Entertainment Stories I Can’t Care About

LilyDidIt’s Top 5 list is pretty funny this week. It’s by one of my favorite contributors, Ned Ryerson. Which is an alias name. Do you get the reference? I’m not sure I have permission to bust his cover so I won’t. But I will share the list without even having to make you link to LDI even though I need the traffic there.

TOP 5 Entertainment Stories I Can’t Care About This Week

1. Tiger Woods – I was with ya all until the 7th mistress.  Seven?! Now I don’t know whether to castrate him or worship him so I’ve chosen instead to no longer care. This is why I stay out of Florida.
2. Sandra Bullock Reemerges as Box-Office Heavyweight – That sentence was painful to write.
3. Jennifer Aniston Hosts Star-Studded Holiday Party – Luckily healthcare was passed, the war ended and the world has come together on climate change. What?  Shit!  Really?  Oh well, you think Brangelina will come to Jennifer’s party?
4. Sarah Palin Gets Tomatoes Thrown At Her – Ok ok, even Ned has to care about something. The Christmas spirit erupted in my soul as I read this.
5. Miley Cyrus Shows Off Her Tits To The Queen – Making her the last person on Earth to see Miley’s ta-tas.

By Ned Ryerson, currently farming tomatoes on his desert island, preparing for his return.

My Mumbling Friends

I’m not a fan of the term mumblecore, but I am a fan of Eric Kutner and Alex Holdridge, both of whom are both featured in a nifty NY Times piece on the emerging genre.  Congrats, guys! If you are too lazy to read, at least check out the article for the engaging picture by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.  I was introduced to Mondino by a college boyfriend and since then I’ve often found inspiration for my own projects in his photos.  I definitely need to remember to ask Eric and Alex what it was like working with him. (Oh, alright. If you’re too lazy to read, you’re probably too lazy to click. I’ll just include the picture here.  Eric is sucking down red wine and Alex is reaching over the table to nab some grub.)

I’ve come to know Alex via my collaboration and friendship with Seth Caplan, producer of the 2008 mumblecore darling In Search of a Midnight Kiss, which Alex directed and wrote.  (Sorry, Seth. I know you hate it when ISMK is called mumblecore.)

Eric and I have been friends since Northwestern film school.  We were part of the legendary team behind DEVIL LOVE.  Oh, DEVIL LOVE!  DL was a class project and the result of an actually very cool assignment. The DL Team was me, Eric, Sarah Broshar and Leigh Anne Bowles (all people I’m still friends with and still work with).

The assignment required 7 specific visuals to appear in our video.  The film’s story, plot, themes had to work around these tentpole images, one of which I remember was ‘boiling water.’  We interpreted this requirement by shooting boiling water from overhead, casting it in red on the Avid, and dissolving in and out of the shot to infer the passage of time.  I don’t remember this approach being very successful but definitely being creative.

Bowles and I starred in the “film” because we didn’t shoot it until midnight the night before it was due.  Actors could not be found.  Our performances made it a really special project.  I played a mischevious devil outwitting and harassing Leigh Anne’s Jesus in a laundromat.  You’d think we could have come up with a better title than DEVIL LOVE with a premise like that.

TODAY: AIV @ Birds of Prey

Catch a sneak peek at  APPOINTMENT IN VANCOUVER TODAY at the Birds of Prey World Cup in Beaver Creek.  Our trailer and an exclusive clip will screen on the jumbotron in the open-to-the-public Finish Stadium* between the 1st (9:45am) and 2nd runs (12:45pm) of the men’s Giant Slalom races.

Watch the worldclass skiing without freezing your booty off — NBC will show the races at 2pm ET.  Look for me and our editor, Cindy, in the crowd and for my live tweets from the mountain.

*The Finish Stadium is located near the finish line of the Birds of Prey race course. Accommodating thousands of fans each year, the Finish Stadium offers spectators great views of the race course, real-time highlights via the big screen and activities for the entire family. From the Bird’s Nest, offering food and beverages including a beer garden, to half time entertainment and live music the finish stadium is always at the heart of the action.

TODAY: AIV as the Half-Time Show; Avail to Buy at USSA Trailer

The APPOINTMENT IN VANCOUVER trailer and an exclusive clip will screen on the jumbotron at approximately 1pm (mst) today in the Finish Stadium* between the Men’s Super Combined races at the Birds of Prey World Cup.

All spectator events are free and open to the public.  Casey will be on-hand for a Q&A session after the screening.  I will be on-hand for acceptance of free cups of hot chocolate. AIV DVDs will be on-hand for purchase at the USSA trailer near the public shuttle’s pick-up/drop off.

If you want to watch the races without putting on snowpants, they will be webcast LIVE at 1pm (ET) on Universal Sports.

*The Finish Stadium is located near the finish line of the Birds of Prey race course. Accommodating thousands of fans each year, the Finish Stadium offers spectators great views of the race course, real-time highlights via the big screen and activities for the entire family. From the Bird’s Nest, offering food and beverages including a beer garden, to half time entertainment and live music the finish stadium is always at the heart of the action.

How to Pack Like a Snow Bunny

I returned to LA from a Thanksgiving holiday in Georgia on Tuesday.  Now, 34 hours later, I’m preparing to hop on a plane bound for Beaver Creek.  Jet set, baby!

Cindy (AIV editor) and I are flying to Colorado for the Birds of Prey World Cup.  A clip from AIV and its trailer will play for the crowd on the jumbo-tron between races on Friday and Sunday.  Unfortunately, Seth won’t be joining us – he’s en route to Mexico because IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS is playing a fest that’s comping his trip.  I’m hitting the snow and he’s hitting the surf!

I’m looking forward to being amongst Ski People.  They know who Casey Puckett is.  Do you know who he is?  Lie and say you do.  But he won’t be out of the spotlight for much longer.  Casey has been selected by Visa to be one of the athletes featured in their national campaign.  Yay! Plus, he got some great coverage in NBC’s “Countdown to Vancouver” on Thanksgiving night.

This weekend, we’re planning on hanging with Casey, promoting the film, and skiing the slopes.  The event planners are giving us free ski passes!  It’ll be my first time out this season, and what an appropriate start.

I’m almost done packing and am reminded of how much I love traveling with ski equipment.  You get all that extra room in your ski bag.  Secret special bonus space that I very much need for too many pairs of long underwear, my helmet, extra sunscreen, really thick ski socks that (I cringe to admit) I wear every day I ski, my ‘Turtles Ski Team’ neon orange shirt made to commemorate a group ski trip with my best friends, and  my sexy, snow bunny apres ski outfit.

Just kidding. I don’t own a snow bunny outfit. I don’t even know what that looks like.  A mid-drift baring parka?

The extra luggage space is especially useful because I’m personally bringing 30 AIV DVDs to be sold at the USSA trailer.

Time to download the newest podcasts of Joe Morgenstern WSJ movie reviews, Martini Shot, and The Treatment to entertain me in the air and on the road (3 hours) to Beaver Creek.

Historical-Awardical

The Chair of the International Ski History Association’s Award Committee requested a copy of APPOINTMENT IN VANCOUVER.  The Committee presents annual awards to books, websites, and films that advance and preserve the heritage of skiing.  They are considering our film for this year’s honors, which will be presented at the 2010 ISHA Annual Awards dinner at the Alf Engen Ski Museum in Utah’s Olympic Park on March 26.  Hopefully we’ll be there doing some accepting.

IHSA is also encouraging John Fry and Mort Lund, deans of the American Ski Writers, to review AIV.  Thanks IHSA!

An award and/or a review by these seasoned ski journalists would be wonderful press and exposure for AIV, Casey and Skier Cross.

AIV @ Birds of Prey This Weekend

The APPOINTMENT IN VANCOUVER trailer and an exclusive clip will be shown during Audi’s Birds of Prey World Cup Race Week in Beaver Creek/Vail Colorado! The BoP is the only men’s stop on the World Cup  circuit in the United States.  Race spectators, fans and athletes will catch the special AIV preview from the Finish Stadium on Friday, December 4 and Sunday, December 6, airing between races on the Super Combined and Giant Slalom race days.  It’s kinda like we’re the half-time show.

AND, Casey will do a Q&A after the Friday screening; the USSA is selling the DVD from their trailer on vendor row, and I and our editor Cindy T. will be there promoting the film. We’ll also be taking advantage of being glamorous documentary filmmakers treated to a free hotel room and ski passes.  Our first run of the ski season couldn’t be at a more meaningful event.

When I told my brother in early October that we might be showing APPOINTMENT IN VANCOUVER at Birds of Prey, I said it with it a big question mark not because of the uncertainty of the event but because I had no clue of what “Birds of Prey” was.  I was just repeating what my producer had put in my ear during the last weeks while we hurried to finish a cut of the film for interested TV people.  Birds of Prey” were words uttered while my brain was in the edit, which meant that because they were not related to cutting and making our deadline, I kept on thinking about editing while I nodded about the possibility of us going to some race for hawks.

Later when I relayed the news of the BoP opportunity, I was on a mini-trip home, clear-headed and happily eating mozzarella sticks with my parents and my brother at Denny’s after being picked up at the airport.  Not only did my brother freak out (he’s a former ski racer) but my parents kinda freaked too.  They knew of this mysterious “Birds of Prey,” and surprise, surprise, it’s kinda-sorta-totally a big deal.  It’s the most popular and most attended (100os of spectators) world cup race in the U.S.  It kicks off the season and is a mainline to Casey’s fans and Daron Rahlves fans (aka people interested in buying AIV for the holidays).  I love Birds of Prey!

This AIV + BoP synergy has happened because of the Vail Valley Foundation’s enthusiasm for our film.  We’re sprinting to the finish line after a marathon, so it’s been inspiring to already have the attention and excitement of our target audience.  Knowing people are really excited for this film even before it’s released has been an extra boost for me in the last weeks. Thanks, Jen and the rest of the Vail Valley Foundation!

From Blue to Black Diamond

It’s official if you write a press release about it.

Starry-Eyed

I dusted off my crystal ball and am channeling predictions of the future for the month of December.  In other words, I’m writing LilyDidIt’s horoscopes for the final month of 2009!

The ’scopes have proven to be one of our most popular new features since superwoman intern, Talya, and I re-vamped the site this summer.  I suppose I could have predicted that.  (oooh. snap!)

We’ve rotated through funny, sharp, sassy astrologers” for the last few months; most recently we’ve enjoyed the soothsaying of Jessica Abel, a current Northwestern undergrad we recruited a few months ago– yeah, I favor my fellow wildcats.  However, Jessica’s terms is over, and I’m feeling particularly in tune with the stars.  With AIV on the downswing and my next writing project on the upswing, it’s like I’m hitting the gym again but in the world of writing and the ’scopes are like a 15 minute abs class that eases you back into the game.

Perhaps my favorite forecast for my first week is for Pisces:

Your prayers came true last week: Robbie Williams wasat the top of the Euro Billboard charts for a 2nd week. This week continue to leverage your relationship with God and pray for starving children in Africa.

The rest of my horoscopes are posted on LilyDidIt as of… NOW.  See.  Yet another accurate prediction.

Yes. I Saw It.

In fact, we went on opening night — Friday 23rd. 12 of us. I made the signs for Team Jacob AND Team Edward because I’m that fun.

But don’t be confused. I’m 100% Team Jacob.

And I’m 100% happy that the movie is making mega bucks and proving that teenage girls and women can carry a movie to the top of the box office BIG time. These are the people that I love making movies for.