ANNNND ACTION!

As I pour over a selection of possible careers on Craigslist and Monster.com (which I must say, I feel is a poorly constructed site), I must say there's that nagging in me that always goes to square one. What's square one? Square one is Hollywood--not the trashy Hollywood as we know it now, but dig deep to great classy Hollywood where meaningful films are made by intelligent people; and Broadway. So square one is "Hollyway". That is my dream career. The only problem is whenever my mom tests my ability to hold a straight face in front of her by miming a camera a la charades I burst into the giggles within mere moments. Giggling fits do not an Oscar and Tony make. But I sense their is a triple threat talent within me that is untapped and it's just a matter of Speilberg or Coppola tapping into, not Mrs. Temkin (I mean that with no disrespect and out of love Mummsy, it's just hard NOT to laugh when you put your hand up to eye and start winding up the other hand).

The point is I have spent maaany a nights rehearsing, if you will, for a Broadway musical. Take your pick- Oklahoma, Chicago, Wicked, Pippin, I know all the songs, all the words, all the parts; so I am ready if at any point someone should get sick to slip in and take charge...and become a star. But seriously, my feeling is why not make use of all the time I spent prancing about my room, blood, sweat and tears, memorizing those lyrics and choreography and cast me in a Broadway role? I may not have gone to "dance school" or have much "experience", except my glorious moment as Annie in 7th grade, and then the 5th Indian in 8th grade in Peter Pan (don't even go there), and then I was rejected from Rocky Horror Picture Show Freshman year in college probably because I was too square--and yes, that pun was entirely intended. But by God, I bet if I was on stage in front of Stephen Sondheim auditioning or if Speilberg yelled action I would not giggle cause I would be just too damn frightened!

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old?

To those of you who I've called my best friend at different times in my life, I don't know what to tell you other than there's a new friend in town, and she goes by the name of Eva Marie Saint. Oh! Have you heard of her? Yea, she won an Oscar back in 1954 for her role as Edie Doyle opposite Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. And she hung from Mt. Everest grasping for Cary Grant's hand in North by Northwest.

True, I have never won an Oscar playing opposite Brando, or hung from Mt. Everest grasping for Grant, so you might wonder what do I have in common with Eva--and yes, I'm on a first name basis. Well, as it turns out, we both have a taste for choral music on a Sunday afternoon. Or rather her daughter -my mom's business partner- sang in this said choir, and we were the happy and supporting audience as they sang Mozart, etc. As our two parties met during intermission, my unusual name and recent graduation immediately made for interesting and lively banter. And thus a golden friendship was born. She was so warm, and not movie-star-ish, telling me I had to travel to Australia and Africa--as this is the time to be enjoying myself.

At the reception after the performance, she asked me what I thought about the film Cars. So I gave her my two cents, telling her it was my least favorite of the Pixar films because it's not very interesting to watch automobiles trying to emote sentiments for two hours. To which she responded, "Oh, that's a really interesting observation...ya know it's too bad, because Paul Newman, who I know personally, is such a great actor!" So, realizing I may have stuck my foot in my mouth, I sorta backtracked and restated; "it has nothing to do with the obviously amazing cast, it was just the concept that was the issue." Phew! But Eva gets me. Then as we hugged goodbye, she and her lovely director husband of 55 years (how fabulous is that?!) wished me good luck, and she said to me, "I've got a good feeling about you Chloe, you just send out vibes." As a film enthusiast, I can't really complain about that Sunday, except for maybe if it was Hitchcock or Cary Grant themselves, but they're both dead, so that would have made the story just plain creepy.

'Breakin Up' is Hard to Do!

Kudos to the Carpenters to writing those moving lyrics, but bigger kudos to the crafty minds behind the more recent film of the similar name (The Break Up, for you slow folk). Crafty indeed the little bastards. As I have recently discovered, this charming and funny film(which I thoroughly enjoyed) has actually had various interpretations. And by various I really mean two. But in discussing this film with my peers I've come to think the ending was intended to be ambiguous, and that my degree in film was worthless if I can't even breakdown a romantic comedy between Jen Aniston and Vince Vaughn. I mean surely a BA in Film in Digital Media should teach you how to a least recognize an ambiguous ending.

I left the theater SURE of how the film ended, only to be shocked later to find out that people had left thinking it had ended in an entirely different way, which naturally left me second-guessing myself. Why has this film caused such a divide? I ask you, does it depend on the person? Who you're with? The mood you're in? Or plain and simple smart vs. not so smart? And I'm not claiming to be one or the other, because to this day, I'm not sure what the filmmakers were going for, but I'm just so curious as the fabulous divide that this film has created. And arguments can be made for either side. Alright, now I can only talk about this ending for so long without actually saying what it is..

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD...IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING, STOP READING. So the divide is those who believe that Jen and Vince are getting back together after they run into eachother on the street after their break up (my kind of people). Evidence includes crazy chemistry, making plans for coffee, Vince winking at her after they walk away. (I'm sorry, does that couple look like they're headin' to Splitsville?)

And on the other side of the ring are those who believe they are not getting back together and that the film was going for an independent kind of end in a Hollywood film. Ya know, where although they loved eachother, they're not meant to be with eachother, they've moved on and it's a coffee date they're never gonna do a la Carrie and Aiden 6th Season. So what I've decided what I must do is see not only see it again and really watch it more closely, but also take a poll of everyone leaving the theater. Thank you.

Alrightyyy....So What Do I Do Now?

Well Ladies and Gents,

So as you may or may not have heard, the Big Day came and went. No, not my wedding day, that's a ways off seeing as I've never had a real boyfriend, or really even seriously dated someone for that matter-but more on that later I'm sure. Hey, I've got plenty o' time. I'm talking about my college graduation from the University of Banana Slugs.


They gave me a blank scroll signifying my diploma that marks my Film and Digital Media degree. You may be asking yourself what is Digital Media? Well, after four years of taking critical studies' courses in said department I am wondering the same thing. The department only requires you to take one class in this area, and I got a grade that really isn't worth mentioning cause it was boring as all hell..although it did get me onto friendster--but where is friendster today my friends? Exactly.

On the other hand I have watched a lot of movies. So if you have any movie trivia, I am your girl. I pretty much rule at Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, so don't even think about challenging me to that game. I have been forced to watch foreign films (ie, Godard and Pasolini to name a few) for my degree. Not that Bacon has made that crossover, but bygones.

The point is I have now proudly taken my blank scroll and returned to live in Los Angeles with my parents- I know, I'm a rare breed!- for the summer. I've done L.A., I want to do San Fran or maaaybe even N.Y. So the idea is to spend hours and hours on craigslist, post my resume on monsters, inc. and find myself a nice little job, and get myself an apartment. Shouldn't be too hard, yea?

OK, so throughout my life I've wanted to just about every occupation there ever was, from teacher to lawyer to astronaut to Broadway star to veterinarian. About the only thing I haven't considered is porn star, and maybe that's just because I haven't been somewhere at the right time and place. So really the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, I will have to find ways to fill my time. A La my tripping counterpart, or rather one of my inspirations, I should consider extracurricular activities. I'm thinking I'll take walks, maybe even eventually work up into a run (I was a cross-country runner not so many years ago), I'll maybe finally teach myself to cook, and catch up on some reading. Oh, and of course watch movies. But I am incredibly welcome to suggestions. While you think of suggestions, you can enjoy this picture of me fooling around on my mom's new Mac....thinking hard about what I'm gonna do next.