What '80s movie are you? Better Off Dead

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Way cool. I want my TWO DOLLARS!

Posted by bonnie at 9:27 PM

Pulling the Plug?

So, I run this little online community and I think it's time to pull the plug.

Why?

Is it losing focus? Is it less popular than it once was? Does it no longer serve a purpose?

Quite the contrary.

Instead, it's more popular than ever, requiring more and more and more of my time in terms of moderating, hand-holding, hacker-proofing, and general upkeep. And I don't want to do it anymore. I want to be a visitor at someone else's site. I'm tired of being a list mommy.

Yet I'm struggling with pulling the plug. Somehow I worry about leaving people in the lurch, when they need someplace to call their online home. Why can't I just hand over the keys to this place to someone who cares more right now and stop by from time to time as whim allows?

Is this common moderator drama? Is there a list owner support group I need to check into before doing something so drastic as ending this version of the group and hoping its members are smart enough to pick up and reassemble somewhere else under someone else's watch? And why am I causing myself so much stress worrying about what everybody else wants on this site? Can't I pull a total brat move and say, "It's too much work. I'm done. Bye!" without then worrying about what everyone else is saying/thinking/feeling?

Sheesh!

What is WRONG with me?!?

Posted by bonnie at 7:16 PM

February: Coda

I have significantly enjoyed the spoken word vignettes airing this month on TV Land.

They're well-done, meaningful, and memorable. I have learned quite a bit while being moved by the messages.

And isn't that the best of what television is about?

Posted by bonnie at 3:34 AM

Okay, so...

...there were Oscars. I cried. The usual.

I'm such a pansy-ass where award shows are concerned. I seriously BAWL watching all of these people live their dreams. Fairy Godmother Syndrome or what?!?

Since I didn't do any of the ongoing catty-commentary stuff that I love so much, I'm sending folks to the home of the Couch Potato Corner for a really nice roundup of the awards.

Read Kris' number 23 and imagine me saying EXACTLY what she wrote. It's a little creepy.

What else?

Huge shoutout to Hamil, who is currently my Photoshop hero.

Kitties... they're all on crack. I blame the moon.

Lots of analysis about enjoying childhood well into adulthood today. I see no reason NOT to enjoy the silly things. The non-silly things are there, whether we focus on them or not. So why on Earth would I choose to focus on them for any longer than I must, in order to live as an adult?

Point is... some stuff is just funny. As it should be. Snort-laugh giggle fits are highly underrated.

Oh, and I have AGAIN adjusted comments on the site in an attempt to make commenting easier for my visitors. Please try 'em out. And spammers be damned! I love my commenters more than I hate spam. So be it!

Posted by bonnie at 12:12 AM

February 27, 2005

Calling All Photoshoppers

Hey. I need some low-level hand-holding in Photoshop 7 for Mac OSX.

I need to replace a background (one color for another) and modify some text that appears on top of the background. I also need to change the dimensions of some of the guides and the overall width of the image. I need to do this without it being obvious that someone who has no clue about using high-end graphic software did the tweaks.

Or I could just pay someone.

But, just like with doing taxes, I will spend at least 100 hours attempting to do it myself before I realize that I could spend the money that I would earn in those frustrating hours to pay someone to do the damn thing about a thousand times over and still have enough money left over to buy myself something pretty as a reward for not being a perfectionist and letting someone else be an expert at something rather than proving to myself that there are, alas, some things I'm just never going to be able to instantly master.

Any takers?

Yeah... I know. I made that sound really palatable, didn't I? Man, I used to know Photoshop. When was that? 1997? Yeah, that's it. A sure sign of aging. Rapidly.

Posted by bonnie at 12:26 AM

February 26, 2005

2.9 in Encino

Sooooo much fun.

Another quake (see last time)! This one was much closer and of much less magnitude.

Funny thing was, Thwok had been sweetly sleeping on my lap while I was working and suddenly sat bolt upright and RAN out of the room. Within three minutes, JOLT.

Cool. Little ones are fun.

Posted by bonnie at 9:23 PM

Love This: Wikipedia

I know I didn't understand this thing when Chip tried to create a SpyNotebook Wiki last year, but I've really come to love Wikipedia now.

And now that I've read the article in this month's Wired on the people behind the Wiki, I am in love that much more (the article is not yet at the site; check back there on Wednesday). Makes me wish I'd stayed in the program to study this as a part of my dissertation.

Just way effin' cool. Good people, geeks. Myself included.

BTW--Keith brought me a chocolate shake when he stopped by earlier (he's at Nelson's tonight). I'm in heaven. I haven't had one in a long time. Way yummy. I'm flying now.

Posted by bonnie at 6:53 PM

What a Beautiful Day!

It's just seriously gorgeous out. Wow. I love days like today. Windows open, kids playing, ocean breeze coming through and making me happy to be alive.

A full day of America's Next Top Model 3 on VH-1, a great new column to write (got lots of email on last week's column, which makes me happy), a ton of work to do on the book and a couple of egos to soothe (God, it's a delightful reminder of how far I've come when I'm the MOST sane one on the block sometimes), and Keith is currently auditioning at Lieberman/Patton for a pilot. Seriously, his new manager ROCKS. He's going out all the freeeekin' time. I love it!

Thwok has decided that all things plastic are also all things delicious. She keeps coming around the corner with little bits of plastic hanging from her mouth, a little grin (if that's possible). What a brat! I love her so!

Looks like no-go on the big Oscar party this year. Just way too much going on. How sad is that?!? Oh, well. I'm in my SEVEN year, which is very "inside." I'm feeling that. No doubt.

Okay... back to work! I remember (eventually) clicking into BOOK MODE for Self-Management for Actors and just FLYING through the writing process. It's time for that to happen with Acting Qs. I have so much to do... and TWO books coming out this year. Yeah. No more dilly-dally, silly-sally.

(I realize it can't be dilly-dallying when you've actually been casting a frickin' movie instead of writing a book for two weeks, but I've always felt that any time not spent working on something--even if it's due to the fact that I'm working on something ELSE--is time off somehow. Yes, I'm less sane at the end of this entry than I tried to come off at the start. Ugh. Where's the end of this parenthetical? Ah... here it is!)

Posted by bonnie at 1:39 PM

February 25, 2005

How Could You, Hootie?

So, this commercial has been bothering me for a few days now, and I wasn't going to comment on it since I'm sure someone else has (yes, in fact, many someones have addressed this evil ad). But just now, I snapped.

It's just WRONG. Cheese bricked streets? Carmen Electra on a swing in her Daisy Dukes? Darius Rucker in a bolo? What is the world coming to?!? Well, maybe this is all normal stuff. Having never invested more energy into the Blowfish universe than whatever I'd happen to hear on the radio (and the use of the word "Hootie" as a code when we'd call Susan Hines at Turtles [or whatever corporation that took over Turtles around 1995]) I can only assume that this is not a Hootie-type message: pay me enough and I will sing country-western jingles in a purple shirt and white cowboy hat.

*shudder*

Posted by bonnie at 4:18 AM

Many Things

1. There is such a thing as too much tequila. Ow.

2. Constance may have less of a hangover than I do. I know Keith and Liz are safe. Bob is definitely used to this sort of thing. It seems I do the Major Drunken Bender once a year or so. I think I'm set 'til about 2008.

3.

4. Took some quizzes.

You Are a Chihuahua Puppy

Small, high strung, and loyal. You do best in the city with adults. Young kids could crush you!

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

That one was from High Energy Jenny (I think that's what they call her).

And that one was from Chip.

5. I understand (via email) that some folks are having trouble with COMMENTS at the BonBlogs again. Grr. I thought I fixed things when I stopped requiring an email address at sign-in via TypeKey. Chip? Something in the settings? I don't want to make potential commenters sad.

6. And the last item... I think I finally found an iPod I'd actually buy. Thanks, Chip!

Posted by bonnie at 12:19 AM

February 23, 2005

Time To Cast

In just a few hours, the film will be cast.

Yay!

This remains the best casting gig I've had. Open communication, right-on decision-making, very similar taste, and fun! No drama! I love that!

After we finish callbacks tonight, I'll head over to Dan Tana's to meet up with Keith, his sister Liz, and her coworker Constance. Liz has heard our tales of Tana and wants to have the experience for herself. This will be fun! Can't wait! Lobster with Liz! Yay!

Posted by bonnie at 1:12 PM

iTunes Survey

Another list from Chip (and this one's extra geeky, seeing as I don't even own an MP3 player). But I do have iTunes... so here's the survey.

How many total songs? 228
Sort by Song Title: first and last: " " (Classified) (Live) by Man... or Astroman (Treble Revolution Vol. 2 compilation) and "You Do Something To Me" by Sinéad O'Connor (Red, Hot, and Blue compilation)
Sort by Time: shortest and longest: "Distance Equals Rate Times Time" by the Pixies (1:24) and "Cowboys and Angels" by George Michael (7:15)
Sort by Album: first and last: "Classic MTV: Class of 1983" (compilation) and "Viva! La Woman" by Cibo Matto
Sort by Artist: first and last: A Flock of Seagulls and XTC
Top Ten Recently Played: (Here's where you get to see how lame I am and how, after importing ten or eleven CDs (mostly compilations) into iTunes, I pretty much never opened the software again.)
"Head On" by Pixies (2 plays)
"Belong" by REM (2 plays)
"Panic" by Smiths (2 plays)
"Strip" by Adam Ant (1 play)
"Venus" by Bananarama (1 play)
"Carolyn's Fingers" by Cocteau Twins (1 play)
"Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies (1 play)
"A Question of Time" by Depeche Mode (1 play)
"The Puppet" (Live) by Echo and the Bunnyment (1 play)
"We Care a Lot" by Faith No More (1 play)

Yep. I'm that cool. :\

Posted by bonnie at 2:15 AM

February 22, 2005

New LAST Interview

Well, we had done the last interview for the new book, but when James Hong calls... you add a chapter, baby.

Yeah. That's a big OKEY DOKEY.

I've been seriously working my ass off all day on the book and this is a delightfully gratifying button to put on a day of hard work.

Lovely! Thank you, universe!

Posted by bonnie at 11:30 PM

February 21, 2005

There Is Nothing Like a Meme

Nabbed from the ever-increasing greatness that is Coco (v. 3.0).

In case there's just not enough "out there" about me...

What do you do? Cast, Write, Speak, Consult, Love.

What are the challenges? Hm. Ever-changing, ever-diminishing. See BonBlogs for details.

How do you overcome them? Writing. Always writing.

What is a typical day like? Oh, that's funny! I sleep some. I write a lot. I open a ton of mail (especially when I'm casting). I spend time online. I host folks in-house for career consultation whatnot. I interview cute famous people for my new book. I tame kitties. I hang out with my TiVo. I go for walks. Y'know.

How do you manage information (email, blogs, etc.)? Hm. I have things bookmarked in Firefox (and in IE for non-Firefox-friendly sites... grr). I use Entourage for all things email (all things other than Gmail, which is my spam-catcher). My main information-management source, of course, is the SixHundy. No question about it... that is an amazing piece of technology. I visit loads of blogs ranging from work-related to social. I watch a LOT of TV. A LOT.

What are your three or five favorite books? What a random range? How about my favorite 37 books? (37 is my favorite number, though no one ever asks me why.) And how about my favorite books from 2000? (Seemed like a benchmark time to list. Eh.) Of course, my favorite-favorite book is Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting, which has changed the life of every person to whom I've given the book, as well as the life of the lovely who gave it to me a couple of years ago. Awesome.

What are your favorite websites/blogs? Oh, goodness. Where do I begin? I start each day with Breakdowns and DaltsGang and Showfax and PARF and WildOgre and Somesuch-Whatnot and of course SpyNotebook. Good lord, I'm all over the place. No favorites. Just surfing.

What tools/technology do you use? I'm on a Mac (the Chicklet, I call it) PowerBook G4 pretty much all day, every day. The SixHundy is my main companion, of course. TiVo feeds me good information, customized. I hard code in HTML for my "job-job" and do NOT own an MP3 player (I know... I'm so retro).

What’s your favorite quote? Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will!

What is your "secret to success"? Open Valve (see Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting) and honest communication. No drama. Drama costs extra.

What are your greatest accomplishments? Being. Period.

What are your hobbies? Or, how do you break the monotony and stay energized? Writing, painting, drawing, playing with kitties, singing, inventing new drinks (and consuming them), walking to the beach, kissing.

That was fun! Now what?

Posted by bonnie at 9:04 PM

February 20, 2005

Half-Cast

You Are Now Leaving Cactus Cove is now half-cast.

(Not sure what that company does, but the image fit the bill for this post.)

I have cast the minor roles and have scheduled callbacks for the major roles. Awesome.

As of this moment, this is the most low-maintenance, easy-going, we-are-absolutely-on-the-same-wavelength casting gig I've ever had.

Rockstar cool. More like this one, please.

Posted by bonnie at 11:21 PM

February 19, 2005

Gender Brain

Nabbed from Chip (whose brain is 60% female):

Fair enough.

Reminds me of the excellent article I read recently in Wired called "Revenge of the Right Brain".

All good stuff.

Posted by bonnie at 3:54 PM

Note to Self:

Note to self: Thwok is not to be trusted.

Came home from awesome, awesome, awesome Gimlet Night with a bag of supplies (toilet paper, tissue, etc.) and went to bed with the bag of supplies left out (to put away in the morning).

Toilet paper EVERYWHERE. Shredded to bits. The plastic wrap that had previously contained the toilet paper? Shredded to bits. Living room carpet? Covered. COVERED in itty bitty shreds of tissue paper and plastic wrap. COVERED.

Good morning to ya!

Posted by bonnie at 10:39 AM

February 16, 2005

Surreal Moment of the Day

Today was the first day of casting at AFI. During a short break, I went to the loo. I'm in the stall, doing my thing.

"Um, hi. Are you a Fellow here?"
"Me? No. I'm in casting."
"Oh? Are you a casting director?"
"Yeah. That'd be me."
"Really? What's your name."
"Bonnie Gillespie."
"Oh, wow! Can I give you my headshot?"

Um... the only thing I could imagine doing with your headshot in that little room is certainly NOT what you would want me to do with it.

I AM NOT KIDDING. This absolutely surreal moment was brought to you by the letter P.

Posted by bonnie at 7:06 PM

February 15, 2005

Trouble: Crunchitos

Good news: these things are reeeeeeeeally yummy.

Bad news: these things are reeeeeeeeally yummy. I could eat BAGS at a time. That can't be good.

Posted by bonnie at 12:58 AM

February 14, 2005

I HEART Work

So, this is the image that comes up when you Google the phrase: "love to work hard." (Yes, I was nervous about what might come up. *giggle*)

Anyway, that's what I do. I love to work hard. So, for Valentine's Day, instead of hitting my favorite martini bar, Keith and I are staying home. Working.

I know it sounds really boring, but I truly love how much I got accomplished in casting today (and tomorrow is a big book interview day). Prereads are Wednesday and Thursday which means I have very little time to get the schedule set.

So... no social life, no money spent, no hangover, no big deal. We'll do all of that another night. Oh, and Gimlet Night is Friday... so that's the big "holiday" I'm looking forward to. This time? Pomegranate Mojitos!! Wooooo hooooo!

Coooooooooool. Love my Gimlet Night!

Okay... back to work!

Posted by bonnie at 8:45 PM

It's Valentine's Day!

So, it's Valentine's Day, which is pretty ho-hum. Except that this year we're going to brave the wilds of the local trendiati and explore gluten-free vodkas at my favorite martini bar.

Voda is just under a mile from the homestead, which rocks. I love a good stagger home. Of course, can't go all out, seeing as we're interviewing TES on TuES. Also, since leaving gluten behind, I love booze a whole lot less. I have theories... but no time to blog about them. Must get back to scheduling auditions for the film.

Y'know what's fun? Asking for submissions to match a certain TYPE of actor (star name) and having that actor submitted on the project. "Oh, you want a so-and-so TYPE? How about so-and-so herself?!?" Um... yeah. Okay! Yay, us!

Posted by bonnie at 1:02 AM

Free Seminar for Parents of Young Actors

Hope you'll join us. I'm very excited to be speaking with the wonderful people who head up the non-profit BizParentz.com Foundation for young actors (and parents, of course). For more information about this event, please email BizParentz.com.

"The Reel REAL Truth of the Business" with BizParentz Foundation (Paula and Anne, who are parents of child actors for over 10 years and are parent advisors to the SAG Young Performers Committee, as well as BizParentz founders) and special guest, Author and Casting Director, Bonnie Gillespie.

Sunday, Feb. 20 after brunch--12:30PM in the North Hollywood Room, Oakwood Apartments, 3600 Barham Blvd., Los Angeles, 90068

Very excited. See y'all there!

Posted by bonnie at 12:48 AM

February 13, 2005

TV, TiVo, and Thwok

Generally, Inside the Actors Studio is heavy on the pretention and that's something I don't prefer in my Hollywood breakfast cereal.

That said, Jamie Foxx keeps rocking my world, and his appearance on this show didn't disappoint. Seriously crazy about him. Wish he'd gone to the BAFTAs instead of to Clive Davis' Grammy party, but hey... he's gotta think about next year's career, I'm sure.

Also on the TiVo...

Bob... I love ya, man, but that Rodney show is dreck. Thank goodness my TiVo grabs you when you're schmacting on NYPD Blue and That '70s Show!

And finally... there's hope for me yet. Sure, I gave Thwok an email address (and later recalled that I'd already given Archie and Salema a Friendster account, so I'm NOT the bad mom I thought I was, favoring the animals differently), but it's sooooo cool to see Thwok getting fan mail! Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 7:09 PM

February 12, 2005

Cool Stuff from Across the Pond

So, I was going back through some COMMENTS links to see who has been commenting at the BonBlogs and what their sites look like and all of that and came across this guy named Cliff who posted a comment back in October from the UK.

I spend a little time at his site and find what might be one of the most brilliant short entries ever. It's about this place:

Oi! Bagel.

Here's what Cliff says on the subject:

There is a place open by me called "Oi Bagel".

This seems a little stereo typical, seeing as bagels are associated with Jewish communities and Jewish people are seen to say "oi" a lot as an exclamation of dismay. I got to thinking about "Yo Sushi" and wondered if it was so called because Japanese people said "yo" a lot.

What about:
Eh Pancakes
Right So Stews
*nonchalant shrug* Croissants
Cheers Fish and Chips

I think it's somewhere in the "Right So Stews"/"*nonchalant shrug* Croissants" area that I really fell in love with that list.

Oh, and he gave me a quiz to take! Yay!

You scored as Summer. You are SUMMER. Life is to be -lived-.. dance, sing, and make merry. Adversity is simply something to overcome. You embrace life with both arms, not only because you love it, but to squeeze out of it all that you can.

What Season Are You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Much fun! It's like I'm honoring the Hollywood-UK weekend (BAFTAs, y'know). Cool.

Posted by bonnie at 5:36 PM

Thwok Online

So, I haven't set up her website yet, but tonight, Thwok got her own email address.*

Why?

So that she could write a proper thank you note to Biscotti for the awesome Valentine's Day presents (cat-nip filled, shiny, fabric-covered, bell-inside balls) she received today!

Awww.

(Thanks, Aunt Cindy! I loved the Hello Kitty notepad too, BTW!)

*Yes, I know this makes me one of "those people" who sets up email addresses for her pets. Is it scarier that I've done that or that I feel BAD for not setting up addresses for Archie and Salema too?

Posted by bonnie at 2:45 AM

February 11, 2005

Wrap-up

Today was good. I'm still on some sort of really whacked out sleep cycle (mostly due to avoidance-of-symptoms desires on my part as well as odd reactions to various attempts at self-medicating and whatnot) but I was able to tackle the first round of serious submissions for the film.

I'm lacking in the area of ACHAK (18-year-old Native American male character) submissions, but I spent about seven hours pouring through my master files and found a few guys who I know could book the role today, so I'm less nervous about specific submissions. I can call these guys in and even make straight offers, if we have to resort to that.

In other news, it was the second anniversary of Keith's mom's death, so that meant a lot of caretaking and checking in and other such stuff. I wouldn't have had a clue how to deal with this, had I not gone through it all myself. Definitely, passing the two-year mark seems to help. It's like this:

YEAR ONE: 1/2 numb, 1/2 zombie-coping
YEAR TWO: 1/4 numb, 1/4 zombie-coping, 1/4 back to normal, and 1/4 sad that anything so sad could ever begin feeling less sad
YEAR THREE: 1/2 back to normal, 1/8 angry, 1/8 ready to move on, 1/8 respectful of the hole that never goes away, 1/8 sad that there is a hole and that there once was not
YEAR FOUR: 3/4 back to a new kind of normal--one with a layer of sad and angry and lonely built in, 1/4 respectful of the hole that never goes away

It is my hope that, in year five, that respect for the hole that never goes away becomes a part of that new kind of normal. Right now, what is hardest for me is the beginning to forget-slash-the never having asked about things that weren't relevant to the gal in her 20s but that are absolutely important to me now... and I can't find out whether they were important to Mom.

Ugh. There comes some of that sad stuff again.

*sigh*

Okay, so in other, other news...

Thwok brings me joy every single day. She flops down, exposes her belly, tucks her chin under, and rolls rolls rolls. I babytalk to her the way my Mom would babytalk Archie and Salema and Muffy before them (and me before that, my brothers before me, etc.). And every time I see her little belly, I say, "I so love you!"

Then I think of my sis Deb who brought Thwok into my life and who is also facing an anniversary (her mother died while Deb and Ash were with me for Perfect auditions last year). I quietly send a prayer, a whisper, a vibe, an open-valve stream of energy to everyone who needs a spiritual hug and am happy that something weighing less than five pounds with a chirpy little purr can inspire me in such giving ways.

I then send all that love to fellow Motherless Daughters Ali, Dawn, and Faith, as well as others who float in and out of my head as I smile in the same way I smile at the sight of a hummingbird.

As much as I'd like to keep at all of this, I have audition appointments to schedule. Bless sweet little Shauna for being my casting assistant AGAIN. She's seriously good people--and VERY good at this job, should she ever care to pursue it.

OH! This just in: Aleta, wherever you bought that flourless pistachio cake has my business FOREVER. I'm STILL in heaven over that yummy goodie you brought over!!!!! WOW! Can't wait to try the flourless almond cake! You are so thoughtful! Thank you!

Posted by bonnie at 1:02 AM

February 10, 2005

Girlie Stuff

Things I love in my kitchen:

Fresh tap water, heating up organic soup, emptying the dishwasher, and these things:

Clorox Wipes.

I'm nesting.

Oh, and could anyone who has found a good drug to help with a painful "monthly experience" share a recommendation? First "time" in 19 years and I'm doubled over, nauseous with pain. Anyone?

Soup is good, but it doesn't fix everything. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 1:39 AM

Enneagrams Are Fun!

Nabbed from the greatness that is the blog of "thank goodness you got a blog" Becca fame:

free enneagram test

Profile Summary for the Enneagram Type One:

Healthy: Extremely principled, always want to be fair, objective, and ethical. Sense of responsibility, personal integrity, and of having a higher purpose often make them teachers and witnesses to the truth.

Average: Dissatisfied with reality, they become high-minded idealists, feeling that it is up to them to improve everything. Afraid of making a mistake. Often workaholics — "anal-compulsive," punctual, pedantic, and fastidious. Highly critical both of self and others.

Unhealthy: Everyone else is wrong: very severe in judgments, while rationalizing own actions. Become obsessive about imperfection and the wrong-doing of others. Generally corresponds to the Obsessive-Compulsive and Depressive personality disorders.

Key Motivations: Want to be right, to strive higher and improve everything, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.

Examples: Mahatma Gandhi, Hilary Clinton, Al Gore, John Paul II, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Bradshaw, Bill Moyers, Martha Stewart, Ralph Nader, Katherine Hepburn, Harrison Ford, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, George Harrison, Celene Dion, Joan Baez, George Bernard Shaw, Noam Chomsky, Michael Dukakis, Margaret Thatcher, Rudolph Guliani, Jerry Brown, Jane Curtin, Gene Siskel, William F. Buckley, Kenneth Starr, The "Church Lady" (Saturday Night Live), and "Mr. Spock" (Star Trek).

Well all righty then.

Posted by bonnie at 12:42 AM

February 8, 2005

New Casting Gig

Wow. I've received 297 electronic submissions already (that's in three hours since releasing the breakdown), including a NAME for one of the roles for which we'd hoped to APPROACH a name (so much easier when they approach US).

The filmmakers are amazing. I had a great meeting with them this morning (followed by another rockstar book interview) and we really connected. That's delightful. This is a thesis project for the MFA program at AFI. The film will be shot 35mm under a SAG contract and its working title is You Are Now Leaving Cactus Cove.

The entire breakdown is available at Actors Access and linked from the casting section of CricketFeet.com.

Huge thank you to Robin Gwynne for introducing me to the film's producer, Brenda Weiermair. She rocks, as does Anna Christopher (writer/director).

Very cool gig!

Posted by bonnie at 8:30 PM

Gratitude Lost?

Well, that's just a lovely idea, Gil.

It seems silly enough to want to present awards to winners IN THEIR SEATS. This encouragement included in the news story takes the proverbial cake!

From the story filed by the Associated Press:

[Award show producer Gil Cates] also urged the nominees to keep their acceptance speeches short if they win and focus on saying something meaningful rather than reading a list of names unfamiliar to the viewing audience.

Yes. Let us always remember to be quotable (good TV) but neglect to mention all of the little people (boring). No one cares that you were inspired by your childhood drama teacher. We want you to scream, "I'm the king of the world!"

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Posted by bonnie at 2:08 PM

February 7, 2005

Super Duper Happy Bonnie

Just scheduled our LAST interview for Acting Qs. We'll do a chat with this young man:

(That'd be Tom Everett Scott, folks.)

Wooooooo hooooooo! It's almost a wrap, this one. Yeeeeeeee haw! *happy dance* (Oh, and yeah, I'm so super swooning about this particular interview... I will always love "Shades.")

When was the last time you were decently kissed? I mean really, honestly good and kissed?

*swoon*

Posted by bonnie at 2:20 PM

February 6, 2005

Okay, seriously...

That was like the most boringest show of Super Bowl commercials ever.

Good news: won a buck (on who would win).

Bad news: lost two (on who would score first and who would win the coin toss).

Yes, I chose the same team all three times. Yes, if the little kid had done more than toss a coin into the air with NO spin, I'd have been the big winner.

Or not.

Whatever. The commercials were way boring. Except for the Ameriquest ones about not judging too quickly. Brilliant.

Oh, PS--gooooooo Crista! You rocked on MadTV last night. Do it again! (Did I call it or what?)

Posted by bonnie at 11:26 PM

February 5, 2005

Silliness Before I Get Back To Work

Nabbed from Chipperdoodle:

You are KERMIT!

Interesting, considering the layst time I took this test (nearly three years ago), I was Fozzie. So, is the quizaverse saying I've changed?

Oh, and in deep conversation with the greatness that is Shauna (while sorting headshots for the past two days--THANK YOU), I learned that one of the stars of Desperate Housewives will be coming out next week on the cover of The Advocate. No idea who, but I can just say, if it's Marcia Cross, she had better do some serious back-pedalling from all of the, "I sooooo want a man," she was spouting off on Oprah recently. And if it's Eva Longoria?

Sign. Me. Up.

Oh, BTW, still have never seen an episode. Heh.

Oooh, look... red carpet for the SAG Awards! Man, I loves me some E! Perfect for writing this week's column.

Note to Star Jones: tell the booth to keep you on a tighter shot. I can count the ribs in your corset and you clearly rode over in the limo in this dress. Can't they steam out those wrinkles before you hit the air? Dayum... catty much, Bon? Hee!

Posted by bonnie at 1:51 PM

Are You Kidding Me?

While watching the brilliant TV that is The Soup (Dear me, does Kris need to host this show or WHAT?), I see this commercial for this mess:

It seems women who take this particular birth control pill have the blessing of no period for three months at a time. Yes, that's right: quarterly menstrual cycles.

And in the fine print: you most likely will have the same number of total days on your period, it will just all be quarterly. Yeah--that's right--if you would've had four four-day periods, that's a whopping 16 days IN A ROW to look forward to, using this contraceptive.

I'm going to say, uh, NO. *shudder*

Posted by bonnie at 1:31 PM

I Love News Like This

Saw this on the news Thursday morning and have been meaning to post about it. Really cool.

From the story (linked to photo, above):

The medieval old town of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, will be brightened up for four long winter nights this week by 10,000 lights, hoisted above the city on 500 helium-filled weather balloons.

The semi-permanent art installation, called the Light Dome, will illuminate the city every night for three hours from Thursday to Sunday.

Since SAD is such a big part of life in a place with such a loooooong winter, this concept is not only beautiful, but a wonderful contribution to a mental health issue. I love that!

In February, night falls at about 4:30pm in Estonia, the northernmost of the Baltic countries, and lasts about 16 hours, with the sun not rising again until about 8:30am.

If you can find it, look for the video of these candle things being released. Absolutely gorgeous! And touching.

The smoky effect will be created by special candles used in firework displays, set on nearby roofs. "These candles are also used in the film industry to make fog. They are used to intensify firework effects, but do not produce fireworks themselves, but rather an ephemeral, mysterious atmosphere," Valk explained.

Awesome.

Posted by bonnie at 5:02 AM

February 4, 2005

Gotta Love a Quiz

Nabbed from everyone at SpyNotebook.

Take the WHAT INTENTIONAL TORT ARE YOU test at Mewing.net.

I actually cheated. I didn't like getting False Imprisonment. Believe me, if I'm sequestering myself, I do NOT want you with me! ;)

Have fun.

Posted by bonnie at 11:16 PM

February 3, 2005

Tech Crap

Is anyone else having problems getting into Gmail using Firefox today?

Grr. I think my computer is rebelling. Grr.

Posted by bonnie at 2:49 PM

February 2, 2005

News: No Casting Strike!

No time now, since soooo much is going on (new casting gig, big book interviews in just a couple of hours, Keith driving back to LA in a new car), but I had to share this news.

Latest Headlines include declarations in Variety and other trades that there will be no casting director strike.

Woo damn hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 2:31 AM

February 1, 2005

Great New Commercial

It's for the new Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (why is there no DOT after Dr in Dr Pepper anyway?).

This chickie is sitting across from her beau who is talking about having won the lotto and being crazy about her and all that. She takes a sip of her drink and suddenly everything he says is...

MAHNA-MANAH

followed by

DOOT-DOOOOOO-DOO-DOO-DOO

from everyone else in the commercial.

MAHNA-MANAH
DOOT-DOO-DOO-DOO
MANAH-MANAH
DOOT-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO
DOO-DOO-DOOT
DOO-DOO-DOOT
DOOT-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOO-DOOT-DOOT-DOO-OOOT-DOOT.

Those of you who watched The Muppet Show as religiously as I did will immediately recognize that and have the song stuck in your head forever, as have I since seeing that ad.

Good goin' Dr P.

Posted by bonnie at 11:36 PM

Movie Quiz

So, I'm convinced I'm doing TrackBacks wrong, so I'm just going to link to the post itself over at Chip's Spynotebook that has led to this li'l quiz.

1. The last movie you went to see in a theater: Come As You Are screening at the GORGEOUS Silent Movie Theatre. We're friends with the filmmaker and went to this one-night-only event and were very pleased with the film, its cast, and the friends we ran into while at the screening. Good times.

2. The last movie you watched at home: Shallow Hal, when it played (again) on F/X's "DVD on TV" this past weekend.

3. Number of movies you own: Goodness. I'll guess something like 250-300? Not sure.

3a. Last movie you bought: It is my understanding that Keith is buying Ray today in NoCal to watch with his sister and bring home for us. We had already planned to buy it today to help the DVD release start strong in sales. Hollywood geeks!

4. Got Netflix (or a similar service)? Nope.

4a. Next three movies in your queue: N/A.

5. Five movies you adore: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Student Bodies (which, interestingly is now credited to a director [Michael Ritchie, who is the director of my fourth-listed film]; though it's an Alan Smithee film in its on-screen credits... hm... cult following inspires an outing of the actual filmmaker?), The Sure Thing, Fletch, El Mariachi.

6. Your guilty pleasure movie (or genre): Clerks. Yes, I know pretty much every word. Yes, I quote it in my head for no reason. Yes, I'm a huge dork. So be it.

7. Three people to whom you're going to pass these questions and why: Kris (she'd do the quiz even if I didn't ask her to do it... she's OC(D) like that), Nini (I'll get to learn more about my cool new friend that way), and Amy ('cause once she does it, so will everyone on the LiveJournal Circuit--if they haven't already done it).

Posted by bonnie at 6:17 PM

Extraordinarily Narcissistic

For the first time in what seems like YEARS, my fingernails are long and healthy.

They are BEAUTIFUL. And I'm obsessed with looking at them. They're seriously as pretty as they were back in my hand modeling days.

*sigh*

It's the little things, really. Hee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 4:57 PM