Bob Gosse, Professor for Funds of Producing, you may know him as the Director of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
It is true that you don't need drugs or alcohol to feel the best highs. I just got out of my Fundamentals of Producing and I'm full of so many emotions I want to bust! We had an assignment for tonight where we had to pitch an idea for a 5 minute film. No limits really, just to be realistically filmed on campus as our first year film. Well, the options are endless! Where do you start? Thanks to my trusty writing-down-ideas-as-I-get-them habit I had an idea for a pitch that I was not too excited about. So much so, that as students were practicing on each other today, I was too scared to practice mine. So I anxiously waited until that horrid moment when Bob Gosse would chose me to go next. There we are sitting in class learning about archetypes and listening to a beautiful lecture about plot breakdowns when we finally get our 10 minute break. I eat a cookie and make the decision to go first. Get it over with. Be the guinea pig. Be the one everyone else compares themselves to first. Well, I don't actually go first, I get picked second to last.
I walk to the center of the theatre and standing I cross one leg over the other like I normally do when being talked to by authority figures. Or when I'm trying to hide the hideous scar on my leg. Every eye is on me, but they're compassionate. Like they are thinking the same exact thing. I start. I pitch. I end. Applause. :D
That's my face.
One hand raises, then another, then another. I couldn't tell if they hated it or liked it or were indifferent. Regardless, there were hands... which means there was interest. GOALLLLLLLLL
One student after another tell me how the story could be better, what they liked what they didn't understand. But Bob, Bob stood and physically showed me how this story would work on our stage. Which means it's doable, and interesting. All in all I felt successful. Not to mention that one of my fav students (Tori) who's reputation precedes her as being a damn good filmmaker sought me out after class to tell me that she LOVED my pitch and not to change a thing. I know it can be better. But for tonight, it was good enough.
Kudos to all of the students who went tonight, it's not easy, but damn is it fun! And Jenny, we are kindred spirits.
I ventured off campus today for lunch with my buds. We went to 6th & Vine recommended by awesome Ian and loved it! Although I've never been with so many people who HATE having their picture taken. It was like pulling teeth!! Well, get use to it, I'm a documenter and you will be thanking me come graduation.
I had an ahi tuna wrap with pasta salad and it was divine! And thanks to Chris, I had some great creme brûlée.
That was after a wellness center visit, trip to Advance Auto to check something on my car, and to blockbuster to return a DVD and purchase 5!
Screenwriting was fun today, we had an assignment to observe someone for 1/2 an hour and I chose to observe my mom this weekend. (She doesn't know so she'll read it here first) I'll post it below.
Ok folks, my go-to-bed movie tonight is Milk (2008). Nite!
Christene Hurley
FIM 1101-3
9-5-11
She leans in close to the computer and squints at the thumbnail picture he has as his profile picture on Skype. She forgot her glasses again and pranced around town today with prescription sunglasses so big they would put the Olsen sisters to shame. Like young sweethearts they’ve decided to wait to see each in person in a month. He changes his profile picture monthly while she uses an animated avatar in a bikini on a beach.
She giggles and shares pictures of her grandson naked in the bathtub, with blue icing all over his face, and sleeping. She sighs, missing both her husband and grandson. Sitting uncomfortably on my computer chair she leans on her right elbow holding her phone with her left hand. Flirtingly, she asks Eric, “Did you get it?” Referring to the email she sent two seconds prior, knowing good and well it takes about fifteen minutes to receive messages in Ramadi, Iraq. They share a sense of humor that is contagious, and nothing is so serious to them they can’t laugh at. He tells her he won’t receive the message today, but she rebuttals by asking him to have faith sometimes. Within a minute I hear a laughter erupt from my little laptop speakers and Eric says, “I eat my words, I just got it.” Mom kicks her head back in a bragging laughter and raises the roof a little. We then proceed to make fun of Eric’s use of the word “baffled” and they take a minute to flirt a little more. The message she sent had pictures attached so while Eric looked through them, mom looked down at the bracelet she wore and twirled it around her wrist, I bet he bought it for her. Hearing his comments on the photos, she looked at the little picture staring back at her and turned and smiled at me.
