Fame Postponed :(

Sorry family and friends, but your connection to a movie star will have to be through someone else for now. Today, I woke up excited to go to the set of the new Hilary Swank/Minnie Driver movie, Betty Anne Waters, being filmed on campus here at U of M over spring break. We were told to dress like we were law students from the 90s, show up at our appointed time, and bring a book and extra set of clothes to choose from. I did all those things, even arriving a bit early, and was soon ushered into the "holding room."

Inside, we signed photo releases, were told that they'd decided to go for a more casual look than they originally thought so we should change if we could (which I couldn't), and waited about an hour waiting for the rest of the people to show up. Then, we were ushered into another room with fewer seats, many of which were already taken up by people who had got there earlier, and were told that we should relax because they weren't going to start shooting again for another hour. The 250ish of us ransacked the food they provided and waited it out on both seats and floor. Eventually, the big people came back to get the rest of earlier people, and we waited some more. From time to time, they would shout out "ROLLING" and we had to quickly silent ourselves. It was actually kind of funny and cool to see so many people stop talking so fast for several minutes and then pick it back up as soon as they called "CUT!" Those people came back, and again, we waited. 30 or so more people were chosen to be in the next scene, and the rest of us waited. You may or may not have noticed, but waiting was a definite theme of the day. We were told filming would stop at 7 so by the time 6:30 rolled around and I hadn't been called yet, I became a bit nervous and upset. I had been there for 4 1/2 hours by that time, and couldn't believe I'd waisted all that time and hadn't even done anything.

Finally, the big people came in and announced the last scene of the day would be filmed with all of the remaining people. We lined up, crossed the hall, and were placed into groups of 1s, 2, 3s,... of students in a classroom. Unfortunately, I ended up near the back on the aisle. The last people in the room were picked as "back action" people that started out standing and would walk to their seats after filming started. We practiced it a few times, and then Minnie Driver and Hilary Swank came in to practice their parts real quick. We ran through that a few more times, they decided to change it up, we did that a few more times, and we finally wrapped around 8:30. Both women seemed nice and willing to joke around with us little people, plus Driver's was just plain excellent! They raffled off signed movies and itunes stuff, but I didn't get anything :(

Overall, I think they could learn a little about efficiency with extras, but I can't say I'm upset I went. I would have regretted it way more had I not. There's more filming tomorrow morning, and I'm trying to decide right now if I should crash and try to get more time on screen or just let it go... Who knows, I just might end up in the movie, but I'd say there's only a slight chance. Hopefully, I'll get another chance some other time!

Slumdog Sweeps the Oscars!

You may or may not remember one of my previous blogs praising the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Well, since its mini-release in just a few theaters months ago, it has grown immensely to nearly all theaters and you hear about it everywhere! The Academy Awards just finished up, and Slumdog won an amazing 8 Oscars out of 9 nominations, including the major Best Picture award! Crazy good stuff! I'm gonna say it again, if you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should! It's an amazingly great surprise that I'll still rave about!

Also, I thought it was awesome how Heath Ledger won the award for Best Supporting Actor. He totally deserved it! Yay for Slumdog and Heath!

Movie Stardom on the Horizon!

I just heard some extremely fun news! I'm going to be in a movie! Thank goodness Michigan started this new "make movies cheaper here" thing! Now we have all sorts of movies being filmed around the area!

The newest one is called Betty Anne Waters starring Hillary Swank. It's supposed to be about a working mother who goes back to school to get a law degree and represent her brother who has been charged with murder. I don't know if the movie is going to say it's based in Michigan, but they're filming for several days here on campus at U of M over spring break. We recieved emails asking for extras, and I just heard back that they want me to come in on Monday and Tuesday! Yes, I'll totally be in the background and possibly even cut from the movie altogether, but it'll still be a lot of fun! They said there'll be raffles and games to keep us occupied during the off-times and I'm sure I'll bring a book or two along...

So, yay! New adventures! Watch for me on the big screen...!

Shopaholic's a Hit!

I just got back from seeing "Confessions of a Shopaholic" that opened today! You may recognize the name since it started as a bestselling book like most movies. I read the first book(there's five I believe) and actually didn't like it! I couldn't wrap my head around the problems facing the main character, Rebecca Bloomwood- she's completely addicted to shopping, to the point that she's majorly in debt and running away from debtors. However, when I saw who would be playing Becky- Isla Fisher- I could suddenly imagine it all! She's perfect for the role and totally does it justice! Ironically, she ends up getting a job at a financial magazine and becomes known for her ability to relate to the average woman and explain difficult financial matters. Of course, there's the studly boss added into the mix! There are a few creepy moving mannequins, but the outrageous dancing and cuteness of Fisher block that out. We were actually afraid that all the funny parts had been shown in previews, but there was plenty more! If you haven't read the book, don't worry! It doesn't seem to make a difference one way or the other. In fact, it seems that they've melded the first two books together to make the movie, or so my sister thinks.



All in all, it's a total chick flick based on fashion and romance (though I was laughing out loud at certain parts that I can't believe some guys wouldn't enjoy) that I loved! I'd give it 4 1/2 stars (half a star being taken away due to the lack in guy appeal...)!

Sad and Soaking

I realize I've talked about weather a lot lately, but that's a big part of living in Michigan, and I have even more to add. Yep, we had another near 60 degree day, though not nearly as beautiful as yesterday since it's been raining all day. We're actually under a flood warning and I'm not surprised. As I was walking back from class today, I was juggling my umbrella and bag while trying to keep my pants off the ground so they wouldn't get wet, when I got splashed, not once, but twice by drive-bys! Now, when I'm driving and it's raining, I tend to drive around the giant puddles on the side of the road if I can help it. Apparently not all the mean Ann Arbor drivers feel the same way! The first time it happened, I was waiting to cross a street and standing a safe distance back, or so I thought, when this van came flying by and nearly got my in the face! The rest of me wasn't so lucky and my efforts to pull my pants off the ground were totally ruined. The second splash came a few hundred feet from my apartment as I walked on the sidewalk. It wasn't as big a splash, but it came from behind me so I never saw it coming! Now, I was soaking on both sides. At that point, all I could do was shake my head and laugh at my wonderful luck. I might as well have been sitting front row at a Shamu show! Oh, and one last final tidbit, did I mention that even though it reached 60 degrees today, we're expecting snow tonight? Yeah, wonderful...

Going Down Chris Brown

Anyone hear about the recent outrageous actions of our "Forever" Chris Brown? Apparently, after he left a party with his girlfriend, Rihanna, they got into a fight and then proceeded to beat, bite, strangle, and leave her unconcious! The police arrived after getting calls about a screaming woman, and promptly drove her to the hospital. Oh, and did I mention this is just weeks before her birthday?! What an jerk! And an idiot! He's just 19, not all that huge in the music business, and he pulls a stunt like this! Now, he's getting pulled from a lot of ad campaigns, including "got milk", doublemint, and the NBA because no one wants to be associated with him. NOT that what he did would be in any way ok even if nothing else changed, but still! Crazy boy. I was never really in to him before, and now I'll definitely be picking Rihanna over him! Though, I have to wonder, will he be able to pull out of this??

more change

Michigan has now risen to 60 degrees, but we still have snow on the ground! Actually, my roommate's school that she student teaches at is under a flood warning for tomorrow from all the semi-melted snow. It's been wonderful to strip off the huge winter jackets and walk in the sun, and in February no less! I wonder how long it'll take for the cold and snow to return...

Mysterious Michigan

One of the things I like best about living in Michigan is how we get every single season, and in great force! We get cool, rainy, and colorful springs; hot, sweaty, and humid summers; warm to cool beautiful autumns; and of course, cold, snowy and icy winters! However, part of the mystery of Michigan is that day to day you rarely know for sure what weather you'll see. One day it'll be freezing cold and snowing, and the next it'll be warm and sunny. Such an occurrence happened just today! Yesterday, I had to cover my face and hands and run back from class to get out of the biting cold, and then today, we've jumped 30 degrees and it feels warm and toasty! Yes, it's still only hovering around 4o degrees, but it feels like I could go out with just a jacket and be fine!

The other part of the mystery has to do with some of the Michiganders themselves. The other day, while it was still completely cold and snowing, I saw a few people walking around in shorts! I had five layers on top, two on the bottom, with every possible part of me covered up, when I see these crazies strolling towards an open field. I finally start to put the pieces together- they were going to go play football in the foot and a half of snow while wearing long sleeve ts and shorts! (No, the picture isn't of the same people, but just so you can picture it in your mind...) You might get warm from running around, but they just took it to another level of stupid. I don't understand them! It's all part of the mystery, I guess!

Taken

Here's another movie review for you, but unfortunately it's not as "glowing" as the past few I've given. Yesterday, I got the chance to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law and see the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson. The story's about a government "preventer" who retires to make up for lost time with his daughter. On a trip with a friend, the daughter gets kidnapped and sold into the slave trade, causing Neeson to bring out his old bag of tricks from his spy days to get her back within the limited time span. Yeah, Liam Neeson with his accent is pretty cool, and the fighting scenes are exciting, but we all agreed the Bourne movies were much better. There just wasn't much to the movie - 80% of the movie was filled with the fighting, and that fighting just wasn't as good as Bourne.

I'd give the movie *** 3 stars. It's good, but I'd wait to see it til it comes out on video rather than seeing it in the theater.