Jon Favreau and Movie Monsters Panel

The Academy of Arts and Sciences Science and Technology Council presented their Monster Movie panel just in time for October 31st. I've loved some of these movies since childhood(Planet of The Apes anyone?) so I couldn't wait to attend this event. I got there early and got a seat up front as they flashed on-screen black and white stills of Bella Lugosi, Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff in their iconic roles of Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, Frankenstein and The Mummy, respectively. To my surprise and delight, they also had a full Iron Man suit standing next to a 10 foot golden Oscar statue on the right of the stage. Wow! So of course I relocated my seat to that side to sit right in front of it.

I eventually calmed myself and settled down in my new seat as the lights went down. They introduced the panel moderator Shane Mahan but another guy walked onto the stage from behind the curtains. The guy sits in the moderator's chair then reaches up and takes off his face(literally). Turns out that it was Mahan after all but he was wearing a Tony Stark/Robert Downey mask that they made for the stunt men to wear on Iron Man and so he was unrecognizable as himself. Mahan is too much fun at these Academy panels. Last time he brought in an actual Iron Man metal head and allowed us to try it on.

Mahan quickly got down to business and we watched shorts from great monster/horror movies from the original King Kong and Bride of Frankenstein from the 1930's, through Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde in the '50s, An American Werewolf in London, Aliens and Jurassic Park from the 80's and '90s and up to the present 3D and CG laden fare like Avatar. Mahan explained some of the techniques we were seeing after he introduced the appropriate panelist for each clip. The panel included animatronic experts, visual and make-up artists, producers, directors and actors and they discussed the various effects (stop motion, go motion, puppetering, make-up and prosthetics, sculpting, 3D and CG etc.) that were used to create the various monsters, robots, dinosaurs and aliens and how long it took to accomplish it. For example, there were lots of laughs when actor, David Naughton, described his many hours in make-up and his acting method when developing the transformation sequences for American Werewolf.

All the guests were great but my fav was Jon Favreau of Iron Man fame. They introduced Favreau and he stood up from his seat which was just across the aisle from me. He bounded on stage to thunderous applause (his birthday was on 10/19 so he's due). He brought clips from Zathura which he joked that no one saw and of course Iron Man clips. Shane worked on both Zathura and the IM films with Favreau so it was very nice to hear all the details of the process.

Afterwards I got a pic of my two metal men, Iron Man and Oscar, just before security told me not to (lol). Then I got a chance to meet Jon Favreau and to pump him for some more info on Cowboys and Aliens (they're still editing). I did get a picture of him(sort of) and all the shaky video you can handle(lol). I shook his hand, too and I'm never washing it again :D

God is amazing!

Catch Me Bird Presents Iron

I won free tickets from the Campus Circle website to Catch Me Bird's performance of Iron at the Ford Amphitheater on August 13, 2010. I was really eager to attend this performance as the ads for it looked fascinating.

Catch Me Bird is the dance ensemble brain-child of dancers, C. Derrick Jones and wife Nehara Kavel, and they do a dance style that is a combination of lyrical dance on stage as well as aerial dance and acrobatics done in large hoops or on rope harnesses as the dancers are suspended high in the air. The night's performance is titled Iron, and it follows the reflections of the couple as they prepare to receive their guest at home for their 6th wedding anniversary, also known as the iron anniversary (think one part musical one part couples counseling-lol).

The event started with music from a 3 piece band and guests eating picnic dinners on the theater's beautiful grounds. Then we saw a pre-show performance where dancers, Rachel Lincoln and Mark Stuver, danced on air and repelled down and up the outer wall of the theater while singer Sara Stranovsky played a small yuke and sang a love song. What was fun was that Sara was harnessed also and she would gently tapped her feet on the walls in beat to the music as she was hoisted in the air just slightly below the dancers. Two young female apprentice dancers also danced and repelled down the water fountain within the theater grounds.

We were then ushered inside for the performance which began with the dance couple dressed in black leotards wrapped with lights that made them look like constellations in a futuristic interpretive piece aptly named Constellations. Then we see the couple on stage in bed as they do live close-up confessionals to a video camera as the other spouse sleeps. Especially cute was when Jones expressed hope that he would get some “cuddles plus plus” that night. The rest of the dance numbers are interspersed between them getting ready for the anniversary dinner including the presentation of their bad gifts to each other. All the gifts were iron-themed and some way too funny in a "women are from Venus, men are from Mar" sort of way.

My favorite moments were when Jones dances with abandon while singer and composer, Ry Welch, raps a bluesy rap song called “3 Hours 'Til Wifey Gets Up”. This was a real catchy tune and I was a bit surprise that a white guy in a nice white suit could rap as well as he did(lol). Another is when the couple prepares dinner but uses the pots and pans as battle armor until they learn to let go and trust each other. The couple had many spirited discussions as they danced including about current events (Obama in the White House, oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Prop 8 etc.) as they prepared the night's meal. Soon the guests, who are also dance couples, arrive. The first is Crystal and David Zibalese, married a week before Jones and Nehara and then arrives Mark and Rachel, the couple from the pre-show who are about to tie the knot. Both of these couples dance to their own love stories accompanied by the live band including 21 year old Joseph Quintilla on Sax. I sat next to Joe's proud mom and family so I have to give him a big shout out for his first gig since graduating from college with his music degree. Yeah, Joseph!

Soon the dancer couples sequester in male versus female battalions and do video confessionals while griping about their spouses. What was funny was that the women did so into kitchen pots and the men in to a bathroom toilet, respectively (I'm serious). During intermission, couples from the audience performed in a mock dance marathon with Ry Welch doing an 1950's American Bandstand type interview with select couples. I felt this part was a bit weak as the dancers were not professional dancers or actors. I felt this may have worked with amateurs if they were dressed in 50's garb (bobbi soxers, saddle shoes, A-line skirts), if nothing else.

The last performance of the night was after the couple discussed the pros and cons of having children then they climbed into large spinning metal hoops and they did a sensual dance, all in silhouette. Apparently the baby is a go as the next install-ment of Catch Me Bird is called "Conception".

After The Show:
I was lucky to have stood next to Jones' family during the pre-show (his mom was too thrilled) then I had a chance to meet Jones' sister after the show and to speak with her a bit. Later, I met Mark and Rachel who were very, very nice. I told them both how I wish that I could fly like they did. Mark explained the harness and pulley system to me and promised to give me my first "easy" lesson. Mark was also nice enough to introduce me to the gifted Mr. Jones himself. Jones was all smiles and energy and he took my compliments in stride. His wife Nehara was twirling around happily nearby, eyes sparkling as she chatted with a long line of friends and admirers. She wore a beautiful cranberry colored dress with a jeweled empire waist and looked quite the free spirit.

My Review: Loved it! Loved it!

This performance was awe-inspiring and freeing in a way that is hard to explain if one has not witnessed it. Some discussion of politics did sneak in but, as this is this couples story set to music and dance, it seemed perfectly understandable. With Jones' and Kavel's creativity and skill, it would be mind-blowing if Catch Me Bird ever does a gospel inspired performance with accompanied music and Bible scriptures. They never discussed religion per say, though Kavel is Jewish by heritage. From the show they seem more new-age in their style so I don't know how likely this is. I did read that Jones was part of the dance ensemble that performed "Creation" at the Crystal Cathedral years ago so there might be a slim chance for it.

IMHO Rating: See it! See it! A "must see" especially for couples!

When Worlds Collide!

On August 6, 2009, I attended When Worlds Collide: The Science of Movies, an Academy of Motion Pictures event in the Samuel Goldwyn building on Wilshire. The event was sponsored by the Academy's Science and Technology Council and it was hosted by Adam Weiner, a high school physics teacher and author. The event included a panel of stunt and special effects experts as they reviewed clips of their respected movies. Mr. Weiner's goal is to see if what we see happening in the movies can happen in real life (i.e. within the realm of science). This is the approach he takes to get his restless teenage students to pay attention in class and maybe eventually to love science.

He reviewed the science and physics of about 20 movies and he even did physics calculation as the audience laughed or groaned playfully. Here's some of what he discussed.

Action Movies:
(1) Speed: How fast would the bus have to be going to jump over the 50 feet gap in the freeway?
or How does a bomb look when it explodes?

John Frazier, the special effects supervisor explained about the different ramps they used to propel the bus upwards with enough velocity (plus a bit of CGI magic) to make the bus jump look real. He also discussed as well the explosives he used to make the explosions and fires look good on film. Mr. Frazier has also worked on (Twister, Armageddon, Spider-man 1 & 2 (for which he received a Best Oscar), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Hancock and Transformers, just to name a few. The guy knows his stuff and he was very engaging to listen to. He especially lauded Keanu Reeves for doing a lot of his own stunts in Speed and the audience gave Mr. Reeves a big ovation even though he wasn't present. I wholeheartedly agreed with them as Speed is on the top of my list of all time favorite action flicks.

(2) Can motorcyclist in XXX do a vertical jump of 20 feet from a standing start?

John Frazier regaled us with a story of how a helicopter and a stunt motorcyclist collided in the air by accident after a miscue during a practice jump on the set of this movie. He said that the helicopter blades were chopping against the stunt man's helmet and the helicopter couldn't maneuver away from him. Gravity kicked in and the cycle plunged back to the ground but the guy never knew what hit him! They thought that he was a goner but thankfully, the stunt man lived to tell about it. After the event was over, I spoke to Mr. Frazier about on film set health and safety issues from a medical stand point. He re-assured me that they do their best to be very careful and that the stunt and effects crew are professionals but I know that they must also pray a whole lot.

Super-hero Movies:
(3) In Spider-man: Can Spidey's weight really be supported by a thin spidery web? Did they depict the Sandman's shape-shifting sand grain body well?
(4) Could the cable wire from Batman's motorcycle in Dark Knight really flip an 8 ton wheel semi truck?
(5) Iron Man: Could Iron Man really fly in a heavy armour suit and how much fuel would he need to carry with him to accomplish this?

I actually got to hold and examine one of the Iron Man masks that Shane Mahan, the sculptor and designer had brought with him. I was too scared to put it on b/c it might get stuck and I'd have to walk around looking like "The Man(Woman) in the Iron Mask" (lol). Mr. Mahan worked on the physical suits for Iron Man but he has worked on special effects on Aliens, Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, Galaxy Quest, and Indiana Jones: Crystal Skull and most recently on GI Joe: Rise of Cobra and the upcoming Iron Man 2. See Iron Man's mask at http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/26/page-2-43/

(6) Hulk: Could a human really survive gamma radiation without getting cancer or dying?

The Science of Space:
(7) Armageddon: can noise from drilling into the meteor be heard in space? (Hint; space is a vacuum)
(8) Did Stanley Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey portray space accurately?
(9) Apollo 13: Did the film depict the weightlessness of space correctly and what camera tricks did they use to achieve it?

Todd Hallowell, exec. producer and 2nd unit director and Robert Legato, a visual effects artist on Apollo 13, discussed how the weightlessness of space was simulated. (Hint: Does the name "vomit Comet" ring a bell?) Some scenes were shot upside down or on a see-saw. Mr. Legato was nominated for an Oscar for his work on this film.

Historic Wrecks:
(10) Titanic: Why did it sink?

Mr. Legato also worked on the movie Titanic, for which he won a best visual effects Oscar in 1997. Adam Weiner and Legato discussed the unsinkability of the real Titanic.

Other panelist were:

(1) Scott Stokdyk, a visual and digital effects artist with credits on films like The Fifth Element, Stuart Little, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, and Spider-Man 1 and 2 (for which he won an Oscar) Spider-Man 3 and G-Force which is in theatres now.

(2) Matthew Sweeny, a special effects expert who worked on movies like The Goonies, Lethal Weapon 3&4, The Fast and the Furious (original) and its sequel FF: Tokyo Drift, The Time Machine and Role Models.

(3) Dan Bradley is a stunt coordinator and second unit director who has worked on Bill and Ted Excellent Adventure, Independence Day, Three Kings, Spider-Man 2&3, Superman Returns, The Bourne Ultimatum, and help reboot James Bond in the Quantum of Solace and Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

It was a good night because I love it when my science geek side and my movie geek side can meet! I was even doing some of the physics calculations in my head as we looked at the clips. I have one big problem though. I like my movies with lots of action and realistic science but I'm feeling a little guilty as a health professional, knowing how dangerous these movie stunts are. I'm going to start praying for the safety of the stunt and effects professionals especially during the summer blockbuster movie season chock full of films filled with dangerous stunts and explosions.


For more on the event go to the Academy's website at
www.oscars.org/events-exhibitions/events/2009/worldscollide.html

Ceck out Adam Weiner's book Don't Try this At Home: The Physics of Hollywood Movies at
www.amazon.com/Dont-Try-This-Home-Hollywood/dp/1419594060#

Movie Premieres

November 2007
I got to attend the Lions to Lambs premiere at the Arclight Theater on November 4th, 2007. The tickets were on sale for $75 and I felt it was worth it to see some screen legends. The movie stars Robert Redford, Merryl Streep, Tom Cruise and Derek Luke and flashbulbs flashed as they walked the red carpet. It was a very nice affair and every one was dressed to impress. It was very nice to be an insider and I had a very good seat. They introduced the stars before the film and they all came on stage. Meryl Streep has a lovely way about her, Robert Redford looks very stately and Tom Cruise was very energetic (jumped on stage)... he is a very petite man and I think this has affected him.

The after party is at Social on Sunset Blvd. I hang out with Derek Luke's mom and brother but I don't see any of the other stars from the movie. The food is exceptional and they have an intimate dance floor and played good club music.

April 2008
I want to attend The Street Kings movie premiere scheduled for Thursday April 3rd at Graumann's Chinese Theater but I want to attend for free. The movie stars Oscar Award winner Keanu Reeves, Oscar-winner Forrest Whitaker, Cedric the Entertainer, Hugh Laurie(from the TV show House), Chris Evans and the rapper, Common. The movie looks a bit violent but I think I'll still enjoy it. I cold call Fox Searchlight studios for free premiere tickets and they refer me to Power 106 FM radio station in Burbank. I dropped by the station and was able to get 2 tickets and boy was I happy. There is an after-party also but I don't have any info on how to get those tickets. They recommend that you come before 5:00 p.m. to see the stars arrive and to get seated early. I don't know what the crowd will be like so I decide to be there early.

I went to Hollywood Blvd early for the movie premiere but there are tons of people there and more arriving every hour. I had a chair to sit in but but my back was still hurting terribly. I got concerned that I wouldn't get into the theater but not only did I get to see the red carpet arrivals of top stars, I got into the theater, and got the best seat in the house. I was seated in the group with the studio people behind Keanu Reeves. Even more amazing is that before the movie started he kept walking around about two feet from me.

After the premiere, I was leaving and I was just happy that I believed God and that I had had another real Hollywood insider moment. Then I met 2 female tourist and they asked me about the premiere and I answered them quite happily. As I was leaving they handed me an entry pass to the movie's after-party. These after-party tickets were impossible to get and I nearly had a Hallelujah moment! They said that I was so nice to them and as they were not dressed for the premiere that they would rather that I took it. I accepted the ticket and left them thinking "Lord, your angels are so-o-o nice!"

I walked the few blocks to the party which was at Elements night club in the "happening" part of L.A.'s club scene. I changed into my cute shoes and stepped out with confidence. As I walked up to the entrance, many people were outside being prevented from entering by the bouncers and to the surprise of many, with my pass, I walked right in. Inside was filled with many industry people munching on h'dourves. Unfortunately some of the young women there wore practically no clothing on were plastic looking. It was apparent that these women wanted to be "discovered" or to get with someone rich and famous from the movie industry... the poor dears.

The food was a bit pretentious but the music was good so I just walked around for a while enjoying being out on the town for the first time in months. I met Chris Evans and complimented him on his acting in the movie. He was so nice and down-to-earth and thanked me for my compliment. I went to the outside patio for fresh air but it was filled with tobacco smoke. After I caught my breath, I turned around and went back inside fearful that my asthma might kick up. I waited half an hour until the smoke cleared and went back to the patio. I had my inhaler but I resisted pulling it out of my bag. Miraculously, all the smoke had cleared and I was able to breathe easily.

The other actors were on the patio including .... Harris (from Pirates of the Caribbean). She is very thin and I didn't see her eat a thing the whole time. I walked around some more and just observed everything including the large crowd that swarmed around Mr. Reeves. During my wait in the line earlier, I had handed out my extra premiere tickets to a few people. One women, who claimed to be his biggest fan, was so happy to get a ticket that she hyper-ventilated and acted near hysterical. I immediately regretted giving her a ticket and I made her promise not get within 20 feet of the star. Now people were literally posturing themselves to be next to him, to take a picture, to touch him or talk to him. Don't worry though... he had two big body guards around him all night. He was very nice to these fans but he looked a bit uncomfortable with all the attention. Mostly he talked to friends and studio people.

I get ready to leave but a group of crazy paparazzi and autograph seekers are at the front. I have to push my way through them and I wait on the corner for my cab. Large black stretch limos pull up and catering trucks block my view and I don't see my cab when it comes. I had to call a cab two more times and wait outside for nearly another hour with the crazy paparazzi. The stars pull a fast one and send a decoy limo out front while they exit out a back entrance. I finally get in my cab and head to my sane, quiet and happy home. I'm very thankful that I experienced the premiere but I'm very glad that I'm not a star or a famous person.

Summer 2008

June 2008
I attended the Speed Racer premiere at the Nokia Theater in June. I didn't have a ticket but I went any way and asked people for extras. There were a lots of children there from schools and summer programs and I was able to get an extra ticket. While I was waiting to get in Joel Silver (producer for The Matrix) walks right up... seems I'm standing next to his former nanny's husband.

I get in and they are handing out every tooth-rotting treat possible. My seat is up on the top balcony level and my back hurts just thinking how I will get up there. I ask for them to change my seat and they put me in the lowest level to the left of the stage. The movie starts and the kids really enjoy it but I didn't enjoy it as much. The movie ends and the theater quickly empties out except for me and a small crowd to my right. I need a moment for sensation to return to my leg then they usher me out with the crowd. I realize the crowd is full of production people who worked on the movie. As we get out near the elevators, I realize the crowd includes the movie's directors, Andy and Larry Wachoski, famed writers/directors of The Matrix. Soon I am caught up in the crush of the crowd and pinned up next to Andy Wachoski's large frame (he must easily be 6'4" and 250 lbs.). I am unable to move but I am extremely happy as The Matrix is my all time favorite movie and I think these guys are geniuses

July 2008
I was curb-side for the Iron Man premiere and saw very one from Jack Black, Ben Stiller (co-stars Tropic Thunder), Vince Vaughn (6'6" pal of Jon Favreau), John Voight and Stan Lee (of Marvel Comics fame) as well as the stars from the movie: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwenth Paltrow and the director, Jon Favreau (he's lost a lot of weight). They had 12 Audi sports car driving in laps around the block each with "iron man" license plates and the crowd was pumped. I can not wait to see this movie!