CAA meeting in beverly hills, baby....

oh man. again, i forgot my camera, but you probably know about the CAA building & how it is built to intimidate fledglings & bumpkins. anyway, we made it through our first pitch meeting and got some very encouraging words-- also a little slap down for my glitter folder (oop, who knew, i just grabbed the first thing off the shelf). all points well-taken and i feel like i am still a little shaky from the meeting. let's just say, we done good in the hallowed rounded walls...
and now the script is in the proper channels for processing and we will see and all will be well.
we will find out next week how it was received...stay tuned to this bat channel...

harlan ellison and the missing word

i sit in the dark typing this, trying to marshall my resources, gather my words & perhaps wear a smarter hat. it was comic-con last weekend and so i was on "dream king" duty, as he was here in town, having had a friday panel down in SD. he showed some clips from "stardust" and then headed up north for meetings and so forth. always great to spend time with mr. gaiman.
this time, however, he invited me to a dinner with the ever-brilliant and unpredictable harlan ellison of SF&F fame. we went to a mongolian BBQ in the midst of one of the hottest days on record here in LA, and we were feeling it. after dinner, as we opened the doors to leave, a haunted wind blew into the place, scattering receipt tickets and waiters alike. we stood outside, marvelling at the temperature change. it was a magic night & i am grateful to have met this legend. he was looking for a word, one that none of us could come up with, meaning "overly punitive"-- and i was sitting with a table full of writers (josh olson was there as well, he wrote the screenplay for "history of violence" & was, as harlan called him an Oscar loser--he was nominated last year)---for the life of me, i can't figure the word out...
it was an enchanted night, after as i went through the pool area of the chateau marmont & looked up at the moon, i think a spell fell over me.

confessional by the dashboard lights....

well, yesterday was a beauty as far as a typical workday could go.
i worked as production assistant on the dashboard confessional universal amphitheatre show since marguerite couldn't do it. or wouldn't do it. lalala. i got there first thing in the morning, & watched the little sleepy roadie tumble off their buses... pushed up my sleeves for a day of pitching in. Usually LA shows are packed to the rafters with industry needy types. This show, tame as a kitten. LA is not their home town, & so it was plenty of industry, and also a sold-out show...but somehow still a lovely day. Just filling out ticket requests/pass list/and tackled the job of organzing the production cases.
Tim Lamb is the PM for the tour, i have worked with Tim before & he runs a tight ship. It was easily the smoothest LA show I have ever worked. Sherri, you are right, this venue is a dream. Just great people working there, Meesh, the runner made me laugh all day.

anyway, we went out to watch some of the set, i have read quite a few interviews with Chris Carrabas, think he is an interesting artist & i do love the name of his project.
The set was much bigger than i thought it would be, especially with the small crew touring.
The lighting & video was beautfully done, with lantern-like ball lights suspended & an Asian feel to the back screens. at one point the video projected was a spot-on shooting star scene, but not what may immediately come to mind. He also incited the crowd to hold up their cellphones & have a light show for him...which may have been done before, but it worked-- it was like a bunch of fireflies in the night. I think it surprised him as well how many people were there in the nosebleeds. what i didn't know, DC fans are known for their penchant for singing along (loudly) to all the words, i mean, even to newest songs. it was a powerful show & i am glad that i got to see it.
i didn't take my camera into the show, so here is the set list as it is all i got...

"rockstar" taping @ CBS

last week miss Marguerite took me onto the set of the new show "rockstar" w/ mister tommy lee. i must preface, i am no reality tv fan. not even for a laugh. never watched survivor or had any interest in doing so. nor did i watch inxs try to find their singer, no way. but this was actually very interesting, a band looking for chemistry with a new singer. there was even a guy from iceland trying out. & everyone knows how much i love a viking...too bad his song choice was awful. tommy's comments were hilarious, also butch walker, the guy producing the band in the studio, had some excellent points about people's performances. absolutely loved gilby clarke, late of guns & roses, he looked like a modern day musketeer. the metallica guy jason was a sweet little leprachaun. anyway it was an entertaining three hours of my life, & i caught a little bit of the tv show last night as we were getting ready to go out, they really had to cut it up to fit it into an hour, with commercials... i made mimi watch my favorite performance of the night, the last guy, who looked like sonic the hedgehog, but really gave it his all. the girl from south africa too, it is a race between those two..

i feel my IQ drop even thinking about reality tv, but i will give this a watch from time to time. love that T-Lee.

fireworks, beck, metal skool & home sweet home...

since i have been touring most all the summers i have lived in LA, i never knew it got quite this hot here...this summer i am enjoying being home, going to see all my friends coming through town on tours, trying to be patient and knowing someday i will be on a bus again...

last week was so busy, i didn't have a chance to write anything, Jessica Rabbit was in town with Beck for a few days off & we went over to the rainbow to have a cocktail after a great dinner w/ C$. we were in the back bar, yik-yaking and the guys from disturbed came in & shanghai'd us over to the key club, they were going to make a stage appearance with "metal skool" the kooky metal cover band that packs the house there...it was a complete chaos scene, don't know if the photos reflect that..!

then 2 nights later, Beck played the Wiltern theatre, one of my favorite venues to see a show. The show was stellar, the team america puppetiers created a puppet for each band member, and acted out the whole show on video screen...just wonderful. the mighty Marguerite (my girl is now on myspace! finally!) came with her band of merry men & we had a great time.

the day before, Rabbit & i scoured the town looking for an appropriate place for Beck to do his after-show show, a habit they got into on the tour, just popping into a bar & playing a secret show. scott from tangier/silverlake/derby stepped up to the plate & hooked us up, the silverlake lounge was so full-on packed, they had to close off the door, and i stayed by the back, out of the fray.

today i got up early to skewer some shrimp & veggies & fake sausage to bring to a BBQ @ jerome & claire's poolside...looking forward to some fireworks, baby!