diana writes:

I love discovering new music, especially when it happens by accident. Yesterday I was alone in my apartment singing whatever happened to pop into my head. I never sing in front of other people, but I have a descent singing voice that I exercise regularly purely for my own entertainment. It helps to cut the quiet when I’m alone, and singing seems less crazy than talking to myself.

♫ “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens / Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens / Brown paper packages tied up with strings / These are a few of my favorite things…” ♫

Yes, it’s a slightly embarrassing song choice, but it’s important to the story of how I discovered POMPLAMOOSE. In a fleeting moment of fantasy, a daydream, I envisioned myself recording a cover version of the classic tune from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, putting my own spin on it. Since I don’t sing in public - not even karaoke - and I don’t play any musical instruments, I quickly snapped back to reality. But my curiosity was piqued and I wondered who had been brave enough, or talented enough, to record a cover. So I Googled: “favorite things.”

The video results caught my eye. I clicked on the first video with the female singer uploaded by PomplamooseMusic. The video began in black and white with a girl singing, then another panel of her singing was added, and another until she was harmonizing with herself A capella in triplicate on the screen. After the first verse, the video burst into color. All of the instruments and vocals were recorded by two people, Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte, then layered and edited together creating a dynamic, quirky sound and a unique visual style.

The duo known as Pomplamoose (a name derived from the French word for grapefruit – pamplemousse) have become an Internet sensation covering everything from Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” - each with over 5 million hits - to Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” (in French) and my personal favorite, The Chordettes’ “Mister Sandman.”  It’s hard to classify their sound but I’d say Pomplamoose is an Indie blend of Folk-infused Pop.   

A few months ago, Pomplamoose collaborated with musician Ben Folds and author/lyricist Nick Hornsby on the song, “Things You Think.” Hornsby adds an interesting spoken word component to the tune, contributing facts and statistics about literature and book publishing. (Side note: I had the opportunity to see Ben Folds live in concert back in 2005. He often plays the piano while standing, pounding the keys with such intensity that he has to wear special Band-Aids on the ends of his fingertips to stop them from becoming a bloody mess on the ivories. It’s quite something.)

Now, go play on YouTube. Pomplamoose will keep you busy for a while.

Earlier this year, Pete Yorn asked his fans to create music videos for his song, Paradise Cove. Using existing footage, I edited this PY video mash-up featuring The Man himself and the lovely Scarlett Johansson. The video has a dreamlike ethereal quality to it and explores the themes of duality and perception of reality versus fantasy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko5RH6l3LMM

Aron Ralston photographed himself while trapped in Blue John Canyon, 2003

WWAD? What would Aron do? After 127 hours trapped in a remote canyon in Utah with his right hand lodged under an 800 lb. boulder, Aron Ralston amputated his own arm in order to survive. He made a choice to live. It’s the most extreme example of self-preservation I’ve ever heard of.

I remember seeing Ralston give television interviews back in 2004 when his book, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE, was published the year following his ordeal. I added the title to the list of books I intended to read, but I wasn’t ready for it at the time. That happens to me occasionally, when I know something will have a profound effect on me, but I need to shelve it until I’m ready for the lesson.

The likelihood of me ever having to amputate my own arm, or anyone else having to do that, is very slim. That’s not really what Aron Ralston’s story is about. That’s just the headline, the attention-grabbing detail that reels you in. When Ralston set out on what he considered a routine canyoneering adventure, he was alone, and he hadn’t told anyone where he was going. At the time he was 27 years old and very independent. I can relate. But he didn’t summon the strength of will it took to get out of there on his own, it was Aron’s connection to his family that made survival so important that he was willing to achieve it by any means necessary, even if it meant cutting off his own arm.

“An arm is not a life.”

James Franco is phenomenal as Aron Ralston in 127 HOURS, the latest filmby Academy Award-Winning Director, Danny Boyle. Franco is alone on screen for most of the 93-minute film and it is INTENSE. Going in, audiences know the outcome of this story, but the way it unfolds is heart pounding and absolutely stunning. Both Boyle and Franco deserve Oscar nods for this project.

James Franco is the biggest risk taker in Hollywood. Not only is he an actor, but a director, producer, author, painter, sculptor, performance artist and he’s well educated.  He dropped out of UCLA after his freshman year to pursue acting, became a huge movie star, and then re enrolled in 2006. He majored in English with a concentration in creative writing, earning his undergraduate degree in 2008 after taking 62 credit hours in one semester. (He petitioned the university to lift the normal cap of 19.) Franco then moved to New York City where he earned his MFA at Columbia University’s writing program (while simultaneously studying filmmaking at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.) He’s currently pursuing his PhD in English at Yale University.

Last year Franco surprised viewers by portraying a sociopathic artist and serial killer named “Franco” on General Hospital, which left people asking, “What is James Franco doing on a soap opera?” Apparently he considers the role performance art. He also recently published a book of short stories and exhibited his own multimedia art installation at a gallery in TriBeCa. The sheer number of projects and post-graduate degrees this guy’s working on is impressive.  

James Franco studying.

I need to study/write/read/live/do more.

It’s Thursday and you know what that means, kids –it’s time for MUST SEE TV! Oh how I love that old NBC slogan from the 90’s. Even with their ever declining ratings and frequent timeslot shuffling, NBC’s Thursday night lineup is still boss. In fact, the Peacock Network announced this week that they’ll be airing 3 hours of “wall to wall comedy” beginning in January. Sweeeet! I do love me some Sitcoms.

I’ll admit it - I’m a TV junkie. I watch a ridiculous amount of television. In September I sat down and wrote out a list of all the programs my DVR was set to regularly record. I’m embarrassed to admit the number of hours I was devoting each week to television consumption, so I won’t. It got me thinking about all the other things I could be doing with my time, things like writing this blog. Right then and there I started deleting shows from my DVR – 7 hours worth per week hit the chopping block.  

Some shows were easy to eliminate, like HOT IN CLEVELAND (Sorry, Betty.) Shows that I’d watched for years (ahem, GREY’S ANATOMY) were a little harder to say goodbye to, but ultimately I’d had enough. The thing about television that makes it such a different viewing experience than film is the level of commitment required. Watching a film is like going on a first date, but getting involved with a TV show is like building a long-term relationship.  It’s harder to break up after you’ve already invested 5 or 6 years.

Here’s the list of shows I’m currently courting on Thursdays:

30 ROCK – (8:30PM NBC) Tina Fey is a comedy wizard. I love, Love, LOVE that woman! She’s consistently hilarious as Liz Lemon and the fact that she’s also the show’s creator, writer and executive producer, like WOW. The ensemble cast is phenomenal (esp. Alec Baldwin and Jack McBrayer) AND 30 Rock easily has the best guest stars on TV. James Franco, Will Arnett, Jon Hamm, Matt Damon, I mean COME ON! If you don’t already watch this show you need to start. Not optional.

Liz Lemon, James Franco and Kimiko-tan

THE BIG BANG THEORY – (8PM CBS) I am officially addicted to this show. These geeks are comedy gods.  If smart = funny, genius = hilarious. I can’t get enough of Kunal Nayyar as astrophysicist Dr. Rajesh “Raj” Koothrappali. He’s the reason I got hooked on the show after catching an appearance he made on a daytime talk show a while back. (You can follow the delightfully charming @kunalnayyar on Twitter.) Also, Jim Parsons recently took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as theoretical physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper.  

Lemme hear ya say it now: BAZINGA!

Kunal Nayyar as Raj - somebody get that man a grasshopper! 

THE OFFICE – (9PM NBC) For my money, the U.S. version is even better than the U.K. original, and that’s coming from a serious Anglophile. Another fantastic ensemble cast. John Krasinski and Rainn Wilson are hilarious. I don’t know what they’re going to do next season without Steve Carell as Michael Scott.

PARKS & RECREATION – (NBC) Amy Poehler is a very funny lady. Aziz Ansari is fantastic. Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us when the series returns in January.

COMMUNITY – (8PM NBC) Another great ensemble. (Are you starting to see a pattern?) I love the premise - 7 adult students come together to form a study group at a community college. So simple.

THE MENTALIST – (10PM CBS) The only drama on the list. Why I love it: Simon Baker can really bring the funny to a crime solving drama. 

not just on NBC anymore.

I love Robert Redford. Yes, I said it. I. Love. That. Man. It’s no secret that Redford has long been my favorite actor – I’ve seen nearly every single one of his 40+ films (there are still 2 early ones that I haven’t been able to get my hands on) and I’ve seen everything he’s ever directed. Every time I see him on a screen big or small I’m mesmerized. He is simultaneously charming and mysterious, both serious and a practical joker. Not only is Redford a noted actor, but also a storyteller, an environmental activist, a shrewd businessman, a champion of independent filmmaking, and a cultivator of the creative spirit. I am in awe of him.   

I remember the first time I saw BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, the 1967 romantic comedy penned by playwright Neil Simon in which Redford stars alongside Jane Fonda as a newlywed couple struggling to keep it together after only 6 days of marriage.

I was 12 or 13 years old when my mother suggested that we watch the film, which was a staple on cable television networks like Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and American Movie Classics (AMC.) I’ve seen it at least two dozen times since then and even wrote a college term paper analyzing Simon’s original stage play and the process of adapting it for film. I give Barefoot and Redford’s performance my highest marks.

And then there’s THE WAY WE WERE. Redford and Barbra Streisand are electric in the 1973 romantic drama directed by frequent Redford collaborator, Sydney Pollack.

“Memories, light the corners of my mind / Misty watercolor memories of the way we were…” **Sigh**

Oh, how I love that film. Oh, how I always wish it could end some other way. Every time I watch it I secretly hope that one day Katie and Hubbell will work it out. 

My favorite scene is the one where Hubbell is celebrating with a beer after selling his first story, but he tells Katie he’s celebrating because he got her to cross the street. Then he ties her shoelace. **swoon** 

But the film that propelled Robert Redford into superstardom was the 1969 comedic western, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. With Paul Newman as Butch, the talkative visionary of the train-robbing Hole in the Wall Gang, and Redford as the quiet Sundance Kid, always brooding and quick with a shot, it’s no wonder the film is a classic.

 “Who are those guys?”

When Redford’s last film, LIONS FOR LAMBS premiered at the 2007 AFI Fest, I shelled out $75 for a ticket to the screening, which also included entrance to the after party. (Oh yes I did.) Unfortunately I didn’t bump into Redford that night, but I had a blast getting all dressed up for my first Hollywood film premiere.

His next film is THE CONSPIRATOR, a historical drama about Mary Surratt, the only female co-conspirator charged in the assignation of President Abraham Lincoln. (Theatrical Release Spring 2011)

It’s definitely on my Life List to visit the Sundance Resort, to dine in the Tree Room, swap stories at the Owl Bar, hike through the forest and take horseback riding lessons in the shadow of the Utah mountains. Perhaps I’ll even run into Mr. Redford.  

The Essential Redford Collection:

“How important are your dreams and what do they cost you if you chase them?” 

That’s the question Edward Burns poses in his latest film, Nice Guy Johnny. It’s a heartfelt relationship dramedy about a 24-year-old guy named Johnny Rizzo who is “nice to a fault,” whose fiancée pressures him to leave his dream job as a sports radio disc jockey to pursue a higher paying yet soul crushing position as a warehouse manager at a cardboard box company. (My paternal grandfather was actually faced with the same situation in the 1940’s when he was expected to enter into his fiancée’s family business working for her father’s box company – luckily for me, he didn’t go through with it, breaking off their engagement the day before the wedding, maintaining his autonomy and freeing him to later marry my grandmother.)

With the release of Nice Guy Johnny, Ed Burns’ ninth independent film in 15 years, (he’s written, directed, produced, and starred in them all) he’s testing a new business model for independent filmmakers. NGJ was released last week not in theaters but simultaneously across digital platforms including iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, Video on Demand, Playstation, Xbox and on DVD.

It’s an example of true guerrilla filmmaking from production through distribution. The film was made on a $25,000 budget with a skeleton crew and young unknown actors willing to provide their own wardrobe, hair and make-up and forego craft service. No money has been spent on marketing either – no TV, radio or newspaper advertising – just Ed Burns touring on the festival circuit, giving interviews and utilizing social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, posting and “tweeting like a lunatic” to promote the film. In the spirit of independent filmmaking, he’s forged connections with his fan base on a grassroots level – he’s delivering his product directly to the people who want it – immediately – allowing them to download, stream, rent or purchase the film from the comfort of their own homes.

Burns is hands down my favorite director, a position he’s earned by maintaining creative control over his material. Edward Burns is to guilt-ridden Irish Catholics as Woody Allen is to neurotic New York Jews. I’ve seen every one of Burns’ films, all more than once. He broke into the biz in 1995 with his first feature, The Brothers McMullen, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He’d made the film for $25,000, shooting with unknown actors, borrowed equipment and recanned film stock leftover from other people’s shoots that he’d purchased on the cheap after re-enrolling in college to get the student discount. The film went on to gross over $10 Million at the box office, allowing him to continue making the small, talkie, personal, character-driven independent films that make up his body of work and act as a counterbalance to the big Hollywood CG-heavy blockbusters that monopolize the film industry today.

I remember watching The Brothers McMullen on VHS on the small TV/VCR in my bedroom when I was 13 years old and I’ve been a fan of Ed Burns work ever since. In college I purchased my first DVD player for the sole purpose of accessing the director’s commentaries he records as special features for each of his films. His passion for storytelling is evident, as is his generosity and willingness to share the how-to/DIY approach to low budget independent production. I consider his commentaries to be a master class in filmmaking.

After watching Burns’ 2001 film, Sidewalks of New York, which remains my favorite film of all time, I visited his office while on Spring Break in NYC with the hope of meeting him. (Sadly Ed wasn’t in the office that day, but I did take my picture with the company’s nameplate on the door before going on to visit one of the locations featured in Sidewalks, the Housing Works Bookstore Café.)

This week, eight years later, I had the opportunity to meet him after a screening of Nice Guy Johnny and the Q&A that followed at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica.

Kicking myself for leaving my copy of his book, Three Screenplays, back in my apartment, I approached him to say THANK YOU for making the films he does. I can assure you that I wasn’t very eloquent. Honestly, what can you say when meeting someone you truly respect and admire? Gratitude was all I hoped to convey.

Thanks again, Burnsie.

Check out Nice Guy Johnny this weekend.