Tagged!

Dave tagged me with this:


List five things you enjoy, even when no one around you wants to go out and play. What lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level?

I ride my bicycle - LA's not a bad bike town if you stay off the main streets, and it's amazing what you see when you're not in a car. One of my favorite bike rides is up Sunset Plaza drive to Mullholland (half an hour on a hill climb), and then back down. It's a hard ride, but I forget whatever's bothering me when I do it. That and I'm totally exhausted when I'm done.

I go to the gym and lift weights - boring, I know, but it does help me relieve stress.

I watch movies - at home, in the theater, wherever. I just bought the extended cut of "Das Boot".

I go climb a rock (but this does require a buddy).

I go to the "secret beach" in Palos Verdes and snorkel naked.

I used to go to Pinot Hollywood and sit in front of the fire with a martini. Guess that's out now, huh?

Darn. There Went One of My Favorite Restaurants.

From blogging.la via Franklin Avenue:

Pinot Hollywood has closed.

This is fucking tragic, I tell you. Pinot had the greatest bar ever. Comfy couches, a fireplace in the winter, great happy hour specials, and a terrific food. We had the unofficial wrap party for the live action "Tick" TV show there (because the producers were too cheap to throw a party. They had a cooler of beer and chips on the stage for us after the last 18 hour day), and it's always been a fave spot for informal meetings and dates.

I'm sure it'll get turned into something hip, overpriced and filled with bony MAW's.

It's official.. I'd rather make indie movies than be in TV.

Today was just heinous.

I'm still so angry I can't think straight, let alone cobble together a coherent post.

You know, I really would rather make my little indie movies. I'll never get rich off of them, but I'll sure as hell have less stress and anger in my life.

Details later when I don't want to strangle someone.

An Oldie But a Goodie

In retaliation for Mr. Movie Star's idea of a practical joke (He waited until I was in the pool without my top on, screamed "Oh, my God! My mother's here!", and then took pictures of me scrambling for my top while trying to cover my shame and stay underwater at the same time*), I pulled an old fashioned, but still fun prank.

I short-sheeted him.

I know, I know.. it's very 1940's, but that's the beauty of it. Short-sheeting is so old, that he'll never think of it. Especially since he's been working insane hours and is currently in a state of overwork induced brain death. He'll get home about 2 or 3 am, and it'll probably take him half an hour to figure out what the problem is.

Hehehe. I was stressed about this meeting tomorrow, but I feel a lot better now.


* Film crews have incredibly sophomoric senses of humor, and if you spend enough time around us, it rubs off on you. If you must judge Mr. Movie Star harshly, do so because, as practical jokes go, this one could have been way better.

Attitudes

When you make independent movies, people admire you for being ghetto.

Me: "Yeah, my movie only cost 100 bucks. I paid the actors in powerbars, and I processed the film in my bathtub to save money."
Movie Exec: "You rule. Here, take these bags of money."

TV people don't think like this.

TV exec: "Your show looks a little funny."
Me: "Well, it's just a rough cut. It hasn't been color timed or had anything fancy done."
TV exec "Why not?"
Me: "Well, I'm trying to keep my production costs down. I processed the film in my bathtub to save money."
TV Exec: "What the fuck is wrong with you?"


We have a meeting tomorrow with some other big TV producer guy, and our expensive cut looks good, but I'm not sure how to handle this attitude. I'm really used to being able to brag about how little money I spent.