I Totally Fangirled the Veronica Mars Cast.

This will be lengthy, because I'm just naturally long-winded, and/or maybe you've never gone to a movie set but would maybe like to, and would like to know what to expect? But also because it's meant to serve as a kind of journal entry for me, meaning this is how I'll remember the details of the day so I'm writing about it all. There. You've been warned.

Let me start off my saying I own three shows on DVD- only three- and I own them because I actually watch them fairly regularly. The three are Alias, Felicity and Veronica Mars. I was starting to re-watch the third season of Veronica Mars when the announcement was made that they were raising money for the movie through Kickstarter, and then consequently that they'd raised enough to go ahead and greenlight the movie. So, yeah, I'd say I'm a big fan and I was excited. In all honesty, I don't think I'm as crazy a VM fan as others, but I don't actually know any other fans to be able to tell for sure. I am basing it solely on Tweets I've seen.

I'd been following the progress of the movie by following Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell on Twitter and that was about the extent of my knowledge on the project. Then last week, I saw mentioned somewhere that the movie would not be shooting in San Diego, but rather here, in Los Angeles. On a whim, out of sheer curiosity I Googled where the movie might be shooting and was surprised to find an actual address, not just a "Los Angeles area" mention. And dates and times! Frankly, probably nothing would have come of it except I noticed it was shooting barely five miles from where I work, in downtown L.A. and that they would be there that very day as well as the next. And, well. I mean... can you blame me for wanting to drive by and check it out? That very day, after my Zumba class - sporting workout pants, my sweaty Amoeba t-shirt and my hair in a very messy ponytail- I decided to just drive to the location to see if they were even really there. And... they were. I drove by very slowly, saw about three girls/women sitting on the sidewalk, a catering truck, signs for "base camp", some lighting equipment and a couple of police officers. Feeling both excited and a little bit like a stalker, I drove by very slowly again hoping to see something. But alas, I saw nothing and though I was very tempted to park and walk around to see if I saw anyone, I decided my appearance, and in all likelyhood my smell, was not going to help me any so I headed home determined to go back the next day.

I called my BFF who I had plans with the next day (Friday) and asked if we could shelve them so that we might go stalk the movie set of a TV show he'd never watched. He was not thrilled but to his credit, without much hesitation or commentary on my questionable sanity, agreed to go. I went home to proceed to second-guess myself. I mean, who the hell goes to movie sets just to sit around in the hopes of seeing a celebrity? Especially as I already had plans for Friday. Plus, wasn't I too old for that? I live in L.A. for the love of god, you'd think stalking movie sets would be so uncool (It's not, by the way. The whole possibility of running into famous people or the occasional  movie or TV shoot is still fun to me). Despite the nagging feeling that I was being ridiculous, I half-assed packed a bag of jeans, sneakers and a light sweater to change into after work. I should have packed make-up, but I felt ridiculous doing so, so I didn't. Stupid mistake.

I spent Friday going back and forth: stick to my original plans and forget the Veronica Mars thing, or go to the set and maybe I'd see Kristen Bell. For the record, I was under the assumption it would just be her there. I'm not sure why, maybe because the only pap shots I'd seen had been of just her? In any case, that day on Twitter I saw a Tweet of a fan who'd been at the movie set the day before (the day I drove by in my stinky Zumba gear) and got a picture with Kristen Bell after apparently only hanging around for about 10 minutes. Elsewhere I saw a similar story of someone only waiting a short time before Kristen Bell appeared for pics. I was sort of annoyed with myself for not having parked that day, but then remembered I was sweaty and gross, so in fact it was for the best, but that definitely was the final push and I was all in for going that evening. Stupidly I actually thought we'd get there, wait some twenty minutes tops, meet Kristen and then go on with our original plans. Piece of cake. I should note that by this time I was texting my BFF and discovered that he had no idea Kristen Bell was Veronica Mars but that now that he did, he was actually excited to go as he thought she was "hot". Everyone was excited and all was well.

We got to the place at around 6:30. There were five women waiting on the side walk and two motorcycle cops in a more visible spot than they had been the day before. I wasn't sure if that meant they were going to ask us to leave and I could not tell if the women were fans or crew. Then we saw the cameras in their hands and realized they were fans. After parking the car a few blocks away and feeling entirely self-conscious and not a little like an idiot, we walked up (the cops smiling, but not asking us to leave) and stood next to the girls. They did not seem all that happy to see us. But I persevered and chatted enough to find out that three of them had been there since about 2:30 and the other two since 4:30. They'd been told (nicely) to leave and come back at 7:00, giving them the impression of course that maybe someone would come out at or around that time. Seven came and went. At some point we saw Ryan Hansen walking across the street. The girls yelled to get his attention and he waved but kept walking. Great. We moved locations slightly so that now we were looking into what looked like a loading dock for the building where they were shooting and where the food and coffee were. Vans were coming and going. A couple more fans joined us. At random times people would walk by, ask what movie they were shooting or who we were waiting for, had no idea who Veronica Mars was and kept walking. Some knew who Kristen Bell was, and a lot didn't.

The "dock" we were looking at. The vans that were coming and going.

At some point, a van drove up and we all got excited when we realized it was Kristen Bell. She saw us, waved enthusiastically and proceeded to go inside. You could hear the collective group "aww" of disappointment. More vans coming and going. A few extras (actors) walked up to our little group either thinking we were extras or oblivious and indifferent, but asking where they were supposed to check in. Confidently and with authority we pointed across the way. We must have been right because they didn't come back out until a van came by to collect them and then much later to drop them back off in costume. At random times we could see Ryan Hanson talking to crew. Then Krysten Ritter joined him. A couple times, Kristen Bell went to the coffee cart. My friend was getting hungry and I was starting to waver. Stay or go? Clearly they're here but there's just no knowing if or when they'll come talk to us. Then, they start shouting "Rolling!" and my stomach drops because if they've started shooting, it is highly unlikely they are going to stop to come talk to us, but we decide to stay a bit longer...

Our view

Ryan Hansen (in the jeans & white shirt) and Krysten Ritter (in the gray dress)

Kristen Bell, getting coffee

At about 9:30 (after my friend has sneaked over the the catering truck in the hopes of finding some free food without success) there is activity. There is a big group of people gathering at the loading dock and are beginning to descend the stairs as a unit. It is then we realize Kristen Bell is at the front of this crowd holding on to the arm of a very tiny, short-haired blond girl. It is not until later I realize that is Tina Majorino, whose hair makes her almost unrecognizable. There is a documentary film crew with them. Our group, now about twelve people, starts squealing in excitement and then heading for reinforcements, i.e. notepads,Veronica Mars DVD's, cameras and Sharpies. Someone from the VM group shouts "Hey, can we get a picture with you guys? We'd really love to get a picture with you!'. I am fairly certain this is Ryan Hansen. As their group reaches our group and we're all facing each other, there is a slight awkward silence as no one is sure what to say. I can't help but think of West Side Story- the Sharks against the Jets and whether we'll burst into song and dance any minute. Except, wait. This isn't a musical and we don't hate Veronica Mars. Quite the opposite. Also, I can't speak for our entire group but I can't sing or dance so that would not have gone well. But anyway, back to the story! Then Kristen Bell says "Hey guys, it's nice to see you" thus breaking the ice, and all hell broke loose. All of a sudden everyone was talking at once and rushing to ask for pictures and autographs.

Closest to me was Krysten Ritter who seemed impossibly thin, and despite wearing flats, seemed very tall. I am short and I was nervous so probably she's not that tall- just taller. Then again, I have no clue. In any case, she signed my DVD then posed for a picture which my friend had trouble taking, so Krysten had to advise him to try holding down the button a little longer as that usually does the trick. In the nicest way possible she was, in fact, a little bit like her character in Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 if you ever saw that show. She was nice but seemed rather indifferent (baffled?) by all the hoopla in a really cute way.

Next, I talked to Tina Majorino who was sort of standing behind everyone almost being ignored because I think no one recognized her at first. And, she's tiny. I cannot stress how tiny. I mean, I thought Kristen Ritter was thin, but Tina is thin and petite. But beautiful. So, so pretty. And I know it sounds weird, but there was just this sereneness about her. I mean, it was chaos around her and there was just this calm radiating from her. I don't know, maybe she was just tired. But anyway, super sweet. Signed my DVD also, posed for some pics (a couple unintentional and funny ones because, again, we had trouble with the camera). I hugged her a couple of times which lead to her asking me if I'd hugged Ryan who told me to finish up with Tina (in the midst of my camera troubles) and then go to him, so that when I was ready I ran at him and gave him a huge hug. It was fun and funny.

Ryan was probably the loudest of them all but really silly and funny and super friendly. He gave me a hard time because I was having them sign the Season One DVD and he was not on that cover. I told him I could go get the one he was on as I had all three on me, and we went back and forth before he finally signed it making a point of talking to the camera and saying he woulds sign the back of the DVD- "across Kristen's boobs". I then thanked him for his dance video and told him I'd loved it. He gave me this look that if I interpreted it right was a combo of: "I'm so glad to hear that" and "Are you kidding? It was so much fun to make". Yep, all that in a look. I know! He thanked me for watching it, I thanked him for making it, he thanked me for coming, I thanked him for coming out and talking to us, he thanked me again, and I thanked him and then we both burst out laughing when we ran out of stuff to thank each other for. It was great.

Percy Daggs is lovely. By now, you're realizing that they were all lovely, yes? Because they were. Incredibly down to Earth and approachable. But back to Percy- there's a bit of a shyness to him that makes him more endearing. But also, he's a good looking guy! My BFF who, if you'll remember, has never watched the show, recognized him from somewhere. When he asked Percy if he was in movies too he said only a few but he didn't think he'd know him from any. My friend made him tell him which ones he'd been in and the very first one he mentioned was the one he knew him from. My friend excitedly burst out "that's where I know you from! Man, I love that movie! I've seen it a bunch of times!" and I wish you could have seen Percy's face light up. He couldn't believe it and he kept saying "You saw that one? Seriously?! That's so great! I'm so proud of it but NO one ever knows me from that!" and on they went for a minute or so. Both of them excited. It was really sweet. We talked to him a little more and took some pictures. My friend telling him he couldn't wait to tell his friends who were all fans of the movie too and Percy seemed genuinely happy about it.

And so finally, Kristen Bell. What can I say? I totally froze. There are a million things I could have said about why I loved her character, or the show or about the whole Kickstarter campaign or her baby. Any and all of that. And what did I say? I congratulated her on her baby, and told her she looked great. I asked her to sign my DVD and asked if I could hug her, to which she said yes. But I could not, like a dumbass, get one coherent thought together and so that was it. Mostly I think I came across as frazzled. I think she thought I was an idiot. And I could kick myself. I really could. I hate even writing about it because it so did not go like I'd pictured it. But she was sweet and very gracious and I don't like to think about it too much because I'm sort of embarrassed at how that all went down. D'oh.

Kristen Bell signing my DVD

So, that was our experience. It was so great. I am so glad we decided not to leave! And yes: No Logan. No Piz. No Keith Mars. But that's probably for the best because honestly, if I was that stupid around Kristen Bell, I cannot imagine what I would have been like with Jason Dohring and Chris Lowell (whom I have a real-life crush on, independently of his character on the show). I have a bunch more pics, but I won't be posting those because I feel weird about posting my face all over the place. But the ones I've posted should be enough I think!

Clueless Girl About London: Visiting Platform 9 3/4

Visiting Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter movies was the first thing I did on the very first day I arrived in London (from Los Angeles, if you were wondering). If I'm being honest, it was actually the second thing. The first thing I really did was walked my jet lagged ass to Charles Dickens's house because it was just a "few" blocks from our hotel and I thought, "awesome I'll just throw that in on my walk to King's Cross Station". Sure it was in the opposite direction, but still walkable. And it would have been totally worth the circuitous route and extra walking if the house museum had been open! But alas, it was not. There was a ginormous wall, with pictures of the inside of the house, and a history of the house explaining that the Dickens house would be closed for renovation until December. So, that sucked for me.

I am a fairly big Harry Potter fan, but admittedly maybe not as big as some others. I've seen the movies tons of times, I've read the series twice, and I did devote a day to visiting the Leavesden Studios, which I'll blog about at a later time. But I've never dressed as a character, attended any conventions, or tattooed anything on my person, and I forget a lot of character names easily. So there's that.

Anyway, Platform 9 3/4, is in King's Cross Station in London and not very hard to find. When we were there there was some construction so I'm not sure what the entrance will be like when it's all done but when we walked in, we basically walked straight ahead, towards the back, and found a brick wall, with half a cart in it, between a gift shop (with many HP items) and the ticket counters.



You'll walk in through that back entrance you can kind of see in this pic. What you see here should be on your right, and just past it is the "Platform".


 It's sectioned off, though we couldn't tell if it was for a line to form, or, so that people did not walk directly in front of your picture as you were taking it. We found most everybody just huddled around either section and kind of took turns walking up to the cart for their picture. We were there roughly at around 2 p.m. on a Friday in September and there were maybe a dozen people there taking pictures. We happened to be at King's Cross for a train later on the next week, and at that time there was absolutely no one there, so it's pretty random whether you'll have to wait a bit to take your pic, or whether you'll be able to walk right up to it. Unfortunately, you cannot get a pic of the train station platform itself (as it appears in the movie) unless you have a ticket for a train that is scheduled to depart from any of those platforms.

The whole thing once at King's Cross should take no more than five to ten minutes, based on our experience. By the way, just across the way is St. Pancra's Station, the exterior of which was used for the movies, but especially noticeable in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.



                                 

Pity Party of One? Your Music's Ready!

This morning blew. I'm dealing with health (and health insurance) issues, as well as job and home issues. The three individually can feel like a minor bitch slap from which you can quickly recover, square your shoulders and walk on with dignity still intact. The three together? Well, that's just a straight up punch to the face from which you get knocked to the ground and emerge with a black eye or a broken nose. I think I'm genetically predisposed to fall into bouts of self-pity and wallowing, but I actually hate that about myself so I fight it whenever I can. This morning was not one of those times. The metaphorical punch to the face was what I was dealing with when I decided to allow myself to give into it. I threw myself a little pity party (with a time limit, of course. No point in dwelling) and a party is not a party without some good music and maybe a hat- but of course, the hat is optional. In any case, I hastily put my little pity party playlist together and allowed myself a good cry.

The criteria for the playlist was simply that it have that sound that equates musically with what I felt. Lyrically, the songs may not fit, but I didn't want to spend too much time on lyrics, I just needed it to sound like my mood. So, some of these (if not most) are about love or lack of it, which is fine. So long as we're all depressed about one thing or another, we can all attend the same party. Stressing that it was a quick overview of my music, and not at all a comprehensive compilation, here's my list in absolutely no order (except the order in which it appears on shuffle on my (iTunes):

Wonderwall- Ryan Adams
Gray Room- Damien Rice

Good Enough- Sarah McLachlan
Breaking My Heart- Aqualung
Just Breathe- Pearl Jam
Blackout- Muse 
Slow Life- Grizzly Bear
Breathe Me- Sia
Duet- Rachael Yamagata
Cold Water- Damien Rice
The End- Pearl Jam
Do You Want to Come With? - Stephen Fretwell
Cheers Darlin'- Damien Rice
Diggin' A Ditch- Dave Matthews Band
Stay Or Leave- Dave Matthews
Better Days- Amos Lee
Untitled- Stephen Fretwell
Reason Why- Rachael Yamagata
Some Devil- Dave Matthews
Possibility- Likke Li
Come Pick Me Up- Ryan Adams
Lost Cause- Beck
I'll Back You Up- Dave Matthews Band
Lonesome Tears- Beck
Burn- Ray LaMontagne
It's All In Your Mind- Beck
Another Little Hole- Aqualung
Don't Bring Me Down- Sia
This Year's Love- David Gray

And the daddy of all sad, pity party songs, without which, it would really not be a pity part at all: Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.


* Note- Beck's Sea Change, Damien Rice's O, Aqualung's Strange & Beautiful, Stephen Fretwell's Magpie, and arguably Dave Matthews's Some Devil would all do individually as albums for some sad/mellow kind of music. I know those albums so well, that I don't ever think of them as "depressing" but I know people who refer to them that way, so there's that.

Counterfeit Tix, Bitchy Seat Neighbors, Awesome Bands: KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas

This past Sunday we went to night two of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas. I'm a dumbass so I'd missed the general public sale date which meant I had to sit my ass in front of a computer for the week preceding the show refreshing my browser on Cragslist in the hopes that someone would be descent and post a pair of tickets at face value, which of course they don't do that early on, because they have the luxury of time for selling their tickets to people who can't be at their computers obsessively refreshing their browsers for a week, for two to three times the face value of the ticket. And I know why they do it, and I know that they can, but it just really pisses me off. I mean, some people were selling them for $500 a ticket. Really? And people buy them at that price? Why? Actually, I know people who'd buy them at that price because they go to one show a year and they don't know any better. Don't know how to search for tickets and be patient. But anyway. I really couldn't spend more than face. Quite literally I did not have the money for it, so it had to be face or below, or nothing. And I knew it might come down to the day of, standing outside the venue, haggling with some scalper, but I was prepared to do it, because I really wanted to go.

So, I found a guy, who eventually sold his tickets to me for a little below face, without me even asking him to bring down the price and yeah, it was a bitch of a drive to get them, but it was worth it for being able to get into the show and for paying less than face. As we were going in to the venue, we saw two "kids", probably late teens, who'd unknowingly bought counterfeit tickets - you know, the kind that are sent via e-mail and you print at home? Yeah, never buy those for that reason. I'm sure there are some legit people selling those, but why risk it? I felt so bad for them because they looked so upset. There were two cops looking over the print-out and the line (there were only a few of us there) was being held up while they investigated. More than looking mad about it they looked disappointed and my heart went out to them because I could imagine how much it would suck to really be looking forward to going (as I was) spending the money, being at the door and being told your tickets are no good. Sometimes, people just suck. Especially Craigslist people. As the line opened up and we went through security I heard the girl ask the cop "isn't there anything you can do?" and I wished I'd had the money to run out and get them a pair of tickets from a scalper so they could get in. It also made me want to text my seller and thank him for not being a scalper, but he might have thought it weird to get that text...

The seats were pretty good if a little to the side. Unfortunately, my seat neighbor had a stick up her ass. I go to a fair amount of concerts a year, so it's all kind of second nature to me. I know how it works- I know people are going to be getting up to get beer or go to the bathroom, I know you might end up next to an annoying talker or shouter, and sometimes you luck out and you get cool people who just enjoy the show and don't annoy the crap out of you. I think I'm a fairly good seat neighbor: I'm sober, I don't shout annoyingly, I don't get out of my seat often for beer or whatever and when I talk to my friend, I talk into his/her ear and not out loud so the whole section can hear me. I do dance in my spot though, and every now and then, I might accidentally elbow the person next to me (not hard), after which I quickly apologize. Cool people don't usually mind. They understand it happens, as I do, when it happens to me. This woman was a giant bitch. I was reaching down to get something from my purse and accidentally bumped into her leg. I quickly apologized only to have her give me the stink eye and cross her arms. She crossed her arms for about half the freakin' show. It's a five hour show! At one point, she'd left her seat and I moved over because I was recording and I had a clearer view from her spot. She came back just as the song was ending and I told her in a friendly way that I'd move in about five seconds. She sighed heavily and crossed her arms again. Her seat was next to the isle, I mean, it wasn't  a hardship to give me a few secs. When I was done I thanked her for waiting and smiled and she said nothing back. See? Bitch.


Anyway, as for the show, I thought it was great. This was my third year going (not consecutive) and I feel like this year was smoother than last. No stage issues and no lag time between bands. I think they do a good job of keeping it moving. I saw Broken Bells, The Temper Trap, Florence + the Machine, and The Black Keys for the first time and loved them all. Florence + the Machine and The Black Keys were especially great. Florence has great stage presence and a powerful voice, and the Black Keys are just so good and so much fun. I could not stop dancing. Loved. Them.

I'm not a Neon Trees, or Vampire Weekend fan, but I knew a few of their songs, so their sets seemed to go by quickly. Brandon Flowers was entertaining, I guess. I used to really like The Killers, but I've moved on from them, and him and so I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to seeing him or not. I liked that he did a cover of Betty Davis Eyes, and did a Killers song (or was it two? I've got the worst memory) but overall I was pretty indifferent about him. Phoenix closed the show, and while I like them very much, I'm not sure they were the best choice to close. I find it interesting that they were the choice because from what I could tell, Vampire Weekend had the bigger fan reaction (which baffled me, but what do I know? I don't listen to radio). Anyway, Thomas Mars, the lead singer seemed a bit tired but they still put on a good show.  I think the choice to play Love Like a Sunset was interesting... just because it seemed people got restless and then started to leave. I may be overgeneralizing, but I think people who are regular radio listeners (or who mostly only listen to radio) don't care for songs with no lyrics or catchy hooks. They just don't know what to do with those.

All in all I was so thrilled to have been able to go. I loved the bands, even the ones I didn't love, just because I was giddy to be there. Concerts/ live music in general make me giddy, so five hours of it, even next to a bitchy, anal seat neighbor was fun!

Here are some vids:

Sally Hawkins Is My New BFF. In My Head.

Exactly a week ago today, I went to a screening of Made In Dagenham. I didn't write about it sooner, because I'm lazy. But anyway, for financial reasons I'm on a self-imposed no-movies-in-theaters ban. I just can't afford it. That being the case, I wasn't expecting to see this movie until it came out on DVD but as luck or fate would have it, an opportunity to go to a free screening followed by a Q&A with Sally Hawkins arose, and I was very happy to pounce on it. 

 I confess I'm a sucker for anything "feminist" so I was predisposed to like the movie. And even before going I'd heard good things, and I really like Sally Hawkins, so you know it was going to have to suck majorly for me to do anything but love it.  And love it I did. I want to think I'm not the only one though. The movie inspired our screening crowd to cheer at some scenes and hiss at others. Twice I got misty-eyed. It's that whole girl-power thing I can't help but love.

In any case, after the screening Sally Hawkins came out, adorably humble when the interviewer told her how great she was and how happy they were she was there. I'm sorry to say, however, that adorable Sally Hawkins is quite a rambler. It was a little bit awkward. Any question they would ask her would take her forever to answer, and she never quite got to the point. People got fidgety, started shifting in their seats. Ok, it was really awkward. In any case, I still found her adorable, if long winded.

By the time the questions were over, only maybe half the audience remained and I decided to head for the front of the stage in the hopes of getting a pic. A small group had gathered and Sally was literally on her hands and knees signing things for people. These people came prepared! They had posters, DVD's and pictures. Why it didn't occur to me to take my Persuasion DVD with me, I just don't know. In any case, I did have a note pad and some pens, but just as I got up to her her manager was telling her that she really needed to get up off the floor. I didn't want to hold her up too much, so I didn't ask her to sign anything, but I did ask if she'd mind taking a quick picture, which she agreed to, getting back on her knees for so we'd both fit in the frame. As she positioned herself, I told her I loved her as Anne Elliot, and she replied, "In Persuasion, you mean?" and I said, "Yes, it's my favorite" (I don't know why I said that, since Pride and Prejudice is actually my favorite, but it's what came out!). Anyway, she said "Yes, it's my favorite too" and smiled. And as far as I'm concerned, the fact that we not only talked, but talked Persuasion, and how it's both our favorite (albeit not entirely true) now makes us BFF's. Or at least I'm that much closer to it than I was with Halle Berry. At least. I so wanted to ask her about the lovely (and by lovely, I mean hot) Rupert Penry-Jones, but there was just no time, unfortunately. Maybe next time. Right, because there'll be a next time.

Maybe I was delusional in thinking Sally might get a Golden Globe nomination, or maybe I was just wishing it for my new BFF, I don't know, but I'm bummed she didn't. And Angelina Jolie got one for The Tourist. Ok, whatever. Anyway, I know an Academy Award would be a long shot, but if she did get it, it'd be great because I thought she was that good in this.

It's also really disappointing that the movie is not getting all that much attention in the States (that I'm aware of). I think it'd make for a great Girls' Night Out movie: a group of girlfriends, dinner, the movie and then some drinks after to discuss how far we've come and how great the movie was. Just sayin'. Maybe when it comes out on DVD I'll have a Girls' Night In...

Seriously, if you're a woman, I don't see how you can watch this and not get chills. You should want to rush out and see it!

Halle Berry: Frankie & Alice Screening. Oh, and We Didn't Become BFF's.

This past Wednesday, I had another of those "only in L.A." sort of evenings, that I still can't believe I get to experience. For free no less. Who knew this stuff went on? And available to the general public if you know where to look! I got to attend a screening of Halle Berry's new movie Frankie & Alice followed by a Q&A with her.  

Now, I've never been a terribly deep thoughts kind of person and I'm not about to get all film critic on you now, because it would quickly become apparent to all of us, that I don't know what I'm talking about. All I can say about any movie is whether I liked it or not and if I feel strongly about it either way, I might go into detail, but otherwise I like to paint with a nice broad brush. I liked this movie, overall. Yeah, I thought the psychiatrist's (Stellan Skarsgård) story line didn't seem completely fleshed out and I didn't love how they wrapped up the end, but overall, these things did not bother me enough to make me not like the movie.

Of course, the acting by everyone was great. Chandra Wilson as the jealous, bitter sister gave us a tiny bit of levity and provided a couple of laughs while Phylicia Rashad was the seemingly-in-denial, wrought mother - though I don't think I could ever see her and not think, "Mrs. Huxtable!" (at least just at first. I mean, seriously!). As I said, both were great; I only wish there had been a bit more of them.

I can't remember ever having seen a Halle Berry movie in theaters-and I hesitate to admit this next thing because it makes me sound totally shallow- but I have to say from time to time I couldn't help being distracted from the performance because I couldn't stop myself from thinking how beautiful she was. Good lord, she really is. A screen-sized Halle Berry is hard not to take notice of. Despite being distracted by her ridiculously good looks, I paid enough attention to know that the Oscar buzz surrounding her is warranted. We'll see what comes of it though.

In any case, she showed up after the film for the Q&A, and and again I freely admit my shallowness overtook me. I struggled to pay attention to anything she said for the first ten minutes because I couldn't get over how beautiful she was and could not stop thinking that I was somehow, impossibly, in the same room with her. I'm female and I'm straight, but as I've no doubt made clear, I can appreciate hotness in a woman when presented with it, what can I say? Anyway, I was about five rows back from the stage, though a bit off to the side, but even from there I could see she she's got perfect skin. Must be nice. In any case, though the person I went to this screening with said he was nervous for her having to come out and face a crowd that had just watched her film, she seemed perfectly at ease. She got a standing ovation and seemed flattered but a bit embarrassed.

She talked about how she'd been trying to get the film made (off and on) for twelve years, and how everyone in the cast was her first choice and she was surprised that they'd all agreed to be in it. It shot in twenty five days and though the budget didn't allow for too much "fancy" stuff, they did have plenty of Ding Dongs around (a reference to something in the movie). She talked about how being a mother has helped with her acting, but how that doesn't affect the roles she chooses to take.

A woman asked her about any advice she might have for someone who is of mixed race (in this case, the woman who asked was asking for her 12 year old daughter who was there) and how they should approach casting situations. Berry basically said that early on she decided she identified with being African American and that's just what's always felt right for her because of how she looks, and that the daughter in question should do what felt right for her,  that there's no right or wrong and no matter what, she's beautiful as she is. I'm not judging and I do agree that people should absolutely do what's right for them, but the way she spoke made it sound as though she almost does not acknowledge (for lack of a better word) being half white. Out of sheer curiosity, I would love to ask Berry's mom, who is white (and from what I understand, raised Berry mostly on her own) what she thinks about all that.

Anyway, when the Q&A wrapped up, there was a rush to the stage to get pics and autographs and for a moment I was a little scared for her. She took a few pictures, signed a couple of things and then they managed to get her away from the over-eager crowd. And there I stood thinking: Good Lord, I was just in a room with an Oscar winning actress! Not many movie-loving, non-celebrity folk get that opportunity and I know that, so I was not about to take it for granted.

In the end, Halle Berry did not pick me out of the crowd to become BFF's as I imagined she would before I got there, but I'm sure that's only because she was rushed by so many people so soon after the Q&A that there was just no time. Yep, that's what it was. That aside, it was a really good evening and I'm happy that I got to go!

We Need To Talk. People Still Do That, Right?

Ages ago I had a friend who was one of the most intelligent people I knew. He wasn't necessarily over-the-top freakishly smart, he was just well read in a lot of subjects, and I imagine now, having some perspective, that he just paid attention to people and experiences. In any case, he was one of my favorite people to talk to. We would get together after work, order some coffee and then just talk and talk for hours. Any topic I threw at him he would easily take up- music, classic movies, books, Philosophy, History. It's safe to say, at the time my scope was fairly limited, so the fact that he could do that may not have been a big deal at all, but it seemed like a big deal to me and I loved picking his brain. Often, a lot of what he said was over my head, I'm not going to lie, but that was okay because it pushed me to go out after our talks and look stuff up, to learn more. He never made me feel dumb and he always encouraged me to ask questions and to freely give my opinion, even when I disagreed. It was delicious bliss. I was aware of it then, but I know it even more now because I've not been able to have those kinds of conversations with anyone since him. I miss them desperately.

I miss talking to people. Maybe it's the head space I'm currently in, or maybe it's an actuality, but I feel that lately, very few people- or at least my friends- really talk. People talk at me, but there's seldom any give and take. Thanksgiving at my house this year was an especially eye-opening and frustrating experience. It was a gathering mostly of friends and family within my age, and despite trying to ban cell phones at the table, they still managed to come out once or twice. When there was conversation (primarily amongst the males in the room) it was about Youtube videos they'd all watched. It was literally a recounting of videos they'd seen, one after the other, ad nauseam. As soon as dinner was over and the cell phone ban was lifted, they were rushing to pull up the videos so we could all watch them. And I wanted to tear my hair out. I quite literally wanted to cry because I am so starved for genuine conversation. Books, movies, restaurants, travel, hell even politics which I hesitate to discuss in a mixed group. I don't care, I just want to talk. I want to hear other people's thoughts and ideas and give some of my own. Do people still do that?

Now I've become hyper-sensitive to the whole thing and have become rather foul-tempered when anyone tries to tell me about the last video they saw on Youtube. Maybe I wouldn't be if I had some outlet for conversation but I don't. I really don't. And I am frustrated as hell. I am not especially brilliant, sadly, and I don't necessarily have deep thoughts, but I do read a lot. I travel and get out locally as much as possible and every now and then it'd be nice just to exchange thoughts and ideas with other people. Is that too much to ask?