« August 2005 | Main | October 2005 »
September 27, 2005
*** Dave Knows What I Did Last Thursday
In geekdom, I think you can declare victory and legendary status when someone is more interested in finding out whether or not you've checked in than hang out with Alexis Denisof. Mind you, that was Kit. I got to be his driver and linebacker.
The drive to the theatre was, in itself, an adventure that's covered in another post. Suffice it to say that 90 minutes from LAX to Universal CityWalk in the height of rush hour is practically impossible, but it was done. Kit's heart trouble predates the drive.
Every walkway in CityWalk was covered in red carpet and initially it seemed like it was just a huge crush of people, but once I caught up with Kit--I had dropped him off so that I could take my time finding parking--we wandered toward the theatre. It actually took me a moment to figure out that the carpet had been divided in half. The right side had the photographers and the stars, slowly walking along and making their way to the theatre. The left side was the Fast Pass lane.
As I walked along, I was amazed at how each person was so much better looking in person than they were on screen. For some, it's clearly an issue of makeup, but there's something that's really visceral about having someone there live in front of you, rather than a clever play of light on a screen.
The theatre was actually divided into multiple screens and my ticket was for the theatre where the stars weren't, so that part of the night was very much like the pre-screenings with better sound and special effects.
While walking the red carpet with screaming fans on one side and stars on the other was a thrill, the highlight of the night was the after party. I thought I might be more agog with celebrity euphoria but I wasn't. "We're all just folk, now."
Everyone of them, except Morena Baccarin, seemed incredibly human and wonderful and if it weren't for the mob of fans, I really wish there could have been time to sit back with a glass of wine and just shoot the shit with them. Life, loves, their families that were there... it certainly seemed more interesting than listening to them constantly say thank you to babbling fans telling them how much they love their work... or them.
I mentioned Morena by name and it's not that she was any less human, it's just that I didn't get the chance to interact with her that I would have liked. The vibe I got around her was that she was with her group and not really that approachable. Of course, that could just have been me and my insecurities. Admittedly, I have a minor crush on her.
Stars aside, I met a lot of Browncoats, ones I hadn't met before, and some that I had. It was a little of a reunion of sorts and a lot of fun at the same time. I know them by their real names and have no idea what their screen names are, but I figure Kit could probably list them all. Wouldn't mind seeing the lot again sometime. Like, Friday, maybe.
Drinks were free. Dinner was free. Dessert was free. All of it was pretty tasty, I suspect, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. The other folks seemed to enjoy themselves though. It was cool. The party was pretty much around the Globe Theatre in the Universal Studios park. Wish I'd had someone take a picture of me drinking wine while leaning against the Blues Brothers car.
Would I do the night again? Certainly. Differently? Maybe, but it turned out pretty much perfectly as it was. Alan Tudyk even played linebacker for me at one point to help me escape from fans trying to mob Nathan Fillion. Alan's great, but he'll always be Steve the Pirate to me.
Posted by KinCross at 04:47 PM | Comments (3)
My 90 Minutes as Clive Owen
Only one splash of colour broke the monotony: a fresh-faced boy, with yellow flowers and a sign beckoning for "My Baby," was surrounded by a sea of black and white limo drivers, each with their own enticement to lure away one or another of the bleary-eyed, bedraggled people descending the moving stairs to the baggage claim. For a moment, a wish to be the boy flickered, but there was a job to be done and in times like these, anonymity was key. They all stood in stony silence, barely flinching when an equally fresh-faced My Baby, complete with brunette pigtails, came bounding down and into the arms of her boy. Appropriately, my mark immediately followed her.
Know your subject. The man I sought would be traveling light and his mission was to be at a specific place at a specific time tonight. That's where I come in. I'm the driver. Without a word and barely a tick of the chin to acknowledge him, I turned to lead the way. The trip had already begun with an inauspicious start and Lady Luck had to intervene in Sin City to put the man on the plane. Delayed in the air, it was now up to me to make up the difference. It was 5:40.
The black sedan peeled out of the garage and merged silkenly into the heavy corridors of cars leaving the airport, only to be stymied in the crawling expanse of Sepulveda between the airport and the 105. The curve onto the ramp was a godsend when it came and the six cylinders finally had their chance to stretch. The miles fell by the wayside quickly, aided all the more by the pole position in the far left lane, segregated from the less fortunate. The passenger, accustomed now to the feel of the seat pushing into his back, finally got a sense of what the ride was going to be like as the pressure increased over the soaring ramp to the 110, the lights of the city winking at him in the waning sunlight.
The first real sign of trouble didn't appear until I neared the Coliseum, when it was clear that we were being shadowed. Cars began to crowd in, people in dark glasses encroaching in my space, and soon it would not be bearable to stay the course. My passenger had somewhere to be. I made eye contact with a monobrowed driver--or as much eye contact that can be made when both are wearing dark glasses--lofted a sly grin, and slid off the freeway. I could almost hear the curse as Unibrow was condemned to the next exit.
A quick zig-zag on Adams set the sedan on Figueroa and options began to run out fast. It was crowded and moving slowly, but there was nowhere to go. Silence filled the car, slowly giving way to the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands as the minutes ticked away on the console clock. The numbers on the street signs slowly counted down and all seemed well until the road declined, denying my planned turn onto Temple. Panic flashed behind my shades, unnoticed by the passenger, and without a flinch, the sedan pulled out of of the lane and spun around in the other direction to jog over to Beaudry on Second. Barely tapping the accelerator, the car didn't complain a bit while leaving turbulent lights chasing its tail in yellows and reds and merely leaned into turn when a flurry of hands swung the car around onto Sunset.
With the freeways taboo and a mountain to surmount, with heavy traffic going about in all directions, only creativity and reflexes allowed me to stay one step ahead of the pursuers. Those mysterious folk in the black pyjamas were not going to prevent me from delivering this package. Elysian Park, Stadium Way, Academy, Stadium Way again. The car shot this way and that, reversing the path of a skier slaloming down a hill, except without snow.
Or skis.
The engine thrummed satisfyingly as I barelled down the other side of the hill and swung wide to ride along the 5 while Silver Lake and Glendale splayed out to the right. As I came off of Stadium Way and onto Riverside, they and the clock caught up to me and the race was on. The sedan shot through Riverside and hit the verge of a drift while cornering hard to get onto the 2, barely getting out in front of a silver BMW intent on cutting off that route.
Momentarily shaken, the clan wouldn't stop and picked me up again just as I was swerving off to fight onto the 134. Though the HOV lane beckoned, the chasers had learned and were swinging lane to lane to keep it out of reach. The elaborate ballet between the Hondas and Toyotas and Fords danced from aria to aria until the fat Escalade sang and a clever feint into the carpool allowed me to slip off at Cahuenga. Before they realised where I had gone, I made sure to drop down to Lankershim and then back onto Cahuenga along the 101. As I turned onto Universal Studios Drive, I could see them coming from the opposite direction, but it was too late.
One screaming, pedal-to-the-metal launch over the highway and all they could do was watch in agony as the sedan slid up to the curb and dropped the passenger off at the red carpet at exatcly 7:10.
Okay, so it's a little embellished, but the route is true and so were the start and stop times. The ninjas weren't real. You would never see real ninjas coming.
Actually, Kit describe the ride less like the BMW Films and more like "The Transporter with a driver that wasn't as cool."
Posted by KinCross at 04:46 PM | Comments (2)
September 22, 2005
Serenity Fan Fest
Universal is having a Serenity Fan Fest this Saturday from 2-4 p.m. I can't go; I'll be at my company's annual picnic. For all the Browncoats in the area though, it might be something to go to.
In other news, I'm looking for a guest for the company picnic this Saturday. It's at Disneyland and I've got an extra ticket. Let me know if you'd like to go.
And lastly, tonight, I'm going to be testing the waters with traffic patterns in LA as I make a mad dash to the airport to pick up Kit, and then try to make the Kessel Run from LAX to Universal CityWalk in under 90 minutes in the middle of rush hour traffic. Sounds like a Herculean feat, if Hercules had a black sedan with SERNITY plates, but it's all for a good cause...
We're going to the red carpet premiere of Serenity. "Going" as in on the red carpet, not "hanging off the ropes at." Too bad we can't bring cameras.
Posted by KinCross at 11:19 AM | Comments (3)
September 18, 2005
What makes your day?
Have you ever had a day that was great?
How about a day that was fanastic?
Absolutely amazing?
How about one that just couldn't get any better?
Mine went better.
Today (technically, yesterday) my sister, Sheree Ng, married Matthew Nikkanen, and though I haven't known Matt long, they are an absolutely phenomenal couple together.
Only the best for my little sis.
More to follow...
Posted by KinCross at 12:13 AM | Comments (1)
September 01, 2005
Peau de porc, part deux
Here's the roster I'm starting with in my redraft league from my old workplace:
Brees, Drew QB SDC
Collins, Kerry QB OAK
Harrington, Joey QB DET
Jones, Kevin RB DET
Shipp, Marcel RB ARI
Tomlinson, Ladainian RB SDC
Williams, Carnell RB TBB
Bennett, Drew WR TEN
Burress, Plaxico WR NYG
Driver, Donald WR GBP
Engram, Bobby WR SEA
Galloway, Joey WR TBB
Givens, David WR NEP
Smith, Rod WR DEN
Gonzalez, Tony TE KCC
Miller, Heath TE PIT
Elam, Jason PK DEN
Nugent, Mike PK NYJ
Dolphins DEF MIA
Jaguars DEF JAC
As Rich said in his assessment of the league, I'm pretty much set for QB, RB, and TE. I'd go so far as to say I don't need to worry about PK either, but DEF and WR are worrying me. I don't have any solid standouts in WR and it's all going to be up in the air for a bit.
Posted by KinCross at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)