Action Until Completion [And The Story Of My Pillow: A Romance]

I woke up this morning at 11:30 AM with a deep pillow crease on the side of my face. I couldn't have been happier.

I've been working nonstop for the better part of a month. Last week I logged 87 hours ( 60 of which were in 4 days.) I'd forgotten what it was like to have a day in which I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything.

'Feast or famine,' as they say, especially in the entertainment industry. At least this year, there has been a pilot season.

I said goodbye to one such pilot on Friday. I'd gotten to know the crew pretty well. During production, we passed the time by taking bets on how many 'takes' the director would get to before moving on. It became laughable-- in a very expensive way. (I appreciate the efficient directors I've worked with in the past all the more.) Minutes clicked by, $ signs escalated and after awhile, all anyone wanted to hear was 'Got it!' to 'Moving On' to 'Wrap.'

[One particular day, I'd worked from 1:00 PM one day until 6:00 AM the next morning. I was walking around like a zombie, contemplating yet another cup of coffee. At that point, no amount of money meant more to me than going home to collapse and smoosh my face into the side of my pillow. ]

The amount of prep and money that went into everything was unbelievable-- especially this pilot, which I've been told, is one for the record books-- as far as budget. They hope it gets picked up. Most of them don't. I'm just glad it's not a medical drama.

A phenomenon that is quite clear this year: A-list stars and directors migrating to TV. It used to be a step down, an invisible line that no one dared cross. Dustin Hoffman, Sissy Spacek, Kathy Bates, Jon Voight, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Kline are all headed to a TV set near you, if their prospective shows gets picked up. The Laura Dern/Mike White series, "Enlightened," has already gotten a greenlight from HBO-- who ordered nine episodes.

There is no doubt that TV, especially cable, is getting better. I didn't think there was any hope once "reality" set in. I never even watched TV--considered myself more of a film person. However, series like "Mad Men," "Big Love", and my latest obsession, "Breaking Bad" have all changed my mind. Luckily, some audiences have had their fill of non-scripted programming.

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Production days in the L.A. area are up --- due to newly passed incentives. Most of the increases were commercials and TV. Now if we can just get the features to make a comeback.

Copyright © 2010 by KLiedle
Photo credit: 8litres/flickr

Off With My Head! [ or 3-D When Will It End? ]

I may be one of the few, but I never saw Avatar in 3-D. In fact, I never saw it at all. The worst of it all is that I could've seen it for free because of my job and yet--

I just wasn't all that interested.

Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland intrigued me. Wouldn't it be grand?!! Then, the reviews started coming in and I thought twice. Hmm...maybe not. Oh heck, I still wanted to see it. I wasn't expecting to be blown away, nor was I expecting to go running out of the theater screaming in horror. I set my expectations low and thereby asked only that it be entertaining.

Alice was my inaugural experience with 3-D technology. Indeed, it was an entertaining somersault down the rabbit hole. It was dark and twisted, yet missing some of the essence of the original story's most endearing characters-- i.e. the White Rabbit and Alice, herself. The film was in 3-D, but many of the characters still felt flat and two-dimensional. Alice skulked through most of her days and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen was horrendously miscast in my opinion [and I normally enjoy Ms. Hathaway's work.]
The jabberwocky made it all worthwhile. It's as though it flew off the cover of a heavy metal album only to be slayed by an armored Alice invigorated with female empowerment.

I didn't notice it so much then, during the movie, but apparently my brain doesn't like being tricked by 3-D technology. I exited the theatre with the mother of headaches. It was throbbing, pulsating, and no matter what I did-- it wouldn't go away. At points, I wished the Red Queen in all her 3-D glory would proclaim: "Off With Her Head!" and take me out of my misery. My headache lasted all day and well into the evening--and I NEVER get headaches which made it even worse. "Never again will I do 3-D," I thought to myself.

Now it seems that avoiding 3-D will become the newest challenge for moviegoers like me. Studios are chomping at the bit to convert their studio releases to 3-D. To me, it's irritating-- not only because of the headaches or the extra 3-D surcharge, but because it makes studios believe that technology trumps story and character. Moviegoers can be put under the spell of technology and spectacle for a time. For many, however, the novelty will wear off and they'll realize they've been duped by Hollywood's latest stunt.

Copyright © 2010 by KLiedle
For All Things Alice Illustration credit: shebrews/flickr
Shebrews does Alice-inspired illustrations on vintage paper. Visit shebrews photostream to see the full collection.

For more about emerging 3-D Technology:

Dolby -Dolby 3D Digital Cinema
XpanD Digital Cinema
Some theatres are now experimenting with XpanD Digital Cinema.

The 3-D headache was brought to me by Dolby Digital 3D. For the lucky few like me, 3-D headaches are now appearing at theatres everywhere.

The common causes of headaches are allergy, emotional stress, eye strain, high blood pressure, a hangover, infection, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiency, tension, and the presence of poisons and toxins in the body.
http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/remedy/Headaches.html

Stop The Presses; Roll The Cameras

"I hate snoops," Holly Golightly proclaims early on in Breakfast At Tiffany's. She'd taken care of herself a long time and felt no need to answer to anybody. And why should she?

I'm a snoop. That's right, I said it--er, wrote it. Given a choice, I'd prefer the term sleuth, but that implies that I'm playing detective and searching for something in particular. And I am no Nancy Drew-- that's for sure. I wouldn't even consider myself in the class of Harriet The Spy. I barely got through that little wimpy kid's diary-- I mean journal, but whatever.

This dirty little trait of mine dates back to childhood. In those days, I was an expert at unwrapping gifts and re-wrapping them to perfection with no one being the wiser. I got away with it for years of Christmases past until my little brother squealed on me. [ I could've told him that his beloved Castle Grayskull was from mom instead of that jolly red giant named Santa, but I didn't want to be mean.] Instead, I took to bugging phone lines and writing in ultra-mysterious code I thought no one could crack... [ 1=A, 2=B, 3=C.] I coiled a bunch of wires together and built a crystal radio that picked up strange signals when tapped into our rotary phone. On most days, I could be found in a tree somewhere, high above the rooftop, looking down on the world and eavesdropping on people. Naturally, these tendencies led to my interest in writing.

Later, I went to journalism school. There, I was forced to read books by the likes of Katherine Graham and Walter Cronkite. Cronkite complained that good, solid journalism was quickly being replaced by what he called infotainment. The integrity of news media and print media itself, he feared, could become something of the past. This was after AOL's annoying You've got mail, but before Kindle and ipods and TMZ took over.

Newspapers ceasing to exist? I thought Cronkite was being a bit of an alarmist. Less than a decade later, my favorite newsstand is now a Tijuana-style vendor stand of noisy, blinking electronic toys and ipod/cell phone accessories. The only magazines left on those dwindling racks are tabloids that everyone reads for infotainment sake, but no one admits to buying.

Lately, I've been spending quite a bit of time in an old newspaper building. As the newspaper moved out, the film crews moved in. This one is playing host to no less than three television pilots in the next few weeks. As the size of the newspaper shrank, so did its news staff. [They moved into a much smaller building to cut their losses.] At the old haunt, the hallways are long and narrow. The lunch room still has tables and a humming refrigerator. Circulation sits abandoned; Advertising is hauntingly quiet, and the presses have been cold now for quite some time.

If there's anywhere where the temptation to snoop beckons, it's on a film-set---especially on-location and especially in an old newspaper building. The typically brutal, long hours and sheer boredom contribute to the childish curiosity of snooping. After twelve hours, you kinda sorta wonder what might be in that desk drawer. You might want to do some sleuthing, that is detective work, to see what was left behind.

Paperclips, old business cards, and photo sensitive tape only tell part of the story. What was this so-called newspaper world like? I'm on the case. I open a drawer or two, in the name of sleuthing. I flip through a pile of papers as part of my investigative work. I am using my journalism degree after all, I tell myself. I find canisters of mints emblazoned with the logos of old sponsors and complimentary ticket vouchers for any Clippers game... during the '93-'94 season. I wonder if they'll swap them out. Probably not. I toss them aside. Then in the bottom drawer of a desk in one corner office, I find a golden nugget--a relic of the not-so-distant past. On a sheet of yellow-lined legal paper, a former newspaper executive handwrote:

"... The business graveyard is crowded with the tombstones of enterprises, including newspapers, that refused to recognize economic reality."

Even the newspaper business, with its most famous saying: All the news that's fit to print [The New York Times] was ill-advised as to how quickly technology would replace it. Turns out, I did think of Cronkite well beyond that journalism class. In those moments of ahem, investigative work, I stopped to ponder how the collapse of one enterprise [the newspaper business] could benefit the likes of another [the film/tv industry.]

Stop The Presses. Roll The Cameras and we begin again...

Every enterprise, every business must change to fit the new era. We may not know exactly what the new rules are, but one thing's for sure: Those who blink will lose the fight.

"Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away, they just keep coming back for more. And that's the way it is."
--Walter Cronkite (1981)

P.S. And that little wimpy kid's diary--I mean journal, but whatever-- apparently, it's now a major motion picture. We've definitely entered a new era and even if we're surrounded by a bunch of morons, it's time we face up to it.

Copyright © 2010 by KLiedle

Photo/illustration credit/Flickr as follows:
Harriet The Spy/Louise Fitzhugh, News Presses/Belly Button Window
Nancy Drew/Peril In Pink

Chew 'Em Up and Spit 'Em Out: Toxic Hollywood

I could see it in her eyes, things weren't the same. The bubbly, blue-eyed blonde, devoutly Christian girl from Illinois liked to sing and dance. She was a rising star in her hometown-- the one to watch. Like so many others, she loaded up her car and moved out to Los Angeles to be an actress. She got an agent and a personal manager (with a company I worked for.) Right out of the starting gate, she booked one of the first roles she'd auditioned for-- a principal role on a kids cable series.

She was the envy of all her acting friends. She thought she'd taken off. She thought her star was rising-- that her wholesome beauty and talent would fuel her to the zenith of Hollywood-- that the promise of fame would nourish her. Things sped along beautifully until-- the cable show tanked, the industry slowed down, and the auditions dwindled down to nothing.

We told her we needed new photos. She said she would, she just needed to get some money. She told me to submit her for anything-- even roles with nudity (something she'd vehemently been against before.) Bills were piling up; desperation had set in.

The last time I saw her, I couldn't ignore the changes. Her bubbly personality had flattened as she tried to force a smile. Her blonde hair had lost its luster. Her skin had lost its glow. Hollywood wasn't as easy as it started off to be. She walked out of our offices as a ghost of her former self-- or the "self" that she thought Hollywood had been looking for. She stopped returning our calls. A few weeks later, we ran out of her headshots.

There are so many like her-- the Ellie Parkers. Hollywood is harsh and shark-infested. It's a survivalist's game. Even those who succeed are only moments away from drowning. I think of this now, with the passing of Andrew Koenig last month and Corey Haim just a few short days ago. Oddly, I'd just watched License To Drive about 2 weeks ago for the first time in at least fifteen years. As I'd listened to the interview of Corey Haim on that disc, well before his untimely death this week, I felt the same as I'd had the last time I'd spoken with the blonde: Something in them had been forever altered.

Hollywood loves to crown its kings and queens and is quick to knock them flat. Hollywood can be toxic and it will poison you if you let it. Don't change yourself to what you think Hollywood wants. Be the person you want to be. Those with the surest sense of themselves-- the ones that know who they are as people, not actors, have the best chance of survival.

Acting is not everything. Success doesn't make you. Money can only do so much. And none of it will last. Keep stretching toward your dreams, but don't ever let them consume you whole. And if you feel that you are drowning, resist the urge to reach for drugs, alcohol, or other self-destructive crutches-- instead reach for help. It is out there.

© Copyright 2010 by KLiedle

Dressing The Part: Motion Picture Costume Design

The empty cloth body of a doll is placed on a sewing table. Sawdust pours into the doll's body, giving her form. Then, yarn hair is attached, button-eyes are sewn in and suddenly a little girl in a yellow raincoat we come to know as Coraline falls into the next frame. It is with this same attention-to-detail that a costume designer approaches the challenge of dressing characters for a film.

I've always been in awe of costume and fashion designs. My mother taught me to sew by hand. All it took was a needle and thread, some cloth, and a vision. Simple, yet complicated. Enriching and intoxicating. And the details... always details.

A few years back, I discovered the Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition at FIDM [Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising] in Downtown L.A. Since then, I've gone to the exhibit every year. It offers a rare chance to see some of the best motion picture costume designs up close. When I stand in front of a some of those costumes, I can see the individual stitches, the layers upon layers of fabric, the authenticity and sheer style of the designs. Only then, can I imagine the absolute enormity of a costume designer's task.

Costumes say so much about character, about the world he or she inhabits, about the story that's unfolding before us. Designers like Michael O'Connor (The Duchess), Janet Patterson (Bright Star), and Sandy Powell (The Young Victoria) had to brush up on history and pour over research before even beginning to think about how to dress the actors in their respective period films.

It was fun to see the fashions of Julie & Julia-- from Julie Powell's contemporary chic Manhattan apparel to Julia Child's tailored suits, skirts and aprons. From the exhibit, I learned that part of costume designer Ann Roth's challenge was the real Julia Child's immense height-- a factor I hadn't thought much about in relation to costuming. Roth had to create an illusion of height and thereby help "sell" the figure of Julia Child through costuming. Otherwise, the waistlines would be off or the fabric wouldn't hang correctly. With the use of experimental shoes for Meryl Streep and countless fittings to see what could be cheated, this was achieved.

Designer Colleen Atwood had a different challenge-- creating colorful, sexy costumes for the heavily female cast of Nine, while constantly being aware of how those costumes would respond to the choreography and movement required by the actor in any given moment. Wardrobe malfunctions weren't an option. The costumes had to dazzle, but they also had to fit precisely.

A change to this year's exhibit brought about the most fun for me, personally. Puppets from the stop-motion animation film, Coraline are on exhibit. When I think about animation, I don't often think of wardrobe. With Coraline, costuming went hand-in-hand with the style and intricacies of the stop-motion animation of the film. Coraline, voiced by Dakota Fanning, had to reflect the fashions of what girls her age are actually wearing. Additionally, fabrics had to be tested to see how they read on film. Some colors and textures could be interesting for distant shots, but too much for close-ups. According to the Lead Costume Design Fabricators for the film, a total of 28 different puppets were used and each of them had numerous costume changes. The challenges posed here would be enough to drive me batty!

I was surprised and excited to see a number of stars at the exhibit, too. The real Wild Things are on display from Spike Jonze's film, Where The Wild Things Are. I was dwarfed by being in the mere presence of Carol, K.W., Alexander, and Judith-- towering above me. Up close, they look just like I imagined them to be from seeing the film [ and reading the book.] When I look up and see moisture from a runny nose glistening on Carol's face, it makes me feel sad. And when I look into her friendly, glass eyes, I feel like she's real even though my adult brain tells me she's not.

Designing the Wild Things and pulling it off in live-action form, was perhaps, one of the most difficult, yet imperative tasks of the film. The costumes for the wild things had to be a perfect combination of form and function (so the actors could move around in them.) What they couldn't be were fake-looking, giant man-suit puppets. The Wild Things had to look like creatures with the capacity for real emotion and humor. Then, there was Max's wolf suit--one costume he wears throughout the film. One costume--easy! Wrong. Since so much rides on that one costume, Max had an entire wardrobe of identical suits for different appearances and actions in the film.

Each year, the FIDM exhibit gets bigger and better. And each year, I learn more and more about the specific challenges each film poses to a costumer designer. It's rather amazing to get to be an insider for a brief moment and see the artistry and detail up close. For anyone who thinks that costume design for film is just a matter of shopping or buying fabric, think again. For the rest of you, the Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition at FIDM is open to the public until April 17, 2010. The exhibit is free and open to the public Tuesdays thru Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Fashion Institute of Design And Merchandising [FIDM Los Angeles]
919 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90015

2010 Exhibit -- Costumes On Display from the following films:
The Duchess, The Last Station, Bright Star, Sherlock Holmes, The Young Victoria, Amelia, Broken Embraces, Inglorious Basterds, Coraline, My One And Only, Pirate Radio, Julie & Julia, An Education, Public Enemies, Where The Wild Things Are, A Single Man, Night At The Museum, Star Trek, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Soloist, Watchmen, G.I. Joe, Aliens In The Attic, Nine.

Copyright © 2010 by Kliedle
Where The Wild Things Are poster/Fox Searchlight
Costume Designers Guild poster/IATSE Local 892
www.costumedesignersguild.com

Electric Youth Spurs Modern Love

The other day I saw Fabio shopping at the local mall. A day later, I saw Debbie Gibson at the movies. It was a throwback to the '80s-'90s sort of week. Toss in a little bit of valentines to top it off and voila, this post was born... Enjoy!

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IM Googled, status updated, linked, and blogged. Thumbs flying, ear-buds blasting; Match.com, here I am. Did you get my text? 'Cause I am next: I am Electric Youth. Valentine's Day may be just around the corner, but how can modern love compete with my latest tweet?

In the late '80s, Electric Youth was not an adolescent with ADD and an ipod in his hand. No, no-- it was a Debbie Gibson album and a popular perfume that teenage girls clamored for. Back then, remember? Valentine's Day was still fun and untainted. We handed out Looney Tune valentines to our classmates. We baked heart-shaped cookies. We passed notes. We left notes in lockers signed, Your Secret Admirer. And we silently prayed for that boy to send us flowers and candy.

We were all hormones and innocence and Lost In Your Eyes. Big surprise...

Now, Debbie is Deborah and we barely look up. We twitter, we text, but in many ways—we don't connect. No one seems to write letters anymore. Even a phone call takes too long. Texting is fast and gets to the point. It's quickly become the most popular way to communicate because we don't have to touch... heck, we don't even have to speak.

By February 2009, Twitter had reached 7 million unique visitors (Nielsen Wire) By 2009, 72.2% of cell phone users had a text-messaging plan on their cell phone and text usage went up by 107%. An astonishing 2.3 billion text messages are sent every day! (Paul Wise, Texting Statistics, Random Facts, and Blackberry Cell Phones)

With all these distractions, modern love is certainly complicated! And to think that online dating used to be scary and utterly taboo? Now, it's become the thing to do. Online, you never have to actually meet people or talk to them face-to-face. You can date from your living room and never leave the couch. You can pick your partner like you pick your kitchen tile. We're connected to technology, yet removed from each other.

It's become way too easy to poke fun at how technology's changed our love lives. Modern Love, the latest episode of the web series, It's Always Smoggy In L.A. did just that-- hilariously showcasing the pitfalls of modern love. This year, you may rush to make reservations and order flowers or you may wear black and scowl until the Valentine's sugar high has lifted. Whichever camp you find yourself in, unplug yourself for once, spend time with each other, and become one with the world.

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!

Copyright ©2010 by KLiedle
Photo credit: starberryshyne/flickr.com

What You Might Have Missed...

I just want to thank TotalFilm.com for mentioning my blog on their recent post:

600 Movie Blogs You Might Have Missed ... the weird, the wonderful, the well-informed.

If you're tired of watching movies from your Netflix queue, you can spend the rest of 2010 scrolling through this treasure trove. I admit, it's a little overwhelming... BUT in less time than one might think, I discovered some great new sites to bookmark. It's definitely worth checking out.