![[title of show]](http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/ShephardSummers/titleofshowsm.jpg)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Home Sweet Home
2600 photos.Yeah. I think I'm insane, too.
2 long weeks, from Paris to Barcelona to London and back to Paris. . . during which time we took 4 plane flights, 1 train-ride on the EuroStar through "The Chunnel" and several subway (Tube & Metro) rides, exploring as much of these cities as B's job would permit. While in Barcelona, we got the news that B had been nominated for an Oscar.
Still collecting my bearings.
So here's one photo I knew would be a favorite when I took it. It's London's Natural History Museum, full of dinosaurs and taxidermy. The building itself is amazing... like something out of an old movie about mystery and intrigue. B had hailed a cab, and I turned around to see the way the light hit the building and it took my breath away. I was able to snap 3 photos before the cab carried us away to see some musical theatre.
Much much more... very soon,
~A very tired and happy Shephard :)
Labels: A favorite photo
posted by Shephard @ 
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Golden Evening
I often down-play things that happen to us, because I know how grateful and lucky we are, but I have to tell you, I was NOT expecting the Golden Globes evening to be anywhere near as overwhelming and amazing.
It all actually began the night before at the Beverly Wilshire (hotel in "Pretty Woman") pre-award party for nominees. The above shot is on the rooftop. I got to meet M*ley there finally, and we hung around a bit, then dashed (we'd been entertaining my in-laws all day long) out to a restaurant for food. Oh yeah, the restaurant had a creek under-glass running through it. Because it's Beverly Hills.
(The Four Seasons)
A limo picked us up promptly at 1pm, to begin what would last 10 full hours!
We arrived at The Four Seasons Beverly Hills for a garden party just for the D*sn*y P*x*r nominees, where I got to meet Jeff Garlin (he's one of our favorite comedic actors...he makes us laugh!). After that, it was back in the limo!
(yep, I wore 'em!)
The limos then all began a processional that also involved a security check (it was like a pit-crew ran up and shook the car down). . .
We arrived at the start of the red carpet.
Another security check point that either didn't register my camera, or they didn't care. But we were warned that NO photos are allowed inside, and cameras would be confiscated. Stay tuned to see how I got around that. :)
See the bleechers? I believe that is a lottery list you get on to sit and watch arrivals. I have friends who've done it for The Oscars.
Ok.. I felt REALLY weird just snapping photos of the celebrities around us, and was very cautious and shy about it... but... some people are just too pretty to pass up. Smile, Mario!
The variety of clothes astounded me. You name it, people wore it.
Every 100 feet or so along the curved Red Carpet path, would be a mini-stage for E!, People, Hollywood Insider, etc...
And on the opposite side... the press... My B and Co made their way along the pressline, being interviewed solidly from 3:15p to just before the awards started at 5pm PST.
I couldn't resist. She was standing so close to us!
Ross the Intern with The Tonight Show! He cracks me up!
The Dresses... most of the celebs arrived in the last 5 minutes, I kid you not.
So these dresses are other attendees mostly.
Green...
Lavender....
Olive....
Blue, White....
Black....
Purple....
Magenta....
You name the color, it was there. :)
And we did pass by some celebs being interviewed... do you watch the Sci-Fi show, True Blood?
I guess he's the star. Later, when watching the TIVO'd evening, I found out the interviewer was asking him all about his nude scenes! Ha! And there I was snapping away at him. lol 
Surely you recognize this Sci-Fi star. :)
And that's Kevin from Ent*urage, nominated that evening. There might be a certain someone else in that shot too. :)
I am rarely star-struck. But when they're all there, all at once, within 2 to 20 feet of you, it gets surreal. And they mingle like crazy and move around. This is the Seating Chart of the evening! I was scanning it in the limo before we got there. Zoom in and see.
So I could NOT take photos once inside. But there's nothing wrong with taking photos off your own darn TV! So here are some shots. Above, that's "the pitt" where most of the film stars were. TV stars were up on the next level, etc. VERY tight quarters. We arrived so late, they wouldn't serve us food! (or any of the celebs down in the pitt with us). So we had champagne. B & Co were being interviewed up til 3 minutes to showtime and we just didn't make the food cutoff time.
So who can you see in the above photo? Leo, Kate, Speilberg, the back of a certain director's head, and maybe MY BIG OLE HEAD! lol
Marissa Tomei... who was pretty much seated next to me during the evening. And this is evidence.
This shot cracks me up... There is B, Marissa, her date/hubby... and T*m Cru*se!
I am of course obscured by the lovely Marissa. But B isn't, is he! Our friends Monty & Mike spotted this shot and texted me right away (during the show, as it was LIVE for East Coasters).
Ralph Fiennes ... and maybe someone who is very close to me... again, I'm right there, darn it, I'm just too short! Susan Sarandan is sitting next to Ralph out of shot, right in front of B.
Kate, Leo... and two tables away... B!
Finally... you can actually see part of me in this one. :) Barely! And you can also see how close I was sitting to Colin Farrell. :) Robert Downey Jr. was just a table away from there, as was Tom Hanks.
The shot most of our friends and family spotted.
The lovely Laura Linney hugging Anne Hathaway... ok, not my best angle, but there I am! During the course of the evening, every commercial break would send celebs rushing from table to table to chat with each other. Brad stood right next to me, accidentally bumped me even. Hayden from Heroes, also stood next to me. Two tables away, Emma Thompson (I complemented her wildly fun clutch... covered in tiffany blue feathers) and Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.
Ok... above... looking in from the right... you see a glimpse of a red shirted guy (a J*nas Brother), I'm right next to him above the blond head. I was returning to our table after break, the 4 glasses of Moet having braced my courage enough to go up and talk to Shirley MacLaine. So that's me in a J*nas Brothers sandwhich (the other two to my left), then Colin Farrell, then Marissa's date, and clapping his hands together, watching me return is B. :)
At the end, I got up and moved toward the exit, and once up on this upper level, it dawned on me, the show is over, I can take photos! A parting shot of the stage above the pitt is all I really got. But what an evening. We saw the casts of The Office, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty... Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Bacon, Neil Patrick Harris. It was an embarrassment of riches.
This is one of the after parties. There were several. But I had been in that MONKEY SUIT for 10 SOLID HOURS. We had both had enough. We stood in line for our complementary limo, between the two kid stars of Slumdog Millionaire and Laura Linney (who I told how much I loved her chartreuse dress... probably my favorite of the whole evening). B also told Tina Fey congrats at an NBC After-Party. But you name the celebrity, and they were all there that night. .. all except George. But you can't have everything, can you? I'll take what I got, and consider myself quite lucky indeed. Surprises? Colin is shorter than I thought, Ralph Fiennes is strikingly handsome in person, Sally Field has NOT aged, Shirley is quite regal, Tom somehow looks younger, and Laura Dern looks as much like Wendy in person as she does on TV/Movies. :) And yes, we did get a "swag bag." These nominee gifts can now only be worth $600 or less, otherwise they are taxable. But the leather travel bags we got alone are each worth $450. Hachi Machi.
I'm tired. But it's time to fly off for the big B*lt Euro Press Junket adventure. Three countries in 13 days. And then I may just bury myself in domestic-life once we return and not go anywhere or do anything for til June! Yeah right, Shephard. I'm grateful for my life.
~Shephard
Labels: Golden Globes
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Resistance is Futile
We interrupt this blog to bring you ME. I didn't think you've had enough ME lately.Hard to resist, aren't I? I'm cute, I'm furry, I like laps and snuggling, and cheese and water faucets and I am always on the wrong side of every door, and then there was the time I unraveled the entire roll of paper towels, okay I've actually done that a bunch of times, but who doesn't love that? Yup, that's vintage ME. In fact, I don't know how they can possibly be almost ready to leave me alone for 2 weeks with 3 other cats and two nice Kitty Ladies who I think I heard Shephard say are going to SIT on me (??) ... Does that sound like what you do to something as cute and lovable as me?? I don't think so either!
They will miss me. I will be extra fluffy when they come back. And so will the paper towels. Muaha-meow!!
We now return you to waiting for Shephard to get his butt in gear and post some more photos.
~Goliver Wendell
Labels: Cats: Golly, Me Again
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Critics Chose
Last night was the Critics' Choice Awards (no cameras allowed, just cell phones) in the historic Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. For us the day began at 2:30pm, getting dressed and having all our offensive tattoos covered with make-up (kidding... ... we left them).
Then, after we were thoroughly trussed up and sufficiently uncomfortable ... our jackets crushing our shoulders and our ties strangling us (at least I found a purple tie... me and Brendan Fraser both wore purple ties!), we piled into a limo to slog through the traffic in quiet comfort the 20+ miles to Santa Monica.
We got out at the red carpet (the crowd was disappointed we weren't Brad Pitt, lol), then walked the carpet while B & C did interviews.
This is my 3rd red carpet, but it always feels strange. Very surreal. Then we were ushered into a cramped room and given drinks.... and sent on a wild goose chase from one end of the suited & sequined crowd to the other trying to find the restrooms (2 glasses of champagne). The restrooms were hidden with draped black fabric. Because I know if it were me, and I were on top of my game, I would want to hide all the unsightly restroom doors and entrances, pack the guests into a very small lobby, give all the guests LOTS of free drinks and then sit back and laugh and laugh. Ah, good times.
Then we hear an announcement, hurry because the show will begin soon!! So we enter the auditorium and find our seats (table numbers) and this is what we find:
Lovely. A wonderful surprise as we were told not to expect much, and to bring power-bars to munch on. The food was absolutely yummy: Grilled Salmon with edamame hummus, baby spinach-wasabi coullis and yuzu-scallion vinaigrette, paired with "escabeche cosmo" (seasonal farmer's veggies in a glass cup... I think the orange stuff in the bottom is the yuzu) 
...and Heineken beer, white or red wine (above), L'orange Martini, Citron Kiwi Fizz (I wish I'd tried this), Grey Goose Vodka... and better still, Tattinger Champagne... which is very nice, not too dry, especially after the second flute-full. All of this catered by Joachim Splichal's Patina. Credit where credit is due, because it really was light, delicious and just enough. 
The Awards began, which involved a lot of cameras snaking through the round tables to get certain shots of celebs. The tables were all pretty close together. I was shocked we were sitting so far to the front right. I expected us to be in the back. But I guess because "we" were nominees, they try to get you close.
Omg, it was so funny... I'm sitting there, and Christian Bale gets up to go back stage to be a presenter, and as he's walking by me, he brushes against my chair, knocking my jacket on the floor. Well, being the gentleman that he is, he stops, turns back, apologizes, and reached down to pick it up, but then Brendan Fraser says, "No, let me get it," and before I know it, they're fighting over my jacket and it's this big kuffuffle right there on the floor....
Oh wait... that didn't happen at all. That's all I got folkes. It was a pretty low key evening.
We were sitting 2 tables from Clint Eastwood, and Brad & Anjolina. Other celebs not far away were Laura Dern (whose sister Wendy is a good friend of mine, wink-wink), Marisa Tomei, Mickey Roarke, Richard Gere, Josh Brolin, Danny Elfman, Sean Penn, Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett, Anne Hathaway, Ben Stiller, Jason Alexander, Amanda Bynes .... Trying to remember who else was there. Oh well. I wish Meryl had been there to accept her award. Would have liked that. Maybe for the Golden Globes. . . which I am told are the most fun of all the award shows, great food and comfort and alcohol and the stars come and sit in your laps and tell you stories. . .
(that's not really going to happen either, I'm just practicing making up entertaining things for when I come back on Monday and have to admit it was another low-key evening). 
Blurry Dessert: Macaroons... chocolate, pistachio, strawberry and passionfruit. The chocolate ones tasted like spongey yummy brownies. 
You had to sit at a certain setting at each table because the cameras had to know precisely where you were for your category. Whenever they went to commercial, stars would run about talking to each other, and then the staff would have to warn them when to sit down... 1 minute... 30 seconds... etc. When my handsome guy got up to visit the Little Director's Room, I no sooner turned back around and about jumped out of my own seat... because the seat filler had filled B's seat with lightning like dexterity. Her name was Hatti, and she was very sweet. 
But not as sweet as my date. :)
The evening went by very quickly. Good thing too, cuz we have to do it again another 2 or 3 more times before the season is over.
~Shephard :)
Labels: Critics Choice
Monday, January 05, 2009
Walk Softly With Your Biases
When I googled "opinion" this is what I found.
And it made me laugh.
I knew going into this whole "movie release" experience that plenty of people wouldn't like B's movie. It's a given. Thankfully, quite literally 95% of all reviews were positive to glowing. I found it very amusing to note how many cynical reviews begrudgingly admitted they liked the movie. So, factoring in what I expected ahead of time... which is that in today's American society, it's "uncool" to like emotionally sentimental and cute stuff, and that it's "cool" to be snarky and cynical and eschew all things sweet and cute.... the movie still fared quite well in reviews.
I wondered... would I be able to keep from getting all bunched up about the negative reviews that I knew would number in the dozens (or more)? Surprisingly, it was pretty much water off a duck's back because people are SO obvious when they stray from objectivity.
Opinions are Contagious
We humans are Walking Opinions by nature. We can't help it. Even those who don't swing their opinions round their heads like rabid porcupines . . . still have opinions. Diverse perspectives make the world a better place. What I find amusing (and occasionally irritating) is that the majority of Americans don't seem to know the difference between "opinion" and "bias." And not only is there a difference, this blindspot is the source of most of the conflict in the world. But that's another topic.
Trivial Examples
I really dislike westerns and war movies. I know going in that I'm probably NOT going to like these movies. But, when someone asks me what I thought, I'm not going to rail on about how bored I was. That's a bias, NOT an accurate appraisal. I know the difference between my biases and my opinions. Most people do not. Most critics and reviewers do not. Most parents do not (think about that one, lol).
If a film stars N*colas C*ge or Le*nard* D*Capri*, I am probably not going to love the film. They remind me of something or someone unpleasant or represent a way of behaving or being that clashes with me in some personal way. It's clearly not them. Bias. Preferences. So if asked my opinion about their films, I am going to remember I'm biased, and say so.
I have never been a rabid fan of anyone... a fan who professes undying, unflagging devotion to any performer at the expense of honesty. So if I go to see a concert or a show or buy a CD, I will be honest about it when asked. I will tell you honestly, that (for example, Oliv*a) her last CD was really really good, best in maybe a decade, but the 3 before that... I didn't like at all. I also thoroughly enjoyed Leo's performance in What's E*ting G*lbert Gr*pe. And I'll fully admit that I love Xanadu for the music, fantasy and costumes even though it was a badly written (and acted) movie. I know where my biases live, and they're under surveillance (though you'll forgive me if they escape once in a while and I say things like, "Ghirardelli chocolate?? Are you kidding me? It takes like sugary wax!").
An Unflattering Admission
I didn't use to like Br*d P*tt and I don't think I had a real reason. Then when he started doing so much for Katr*na victims and when he donated $100k to fight Prop 8, I felt an overwhelming guilt and sympathy toward him. My opinion changed based on his behavior (I still think he's a very specific kind of actor, however). But what was my previous dislike based on?? Some bias. Conversely, I know people who seemed to adore the man until he married Anj*lina and now suddenly dislike him. While I'm not going to wallpaper my home with his image any time soon, I do have a healthy measure of respect for the way he has chosen to move through his world. We all could do worse than to emulate some of his choices.
Hooray for Hollywood
So this experience with B's movie has been about stepping back to examine my own my responses and reactions. I read over 100 reviews (easily) and eventually, I just saw the whole thing as so many people out there, wanting their opinions (and sometimes biases) to be validated, both professionally and personally. It's all just about validation. This time, we landing in the plus column of validation. Next time, maybe not so lucky.
Is it possible to say if a film is actually a good film? Yes.
Reasonable objectivity is not that difficult. There are solid story principles and great performances, and with a little effort, biases can be put into proper perspective. Is that gonna happen? Not often. I bet each of you has seen decent movies that did not do well at the box office or that critics unfairly savaged. B's film, while it cost the company a pretty penny because of dubious management early on, got great reviews and landed squarely as the 19th film to cross the $100 million mark for 2008. Of the 150 American movies listed for 2008, 19 is not so bad! We'll take it!! It's better than 142 any day!!
We're all hoping for the plus column in life, though, aren't we.
It's been a year of reigning in my biases and measuring the things in life that really matter vs. the things that others say should matter (gay marriage, etc). I feel incredibly grateful about going through that and coming out the other side a little more balanced and healthy.
~Shephard :)
Labels: Of Mice and Mondays, Opinion