Juno: 99% Sure That It Was Better Than Little Miss Sunshine...

I just got back from screening Juno, a movie written by Diablo Cody, directed by Jason Reitman, and starring an amazing cast including Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Rain Wilson, Michael Cera, Jason Batemen, JK Simmons, and Allison Janney. Everything about the movie was absolutely amazing, from the unbelievable soundtrack, to the opening animation sequence of Juno walking through town. Nearly every scene in the film was either very touching or absolutely, incredibly funny. The writing was incredibly unique and very blunt (I guess that's the write word). The delivery of lines by the entire cast was flawless, but Ellen Page, who played Juno, stole the show. She is a twenty year old from Canada who starred in Hard Candy and played Kitty in X-Men 3. If Abigail Breslin was nominated for an Academy Award last year for her performance in Little Miss Sunshine, there is absolutely no reason that Ellen Page shouldn't be nominated for her performance in Juno. Her comedic timing was exceptional and really allowed the work of Diablo Cody to shine. The movie, in short, is sort of a comming of age story about a girl who finds herself pregnant as a junior in high school. Her boyfriend, played by Michael Cera (Superbad) is an awkward quirky track runner who never quite knows what to do in the situation. Her parents, played by Allison Janney and JK Simmons, are supportive but don't mind telling her that she is an incredibly hormonal, fat, stupid idiot. In nearly every scene I was crying from laughter and that goes for everybody that was in Mayer Theater. The fact that Juno was a huge fand of 1977 Punk music made me love it even more. Bands like Sonic Youth and Television were mentioned just to name a few...it made me happy. When the credits finally rolled the movie received a standing ovation from everyone. The film premieres Dec. 5 in NY and L.A and opens around the country in the subsequent weeks. Please go see it, you will definitely be missing out if you don't.

Hmmm....

The reason I haven't been updating in a while is because things have been pretty quiet around here. A lot has happened since I last wrote, but nothing to big. I guess I will just start from the first big event I can remember since October 15th.
During fall break the fires were a pretty big deal. I'm guessing everybody caught the 24 hour news coverage on it so everything I might say would just be a little repetative. The closest fire to LMU was in Malibu about 20 miles away. When I got out of mass Sunday morning I went to sit on the bluff like I always tend to do. I noticed that the mountains where Malibu was situated were especially smokey. There was a huge billow of smoke that was hanging right over the beach. I had never seen anything like it before so I didn't think anything of it. A few hours later I was watching the news and sure enough Pepperdine Univeristy was being evacuated along with much of the Malibu area. By Tuesday the air quality over L.A was horrible and it was very hot and dry. I think the humdity was about 10%, nothing like Alabama. Everytime I went to class there was always a very ashy smell in the air and many people got sick because of asthema and other lung problems. Everything is pretty much settled now so that's good.
I also had the chance to go see Cirque du Soliel "Corteo" and had a blast. I had already seen it in Chicago but a lot of my friends were going and our dorm covered ticket costs so I thought, "why not?" If you haven't had the chance yet to see any of these performances they are really spectacular.
I have also participated in the Monday Night Series that the Film School puts on. Nearly every Monday night the dean, Terri Schwartz invites a group of professional individuals from the industry that have recent work to screen. After we watch their documentary, tv show, or movie, we have the oppurtunity to ask them any questions that we might have. Usually about 30 people show up so it really gives us a chance and the guests a chance to really interact. The first guests were from Participant Production Company. They produced Inconveniant Truth, Darfur Now, and the upcoming Doc about Jimmy Carter. The Doc that they screened for us was called Angels in the Dust and was really amazing. The producer and two other representatives of the company were there to talk about their experience. This past week the creator, executive producer, and lead actress of the show Greek came and talked about working in television. That same day they were participating in the Writer's Strike along side Steve Carrell and the writer from the show My Name is Earl. They talked to us about the future of writers and what the strike really meant to them. It was a great opportunity to get some information from successful people in the biz. I actually got to talk to the executive producer after the session for about 5 minutes, I was very excited.
Tonight a comedian is coming to the "Living Room" to do stand up so I hope I will get out of class in time to go. His name is Nick Thune and he has been featured on Jay Leno, Comedy Central, and MTV. Can't wait.
Well that is it for now. Be back soon!

Disneyland, BANGARANG!

I have met some really fun, cool, and genuinely nice people at LMU. At first I thought that the one hard thing about going to college in Los Angeles is that the people are going to be really rich, stuck up, and inconsiderate. You know what they say when you assume....anyway I was totally wrong. Everyone I have met and have become friends with are really great people, of coarse there are still probably those mean people out there but I haven't seen them. Anyway, Bree, Mallory, and Kathleen are three really fun girls that I met on the First Year Retreat. This weekend for Bree's 18th birthday we went to Disneyland and had a blast. We left LMU in a Limo, ate at a wonderful breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen, took pictures with Peter Pan, Aladdin, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale the chipmunks, and many other fun characters. We wen't on the Dumbo ride, Star Wars ride, Farris Wheel, Nightmare Before Christmas haunted house, and many other really cool attractions. The entire day was so much fun. We got back from Disneyland at around 10:00 p.m and we drove back in the Limo also. Disneyland is only about 45 minutes away from campus so it is a place that many students go to for a fun weekend. I have been writing so much these past few days for essays and midterms so that is why this post is really short and boring but I just wanted to let you know about my first time to go to disney land.

"Just Make The Budget Work!"

This weekend I worked on a student film entitled "Trystan." It was really fun, unbelievably exhausting, and a great learning experience. On Friday I went to the Film Society meeting right after my pre-production class. For my pre-pro class I have to work on a set and write about my experience, job, and overall observations. During the meeting Natalie and Spencer the A.D and Director came in and asked if anyone wanted to work on their film. Immediately raised my hand and signed up. Boy was I in for an incredible time. Every Friday and Sunday I work on a ROAR Network show called "LMU's Next Top Ridiculously Good Looking Person". Basically it is a spoof on America's Next Top Model and it is really laid back and simple compared to "Trystan."
Saturday I got up at 6:00 in the morning and was picked up by Natalie to go to Tommy's house in Westchester where we were filming for that day. During the day I unloaded the very full equiptment truck. did makeup, wardrobe continuity, set up craft services, set up lights, wrote about 1,000 sticky notes for a scene, dressed sets, yelled "camera rolling", and tried to stay out of a lot of people's way. It was exhausting. By 10:00 we were done shooting and I had to help pick up all of the equiptment (ex. dollies, tracks, gaffing, cords) and put the house that we used back the way it was. This included moving beds and desks, putting doors back on their hinges, and rewiring computers. We got back to campus around 11:30 p.m. The next day I had to wake up at 7:00 and we drove to Torrence where we were shooting at a different house. I did basically the same thing but a lot more because I felt more comfortable and learned most of the lingo that is used around sets. Natalie, the Assistant Director, was incredibly funny and really kept everybody laughing while also keeping everybody moving. At one point during a break Spencer (Director) was talking to Tommy (Producer) on the phone trying to get him to bring everyone lunch.
"Do we get vegetarian stuff?"
"Of coarse we get vegitarian stuff we are in California!"
"Wait if we get veggies we can't get cookies"
"Get both"
"We don't have enough in the budget"
"Tommy just make the budget work"

It was an incredibly funny interaction and there were tons of them during the 2 days of fiming. Natalie was talking to Bren the actress that Spencer hired. Bren asked "Can I go to a smile?" Natalie said" Go to a smile....Travel to it" in very dramatic voice like she was in the theatre. It was hilarious. By the end of the second shooting day I was exhausted. We didn't start loading up the truck until 12:00 a.m and We didn't get back to campus until about 2:00 a.m I still had a paper to write that was due in roughly six hours at 8:00 and so I had to pull my first all nighter after a total of 35 hours of working on a film. It was hard and I spent the rest of the remaining hours sitting in a really uncomfortable chair in the Whelan study room. After finishing classes on Monday at 2:00 I went go take pictures of a location in Venice for my pre-pro class. I got back at 4:00 and went to bed. I didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning. I think that was the longest I have ever slept. Overall this weekend was defintely worth it. I got actual experience outside of the class room and a small glimps of what production is actually like. This weeked I am working on a thesis film Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I now have an idea of what I am going to be doing. It is going to be tiring but it is really worth it in the end and I love doing it no matter the amount of sleep that I don't get. Well that was what my weekend was like. These are a few pictures that I took while on the set.

The Arcade Fire turned the Hollywood Bowl into a blazing inferno. (In a freaking awesome way)

So, as you can see in my punny title Arcade Fire totally killed at the Hollywood Bowl last night. I really wanted to just start writing this blog as soon as I got back to my dorm but it was really late and I had an 8:00 a.m class (I forgot college was mainly about learning, bummer). Anyway I guess I will start from the beginning to tell you my history with THE BEST BAND EVER! They are an Indie group from Montreal that had enough influence to be the cover story on Time Magazine (that is awesome) So, I was introduced to the Arcade Fire mainly by a show that has introduced me to a lot of things, Gilmore GIrls. I know it sounds very silly but I would have never been introduced to a lot of bands that I really truly enjoy (i.e The Shins, Pernice Brothers, Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground and Nico, ect) the list could go on and on. Anyway about three years ago I was watching the show and there was a scene in which Rory, the Daughter was downloading a couple of CDs that she thought Lorelai (her mom) would like. It was a very quick scene, like most on the show, and she said, "The best of Brian Eno and The Arcade Fire, trust me you'll like them" She might as well have been looking straigth into the camera when she said it because a day later I pretty much fell in love. Arcade Fire has this one song called Rebellion (Lies) that, for me, gives the same effect as when athletes stand on the highest podium with a gold medal around there neck listening to the national anthem. It literally gives me a mix of emmotions that I can't quite explain but it is awesome none the less. Well that whole incident occured about three years ago and they have remained my favorite band ever since which is a feat within itself.
Well now that you know what Arcade Fire means to me think about how I felt all day...scratch that since I got the tickets.. to go to their concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I pretty much couldn't concentrate the entire day before the event. I arranged for myself and Katie Evans (who also is a big fan) to get a cab to the Hollywood Bowl. On the way there we couldn't stop talking about how much we like the band, our favorite songs, albums, ect. When we finally arrived we were pretty much sprinting to our seats. LCD Soundsytem was the opening act and they were really great but it was hard to really get into their music because we were becoming very imapacient. We wanted Arcade Fire to get on the stage already. Well, at about 9:45 they finally got started and it couldn't have been awesomer ( I don't think awesome can be used that way but whatever). Their first song was Black MIrror and words just can't describe the feeling. I think my hair raised on the back of my neck (maybe that was just because it was freezing outside) There is something about Arcade Fire that just entrances you and I am so glad that they really do great live performances, they really play every song like it was there last. Regine Chassange is one of the members of the band and she is incredibly entertaining to watch preform. She gives this really easygoing, free spirited presence to the stage that it remarkable. Win Butler, the lead singer and Regine's husband, I belive is a superhuman and has hypnotic powers, you can really see the passion he has for his lyrics when he sings. "This is for Governor Bush" he said for the introduction to Intervention, and When he sang it I nearly bawled my eyes out- it was that powerful. There is not one song that they didn't play to perfection and, finally when Rebellion (Lies) started I thought, "I can die now... my life is complete" The mix between the violin, cello, piano, base guitar, Win Butlers chanting lyrics, and the incredible energy of the crowd made for a spectacular performance. The last song that they played was Wake Up and by that time I just wanted to stay glued to my bench forever, I didn't want it to end. But it did and I had to go back to campus... yada yada yada. The funny thing is I woke up this morning dead tired and was like, "I the funniest dream, I was at an Arcade Fire concert and it was awesome." Well it wasn't a dream and I have the video tape to proove it. (Yes, that's right, I recorded it so I can enjoy it for years to come and so can you...eventually it might take a while though). Well, that was my fun time last night I think I was smiling a little too much today, I'll blame it on the Arcade Fire concert after glow.

To the Right is my Arcade FIre videos that I found on Youtube, they aren't from the concert that I went to but if you haven't heard them or watched them than that is a good example of what they are about.

Like, Who Like Made These Hills?

So, there is so much to write about and I have no idea how I am going to remember it all. I guess I will start from the begining. This weekend was the First Year Retreat put on by the campus life ministry. I signed up at the end of the summer for it and was so glad I did. About 150 freshman students traveled in charter buses to a city called La Canada in the northern part of Los Angeles County. We left at around 5:30 Friday evening and arrived around 8:30. The drive up was a lot of fun but really scary because for about 2 hours we were slowly winding up a mountain. There were twists and turns and ledges that went hundreds of feet down. As we started to make our way up through the mountains the sun was begining to set and the view was amazing. The sillouettes of the mountains were backed by a pink and orange sky. The girls behind me and Brandon, who was my bus partner, talked like such valley girls and were incredibly funny to listen to. At one point in on the way up the mountain one of the girls said, "Like who like made these hill?" and the other girls responded in a serious tone "I think the Indians." Me and Brandon could not help but burst out laughing and repeated that converstation at least a hundred times the rest of the trip. When we arrived we went into the main lodge as a group of freshman and were introduced to our retreat leaders. I was in a group of about 7 people and my group leaders were Nick (sophmore theatre major) and Janice (Senior liberal studies major) They were the funniest and nicest people and really made the retreat a lot of fun. After we did a lot of activities we finally went to bed around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning we woke up and ate breakfast and then did more activites. Later in the day we had about 3 hours to do whatever we liked. I played volleyball and ultimate frisbee but many people did the zipline and pole jump. The pole jump looked incredibly scary. It was a tall wooden pole that was about as tall as a power line and you had to climb to the top of it, stand on its 1 and a half foot circular top, and leap from that to a monkey bar about 8 feet away. That night we had the option of going on a star walk/hike. It was probably my favorite part of the retreat and that is where I met Bree, Mallory, and Kathleen. Bree is a film major so we really had a lot in common. As we were walking down the dirt path (without a flash light) the group decided to veer off and go down this really sandy steep slope down on one of the hills. We were going through shrubs and rocks in the dark of night and finally we reached a large pile of boulders that were smashed into the side of the mountain. Fr. Mahn was with us and he was said, "If you want to maybe die just come up here" Well of coarse we couldn't miss out and so we climbed up to the top of the formation. About fifty students made it to the top and valley was, literally, hundreds of feet bellow us. It was very scary but well worth it in the end. We could see all of the constellations and stars and stayed up there for about 45 minutes just enjoying nature. We finally made it back to the cabins and got ready for bed. The next day we celebrated mass, did more group activities, ate lunch and got ready for our trip back home. I arrived back at LMU at around 4:30 and immediately took a really long shower. I never thought I would look forward to using a community bathroom but I really did.
Sunday night was the Emmy's and me and Eileene decided we wanted to watch them. They of coarse take place in L.A and so we thought, "awesome we will find out who wins first." That definitely was not the case since the first airing is in Eastern time and Pacific time is a three hour delay. While we were waiting for them to start, Eileene and I decided to go the The Lair to eat dinner. We sat down and the entire time Eileene kept looking over my shoulder. I couldn't figure out what it was. Finally when we left she said, " I wanted to tell you the whole time but Misha Barton's sister was sitting right behind you. She's like Misha but a brunette." then she said, "Yeah and she was really twitchy since apparently she just got out of rehab." I could not stop laughing when Eileene said it becuase she was serious. Finally, while we were watching the Emmy's Eilleene's roomate came in and said, "did you know that Hannah went to the Emmy's?" Me and I Eileene couldn't believe it but it turns out that Hannah Selleck, a girl in our hall, is Tom Selleck's daughter. Magnum P.I. anyone? I guess that's a regular occurance when you live in L.A. We were really excited that The Office won best writer but dissapointed that Rain Wilson and Jenna Fischer didn't win. Overall I had a really awesome weekend. (The picture at the bottom is Bree, Me, and Kathleen) Mallory is the girl with her hand waving in the air on the cliff.

Serving L.A

I signed up at the beginnig of the semester to do a freshman serve L.A weekend. There were many incentives to do this including:

1. Free Lunch
2. I knew I would have nothing to do on the weekend
3. Free T-Shirt
4. Meet nice new people

When I woke up at 7:00 Saturday morning I was kind of frusterated since I have 8:00 a.m classes everyday of the week. The only days that I get to sleep in are Saturday and Sunday. Well it was worth it in the end. I was placed in a group of about 10 girls and 2 guys and we went to the Downtown Women's Center near Skid Row in L.A. It was my first time on an L.A freeway and my first time to see the downtown area. I had a really fun time. When we arrived at the center we unloaded our groceries that we were going to use to make a mexican lunch for the ladies. The kitchen was centerally located in the living area so the ladies would interact with us while we chopped fruits and veggies, sauteed onions, and cooked beans and beef. We we had one little misshap when Annie and I were trying to use a salad spinner. You can guess what happened. We were spinning the salad and all of a sudden little leaves of lettus were whirrling all over the room. It was a rather large mess to clean up but it was also got us a good laugh. We eventually served the ladies their food and were also able to eat with them. On our way back to the Campus, we decided to take the smaller streets rather than the freeway. It was really interesting to drive down skid row and then five minutes later we were driving down Third and Highland. (This is a very wealthy area of Los Angeles where there are tons of mansions) we saw the world famous Rodeo Dr., Lamborghinis and Maseratis parked on the streets, and people dressed in the latest designer clothes. This is when it really hit me, it seems like everyone is living in there own little world in LA. (and everywhere for that matter) and many times are ignorant to the real world around them. Skid Row is part of that real world and the poor that live there are too. Sometimes it takes a service trip, a television program, or a friend to make you open your eyes to the suffering that goes on in places that you might have never heard of. So, while all of the incentives that I listed above were accomplished, the best thing about the trip was the gratification I had was feeding the ladies at the downtown women's center; it certainly opened my eyes a little more.

Being a Film Major is Crazy Cool

Well, as you can see from the title of this post being a film production major comes with a lot of really fun bonuses. Tuesday was the premier in NYC of the new Clive Owen movie called Shoot'em Up. Being a film major in L.A gave me the unique opportunity to join in a 410 class called analysis of motion pictures. Basically me and a few people that I have made friends with and that are also film majors got to fill in the empty seats of Mayer Theatre (the small theatre in the film building) We were able to watch Shoot'em Up as it premiered in NYC and then act as a "focus group" by discussing how much we enjoyed it or hated it. For me it was like being a kid in a candy store. My friends and I were so stoked that we were able to get in and then actually join in on the discussion of this new movie with the professor who is a veteran in the Movie Biz.
Today in between classes I went back to Mayer Theatre and watched a really funny documentary that a grad student did on the amazing show the Price is Right. Basically he was able to go backstage, meet the legendary Bob Barker, and interview many people involved with the show including contestants and local hotel managers who often house Price is Right fanatics. It was absolutely hilarious and really fun break in between classes. I also got participate in Hall Brawls (a sort of field day between the freshman dorms) and played flag football. Playing was really fun but I often found myself during the game staring across the field and admiring the L.A. skyline and mountains. There was an amazing view from the field. Well that is about it for today. Thanks for reading.

LMU: the first week

Well, this is the start of A Bagel on a Plate of Onion Rolls. If you don't get the reference than I am sorry to here that. It is one of my Favorite lines in the musical Funny Girl. Barbara Streisand is descrbing here unique personality. She is the diamond in the rough ect. well that is what this blog is going to be A Bagel on a Plate of Onion Rolls....hopefully. Well to get the ball rolling I am a college freshman at Loyola Marymount University in the great city of L.A. This blog is really for me and my family to so that I can remember nearly everything that might take place this year. My first week of school was ok I have met all of my teachers and they seem pretty chill. (notice my california lingo is already setting in due to my roomate's need to use the word chill and stoked in every single sentence.) LMU seems to have it's own type of people. They dress so much different from the South even the guys wear skinny jeans. Everybody uses longboards and cruiser bikes as their mode of transportation between classes. I have met people from Guam to Russia but most people I find are in fact from the wonderful state of California. I did find out that I am the only freshman from Alabama this year so that already proves, at least at LMU, that I am a Bagel on a Plate of Onion Rolls. I am a film major and I have really enjoyed my film classes thus far. My professors are really experienced in the fields that they teach. I have a professors that are producers, directors, production designers, and screenwriters. Yesterday I was able to go to the beach and had a blast. The Pacific Ocean is so much different from the Gulf; the water is really blue and cold as opposed to green and warm. Plus there are mountains in the background, I don't think you could possibly beat that. There is a fast food resteraunt chain that is, supposedly, really addicting and a big deal hear in California. It is called IN-N-OUT. Eilene, Amanda, and I (all from out of state Chicago and Conn respectively) decided that we would experience our first hamburgers from there when we went to the beach from LMU. It was definitely better than any fast food hamburger I have ever had. I broke my 3 year drought of not having a fastfood hamburger and it was definitely worth it. I have a feeling I am going to be frequenting IN-N-OUT a lot (great I guess the freshman 15 isn't a myth after all). Well that is my first post... hope you enjoyed it.