Everyone loves #TheWalkingDead

Sadly, I can’t live in Atlanta.  I don’t particularly want to either, but I have to say if the Apocalypse IS actually one year away (as the trending hashtag ONE MORE YEAR would suggest) then I think the way to go would be a zombie apocalypse.  Why Atlanta?  Well it’s kind of a zombie apocalypse there all the time.  99% of AMC’s popular Drama, The Walking Dead is shot there on the sides of the highway, large chunks of which have been shut down for extended periods of time for the filming of the show.  Several of my friends who live out in that direction have tried to “set stroll” onto the Walking Dead, but from what I’ve heard it’s a pretty difficult set to get on to.  Even the extras, (zombies) require extensive makeup and training so it’s probably harder to even get a bit part on the show than most shows. 

            But this season of Walking Dead has been pretty swell I must say, as tonight saw the mid-season finale.  I thought I’d take some time to jot down some thoughts since I’m sure everyone watches the show and I’m sure everyone has something to say about it.  The great thing about this show, is that really in this season more than the last, it’s become less about the zombies and more about the characters.  I think at first it was banking off the concept of being a “horror” show of sorts and now it’s fully realized that it’s a show about survival against all odds and about coming together as an unlikely family when the world seems huge enough to swallow you whole.  I’ve grown to like several of the characters myself, in particular Daryl and Dale. 

            I’m glad that AMC is taking risks and not just phoning in a show about zombies with extreme zombie gore and survivalist battles in every episode like every other zombie piece of media ever made.  I’m also glad at how huge the response to the show is.  It trends all over on twitter every night that it airs, and the talkback was so huge from the first season of mediocre episodes, that a filler show was thrown up on AMC “The Talking Dead” right after each episode airs where they feel the need to have a roundtable discussion about what they just saw with guests present.  The first guest on this show was Patton Oswalt.  This makes as little sense to me as it does you.  From this point out, this entry will make little sense at all to those unfamiliar with the show.

            Anyway, tonight’s episode was rightfully Shane-heavy.  I think everyone kind of regards Shane as kind of a dick at this point, having left Otis to die and having banged (and maybe impregnated?) Rick’s wife when Rick was thought to be dead.  Dale managed to peg Shane’s violent behavior and hid the guns in the woods from him so he wouldn’t kill the zombies per the wishes of Hershel.  Shane finds Dale out in the woods and they confront each other and I was extremely nervous.  On one hand, I love Dale and I think he’s the voice of reason on the show.  I didn’t want to see Shane murder him in cold blood.  “You’re dead already” Shane says.  Meanwhile, Rick is helping Hershel lead zombies back into the barn so that someday they can be cured.  Then shit starts going down. 

            Shane sees Rick absurdly leading zombies around on poles trying to guide them into the barn and absolutely freaks out.  This is probably the best ten minutes of the entire show to date.  I thought it was Emmy worthy television.  Shane lets loose the zombies and everyone unloads their guns on them all at once.  It was a pretty breathtaking moment…then though, to top it all off, the little girl who had been missing the entire season emerges from the barn a zombie only to be finished off by Rick as her mother looks on and cries in horror.  It was some pretty powerful stuff.  It was also a satisfying mid-season conclusion though, and I can’t think of a better way to have ended things for now.  I’m too attached to all the characters to see any of them die (well I guess there’s a few I could stand to lose) and even those who deserve death, like Shane, deserve a better death that will be even more satisfying if done at the right moment in the series. 

The fact that I even have these complex feelings about the show means it’s drastically improved since the first season, which I found to be boring and did very little to establish the characters for me.  This season, which you’d think would be WORSE in theory than season one, since Frank Darabont left the show and since they spent literally the entire season sitting around on a farm NOT interacting with zombies was surprisingly tense and the writing was absolutely killer.  The Walking Dead has managed to breath life into some of the most colorful characters currently on TV and I can’t wait to see them back in February.  Now if only I could talk myself into watching Hell on Wheels. 

Now without further ado, please enjoy my collection of Dale pictures: 

Suburgatory is a cross between Cougar Town and Mean Girls.

In an effort to keep up with all things currently on television, I started watching the ABC show Suburgatory.  I had heard a lot of good things from some of the same critics that praise my favorite show, NBC’s Community and the cast was pretty appealing to me so I decided to check it out.  Suburgatory can best be described as Mean Girls meets Cougar Town with a splash of Emma Stone. The star of the show, Jane Levy, a relative newcomer to television (who also appears in Showtime’s Shameless) seems like someone who was hired because they couldn’t quite afford Emma Stone at first glance, but after watching 8 episodes of the show I think she shows just as much chops (as many chops?). 

            The premise of the show is that Tessa (Levy) is uprooted from her beloved New York City and taken to a rich, white-bread suburb by her father George (Jeremy Sisto).  They quickly get swept up into the rich, pampered community of neighbors, which includes Cheryl Hines (from Curb your Enthusiasm) and one of my favorite TV actors, Alan Tudyk as a dentist.  Tessa struggles to fit in at school alongside her Hilton-esque colleagues and semi-befriends a couple of totally unlikeable loserish side kicks.  Meanwhile George finds himself neck-deep in neighborhood moms, who would rather deliver him pies and hold PTA meetings than sexually satisfy him. 

            It’s not really the funniest fare on television right now, not even close.  It’s not the strongest subject matter either since as the supposed reason for the move to the suburbs is George finding condoms in Tessa’s bedroom.  Having said that though, I’m quite enjoying Suburgatory. I was criticizing one episode in particular for rehashing the exact plot of Mean Girls where gossip is published by the main character (a red headed new comer whose seen the world) in the school paper but ends up hurting her weird and off beat friends (Lizzy Caplan respectively in Mean Girls).  In Mean Girls this is to get back at the caddy, “mean girls.”  Here it’s to get back at Tessa’s rich, equally-spoiled neighbor who seems to be channeling Paris Hilton at all times, Dalia (Carly Chaikin).  The guidance counselor of the school, Rex Lee (Lloyd from Entourage), is kind of a blockhead and while he tries to help Tessa fit in at school and iron out her issues, he never really manages to succeed.  It’s good seeing him in more than just Entourage, but I also wish they’d do more with his character and not make him a gay stereotype. 

            Suburgatory has a lot of potential, and it certainly held my interest as a show which COULD go in a lot of directions.  I’ve officially added it to my weekly line up of things I’ll watch as they air (since it airs on a Wednesday and doesn’t interfere with my rigorous TV schedule blocks on Sunday and Thursday).  I guess you could say it’s not a show targeted at my demographic with it’s girly, schmaltzy humor and it does the opposite of breaking new ground, but the thing is, I’ve always enjoyed those “coming of age” high school stories.  I liked Mean Girls, I LOVED Easy A, it seems like a no-brainer that someone would try to make a show out of this concept.  Plenty of us can’t get enough of this type of “fish out of water” ordeal when it comes to high school, so I can only hope the show focuses on that and less on a clan of single moms hitting on George.  

           The show has been filming in LA since it's gotten a mid season renewal and I've driven past the set a few times.  Only now that I've watched it will I know what to look out for though.  If anyone is interested in the show, I will be posting the information for where to watch this show filming in public along with other shows I believe to be of merit.  

If you want to check out the trailer for Suburgatory: 

Tracking down a set

Saw this on the way in this morning:

"Biscuit" says the sign. OLV, On location Vacations, is one of the best resources for people looking to watch film sets. Most of the information and content is user generated. It provides addresses for those looking to find the sets or at lease vague information. It doesn't contain nearly every set out there, but only those that have been spotted already by the public. Checking the addresses posted there and seeing how close they were to where I was when I saw the sign is a way of figuring out what the yellow signs stand for. I've figured out that this particular sign is most likely for the show Parenthood based on its location. Maybe I'll have to go check it out, stay tuned...

Things seen around town...

First we have this nice "MOXIE" sign which I noticed right outside of the Emerson Building/La Verne University...

If you were to ask me what my first guess was as to what this sign was for, I would say Night at the Museum 3.  "Moxy" was a major plot point in Night at the Museum 2 and that's where my mind flew to. If I were to take an educated guess at this, given the known filming locations around town, I would say this is for the filming of the drama, Prime Suspect. I saw similar signs on Magnolia for "Trio films" all weekend. 

This next bit I actually photographed while I was near the Magnus Rex sets back in September and I did an "accidental" set visit to the set of Chuck. I've never been a Chuck fan, but I know they're filming the final season now.  Some of the set PA's and actors actually walked over from the Chuck set to The Dark Knight Rises set to see what was going on. Anyway in case you ever wondered what a real live permit looks like: 

Set Strolling on SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

I don't know a whole lot about Seven Psychopaths. I do know that it has Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell though, and it's from writer/director Martin McDonagh, whose last film, In Bruges, is one of my favorite films of all time. It's a shockingly underrated modern classic that more people owe it to themselves to watch.  I heard they were filming in Downtown LA and apparently other people beat me to the punch a day early judging by set photos of Colin, who I would have loved to have met.  Even so, I took a trip down there and saw some beat up cop cars. It's better than nothing.

One thing I'm coming to learn from set visits is that movies have their own schedules. Some shoot only on weekdays while others choose to do the big scenes on weekends. Looks like this one was a weekday shoot.

Homeland is the best fall pilot of 2011

My obsession with NBC's Community might be considered unhealthy by some...but Thursday only comes one night of the week.  At the start of the season I asked myself "What do I use to plug the void that can't be filled by anything but the antics of Greendale students every other night of the week?"  Tons of new shows debuted this year, including the CGI mess Terra Nova, the doomed NBC comedy Free Agents, the "Johnny Drama" spin-off How to Be a Gentleman and even the gritty AMC cowboy show Hell on Wheels that makes me think "I'm getting too old for this shit."  While Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story is entertaining and I look forward to watching it; it's already mid season and I'm still not even sure if it's genuinely good television.  As you can guess from the title of the entry, one show has my full attention this season--Homeland on Showtime.

The general premise of Homeland is easy enough to summarize, but don't go in watching expecting you'll be able to follow it tuning in every few weeks or so...because you'll end up extremely lost and confused. Carrie Mathison (Clarie Danes) is a CIA analyst who picks up on things that other people seem to ignore.  Thankfully this isn't relegated to being explained by supernatural bullshit like Medium, NBC's Grimm or the uncannily useful mental illness of Tony Shaloub's Monk; she's just plain smart.  In the show, a marine named Sgt. Brody (Damian Lewis) whose been missing for the better part of the past decade in Iraq has finally returned home to his family, a war hero.  Carrie suspects him of having been "turned" into a terrorist and sets up monitors at his house, stalking him relentlessly trying to catch him in the act.  It's tense, serious business...and the plot feels like it's coming to a head more and more so with each passing week.

Let's face it: compared to HBO, Showtime has little going for it with only Weeds and Dexter bringing in the viewers.  HBO is certainly leading the premium channels with Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, How to Make it in America and Bored to Death.  Entourage just ended and who knows if Curb your Enthusiasm will come back (not even Larry David according to the July Rolling Stone profile).  Showtime needed something to compete with and Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, two of the writers of 24 delivered in the form of Homeland.  Lord knows I hate cop shows more than anything and what I saw of 24 seemed a little too contrived to be enjoyable so I was very skeptical that I would enjoy a CIA drama.  Color me pleasantly surprised.

Claire Danes isn't exactly the first name you think of when someone says "TV star" having appeared in nothing of note in the past several years except Terminator 3, Shopgirl and Stardust, but she is absolutely pitch-perfect in Homeland.  I find that crabby neurotic television female ball-busters are generally pretty annoying, but there's a fiery magnetism surrounding Claire's character that makes her one of the most watchable and relatable leading women currently.  Damian Lewis, who you'd think is the "villain" of the show per se, as a possible terrorist/marine is also a fascinating character who I've come to like a lot more than when the show began.  He has a sinister vibe to him, and I'm wondering if he'll reappear in the second season of the show or if it will be like a "terrorist of the week" type thing every season.  The supporting cast is pretty strong, though no one I recognize.  Mandy Patinkin is especially good as Carrie's advisor/also-possible-terrorist/friend, Saul.  I think I might just be naturally trusting of older men with good beards so if he ends up a terrorist, I will feel personally betrayed.

One of the great things about this show is that it allows the viewer to re-examine what it means to be a hero or a villain.  Carrie is invading the privacy of innocent-until-proven-guilty people on extreme levels and the shows creators have said as much that they "want the viewer to feel uncomfortable."  Brody might or might not have been turned, but that doesn't prevent you from feeling the emotional tension between him and his wife played by Morena Baccarin, whether he's a terrorist or not.  And what is a "terrorist" anyway?  Homeland suggests not all of them are brainwashed soulless monsters, but rather sleeper agents risking their lives for their country behind the lines of a foreign enemy.

Homeland is never a dull affair and the episodes have only gotten more and more involving for the viewer.  It's never a light affair either, and it's one of those shows where you need to catch every minute to get the gist of it, not something you can talk over and half pay attention to (something I'm guilty of with a lot of second-tier shows).  It's rare that I find myself vested in the plotlines of television on more than an episodic level and yet there are mornings when I'll wake up and wonder "Is Brody a terrorist?" as I pour my morning cereal.  It hits close to home since we all remember 9-11, and that's kind of the point.  The only thing I wish the show had that it doesn't is an actual catchy theme song.  I guess national security is too ominous and straight laced to sing about, but one can dream.

You can watch the trailer here if you're still not sold, but I hope for your sake you have Showtime on Demand.

Set Strolling Do's and Don'ts, (and another trip to Pawnee)

As I was walking to the holding area for extras at an Equestrian Lodge the other day on the set of Parks and Rec the idea occurred to me to make a sort of guide for those who are hoping to watch film sets who might stumble upon this blog.  Having done this a while I thought I might have some pointers for those who simply see a posting online about a filming going on and seek it out.  There's more to it than simply walking in, and there's a lot of factors at play that people don't realize.  So here are some ideas I picked up:

DO's: 

• Have an iphone or video recording device on your phone 
• Master the art of recording or taking pictures with your phone in abnormal positions (close to your chest, at your side, in your pocket) so it doesn't look like you're obviously taking a picture. 
• Talk to people in the crew and set PAs. Befriend them as best you can always. 
• Walk slowly and casually.  Anytime someone is running on a set it appears like a crisis. 
• If questioned or stopped always act 100% clueless. 
• Think of your excuses for being somewhere ahead of time (looking for your car, work around the area etc.) 
• If you meet someone of importance or a talent, address them quickly and casually unless they're standing around obviously not doing anything. Call them by their first name so you don't seem like a starstruck fan. You never want to disturb whatever they're working on. 

DON'Ts: 

• Have your camera out as you walk up to a set 
• wear any sort of fanboy t shirts or clothing obviously visible 
• Hound stars or celebrities for photos or autographs 
• Argue with PAs or crew members. They're doing their job, you're just having fun. 
• Don't do anything that could get in the way of the filming or be considered disrespectful. If you're a true fan, you will let them make it the best it can be and not get in the way. 
• Don't ask questions or announce your presence when you first arrive on a set. Just casually walk in until someone stops you. 
• Don't use flash photography. 
• Don't ask the talent questions about what they're working on. 

That's about all I can think of.  The Parks and Rec set wasn't too impressive, but then again when you see a location that says "Equestrian Lodge" you don't expect that you'll be able to walk right in. I was able to pace around the trucks and the crew area for a while and see some wardrobes hung up, but I couldn't get close enough to see what they were actually filming or see the actors.  I wasn't about to walk right up to the room they were filming in and try to get in there.  Unlike the last Parks and Rec location, this was not a hotel, so I'm sure there's no getting the benefit of the doubt as a "hotel guest" hanging around here. That said I didn't even attempt it and I still felt awkward walking past a few times. 

Movie Music Spotlight on Pogo Remixes

One trend that’s totally captured my attention on youtube has been movie remix videos.  This is basically like taking a film clip, looping it, looping the sound and creating a song out of the actions going on in the movie.  There are some truly groovy Inception remixes on youtube at the moment.  One artist in particular seems to have an incredible talent at this making beats out of essentially nothing but sound effects in films and looping tiny shreds of dialogue.  Meet the Australian DJ Pogo.

Pogo is the remix artist behind a series of animated Disney and Pixar remixes, a Hook remix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wizard of Oz and other “surreal” films we may remember from our childhood.  These have been affectionately dubbed "Pogo Remixes" by music fans in the know. Due to the extremely repetitive nature of these remixes and the general trance like state they might put someone in if they watched enough of them, you could say the target audience of these videos is people who are high.  From the standpoint of a film aficionado, it’s fun to listen really closely to the ones from some films that you’re extremely familiar with and try to recognize the exact moments in the movies that he’s pulling the sound effects from, as the exact moment is almost always shown IN the video. 

Pogo shows some videos which offer some insight into how he does it using a touch screen software program called Lemur, but I’d still be totally lost as to creating something original as he has here.  It’s one thing to create a soundtrack remix or remix a song from a movie, but to create a song from a movie feels like a whole new genre of music to me.  It looks like an absolutely tedious process.  I’ve remixed and looped a few movie clips myself but I don’t have the kind of patience it must take to put something like one of these together, nor the musical ear. 

I find that I’m able to listen to these remixes not just on a novelty level of something I see that’s weird on youtube, but I’ve actually downloaded several of them.   While the Alice in Wonderland stands out to me as a masterpiece, the Up one, the Toy Story one and the Harry Potter one are all exceptional.  They make for uplifting driving music, as all of them are pretty pleasant and light sounding and make the best of the movie they’re editing.  If Pogo cut an actual studio album (which I feel like he wouldn’t need to seeing the level of perfection in his work already) I would be downloading or buying it on Day 1.  I hope that his enormous youtube success inspires others to try the same thing.  Then again I might never get work done if movie remixes become a huge Youtube trend. 

Set visit to PROJECT X-ITS THE NEXT SUPERBAD!!!

It's been a while since there's been sets really worth strolling on. The new comedy from Todd Phillips called Project X (the mind behind the Hangover) has been doing reshoots though in LA and since I have a unique perspective on the film I figured it was worth a trip.  I've actually seen the film, which is something that not many people can say.  I was part of a test screening audience for this film about 2 months ago which was the first to see it.  The movie comes out in March and now there's a poster as well as a trailer, and I think it will be pretty successful.  I've been asked not to post real reviews of the film, but in a sentence I think it's fair to say I thought it was "not bad."

Downtown in the jewelry district this weekend they were filming Project X.  As the premise of the movie is simply a gigantic house part that escalates into a block party that escalates into a riot, I was curious what they were shooting out in the open like this down at Main and 9th Street. Thankfully, I was able to "stroll" right onto and through the set with no one telling me otherwise.

The videos I got are not the best, but really there wasn't that much to see. Basically, the action was going on inside an apple store. Extras were waiting around inside the store.  As much of the movie is shot on handheld (and it's supposed to appear as if all of it was) there were no fancy cameras to be found.  One weird thing I found about this shoot was the total lack of filming signs.  I was thinking with a title like Project X they'd have some pretty unique yellow and black signs indicating the filming.  Sadly there were none.  I also didn't see any of the stars of the film, which makes this curious scene even curiouser.  If not for the address, I would think this shoot had nothing to do with Project X, having seen the movie and not knowing where they could fit in a scene at the Mac store.

I wish I could have been at the party set for this movie...as I think it would have been insane and I also think that they threw a real party and then just filmed it for the purpose of the movie.  Obviously a lot of it was staged and I know it's not a documentary film, but I am convinced due to the sheer number of extras at the party scenario that they just sent out an invite to a crazy party and then filmed it...which I respect.  

House of the Devil Review

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought it would be fitting to review a horror film.  I could review Paranormal Activity 3, like everyone else in the world would be doing if they had to talk about one horror film right now, but I’d rather wind the clocks back to 2009 for a while and discuss a film that looks like the clocks were wound back to the 1980’s in production…House of the Devil.  Currently streaming on Netflix, I suggest you check this film out before it’s gone from the instant route, because as far as modern horror films go, it’s absolutely sublime. 

             Written, directed and even edited by Ti West, House of the Devil is a “grindhouse” type throwback ordeal.  But never once does this film try to be over the top or in it for the exploitation factor.  It’s a carefully paced, terse narrative and it’s one hell of a slow burn.  In most genres of film this is hard to appreciate.  It’s also hard to appreciate horror “with a punchline.”  Thankfully this film has none of that.  It drives along slowly, almost in real time, grinding on the nerves of the viewer and making you as uncomfortable as the main character.  There’s a fabulous sense of isolation throughout that we can all relate to having spent nights home alone and investigating the closets and under the bed at the slightest trace of noise. 

            Jocelin Donahue plays a college girl typical of the 80’s  (right down to the Walkman) named Samantha whose just gotten her first apartment.  She’s trying to pick up jobs on the side to pay for her costly new rent (300 a month respectively) and she calls a flier put up for a babysitting job.  Her friend, played by Greta Gerwig, accompanies her to a creepy old house to accept the position.  Upon arrival they’re greeted by an extremely awkward and antsy man named Mr. Ulman played by Tom Noonan.  Eventually Samantha is left alone in the house with an …unusual and undemanding baby sitting job and the tension starts to build. 

            Unlike horror movies which deliver a scare a minute with some kind of hulking monster jumping out from behind a corner, the fear here builds in silence until eventually it’s palpable.  You’ll be able to hear your own heart beat at the end of it.  Watch this alone, preferably in the dark with all background noises silent.  It’s the kind of movie where you want to put yourself in the same element as the main character to feel the full effect. 

            Something has to be said about the genius way in which the tropes of 80’s films are brought to the screen again here.  Like I mentioned before, this is faithful homage film, but it also manages to do things that haven’t been done before.  The shots are well constructed and exceedingly well lit.  A slight film grain only enhances the picture quality in this case and I’m sure the film looks gorgeous on blu ray.  A lot of natural light is relied on and the shadows often lie to the viewer as well as betray the main character.  It’s excellent work, especially for such a low budget. 

            House of the Devil represents everything I thought was dead and gone in the horror genre.  Innovation, acting and a unique style all come through in spades here and if you’re a horror fan or cinemaphile you won’t be disappointed.  I imagine the standard rage-fueled uncultured teenager looking for a movie heavy on the cheap scares would be better off taking his date to Paranormal Activity, Final Destination or the latest in the Saw series, but I respect that this one tries to go for a demographic of horror fans who know the score and remember the good old days.  

MR moves to New York! (Setstrolling should open a branch!)

My friend over in New York got some photos from the set of The Dark Knight Rises (Magnus Rex).  While these aren't my photos, anyone interested in continued coverage of the film should check back for more updates. I've decided to see it through.

John Carter Set Sign

Pixar's first live action film John Carter is set to come out in 2012. Unfamiliar with the books, I didn't know what Barsoom was, but it's apparently the fictional realm where the film takes place. Here's a BARSOOM set sign for John Carter.

My review of A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas

            Trying to do an honest review of A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is difficult, because I feel like they’re dropped any and all pretense of trying to make a ‘good’ film and went straight for the exploitation of 3D and-weed humor.  That doesn’t necessarily make it bad though, and I’m pleased to say I laughed quite a bit at this film.  I was wondering throughout how far over the top they were willing to go, and the question was answered for me about three-quarters of the way through when Santa Claus fell out of the sky.  This is a movie that doesn’t even take itself seriously as a comedy.  I wouldn’t have expected any more from a movie that begins with 3D pot smoke being blown into your face by Kal Penn and Patton Oswalt as a mall santa.

            The movie opens with best friends Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) having separated, now living independent lives for the past few years and no longer on speaking terms.  Kumar is still irresponsible and smoking weed at every opportunity while Harold, now married, is struggling to impress his intimidating father-in-law (Danny Trejo) who is visiting for Christmas.  A giant blunt arrives in the mail for Harold at Kumar’s apartment which inadvertently brings the two back together.  All of this “plot” feels like a thinly veiled excuse to get to the high-times and chase scenes—one of which is in trippy claymation.  This would have impressed me if Community hadn’t already done it better last year.

 

            It’s interesting that they decided to go for 3D in this film thinking that would give them the edge over other Christmas comedies.  The “mockery” of 3D has been done before in full genital-swinging glory in Jackass 3D and I feel like this movie adds nothing new to that formula except splashing the audience in digital cocaine.   There’s a scene toward the beginning where Harold is telling his secretary how 3D is getting to be a tired concept.  Just like I found problems with the meta humor in Scream 4, I don’t find it funny when a movie calls attention to its own shortcomings.  It’s like you’re showing the audience that you’re partaking in a cliché, but you don’t care that you’re doing it.  This kind of thing is better saved for television. 

            Where the movie really shines is in the mandatory scene with renowned Broadway actor Neil Patrick Harris. He appeared in the previous Harold and Kumar films incidentally as well, though I feel like he’s even funnier in this one since the release of the previous films he’s grown in fame and celebrity status. Though he’s gay in real life, Patrick Harris, who plays himself in the film, turns out to be a perverted womanizer who uses the “gay trick” as a front for caressing women in his Broadway dressing room.  This was easily the funniest scene of the film and an example of meta humor working well. 

            I laughed at a lot of this movie, which I guess is the best way to truly judge a comedy, rather than on the level of a truly good and cohesive work of cinema.  There have been some comedies that do both though, like recent Apatow vehicles. I think my biggest problem here is that A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas brings nothing new to the table.  Then again, I don’t think it ever tried to.  The most innovative thing to come out of the movie is Wafflebot, the Christmas toy of the year in the fictional Harold and Kumar-verse.  Wafflebot is a stout, fiercely loyal and outspoken waffle-cooking robot and fills the sidekick role in the film.  It feels very Harold and Kumar, as does the whole movie.  At least we can’t say it’s not as good as the previous films.  The legacy of the stoner trilogy remains in intact and you can’t help but feel the Christmas spirit as Wafflebot reminds us “pancakes are f-ing gay.” 

Halloween Horror Nights...behind the scenes event coverage

As a one-time visitor to Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights, I couldn't help but think at the time about the process and how much fun it would have been to have worked there and have been a part of the scare-experience. This year I ended up working at a booth at Halloween Horror Nights for NBC promoting an upcoming show.  It was an eye opening experience into the whole process and what goes on backstage for sure.  While my pictures of this even were few and far between (since it was dark and I didn't want to raise eyebrows on the backlot), I can provide now as detailed an account as possible working there for a weekend.

From Universal City Walk, there's a semi-secret entrance for employees into the back areas of the theme park.  My name was a list which permitted me access into this section for all three days.  It's something of a miniature city back there, with walk ways, the back of sets and of course no one roaming about except park personnel.  The best thing about it was the "monsters" (guys in costumes who are paid to frighten people) were sitting around chilling, talking and rehearsing behind the scenes as they got ready.  While I didn't interact with too many of them, it was fun seeing them out of character.

While I had planned on video taping my walk through of the backlot, I was joined by a curious employee right as I was about to hit record who asked me all about my company and what it did.  I got the distinct feeling all three nights that people "didn't believe me" when I said I had proper security clearance.  The NBC badges got a bit worn out eventually from how many times I had to flash them at other people working in the park.  For those who think that theme parks are dangerous places...I now know for a fact they are safe as can be.  Security is extremely tight at any place like this and if there's a hair out of line, they'll be on it with 4 fat guys wielding flash lights quicker than you can say "John Carpenter's The Thing."

Setting up our booth every night took 2 hours.  This was a laborious process, made even more laborious by the anal-retentive micro management of park staffers who didn't allow us to carry more than one metal pole or tent spike at a time in fear that we'd behead wayward civilians.  When the set up was through, I had free roam of the park, and I was able to circumvent all of the lines with a flash of my NBC badge.  This meant that I ended up visiting all the "scare zones" (haunted house walk throughs) except 2. Allow me to describe them in great detail as you read on with rapt interest.

But first take a gander at our Grimm NBC Booth.

La Llorona 
I don't know why they went with a title for this one that nobody can pronounce and that no one's heard of but maybe as someone contributing to the "white" demographic statistic I'm considered out of the loop here.  Basically the premise of this (from what I could gather from context and signs that I didn't read) is some woman eats babies or something. This was actually one of the better haunted houses.  You start walking past a pond with dead bodies floating and make your way through rooms of carnage.  By far the most lasting image from this house (and from ANY of the houses for that matter) was a giant rubber monster witch head eating a child with dated animatronics.  I actually said aloud while walking through the event "damn that's cool."  Something about that giant child-chomper resonated with me.

Alice Cooper 
I didn't realize before I worked here that 1. Alice Cooper was in fact, not a woman despite his name and 2. that anyone gave a shit about his music anymore.  I thought that it was just some band or crazy woman with some kind of dying following like Gwar or something that everyone just shakes their head at nowadays, but apparently people still dig the Coop.  This also ended up being a great haunted house. Particularly because there was nothing particularly Alice Cooper about it. If there was, I didn't pick up on it.  It's funny they chose visuals like piles of human meat and people being sawed in half to interpret angry music.  People who make those types of mental associations are usually worried about in the public school system. Anyway this was one of the best houses. Worth checking out if you go. I'd still have preferred an Anderson Cooper house of horrors...with real wind gusts over 70 mph.

Rob Zombie 
Another horror-inspired musician with a haunted house. Geez you'd think they were giving them out to EVERYBODY these days.  Next thing you know Slipknot will have a haunted house. Anyway, this one was special because it was "3D."  3D is actually laymans terms for "we'll color everything in with blue and red lines."  Nothing was particularly 3D or shocking about it. Kudos to them though for actually having recognizable characters from the films such as Captain Spaulding, Otis and Dr. Satan. House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Reject fans will be pleased.

Scream Tram 
Actually the first one I went on.  This is a mess. You get on a tram car which is a "backlot tour" which bombards you with movie trailers for Scream and The Thing and then takes you to an outdoor trail lined with unscary people in bad costumes.  It just felt thrown together, and less than the quality you'd be accustomed to from the rest of the haunted houses.  It seemed like something you might encounter on a hayride for a pumpkin patch with a ten dollar admission...not a universal horror nights production.

Hostel 
Apparently Eli Roth himself gave his blessing to this haunted house and enjoyed it.  What can I say?  This was probably my favorite non-ride attraction looking back.  I liked the hot girl imitating the foreign accent in the beginning, I liked the movie accurate costumes and the squirting blood. I haven't even seen Hostel but I think this Haunted House exhibit had all of its "ducks in a row."

Jurassic Park 
So I'm not sure how the ride is different from how it normally is during the day, but it's the Jurassic Park ride....and there's raptors.  That has to count for something?  This is a water ride, so unless you want to be rudely snorted water on by animatronic dinosaurs, you should skip it.  It never goes particularly fast or gets scary, but toward the end there is something of a drop.

The Mummy
By far my favorite thing at the park that was open during horror nights. I rode it 3 times. I'm convinced NOTHING was changed about it from the day time regular rides, but it's a roller coaster in the dark.  The only other one of those I can think of is Space Mountain at Disney.  I'm not sure which of these rides is longer (even though I've rode Space Mountain a disgusting, indulgent amount of times on my disney trips) but this one was fun for a movie themed gimmick.  I don't care about the motif, the mummy or Brendan Fraser, but this was a fast moving, real roller coaster that kept me interested.

Well there you have it, my experience at Halloween Horror Nights. I'm borderline delirious and I'll edit this with pictures in it soon, but it was a fun weekend.  I wish I had only gone one or two nights, instead of 3 because by the third I was totally desensitized to rubber scream masks, but overall it was a good time.  If you like getting drunk and having people jump out at you behind hanging fake corpses in movie themed haunted houses...you've probably been there already.

Setstrolling on the Universal Lot

Yeah I've been on the Universal backlot all weekend. Why? I've been working at Halloween Horror Nights. It's fun getting that sort of clearance and seeing the inner workings of such a large establishment.  You'd be surprised how despite having a badge your presence still gets called into question at a million points of entry.  At one point, a particularly ugly and dumpy short woman wearing a ridiculous themed outfit tried to have me removed from the park.  I think it's kind of funny when people try to get off on a modicum of authority.  You're not there as a creative or anyone with some kind of talent, you're there because you're a low-level employee. I'm grateful for the access I have and I don't pretend to be anything above a peon when I'm there either.

One final video cut together from MR

My final compilation of clips from Magnus Rex which I was able to shoot on my camera. Big Thanks to my youtube subscribers and my video hits (over 50,000 now!)

14 days and a helluva ride. Here's to what's next.  Good luck New York!

My Podcast now available for download!

Over the summer I hosted my own radio show where I talked about movies and gave set reports and insight into some of the newest films on Emerson radio. I have decided to continue this podcast with updates on this blog. The format will be shorter and more geared toward set visits (with LIVE reports from sets) but I think I'll keep it under the umbrella of the same show. Enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1c1kai714178rfy

My favorite podcast and favorite website

You guys need to check this podcast out. I don't know the guys but I'm giving them a plug anyway. They're extremely informative, their opinions (while I often disagree with them) come from a well defended perspective, and they have a humorous approach. As someone who makes podcasts myself, I HIGHLY recommend you check these guys out:

http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/

And now for a link to my favorite site.  It's not necessarily having to do with visiting film sets, or film itself so much as the "underbelly" of pop culture. X-Entertainment embodies the glorification of everything from cheap latex monster masks, to seasonal cereal.  As a promotional food enthusiast, I can relate to this.

http://x-entertainment.com/

It's Argo week.

A new set begins. 14 intense days of visiting MAGNUS REX will be hard to top but I'm just throwing it out there that today begins a week of outdoor exteriors and stunt shoots downtown for Ben Affleck's new film, ARGO, a political thriller.

Current shows to follow:

This is my current watch list on television. Is this too much or just right? Is anyone else a fan of any of following shows? I'm looking into set visits for the ones that I actually like (which isn't all of them, I'm just a television addict).  How much TV can one man watch in a year?

My favorite shows: 

• Community 
• Parks and Recreation 
• Boardwalk Empire 
• Bored to Death 
• Happy Endings 
• South Park 

Shows I follow and enjoy: 

• The Office 
• How to Make it in America
• The Walking Dead 
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 
• Archer 
• Homeland

Shows I'm giving a chance: 

• Whitney 
• New Girl 
• American Horror Story 
• Terra Nova 
• Hung 
• The League 

Canceled shows: 

• How to be a Gentleman
• Free Agents 

Shows in the off season (or over): 

• Entourage 
• Curb Your Enthusiasm 
• Wilfred 
• Louie 
• Game of Thrones 
• Eastbound and Down 
• Jon Benjamin has a Van 

Upcoming shows: 

• Grimm 
• House of Lies 
• Locke and Key 
• Hell On Wheels