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June, 2008

  1. I met Jeremy Piven…and learned a few things…

    June 28, 2008 by roseweaver

    I worked a publicity shoot today with Jeremy Piven, who was in town for the annual Piven Theatre gala at Rockit Bar and Grill… And I learned a few things (with commentary in parenthesis):

    1) I am still jaded, because I was neither impressed nor speechless when I talked to him… And its not that I dislike Piven; in fact, I think he is brilliant as Ari Gold in Entourage (although I think the series is past its prime)…and I think he was severely underrated in “Smokin’ Aces”…plus I loved “Cupid”…I have just found that my “star struck” gene is still lying dormant from working in LA and just realizing, yet again, that Hollywood celebrities are all the same…human beings.

    (Piven had just had lunch with the Mayor, was tired as hell, and barely found time for us (albeit he did do it!), so what was supposed to be about a 40-minute shoot ended up being 15 minutes).

    2) No matter how much you prepare, the reality is, something will change.
    (All morning I was writing the scripts for him to say, then was told he would be improvising, so I never brought the scripts…turns out, he needed keywords.)

    3) There is a lot of a “hurry up and wait” philosophy in TV…and in life.
    (Arrival time: 2pm…shoot time 5pm…shoot done 5:15pm…home at 8:30…)

    4) Cameramen are the most patient people in the world…must learn from that.
    (With all the extra time and setting up shots and lugging equipment around, they didn’t complain once…not once! Granted, I know they are getting paid overtime, but still…)

    5) No matter how much you know you are right, there will always be someone in the room with a higher status than you who will tell you you are wrong.

    6) Nobody is going to pat you on the back in life…you must take a moment to breathe and take it all in, and realize you did a good job…and then you must move on.

    7) The world is a very small place…especially if you grew up in the North Shore of Chicago.
    (The assistant to Joyce Piven was there, and it turns out, she went to New Trier (a neighboring high school to mine), and lived in Glencoe (a neighboring suburb where I grew up)…we kept throwing out names at each other and realized we knew the same people…just made me realize that even in the midst of all this “Hollywood in Chicago” hoopla, the world really is just a six-degrees of separation circle.)
    8) It never hurts to ask.
    (I really wanted to edit the spot, but wasn’t sure if my boss wanted me to, so I took a chance and asked, and now I get to edit a national spot of Jeremy Piven! WAHOO!)

    Excuse me while I Mastercard-ize the event:

    Parking for publicity shoot: $26
    Overtime for camera crew: $500*
    Life lessons from Ari Gold…priceless.

    *I have no idea what their overtime was, nor do I care, because I didn’t pay for it.

    Category Contemplations., Life Observations. | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. So If I Think I Can Dance…watch me judge

    June 26, 2008 by roseweaver

    There is nothing I love better than coming home after a rough day at the office and watching dance shows. I know, I am a closeted dancer (which means, like most people, I danced when I was little and haven’t taken it up since high school, but still stand in second position when standing in the grocery line).

    And I love So You Think You Can Dance!!!! Huge fan. So I must share with you my thoughts…because why else would I have a blog? Here’s my “nutshell recap”:

    How much do I love Adam Shankman!? Cause when Nigel’s all “I loved it” and Mary’s all screamin’, he’s the only one giving notes. And I love that. I am sure the dancers love that too…He’s just great. Love him. So let’s begin:

    Karrington and Twitch: Ah, Twitchington. The hip-hop was good, but I thought Twitch totally outshone Karrington, esp. since she was flashing her bright-white smile during a HIP HOP routine. Um…I don’t think you are supposed to smile, honey…I didn’t think she did badly, I just thought Twitch killed it, and kinda took Karrington along for the ride. But I love them both, so hopefully America does too.

    Gev and Courtney B.: First off, Courtney could be the cutest girl-next-door in the world. I am totally straight, but every time I see her, I am like, I would totally date that girl! She’s just so cute…And how hilarious (albeit slightly awkward) was the fact that Gev has a crush on her and has to grab her butt? The Rumba was actually pretty sexy and all that jazz…oh wait, not jazz, ballroom…and don’t even get me started on that dress! Geezus! She’s 18 for goodness sake! But I did like the slinky chorography and that lift they did was amazing. I’m sure America digs their off-the-stage relationship more than their actual dancing, so I see them going on…

    Comfort and…what’s his face: Is that bad that I have to go back to my TiVo to find out Chris’ name? Yikes. I love Tyce’s routines so much (probably because I LOVE LOVE LOVE Broadway), and this one could have been so kick ass. But it was just…blah…like Mary and Nigel said…it needed raw, animalistic passion, and it just fell flat into the muddy sheets. I would not be surprised if Comfort and what’s-his-face pack a bag tomorrow.

    Jessica & Will: She seems flu-fee (pretty sure I just made that word up), let’s say “flighty”. But she can still dance, although her performance wasn’t great…she ran outta steam halfway through. I love how mama Sanchez was like, You suck, step it up, child….she totally didn’t. He, on the other hand, KILLED IT! Will was A-MAY-ZING!! He totally needs a new partner…plus I’m a sucker for chivalry…

    Kourtni & Matt: Me no likey Kourtni. Don’t know why. I just feel like she lands hard and isn’t grateful. She does look like Uma though. So she’s got that going for her…Sonya the chorographer…not gonna lie…kind of scared me. I thought Matt was a little stiff, but otherwise, his leg extensions were killer…don’t know much about contemporary, but I feel like when I can see their calves’ veins, they are doing something right…and is it me, or did Kourtni have a wedding ring on?! The rumor starts here!

    Chelsea & Thayne: First off, Thayne, it’s cool that your gay, I get that, but please, for the love of god, stop flexing your wrists when you snap!!! It is not manly, you’re not doing Fosse, and you are playing the part of a man. Just don’t do it. Period. And the plastered smiles. Have some fun people! I know its quickstep, but come on! I have to admit, this was the only dance of the night that I fast-forwarded. They are on the chopping block for sure.

    Chelsie & Mark: OMG, I love this couple…because they’re quirky, because they can dance, because they just have this hidden connection that isn’t sexual (see Gev/Courtney) or awkward (see Chelsea/Thayne)…they just have a dance connection…I LOVE IT. Love that she had a Cubs hat on during rehearsal. Chorography was FAN-tastic. Love these new chorographers…where did they come from?! I do think Chelsie could have hit it harder…her popping seemed weak, and she seems to dance a bit young for my taste (she is only 18, after all…), but other than that, awesome. They had a great routine and a great soundtrack. Shout out to Leona Lewis. Love that voice.

    Katee & Joshua: I can’t get on the website right now, but wasn’t Joshua a hip hop dancer?! Cause he shook those hips like there was no tomorrow! Damn…and although I think Katee could have been more seductive (I kinda felt her awkwardness in the “other half of Courtney’s dress”), they were awesome. And I love the ghetto father bit in the audience. Now that is good TV.

    Cat Deeley: How much do we love this British-import? While other dance shows are trying to bring their “cutie-with-an-accent” commentators (see MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), Cat seems to actually have a little thing called PERSONALITY. And it’s refreshing. And her dress today was GORGEOUS. We love the British imports all around.

    Wardrobe: They were both a hit and a miss.

    Hit: See all ballroom dancers, esp. Courtney and Katee. Beautiful, extremely well-placed, and just, wow. Miss: See Kourtni’s paper bag comic book outfit….Chelsie’s shiny denim leggings with a babydoll shirt topped by a denim vest?! Come on, people! You have the highest-rated show on Wednesday nights…don’t disappoint!

    My predict:

    Chopping Block: Comfort & Chris, Kourtni & Matt, Chelsea & Thayne
    Going home? My money’s on Comfort & either Chris or Thayne.

    (once they start getting rid of people, these posts won’t be as lengthy! I promise!…I suddenly feel a song coming on….”GOTTA DANCE…GOTTA DANCE…”

    Category TV Overdosing. | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  3. Carpé…huh?

    June 24, 2008 by me

    So in my continuing (ok, really, just started) efforts to be a well-rounded citizen of the earth (ok, really, just be more social than I currently am), I strayed off the beaten path and joined a club. A glee club. But not just any glee club. The Blue Ribbon Glee Club. Why different, you ask? Well, they sing punk songs. And drink beer. AT THE SAME TIME! It was my first “official” out-of-comfort-zone thing I have done all year (besides chop my hair…with a new stylist!), but this one was free and just required me to show up…and I said, what the hell?! I’ll try it and see. So let’s just say I’ll be back next week.

    But it wasn’t even so much going the THE GLEE practice, as it was doing something different everyday. The practice was on Ashland and Adams, like, SOUTH LOOP! and I was driving halfway down there, and suddenly became aware of where Lincoln Park was…Where Lakeview ended…where the West Loop began…and it was just kinda like, hm…look at all these places. I have been so preoccupied with wanting to move out of the city, that I realize I have yet to explore the city. Granted it helps when you have someone to do it with, and I would not like to end up under the el because I turned somewhere wrong…but I digress. I suddenly realized how lucky I was to have a car that can take me to places I’ve never been…be it Ashland and Adams, or just downtown….it was nice to get out of my comfort zone…because I think we all become too comfortable with life…like me, I have a condo in the city, a dog who is relatively trained, a car, a job, and nothing about any of these things is new…and I became stale. Day in, day out, just doing what needed to be done, then coming home and watching TV (although I can justify that because I work in TV)…but I just realized that life is not going to come to you, you have to come to it. As cliche as it is, once you start doing something new, no matter what it is, every time you try something new, it becomes easier. The nerves go away. The awkwardness dissolves, until you are so comfortable with new surroundings that being a stale blob is unacceptable. And now that I have taken that first step to “new discoveries” I find that I am a little less stale and a little more substance than yesterday. Now if I could only use this new found knowledge to find a date…

    It comes down to this: Stale blob or interesting human being? Like my mother always said, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Which I read as, “I can always quit”. You can always quit experiences, but you should never want to quit life.

    Seize the day and all that jazz…and on that note, to bed I go.

    Category Contemplations., Life Observations. | Tags: | 2 Comments

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