Saturday, December 29, 2007

Cage-fighter


IMG_5262.jpg
Originally uploaded by Bradley Hasemeyer
I think National Treasure two was good. I don't really know because I was too busy analyzing the fake looking props and pixels of Nic Cage's eyes. That wasn't because my keen eyesight or "insight into the industry that taints the way I watch movies." No, I was sitting on the second row. I left with a headache, neckache and overall dissatisfaction for the movie.

I do think it had more to do with my seat than Nic Cage's lame toupee like hair piece or the way too over-the-top effects.

Worth the see, I think.

Friday, December 28, 2007

...I know Paris Hilton


O.k. well kind of! Let me set up this amazing story.

I have been in Knoxville the past 11 days (stories and unfortunate pictures to follow) and left this a.m. from K-town at 9 a.m. (Yes, that means right now I'm up for 20 hours now) I connected in Atlanta which infected and effected every plane that got near that airport due to bad weather. So my flight was delayed and my power walking ninja speed was used to no real avail. I even considered jumping from one clogged escalator onto the other one and look awesome in the process. BUT if LA has taught me anything it's that you look super la, la, la if you hurry up just to wait and end up next to the people you nearly knocked down (or ran over) to get there. So I restrained myself and made it with plenty of time to the delayed flight.

I finally boarded and ended up sitting next to a very nice girl. We chatted for just second starting from her opening remark that she almost bought Steve Martin's new autobiography (self-corrected biography) but instead chose some novel that looked as if it involved gold, lawyers and a love triangle--potentially a love hexagon judging by the large size of it. She pretty much wanted to sleep so she did most of the 4:45 long trip.

Toward the end she remarked that she had another plane to catch that day and I gave her some advice and said she'd better hurry to make it to another airport to take off in time. She very graciously remarked that it was a private jet. NICE! She was off to Vegas for New Year's. NICE!

I kept digging because I am both nosy and...well I guess that's it really. Turns out this girl is pretty tight with a certain celebrity known as Paris Hilton. She never came out and said it but flashed me a candid picture of said star apparently relaxing by the window of the plane my (new) friend would be flying in and said, "we are good friends."

I had no reason to doubt this girl but I will say that 97% of people lease cars here. That says something. There is such pressure to maintain a facade that often times people forget reality. This girl seemed more down to earth BUT...ya know?!

Fast forward about 6 hours and we have landed and I've changed clothes and gone straight to work. Late tonight a girl walks in not 5 minutes after I'm telling this story and I'm thinking, "that looks like Paris Hilton." Now outside of LA you would see people and note their resemblance to some star and move on. I forgot that in LA that's probably the actual star and not a look-a-like. Sure enough, being sat at table 16 is Ms. Hilton and a guy I recognized but didn't know his name. My friend I was telling this story to said, "now's your chance to see if that girl from the plane was real or not."

So I greeted the table, took the order and delivered the food. I had run the scenarios a number of times on how I would begin this strange 'do you know' conversation, "I know your best friend," or "I don't know how to say this," or "do you want to hang out sometime." All seemed viable options but I chose to play it in the moment. I just went up to the table and told the same, but condensed, story from above. Sure enough--they do know each other. So Paris (we are on a first name basis now) texts her friend who sat next to me on the plane and she remembered me.

I was blown away by the most absolutely random connection that I had experienced in a matter of hours spanning from the Atlanta airport to table 16 at the restaurant. Global warming actually is real.

Pretty crazy that all that would happen within such a short time AND that I'd be working when she came in which anyone could only remember her being there one other time in the 5 years its been open.

So we are going running tomm at 10 a.m.

J slash K

I will say that she was so easy to talk to and her companion was very polite and nice as well. I have people who are a million times more demanding. She was very comfortable and relaxed and was open and approachable. I really appreciated that. So let that influence your view of her, at least a little bit.

That's what I got for now

Friday, December 14, 2007

Coming up soon

I just finished shooting a little part in another web-eisode series. This one is from a production company in Santa Monica at (what seems to be) a great comedy theater called Westside Eclectic. You might remember me saying something about the webseries "Wanna B" that I worked on and shot 5 episodes with. They should be edited and live in late January sometime. Anyway, the director/writer on that--a Matt Vascellero--pulled me into this project for today. I also got to work with the very enjoyable Emily Fox(y); an actress who has a role in an episode of "Wanna B" also. She has class, taste and style and pulls it all off while eating string cheese and chocolate for breakfast. (was that what you wanted me to say, Emily?)

As always, the second it's live, I send the link out/post it here.


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

My first time

Well I finally did it. I went to an open-mic night at a comedy club here in LA and did a set. Then they asked me back for a showcase a few nights later and brought some friends. It was fun. I did it to prove that I could (to myself) and to test myself. I felt that I did well and was very comfortable on stage.

Anyway, this is video of that first night. I figured it'd be worth having and showing you.

Construction Fairy

Um....yeah

He's that guy

Hey guys. This is a video I shot with some friends who work to make videos marketed to churches. If you want to buy the video for usage it's on sermonspice and few other of those sites. I think it's pretty funny.


Thursday, December 06, 2007

green (and red) screen


So I was in a video that hasn't been totally finished yet but I will show it to you when it does with a friend of mine who has a production company created. Their market is to churches and other Christian groups who need professional media products marketed to their congregations, etc.

So this one, I'm on a mantle over a fire at Christmas and am going from one Christmas card to the next and end up jumping into the manger scene and kneeling in front of Jesus with his parents. Then I go from live-action to a sketch. I think it's going to look really good with all the green screen we used and stuff. (random thought: we were in a shady part of town filming and heard bangs like gun shots and didn't really think much about it until we heard police sirens about 10 minutes later...it is LA)

So this is the sketch that makes it to the final piece. Pretty cool, huh?

Gunnin' for Style


Well I must say Bravo to Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum and all their goings on with Project Runway. The writers are striking, reality T.V. is at an all time saturation (i.e. lame) point and I'm bored.

Well, I WAS bored. This show is awesome (said in the voice of Kevin from The Office)! Ahem, I mean the way they shoot and edit and tell the stories of these people is done so creatively and professionally.

AND I love the challenges. I love seeing the way these people have to work under pressure (i.e. 30 minutes to sketch, 30 minutes to buy the fabric and material for under $100, get a new model last minute, etc., etc.) and having them under the watchful eye of Tim Gunn is a great move on the part of the show's creators.

All I can say is that I dare you to watch one episode and NOT find yourself saying things like, "that outfit is hideous," or "that even looks gross on a model," or maybe even yelling at the t.v. "that pleat stitch is so gross!" Not that I've said any of that.

You know what...just try it. You'll appreciate your clothes much more. And that is really all life is about anyway.

Iron and Wine


There is not much else to say other than the fact I saw Iron and Wine in concert. I only knew (about) one song from the Garden State Soundtrack. They were both moving and calming at the same time. Pretty cool experience and in a rad (I said it) venue in downtown LA.

Download "the trapeze swinger"

Hot guys who can cook


So I know that even auditioning for something like this is absurd BUT it involved food and most of you know how much I love to cook...also it paid...and most of you know how much I love to live. So I cooked a dish, went down to meet the casting director who "loved me" and sent my audition video to producers directly (skipping call backs). I was excited about that and thought surely something would come out of that. All I got was a casting director who loved me (and my grilled chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and rosemary, with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed bok choy). She said she fought for me but no dice. Before I heard that, however, I had to create a follow-up video showing my kitchen (lame) and my personality (less lame). I sent in the video and that was when I found out I wasn't picked.

O.k. No worries.

Two nights ago I get a phone call from two great friends in Charlotte inquiring as to my knowledge of a show called "Hot Guys Who Can Cook" (on the Style network) and they said I was on the beginning. What??

Yeah I TiVoed it and I'm in the beginning alright, with a big X over my face b/c I didn't make it. I'm virtually William Hung without the CD deal with Sony! SUCK!

Oh well. It's my T.V. debut...so that's good.

Guess what? I'm Dutch.

I just wondered recently where the expression, "go dutch," meaning to go somewhere alone (often a dance or Prom) came from. Anyway, I booked this ad for a Dutch cellphone company who wanted to display the personal service you get with them. This was shot at a private (i.e. attached to someone's house) studio in Malibu only 50 yards from acres of burnt mountain from the fires. The owners didn't want to leave and so spent all day during the fires spraying water on all the surrounding trees and plants. Pretty real, huh?

We shot this against a one-tone background and then just cut me out. It's like using green screen, kind-of.

The wardrobe was gathered from Target and actually the shoes (the Adidas with the green stripes on the other model....ha...'other' model) are mine.

A latte' cool features

This photo was from a shoot for the new Palm phone. I had been looking for this in magazines and stuff and couldn't find it anywhere. Last night I was walking with a friend to get dinner and saw the ad on a bus stop.
I'm in the bottom left and there is a zoom-in shot:


This was cool because it shot in about 30 minutes but we were there for about 5 hours. The built the whole set from scratch inside a hanger-styled studio. They had the main photographer on set and I got to watch him do some stuff in Photoshop with still shots of the product. Also, I got to play with the new phone which is significantly smaller than my Treo 650 and offers the essentials for only about $100 so it's big bang for your buck. OH and in case you are wondering, the PC in front of me was changed from a MacBook Pro at the last minute. I'm still a Mac addict...don't believe everything you see!