You Say You Want a Revolution

o I went to a screening of Revolutionary Road tonight. That’s the new one with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet based on the Richard Yates Novel. It’s a bit of a downer, but fantastically written, directed and acted.

For me, it came along at the exact perfect time. Two days before my twenty-fifth birthday, one that has been plaguing me with self-doubt (even more self-doubt than usual), this movie is the perfect affirmation for not succumbing to what is expected and instead striving for what is desired. I would never say that at twenty-five I’m getting old, but I am starting to hone in on that age when careers are supposed to start (don’t know who decided this but it seems to be relatively universal), when finances start to get in order (though in this economy I don’t see how), when boyfriends and pets turn into husbands and children (none of which I’m ready for).

After watching Revolutionary Road, which is horrendously depressing (albeit important), I actually came out with a sense of purpose almost verging on elation. For I, unlike Frank and Alice, am not stuck in a comfortable life (the fact that the inside of my house is currently about 35 degrees speaks to that) where nothing is exciting and everything is mundane. And though it kind of made me feel like an awful person to have a feeling of relief after such an emotional movie, I felt like maybe I’m on the right track. And for the first time since I noticed my big two-five looming in the distance, I’m actually okay with it. Bring it on!

Peace, Love, and Unexpected Reactions,
Julia

On Your Marks

The Oscar’s aren’t until February but here in Los Angeles, as we’re hit by a cold front, one that is actually kind of cold and not just cold for L.A., Oscar season has begun. Golden Globe Nominations went out earlier this week, the Academy screeners are going out. It’s an exciting time. Here are some of the movies I’m looking forward to. It’s too early to call the races yet, but it does look like it’s shaping up to be a good year, awardwise.

I watched The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke today, as one of my friends is in the Academy and thus has access to screeners. It was great. Mickey Rourke was amazing, deep and sad and just gave a fantastic performance, as did Evan Rachel Wood as his daughter.

I’m super excited about Milk, which I haven’t seen yet. Though I will probably have a breakdown while watching it, seeing as we’re kind of still in the thick of all this homophobia bullshit that’s gone on this year. I have heard that Sean Penn is absolutely amazing.

Doubt with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams has gotten some mixed reviews but I think you can’t go wrong with these two ladies. And their Golden Globe nominations say to me that they perform as well as usual. Plus, Meryl Streep as a nun…almost to scary to be just a regular old drama.

Revolutionary Road is probably the movie I’m most excited about (and I get to see a screening tomorrow night so I’ll give a review after I see it). Being a child of the Titanic generation, I have to say, I’m thrilled to see Leo and Kate back in a movie together again. These two have insane onscreen chemistry and I’m excited to see them in a love that is dissolving rather than one that is epic (and maybe a little cheesy…cut to sweaty palm on a steamed up window). The fact that they’ve both been nominated for Golden Globes is a good sign. Also, a selling point is that Sam Mendes directed this one. He also directed American Beauty, one of my all time favorite movies.

Kate Winslet’s other movie The Reader is also one I’m looking forward to. I don’t know much about it but Kate is nominated and I’m hearing good things.

Rachel Getting Married, Anne Hathaway’s first really serious leading role, is causing quite a stir. I always am interested to see drug addicts portrayed because when it’s done well it’s powerful stuff. Of course, when it’s not done well, it is painful. I’ve heard she’s great, so we’ll see.

And lastly, Slumdog Millionaire is the sort of sleeper hit this year, gaining much notice after the attacks in Mumbai. I hear nothing but great things about this movie. I can’t wait to see it.

So those are my picks for now. Happy Award Season and let the fun begin.

Peace, Love, and Great Movies,
Julia

Mr. Playboy

So my job is pretty awesome.  I hang out with awesome people all day, get paid to eat dinner and drink with them.  I get sent free books, now it’s to the point where the just show up, I don’t even have to ask for them.  And I make up my own hours, for the most part.  Sure, I work a lot and they pay me absolutely nothing, but I get paid in experience and opportunity.  

One of the skills all of us at the bookstore but especially in the publicity department, must possess is the ability to keep cool, to not act like total jackasses around celebrities.  We work in West Hollywood, we have many many celebrity customers and we have many celebrity authors who do book signings with us.   

Personally, I care more about the big authors than the celebrity authors.  I’m more excited about meeting John Updike than I was about meeting Kirk Douglas.  I get more excited about Michael Chabon, Salman Rushdie, or Gore Vidal than about Julie Andrews or Barbara Walters, though judging by the amount of books we sell, I’m alone in these feelings.  

In any case, I don’t get star struck easily.  Though I do know to make the most of it when I’m in the room with a legend.  Our guest on Tuesday transcends both categories.  He transcends all categories until you simply just have to call him a legend.  That would of course be, Mr. Hugh Hefner.  

Now Hef is an interesting figure.  In the seventies he came under fire from the leaders of the women’s movement for exploiting women’s sexuality.  He fought mercilessly for first amendment rights, and perhaps most importantly, he was the first to show off Marilyn Monroe.  

I personally believe that Hef, Erica Jong and Helen Gurley Brown, are responsible for our modern views on sexuality (of course their schools of thought are all undermined by the Victorian values that still hold tight on parts of our collective psyche).  And personally, I don’t buy the view that Playboy Magazine is all about using women as sexual objects only.  In fact, I thank Hugh Hefner for showing the female sexuality is important.  Lest we forget that he was the first to actually publish in a mainstream magazine, sexual images of women.  And Marilyn Monroe was the first to pose for a centerfold in 1953.  Hugh Hefner started publishing boobs in 1953 and we here in America still freak out when a covered nipple shows up at a superbowl half-time show.  

I happen to be of the mind that the problem isn’t Hef or the Zipless Fuck or Sex and the Single Girl, the problem is the small faction of America that can’t handle Janet Jackson’s nipple.  It’s a fucking nipple, we all have them…some of us have three.  Who cares?  And more importantly, why is Janet Jackson showing a covered nipple a scandal, but a stolen election (or two) gets brushed under the rug?  

I think Hugh Hefner should make us think about where are priorities lie.  Maybe we should follow his example.  I’ll start by wearing smoking jackets and carrying a drink around wherever I go.  What’ll you do?

Peace, Love and Playboy,

Julia

I See You Shiver With Antici…………Pation

In the wake of the big Twilight push I got to thinking about anticipation.  Specifically, anticipation in marketing.  It seems like a phenomenon that has cropped up in the last decade or so (I’ll be blaming Star Wars in just a second), that often times the anticipation of a movie or cultural event far outweighs the impact.  Though, Twilight has been removed from the latter part of that sentence after it’s record breaking $70 Million dollar opening weekend (that would be better than Sex and the City in case you were wondering).  

So let’s go back to the very beginning (a very good place to start) when in 1997 a little movie called Titanic was realeased (on my birthday I might add).  Before Titanic, trailers for the upcoming Star Wars: Episode I aired and many teenage boys (and those boys that will forever be teenagers) bought tickets to Titanic simply to watch the trailer.  Let me reiterate that; people bought tickets to a movie (back then they were about $8) and only stayed to watch the trailer.  Of course, that seems archaic now because we can just go online, but youtube had yet to be invented in 1997 and we had to kick it old school, by watching in theaters.  

Since then movie trailers have picked up release dates of their own.  Studios post a teaser than a trailer then the full movie trailer on the website, advertising the date that each will happen and thousands upon thousands of fans log on to view the new 30 second clip.  Conventions such as Comic-con build nerd hype (which is apparently the only trustworthy hype there is anymore) for movies like Iron Man (made $300+ Million Dollars) or Watchmen, everytime they release a trailer we sell out of the book at the book store.  

Of course, there’s the movies that are all hype and no delivery, like this years Cloverfield, which did well opening weekend, but was killed by bad word of mouth (I didn’t see it so I won’t comment on my thoughts).  Or Snakes on a Plane, which was all hype and did pretty well in the theaters but not the record breaking numbers that they thought it would do.  Even still, you could have Samuel Jackson call your friends and tell them all about the Motherfucking Snakes on the Motherfucking Plane.  While Cloverfield’s M.O. was just confusion…after viewing the trailer you walked away going, what the fuck did I just see?

The problem is, people are now becoming immune to the hype.  Sure, you probably saw any of the dozens of news articles and pieces that showed thousands of 16-year-olds screaming for the Vampires of Twilight this weekend, and I must say I had a good time sitting back and watching them freak out at the midnight screening I went to on Thursday night, but I already knew what the movie was.  I knew the phenomenon that it’s become.  If I hadn’t known, I would have run screaming away from it (because let’s face it thousands of teenagers is basically my own personal hell…add in children, fundamentalists and dogs and you pretty much have everything I can’t stand in one place).  If I hadn’t known about the movie, the hype probably would have dissuaded me from watching it on opening weekend, and only with good word of mouth would I have gone to the film.  

In this age of constant build up it is impossible not to be disappointed by many ‘events’ that we are told we should be excited about.  In a time when movie trailers have a release date, when clips are strategically leaked on the internet, how do we know what is real and what is hype?  

It doesn’t just apply to media either.  What about Obama?  I voted for him, I cried on election night and the day after, I was so happy, but for two years people have been building him up like he’s superman (look around L.A. and you’ll actually see pictures of him dressed as superman), like he is going to just swoop in and take care of everything in a matter of minutes.  Does he represent hope?  Yes.  Is he going to ’save us’?  Maybe.  Is he going to do it quickly, without change from 300 Million Americans?  Absolutely not.

Our problems are much bigger than hype and hope, they need real solutions, which Obama seems poised to give.  Even still, they hype is never going to live up to the reality, because hype is simply that…it’s hype.

Batman was great.  Was it the best movie of all time as many of the critics said?  No.  Was it the best superhero movie?  Perhaps.  Was Heath Ledgers performance amazing?  Yes.  Was it Oscar worthy?  No.  But still, we’re hearing about it here in L.A. (yes, Oscar buzz is starting down here in la la land).  

My question is, how is hype effecting us as a people?  How are we changing, becoming more savvy, more naive because of hype?  I can’t say I have the answer.

Peace, Love and Build Up,

Julia

Fog City

After spending the Thanksgiving weekend in my favorite city, San Francisco, I started thinking about weather. It’s funny because for the last three years, weather has been a phenomenon that has happened rather than something that is a day to day occurrence. Literally, living in Los Angeles makes one a total lunatic when it comes to weather. It rains for 20 minutes and immediately a flash flood warning starts running across the screen. Yesterday, the lead news story was about fog. Seriously, it was about fog. As though fog is some sort of freak event that never happens anywhere. Like Adrienne Barbeau and John Carpenter are going to come out and start killing people.

So I got to thinking about fog and the different places that I’ve lived because really, the three separate places that I’ve lived in my life have some odd relationships with fog.

In L.A. fog, like any other weather besides sun, means disaster. The news last night was about how many accidents were caused by fog that in any other part of this state would be considered normal, daily fog. And fog really just seems out of place in L.A. like an abomination, a freak of nature. The palm trees and bright lights make a foggy L.A. look apocalyptic as opposed to romantic. It’s not even creepy like London fog is supposed to be, it’s just plain wrong.

London fog, on the other hand, is an absolute myth. I’m sure there was fog when Dickens was writing about it, though it was most likely (according to a Lit professor of mine in London) smog and suit from all the coal burning factories. Now, however, there is no such thing as London fog, at least not that I saw. There’s gloom, London certainly has plenty of cloudy overcastness, but true fog in the city of London, a complete myth in our modern cleaner city.

Of course the third kind of fog is really the only kind that matters, San Francisco fog. San Francisco fog is unlike anything, anywhere, ever. It’s romantic and beautiful. It comes in and blankets the city within a matter of minutes. It is cold and drizzly. It makes you want to stay inside and read (this is my theory about why people in L.A. are functionally illiterate: the weather is too nice). San Francisco fog is my favorite kind of fog. I’m actually writing a book right now, set in the bay area (where else?) that deals in great detail with the fog. Because really, when you live there you notice it less, but coming back to visit, I’ve begun to understand what a blessing the fog is. It’s like you get to live in this hazy beautiful area where everything is soft like a cloud. And sure, I remember how depressing it can be after a few weeks of nothing but, but even still, there’s something undeniably perfect about the thick coating of fog on top of the best city on earth.

Peace, Love, and Hazy Hilltops,
Julia