday (7/20/15) I actually met Jessica for lunch. She is helping me with my ongoing battle to find housing here in LA and has once again been an invaluable resource. I tell this story to illustrate the importance of having a network of people to help you out. This friendship was the result of a series of a very random series of events, but I would be much more loss out here if I did not keep up with this contact. And adding another friend to your life is never a bad thing.


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Full Frontal!!!

Now that I've hooked you with the title, I will give you one of those strange intern stories that I find quite hilarious. Word of warning, this story deals with some slightly graphic subject matter but I'll make sure to keep it clean for the kids. Additionally, I'll even try and make this a little educational for you lovely readers. I know you are reading this and sweating with hot anticipation for my story, but first I will provide you with the "boring", depending on who you talk to, stuff so you can have a background as to why this story is important. Without further ado, I present to you the story of Good Universe's interesting relationship with the MPAA.

For those of you that don't know, the MPAA stands for the Motion Pictures Association of America. The MPAA is responsible for determining film ratings which has surprisingly big business implications. Just as a quick reminder, the ratings range from G to NC-17. While a movie rated G may be open to all audiences, it comes with a certain connotation; alienating certain groups from wanting to see the film. On the flip side, a movie rated R is more restrictive but may be taken more seriously by pretentious film buffs such as myself. Often times, an indie film will strive to get an R rating for that very reason. If your film receives an NC-17 rating it will only be exhibited in special theaters which is bad business. Films will then have to be re-edited to achieve an R rating. Remember this fact because it is integral to my story. The last tidbit of information I will give you is that the MPAA values drug use, language, and sex more explicit than violence. In Europe, violence is considered much more explicit than sex. I just found that interesting.

Now, on to my story. Unfortunately, I will have to be extremely ambiguous due to the Non Disclosure Agreement I signed but you should be able to follow. So Good Universe is producing a film scheduled to be released in the Fall. There is a scene in the film that involves a certain shot of a male that many would find inappropriate. I think you understand what I'm saying, if you need hints look back up at my title. Anyway, the MPAA decided that this was enough to give the film an NC-17 rating. As I have told you before, this is bad business. Instead of opting for a re-cut, and this is where the story gets strange, they tasked interns with scanning through other R rated films and taking screen shots of "similar situations" if you follow what I mean. Since I was familiar with a lot of the films on the list, don't judge me, I was recruited to help. So for the next few hours, myself and another intern selected the best "shots" and compiled them. Once we were done, we compiled the pictures and sent them in to one of the assistants. I would LOVE to see the look on the NSA agent's face who was monitoring that email conversation.

Another tidbit I found interesting, mainly cause I had never given it much thought, is the process of obtaining said "image" for use in you film. In our case, one of the assistants was on the phone all day with a porn star's manager negotiating deals for licensing out his "package". So the next time you see nudity in a film, think about the poor interns who made it all possible.

The Ins-N-Outs of International

For my latest lunch in, I had the awesome opportunity to sit down with the International Division of Good Universe made up of Helen Lee-Kim, Akshay Mehta, Micheal Meyer, Brent Jack, and Kristina Starner. I think it would be safe to say that the average moviegoer never really considers the importance of international sales to the film industry. In fact, international sales can make up as much as 75% of a total film's gross. This is due in large part to China becoming a big player in importing films in the last decade.For this post though, I will try my best to layout certain international factors and explain how producers such as Good Universe do business. Once again, I am relaying this info in incredibly broad strokes and it should be noted that I am no expert on the subject myself.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of it all, it is important to understand how international distribution is handled based on the size of the producer. For this example, I will separate studios, independent studios, and independent producers into three categories. Studios are obviously the biggest and would be represented by something like Universal or Sony. Independent studios fall in the middle and are represented by an entities such as Lionsgate and EuropaCorp. Independent producers are the smallest and Good Universe falls into this category. After a project receives the "greenlight" by a studio the studio will then self distribute the film domestically and abroad. While the studio maintains autonomy over the film, which is ideal, if the film fails to perform up to box office expectations the studio loses money. An independent studio on the other hand will also self distribute domestically but will license the rights to the film abroad. The indie studios still hold the same domestic risks as the bigger studios studios but if they are able to sell their licenses for a good price over seas they can see a nice payday. On the flip side of this, if they sell their licenses and the film happens to do much better than projected, they may lose money. Independent producers such as Good Universe have a little more flexibility. They can either go to a studio and let the studio distribute the film worldwide or, and this is more likely, they take a film and sell it to individual foreign markets therefore splitting the rights by territory. An advantage to this strategy is that Good Universe can ask for an MG or a minimum guarantee. This means that even if the film bombs they are protected in their investment. The negative side to this though is you may have lost a business partner over seas if the film you sold them fails to perform.
 
 Since there are so many risk factors that go into selling a film internationally, it is extremely important to do good research. One of, if not the most important thing, is to understand what kind of films do well overseas. Action flicks tend to travel well while comedies have trouble. There are various cultural factors that go into this but the most important thing to understand is the importance of "high concept vs low concept". A high concept film can be defined by one symbol or a couple of words. A good example would be the batman symbol. The higher the concept of a film the better the probability of a film doing well overseas since there are less cultural and or language barriers present. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but if you have ever seen the British version of The Office you see very quickly that cultural references that make people laugh in the UK are lost on American audiences.
 
Lastly, and for me the most interesting aspect of the international team, is the fact that they basically run a separate business outside of Good Universe. It takes a lot of work to run an international department, that is why many studios just outsource the international part of the business to entities such as Good Universe. Many scripts that interns such as myself read may not be picked up by Good Universe for production, but the international team may continue to track it if they like the script for its international qualities. Notable films handled by Good Universe's international department but not produced by the company include Snowpiercer and Kick Ass. In the end, it takes a certain kind of personality to pitch a film to foreign investors over and over again, but traveling to Cannes every year probably makes the stress bearable.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The Most American Weekend Ever!!!!

Ronald Martinez/ Getty Images

 Red, White, and Blue decked out as far as the eye could see. It was that special time of the year again. It was that time of the year where it was okay to be unapologetically patriotic. Yep, you guessed it, it was the 4th of July! Of all the time I have spent in Los Angeles this was the first time I truly missed being home in Atlanta. This would be the first time in 6 years where I did not participate in running the annual Peachtree Road Race, a race I always run with my dad, and I was missing southern BBQ more than anyone ever should. While the tacos in California transcend anything I've ever eaten, the BBQ is much to be desired. But despite my yearnings for the south, California definetly lived up to America's yearly celebration; leading to perhaps the most American weekend I've ever had.

Even though I couldn't have "good" BBQ from back home I would be damned if I had a day without grilling some type of meat. That is why myself and a couple of my comrades from the University of Georgia headed to Ralph's (Kroger) bright and early to buy food for our feast. This was of course AFTER we watched Joey Chestnut shockingly go down in the annual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest. Every year I watch this event, which I watch religiously every year, I never know if I should be appalled or amazed. Fast forward from our journey from Ralph's, we had raw meat, buns, and beer in hand; we were locked and ready to go.

As the sweet aroma of the meat sizzled and rose off the grill, I sat poolside with a tallboy of Colt .45 by my side. Yes you read that right, a Colt .45 (sorry mom). I drank that extremely mediocre beer with such American pride that I swore I was sweating beads of red, white, and blue sweat. Those of you who know me know that I'm as big a beer snob as can be, but I regret nothing of my activities this past Saturday. After what felt like an excruciatingly long time, the food was done. We feasted like kings with no cares in the world and for a moment in time it felt very okay not to be back home in Georgia; I am truly blessed to be an American.

The following day is when things really heated up! It was the day of the Women's World Cup final and the USA would be playing Japan for a chance at revenge. If you remember, 4 years ago the Americans lost on penalties to Japan in the 2011 finals. If you haven't noticed yet, or if you have never met me, I am a HUGE soccer fan. I played for the majority of my life before college and I have played in games all across the United States and as far as Beijing China where I played against the Chinese National team at age 17. So yea, I love soccer. Back to the story, we arrived at a British Pub (ironic) down the street from the apartments to watch the game. The atmosphere was electric and everyone was rallying around one cause. Suddenly, the whistle blew and the game was underway. Right from the get go we all knew it would be a much different result from 4 years ago. We (USA) quickly jumped out to a 4 goal lead in the first 16 minutes of the game; something I had never seen before in a women's or men's game. Chants of USA rang through the pub as if we had just won a war, it was incredible. My American pride was at an all time high and I am so happy that our country rallied around female athletes in the way that we did.

I decided that I could take the "American" up a notch before the weekend was over so I made a decision that I am not very proud of. Brace yourself..... I went to Carl's Jr. (Hardee's) and ordered the "Most American Thickburger". Needless to say that was a mistake and I would not advise anyone else to take one of those down. It must be said again though, I regret nothing from my "most American weekend" ever.
 

Money Money Money!!!!

(https://www.flickr.com/photos/tracy_olson/61056391)

Continuing the trend of having meals with important people, I was fortunate enough to have lunch with Dan Freedman of Good Universe. Dan is the SVP of Business & Legal Affairs and handles the contracts between Good Universe and actors, studios, ect hence his title. His contributions to the company, while mostly unnoticed or even thought about by the common moviegoer, are so integral to the success of Good Universe that I truly believe the business model would not be possible in the hands of a "lesser" individual. The world of film contracts is akin to the wild west; only the smartest deal makers and those with the best representation survive.

Without getting too technical, in part to avoid boring you and the fact that I myself am still a little murky on the concepts, I will try to give you a small rundown on how the majority of movie deals go down these days. Back in the day many A-list actors were able to sign "first dollar gross" deals. This basically meant that an actor such as Tom Cruise during his Mission Impossible days was able to make a percentage off of the first dollars of "gross" his movies made from the box office. Over time, this model started spreading to B-list actors, then to C-list actors and so on; eventually breaking the model. The writers strike, and actor lead flops exacerbated the problem. Currently, most deals involve a "CB zero" agreement. The CB stands for Cash Break. This means that an actor is unable to collect any sort of profit until the studio "breaks even". This includes upfront salaries, production cost, and advertising cost. 

My very simplified explanation illustrates why people like Dan Freedman are so important. Steadily declining DVD sales due to streaming sites like Netflix make the issue even more pressing. Good Universe, not being bound to the "rules" of a traditional studio, opens up the need for Dan to be even more creative when he writes up contracts. For example, a traditional studio like Universal or Sony chooses to build what is called a "ship" when they have a project they are interested in. This basically means that they attach a director, producer, and actors to a specific project adding costs to the budget as they go along. Once the "ship" has been assembled they take it to marketing to determine if the "ship" will float. If not, they may come to people like Good Universe for co-financing. I won't get into all that here. On the flip side, a company like Good Universe, who has a much different approach to how they handle capital, elects to build the "ship" before they even think about developing the project. This approach allows Dan to know the budget and "big picture" before negotiations begin.

Hopefully I haven't confused you too much on the business concepts, I am a liberal arts degree recipient after all. As you can see though, Dan's job is very integral and extremely difficult. He routinely has to draft what he calls "trick deals" in order to come to terms with respective clients. The word "trick" in no way means that he is scheming people out of their money, it just means he has to get creative in his dealings. Since Good Universe is unable to offer as much money upfront, they often times offer a much more on the "back end" or a higher percentage after CB has been reached. Good Universe has the advantage though of having a certain level of leverage on some projects since a lot of films would not be made without Good Universe's involvement. The actor then has the choice of either taking less upfront or risking not making anything if the film never gets made. The business side of films is quite ruthless and often times lawless, but people like Dan keep things afloat.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

A Cali Tale

(http://globalcalifornia.blogspot.com/2014/04/california-journey.html)

In honor of Ted 2 being released this past week, I thought I would write a about my adventures in the form of a fairy tale.

"From Georgia came a little black boy
His upcoming journey to California brought him much joy
So he hopped in his Nissan
Giddy almost without reason
He substituted the deep fried South for the land of kale and soy
 
The journey was long, treacherous, and exhausting
Endless roads, the pavement laced with black and yellow frosting
Interstates crossed
Sanity lossed
There's no telling how much this trip will end up costing
 
But the journey was worth it, once every state was crossed
The roads in Cali were strange though, and quickly the little black boy was lost
Burbank to Hollywood
This land was as foreign to him as Bollywood
A new insight was required, and all previous knowledge was tossed
 
Soon the black boy settled, and his new life began
A job was his next mission, unemployment being synonymous with a rape van
Internships he began working
Executives and networking, he began lurking
opportunities fall off from the proverbial drip pan
 
Now the little black boy has settled, but this is not where the story ends
Life has forever changed, in entertainment the world is viewed through a camera lens
There is work to be done
Through youth the challenge will be fun
As the little black boy looks into the unknown of the future he grins"
 
-Cam-

 
 

 
 
 
 

Dinner With The BigWigs





(http://frankielizabeth.com/project/executive-dinner-parties/)

I know what you're thinking. Man, Cam just had a 5-star meal with some top level executives where he probably ate duck with roasted mango salsa with a side of kobe beef washed down with the finest champagne imported from the southern coast of France. All of this is untrue despite the fancy picture I illegally obtained for this post (please don't tell on me). I did however have the opportunity to have dinner with co-founders Nathan Kahane and Joseph Drake of Good Universe the other night for their annual "intern night" and what an experience that was. The fictional 5-star meal was substituted with Mexican cuisine, and it should be noted that the Mexican food here in Los Angeles is at another level due to its proximity to Mexico, which more than sufficed. Their candid responses, positive attitudes, and humility were really what struck me about my dinner with the "big shots" of the industry.

First off, despite my big talk and occasional braggadocio, I had never been in the same room with two individuals who had the pedigree of the two men that sat in front of me prior to this summer. To make matters stranger, their entire purpose that night was just to answer our questions. We literally could ask these guys ANYTHING! That kind of opportunity only comes every once in a blue moon. In other words, it took everything within my being not to geek out like a fan girl who had just seen Adam Levine flash his abs. I kept it professional though and I asked questions about the marketability and viability of their business model and where they projected it being in the next five years. Yes, you should be very impressed. Without really being able to get into the specifics of all that was discussed that night, just know that I learned more in a few hours than I had learned in the 4 years it took me to get a college degree.

Something that really struck me about these two men was their very humble beginnings. Joseph Drake actually started as a mortgage broker and decided he wanted to join the "movie biz" due to a very random encounter with a client. He used his transferable skills to get into international distribution which eventually lead him to Lionsgate and the rest is history. Nathan Kahane got his start in the mail room at ICM, a talent and literary agency. After jumping around various production companies, a partnership between himself, Joseph, and Sam Raimi lead to the creation of Ghost House Productions; a very profitable production house specializing in the horror genre. Mind you, these are extremely abridged versions of these two fascinating men's lives but me sitting here typing about them will never do their stories justice.

I mentioned earlier that one of the most compelling things about this dinner was how candid they were with their responses. They could have easily sat there and had prepared answers ready for us similar to any pageant queen you've ever watched, but no, they chose instead to make it their goal to tell us the hard truths. On multiple occasions they mentioned the difficulty of breaking in as a writer and director, the element in luck required to be successful, and the sheer randomness inherent in everyone's path. They did not however ever give off the impression that it was impossible, in fact, I had never been as energized about my own journey into the industry until I sat down with these two men. If I am ever as successful as these two men I hope I will be able to tell my story and inspire someone as much as they inspired me.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Life's a Pitch!

                                                (http://www.kaganmcleod.com/feb09.html)

Today was the day. I knew it was coming but the shock of it all rocked my being like the worst carnival ride you've ever been on. It was as if my girlfriend, yes the one that I don't have, just told me she was pregnant. It was like the star player on your favorite team had just gone down injured in the playoffs. It was like those awkward middle school years when your body starts going through puberty; and to make matters worse, I was sick.  Yep! Today was the day I was going to pitch to the executives the script I covered the previous week, and despite my astute preparation, I was nervous as hell.

7:58am on the dot, I make my way into the offices. I had gotten pretty good  at timing my arrival based on the previous week's mishaps. I pace frantically between the front desk and the copy room, possibly waiting for some higher being to take me away from the situation. But no, I had waited all my life for this opportunity and I was ready! Suddenly, the list of projects arrive. It is now official, my script is on the list and I will most definitely be pitching today. A wave of nervousness moves through my bowels, or maybe that's just the Dyquil. The doors to the conference room open, the interns gather, its show time!

Due to Father's Day taking place a day earlier, founders Joseph Drake and Nathan Kahane were only present via conference call. What began as a sigh of relief quickly diverged into a much creepier scenario where we were all speaking to an ominous and fiber optic "voice of God". One where expression could only be read via tone. This was especially worrisome for me since my cold made my voice sound like a mixture between Donald Duck and Mushmouth. Little by little, pitch by pitch, the projects were being crossed off the list. My heart starting racing as my script was read from the executive's mouth, it was my turn.

It was time for me to pitch, and man did I pitch the SHIT out of my script. I recited my "lines" like I had been rehearsing them for years. My synopsis and critiques rolled off the tongue like the songs of the most beautiful of birds in the springtime. My final words were PASS, meaning I do not advise Good Universe to invest in developing the script. The executive then turned to an assistant, she had also read the script, in order to get a second opinion. She simply gave him a four word response, "Agree with the pass." I never thought such a short sentence could sound so sweet. And that was that, in 30 seconds it was all over. I didn't receive any medals, I didn't receive any praise,  and I didn't even receive a high-five or a pat on the back; all I got was a sense of accomplishment and the realization that I have to do it all again next week, and every week thereafter. And that my friends, is a-okay with me




Monday, June 22, 2015

An Ode To LA Traffic






Bumper to bumper, a car in every lane
Stuck in perpetual motionlessness, how do I project my disadain?

Whether on the 101 or the 405
We are nothing more than slaves to the concrete; all because we wanted to take a drive

Wrecks wrecks everywhere
Come join us on the highway if you dare

Out on these mean streets one can never relax
Here in the Sunshine State the drivers are crazier than the characters of Mad Max

The smog keeps your car far from pristine
Explatives and shooting a bird become routine

You are never safe, no matter the hour
Stopped at a standstill at 4am will quickly turn you mood sour

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere and dissapering in a flash
A second lapse in concentration always ends in a crash

Call for help if you want, it will only pass you bye
Received only if battered or bruised and maybe if you die

And the vehicles that inhabit the jungle are worth more than my life
Driving through the gentrified hoods of the city, you could cut the tension with a knife

So why put myself through all the pain you say?
It's quite simple really, no one walks in LA!   



Monday, June 15, 2015

Good Morning Good Universe


Everyone is nervous on their first day work, I was no exception. Could you really blame me? Four years of food service work was not exactly a blueprint into going into creative development in the film industry. I kept a straight face about the whole thing but if you really knew me you would be able to tell something was up. Ironing is something I hate doing, and I ironed the SHIT out of my work clothes. I'm talking a full press and I barely know how to use an iron effectively. It should also be noted that I had all of this done the morning before my first day. In short, I am never this responsible. In fact, my friends and family have been known to call the nearest doctor if I so much as make my bed. If you don't get the picture I am trying to paint, just know that I was extremely nervous to be starting what could possibly be my new career.

My alarm sounds off at the beautiful hour of 5:30am. I took a shower, forced down half a bowl of cereal, put on my expertly ironed clothes, and headed off into the jungle known as Los Angeles. I navigated Sunset Boulevard like my life depended on it, eventually crossing into West Hollywood. Before I knew it I was in Beverly Hills, a section of the city that lives up to its reputation. My poor and dirty Nissan Sentra stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the Ferrari's that proliferated the streets. That would not deter me though, the only thought in my mind was to get to work on time and the clock was ticking. Mondays at Good Universe are meeting days and interns are expected to be there at 7am sharp. I found the office building in downtown Beverly Hills with relative ease, the problem though, and this is a constant problem in Los Angeles, was finding parking. Interns were instructed to park in a designated parking lot near the building, a parking lot that my GPS could not find. inching closer and closer to my deadline, I parked in the first garage I could find.

My phone read 6:55am, I was running toward the offices; sweat rolling down my head. I reach the office suites and to my surprise the doors were locked. Was I late? I frantically checked the emails to make sure I was in the right location, everything checked out. Now in a panic, I contacted the front desk of the building via an outdoor phone. I gave my name and I was refused access to the property. Annoyed and angry, I emailed Good Universe to inform them that I was locked out of the office building and unable to ride the elevator to their suite. Thinking my morning could not get any worse, I once again opened up intern materials sent to me a couple months prior. To my surprise I found that I was not expected to be at work until 8am on Mondays not 7am. I then received an email from Good Universe explaining the same thing. Around the same time I spotted the parking lot I was meant to park in from the street. With a new found vigor mixed with slight embarrassment, I relocated my car and recollected myself for the the first day of work.

The hour passed quickly, and I was thrust into a world I had only thought I knew. After meeting the other interns we were immediately seated in a room full of executives and figures I had only read about beforehand. I myself was seated next to Joseph Drake, if you are unfamiliar with him just know that he is the man. Things started with the interns and other members of creative "pitching" projects they had read to Joe and Nathan, the other co-founder of Good Universe. This was proceeded by a more business oriented meeting where the executives talk about projects currently in development. The various names dropped, the astronomical figures discussed, and the projects named made me pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. My first day started with me thinking I had already screwed up and ended with me being a part of a meeting with two people responsible for some of my favorite movies and franchises. I can definitelyget use to this.