CHIPS

Today I shot a PSA (public service announcement) for the CHP.
We shot all day out in Curtis Park (popular area for shooting, I believe this is where we shot the Kashi commercial).

The crew was AWESOME, I got to know them pretty darn well since I spent so much time helping with craft services and setting up equipment. One of the PAs even handed me a "crew timecard" haha.

I was the "asian mom" today. Uh-oh... Is it happening? Am I phasing out of being able to play a high school nerd? How sad!

Casting Call / Auditions for Widow etc...

I had the BEST time on the panel trying to cast talent at the Silver-Lined Entertainment Group Auditions.

Auditions were held at Sierra 2 community center in Sacramento. We had Chris Terry, Angela Ortner, Scott Howe & I all looking for different roles to cast for different films. Some people were so good that we were ready to share talent!

We had a great turn out and it was tough to see, however many hundred, people in a few short hours but we managed. More experiences that make me argue whether I would prefer to be in front of or behind the camera. I'm lucky to have the opportunity to do both with S.L.E.G.

Numero Dos

Today was day two on set for the infomercial.

I can't believe that they paid me to be there, I had SO MUCH FUN. The crew was just phenomenal, and so supportive of me and my diva ways. I was told to show up camera ready so I did my best, fly-away hairs and all but luckily make-up artists Shellie-Rae & Melissa were there for touch-ups.

It was basically just an on-camera interview, relaxed, fun and totally off the cuff. Very very cool project.

I thought it was set to run for a year but the crew said that they will run it as long as it makes money from selling the product. Go Kymaro Lash Extensions!

First time for everything...

Today was my first day on a set for an infomercial! We just shot the before and after pictures today and then on Wednesday we actually shoot lines.

I felt so awkward all day since I was told to arrive at the shoot sans makeup. This meant that I went to work without my "mask" on. Truly, I have no real qualms going to work without anything on my skin but they emphasized make-up free eyes (since this infomercial is for eyelash extensions). I think they wanted a dramatic before & after shot and let me tell you... they got just that! My "before" appearance was a little, less-than-fresh.

I was wondering if they were going to go for the traditional "before shot" and have me painfully depressed looking, like if I didn't encounter these eyelash extension folks I would have taken a long drive off of a short pier? No, they didn't really go there. I think that they just didn't frown on me looking a little rough around the edges, and I was! I had been rushing around since I actually got lost. My original intention was to show up 30 mins early but I was only 10 mins early. This doesn't seem horrible but my agents never fail to remind that we must arrive at least 15 mins early.

I knew all but one of the four makeup artists there, from previous projects. Shelly-Ray from shooting headshots with Kelsey Edwards and also from shooting for Denio's, Cherie from the California Chamber of Commerce video, Melissa from my first My58 commercial. Fun seeing everyone again!

Here is a snap shot of the delectable lashes:



In regards to detail, all I know is that the product is called "Glamour Eyes" and it is set for 1 year of broadcast television. Keep ya posted.

The Last Suspect

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what!

Our movie "The Last Suspect" WON the Sacramento 48 Hr. Film Festival!!! I'm not too surprised by that, just STOKED about it.

No, my lack of surprise doesn't have to do with me thinking I'm all that + a bag of chips (in fact I thought it was one of my weaker performances) I truly had complete faith in Chris Terry, Angela Ortner and everyone else on crew AND cast (*ahem* Scott Howe and his phenomenal acting debut)...

What now? Well, word on the street is that Director Chris Terry and one other person will be heading to LA in June (all expenses paid) to watch "The Last Suspect" compete against other 48 Hour Film Fest winners from all around the country.

Exciting times!

Denio's Round 2

Today I shot a new series of segments for Denio's (training video)? Had a blast, as usual.

Grubbed on the famous Denio's corndogs (as usual)... All around great shoot, great day, great company.

Cracks me up that at least once a week, I am hearing from someone, somewhere that they saw the Denio's commercial air.

The airtime that these commercials get is phenomenal. They run for a few years each time.

It's such a great family (Denio's) that I am thrilled to somehow be affiliated.

Home-School in the house, again!

Got a heads up from Director Stephen Darmstandler that his movie Home-School will be shown at the San Joaquin Film Festival on June 6th at 2:30pm!

I had so much fun doing that movie, whatever that my lines consisted of about 4 or 5 words... It's not even about that! My nerdiness spoke volumes, I said more with less!

Home-School won #2 viewer's choice at the 2007 Place Called Sacramento Film Festival! If you haven't already read my blog entry about being on set -get to it, we all had such a great time.



R.I.P Jordan, we know you will be there with us on the 6th

48 Hour Film Fest (part deuce)

Friday I rushed over as fast as I could to our HQ (Scott's house) to witness the scheming process. Friday night was to be used for planning, Saturday was designated for filming and then Sunday was reserved for the editing wizards to work their magic. The movie needed to be submitted by 6:30pm on Sunday.

Friday Night

During our brainstorming session, we narrowed five or six potential ideas down to two, which we tentatively named "Gifts" and "Holes" (laughs) yeah.. Never mind. Where was I? Angela and Chris insisted that we take 10 minutes to just think to ourselves. Some people stayed inside, some people went outside, I went out to my car to grab my skateboard and proceeded to skate around the neighborhood. From this meditation method did a brilliant masterpiece spawn? No. I did however have an epiphany, I can still "Manual" like a rock star.
I took off not long after midnight. I knew I needed to rest up for a more than full day of shooting on Saturday.

When I got back to Scott's the next day, I was informed that we went with an idea that Chris Terry had (which unfortunately I can not discuss until the premiere). I read the treatment and loved it. I was blown away, I mean how does he come up with this stuff!? Man, I wish I was at liberty to talk about the story...

Ron B. and his boom & Kevin and his cam


Mike operating the cam & Running lines with Director Kevin

This guy I met during filming. He wouldn't tell me his name but we made dinner plans for later this week.

Laura Tapia (Hair/Makeup/Special Effects & her beautiful daughter Victoria)

Wonderful and Multi-talented Angela Ortner

I (heart) monitors.. hehe, I said heart monitors


Laura at work

Laura's amazing work!

They said I looked like a "Witch Hunter" in this coat...
What does a "Witch Hunter" look like? Me, I guess?

We shot from mid morning Saturday until about 3:30am on Sunday. We filmed almost everything outdoors and even in the middle of the night as the temperature dropped to an un-toasty 35 degrees. After we wrapped I was asked to be back on location by 7am to re-shoot footage that we couldn't capture the afternoon before, because of light.

After my two hours of sleep, I was back on the road.

The heights Kevin will go to for the perfect shot

A little perspective

Shot until early afternoon when we finally wrapped. I split from HQ in a complete daze. I babbled incoherently on voice mails as I returned calls missed from over the weekend. I think I am somewhat still out to lunch, and short of a sandwich but hopefully I will recover soon. Heck, I may never recover but was it worth it? Oh yeah. I met a wonderful new crew (which I will fill you in on later, once I get full names) to add to my already existing movie making family, which also include the amazing actor Ron Brokenbrough and brilliant makeup artist Laura Tapia. I also had the privilege of meeting and working with an amazing director named Kevin who was wonderful to work with. The direction that he gave and how descriptive he was about his vision made the whole process totally awesome. Just when I didn't think life could get any better, I got to stalk around with a gun, for HOURS!

Our editing wizards hard at work as our 48 hour mark approached

Scott, scoring some music

The whole posse was under the weather by the time that Sunday came around. Malnourished and running on fumes, just simply exhausted.

Word on the street is that the festival is some time in March, I will keep you posted.

Sorry about the poor and fragmented writing. I think that too many bags of chips combined with little sleep kills brain cells.

48 Hour Film Festival (part 1)

Deep breath in and now exhale....

The Sacramento 48 Hour Film Festival (process) has officially begun. At 6:30pm tonight, Chris Terry blindly picked our fate er... genre out of a hat.

Mystery. I'm nervous. I am however stoked to be working with Scott, Angela, Ron, Chris and Laura again. It's that comfy and cozy familiar feeling. I will keep you posted.

Like the days after Christmas

Like the days after Christmas, so are the days after PCS.

Hard to believe that it is behind us all now! The projects that we worked so hard on this last summer have made their debut to the world. Ok, the local world any way.

It was SUCH a blast seeing all of the different crews again and finally getting to see the movies that I did not participate in but knew a great deal about. So, there were ten movies total, I was asked to participate in six and I worked on four. It has been an absolutely amazing summer. Busy but amazing.


Above is Michelle Thompson and I. She just killed it in the movie Home-School "Baby! Can you at least change the channel? Judge Judy 'bout to come on!" Oh man, I love it!



This was me being star struck by Amara Stefani & Matt Mitchell from

"Being Lisa"

(not quite sure who the blonde lady is)


Here are the O.G's (original gangsters) need I say more?


Stephen Darmstandler (Home-School) and I. Huge fan of this guy's work, I hope he will consider me for future projects. I will be the dope-diggity craft services, script supervisor.. Gopher... whatever, as long as I am involved in the next project! B.T.W Home-School was viewer's choice #2!


Scott and I with Angela Ortner and Joaquin Murietta (these two together have crazy super powers going on... They wear so many different hats and get so much accomplished that it's not even funny)


"Vacaville Bill" (Bill Hennig) sent me the picture (he took) above and I am glad that he did because... that's Chris Terry that we are with! You will be seeing more of him and hearing his name in the near future.

That was way too fun. "Kindred" won the Technical Excellence award and "Wheel of Knowing" (Paul Nicknig's project as AD) won Audience Favorite. Very deserving, I was floored by it and by floored I mean, in tears. Very moving story. Want to see it?
No, seriously... Want to check out all of the films? Click HERE!

Enjoy!

Film Festival Numero Dos...

Today is the day. Hundreds of us cast and crew have been anticipating this date all summer long and it is finally here. The Place Called Sacramento Film Festival kicks off at the Crest Theater at 1:00pm!

It has been fun seeing press for random movies here and there. Both the "Being Lisa" crew and Stephen Darmstandler (Home-School) had amazing interviews with Ron Cooper (Access Sacramento) last week. I heard about an interview on Good Day Sacramento and I have read several local write ups (Sac News and Review, Outword Magazine, Silver-Lined Entertainment website, SacTown Magazine). Word has really seemed to float around about Kindred, and I am epistemically certain that people will be blown away when they see the finished product.

Spoke to my dear friend Michelle yesterday and I am eager to see her and her family there also! Remember, had it not been for Michelle I would have never gone to the PCS Cast and Crew call and I would have never had the chance to be a part of these amazing projects this summer.

*Update* (which I almost forgot about)
I spoke to Keven Nguyen (Relationships) who told me that they had to cut many scenes in order to shave time on their flick. Unfortunately I was one of the scenes that got the axe. It's all cool, I thought it was just a great experience so I am still excited about the chance to have worked on their project (see post below on their movie).

So, that takes my screen time down to .3 seconds from .4 today. Please remember, not to blink. Perhaps you would be interested in the Clockwork Orange set up (eye openers and eye drops?)

*laughs*

I am really looking forward to the festival and I can hardly wait to give the recap!

His Shortest Apposition...

I had the honor of working on a Ross Pruden Film today called “My Shortest Apposition”. Ross presented the idea a few weeks ago and I immediately jumped at the chance to be Script Supervisor (a.k.a “Scripty”). If you read below about the Kashi Shoot (August 6th post) then you read about the day that I met Ross.

When I walked through the door at about 6:45am I got to meet his muse, adorable daughter Zoe. No joke, this child (who I believe to be about 4 months old) is hands down one of the most gorgeous and well mannered babies I have ever seen and met, step off Gerber Baby, Zoe’s in town! I also had the privilege of meeting Ross’ partners in crime, Hans Sperling (DP) & Josh Porter (AD). Kindred spirits, we sat in the living room chatting and just hit it off. Last of the crew I met was Ross’ wife, Tracie. Let me tell you about how amazing Tracie is. After a night of little and broken sleep, Tracie hooked up the most amazing breakfast and contagious smile (all with Zoe on her hip). When a special request for breakfast burritos fell through, Tracie improvised and whipped up the most delicious breakfast sandwich herself, for all five of us (and within minutes)! I was telling the crew that if it were me “trying” to cook… They’d be waiting for a minimum of two hours and not only would it taste like cardboard but it would also be cold.

Ross was great to work with and the script that he created was brilliant. If you check out his blog , you can read about his vision amongst other things. I really hope that he'll keep me in mind for future projects.

The shoot went really well and everyone made me feel very comfortable about my limited knowledge and experience as a crew member.

Of course I am excited to see the finished product, however I am equally if not more stoked about the experience all together. What an awesome day!

New adventure

This summer has been filled with many adventures and here is the latest (insert trumpet sounds here), I have embarked on a new and very different project with Scott Howe and Chris Terry we... (drum roll to start now) have started our very own production company called Silver-Lined Entertainment Group! This gives us a place to house all of our projects thus far as well as upcoming projects.

What will be my role in the company you wonder? Well, aside from being the Director (of first impressions only) I will also be a producer (when I am not busy cutting the cheese for craft services that is). Sky's the limit. Hey, I think I just created our slogan!

*Be sure to check out the website (wonderfully created by Scott), just click on the underlined production company's name above)*

"Widow" production meeting

Next project in the works by Director Scott Howe is called (insert drum roll here)...

"Widow"

Last night we had our first (pre-) production meeting. Well, it was more like social hour(s) since we didn't have all of our major players there. "Widow" will miss the submission deadline for Sundance (Sept. 7th for short films) but I did find out that Scott will submit "Kindred" and "Section 8" this year, exciting stuff. We have thrown around a tentative shoot (start) date around the end of September. What is it about, you wonder? You will have to wait and see... not until the movie comes out but, until I get clearance to talk about it.

All the fixin's

I thought that these were kinda cool...




All of this was created by Director Scott Howe!

Section 8 Premiere at the Crest Theater!

Last Sunday I went to the premiere of Section 8 at the Crest Theater. Our movie was one of 22 other short films (see my post from August 3rd below). There is nothing like seeing your work on the big screen (look at how DIVA I am becoming, calling it "my" work), let me rephrase that, there is nothing like seeing Director Scott Howe's work on the big screen. That was hands down one of the coolest experiences I have ever had.

My brother accompanied me that night and a large group of us sat fairly close to the screen. I remember before the movies started to play Scott leaned over and asked if I was nervous, I chirped back "Nah, not at all!" as the night progressed and we got closer to the premiere of Section 8, I started to get a few butterflies in my tummy. Maybe because a majority of the films were comedies and ours was a pretty hardcore drama? Maybe because I was nervous about how everyone would react to the intensity of our content? Maybe I was nervous because everyone might laugh at my mediocre performance? We were each given a ballot and a pencil to rate each movie as they played (scale of 1-5).

11 shorts played before intermission and 11 shorts played after, ours was in the second half (which I was pleased about). What was nice was that Writer and Director Paul Nicknig's film played one before ours, this was a comforting feeling to have them shown close together, since Paul is part of our movie making family. Paul's film "A Walk in the Park" was really good. Also heavy material but great script and the actors were phenomenal!

When our movie started to play, I sort of went into this wide angle sense to try and get a read on the audience. It made me smile to hear little comments being made about me from the row behind us. It was a trip to see our movie on this big screen!
Ron was sitting to my right and we had this iron palm grip going, we were both anxious and nervous about what kind of reaction we were going to get! When the credits started to roll, the audience erupted in applause *exhale*

After the festival wrapped, we were getting out of our seats and these two gentlemen make a point to comment to us on how much they enjoyed the movie and our performances! Ron turned to them and said, "That is just so nice of you, thanks!" Ron was right, that was indeed the most perfect moment to hear the most perfect compliment and praise.

Off to the after party

The after party was held at a bar called "The Blue Cue". Directors were given 4 extra tickets (which were actually little miniature 8 balls). Paul and his wife couldn't go and so they gave us their tickets. This was a really neat event, they shut the whole place down to the public so we could have our 10 x 10 wrap / after party there! Good times.

It was neat to be mingling with people that you were star struck by in these short films. We met so many cool people (actors, directors, writers) that night, the whole experience was unreal. We anxiously awaited to hear which movie had won 1st place. At the end of the night however it was announced that they did not have the answer for us (due to the large number of ballots submitted). The Directors would receive an email to announce the winners (1st, 2nd & 3rd place) within the next few days, bummer. Oh well, *CHEERS* to a fabulous evening!

See, Look! No hard feelings between my interrogator and I...

**** UPDATE ****

Got a call from Scott today, guess what email he got???
Click HERE to see the Sac Film website and see the results. Scroll down until you see the BOLD print and read the results under: 10 x 10 Film maker challenge (Audience)

What an adventure!

Kashi commercial

Shot a commercial for Kashi this weekend. You know Kashi, it's the healthy cereal and healthy snacks company!

Call time was 6:30am and I was impressed with all of the equipment and trailers that were out there! Then I saw the craft services and I was blown away. Breakfast was Eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit salad, coffee, every juice you can think of and then some.

In between breakfast and lunch, while we were shooting we had a guy walking around with a tray strapped to him filled with sliced watermelon and a huge bowl of peanut butter to dip the celery sticks into.

Next time around he was handing out three different kinds of cheese, Salami, two different kinds of crackers and artichoke dip. After a chicken, tri-tip, black pilaf rice, Corn on the cob (sliced into 1" rounds), roasted veggies and fruit salad lunch he walked around handing out iced mochas on the set.

Oh and did I mention that brownies, cookies, dried fruits, nuts and every other snack and drink on the planet were readily available throughout the day? Yes.

I met a lot of cool actors that day, some that had been on the scene for years and some that were just starting out. I brought my camera with me, took a few shots and then the battery died, doh! I was bummed, but luckily I made a new friend that day, Script Supervisor Ross Pruden and he posted pictures on his blog and talked about the shoot as well. So be sure to go and check it out (he is SO much better with words than I am)!

It was a long and hot day, I overheard that it reached a temperature of 104 degrees that afternoon and I don't doubt it for a moment. We wrapped at 5:30pm.

The commercial is set air on August 27th (cable channels such as Discovery and Food Network). I heard that it will be in 10 different markets all over California so, from San Diego up to us and the Bay Area. I must mention however that I do not yet know how much or how little I will be in it. It was just an honor to be a part of the project!

Clarification

Just a little clarification, "Section 8" by Scott Howe is actually going to be shown at the 10x10 Film Festival in Sacramento which is set for Sunday August 12th, not to be confused with the PCS Film Festival which takes place in October.

Here are some details from the Sacramento Film Festival's website

The 10x10 Filmmaker Challenge program was created in 2004 to supplement the Sac Music Seen music video program in providing an extra opportunity for local filmmakers to have their work seen on the big screen. Each year, a "kickoff" meeting is held during which program rules are defined and a secret theme is revealed. Filmmakers are then given 10 days to make a film of no more than 10 minutes, incorporating that theme and any other visual or verbal "elements" specified during the kickoff meeting. Submitted films are pre-screened to ensure compliance with the stated rules and themes/elements prior to the Festival screening.

In 2005, the 10x10 program moved to the last spot in the Festival schedule, on Sunday evening, and now serves as a creative after-party for the Festival as a whole.

Past Themes:

2004: The Undead and the Seven Deadly Sins - Would They Even Care?

2005: The End of Days*
*Prompted by the 10x10 program's move to the end of the five day Festival schedule.

2006: Love. Loss. Redemption. And the After-Party**
**Added visual element of a Festival mini-poster.

The 2007 Theme and Elements
(Note: this is the eighth year of the Festival.)

Theme: Crazy Eights

Visual Element: Films must include the number eight, or eight of something, or something must appear eight times.

Script Element: Each filmmaking team was given a phrase to incorporate into their film - each phrase is a standard response from a Magic Eight Ball (by Mattel).

Being Testy

Sped off from the last day of "Section 8" to get to the set of "Being Lisa" I made it and was only a half an hour late of my call time (7pm). The crew was still in the planning stages so there was quite a bit of waiting around and we didn't shoot until 10pm. By 8pm I was just about tapped out and I went to go and rest in my car. It was a hot and muggy evening and speaking of muggy, I didn't want to get muggied by anyone if I were to fall asleep with the windows down. So I had them cracked and my sun roof opened. I am not the type of person who can fall asleep in this sort of situation, in a car, on a street in downtown Sac, cars zooming by now and again, let alone the heat and humidity but I was so beat that I managed to slip in and out for about 15-20 minutes. The other hour or so was spent fanning myself and thinking about how perfect the conditions were to obtain a little known somethin' somethin' called The West Nile VIRUS. My exhaustion would take over and next thing I knew I was being startled from sleep after some jerk roared by in some monster truck. At this point I wondered why I had signed on.

I would get up now and again to talk to the crew about their shooting schedule so I could get a read on how long the night was going to be. I was hoping to hear, "We're shooting your scenes first and then you'll be out of here and we won't even need you tomorrow because we'll wrap everything up tonight". I never heard that though, instead I heard, "You're in just about every scene being shot throughout the night and I will need you to come back tomorrow because it is the same situation" I remember after hearing that I smiled and said, "Oh, ok. I'm going to lay down for a bit in my car, just call my cell phone if you need me" I turned around and my eyes welled up with tears. I made my way back to the car, cell phone lightly beeping now and again due to low battery. I felt like my cell phone, drained.

Once we started shooting I remembered why I wanted to be a part of this project in the first place, the story line was fun and progressive, the director Becca Louisell is so sweet and talented as is Stephen, the cast was a total kick and they were phenomenal actors. Amara, whom I met on the set (played "Lisa" one of the two principals) was so beautiful and a big sweetheart. I had the best time chatting with Gene Hoisington, a local Sacramento actor whom I totally admire, and played the role of the "Chef" in this project. The back bone of the crew was Allison and Angela, we (or maybe just I) got a kick out of watching them get the show on the road. Just barking out orders, time, direction to cut scenes if possible etc. You could tell that without them, things might not have been wrapped as quickly, It was quite a production.

So we started shooting at around 10:30pm which is when I started to get a headache and my neck was killing me. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the extras that I had cast for Kindred, Anne Mox. I spent a lot of time near her during the shoot and she has such good energy, which I really needed.

We wrapped at around 1am and off I went. On the drive home I prayed to have a better attitude the next day and I also prayed that I wouldn't come down with anything (yeah, like West Nile! No, more like a cold or a flu, as I felt like my bodily defenses were down). I asked myself, "now if I wasn't thoroughly exhausted tonight how would the shoot have gone?" My answer was that it would have been a blast and it was! I came to the conclusion that I really didn't need to bring any negative energy to such wonderful people and such a neat project.

Night #2 on set was FANTASTIC. I felt like an entirely different person, I wonder if anyone else noticed? Ron Brokenbrough was there to keep me company and we ended up recruiting him as an extra! I was so grateful for how differently I felt that second night, boy what a difference a little prayer and a good night of sleep makes.

Here is me as "Waitress" in Being Lisa

I needed to bring 110% I brought about 72%

Warning: Not for the faint of heart

I was nervous weeks before shooting "Section 8" for Scott Howe (which we shot this last Saturday). Nervous because I have never had to even THINK about dramatic acting such as torture scenes etc. I was like a broken record saying, "If I don't give 110% to this, it is going to look goofy..."

Call time was 5pm out in Carmichael. I was excited that Laura Tapia was going to be doing my hair and make up for this project. Scott, RuiXia, Laura, Jodi and I all sat in the back yard catching up and discussing the project at hand. Scott suddenly asks me, "Can you do a Filipino accent?" I quickly and confidently replied, "Oh yeah." He proceeded to ask me if I could try and film my lines with a Filipino accent, I was dumbfounded. I stuttered, "Uuuh, well.. I could but, I'll have you know that the only time that I ever do that is when I am joking around with my parents so... might be hard not to start crackin' up, not to mention everyone who knows me is going to be crying from laughing so hard". We then agreed that we would film it both ways and see which one came out better.
Makes me laugh just thinking about it.
"Sir, I've failed to cooperate, Sir" turns into "Sir, I'b paled to cooperate, Sir"

So call time was 5pm, we discussed the script, got my make up done, etc and we were ready to shoot some time after 10pm. The shoot location was also in Carmichael, in a shed on some property. Everyone was freaking out because there were huge black widows out there. It was good for me, just added to my torture vibe. The shoot was really exciting but tiring, we wrapped after 3am. Joaquin our DP played the "Interrogator" and it was hard to be scared of him because he is just one of the sweetest guys. You could only see his back on film as it was an over the shoulder shot so, as I was saying my lines, begging for mercy, to be released, to not kill my baby, Joaquin had this peaceful expression on his face. Another really cool thing is that for the sake of saving time I had arm stand-ins. Both Jodi and RuiXia had their arms done by Laura while I shot other scenes. The arms were just amazing, I rarely cringe about stuff but these were definitely cringe-worthy (in a good way of course). Oh and one of the COOLEST things EVER were these eye drops that Laura had that made my eyes bloodshot! It was crazy because between takes Laura would need to put these drops in my eye(s) and I would call it my homage to Clockwork Orange. Oh and the burn on my chest, was a sly 'shout out' to Fred Krueger. I posted it below but I am posting these icons small because I don't want people to stop talking to me. Hey, can you guess which arm was dubbed "Hot dog" ???


Paul brought us pizzas and beer, there couldn't have been a better treat. I sipped my beer REALLY slowly, really nursing it, I was afraid it was going to hinder my acting. In retrospect I should have inhaled the beer so that I would now have an excuse for my mediocre performance.

Below: As I get my hair and make up done on Day 2 of shoot (it's my "Mom, don't cry... I'm all better now" look). The pic below that is the start of our scene shot at the park, we were aiming for a slight contrast from the night before.


Call time for day 2 was 9:00am (after wrapping at 3am the night before and not going to bed until after 4am, I was a wee bit tired... but fine.)
Day two was wrapped at around 6:30pm and I was off to the next shoot, Being Lisa.
Which had a call time of 7pm. Yeah, I was a little late but... we didn't start shooting until 10pm.

"Captain James Cook"

I clearly remember meeting writer/director Stephen Darmstandler and his wife at the Cast and Crew Call. Stephen's wife looked at my resume and recognized me from the My58 Host Hunt of 2006. She said that she even voted for me, how awesome is that?

I filled out a questionnaire they provided and went about my way. Stephen got in contact with me and invited me to an audition that they were holding out in Elk Grove, of course Michelle got the invite as well so, partner in crime by my side we drove out together. To make a long story short, Michelle nailed the role of "Blake's mother" and I scored the role of "Preppy girl" which I later found was mis-labeled (read on).

As a cast we all got together out in Elk Grove for rehearsal readings. Even though my part was small, I was excited to be a part of this project! Over the next few weeks, I was in touch with Stephen via rehearsals, email and phone. I must have made a good impression as he cast me for a cameo in the beginning of the film as well.

Next was wardrobe. The script read "Preppy girl" so naturally, I think proud crowd, cheerleader, miss goody two shoes, Abercrombie, you get the idea. I started putting outfits together and here is what I came up with:



So, I thought these were cute, kinda preppy, right? Oh, too hoochie maybe? Well, let's alter it a little then:



There. Pants = not so hoochified?

Oh what was that Stephen? You want a Filipina Urkel? Revenge of the nerds action?
Hey man, all you had to do was ask:




Above is my nemesis "Blake" bumping into me.

The shoot was a lot of fun. Stephen is a wonderful director and actor (he played the role of "Teacher"), the crew was all so nice and the entire cast had me laughing almost non-stop throughout the day, a bunch of characters.

In between takes we could nestle into one of the classrooms (at Sac High) where Stephen had the movies "ATL" and "RIZE" playing. For lunch we were fed the most delicious pizza from a place called Pizza Bell (located in Elk Grove). Think Little Caesar's Pizza meets... I don't know, something more expensive and more delicious! Was that an obscure example? Well, let's just say that I LOVED Little Caesar's Pizza growing up.

That was a fun day.

No really, it's true

Glance up at the 29th. I remember at the beginning of that last week I saw an empty square on my calendar, I DOVE for a pen and immediately crossed that date off just so that I wouldn't book anything not even shopping, swimming, or a movie. NOTHING could be more inviting than not having to be somewhere or do something, no matter what it was!

Kindred is in the bag!

Two production meetings, one conference call and about 1600 emails later, we finally shot Kindred and it was a complete success!

Call time for crew was 6am at Sac State University so I was out and about by 5:15am, on my way to the store to pick up bagels and a few other things for the cast and crew. Cast had a call time of 7am and Giovannie Pico, one of our three principal actors was the first to show up. We hit it off right away, she was such a sweetheart and I was happy being on crew where I could cater to her, especially after hearing that she had driven in from San Francisco! At the end of the day after watching her amazing performance I regret not asking her if she wanted a back massage and a steak and/or lobster... the woman is a phenomenal actress!

Next to show was Sacramento actor, Ron Brokenbrough. Hands down one of the nicest guys I have ever met and just extraordinary on screen. His delivery was so natural like he has been doing this since day one. Throughout the shoot I could hear different people complimenting him, both to his face and behind his back (I was one of those people). His ears must have been burning all day.

Jodi "Patient Tracy" shot her scenes in the afternoon so she showed up with her mom a little later in the morning. It was SO MUCH FUN watching this girl at work! I hope that she chooses the acting path, she'll really go somewhere with it! A memory that makes me smile was listening to her dad, director Scott Howe, coach her to clearly pronounce the word "Cholera" (as Jodi has a touch of a Chinese accent).

Oh really? I can be in charge of casting our extras? Hold on a sec... (dials cell phone) "Hey Michelle? What're you doing on Saturday?"


I had a blast recruiting and casting our extras, which I have always wanted to try (recruiting, scouting, casting). Everyone was an absolute treat to work with! Plus, I found out after talking to Bill Hennig (a.k.a "Vacaville Bill") that he worked on Oliver Stone's movie "The Doors" as an extra. I'll have you know that The Doors is one of my favorite movies of all time and Oliver Stone is my favorite director (right after Scott Howe, of course). "Here Bill, make yourself comfortable as I am about to ask you 250+ questions". See "Vacaville Bill" and one of the sweetest ladies ever, Anne Mox -below. Megan Page and Jim Quales were also wonderful to work with!




Another fun task was managing craft services, maybe it's the Filipina in me that loves hosting and feeding but it was a blast. Next time we will have pre-sliced cheese so I don't find myself saying, "let me cut the cheese for you" any more.

The script supervising wasn't bad. Well, for me any way... I wasn't there to see the reaction when it (my log) was busted out in the editing room. Logging each take and jotting down production notes for continuity kept me VERY busy. I may have kept Scott and Angela even busier trying to decode it though.



We shot my scene later in the evening around 8:00pm at the nursing education building at Sac State. What an honor to shoot and be in the same scene as Jodi and Giovannie Pico (SAG actress), I hope I didn't ruin the scene for them! Hey, I've always wanted to be a nurse so at least now, I can act as though I had the drive to make it through nursing school!



Kindred wrapped at 10:30pm. Long day which was VERY rewarding and an experience that I will never forget!