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| For those of you who have seen The Pick Up Artist on VH1 and/or read The Game, check out my latest picture.  | | |
| I just realized the irony of my last post, telling everyone to enjoy life, as you never know when it might be gone. At the time I was just reflecting on the people who had lost their homes in the CA fires and had no idea that, later that night, my own brother would be killed in a sailing accident. 
Anyway, I have been doing a "deep clean" of my room and today I found the folder of stuff from the Screenwriting Expo in 2003. I know why I saved it - because it was the first time I had ever been to LA and done anything "real" in the world of screenwriting. Most of the stuff isn't relevant now, like flyers for events that have long gone by, and God knows why I felt the need to save my name tag. Still, I can't bear to throw away everything...
For those of you who haven't been to the Expo, it's fun. It's not going to get you "discovered" as the next hot Hollywood scribe, but after having gone for a number of years, I've come to think of it as my screenwriting summer camp, and I've always thought it was worth it.
Expo 2003 was my first one and first time in LA. I remember being very upset at the amount of traffic on the 405, the 101, and the 110. I got very little sleep, as I had to wake up early to beat the traffic to make it to the 8am classes I was stupid enough to sign up for, and went out to Santa Monica every night with the people I met. I met up with Emma for the first time since HS - she had changed her look a lot. Luckily, I look exactly the same. I fell in love with Santa Monica and decided when I lived in LA I would live there. I now realize that everyone feels that way and that's why it's so freaking expensive.
I had no intention of pitching but one of my friends back in upstate NY (I was still a Sr. in college) gave me $20 and insisted, so I thought, what the heck. I participated in the "pitchfest." You get 5 mins to sell your story to the industry guys (I now realize they are probably pretty low on the food chain to endure such a days work). They screwed up scheduling and booked 2 people for my slot. The woman in charge told me not to worry and, as soon as the industry guys took their 10 min break, she marched me over to the guy I had signed up to pitch to and said, "Can this young lady pitch to you during the break?" He grudgingly agreed, but was soon captivated by my story (or at least by the fact that I was a cute 22-yr-old in a skirt). I realized he had given me 10 mins of undivided attention (I noticed the clock but he didn't) and requested my script. That script was a mess and I'm not surprised they never called me about it, but I still consider that one of my better moments. At least I know I know HOW to pitch for the next time I actually have a worthy script.
Expo 2004 I was a finalist in the CSOpen, a tournament they do every year. That meant I was top 12 out of 600 or so. Very cool. At the time I was staying with a friend from Skidmore named Sasha and she had to work a part for Esquire magazine in the Hills. So there I was at this totally chic Hollywood party, pretending I actually belonged there (because I had nowhere else to go until she was done) when I got the call saying I had made the final cut. People in nice clothes toasted my success. I felt very awesome. 
Sadly, I didn't win any money (you have to be top 3 to do that) but I did make friends with another finalist named Mike, a very funny, very sweet screenwriter. He's still a good friend of mine (although according to his GF he's not supposed to be talking to me...but that's a story for another time).
Expo 2005 I didn't do very well at the CS Open. Actually, I was having kind of a bad year that year and wouldn't even have gone except that my victory the previous year won me free access so I figured, WTF. I was sad that most of my friends from the previous year weren't there. I did meet a guy who was funny and sweet, though, and spent an impulsive night with him in his hotel room. 
By the time Expo 2006 rolled around, I had already moved to LA. I blogged about it earlier here, so don't need to repeat much. Nothing major happened that year. It wasa time to catch up with people from before. I felt cool as this was the first time I was going as a local. I was pissed off that thye moved it from the Convention Center to the Hotels near LAX because it was so inconvenient, but it was otherwise fun. I was a semi-finalist in the CS Open.
I should mention that it's through the people I've met at Expo that I ended up deciding to go to the UCLA Professional Program, and that's how I found one of my writer's groups here. So, thanks guys.
Most people outgrow the Expo but I decided I would go again for year 5 (After all, I went to the same summer camp for 10 summers...I guess I like returning to annual things). I was all geared up to take romantic comedy classes, including one with my teacher Wendall from the professional program. I was beyond excited to see Seth Rogen speak. I spent one day at the Expo, during which my phone battery died so I had no idea what was going on. I went to 3 classes, met a handful of cool people (all guys...why is that?  ), made a lunch date with one of them the next day and promised to meet another at the Seth Rogen presentation.
However, when I came home that night and plugged in my phone and got access to my email, I learned about my brother's death. So that will be the memory of Expo 2007 I guess.
And I probably will still go to Expo 2008...
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| Hello all, I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything and that's because I've been actually busy doing stuff. However, this is a not a personal update... I'm sure you've all noticed that Southern California is on fire. I'm not in any real danger zone but it's surreal to be in the middle of it (look at a map - Los Angeles is literally cornered by 3 major fires and the ocean). The sky is pretty much overcast with smoke. My nose and throat are all swollen and I feel bad for all the people that had to evacuate and watch their houses burn down. Also, New Orleans and Florida are flooded, and apparently some nasty storms have torn through the middle of the country as well. But don't worry, I'm not going to speculate on whether the fires and floods is a sign of the apocalypse or global warming or both. But if you know anyone who lives in a part of the world that's suffering a disaster, take time out of your day to check in with them. It means a lot. And don't forget to live your life well and enjoy what you have - tomorrow it might be gone. | | |
| Check out some of the photos from my trip to the UK...(under photos because I can't seem to post them here)
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