Regarding Travel For Hollywood

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I’ve been too busy to do much of anything, let alone blog.  I’m currently doing pre-production work on a film.  It’s difficult to orchestrate being away from home for 4 months.  It’s not only the packing (for summer/fall/winter) but it’s all the other logistics.  I had to get someone to pet-sit while I’m gone, someone to move my car every 72 hours (since it’s parked on the streets of L.A. somewhere.)  Now I have to keep track of bills in two different states.  All the L.A. bills are for things I’m not even using: Rent, that new couch my roommate and I split the cost of—it’s super comfy (as I remember), Netflix I don’t have the time or capability to use right now.  Oh, and yeah… on top of all that, I’m pretty damn busy with my actual job on the movie.

That brings me to another point:  The entertainment business is not exactly kind to relationships (or families.)  I don’t have kids, but I can’t imagine trying to figure things out if I did.  Relationships?  There was a time for that, but not anymore.  Not for awhile.  And I’ve been on the receiving end of things, too.  When someone else was the one going away.  When the timing was right and then it wasn’t and then the time just ran out.  You have to just remember the beautiful moments.  It’s never easy, but I keep going despite it all.   

Sometimes, the entertainment business seems to take everything I have, but it’s also given back to me.  It’s given me unique experiences, treasured friendships, and enough stories to keep this blog going for a few more years. 

Copyright ©2012 by KLiedle

Photo credit: KLiedle

Cheers to Theme Songs

I haven't been too interested in movies lately.  Not anything that's in theatres right now anyway.  Instead, I've been watching more TV shows.  Odd for me, yes.  I'm not much of a TV person.  In fact, when analog TVs became dinosaurs, I had to get one of those digital converter boxes.  It was the first time I'd set foot in a Radio Shack in ages.  I went home, fiddled with the "bunny ears" antenna on the analog TV I'd had since college and got it all jazzed up with the converter box. 

The result?  I got a bunch of channels to flip through. Unfortunately, most of them were scrambled or in Chinese, Spanish, and Russian.  The only English language channel that came in clearly was Channel 7.  It was  mind-boggling that I couldn't even get the major networks like NBC and CBS.

Most of the "TV" I do watch is through digital streaming.  Besides my recent Breaking Bad Season 4 binge, I've otherwise been watching older TV shows.  I think it's great that entire series are now available for streaming.  I've really enjoyed revisiting shows like Cheers, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and The Bernie Mac Show.

One thing that's struck me about these shows is how simple most of them are.  Prime example: Cheers.  Many of these shows also existed in an era when shows still had theme songs.  For Cheers and The Golden Girls, and even Friends, the theme song became as much a part of the show as the characters.  Shows had openers during the credits.  In the case of Family Ties, they did a whole "oil painting into family portrait sequence."  Cheers went through the evolution of the bar through old illustrations of bar patrons that gradually evolved into portraits. 

Today we're so impatient to get to the content of the show that theme songs really, if ever, exist.  In fact, most of the time there is no song of any kind and the opening credits occur during the action. Increasingly, even the end credits are shrunken up in some tiny corner and cut out entirely.  (This is one of my all-time pet peeves.) 

Theme songs and opening montages and the like gave TV shows a sense of identity, a sense of place.  I'd love to see shows go back to that.  Just a little bit.

Copyright © 2012 by KLiedle

Totally Biased: We're all different...

If you've ever seen an episode of Louie or It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, you know that FX is not afraid to takes chances.  With the success of some of its original programming, FX Networks is delving into late night this season.  Following the initial six-week run of Brand X With Russell Brand, comes Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell.

Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell premiered on FX, Thursday August 9 for a preliminary six-week run.  In addition to standard late night fare, the show will particularly touch on politics, pop culture, race, religion, and the media.  It's executive produced by Chris Rock, Chuck Sklar, and W. Kamau Bell (who also serves as host--obviously.)  Tune in for Episode #2 this coming Thursday at 11P.  Only On FX.

UPDATE:  Totally Biased has been renewed for seven additional episodes, beginning October 11th.

©2012 by KLiedle
Video content ©2012 by FX Networks; embedded here-- courtesy of Youtube & FX Networks.

Cinema Under The Stars

 There's something about the collective nature of the moviegoing experience that transcends advancements in technology.  

Despite the ease and convenience of Netflix, Redbox, Video-On-Demand, Internet TV, and premium cable channels, people have a yearning to gather together to enjoy good storytelling.

Cinema is a visual medium that allows each of us enjoy, experience, learn from, and process the human experience.  It's easy to lean back in an easy chair, a bowl of popcorn by our side, and hit the remote.  What's far more enriching is to experience cinema in the company of others-- in the company of strangers even.  It's through cinema that we discover that as humans, our similarities outweigh our differences.  

Now that drive-ins are nearly extinct and movie tickets keep rising, many communities host sponsored summer movie events in outdoor venues.  Many of these are FREE, some request donations, and nearly all the rest are reasonably priced.   Most outdoor summer movie events feature popular audience choices, family favorites, and classic film fare.

Recently, I went to "Screen On The Green" at the National Mall in Washington D.C.  The final offering for the season was Psycho.  It was a picturesque setting to watch a classic Hitchcock film-- one of my favorites indeed.  (Plus, I got to see the sunset at The Washington Monument.)  An amazing amount of people showed up at the event.  They scoped out their territories early, as is usually the case at these events.  Overwhelmingly, this was a young audience.  Some of them may have been seeing Psycho for the very first time.  My friend and I had a blast!

The Academy also introduced Oscar Outdoors at their new open-air theater in Hollywood this year.  Screenings take place on Fri and Sat nights.  The last one I'm aware of is Friday, September 7 (Julie and Julia.)  Be forewarned, many of those screenings have SOLD OUT.  

If you're afraid of the dark and spooked by dead people, you may want to skip this next one.  Cinespia Cemetery Screenings are a popular and a fun option for people who live in and around the L.A. area. There, you can watch films under the stars and amid the headstones-- in case you've ever had a hankering to combine those two things.  

In New York City, The NYC Parks hosts a wide variety of outdoor film festivals and screenings during the summertime.  Other sponsored outdoor movie screenings take place in and around NYC during the summer, too.  Most I saw were FREE.  Recent findings:  Upcoming screenings in Bryant Park, Astoria Park, Staten Island, etc through September 6, 2012.

All communities should have access to cinema because cinema is the history of where we've come from, where we are, and where we're going. 

Check your local listings to see if your area hosts summer movie screenings before the summer's out!

© 2012 by KLiedle

Warner Bros: Sensitive Business In Aftermath Of Aurora Tragedy

Last week, Warner Brothers was looking forward to a monumental weekend with the release of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, his highly anticipated follow-up to The Dark Knight.  Big, blockbuster summer releases with pre-buzz (like The Dark Knight Rises) tend to do very, very well at midnight screenings.  Most tickets were pre-sold via websites and multiplex theater outlets.  Like the Harry Potter franchise, many hardcore Batman fans planned to go to the theater dressed in costume.  They were looking forward to a good time and a fun, popcorn movie. 

This was what summer was all about.

As we all know, the events that unfolded in Aurora, Colorado last Friday morning merged the line between fantasy and reality... and in the end, it all became much too real.  And devastating.  As reports came streaming in, it was said that many in the Century 16 Theater first thought the gunman's appearance was a publicity stunt.  I can only imagine the terror in that theater when, moments later, bullets went flying.

Is this really happening?  How could this happen? Why?????

Warner Brothers got its monumental weekend (albeit in a far different way than anyone at the studio could have predicted.)  In public relations speak, they call it "crisis management."  This is when a major event immediately threatens an organization, its reputation, its shareholders, or the general public.  The Crisis being that the event has already occurred, it poses a very real threat, and it forces a company or organization to make strategic decisions in a very short amount of time.

As news poured in from Colorado, the studio and companies associated with The Dark Knight Rises had some very real decisions to make FAST.   According to The Los Angeles Times, Christopher Nolan, the cast and crew, were in "lockdown mode" in Paris where the studio cancelled a scheduled premiere.

WHAT WARNER BROS. DID RIGHT

*Warner Bros.  immediately combed through advertisements and pre-existing promotional material for The Dark Knight Rises in order to remove and/or alter any catch phrases or taglines with negative or violent connotations.

* Warner Bros. also quickly pulled trailers of their upcoming release, Gangster Squad which was originally scheduled for release in September.  That film chillingly includes a theater shooting sequence.  (According to Variety, the studio has now made the decision to do away with the whole sequence,  reportedly a climax of the film.) 

*Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have made substantial donations to The Aurora Victims Relief Fund, a 501(c) nonprofit established to help victims' families and survivors of the tragedy.

*AMC Theatres released photos via Facebook of Christian Bale and his wife Sibi Blazic visiting with survivors of the tragedy and a victims' memorial in Aurora.

In light of what happened, it's natural to want to point fingers.  We want to point fingers.  We want to blame.  We want to find the one true answer as to why?  Why did this happen?  How could this happen?  It's Guns.  It's Hollywood.  It's Societal Pressure.  It's Youth Alienation.  It's the glorification of Violence.

Sure, one can say that Warner Bros. acted purely for publicity's sake.  That's fair.  It could very well be true.  My point, however, is that they could very easily have buried their head in the sand.  Other companies faced with similar crises certainly have dealt with things that way. It's as if to say:  "If we do nothing, the problem will eventually go away..."

Instead, I applaud Warner Bros. for all they have done.  Yes, it's about publicity and a studio (and film's) reputation.  More importantly, however, it's about acting sensitively from a business and human standpoint. It's about acting responsibly.  It's understanding that, while a company can face tragedy and crises like an adult (as Warner Bros. has), that company's actions do not mean they are fully accepting responsibility.

The shooting is not Christian Bale's fault.  It's not Christopher Nolan's fault.  Or Warner Bros. fault.  Or Batman's fault.  As much as we'd like it to be.  That would be too easy. 

Be sensitive to the victims, thankful for the heroes, and to the people who survived.

Focus on the things that went right when everything else was going so horribly wrong...

For more information:

Crisis Management

http://managementhelp.org/crisismanagement/index.htm

Studio Handling Crisis With Care And Compassion
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/07/24/warner-bros-to-contribute-to-aurora-relief-fund-pr-pros-say-studio-handling/

Gangster Squad
http://www.mediaite.com/online/warner-bros-reportedly-deleting-entire-theater-shooting-sequence-from-upcoming-film-gangster-squad/

Warner Bros. Donation To Shooting Victims
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/hollyworld/warner-bros-donate-aurora-shooting-victims-batman

Donate To Victims Of The Aurora Shooting
https://www.givingfirst.org/

©2012 by KLiedle

Ice Cream: It's What's For Dinner

It's National Ice Cream Day here in the United States.  This is a fact I should know... Ice Cream.  Well, let's just say I'm a fan.  I also enjoy ice cream's many counterparts: frozen yogurt, gelato, and sorbet.  The beauty of being an adult is that I can have ice cream anytime I want.  Not that I do... (or that I'd admit to it here.)  I'll try any flavor there is, but I'm partial to Cookies And Cream.  And just plain vanilla with some cinnamon sprinkled on top. 

Ice cream has appeared in many films over the years.  Who can forget Audrey Hepburn gleefully enjoying her gelato in Roman Holiday?   Charlie was amazed to discover that Willy Wonka himself invented a chocolate ice cream that never melts in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.  The iconic duo of the silent era, Laurel and Hardy used ice cream in several sketches and short films, including the 'Moustachio Ice Cream' sketch in their 1931 film, Come Clean.  And back in 1993, Louis C.K.  did a short film, entitled simply, Ice Cream. For anyone familiar with his current show, Louie, he routinely professes his love for ice cream.  And not wanting to share it with his kids.  I don't blame him.

Ah, Ice Cream.  It's what's for dinner.

Here in Los Angeles, I recommend  Humphrey's Yogart, Studio Yogurt, and Yogurtland (which, sadly, is quickly becoming the Starbucks of the frozen yogurt world.)

©2012 by KLiedle

July 4th: Good Intent

One post in June... that's what happens when you're caught working 75 hours in 5 days.  With an average 15-hour workday, I don't have time for much of anything else.   Busy working on the Steve Jobs movie while simultaneously in pre-production to direct an episode of "Bad Audition," a new series created by Kate Orlando Siebrasse.  Oh, and did I mention-- writing a book?  Yeah, that's happening, too.  As a result, June vanished into thin air, I'm seriously sleep-deprived and I really just wish summer was over.   Busy is good, however.  I tell myself that.

Here's to the 4th of July... and a much-needed DAY OFF for most Americans.  I know that not everyone gets a free day.  (I personally haven't had the 4th of July off-- or any holiday off-- for the better part of 3 years... thanks to a deadbeat weekend job that I {ahem} no longer have.)

When I'm home by myself, I've been known to lip-synch and dance myself silly.  I love flowing gowns and fedoras, gentlemen dressed in suits and essentially anything from the 1940s. That's why I especially enjoyed Kimbra's video of "Good Intent."

 I have good intentions to enjoy the holiday to its fullest and do absolutely nothing.

 Here's to hoping you all do the same.

** For Lyrics to Kimbra's "Good Intent"**
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kimbra/goodintent.html

© 2012 by KLiedle