I was puzzled.

Puzzled but very intrigued. This was new. In all our years of knowing each other, we had never done this before. Sitting in the dark, side by side. What would his wife think?

I had to ask.

Why?

"Because I love the king," my dad replies in a matter of fact tone.

Are we talking about Elvis? Oh, nope. We're talking about the other king. The king of pop.

"Because Michael Jackson is a legend and his music transcends time."

It sure does. It transcends time. It transcends culture. It transcends taste.

We may have the same dimples and wide derriere but Dad is all basketball and stock trading and engineering stability and soft energy and I am all about food and artsy fartsiness and doing what makes me happy and crazy laughter. When my dad proposed for us to watch Michael Jackson's This is It on a Friday evening, I got surprised. My dad actually wants to spend money on a movie he most likely will sleep through? I got suspicious. Maybe he's going to force me to find a job at the movie theatre or something. Why else would he ask me along? And finally, I got excited. Hells yes I'm going! This is a once in a lifetime event, my dad asking me to watch a movie with him!

As we drove to the theatre, just the two of us, (My mom refused to come. She said she didn't want to get nightmares staring up at Jackson's face amplified for two hours straight. Yea, she probably would have) my dad talked to me about one of the first places he took his mom, my nai nai, to when she came over from Taiwan, which was a Michael Jackson concert at the Dodger Stadium. "Excited by all the bright lights and excited fans, your grandma had a great time," my dad remembers with a smile.

As I sat in the theatre that night, watching Jackson work his magic, I can absolutely understand his universal appeal. The way the man moves just magnetizes you. The way he knows how to let each moment "simmer" and each sharp gesture hit- only a true talent can achieve that. I look over at my dad and he is mesmerized. Mesmerized, and -amazingly enough - not asleep! He never did fall asleep that night, except for one song in Jackson's set which was so boring even I dozed off.

There are several possible reasons for Jackson's universal appeal. Maybe the man looks and moves so originally, so out of the ordinary, that everyone can like him because no one is like him. Maybe he has good marketing people. Or maybe - no DEFINITELY - he is just one talented musical genius. And talent and genius is universally appreciated.

Check out Jackson's last days in theaters now. Ask you dad 'cause who knows, he just might be itching to watch it too.

Think my dad might be down for "New Moon?" No? Uh...I didn't watch to watch it either.

Write On

The whole Hollywood writing and pitching process confuddles the hell out of me.

Because writing is not a very tangible skill and depends on a variety of things coming together--things like luck, timing, inspiration, motivation et. al.-- it's one of the toughest jobs in the industry that often receives the least amount of recognition. And there's also the romantic misconception of everyone in Los Angeles thinking they can take a shot at putting words to paper and striking it rich with a sold screenplay. Just take a look at the nearest Coffee Bean stocked full of artsy spectacles hunched over silver Macbook Pros.

As someone who has had the fortune of seeing my words play out on stage, I can say that it can definitely be worth suffering through months- possibly years- of poverty, frustrating writer's block, and mind-blowingly scathing critiques to watch audience members react to your vision, your story. It's an indescribable feeling - good or bad.

But no matter what, the key element of making it as a writer-at least in Hollywood- is to have someone take a chance on you.

That someone can be a Hollywood hotshot or a newbie intern, personal friend or stranger off the street. But if they know someone or are someone themselves, they can make things happen. They can lift your words off the page and onto a screen or stage. They can bring your vision to life.

How do you get them to raise you out of said Coffee Bean and onto a red carpet?

Well, first, write something.

Then, you suck it up and ask them to read your work.

However, one person I wouldn't dare ask to read my stuff is this guy...

A History of Violence penner Josh Olson may look all smiles and jellybeans here but you and your script better stay far far away from him.

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter repeatedly proclaimed to a recent Village Voice the annoyances of having people approach him with their works hoping to get his professional opinion on it. Olson retells the story of one particularly horrifying incidence through which an awful script dared pass through his oh-so-professional eye-line.

Though at times his reasons for not touching the scripts are valid, like how he has stacks of scripts by his bedside from agents and personal friends to finish and how sometimes people are really unappreciative and can't take criticism, I dare say he is a bit brutal into going on and on AND ON about how this amateur writer produced a terrible piece of trash and wasted a year of his life working on something that should have never seen the light of day. Can you say ouch?

I've always been terrified to have other people read my work (ironic, eh, Media Maid readers?) and Olson's piece only heightened my fears. But Olson-that cocky son of a gun-is right. He says:

If someone can talk you out of being a writer, you're not a writer. If I can talk you out of being a writer, I've done you a favor, because now you'll be free to pursue your real talent, whatever that may be.

You're a writer if nothing else can nourish your soul. You're a writer if writing makes your life move forward, makes your world go round, makes you feel alive, makes you feel like you're contributing to society. You're a writer if you have a story to tell and only you can tell it.

I sure fit most of those criteria.

I guess I'm a writer.

{ Deadline Hollywood }

Our Song

This is not a love story.

This is about me being in love with a movie named, "500 Days of Summer."

I'm not ashamed to say that I am kind of a romantic. That's right. You heard me, I am a total whispy daydream-about-Prince Charming, longing-for-happy endings, hopelessly-optimistic, fan-of-grand-gestures marshmallow trapped inside this 5 ft. 7 wall of sarcasm and self-deprecating humor.

Take a look at my favorite movies; Amelie, A Walk to Remember.

Take a look at my favorite books; The Time Traveler's Wife, Eat Pray Love.

Someone should just hit me over the head with a reality stick and say, "hey you! Wake up! Never gonna happen to you!"

So it could be kind of surprising- or maybe not- that I like 500 Days so so much. So much that I want to bake it chocolate chip cookies, leave it adorable post-it notes, plant a radio over my shoulder and wait for it to come out of its bedroom.

True, 500 Days is a whimsical little doozy; all classic 50's-styled costumes and comforting, Pushing Daisies -esque narrator voice and cute hero and quirky heroine but it's also a very raw and realistic portrayal of a romantic relationship between a boy and a girl. It captures so much of the misunderstandings, the awkward stares, the uncertain feelings, the ways your mind can alter details obstruct facts. There is no happy ending in the traditional sense. The story wasn't even told in the traditional sense-what with spontaneous dance sequences and music video-like screen shots.

Speaking of music, the movie's soundtrack was awesome and it (along with reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower just the week before) introduced me to The Smiths. (what - I'm a late angster, okay?)

In an LA Times article, the co-writer, Scott Neustadter had this to say about the film's musical choices:

"We always felt that every relationship has a soundtrack," said Scott Neustadter, who co-wrote the film with Michael H. Weber. "Music plays a role in any kind of relationship, and it would not have been as real-feeling if we didn't acknowledge that."

Seriously. As someone who can't listen to Jason Mraz's The Remedy without smiling, Mika's Happy Ending without frowning and Taylor Swift's...any of her songs, actually-without flaring up, I totally get that. Each tune flashes back a particular time in my life, a certain connection (or dis-connect) I made with someone else, the type of person I was at the moment.

Right now, the sad ballads in my "relationship soundtrack" has overtaken the happy, warm-fuzzy tunes. But I'm certain that when time comes, He'll bring about that one song that will outshine all the other. That'll be the song I'm keeping on repeat. (And as my sister can attest, I hate repeating songs)

And you can bet that whoever makes it into my relationship soundtrack in the future has best gots to like 500 Days.

Hollywood High School

This was awhile back but I just realized I had never posted about this. I post about almost every other single thing going on in my life including the state of cleanliness my bedroom is in so it would be a shame to not blog about this.

This being that my sister acted in a movie this past summer! She was part of the cast of Easy A, a teen dark comedy coming out in 2010. The movie is almost like Scarlet Letter but set in modern-day high school times and boasts an amazing ensemble cast. (and I'm not just saying that 'cause Jess is in it.) Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Hayden Church, Penn Badgley, Emma Stone, the list is impressive. Take a look-see for yourself at some of the pictures we took at the after-party.

Star Emma Stone - she was in Superbad, The House Bunny, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

Former stars of "Aliens of America." I heard this was an awesome show but like all awesome shows, it ended up being...cancelled. *sigh

Aly and AJ! OMG I totally listen to their music! (They rock, ok?)

Me and my new best friend/lover, Tyler! He's a cutie!

So when people say that Hollywood is like high school, they aren't exaggerating. Some of my sister's behind-the-scenes stories are unbelievable. A star of the movie with a total nice girl/guy reputation acted like she/he came straight out of Mean Girls(slash Guys?).

It makes me mad because unfortunately, my sis was one of the poor lambs getting picked on but what can you do? Our ultimate payback will be for Jess to become a mega-star and watch that bully's face one day as Jess sashays past her on a red carpet as people are screaming for my sister's name and ignoring her/him. When that day comes, it will be sweet!

But until that day, we just gotta suck it up and do the best work we can.

Jess, keep it up. You're amazing and I have every confidence that you win over the world with your acting talents. Cheers to the future!

PS. You should check out my sis' IMDB page. I can only link you to that since someone still hasn't purchased their domain name from Mr. Creeper. Get on it, girl!

Oscar 2009

My favorite picture of Oscar night.  The Slumdog kids are sooooo cute!  Especially the one on the bottom row, right:  Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, he played the youngest version of the main character, Jamal. Isn't he a cutie? I caught a clip of Ryan Seacrest interviewing them and I didn't really like how Seacrest handled the interview.  He pretty much perused over them.  View here:

Contrary to most American television viewers, I actually really enjoy the Academy Awards. I get to ogle all the dolled up starlets in their pretty dresses and listen to sometimes touching speeches. But unfortunately, I wasn't able to witness the televised version this evening.

No worries, though. Chicago Tribune had me covered with the Best and Worst of 2009. I liked that their comments describes not only what happened at the event itself (like that Kate Winslet won Best Actress and Hugh Jackman was the host) but also gives background story (I didn't know that Marisa Tomei hasn't been to the Oscars since 2002). Their coverage of the overall event is fast, breezy and comes with pictures! Perfect for the modern television audience. Check out their link here.

Sibling Rivalry

My sister is an aspiring actress.  She's been at it ever since she was chosen out of 300+ kids to play a role in Lethal Weapon 4.  She even has an IMDB page. Check it out here. Feel free to leave a reply about how cool she is.  

So the other thing about my sister is that she is fiercely family-oriented.  She would do anything for us.  So thoughtful her found me going through my quarter-life crisis and said, "hey... why don't I recommend my sister to my agency and see if they'll like her and take her?"

So I talked on the phone with her agents and managers for a while one morning.  They expressed concern that we were too close in age and looks and worried that we would compete against each other for roles.  

As much as I love acting, I know that this wouldn't be the right career path for me to take.  My sis on the other hand, is passionate and good at it.  There's not a doubt in my mind that she's going to be a star.  

So that's exactly what I told her representation.  They should meet with me and if they like me and feel I'm right for their company, take me.  If they think I'm too similar to my sis, don't worry about it.  I'll walk away.  No hard feelings, I'll focus on writing, journalism, food photography, television development or one of the other millions of things I want to do.

This got me thinking, though.  There are plenty of celeb siblings in Hollywood.  Some are more successful than the other.  Let's take a look at some of my most favorite ones (plus or minus a few) and in the Battle of the Older vs. Younger Siblings, who comes out on top?

John and Joan Cusack

He stole my heart when he lifted that boombox up over his shoulders in "Say Anything..." With his boyish charms untainted by time, Cusack is the epitome of the Everyman (even when donning his creepy black trench coat).  His big sis, Joan Cusack, however always irked me a little because she consistently plays these uptight women who always scrunches her face up and is forever yelling and freaking out.  I may be in the minority on my opinion of Joan, though, because she has been nominated for the Academy Awards twice while John has yet to score a nod (a travesty, I say). But who's headlining films while the other is mostly known as, "hey that woman in that one movie!?"  Guess it just goes with the well-known notion that Oscar nods don't mean blockbuster hits.

Therefore...  1 point for the younger bro! Just watch Say Anything..., and then if you still don't get it, watch Serendipity and if you still don't feel anything, America's Sweethearts and if you're still unmoved, you're heartless.

Oldies: 0 Young 'uns: 1

Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake wins. Need I say anything more? Yea, I didn't think so.

Oldies: 0 Young 'uns: 2

Warren Beatty and Shirley Maclaine

I was surprised when I first found out they were siblings too. Each one has become such a huge star in their own right, her for classics like, "Terms of Endearment" and "Steel Magnolias" and him with "Dick Tracy," "Bonnie and Clyde" and just being an all-around sexy man.  

"There's no way Warren and I wouldn't become stars. It was bred into us by parents who were in competition with each other. One was driven to believe in success. The other was afraid of it." - Shirley Maclaine

I say...let's hear it for both of them.  They're Shirley Maclaine and Warren Beatty, for goodness sakes!

Oldies: 1 Young 'uns: 3

Jamie Lynn and Britney Spears

Big sister Britney started raking in the dough when she danced her way through the Mickey Mouse Club.  She then climbed to pop royalty with "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and has since remained one of the most fascinating American pop culture figures.  There was that whole mess of two years what with the rehab and all but at the end of the day, people are still rooting for her to succeed, find happiness and stay healthy.  Britney's fame allowed the younger (but much older-looking) Jamie Lynn to star in her own Nickelodeon show, "Zoey 101," which was doing pretty well until...she got pregnant. At age 16.

Who's the winner?  Of course it's Britney, bitch! 

Oldies: 2 Young 'uns: 3

Ashlee and Jessica Simpson

Say what you will about Ashlee and Jessica Simpson but I like the two of them!  Jessica's got more of that All-American gal thing going on with the hair and the boobs.  But she was super endearing in The Newlyweds (you call it annoying, I call it endearing. You call chicken, she calls tuna.)  and girl's got the lungs of a mammoth (I just googled, "animal with big lungs" and that's what they gave me. How'd you like them apples?)  My favorite is younger sis, Ashlee, however. Her music is dancey and less snoozy than her big sis' and she also had her own reality show, "The Ashlee Simpson Show" where she demonstrated to the world just how delightfully kooky she is.  That's my kind of girl!

Oldies: 2 Young 'uns: 4

Julia and Eric Roberts

One is America's sweetheart and the other always gets stuck playing creepy guys in Lifetime movies.  I think it's pretty undeniable that although Eric Roberts has made a decent career out of acting, his little sister, Julia has pretty much got him beat.  When Rourke was receiving his Independent Spirit Award this year for his role in "The Wrestler," he kept asking people in the audience to hire his buddy, Eric.  Not that Eric is unemployed or anything, but many just felt that he is far more talented that the roles he's relegated to. I haven't seen enough of his stuff, to be honest but I do feel that younger sister, Julia Roberts is quite overrated.  She was just very smart and wise in her career choices and got pretty lucky.  Nonetheless, money and fame talks and she's still doing better than her big bro.

Oldies: 2 Youn 'uns: 5

Hmm..looks like it's just not in the "stars" for me to become an actress!  Break a leg, Jess. =)

Ouch

"Men know how to use the phone. If he's not calling you, it's because you're not on his mind."

-Greg Behrendt, author of "He's Just Not That Into You"

Why would I need to watch the movie if I'm already living the life?

Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist

The world is in shambles.  Left and right, my friends and acquaintances are getting laid off.  I can hardly find an internship, let alone a job. (Well, that's not true, I just turned one down last week.) Everything in stores are always on sale-which should be a good thing-until I realize why they are on sale in the first place and why I would be better off not buying it.

My favorite TV shows are also not doing very well.  Ugly Betty just got pulled from the schedule so the network can try out a couple new shows.  Nothing good is ever on the tube.  If I see that annoying Lisa Rinna asking inane questions like, "how does it feel to play a vampire on TV" and have the guest she's interviewing reply, "I don't play one" again, I swear I will throw the remote at the screen.  

I seek solace in my Google Reader, where I can peruse some carefully hand-selected blogs from the vast Internet world but even then, things look dismal.  Bloggers left and right are writing about all the lay-offs and closings, shut-downs and non-employment rates.  Even pretty pictures can't replace the iron-hard words that jobs pickings are getting slimmer and slimmer.

Despite knowing all of this. Despite understanding that I need to be doing something to prevent a future of unemployment, instead of working on my internship applications, job applications, visiting the career center, or even attending networking functions, I keep trying to find an illegal copy of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist to watch on-line.  

I know...what is wrong with me???!!  It's not even a classic, nor a masterpiece, nor a huge blockbuster.  It's just a simple love story starring two fairly ordinary-looking young adults playing ordinary high schoolers.  

Yet somehow, I can't seem to get it off my mind. I want to watch that movie so badly.

They say movies are a form of escape and if so, then I am running away in the worst way.  I keep trying to find places where I know the lovers will end up together, where I can seek solace that normal people will reach happiness and where I don't have to think about my impending future.

My mom tells me the older I'm getting, it seems the less responsible I've become. I've given up my car, I don't have a job, I keep doing things like improv comedy and making up stories in my head.  And she's right. I've retreated, and I don't like it ONE BIT.

The old responsible, motivated Janice came back a little a couple of days ago when I was spontaneously assigned to interview Dat Phan, a famous Vietnamese-American comedian.  The Janice who had her act together, who sought out opportunities and sniffed out good things to report.  Let's hope-no, let's make sure-she makes more of an appearance in the future.  

I know I can be whatever I want to be as long as I work on getting there.  I pray that He will instill that will and longing back into my heart again.