BLOG #10 FRIENDS AND FILM. THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS.

So this week, I was given a powerful reminder of how affecting film can be and also how very talented

and amazing my friends are.

Last week, my friend Zack Mathers created a video of his sister shaving his mom’s head.  Zack’s mom Rene is fighting cancer.  Even the rough cut of this video had me racing to find the phone in tears to call Zack to tell him how beautiful it was – how touching and funny and inspiring… how he had captured his family at a crossroads, facing their battles with laughter and love… and I was desperate to see and hug them all.   My words can’t compare to the actual work, so please take a second to check it out.


Mom's New Haircut from Frequent Flyer Productions on Vimeo.

Then on Saturday, my friend Lynette Howell had the LA premiere of her Oscar-buzzed-about film Blue Valentine and I was proud as punch to be there cheering her on from the red carpet to the after party.  I can say again, even the rough cut of this film was a marvel – but now that I’ve seen the big beautiful final version flickering up on the screen at Grauman’s, I promise that it is worth all the buzz and it is worth all the many many years she fought to get it made.  (A side note: The MPAA has given this intimate portrayal of a marriage falling apart an NC 17 rating; meanwhile, the most violent films are given PG-13 ratings.  Our American hang-ups about sex and our comfort with violence is another blog altogether, so I’ll just quote Amy Poehler and say to the MPAA, “Really?!”)

Here’s the link to the Blue Valentine trailer on Itunes.

Finally, last week, my phenomenal cinematographer husband Brett Juskalian was in Vietnam shooting a music video for a Vietnamese boy band.  He sent me a clip of the shoot on a night that I was feeling really low because he knows that I am a complete freak for dance videos, dance movies.  I had a copy of Girls Just Want to Have Fun on VHS that I watched so much, the tape finally snapped sometime in the late nineties.  Anyway, watching this Vietnemese boy band do a hip hop dance off with girls from the future in front of their cryogenic time machines was AWESOME. Film doesn't have to change the world to change your world if just for a couple of hours or a moment.
Here's the vid:


If that doesn't work, here's the link to it (my lack of tech savvy will not stop this blog from being posted on time!) 

So basically what I’m saying is I have really cool friends (and an extra super cool hubby).  

No, that’s not what I’m saying.  I mean, yes they are cool but more importantly, these people (and so many more of the ridiculously talented people in my world) remind me what this funny little thing called cinema is capable of. Whenever I’m sitting at my desk scribbling away through a nap time and feeling thoroughly disconnected from the Universe, these people and their greatness remind me why I’m doing what I’m doing. They inspire me to be my best self and my best artist.

I hope to reach all of you with more of the work that they helped inspire soon.

Maybe next week, we’ll do a revival of some of my old short films while we’re waiting for The Lake Effect to bubble to the surface.  

Stay tuned!