Mentors

I know I'm a few weeks late with this video but oh mang, oh mang... if you haven't had the chance to watch this, you need to watch it NOW! I definitely felt the need to reflect on my journey to where I am now and thank all those people who have helped make me who I am today.  (This is a video done by the Jubilee Project, an amazing group of guys who want to spread the message that #doinggoodiscontagious, which features my good friend and one of my own mentors, Robert Ryu)

So this video raises the point that those who mentor you, see you not as you are right now but see the potential in you and see who you can become as a person. IF this is the case... man... I wonder what people see in me? 

I know that sounds like a conceited question and I'm not trying to say people see something great in me; but, I sometimes wish I could see what others see in me. There are so many days where I ask myself, "what have I gotten myself into?" or "why did I give up my dream of going into the medical field to become involved in...gah!!" Those I consider my mentors tell me all the time that they're not worried about me and tell me I'll be fine. Don't get me wrong, I definitely see the blessings in my life right now and am grateful for all the doors that have opened up to me BUT, I guess it's sometimes so hard not to feel like a lot of this was pointless. 

Yea... I can't think of a good ending for this post other than... tomorrow is a NEW day. 

Voting

When I was younger I didn't really understand the debate between Republicans and Democrats. I just knew they were the two major parties in the United States of America. As I grew older, I found that the issue of which party one was associated with caused debates among the older crowd. Now that I am at an age where I not only can vote but am a single, working, "adult", I began to notice how the stereotypes I heard growing up are so true.

1. Rich people tend to be Republicans: I only state this because throughout the day, most of my "bourgeoisie"friends tended to support Romney, while my friends who consider themselves part of the "proletariat" seemed to support Obama.

2. In California those in OC vote Republican and in LA vote Democratic: this is also very much true. I have sat down in about five random bars in both OC and LA in the past two weeks leading up to the election and all I can say is, this sentiment rang true for me. But then again, LA is the "working" county and OC the "resort" county.

3. People don't vote, so they don't get called for Jury Duty: although it is a "civic duty" to go for Jury duty, I have found that about 95% of the people who don't vote cite this as their reason. Not saying it's bad, BUT I hope one

Anyway, this was just my observation after reading several (hundreds) of statuses on fb BUT I can and WILL say, isn't it amazing how even when I speak of politics I'm not speaking of my stance on it?! tehehe.

Casting

So by no means am I an expert on casting. Although, I would like to believe I have a bit more knowledge than most aspiring actors thanks to people like DanceJuJuDance, the Cinnabon Monster, and the lovely ladies at LG Casting. That being said, to all you aspiring actors, please make sure you're actually receiving advice from people who actually KNOW the industry.

Where is this rant coming from? Well, I came to Panera early yesterday to get a bit of work in before my "lunch meeting" and I couldn't help but overhear some guy give advice about how this young girl should research and get connected in the industry. As I continued to sit here, I couldn't help but shake my head at each point this guy would bring up and how this naive girl was happily taking it at face value.

Here are some things he said that are only partial truths:
1. Research
2. Get to know Casting Directors
3. Train
4. Know what you want.

At face value this all seems absolutely true and to a certain extent it is BUT these are things anyone who wants to be successful at anything should do... this gives you no help when it comes to actually trying to be an actor. If anything, this is the advice I would give to someone who wants to enter the dog-eat-dog world called acting.

1. Research by going out to networking events and actually seeing and listening to see who is actually a somebody who can give you REAL mentorship.

2. Get to know Casting Directors by going to casting workshops BUT not ONLY them, get to know their associates and their assistants. More often than not, the bigger casting directors have their assistants sort out through the tons of headshots that come into their offices.

3. Train BUT train correctly. Make sure you're going to credible places. If you do your research right, you'll hear from others, who are actually getting booked, where they train and quite often, you'll see that many of them have been taking classes at the same locations.

4. Know what you want and give yourself a time limit. There's a saying I live by, "Ten years hungry, ten years full. Twenty years hungry, twenty years full." For the most part this is true for many aspiring talent out there. You have to pay your dues before you get to call the shots and this is true for any role in the industry.

I know that even this is a partial list. There's so much one can do to prepare and train in order to be considered "successful" but as of now, this is what I have found to be true. Who knows, I might (and probably will) change the list as time continues to go on but take it for what it is, a starting point, and fight on!!

Pushy

I ended up working at a Starbucks for the first time in quite a few weeks and I encountered someone I would define as "Pushy".

It was almost as if he thought the whole world revolved around him and expected me to address him as such. Making insensitive remarks every time he opened his mouth and asking me how great I thought he was as a male specimen.

All I can say at the end of the day to this guy is... good luck finding a girlfriend.

Hardwork

This morning I had the pleasure of grabbing a delicious brunch with my roommate, who I haven't been able to hang out with in about two weeks, at Cafe Verona on La Brea.

We finally had time to just sit, chat, and catch up with each other before heading off to our respective meetings.

It was at this meeting where we were recounting everything that we've been involved in that I came to realize 2013 will be a big year for me as an aspiring producer. Already, this month of November will test how much I'll be able to handle in regards to smaller shoots but all the months of pre-production will hopefully come to fruition starting February.

It's definitely been an interesting journey these past five years, but I have five more years of really, REALLY hard work to prove myself.

Selfish

Two nights ago, someone I know told me something that has definitely left its impact on me.

Entertainment is a selfish career choice, until you get to a certain level, you need to be able to ask for help. 

And I agree with what this person told me; however, how am I supposed to ask for help when in my upbringing, I was raised to not rely on others but to rely on yourself, especially on matters that are of a personal nature?

Will I be able to answer this question honestly anytime soon? I'm not sure, but I do know that I still have a lot of maturing to do emotionally. I can't be the emotionless automaton that I have been for the past five years working in entertainment.

Being a Ninja

(This song by the amazing Jennifer Chung and BK is so haunting yet dreamy... it fits the very thing I want to do, which is to take a step back and find, even for a few minutes, that simple joy of being grateful that I am here, I am alive.)


Today, I wanted to be a Ninja; a ghost floating through the crowd without anyone recognizing me. I know I haven't mastered the art of stealth yet, but I think I did a pretty good job.

I realized working in this industry, it isn't only about standing out but of knowing when to blend in, of knowing when to lift others up. It is true what they say, it is easy to step on people and rise to the top but it will be quite a lonely victory.

Growing Up

I hate crying and can say the last time I bawled this hard was when I found out my childhood friend, who I saw six hours before the accident, passed away.

Is this really a part of the process?

Daily Grind

I had the opportunity to visit my alma mater today and the teachers I visited made it seem like I was already doing big things, when in reality, I really think I barely nicked the industry that is called the movie business.

From spontaneously asking me to speak in front of a class, to asking if I would like to speak in front of some after school organization, to trying to have a feature written about me in the school newspaper... all this was, needless to say, quite overwhelming. Especially considering there are others out their like my friend J.Lai, who is currently working at the H.P.

After that visit, all I can say is I definitely need to work THAT much harder to make the people, who have helped shape who I am today, proud.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Review

(In honor of the movie, I'm posting up the cover of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years", which is featured in this movie, by my friend Abraham Lim) 

Tonight I had the privilege to meet up with one of my college friends, Sonya, who invited me to the advanced press screening of the last movie of the saga Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Needless to say, I wasn't, honestly, expecting much from the film BUT was I pleasantly surprised. From the story, the cinematography, to even the acting finally came together to create a movie that I would dare say be the best of all the movies in the franchise.

I don't want to spoil the movie at all for those of you who are looking forward to the film but I will say that I wanted to punch someone in the face at one point in the film due to a point in the story where it was one of those wtf? moments.

Would I watch the film again? Most definitely. I would actually pay money to watch it the next time.

I must also say on a side note, I loved the decision from the director to include the credits in the beginning and loved how he recapped all the actors/characters from all the movies in the end.