Mommie Dearest (1981)

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."  ~Tenneva Jordan

This completely describes my mom. She always makes sure everyone else is taken care of before herself. And I have to thank her for always letting me taste the food and pick at it while she cooks, half the time I doubt she knows I do it. 

My wedding

"Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother."
~Ann Taylor

I found this quote years ago and wrote it on a page of a scrapbook I made about high school. (When 'blogging' was more hands on)

There's something about my mom, she can tell that something is wrong without me saying a word but trying hard to force a smile. She has that effect that makes me cry when something is wrong and I don't want to deal with it. 

The three generations

Puerto Rico, 2010

Hanging out with my mom and grandma have proven to be some very entertaining times. It's really interesting imagining her growing up as I did, only completely different. Mom & Mama are polar opposites. 

 "As is the mother, so is her daughter." Ezekiel 16:4
I can honestly say my mom is someone I'm very proud of. I can only hope that I continue to make her proud despite some of the choices I've made. My mom sets a great example of what a woman should be like.  

Mom and Eric

I'm very grateful that my mom met Eric. In the case of both of my parent's "the second time is the charm." And they are both very happy, which makes me very happy for them. 

 If it weren't for my parent's enormous VHS collection, I don't think I would be as interested in film. We were always going to the theatre and drive-in so I was pretty updated of the most recent movies. It's still the case, anytime I visit her collection of DVDs have doubled. Let's hope she's buying my movies in a few years. (I'll try to keep the profanity low). 

We know how to get down.

You wanna talk about the Queen of the Electric Slide? That would be my mom. 

"He's Been Faithful" is a very nostalgic song for us. It was performed at our church and then we were obsessed and really thought we were opera singers. We were out and about one day, mom is driving, and we are singing to the top of our lungs. Eyes closed we reach the bridge (of the song) next thing we knew (and it was too late) We pop onto the curb of the road and pop the tire on the car, all because of this song. 

It's one of those "youhadabethere's"

But! If my mom and I had a song it would be "I wanna singa."

Waiting (2005)

Preparations for New York have commenced. The transportation tickets are purchased. You better believe I will be documenting this entire trip to my hearts content. I will not be updating Facebook as frequently, if at all, so I can try to get the most of my trip but as I whine down at night, I'll write my thoughts down to share with you all. 

I'm so excited I could flagellate! 

I'm fortunate that anytime I come back home I have a job. 

I've worked in this restaurant since April of 2003. I walked in the lobby in a ball gown fit for a 3 year old playing princess and left with an interview. It was Brandon's senior prom. The food was great, the atmosphere was romantic and the service was great! So, in short, I get an application then I get a job. 

I worked consistently for 5 years until I moved to CA for a bit. But every time I came back [to perform in West Side Story 2009]  I still had a job. 

The uniforms may change. The faces may change. But the owners are always the same, warm hearted great people. I've made friends and family here that proximity can't even affect. 

Luigis Italian Restaurant

Thanks to my brother and a girlfriend at work I have been introduced to Smash the tv show. It's so wonderful! Full of energy and good feelings! It's the grown up Glee in my opinion and that's not a bad thing. I've only gotten through the Pilot episode so it may be too early to tell how much I do like this show, but so far. I'm hooked. 

My trip to NY is approaching fast. I'm SO excited! I'm waiting to see Avengers (2012) until I get there, I think that would be a good experience. Speaking of Avengers:

Newest movie I saw in a theatre was Cabin in the Woods (2012) and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. More so when I found out it was co-written by Joss Whedon. For those uninformed, Joss Whedon wrote both Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) film and series (1996-2003). He wrote Angel the Spin off series and Firefly followed with the film, Serenity (2005). He gained a little notoriety for his webisode series Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog (2008). And most recently, which I forget because somehow it's a little hard to believe, he wrote the screenplay for The Avengers (2012)! Which I plan to see very soon. 

The Artist (2011)

I finally saw The Artist (2011) and loved it. Lately I've been off the grid with newer movies (focusing on the classics in school) Aside from the occasional mention of a "need-to-see" film this year in school. Drive (2011); 21 Jump Street (2012); Hugo (2011) and of course... Smurfs (2011) :D


Back to The Artist. I knew about the film, what I assume the masses knew: it's silent and black and white. I spent the entire first semester in American Cinema studying and screening silent films. After a while I was a little burned out so you can forgive me for waiting to see the Artist. 

It was charming, whimsical and very traditional and in my opinion well done. There is nothing I feel like complaining about. Then again, if you haven't' already figured out, I'm easy to please. I have a feeling a silent film now could have gone very wrong; been over done. Jean Dujardin was perfectly cast as a bit of a modern day Gene Kelley and Berenice Bejo could not have been cuter. Both French, and I would never have known if it weren't for the last minute of the film. Then I found out this film is considered a French film! I don't know why that excited me! The film is nothing like Singing in the Rain (1952), but somehow I was constantly reminded of it, it could be the striking resemblance of Jean and Gene. (tee hee) (and I read on imdb that Jean & Berenice practiced in the same studio Debbie & Gene did for the final dance number.)


The very first thing I noticed watching the version I had on my computer was the aspect ratio. This may get a little confusing, but I will try to explain it. The film was shot in 1.33:1 which is called "Academy ratio" (silent films were shot this way). Here are a few examples of the difference:

Today, the average ratio for move theaters are 1.85:1 and 2.35:1(anamorphic). It was an obvious switch when you are watching films as much as I've had to lately. Small detail in such a great film. 


Another fun fact: the first spoken word in the film is "cut" while the final word of the film is "action."

It's official. School is over. My car is packed and I can't help but feel the anxiety of the unknown. Summer. Transitioning from the constant feeling of needing to be somewhere. Being surrounded by a certain type of people. The accessibility of doing whatever I want. Traveling by foot anywhere I need to go.
With the knowledge I've gained all I want to do is work on a film, but on paper my biggest experience is in a restaurant, so what do I do? I call said restaurant and pick up shifts for the next 3 days straight.
Money is what I need from this summer. And I didn't really make any money in school except until the very end working at Tech Ops with some really cool cats. I'm really looking forward to working there next year pending work study approval.
Seeing my friends off was painful but I have a very exciting trip coming up, NEW YORK!!
Of course I'll be documenting my whole trip with pics and videos. And since I'll be making the trip with two fellow filmmakers, there will be triple the coverage. There's so many places I want to go, and this trip will last until our last dollars.
I've taken a break from social networking lately. It's loosely based on a great conversation I had with a friend about disconnecting, or unplugging. It's felt really amazing. Like I've gained a little more control on my own life. It's silly, I know but it works for me.
Ciao mon chérie ;)

Annie Hall (1977)

Christene Hurley

ARH 1101-3
Final Art Project

Annie Leibovitz, Self Portrait, California, 1990

Christene Hurley, Self Portrait, Winston Salem, 2012

   Annie Leibovitz is interested in various forms of art. She 
attended the San Francisco Art Institute where she studied 
painting and developed her photography skills while working 
various jobs. She first worked for Rolling Stones when it was a small magazine about Rock & Roll. As a military brat, she traveled from base to base. Leibovitz bought her first camera in 1967 in Japan. A Minolta SR-T 101. First thing she did was climb up Mt. Fuji and took photos. She considered the hike up the mountain a religious experience and took her first experience on the road with a camera on the road, or path as a lesson in determination and moderation. The following summer she took a photography workshop. Photography was a faster medium than painting. Henri Cartier-Bresson & Robbert Frank were her heroes. 

Annie Leibovitz, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, and Fred Hughes, Montauk, New York, 1975 

Christene Hurley, Kazuya Kida and Blake Engel, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2012

In 1969 Leibovitz went to Israel and studied Hebrew during the height of the Vietnam war. Her boyfriend persuaded her to take photos from Israel and antiwar rallies in San Francisco to Rolling Stone. One of her pictures of a demonstration at City Hall was used for the cover of a special issue of the magazine devoted to campus riots and protests. Annie was offered a job to go on tour with the Rolling Stones per Mick. 

Annie Leibovitz,  Andree Putnam, New York City, 1989

Christene Hurley, Austin Elliott, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2012

One of the most iconic photos I’ve ever seen is Leibovitz’s photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono on December 8, 1980. Take a look at the date, it’s the day John died. Annie photographed John nude in the fetal position kissing Yoko on their floor on the morning he was shot. 

Annie only shot in black and white until Rolling Stone started printing four-color covers in 1973. One of the first cover pictures she took was a backlit photograph of Marvin Gaye. She has a few portraits with celebrities that I can look at for long periods of time. Whoopi Goldberg in a bath of milk; Steve Martin in front of his Franz Kline painting. 

    Annie’s collaboration with Arnold Schwarzenegger is worth mentioning because it’s a long time relationship. They first met in 1975 in South Africa during the Mr. Olympia contest. 

“Dance can’t be photographed. Or even filmed, for that matter. It is an art that lives in the air.” Leibovitz feels this way about athletes as well. That they are very proud of their bodies and are comfortable in front of the camera. 

Annie Leibovitz, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Malibu, California, 1988

Christene Hurley, Bryan Sloyer, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2012

One of her earliest 35mm prints were taken in ’68 when she visited her family in the Philippines, in the middle of the Vietnam War. Soldiers wounded in Vietnam were sent to Clark Air base to be treated before they were shipped home. She didn’t officially photograph a military operation until ’82 when she visited Israel. Her photos from Sarajevo are almost palpable. The Blood on a mission-school wall, Rwanda, 1994, feels like a scene from Scarface. Annie needed to go back to her roots, no assistants and to work simply. Vanity Fair gave her the excuse to go by agreeing to publish her work. 

Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Danny Seymour, and Roert Frank, New Orleans, 1972

Christene Hurley, Drama and Dance Students playing volleyball, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2012

Annie Leibovitz, Johnny Depp, New York City, 1994

Christene Hurley, Austin Elliott, Winston Salem, North Carolina, 2012

Annie Leibovitz, Penelope Cruz and Woody Allen

Sofia Coppola

sofia coppola

"I'm always a sucker for a love story"

Visionary is the word I think of to describe Sofia. She treats film like a painting, in my opinion. The composition and shots are just as important as the story and the actors. She lives in Paris, a filmmakers dream. I can't imagine what it would be like to be around that much inspiration and beauty all day everyday.

Directed: 

The Virgin Suicides(1999) Based on the book by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is the story of the Lisbon family in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in the 1970s and the suicides of the 5 daughters. 

Sofia read the book and decided to make the film but found out it was already in the works, she showed her script to the production company and they used hers instead. Get it girl!

Lost in Translation (2003) Written by Sofia and loosely based on biographical events. This is a story about an aging actor, Bob, who meets Charlotte, a photographer's wife visiting Japan. Immediately they connect while displaced in a foreign country. 

The title of the movie is a reference to a definition of poetry by Robert Frost: "Poetry is what gets lost in translation."

Marie Antionette (2006)Also written by Sofia, this film is loosely based on the life of the Queen consort leading up to the French Revolution. One of Sofia's resources is Antonia Fraser's Marie Antionette which makes the queen a more human character. 

The girl in me wants to mention the fun fact I found that most shoes in the film were designed by Manolo Blahnik. I will own a pair one day, I know it. 

Somewhere (2010)Written by Sofia, this film is about a newly famous actor who's recovering from a injury at the Chateau Marmont. Going through an existential crisis, he is detaching from life which is apparent during the first 15 minutes of the film where no dialogue is spoken. His 11 year old daughter visits him and gives his life purpose again. All of Sofia's film are heavy with themes. They are not subtle in any way, here we see a strong theme in parenthood, (Which my friend, Jack would appreciate). Sofia also wrote in a little biographical details about living in hotels as a child. Perfect example of "write what you know."

Lick the Star (1998) is a 14 minute long black and white short film Sofia co-wrote and directed. It's Heathers (1988) meets Mean Girls (2004), but in the 90s. I'm so grateful my friend pointed out a very important cameo by none other than Peter Bogdanovich himself. [Peter Bogdanovich is a very well known director who just so happens to teach Directing for the upperclassmen.] 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000953/

The Bling Ring (2013) Currently in production. Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the Internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

Get to know Sofia a little better:

Fort (2012)

This is Student film screening week. Mon-Wed are first years, Thur-Fri are second years, Sat are third years, then 4th years go on Sunday. It has been such a great experience watching the student films. These are films I have worked on, my friends have worked on and I've seen go into production. Something I once considered impossible to do.

The order of the films were by section first then pretty much the order they were shot within the sections. Once our film was shot, we had until April to edit them. In our editing class we screened our rough cut and got feed back to improve it, so I was able to see a handful of the five minutes. I'm so proud of this first year class. There were so many very creative stories and once I get permission and a copy or link I will add them here.

Section Three Tripods

Let me take a moment to express how unbelievably proud I am of my section, Section Three Tripods!

Jake Kath

Camilo Herrera

Kazmo Kida

Josh Mayo

Jenny Gray

Joseph Hefner

DR Monroe

Michelle Shiraziefard

Ben Guilbault

Tyler Harmon-Townsen

Mike Kern

Wil Massenguill

Rachael Hall

Harry Keenan

Carol Housel Kenney

Alex Hughes

Harrison Keller

Now that I've had my official screening of Fort (2012), I've decided to upload it and make it live for your viewing pleasure. 

<This is not a disclaimer, but I want to say that after seeing it on the big screen I've noticed a few things I need to fix (mainly in the audio) but I need to take a small break from this film and gain some perspective on it.>

This weekend was also BEAUX ARTS! Where we all pretty much just celebrate being down with the year. Each school had their own performances [Film had their screenings, Dance had performances as well as the music school, and drama had a couple of stage combat shows. Saturday night was a dance at the millennium center then Sunday was a carnival on the hill with food, music, and volleyball. High of 80 was the prettiest day I've seen in a wile. 

Dancing the nigh away

on our way out

hush that fuss.

Carnival

The following are a couple of passages from literature I've come across that I felt were worth putting in here.


"If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?" Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

Thomas De Quincey, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater “All men come into this world alone and leave it alone.” This is true in a very literal sense. We also take others with us when we die. Because the only knowledge that we have of another person is contained in our heads as a mental representation of that individual, is a sense our own death will steal their lives away too. 

One Hour Photo (2002)

The last few weeks have been filled with trying to fill spare time with spontaneous things. Starting with a trip to Greensboro to visit Austin's parent. On a whim, we jumped in the car, started driving to some good tunes. Spotted a Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man and had to pull over to join him. Take a look:

Then continued our journey to Gboro. Took a walk and took some photos, chatted about movies, life and love. Then had a wonderful dinner to follow with a 100 year anniversary viewing of Titanic (1997) on VHS with coffee and chocolate cake.

Spontaneous trip to Gboro. 

Playing with my camera. 

Below is a photo of SECCA, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. http://secca.org/ We took a short field trip to the museum to see a film noir themed exhibit by Tracey Snelling http://traceysnelling.com/home.html.  It was a lot of fun to do something different. To find a little inspiration besides the internal walls of UNCSA.

Another great resource Winston Salem has for art lovers is the Reynolda House http://www.reynoldahouse.org/ We've been a couple of times this year for Art History and it is beautiful. Below are some photos Austin and I took on a trip there:

In a magnolia tree

In the gazebo

Reynolda House

It's about that time... Resume season. It's such a fulfilling little task. Creating little papers that list your accomplishments. It wasn't until I made my UNCSA film resume that I realized how much I have worked this year.

I also updated my theatre resume for the hell of it, which brought back some great memories. My professional resume is looking really beefy. But the one that is giving the most problems is my film resume!
This Friday is my portfolio review with all of my art professors. The reviews have been going on all week and everyone says there's nothing to worry about.

Movies I've seen recently: The Wrestler (2008) (finally) I really enjoyed it, mostly for the performances. What a great job by Mickey, Marisa and even Evan.

Required screenings have ceased for American cinema, so I'm left to watch movies I want to see. :) Feels good. Tonight's screening: Take Shelter (2011) Which is Directed & Written by Jeff Nichols who is an alumni of UNCSA! :)

His newest movie, Mud (2013), is one of the leading films at the Cannes Film Festival this year, also written and directed by Nichols! http://www.austin360.com/movies/austins-nichols-to-take-mud-to-main-cannes-2314789.html


Working tech ops has it's perks, like getting a private, hands on lesson on the Arri Alexa Camera. A $90,000 camera! Puts my little DSLR to shame. It took approximately 30 minutes to get completely set up on it's sticks and spreader..... AND grip head with the EVF and Matbox.. and yada yada yada. I don't mean "yada" with disrespect, it's more like "Whoa, that's a lot to remember."

After today I only have 1 week of academics left. The classes are starting to become a little more casual. In Psychology we are learning about Change Blindness: Watch this video

How many changes did you notice? I think I noticed 2.