Xanadu

I was lucky enough to be invited to a charity event on Saturday night where Olivia Newton John performed. And performed. And performed. I swear, I think she sang every damn song from every album she's ever produced. She just kept on going like the Energizer bunny! Not that I minded, seeing as though there was an open bar .... Of course, she sang all of her well-known hits in between all of her other stuff. Not to mention, she looks fab. No mention about her missing boyfriend, though. Did they ever find him? Oh, and guess who else was there? No, not another star -- but Mr. Pyscho Realtor. Jeesh, I can't seem to shake this guy.

Well, I'm off to NY tomorrow for Turkey Day. Flying into Newark tomorrow night around midnight, then driving upstate to my mom's until Saturday. Hopefully, the weather will hold out, though they're saying snow. Ugh. Sunday we're having brunch with our director friend back in the city who is supposedly interested in turning one of my scripts into a sitcom. I won't believe it until I hear it from the horse's mouth. Sunday evening I return to sunny California.

Speaking of developments, I sent two scripts off to Mr. Sony Producer and a script to New Line for coverage. Wish me luck, y'all! And have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Missed Opportunity

I attended an alumni event last night at Le Meridien Hotel. One of the panelists was producer Dan Jinks who co-produced the Academy Award winning movie AMERICAN BEAUTY. Coincidentally, he arrived just in front of me at the valet. I thought it was him, but I wasn't sure until I later saw his name tag. Unfortunately, I didn't take the opportunity to speak with him at the cocktail portion of the evening because afterwards, he bolted for the door and vanished. Smart man, considering how long the car queue was by the time I made it outside. To my credit, I did look for him once during the cocktail party, but somebody else had just snagged him. Now that I know he's an alumnus, I could always write him a query letter I suppose. Or if I'm really brave, call his office and attempt to set up a meeting to chat.

Conflict of Interest

So the production company one of my bosses works for is actively seeking projects to produce for the Sci-Fi Channel. And it just so happens I have two scripts that would be a perfect match. However, since I work for, not only him, but his wife as an assistant, I'm not sure he'd risk losing me to the both of them, assuming he would agree to read a script and liked it enough to pursue.

However, I thought about creating a pseudonym for myself and presenting one of my scripts as a friend's. The other disadvantage to having a script produced for the Sci-Fi Channel is the scant pay. It's almost laughable, not to mention insulting how low it is. But maybe it's more important to have a credit at this point, than to worry right now about my pricetag?

Celebrity sightings: Tonight Jessica Simpson at Blockbuster on Sunset renting a movie with a gal-pal. Coral from "The Real World: Back to NY" at Ralph's grocery store also on Sunset last night. And Sidney Poitier again in my office yesterday.

What Can I Say?

I've been kinda busy lately. What with my friend Anna in town and then Raul here for a week. Anna and I were dorks and we bought a star map. We scoped out several homes, including Brad Pitt's new place, Matthew Perry's house, Diane Keaton, Ozzy Osbourne and Tobey Maguire. We tried to find Leo DiCaprio and Keanu Reeves to no avail. Before our tour even began we saw Jon Voight (as in Angelina Jolie's poppa) at a shopping plaza on Beverly Glen (the same one where I've seen Robert Blake).

Meanwhile, Raul painted my bathroom and we enjoyed some other activities during the week, including a lovely brunch at the Bel Air Hotel. Very expensive. Thank God I wasn't paying. (Edited, November 16th: an interesting side note -- the woman who treated us to lunch once dated director Roman Polanski, when she was a student at a boarding school in Switzerland and only, ahem, 17 years old. She still keeps in touch with him today.)

Oh, I forgot to mention I had a meeting with a huge producer on the Sony lot, no thanks to Raul. He's sort of the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Anyway, he offered to read anything I send him. Not that that means a darn thing. I am also, finally, going to send a script to New Line for coverage. Wish me luck!

Big Doings

It's been a very busy week. Tonight I'm going to the premiere of an independent movie a friend produced. Tomorrow, Raul returns for a week and my good friend Anna arrives for a visit.

Last night I had drinks at the Standard with my cousin's fiance who was here on business. And of course, then there's Halloween. But we won't go into that. Let's just say somebody was over served. And here I thought bringing our own mixed drinks in big-gulp cups was a good idea. Turns out it was a very bad idea. However, the carnivale on Santa Monica Blvd. was a lot fun ... from what I can piece together.

The night after Halloween was my boss' big gala event at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She was being honored for her lifetime of charity work for children. It was a fabulous evening. Debbie Allen's dance academy performed through out the evening, Paul Reiser hosted the show and Fred Willard hosted the auction with the assistance of supermodel-turned-actress, Amber Valletta. Shirley MacLaine spoke about my boss and Sidney Poitier presented her with the award. During my boss' acceptance speech, she was kind enough to thank her staff by name, including myself.

The best part of the night was when Reiser introduced clips of four different children's charities that the money raised was going to go toward. After one video for Camp Harmony three siblings from an underpriveleged family who attended the camp came out on stage and the eldest sibling spoke about their experiences. When she spoke about her broken family and how they have been homeless, she broke down and started to cry, and so did I and the rest of the audience. It was such a heart-breaking moment. A moment I will never forget. And a moment that made me realize how fortunate I am and probably many of you who may read this blog entry. Whenever I'm feeling down and blue, I will remember that precious little girl and remember how blessed my life has been and the myriad of amazing experiences I have had.

Celebrity sightings at the gala event: Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine, Jackie Collins, Paul Reiser, Debbie Allen, Fred Willard, Amber Valletta, Krista Allen, Robert Forster, Marty Kove, Tom Bosley (who looks very old), Bruce Jenner, Sugar Ray Leonard and Jake Weber (Patricia Arquette's husband on "Medium") and Monica Horan ("Everybody Loves Raymond").