Oh, how nifty, look who's 50! Happy birthday, George Clooney!

Magnet#1169 - Houston Astronaut

I love this Houston magnet - totally bought it in the Houston airport, though I'm wishing that one space store had been open, cuz I think they would have had such cooler magnets. Like a NASA one that says, It's not Rocket Science (except that it is)! Eh, maybe next year.

Anyway, I'm using this magnet today because it's the closest magnet I had at the ready for George's birthday.

Ya'll know how much I love my boyfriend. But, I will readily admit: I totally fell asleep during Solaris.

I'm sorry, George. Do you hate me?

Please don't. I've watched all of your other movies and own them, too. Including Red Surf. And dude, I oughta get a medal for that one.

Anyway, happy 50th birthday!

Love and kisses,
joy

Vega$

Magnet #996 - Las Vegas

Remember when I was cheating on George Clooney with Josh Duhamel? Yeah, still doing it. Thanks to TNT's drama blocks in the morning, there's two hours of Charmed, two hours of Supernatural and then two hours of Las Vegas.

I know when Sam and Dean are on, I've overslept, but when you don't really have anywhere to go, it's ok. Of course, it's gonna be hell, the first week at a new job, getting back into a new sleep routine.

I can't remember if I bought this magnet, or if someone gave it to me knowing I love my name on magnets. This one looks like it dropped out of the 70s or 80s, and who knows what's going on with the calligraphy font. Just silly creative decision there.

For some reason, though, the magnet reminds me of that old tv series Vega$ with Robert Urich. Clearly, I'm showing my age, because the show aired from 1978-1981, and that still puts me in single-digits, with a slight tv crush on Robert Urich. I remember thinking how handsome he was, running around solving cases in Las Vegas in his really cool big red Thunderbird.

I was definitely way too young to be watching the show, though, because I distinctly remember one case, where they were going after a stalker, and I think it was Dan Tana who got into the shower, had his eyes closed as he turned on the water, and as he faced up into the falling water, it turned deep red, like blood. And then he opened his eyes to realize that he was covered in red goo.

That scene seriously scared the bejeezus out of me. Like, to this day, the thought of it freaks me out.

Looks like the show's on DVD, though, so maybe I can go back and watch it...and scrub the scary memory from my mind.

Italian diversions

Magnet #927 - Il Duomo & Campanile

This is one of my favorite images of Florence - ever. I think the reason why, is because Il Duomo and its Campanile was built between the 1200s and the 1400s, and still, more than 600 years later, I can take the very same picture - without meaning to!

I'm using it for a couple of reasons, first, because I finally went to go see The American, mostly set in the Italian countryside.

Gravy, is my boyfriend George Clooney superduper pretty. But, definitely drink some coffee before you head into the theatre.

Oh, even though I should have known it from the get-go, it was definitely not the action flick I was anticipating. It's quiet. It's tense. It's quiet. No. I mean, seriously, George's dialogue had to have been less than 10 pages overall. Even as he came off as a model for designer sunglasses and wardrobe, George was fabulous in it - there was definitely no sign of George playing George.

The camera work is beautiful, and you can tell that the director is really a photographer. But ya'll know how I hate overdirected movies? This would be one of them. My biggest pet peeve with this movie.

"Here. Look at this beautiful roadside with a car driving down the left side. This movie (not car commercial) is set here. Here. Look at this beautiful Italian countryside. This movie (not NatGeo photoshoot) is now set here. Here. Look at George look beautiful in this doorway. He's worried someone's after him. Here. Look at George. He looks really hot in sunglasses. You can't see his true thoughts."

Oiy. Moving on.

The other reason I picked Florence because I picked up a new favorite show called Art of the Heist - all about famous art heists through history. Pretty cool stuff. Like the guy who walked into the Louvre and walked out with the Mona Lisa, and tried to sell it back to the Uffizi in Florence three years later. Really? You didn't think they'd notice?

Or, how some family started forging masterpieces and selling them. And getting away with it!

Or how the Hermitage in St. Petersburg did a standard inventory and found that more than 200 pieces in their collection were missing. Missing, I say!

I swear, most of these stories are fodder for White Collar on USA. Even so, now, I'm now totally planning my trip to the Hermitage in 2012.

The big dance

Magnet #919 - Norman Rockwell's Woman at Vanity

Though I'm sure I'll make it down for the latest Norman Rockwell: Telling Stories exhibit in DC, my sister picked up a couple of magnets for me, just in case.

This piece appeared on the October 31, 1933, issue of The Saturday Evening Post, and is of a woman sitting at her vanity, wearing the latest in fashion - a copy of a dress that Joan Crawford wore in the movie Letty Lynton.

I love this, because you wonder, where's she headed? What's the occasion? Is it somewhere glamorous? Dinner? Or, is she just dressing for dinner? And don't you just love the little girl in braids and her little puppy watching her mom primp. So cute!

I picked this magnet for today in honor of tonight's Primetime Emmys. There's something really cool knowing that all of Hollywood has been in a flurry for weeks, leading up to this day and night - all to put on a big show...

...so I'm gonna stop typing up this magnetblogpost to watch that big show. Though, I'm not gonna lie, there's a really big part of me that's waiting for a shot of (OMG, what's he doing, OMG, what's he doing here) David Tennant, plus George Clooney and maybe Jon Hamm and good gravy. It's a room full of my cuteboys!

*dies*

Smiles away

Magnet #768 - George Clooney, Up in the Air

Lest ya'll think that I favor David over George, here's a magnet of my absolute favorite scene from Up in the Air.

C'mon, who doesn't love a man with an easy smile?

Anyway. There.

A George magnet and a magnetpost with absolutely no real content whatsoever.

What? I was gonna do this whole thing about the movie and rant about the hard decisions being made, the sucky conversations that people have to go through, the terribleness of the times, the high rate of unemployment, the rugs being pulled out from under people, etc., etc.

But you know what? It's a magnetblog. And sometimes, you just gotta take time to look at the cuteboys.

Shaping the future

Magnet #708 - Eero Saarinen's Gateway to the West Arch

Earlier this week, some random Tweet popped up about the Eero Saarinen exhibit leaving the Museum of the City of New York on January 31st. I didn't even know it was around, and it's been here since November!

But, yay for that random Tweet, because I squeezed it in this morning, and I'm so very glad I did. Loved it. I think what I like about architectural retrospectives are the cool building models. I just love looking at the cool fake buildings. Granted, every time I see them, I think of Michelle Pfeiffer running around New York City trying to repair her own building model, and then ending the night kissing George Clooney in One Fine Day, but there really is something neat about being able to draw something, and then getting it built.

Of course, today was one of the last gallery tours, which means they were inundated with people, and it was hard to enjoy the tour because of all the bodies. But MCNY did a fantastic job setting up the exhibition. Apparently, it's been traveling since 2006, and when it leaves here, it heads for Yale to close out the 4-year-tour.

His work covers a very specific time - the 1950s (and early 60s) - that's when he was most successful, working for prominent corporations and individuals, before he passed away way too young at 51. For those of you who haven't seen Eero Saarinen's work (not to be confused with his pop, Eliel Saarinen), you totally, totally have. If you've seen the Arch in St. Louis on this magnet, you have. If you've ever flown out of Dulles, you have. If you've seen one of those cool Knoll womb chairs, you have.

It's weird how I didn't know how much of his work I've seen before. But, I was quite charmed by the fact that in addition for having designed their technical building (the supercool blue on in this blogpost) , he als0 did a ton of corporate design work for IBM - product brochures and even the neat 1964 World's Fair IBM egg.

I'm sad I didn't get to spend more time reading all the placards and looking at the models, I really just buzzed right through. Otherwise, I'd probably still be rattling off many more facts and figures and quotes and buildings than you wanted to know.

I guess it's not for everyone, as I had to dodge the guy sleeping in his wheelchair...and that was even before we entered the exhibition space!

Where do we go from here?

Magnet #700a, b and c - Joy tiles, take two

Totally have another set of these from earlier, but these count as separate, because I bought a set, and then got a set from my BFF a while ago. Totally. Counts.

Yay, happy 700th magnet!!!

I know, I copped out again, using another joy magnet as I always do, but did you expect any different?

Yep. That's what I thought.

Having now blogged on 700 magnets, I've felt compelled to face the possible end in site for joy magnetism. I mean, in my first post, I mentioned that this blog could certainly sustain itself for at least two years. But I didn't count on being given and/or making magnets for myself. Surely, I must be on the back nine of my collection, though.

So the questions remain.

How many magnets do I have in the collection? How long will the magnets last? Should I go out at 1,000? Should I just keep going til the last magnet is standing?

Eh, I look forward to figuring it out. Of course, I did just find out late last night that photobucket lets me download my magnet images in hi-rez! That means my magnetbook will totally have hi-rez images!

What magnetbook, you ask? Eh, the one that's gonna get written. In. My. Head. Hahahaha.

Happy 700th magnet - and thanks for playing along!

eta:
I was going to use my shiny new George Clooney magnet for today's post, but USPS didn't get here in time.

But, that's ok. We'll wait to see what the returns are from my boyfriend's Hope For Haiti Now telethon. I'm sure it'll be gangbusters. It's George and friends, after all!

I keed, I keed!

Magnet #692 - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

I got this from an NBC Universal stock photo rep I met with years ago, and I promised myself I'd never, ever use this Triumph the Insult Comic Dog magnet, mainly cuz, ewwww.

But, after reading Your Nose Is Quite Big's blogpost, plus having read what my fave critics have to say (Jace Lacob, Alan Sepinwall, Maureen Ryan, and Ellen Gray) what better way to be like NBC and break my promises use this magnet to add myself on Team Conan?

Frankly, I'm not even a big late-night viewer, watching only sporadically, and then only for the guests. I really could care less who is in the interviewer chair, if George Clooney's on the couch.

So, I guess ya'll should really just add me to "Team can't believe how far NBC was driven into the ground by Ben Silverman (& TPTB that let him) and now just hopes that they can turn around this debacle with the swiftest of haste, so we can all get back to our regularly scheduled used-to-be-a-great-timeslot NBC dramas at 10." Seriously.

Conan wrote a fantastic letter to the People of Earth, he really did. Classy all the way. And I watched his last two shows - announcement day, where (God bless) Tom Brokaw for helping him through and supporting him, and yesterday, when Ricky totally kicked ass with the funny, and cracked Conan up.

I do wonder if NBC's just not even watching the Tonight Show anymore, given how much leeway they've given Conan with his (well-deserved) NBC-bashing. At some point, Conan's not-veiled-at-all bitterness won't be adequately covered any amount of "I kid, I kid."

Right now, it's funny as hell, because everyone knows what a mucketyclusterduck this whole NBC programming mess has become.

But, at what point does NBC's PR team say, hold up, enough is enough, let's get this settled, so we can stop being the laughingstock of our industry and devaluing our own hallowed NBC brand?

eta:
Eh. I know. Everyone's commenting on Conan. Look at it this way. I could have told you the story of my friends' dog, Benji. And how I learned the true meaning of this magnet.

See?

Icons of cool

Magnet #652 - Ocean's 11

Another magnet from my favorite Union Square magnet guys. Love those guys!

The original!recipe!Rat Pack was the epitome of cool. And never so cool as they were in their dapper suits and skinny ties in original!recipe!Ocean's 11.

I won't lie, though - in a fight, I think my George would win against Frank. Well, maybe until Old Blue Eyes starts singin' and snappin' his fingers, anyway.

Yeah, I know, enough fangurling over George Clooney. And original!recipe!Frank, too. I can't help it, though. Haven't ya'll heard? I'm a sucker for charming cuteboys.

Plus, this morning, I'm headed to see Up in the Air, where my boyfriend plays a professional employment terminator who spends half his life up in the air, and the other half running away.

Personally, I can't wait, cuz I love my George in a suit. But also, because the hype so far is that it's his finest role yet.

Aren't they all?

I'm a dreamer

Magnet #636 - Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I picked this up wandering around Times Square a couple of months ago. I love those TSQ/Broadway swag stores! So much stuff! Of course, I also get the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS catalog each year, and so I see a lot of the same cool stuff. But, I can't go down this road of buying swag from every single show I see. That would be nuts, wouldn't it?

But, I had to get this one, cuz hello, ya'll saw me wax poetic about my still-to-star-on-Broadway-but-will-get-there-yet Lee Mead, and how he won the Joseph role on BBC and Andrew Lloyd Webber's reality series, Any Dream Will Do, a few years ago. Adorable, that Lee Mead. Seriously. See?

Sigh. If I could get he and David Tennant to star in something here in town, with maybe Clooney producing, that'd be the trifecta cuteboy show made of cuteboy awesome.

What? A girl can dream.

Well, maybe not so much this girl, not lately anyway. With a couple of national TV spots in play, work on seven other clients, and an Italian trip to plan, the sleep I sleep nowadays is in small increments. And even then, I have these technicolor, not-acid-induced-but-surely-this-is-what-it-must-be-like, dreams where I'm deliriously slurring my words and getting into fights with coworkers. Great. Dreamjoy's an AA candidate. Oh well.

Oh, and speaking of technicolor, not-acid-induced-but-surely-this-is-what-it-must-be-like, decisions - what the heck was BBC-America thinking, letting Garth Ancier get away?

The man's responsible for the goody-two-shoe'd CamRents, the moue-faced Buffy, the melty-faced Joey, the Pacey-goo'd, and the squint-y Pru'd generation over at the former WB!

He's the reason why half of America's even bothering to watch BBC-America! I mean What. Are. You. Tripping. On?

The George who stares at goats

Magnet #624 - SoapNet's Sexy

Apparently, you can do what you will, but there are just some people out there that you cannot make look ugly. George Clooney is one of those men.

Even with his ridiculous and frankly unnecessary mustache in Men Who Stare at Goats, he's still sexy.

Even when you put him in 80s hair and make him dance, he's still sexy.

Even when you put him in sandy desert wear or cargo pants and a ballcap, he's still sexy.

Even when you bloodshot his eyes, tape his nose, and basically beat the bejeepers out of him, he's still sexy.

The man can't help it.

But even I know that sexy can't be the whole movie. Or, rather, any of it. Clearly, him being sexy was not the point of the movie.

Although, I am a little hard pressed to figure out what the whole point of the movie was. Sure, it was funny at times (especially with the meta Jedi stuff, though the joke started to get old), and Grant "OMG, who's that guy parking in George Clooney's parking spot, s it him? Is it him?" Heslov's direction was pretty good (even with the time jumps) and Ewan McGregor's American accent was ok (though it wasn't consistent between the acting and his very modulated VO), and Jeff Bridges seems to relish his hippie role (doesn't he always?) and Kevin Spacey was amusingly sadistic (isn't he always?). And the soundtrack's pretty good, too.

But at some point, I was kinda waiting for the story to get to a point. So much so, that when it did come to a turning point, I almost missed it.

Also, it's unfortunate, and they're gonna get dinged somewhere, I'm sure, but there's about a three-minute scene that literally stopped my heart and took me directly out of the movie, and it almost didn't get me back.

No, not when the goat dropped dead. You'll know it when you see it, and I would bet that had this movie been a later release, they might have excised that scene altogether, I think, in the wake of last week's horrific events at Fort Hood. Just bad timing, is all.

Oh, well. I said yesterday he's got two more movies to go this year. Don't get me wrong - the movie's an okay way to spend 90 minutes. I'll admit that I probably would not have gone to see it sans Clooney, but then again, I'm not the demo. Not really sure who is the demo, and I definitely couldn't tell by the theatre audience, either.

Still. As I said. It's an okay way to spend 90 minutes, if only for the buddy-buddy show Clooney and Ewan.

Hmmm. On another note, I'm almost done with these SoapNet swag magnets that my friend got me. That's sad making.

Whenever I see your smiling face

Magnet #623 - George Clooney, again

Yes, I made this. Yes, I made this after seeing this pic on the MSN article about George being the smartest actor ever.

Here's what I love about George.

Though he annoys the bejeepers out of me with all his rumory-rumors about his galpal of the day, I do so love that he goes through his relatively quiet publicity periods - usually when he's busy working.

Then, holidays roll around, and boom! Three movies in a row!

Men Who Stare At Goats, opens today. I'm not entirely sure why I'm not taking the afternoon off to see my boyfriend. *looks at the 8 clients on To Do list* No, wait. Never mind. Saturday, first showing it is.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, opens the Thanksgiving Wednesday. Where I'll be in Italy for a wedding. Sadly, not mine and George's. Though, his house is really only 2 hours away by train. Wonder if he could be my plus 1?

Up in the Air, opens Christmas Day. Where I'll be in DC for Christmas. And probably not going to the movies. Hah. Just kidding. Totally going to the movies. Totally.

Yeah, baby! Three movies in the next two months? Yeah, I'm happy. The same publicity junkets with the same soundbites? Yeah, I'm ok with that.

You know why? Cuz it's George. That's what he does.

And in six to eight months? I'll have not one, not two, but three (!) new DVDs in the George Clooney DVD Collection of Joy!

What?

Oh, like you're really surprised there's a George Clooney DVD Collection of Joy.

Well, Jay, you see, it's like this...

Magnet #566 - Jay Leno and George Clooney

Because everyone needs a little happy now and then.

What? My friend got me all these magnetic supplies, so blame her for the monster she's created! I had this postcard from the nice folks at the NBCU Photo Bank, and have thusly converted it into a magnet! Woot!

It's pretty apropos for a couple of reasons.

First. Jay, Jay, Jay. I heard somewhere that your show is starting next week on NBC weeknights at 10pm. Hmmm, now where did I hear that...? Oh, yes. Everywhere. Seriously. You're stalkin' me, man. On TV ads. In Times Square ads. On FB. On messageboards. On Twitter. And that doesn't even count the PR/TVcrix blitz! Oiy. I love you man, but overkill on the marketing dollars. Also? I hope the new timeslot works out for you. And NBC.

Second. George, George. George. The festival season has begun, and my boyfriend and his (real) girlfriend are making the red carpet rounds. (Hmph. My boyfriend certainly has a type, doesn't he.) But, back to the movies - between his serenading O Sole Mio and the many flicks he's showing at many festivals, he's wowing all the crowds at many turns.

Let's see, there's The Men Who Stare at Goats, which I can't wait to see, even if Clooney's sportin' a 'tache that just isn't cute.

There's Up in the Air, which I can't wait to see, even if Clooney's playin' a professional terminator.

And, there's Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I can't wait to see, even if Clooney's pretty mug will be in the shape of (fittingly, albeit dated) a fox.

Hee. It's gonna be a busy, busy rest of 2009, Clooney-movie wise. I love when he goes on a new movie tear - it means he's totally gonna be on every A- and sometimes B-list talk show and in every entertainment magazine, blog and website. Yay for press junkets!

Mind you, my problem is that by the end of it (like every other junket), once you've heard the same messaging and the same stories, you've heard them all. Literally.

That's ok. No doubt, I'm perfectly happy hearing George tell the same (not about the new girlfriend, please have mercy) stories til the foxes come home.

Let the good times roll

Magnet #538 - Monaco, Casino de Monte-Carlo

So. One of the great things about being in advertising, is knowing a ton of absolutely wonderfully creative people. At work, copywriters and art directors may be the bane of an account girl's existence (and vice versa, I know), but as people and friends, they're amazing to be around.

They give great tips and suggestions to improve any creative endeavor, and inspire you to want to be better artisan. Even if what you do is collect magnets and tell silly stories about them.

Oh! And they also travel to awesome places like Monaco and bring back supertotally fabulous magnets such as this. I love these famous facade resin/ceramic/whatever they ares magnets!

So funny, when I unwrapped the bubble wrap on it, I had thought this building looked very familiar. A couple of clicks later, I found out that in the late 1800s, Charles Garnier was commissioned to build the Salle Garnier - and it's almost an exact replica of the Paris Opera House. (Hence the familiarity, since I just saw that 30-minute docu on the Paris house a couple of weeks ago.)

Also, the Salle Garnier seems to be part of a bigger entertainment group/complex - with a casino, and other performance/sporting venues under their umbrella...fairly interesting. Though not as interesting as how natives of Monaco aren't allowed to enter the casino to gamble! That makes me a little sad for the Monégasques.

I did look at the rules, though - very swank, the casino. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's the kind of joint that George Clooney was trying to build in Vegas - old school, very classy, jackets and refined adult behavior required. Well, la-ti-dah, Danny my love Ocean!

Anyway, yay for a pretty magnet! And, I wasn't kidding about the great tips and suggestions. I will entertain them from anyone.

I've already put a couple of suggestions in place - most notably, directing you guys to the full photobucket album. Totally starting to tag them on the album, so that you can see what magnets from whence they came.

And, what do you do when a friend gives you a pound of scrap construction paper remainders? Color-coordinated backgrounds! I really don't want to do them, because I kinda like a white, textured background on all my magnets, and I'm really lazy, but we'll give it a go. Heh.

Raindrops and roses

Magnet #500 - 100% Happy, 100% Joy

Yay! 500!

I do love that I'm blogging on my 500th magnet with a magnet that I made. It's from one of those bottlecap sets that you can buy at like a Michael's or a Jo-Ann's, only I just stuck a magnet on the back, rather than making it into a pin.

I guess if I'd made it into a pin, it would have been like the little bottlecap Mr. Fredricksen gave to Russell on UP. Speaking of UP, I'm gonna go against the grain, and say that it wasn't my favorite Pixar movie. In fact, I fell asleep.

I know! It's a total unpopular opinion!

But, I suspect you'll find that a lot here on joy magnetism, because if there's one thing that I try to do in my life, it's stay true to myself and what I love - no matter how dorky or unpopular or obsessed people think it makes me.

So in honor of my 500th magnet, a review of my 500 favorite things - hahahhah, no, just kidding, only a handful, really. In no particular order: (cue Sound of Music music)

1. Architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright. McKim, Mead & White. Zaha Hadid. Frank Gehry. Daniel Burnham. Philip Johnson. Louis Sullivan. I.M. Pei. My taste runs the gamut, I just know what I like.
2. Magnets. joy magnetism. Nuff said.
3. Tours. I love them. I would take a tour of a paper bag, if it were given.
4. Television/film. I love them both. Love opening weekends, and no matter how much I weed out, there's a baseline of at least 30 hours of tv each week. Except reality. Hate. Kinda meta, methinks.
5. Travel, roadtrips and Roadside America. Practically grew up in a van, and there's nothing better than discovering some lost byway and crazy tourist trap. Here. Or abroad.
6. Books. Yes. When I'm not doing any of the above, I love a good book. Who doesn't?
7. Chocolate. No one understands how I can keep bags and jars of chocolate at my desk and not gobble it up. Psst. It's because I don't share the good stuff.
8. Duran Duran. I know! It's crazy that my little boyband from the 80s can still make a girl squee.
9. Trains. They're awesome. If I could train everywhere, I would.
10. George Clooney. And various and sundry cuteboys. If I list them, gravy, we'd be here for days. Just know: Cuteboys. Uniforms. Big guns. (No, not those guns.)
11. Doctor Who. Ten is my Doctor, and if David Tennant decides to do the big-screen DW while Matt Smith does BabyEmoDoctor Eleven on tv, that'll be interesting. (I'm thinking that this last one shouldn't count, since arguably, it's only been within the last three years or so. It could just be a fleeting thing that ends when David hits the road.)

There you have it. The oddest combination of me I can think of - even my best friend in the world giggles at some of the things I get into. And she's known me since we were in Kindergarten.

But even she doesn't share half of these things with me. And she shouldn't - that's what makes us friends, each bringing something different to the table.

Huh. I feel like I just filled out an online dating profile. Hahahah.

Anyway, happy 500! And they thought it wouldn't last.

eta:
Heh. Upon completing the labels for this post, I realized that I had existing labels for just about every item above, which I guess just means I'm pretty consistent in the things I talk about here, the places I go, and the things that interest me. Yay, consistency, I suppose.

Mr. Clooney goes to Sony...wonder if he'll take the tour, too

Magnet #496 - Sony Pictures

Soooo, Clooney and Heslov packed up their Smokehouse production bags and moved cross town over to Sony Pictures in Culver City. You may have heard.

Or, if you're like me, you've heard the same news no less than 50 times in the last week. Not that I have a Google alert on George Clooney or anything. Heheh.

Rumors abound about the move - whether or not it was money, or a better production deal, or whatever. Honestly, I don't care. That's his business.

While I'm sad he's leaving Warners, I'm superexcited that they're going to Sony Pictures, the former MGM Studios lot, where great films such as Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind were produced.

It's also home of the second best studio tour ever. (Here's the best studio tour, ironically, Mr. Clooney, it was Warners.) So fun, that I've now done it twice! Take this tour. I can't say it enough. (Plus! They have a little shop!)

The first time I did Sony, I'll never forget - it was the Monday after Spider-Man came out...when they busted the box office wide open at $115 million. In their little lobby atrium, they had a coffee and pastries breakfast set out, courtesy of Spider-Man. They also had a giant (giant!) inflated Spider-Man lined along the wall. And, as you rounded the backlot to their other entrance, there was a giant banner across the entrance that screamed $115 million. It was fantastic to be a tiny, tiny, tiny part of such a successful studio weekend. I can only imagine how much fun it is every week there's a successful opening. (Mind you, it probably sucks after a sucky opening, I'm sure.)

Though here's a better description of the tour, my own tour was just the bee's knees - getting to visit different soundstages of movie history, walk down little backlots (in a stupid and rash decision, they destroyed a ton of the more historic lots), visiting the Jeopardy! set, going into the scoring and recording facilities, but also seeing the supercool Art Deco Irving G. Thalberg administration building with all the Oscar statuettes in their lobby, and hearing names like Thalberg and Mayer and Selznick and Gable and Garland and Rooney.

And bonus! We got to visit the deserted commissary. If you click on that last link, they explain a little about why the commissary was so important...but the deal is that Clark Gable used to have this giant leather chair in the comm and it was only for him, no one else sat there. But, when the love of his life Carole Lombard was killed tragically in a plane crash coming home from a USO tour, Gable was devastated, and they kept the chair empty, waiting for him to come back. And when he finally did come back to the lot and into the commissary, everyone in the room gave him a standing ovation. (Though, honestly, that's kind of weird, I bet it made him a little sadder. But whatever. Bygones.)

That first trip was also special, because it was just me on my own wasting time before my meeting with a bigwig producer (totally a different magnet), hanging out around the Sony studio, taking the tour, having lunch with the locals, and also visiting the nearby historic old Culver City Studios, run by historic old David (the O stands for nothing) Selznick, producer extraordinaire. If you haven't heard of Selznick, definitely check out his book of...memos.

The man wrote a trillion memos to everyone. About everything. And pages worth at a time. It's such an insightful way to see his casting and production decisions for movies such as Gone With the Wind, Rebecca, Prisoner of Zenda, and Anna Karenina, and to see what kind of man he was in general, in his dealings with his stable of stars like Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Fascinating.

The second tour, I went with some folks, and we also had a blast. The little intro video, getting to go into some of the same buildings, etc. We even got to stand outside one of the soundstages, listening to Coldplay rehearse for some tour they were about to launch.

The best part about that trip, was that it was near my birthday, and we'd gotten tickets to watch some ill-fated pilot that Dean Cain was shooting. Even though they said it received the highest audience favorability scores (ever), it just was not the best pilot ever (sorry, Dean). But as they were clearing out the audience, I watched as my friend fought with security guards just to go talk to Dean. And I was like, dang, I didn't know she liked him all that much. In the end, she was jostling people out of the way just to get Dean to sign my birthday card. So funny. I still have that card, too. LOVE.

(Oh, as an aside, since this is aiming to be a long-ass post, sorry - here's what's not funny. I get the need to make a buck, but damn, Microsoft, I would love to see the research results that validated your decision to produce that stupid vomit ad for IE8, not to mention the whole ill-conceived and -executed campaign. Aiming at Millennials? The vomit I get, the stupid text lexicon I get. But, why in the hell are performing cruel and unusual punishment in the form of fugly pants for my Dean Cain? And, how many Millennials actually watched Lois & Clark. Hi, one generation up, my friends.)

Anyway, so, back to my fun Sony post...

Yay, George Clooney and Grant Heslov are now at the historic Sony Pictures lot! May you guys have a great run together, and plenty of atrium breakfasts along the way!

"Basically the same thing"

Magnet #465 - Myla Jackson

I mentioned this weekend I was at BookExpo America, which brought together publishers and other exhibitors with a passion for books.

I picked up this Myla Jackson author magnet at the Ellora booth, which I've since learned is an romantica/erotica publishing group. (Which I'm not linking to, due to possible NSFW content, but thanks for the swag, folks!)

While at BEA, I ran into an old mentor of mine whom I'd lost contact with and she asked what I was doing now. When I told her that I've completely left publishing [save for occasional editing on the side] and now work in advertising/marketing, she responded with, "Well, it's basically the same thing, isn't it?"

Snap!

There's a business side of me that says yep, publishing is basically just the packaging, marketing and distribution of books.  And the more you support the book/author - or the brand, in some cases - the more successful you'll be. Or rather, the more books you'll sell.  And that's key.  I get that.

But, on the flip side, hello, knife in my heart.  Mind you, I was in romance, so admittedly, it's not like we were producing the next War & Peace over at Loveswept.  But, still, one would like to believe (no matter how naive), that publishers in whatever genre out there, are putting good, quality books out there that touch people and perhaps make a difference somewhere, rather than just packaging and marketing products for people who hopefully see beyond the cover art, the quippy title, or the crafted sales copy.

Eh, one can debate for hours about it, but I will share one drastic difference for me being in romance versus being in advertising/marketing:

Back in those days, I could put this magnet up at work, along with all my hot shirtless boy cover models, without any shame. They were research, they were the actual models from our covers, and dammit, they were just pretty.  Such a different work environment. (Such a different life, actually.)

Anyway, now, the only pretty boys I try to have hanging in my cube area (in obvious places, and aside from the George Clooney area) are work-related, like the cover of our corporate newsletter with the incredibly hot David Beckham biting a Sharpie, and a giant full-page newspaper ad with George hawking Nespresso coffee machines.

Anything more would probably be considered actionable.

I'll say.

Roses on my table*

Magnet #453 - Speicher Bouquet

This painting from Eugene Edward Speicher isn't on display anywhere, which makes me curious where I picked up this set of flower still life magnets.

Especially because (in total ungirly fashion), I'm not a fan of flowers. Oh, I don't mind flowers in a garden, but it seems sort of sad that the flowers have been pulled up from the earth and shoved into a vase just for the short-lived benefit of some human to enjoy them.

Of course, the flipside of that is seeing people enjoy them. Dimly, I remember that incredibly silly movie called Bed of Roses where Christian Slater plays a flower delivery guy, and people asked him why he was doing that instead of doing something more. And he told them it was because everyone's happy when they see him. That's always stuck in my head - I mean, who isn't happy when they get flowers?

Some people, my mother, really enjoy flowers. A concept that's foreign to me. But, you know how I Eeeeeeee!!!!! over George Clooney or David Tennant? That's my mom with flowers. Doesn't matter if she's at a botanical garden or if she's walking down a random NYC sidewalk passing a bodega lined with their tall buckets of flowers. She. Loves. Flowers.

So happy birthday, Mom!

*From the quote: I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~Emma Goldman (Yes, yes, Mommy, I know there are no roses in this bouquet. Go with it.)

The Empire strikes back

Magnet #418 - AMC Loews Empire Theatres 25

Last week, I figured out that the last movie I went to see a movie house was Burn After Reading, my boyfriend George's movie. That was seven months ago.

I know! If you know me at all, you know that I must be on crack, or something's off-kilter. I mean, I'm usually the girl who must see a movie the second it comes out.

There's no real reason for it, I didn't even notice, to be honest. And, since this is a magnetblog, I don't even want to delve into this unJoylike behavior, thank you.

So anyway, this magnet is from one of my favorite movie houses in town. Seriously - 25 houses, all in one. In the middle of Midtown! 25! Hmmm, I wonder if I've even been in all 25.

It's gorgeous - this cinematic treasure was opened in 1912, and went through several iterations as the Eltinge (where some famous actor [Eltinge] did female impersonations - seriously, although apparently Gable and Olivier played it, too!), and then as the Laffmovie (Hahahaha - clever) movie house, and then finally the Empire movie house, before closing down in the 80s.

When I first moved here, it was this tiny little building down the block. Then a developer with big plans for 42nd street decided to do something with it. They picked up the building and moved it. Like 170 feet. Down the street. I kid you not. Then, they finished off the renovation by building the movie house around and beside it.

One day it was close to Port Authority, and the next, they were toward the middle of the block. It's no big thing, for sure, buildings all around the world are moved all the time. But, here? In New York? The city that will keep razing and building and razing and building until there's not a patch of green grass left? No way! It's absolutely amazing that someone would actually give an old building a second life, by preserving and reusing it, versus just razing the heck out of it. So, yay for a great comeback, Empire!

Lucky us. Or me, rather. This many theatres and this many movies in this one complex makes it one of the best places in town to do an all-day movie marathon in - and yes, I pay for all three (or four) movies, rather than sneaking from one house to another.

C'mon, like you're surprised.

"If you're gonna be a bear...

Magnet #406 - Two Canadian bears and a canoe

...be a grizzly."

C'mon. That's like the best quote ever.

A friend of mine told me that yesterday. Heh. Oddly, a friend who knows not of my bear obsession.

Actually, I picked this magnet for two other reasons as well.

First, the canoe. Today is Iron Eyes Cody's birthday. He would have been 105 years old. For those of you who don't know - Iron Eyes Cody was the guy in the Crying Indian PSA for Keep America Beautiful that my company produced back in the 70s, which debuted on the first Earth Day in 1971.

Remember? The booming drums, dramatic music, and Iron Eyes in full Native American regalia, canoeing down a river, beaching his canoe, and walking to a roadway shoulder, only to get pelted by polluters and their fast food - cut to a lone tear falling down Iron Eyes' forlorn, stoic face.

Sounds cheesy, I know. But, without tooting anyone's horns, to this day, it's still widely regarded as one of the most memorable and successful commercials ever, as well as one of the most effective awareness campaigns.

Mind you, we're in much the same environmental boat (/pun intended) nowadays, but it's certainly not for lack of trying.

Second, the canoe again. It reminded me of that surprise ER cameo that George Clooney did back in the day.

Remember? In Seattle, he was lookin' all hot, wearin' flannel, and workin' on his boat, when Carol came around the back of the house. Hot.

I knew in my head that he wouldn't be on last night's ER series finale, but in my little heart of hearts, I expected Doug to show up in a tux at the Carter Center gala, then in jeans at the bar, then in shorts for one last pick-up bball game, and even to the very end, in his yellow smock, rounding the corner of the ambulances, asking Carter to get a move-on.

So, even though ER spent a small bundle on that wonderfully executed CGI wideshot of County General (photo by bethie, thank you), I was a tiny bit disappointed when my boyfriend didn't show up.

What? You were, too. Admit it.


eta:
A whole eta, because I'm still marveling over that gorgeous CGI wideshot (screencap from the NBC player) of County General. It just was a simple overlay, but here's what's really there.

Finally getting to see County General was fantastic. Kind of like when General Hospital: Night Shift first revealed the Port Charles skyline, General Hospital and the waterfront in their opening titles.