My Boston Perks

I have decided to embark on a new adventure this summer. I am moving back east to Boston. Born and bred in New York this is a welcomed challenge on many levels. I have been living in California for over a decade and news of my drastic move has been met with a surprising flood of negativity. I keep hearing the same whiny question. People spend their whole lives dreaming of living in California. Why would you ever leave and move back to the East Coast? They keep reminding me of the harsh weather extremes and the fact that I will be abandoning both friends and family. At first I just smiled sweetly and tried to rationally explain my decision. Now I am starting to get pissed off.

Fact: I love California and will be back. I would never desert my immediate family, close friends, and adorable cat, Buffy.

Fact: I have lived here over a decade.

Fact: I need a new adventure. I want to live somewhere I have never lived before.

I have decided to respond to the naysayers with some positive reasons why I am making the move.

Some of my Boston Perks:

4 seasons

A real summer (where you can actually wear a mini skirt at night and sit on your stoop drinking some beer)

The Boston Commons in the Fall and Spring

The Cape

Family, Friends, and more…

Fenway Park

NYC is only a short train ride away (see more of my old friends)

New opportunities, people, and places to explore

Crab cakes at Legal

The North End

The Rocky Horror Picture Show in Cambridge (where I got my cherry popped on stage)

Living in an old historic city

Being surrounded by so many educated and young people

Thank you naysayers for making me even more determined and excited to start this new chapter of my life.

My Favorite Oscar Moments

I am a sucker for the awards season and even though there were few real shockers this year, I still remained glued to my TV for three plus hours. I lost my annual Oscar pool to my brother this year but I am still proud of my 15/24 score. Here are my personal favorites from last night’s show.

Kirk Douglas copping a feel of Melissa Leo’s boob as she left the stage with her Best Supporting Actress award. I also dig the fact that she was the only one who dropped the F-Bomb in her acceptance speech.

Trent Reznor gets an Oscar for Best Original Score prompting female fans to really want to Frak him like an animal.

Natalie Portman shows the world that you can look hot and really pregnant at the same time.

Tom Hooper beats out David Fincher for Best Director. This was one of the few surprises of the night that also screwed up my Oscar pool results.

I know there are many haters but I thought my fantasy husband, James Franco and Anne Hathaway did a great job hosting.

Side note: I was really happy that James Franco finally got recognized for his work in 127 Hours. Thank you Independent Spirit Awards (Best Male Lead). Any other year he'd probably won the Oscar.

Until next year….

My Deep Thoughts on All-Star Weekend

As you all know by now, I am an NBA fanatic. To me, All-Star weekend feels a lot like an early Christmas present combined with some awesome socks from Hanukkah Harry. Because I love my 15 followers so much, I am going to give you my impressions (likes as well as dislikes) broken down by events.

Friday Night
2011 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game

Things I learned from watching the game:

White men can jump thanks to Michael Rapaport.

Common’s got game.

Scotty Pippen still has it.

Justin Bieber is succeeding in his evil plan of world domination. Not only was he in the game but he also was named MVP. Really?

2011 Rookie Challenge

Highlights:

DeJuan Blair proved that ACL’s are overrated.

Cousins kicked some serious ass.

Adidas has a hideous line of sneakers coming soon to a store near you.

John Wall deserved to be the #1 pick and MVP (unlike Bieber) with 12 points and 22 assists.

John Wall’s Bounce Pass Alley-Oop to Blake Griffin was reason enough to watch the game.

The Rookie Challenge used to be played more like an actual game. This year it was almost as bad as the veterans. The game was all offense with high scoring and no defense but still extremely fun to watch.

Saturday Night

Shooting Stars

Defending champs Texas seemed like the favorite but Atlanta came from behind in the second round to knock them out of the winner’s circle.

A slightly fatter Kenny Smith still has game. He made the half-court shot on his first try. I am sure Charles will never hear the end of it.

Skills Challenge

My pick to win this was one of my favorite fantasy players, D. Rose.

I was not only surprised but also ecstatic when my hometown hero Stephen Curry took the prize. Way to represent buddy 28.2 seconds. Bravo!

3-Point Contest

I was looking forward to this event because it was pitting two Celtics against one another. I was curious to see who would take home the trophy, returning champ Paul Pierce or the 3-Point Guru, Ray Allen (who was my personal pick).

I felt bad for Durant when he scored only 6 pts in the first round. I agree with my man Charles, he is a scorer not a shooter.

In the end one of the only Heat players I don’t detest stole the show. James Jones beat out both Celtics for the win. Awesome.

Dunk Contest

Blake Griffin is the shit and he deserves respect but can’t we just remove ourselves from all this razzle-dazzle. I can’t wait to see him in a few years. He has actually made the Clippers a watchable team again. Do we really need cars, choirs, stuffed animals, and multiple hoops?

My favorite Blake dunk of the night was the spinning one. He has an amazing combination of power and grace, not to mention upper body strength.

Why didn’t Serge Ibaka get a 50 for his dunk where he took off from behind the free-throw line?

You be the judge.

Sunday Night

The All-Star Game

My Highlights of the actual game:

When Doc Rivers put in his second rotation that consisted of four Boston Celtics and a cringing Dwight Howard the crowd in the Staples Center erupted with boos.

Then Ray Allen air balls a three and hears it from the crowd.

Watching in suspense as Ginobili’s bald spot grew larger and larger.

Seeing Kobe shine with 37 points and a much deserved MVP award.

All kidding aside in the fourth quarter the game became competitive and actual defense was played (probably due to LeBron’s pep talk).

In the end the West proved that they were best.

West – 148 (51% shooting)

East – 143 (47% shooting)

The Scene of my Embarrassment (Part II The Franco Experience)

In case you missed my last post, I was attempting to meet and politely stalk James Franco at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Part I of the Mission:  The Dry Run

We went to the Arlington the night before to scope out the scene. Annette Bening was getting an award for her brilliant performance in The Kids Are All Right. We watched her arrive with her dashing husband, Warren Beatty. The fans were stationed in a designated area across from the theatre. It was shaped kinda like a giant horseshoe. Inside the gates the photographers and videographers anxiously awaited the red carpet walk. I watched Annette greet her fans while my brother snapped a few photos. We were ready to hit the bar. We got all the information we were looking for. Hello, James Joyce bar how I have missed you.

Part II: The Stalking

We arrived outside the Arlington at about 6:00pm. The event (which we had tickets for) was supposed to start at 8:00pm. James was scheduled to arrive at 7:00pm. We were concerned that if we spent too much time waiting across the street, we would not get the prime seats we wanted for the award ceremony.

My brother and I scored a first-rate spot. We were in the front row behind the gate at exactly where the limo arrived the night before for the drop off. Now all we had to do was wait. At this point, there were only about 40 fans hanging around outside. We waited some more.

The crowd began to grow and grow. I looked around at the sea of people. Mostly women of all ages. We found out later that there were over 500 people waiting in the street. These fans had come prepared: mountains of posters, photos, and Pineapple Express DVD’s. I gripped my copy of Palo Alto tightly, hoping James would get the chance to sign it later. You couldn’t even see the end of the street anymore. It got later and later. Still we waited. Children waited on their parent’s shoulders. A group of really young girls held out a sign that read, “We are Legal.”

There were two false alarms where security cleared out an area for the car to enter and a car never came. It was now 8:15. The line to get into the event had vanished. We didn’t know if we should just give up and get seats or wait it out to catch a glimpse of him before he hit the carpet. Just when all hope seemed lost a black SUV pulls up through the gate. We see that James is in the passenger seat.

The crowd screams as he gets out of the car. He passes right by us. We all think he’s just going to go straight to the Red Carpet where tons of frustrated photographers are waiting. He points towards the beginning of the horseshoe shaped line and makes his way over to the barely legal girls. Everyone simultaneously figures out that he plans to walk the entire outside of the fan area. More screaming and squealing. I realize that I am the loudest. Frantically snapping pictures and video like a mad woman. Waving my book in the air and my black sharpie. I feel like a 13-year-old girl at a New Kids on the Block concert circa 1986.

He’s five feet from me I shriek at him to sign my book. He smiles and nods. I remain silent for the next 30 seconds. James is right in front of me. He signs my book and we exchange words. I regain my composure and take a few more extreme close-up pictures. We fight our way out of line and run into the theatre. The moment we break free from the crowd our spot is swallowed by 50 other crazy fans. We find some decent (not prime) seats and wait. It feels good to be sitting and away from the madness.

A little too close to James Franco

SBIFF 2011 James Franco

James Franco signing a fan

An Awesome Super Bowl Distraction

This year for the Super Bowl, I was in an unusual predicament. Not only did I have no allegiance to either of the teams but I also had no extreme hatred for them (which can make the game a bit boring). So, I was hoping for a good game to distract me from this harsh reality. The first half of the game didn’t deliver but luckily I had an entertaining distraction this year.

Thank you Mullen & Radian6 for giving us the Brand Bowl. Being in the ad game, I always wait in eager anticipation for the Super Bowl ads only to be disappointed in the aftermath (kinda like having sex with the really hot guy). This year you made the commercial watching experience even more amusing. I also found out that two of my favorite ads came out on top.

Thankfully the game became competitive and interesting in the second half. The Brand Bowl was still a blast although it prevented me from going to the bathroom (which is kinda tricky while drinking that much beer).

VW's  Mini Vader

I Guess I’m a Superfan (Part I of the Franco Experience)

I am usually careful not to put celebrities up on a pedestal and confuse their acting personas with who they are in the real world.

In September, I tagged along with my brother to observe fan behaviors at the Easy A movie premiere and subsequently broke them up into categories. Here is a crash course.

5 Categories:

The Superfans – These avid fans love the particular actors they are waiting to see. In this case James Franco and Seth Rogen.

Autograph Addicts & Collectors – These fanatics are addicted to meeting and collecting autographs from celebrities. They are not fans of a particular actor/actress but of all famous people.

Paparazzi/ Videographers/ Independent Photographers

Tourists

Random Happenings – Local people walking by sometimes stumble into a celebrity event by accident.

Last weekend I successfully blurred the lines between observation and participation. As many of you already know I am obsessed with James Franco. There are many reasons for my fixation. He is highly intelligent, talented, and looks like a Greek god. Recently I found out he is in the midst of two graduate programs (a PHD in English at Yale and a MFA at RISD). I also have been reading his collection of short stories, Palo Alto. He writes, acts, directs, and is a habitual student.  All these factors only intensify my fascination.

When I found out that Mr. Franco was getting the Outstanding Acting Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, for his work in 127 Hours, I jumped in my car and trekked back to my old college town with a huge smile plastered across my face.

I had a mission. I was going to meet him, take some photos, attend the event, and get him to sign my book. I was going to be a Superfan, Autograph Collector, and Paparazzi all rolled up into one star-struck gal. I didn’t realize I was going to turn into a giggling 13-year old girl in the process.

Part II will have all the juicy details of my mission.

Somewhere There is a Good Film

Sofia Coppola is considered Hollywood royalty because she was born into a spectacular gene pool. I want to root for her as a writer/director because I am devoted to her Pops and think she is a terrible actress (see the Godfather III). I just wish her films were better.

What drives me crazy is how much the critics kiss her ass. I’m not sure if it is out of fear or misplaced loyalty. I know she has promise because her directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides was incredible. Although she did write the script, it was adapted from a novel so the credit is not all hers. Even so this proves that she does have the talent.

Her follow up critically acclaimed hit, Lost in Translation, is either loved or hated. I am an admitted hater but do give her credit for reviving the career of Bill Murray, one of my favorite comedic actors.

Her latest film, Somewhere, let me down in so many ways. The hardest thing to swallow is that this could have been an incredibly interesting film. This film features one of my favorite overlooked actors, Stephen Dorff. I was hoping this film would revitalize his career. Problem is I don’t think anyone wants to see that much of him. We really don’t need to watch him smoke a cigarette on his balcony staring off into the distance and reflecting for 10 whole minutes.

I get what she was trying to do (pierce the Hollywood bubble) but she is unsuccessful. We get it, Hollywood isn’t all puppy dogs and ice cream. A movie star’s life is a lonely place full of emptiness and alienation. We don’t need to examine Johnny Marco so closely to discover he is a sad excuse for a human being. He lives in a party hotel, sleeps with numerous faceless women, has twin strippers perform absurd pole dance numbers in his room, gets stalking texts from women he’s treated badly, and hardly knows his 11-year-old daughter.

Once he is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of his daughter for a week, we as an audience expect change. We want the character to mature. Unfortunately, when he has his epiphany at the end, he doesn’t really grow up. Thankfully Stephen plays the part to perfection and he is a sweet piece of eye candy because we are looking at him doing nothing for long periods of time. Elle Fanning (Dakota’s little sister) has promise as a talented actress given a role in a film with better character development.

Opening scene:

A lone car drives around an empty road for 5 minutes.

As soon as I saw that opening scene, I realized that this movie would drag. I just didn’t comprehend how much. The movie only runs 97 minutes but certain scenes feel like torture. I felt like I was watching a student film that was going nowhere. Someone needs to teach Sofia how to use Final Cut Pro. I don’t think she edited a single scene. Every shot was too long. Once the story got going, I hoped she would cut some of these shots but no such luck. Certain films can get away with a non-verbal script but not this one. The saddest part is that this could have been a great film with a ton of editing and a little bit of restraint on Ms. Coppola’s part. It has an interesting story and two actors with chemistry. I have now learned my lesson the next movie Sofia puts out will have to wait for video no matter how appealing the cast seems.