Along with about 20 other bloggers, I was chosen to participate in Ford's "Escape from Boredom" in LA. We were flown to LA, treated like celebrities and given a taste of the Hollywood life.
Day 1 - Tuesday
I woke up this morning at 3:45am EST, snug in my bed, to Mr. Jimbo telling me we were running 15 minutes late.
I'm heading to bed right now, in the swanky Roosevelt Hotel and it's 10:55pm PST (1:55pm EST) and I'm just the teeniest bit drunk. OK a bit more.
It's been a whirlwind. six hours in the air with a stopover in Cleveland and a propensity for clumsiness that left my seat mate and I sloshed with water. Nice.
I was escorted to the Roosevelt by Howard, my stallion in a Lincoln Navigator. We had a very warm conversation where he talked about his girlfriend, their recent joint birthday party and experiences with stars. I heart Howard.
I was welcomed into the hotel by friendly bellmen and ushered into the lobby to meet cheerful Megan (my soul sister - I swear I knew her in a previous life!), and check into my room and headed to the penthouse for orientation!
The penthouse was nothing short of magnificent. Leather couches, silver curtains, a second floor with a fuzzy bed in the middle of the room and a humongous bathroom. The penthouse also had a third level - the roof with a view of the LA skyline and my very first glimpse of the infamous "Hollywood" sign.
I had nummy sammiches and get-to-know you convo with bloggers and Ford peeps were on the menu followed by a quick little prezzo about why we were there (Our group of 20 or so bloggers were invited to Los Angeles to experience first-hand Ford's Boredom Hurts campaign, to drive Escapes round Hollywood and most of all, to have fun.)
I'm in; how about everyone else?
"On The Lot" Taping
From there we hopped into Ford Escapes and careened through the Hollywood hills landing at CBS Studios. Studio 21 was our destination. A real live Hollywood studio. I was beyond excited and nearly bounced out of myself with giddiness.
Tour the studio, meet with execs, happen upon Carolyn Castiglia, a hilarious comedy blogger with whom I felt an instant connection (she had the same Target bag) and within minutes of meeting her I was promising to come down to NYC and see her perform.
Mark Burnett approached our group and he had a lot of great things to say. What an amazing guy. I caught the following quote after being asked about how he deals with negative press: "Lists don't matter to me; what matters to me are my kids."
The taping was amazing - I had never been in a live studio audience before and it was definitely an experience. I got caught up in the clapping, jumping up and down, and whooping and caught a t-shirt. I clap-clap-clapped and smiled until my cheeks hurt.
Meet the Judges
At the end of the show, we headed up to the stage and had pictures taken then met with the judges. First we met Gary Ross and he was a really cool guy. He answered questions and gave the filmmakers in our group some great advice.
The next judge, Penny Marshall is way cool, if a little nutty - I guess Hollywood does that to ya. Still, I admired her spunk and her desire to direct more female-dominated films.
Met. with. Carrie Fisher. She's so tiny. And down-to-earth. And a hoot. And way paranoid about what us bloggers are going to say about her. She got the wrong idea, yo. It's all about the love here!
Met the host, Adrianna Costa who was absolutely gorgeous, articulate and very, very sweet.
Zee Cocktail Partay!
After the show and meet and greet, we all attended a cocktail party with members of the cast and crew we were able to chat with the contestants.
I'm definitely not a fan of reality TV, but once I knew I was heading to LA to see On The Lot, I caught a few episodes. I watched the last one as well as the first two to get the general gist of the show.
Even after watching one episode, I was surprised at how much goes into making a film. I tell you, I wouldn't be able to do it. It really is an art form.
Talking to the contestants, I got a sense for how much they LOVED directing. Their passion is blinding. I just love to experience people who are passionate about what they do, or about anything at all. It's like their true self comes out and they shine. It's kind of like they're a kid again.
When walking through the set and meeting the crew, I stopped by a woman in the control room and asked her if this was her dream job. She beamed and said it was indeed her dream job and she loved it! That's awesome!
The two directors (Jason Epperson and Will Bigham)that I met at the cocktail party were just amazing people. I was both impressed by their talent and artistic ability, but also by the fact that they were really great down-to-earth people and I wanted all of them to win!
Dinner at Social!
Dinner that night was held at "Social", and pretty swank club/restaurant in LA. We had two rooms and were able to chat more with the contestants and the other bloggers.
Dinner was great! I was so full by the time dessert came, but I had to have a chocolate-dipped cookie! I couldn't resist.
I was one of the first ones to head back to the hotel, being one of the unlucky ones that had flown in from the east coast, I was exhausted from the day and from the time change. I ended up in bed about 11pm (PST) or 2am (EST) and was up bright and early at 7am the next day.
Day two coming right up!
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