Game Night

For the second time since I indirectly feel into the freelance film and television crew, I ventured up to the Valley to joined game night. After three hours of staring at my computer, waiting for words to pour brillantly into HTML formated text, my longest standing friend and most frequent partner in crime came to pick me up at my house. MD recently severed the tie with her boyfriend of almost four years. As I walked to the car, MD was an emotional and hormonal wreck. Not that I blame her, relationships are complicated and it is often harder on the breaker of commmitment than they ever could have anticipated.

We arrived to the party awaiting us with very little spunk on board. Our host S who is best described as a fiesty femme with a passion for baking and entertaining, was waiting in the living room with a handful of the regulars. I was starving so I walk straight to the kitchen without formalities. Game night is always a slow start with that ends with an unexpected gaity. That is as long as no one gets anything on the new sofa, which seems to happen every time we gather there.

I enhaled a burrito, buchetta, and fruit with marshmellow dip as the assignment was handed out. We were to break up into teams and would be set loss on the town. A list of activities was distributed, along with some tools that we may need on the way.

As we walked to the car, neither I nor MD seemed thrilled about this little game, though it wouldn't be long until my competitive nature kicked in. "Stop here" I cry as we travel toward the main road. I climb over some bright pink bushes and up into a tree. "Snap" for 1 point picture of a team memebr up in a tree. This was just the beginning of a zany quest.

Other photo driven tasked included tracing each other with chalk, bowling with exotic fruit in the grocery store parking lot, "chubby bunny" at a bus stop, blowing bubbles with a stranger, and making friends with a homeless person.

It's funny how the not-so-mature adult turns into a little kid when allowed to breakdown societal boundries and given and excuse to just "have fun".

Tragedic loss of a friend

I have no words to explain how losing a person that you know at a young age feels. Nick Papac is the third person to touch my life and to be lost before he had the chance to age gracefully. Not a true friend, but more of a set buddy. Nick worked as the assistant armoror on Next with me. The last time I saw him was just over a month ago, a few days before he left to go to Arizonia. His dad worked on the film with him and the two were a father-son team. It was always funny to see Mr.Papac put Nick in his place, in a serious but loving manner.

Nick was a fun guy who loved life. He had so much energy and passion. Though working on a big budget movie can be stressful, I never once saw him breakdown or complain. Like all of us, he had his moment but over all he was an amazing person to be around and to work with. I am deeply saddened by this loss.

At the end of every movie, you always expect to see everybody on the next one. You know that they will be busy working in the "circus" that is the film industry but some day you will see them again and it will be like you had never been apart. Friendships grow so quickly with people that you spend 70 hours a week with. Your work becomes your life, a life that you can lose so quick.

Cinematial wrote a very respectful article about the accident:

Production on The Kingdom has been delayed until Wednesday due to a tragic accident over the weekend which resulted in the death of assistant propmaster,Nick Papac. According to reports, Papac was driving a motorized cart along a closed section of the Loop 202 Red Mountain Freeway in Mesa, Arizona this past Saturday when he accidentally collided with an SUV carrying the film's director, Peter Berg .

Upon impact, Papac was thrown from the vehicle and suffered serious head injuries; he was pronounced dead after arriving at the local hospital. Filming was suspended yesterday and there appears to be no other injuries. The Kingdom stars Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper, among others. Papac has worked on films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Miami Vice. He was 25.

Nick Papac, you are in our hearts and you will be missed.

TDR is alive

After losing our template four days ago and having to rebuild the site from scratch, The Daily Reel is open to the public. I wrote some of the descriptions for the top ten and I found one of the "need to watch" videos on the web. Alex, the managing editor, and Joe, our designer, have been working around the clock so we could go "live" while I have been sketching out our myspace page. The myspace profile and descriptions should be up tommorow afernoon. For dedicated fans that just can't get enough of my scarcastic banter, check out my contribution the the Daily Reel! And add TDR as a friend!

New city, same small town

Still shaky after nine hours of being strapped to my computer screen, I step out of the elevator and start walking toward the parking garage of my building. Digging through my shoulder bag, I open the swinging glass doors with my hips while trying to find my car keys.

After two days in the office, monotony ensues. The walk to the car is already routine and I didn't even need to look where I was going. Finding my keys, I turn the corner and walk toward the structure elevator. Two guys with empty handtrucks are turning the corner as I look up. Eyes lock. I know this face instantly. My brain screens through faces and names, like encriptions in the Matrix, and locks on a certain identity. I stop and stare directly into his face.

"Seth" I announce and he freezes with amazement. "I thought that was you" he replied. Summer camp at Ithaca College were the first images that ran through my head. I never remove my oversized sunglasses. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York" The thought was mutual. After attending a college level media camp together, the summer between our junior and senior years of high school, Seth showed up unexpectedly at NYU. We were both sophmores and we had friend in common. I was sitting on my friends extra long twin-sized bed and Seth walked in carrying a C-stand and camera cases.

I helped him with his silent black and white film by agreeing to act in it. At the time, I was interning at a magazine and he was editing a short film that he wrote and funded. I watch one of his final cuts of the film and really didn't like it. Having no obligation to say otherwise, I told him I disliked it and gave him a laundry list of reasons why. I haven't seen or talked to him since.

Now in the lobby of my building, which also happens to be his building, I bump into ghosts past. My past, rewinds times two. Five years of history tied into present in a single moment. This used to happen to me all the time in New York. I'd find people I knew in the most unexpected places: on the subway, in a deli, or on a crowded street.

New to this LA, the people I meet seems to always bring me back to my New York roots. But some days, this new city makes me feel like I've lived my life in the same small town.