Map of LA

So, one of our projects in class is to create a map of L.A. It's supposed to be personal to us and as with most things school-related, I struggled with an idea until I eventually realized my map came back to (or from) television. For so long Los Angeles has been a collection of images on my television screen, the studios where the shows are made and the famous landmarks that are forever associated with L.A. So the first part of my map is a selection of those images that have influenced my own vision of the city. Most of these are from Alias, a show which really makes use out of the city and the fact that they filmed in L.A. The show ran for 5 years from 2001-2006 and really cemented my ideas of Los Angeles and my desire to move here, not just for the industry, but for the city.

As I have been exploring the city, I find that it's very much mediated for me through, well, media. I look for those spots that have been featured in my favorite shows, keep a close eye out for celebrities and all together view the city very much through my television screen, even when driving in my car. My windshield then becomes my screen to the world, constantly searching for familiar images or people.

When I started to do the screen-captures, I saw a pattern in the ones I was picking, famous landmarks some of which I haven't bothered to take pictures of yet (like the Hollywood sign), skylines, and one of those two with actors from the show in them. This is very reminiscent of the pictures I myself have been taking of the city, while few and far between, they have echoes of these same images. So below is a sampling of Los Angeles, mediated through the lens of my camera or the television screen.

THE CITY:

Here's the skyline during different parts of the day from Alias:

I find I am constantly drawn to the horizon, the mountains encircling the city seem not like they are crowding it, but instead, protecting it. I find that seeing the city spread out in front of me doesn't draw displeasure as it does for most people, but calmness, a feeling that I'm not alone. And at night, with all the lights, how can it not be mesmerizing?

These are some pictures I took, the first are from the very first day I moved here, the other is more recent, and from off the top of my apartment building.

The pictures are facing in roughly the same direction as the one's from TV, but there are millions of different vantage points where the city is laid out in front, and each one offers a unique perspective as you both overlook and are overtaken by the city that surrounds you. Because no matter where you are, it seems, there is always city surrounding you, trying to find the edge of Los Angeles is like trying to find edge of the world.

The picture from my apartment have a different angle on the Downtown buildings.

The other major "cityscape" that I was drawn to was the beach, which is no surprise considering I love the beach and the water. Alias and most of the other shows focus on the land near the beach, whereas my pictures were mainly of the water.

Here's Alias view of Santa Monica:

The Ferris Wheel on the pier:Here are two of my pictures from our trip to the beach in the first few weeks:

One of the things that I've always loved about LA and that's evident in these pictures, is how wide the beach is. There is so much sand between the city's and the ocean's edge, it's a kind of no-man's land where I do some of my best thinking and relaxing. The more space, the more expansive my thoughts can be.

THE LANDMARKS:

I realized that I don't have any pictures of the landmarks of LA, except for a lucky shot of the LAX sign at the airport (and not even the big one), and that the TV shows I watch really stay away from these landmarks as well, with the exceptions of the Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel (seen above) and the Griffith Observatory, which has been a favorite spot to film ever sinceRebel Without a Cause "put it on the map." As I haven't been to the Observatory yet, the only pictures I have are two screen captures from Alias, one at the Observatory and the other with it in the background.

I find I have the desire and need to take pictures from my car, especially of the Hollywood sign, but like so many things in this city, I have to keep moving for one reason or another, and so another opportunity passes me by. That was an especially hard pill to swallow when one day I was driving in the Hills and I turned the corner and the Hollywood sign filled my windshield. It was a breathtaking sight, even if the sign was a former advertisement.

THE PEOPLE:

One thing I'm always asked is if I have seen any famous people yet, and while I have, it too has been in a very mediated environment. The SAG Awards encounters (detailed in the below blog post) were mediated to an extent, the stars themselves made the decision to join in or not, and the other moment of star encounters that I have had, is at Paley Fest for the Freaks and Geeks reunion. This was an especially great night because I very much love the show (even if they don't use L.A. the way they should). There were many people there that night who are very famous now, Seth Rogan, Jason Segal, Busy Phillips and Judd Apatow, to name a few, but there were also people who are still breaking through. One of those people, the man on the right, is Paul Feig, who created Freaks and Geeks and is my final connection to a mediated L.A.

Paul was the director on a set that I was lucky enough to be on about a month ago, and watching him in action, a working Hollywood director, was amazing. And what made it better was my knowledge of his previous work, which included my beloved Freaks and Geeks. Even then, I was enjoying a moment more because I knew the history and the connections behind it.

So for me, LA is a very much mediated city, even still today, having lived here for almost three months, I still see it through very star-struck eyes, and not just for the people, but for the city itself. I am in awe of it every day as I drive through it that it is real and tangible and that I am able to soak in it's essence and stay here to enjoy it for however long I want. That's probably why I still allow myself that bit of mediation and wonderment, once that wears off, LA will become just another city. For now, though, it's a magical place that exists primarily on television.

SAG AWARDS!!

I know I owe you a post about the first two weeks, but this is much more exciting. The SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) Awards were last night at the Shrine Auditorium, which is conveniently located next door to my building(!). I decided about 3:45 (the red carpet started at 3) that I would go downstairs and see what I could see. I really wish I had done that at 3, because when Becca (one of the other girls in my group) and I walked down the street, there was a group of people standing and watching everyone get out of the limos. Just to set the scene, they were getting out on one side, and we were across the 4-lane street watching them. The whole road was blocked off, though, so it was a fairly unobstructed view.

As my camera is dead and I still haven't gotten a new one, I was relying on my phone, so I don't have many shots of people as they entered, but I have a few and the list of people who I did see is long. The SAG Awards are for movies and TV, so pretty much everyone comes. At the end of the broadcast, Funmi, Nick and I (one of my roommates and one of the boys) walked around trying to find where they were departing, not only did we find them, but we had quite a surprise on our journey! Keep reading to find out!

Here are the pictures from the afternoon:

Warren Beatty and Annette Bening:

And this was the biggest surprise of the afternoon:
Yup! That's Alec Baldwin from 30 Rock!
He was really nice to walk across the street and sign some autographs, I was too far away, but it was really cool of him. Here he is walking:

Highlights of the afternoon Red Carpet: Seeing the entire cast of King's Speech (yes, even Colin Firth!!), Andrew Garfield (Eduardo in Social Network and the new Spiderman), James Franco, Hilary Swank (She was very enthusiastic, blowing us kisses and waving), Nicole Kidman, Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Josh Duhamel (Mr. Fergie) and Mark Salling (Puck from Glee). They would all wave and smile and it was very cool and fun for me.

So after that adventure, I went back up to the apartment to watch the SAG Awards and see who won (no big surprises). Everyone was jealous of my adventure and Nick and Funmi said they would come with me at the end to scour the streets for people leaving. So, when the broadcast ended, we walked down this time on the side of the street with the Shrine, hoping we might bump into people. Nick brought his jump rope hoping to find some people from The Fighter so he could audition for The Fighter 2. Funmi and I made fun of him for it.

We really only ran into the people packing up the place, so we went down and decided to cross the street to where I had been earlier, just to get the overview. So as we approached my previous spot we see a few people conversing and as we pass we notice that while we don't recognize many of them, we did recognize one: Mark Wahlberg, star of, none other than, The Fighter. We stopped, turned around and gawked and he noticed Nick's jump rope and Nick said he wanted to audition for The Fighter 2 and Marky Mark said: show us what you've got! So Nick jumped for a minute and then Mark went back to his conversation, but we stuck around hoping for a picture and when he was done with his convos, he asked us and the two other kids if we wanted pics and we said: yes, please!! Funmi has the pics on her phone, so I don't have the one of her and I with Mark, but I'll post it as soon as I do (it will also be on Facebook) but I did take this one as proof:

So, after meeting Mark Wahlberg and freaking out to people on our phones we started to walk back to the apartment, but I was determined to find more celebrities and they were game. So we walked in the alley between the back of our building and the back of the Shrine and low and behold, there they were! Again, we were directed across the blocked-off street, but there were a few people hanging out watching for celebs and after a few minutes, they started to show up! They were mostly lingering and waiting for their limos, some were hanging out inside so we couldn't see, but pretty much everyone had to walk out to get to their cars and as they would come out we would call (or scream) their names and try to get them to cross the street. Alec came over again, statue in hand followed closely by Cory Monteith who plays Finn on Glee.

I took a picture with him, too, but Funmi has it, so again, I'll have to put it up later. He was really nice and cute and hung out for like 10 minutes taking pictures. I'll stop so much with the commentary and just show you my pictures from the night.

Here's another Glee cast member who came over, Chord Overstreet:

This is Jayma Mays or Ms. Pillsbury from Glee:

And one of my favorite people who didn't come over, but it's understandable, BETTY WHITE!:

I know you can't see her face, but that was definitely her, she did wave to us, but I couldn't get the picture.

All the Modern Family kids came over, this is Ariel who plays middle child, Alex:

This is me with Nolan who plays Luke, he looked so dapper and cute:

This is Luke again, but I wanted you to see how cute he was:

Here's Rico who plays Manny:

This is Nick with Sarah who plays Haley:

Me and Sarah:

And a couple of people from The Office came over. This is Angela:

This is Craig Robinson who plays Darrell:

This is Kyra Sedgwick from The Closer and aka Mrs. Kevin Bacon:

Me and Valerie Bertinelli from Hot in Cleveland, one of my new favorite shows:

This is a better one of her, she looked great:

Other people spotted but who didn't come over: Sue, Kurt, Puck, Quinn, Santana and Tina (I know, not their real names) from Glee; All the rest of the Modern Family cast; John Krasinski (Jim on The Office), Phyllis and Stanley from the Office; Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg from Social Network (Also pretty sure I spotted Armie, too, but I've seen Jesse and Armie before, in Durham); Angie Harmon; Edie Falco; Julia Stiles and Michael C. Hall from Dexter and many, many more. It was dark so it was kinda hard to make out faces from across the street, it was easier for the women, because I had seen what most of them were wearing.

Anyway, that was my Sunday! The Grammys are at the Shrine in 2 weeks and you can bet we will have front row seats to that one! Keep an eye out for my next post, hopefully coming in the next few days!

Love, sunshine and celeb spottings to all of you!

Arriving...on a jet plane

It's time to bring everyone up to date on the goings on in good ol' Los Angeles. I'll get to the logistics, but first I want to finish telling you about my arrival.

About 20 minutes from landing, all the window shades went up and I watched with the other passengers as we flew up from the South, the ocean on the left (west) and the mountains on the right (east). It took a little while for me to get used to the idea that the ocean and the mountains are on different sides, but I'm finally getting the hang of it. I expected to be nervous, but as we got closer to the ground a different feeling overtook me: I was calm, still, serene. And then I got my first glimpse of the Hollywood sign and excitement added to the mix of emotions.

Side note: I've been to LA before, once on vacation many years ago and once for a 10 day "camp" at UCLA, but I didn't pay much attention to anything beyond the Hollywood stuff. Now that I'm officially living here, I am actually getting to know the city for what it really is like.

Back to my story. The eerie sense of calm kind of unsettled me, which is good because it was a good two weeks before it really went away. It's both good and bad, because I miss feeling that way, but it also means I'm settled in now. I acted like a kid in a candy store as we left the airport, the big LAX sign marking the entrance and exit.

Side note #2: LAX is actually a very well-thought out airport, something I realized as I circled a thousand times waiting to pick up one of my High School friends (it was good to see you, Jess!). Not something people give it credit for, but it really is an easy airport to get around (at least outside).

Aaaannndddd... we're back. I'll save you the nitty gritty and just tell you that my parents were able to get a cheap hotel rate (they're Hotwire.com addicts) at the Mondrian, which is world-famous for its SkyBar and the music moguls and celebrities who frequent it, which is only important because as we were pulling up to the hotel, I'm pretty sure I saw Randy Jackson (from American Idol for those of you who live under a pop-culture rock) walking out of the hotel. Which serves as my first LA celebrity sighting. I know, not that interesting. The point of all this is I want to show you the pictures that I took out of my hotel window:

They should be lined up, but I'm not that computer-literate, so what can you do? But... isn't the city beautiful?

Just a little orientation, the hotel was in West Hollywood, which sits in the hills on the eastern side of LA, it's essentially northeast LA.

You should be able to see some more of the mountains on the picture on the top and if you look closely, you can see snow on the peaks, which is as close to snow as I've come since leaving the East Coast. Also, that rusty looking building in the foreground is the House of Blues.

On the bottom, the tall buildings (sky-scrapers) you can see in the distance is Downtown LA or Central LA depending on who you ask and I currently live south of there, that's right, South Central LA, which isn't as bad as the movies make it sound, you just have to know where to be and go. Note the palm tree in the foreground-they're everywhere.

I hope this gives you a little bit of an idea of how big LA is, it extends above where I took the picture, and below the furthest point you can see.

That's pretty much the longest way I can tell you this: I feel at home here, completely, totally at home, the weather is wonderful (my cracked skin healed almost instantly), I get to wear skirts and dresses and because my beloved boots are a little too warm most days, flip-flops in January are a typical occurrence. I love looking east and seeing mountains rising up out of seemingly nowhere, the Hollywood sign easily noticeable against the dark green backdrop. I love driving 20 minutes (depending on traffic) west and being at the beach, the water might be cold, but the view is spectacular.

Santa Monica at sunset on our first weekend here, I'll tell you about it in the next post.

I miss you all terribly, but I'm so happy here in my new home and I wish you could all be here to enjoy this with me!

Lots of Love and Sunshine to you all.

The Plane Ride: A Bridge Between Worlds

I wrote this as I was on the plane from CLT to LAX, just wanted to get my thoughts down before landing in my new home.

A few months ago the director of the Duke in LA program came to my Screenwriting class to pitch the program. I quickly dismissed the idea. I was a Senior, I had things planned for second semester, my whole family, including a new niece and nephew and almost-sister, was nearby, and great friends both at Duke and elsewhere on the East coast. What kind of person picks up and leaves all that behind (if only a few months ahead of schedule)? Who could rock the boat that badly? And as I sat there listening more, I realized: I could. I have always been selfish on a certain level and it's my life, I am the only one who can choose how to live it. I've tried doing it someone else's way, and it didn't make me happy. So I listened, to Jim (the director), to my gut (which has never failed me) and one of my closest friends who helped me realize my friends would all understand and support me, and if not, they weren't really my friends. When she said that, a weight was lifted and I knew my decision had already been made in that classroom when I put my name down on the contact sheet: I was moving to L.A. in January.

The reactions of those who knew me best and/or longest reassured me. Everyone knew this day was coming, and it wasn't much of a surprise that I had found a way to speed it up. I should say that my whole life I have felt like I was waiting for something and it took awhile to realize that I was waiting for this moment, for the chance to pursue the one dream I have always had: move to CA and work in the "business." I was always a California girl at heart, even as a Southerner transplanted in the Northeast and then back down South, I knew that I didn't quite fit in. My heart was in California and it was only a matter of time before my body caught up.

My parents have been great. Incredibly supportive and that meant the world to me. The traumatic experience of buying me a one-way ticket didn't even cause them to ask me to reconsider. Maybe because they knew I wouldn't or worried that I actually might. But I wasn't going to change my mind, once it was made up, there was no turning back and I didn't ever regret my decision, I still don't. I got more and more excited, more and more anxious to just get on the plane and go. There were no nerves as there usually were, just a sense of calm and peace that I can't remember ever feeling so strongly before.

So here I am, sitting on a plane somewhere between NC and CA, my old life rapidly falling back and my new adventure coming always closer. When we land, it will be 3 hours earlier than my watch, just enough difference to make me feel like I'm in a whole other world. And I will be. Life as I know it will change pretty dramatically, at least I hope. It starts with the place, I've always loved LA, where the mountains and the ocean are on the wrong side, where "everybody's got a dream" (10 pts to whoever names that movie), where the TV shows are brought to life.

So I'm throwing myself off the proverbial cliff and into the unknown below. Maybe it won't work out, maybe I'll hate LA, maybe I won't get a job or find it's not what I've dreamed but maybe it will work out, come together and I'll live my dream/fantasy/desire. Here, in flight between two coasts, limbo between worlds, I choose to believe I'll make it work, I choose hope and excitement over fear, and I hope you'll join me on this ride for the next few months as I find out what CA, LA, Hollywood, has to offer me and me it.

I'll post pictures when I have them, stories that are hopefully interesting, celebrity sightings (!) and my thoughts on the biggest risk and adventure I've ever taken. I miss all of you, family and friends alike, and send my love and hope you'll keep in contact as much as I will try to and don't forget to look me up if you're ever on the West coast!

More to come later, keep an eye in the next few days for first impressions, life at USC and more!

Much Love and Sunshine.