April 29, 2009 by me.

Got a slight case of jet lag this past weekend (I fervently believe that Chicago time plus L.A. time equals Denver time, if you split the difference) so this entry is a quick recap of my events while I in SoCal between Friday and Tuesday. Later on when I get the chance, I’ll break things down in more detail entries not just what I did while in L.A. but my thoughts on these experiences, too. So here goes, in chronological order….

Friday –

1) Flew from O’Hare International Airport to San Francisco, grabbed a connecting flight (just in time, the first flight was delayed!) to Burbank and after hopping into a rental car, met up with a few of my cousins, at the Sanford Meisner Center in Studio City.

2)  Grabbed a quick snack at Starbucks en route to the CBS Studios to attend a pilot taping (no, it wasn’t “Wingmen” but watching how a multi-camera show is made proved quite educational, and yes it was fun being with friends who also happen to be relatives).

3)  Snarfed down some after-midnight Thai takeout food for dinner before crashing for the night in preparation for Saturday’s events.

Saturday –

1) Woke up and drove back to the CBS Studios for breakfast and networking with other industry professionals before the start of an all-day conference there about The Biz. Watched a performance by the “Groovaloos,” sat in on panel discussions, checked out a few breakout sessions, applauded achievement winners, and listened to an inspiring keynote speaker. Also more networking with industry professionals at lunch and throughout the day and reconnected with a singer/songwriter re: use of one of her songs for a recut of our “Wingmen” pilot.

2) Stopped in at the Academy for New Musical Theatre (our sister theatre, I’m also an alumni member of the Theatre Building Chicago Musical Theatre Writer’s Workshop) and listened in on preps for one of their upcoming 15-Minute Musicals, then (because I was still on Chicago time), I drove back again and crashed at my cousin’s for the night.

Sunday –

1) Checked out a church, ate a nice lunch and met with a support group of industry professionals with a heart and a passion for the entertainment industry.

2) Got lost in Bel Air while looking for a gift shop (nice mailboxes!) and eventually made my way to Westwood by UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) where I grabbed a fast-food dinner (I ate in the car) and then drove back to crash for the night.

Monday –

1) Headed to J-Town (that’s Japan Town to you and me) and circled around East West Players. I had called earlier to see if I could take a look at their space — the better for me to write something specific for them in the future if I know what their capabilities are, but owing to their own last-minute preps for that night’s 2009 Visionary Awards, my request couldn’t be accomodated. But all was not lost — while there a neighborhood fast-food joint caught my eye, so I parked (for 12 minutes!) and was subsequently introduced to the Japanese burrito (I would have gotten the Japanese taco but I was hungrier than that). Ate that in the car, too — not bad!

2) Got lost on my way to another theatre (do you see a trend?) to drop off one of my musicals (plus a demo CD) and on the way there found myself meandering on 23rd Street, then K-Town (Koreatown) and Thai Town. Found myself by Thailand Plaza (where I ordered my favorite Thai dessert (mango with sticky coconut rice), then got back in the car and finally made it to the theatre where I quickly dropped off our submission.

3) Dropped in again at the Sanford Meisner Center to drop off additional materials for my uncle (I have another cousin who works there part-time), savored my mango with sticky coconit rice, and observed one of their classes for a while.

4) Hopped on over to the Writer’s Guild of America West Foundation Library (by now it was 4pm), where I checked out a couple of scripts and read those pilots as fast as I could.

5) After closing, drove back to the rental lot and returned my car (with nine minutes to spare..!) and checked in at the airport for my flight.

6) As for what happened after that, well that’s another story…

Okay, that’s it for now. Will write more later.

Marie

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April 27, 2009 by me.

…before my return flight to Chicago, that is. And if all goes as planned, I’ll be landing at O’Hare at around 5am early Tuesday morning (I guess they don’t call it red eye for nothing!).

Anyway, this one’s just a short note for now until I have time for a more detailed blog. But suffice it to say that in the time I’ve been in LA I’ve met more than a few nice people and had some decent conversations about the Biz. Plus I had the chance to hang out with a few of my relatives (Hi Cuzzes!)

Okay, gotta cut this short — I have a few more places to hit before I head for the airport so it’s time to psych myself up for LA commuter traffic (wonder how it compares to Chicago’s? At times, ours can be rather heinous)…

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April 7, 2009 by me.

The art of patience is a learned skill, and as we await word from our contacts concerning their thoughts on “Wingmen,” we continue to seek out others currently in television and film for advice and opportunities in the industry.

Meanwhile, I’ve been noticing small changes these last 2 years in the mass media re: the depiction of Asian Americans and for the most part, these are encouraging. At the very least, I’m seeing way more AsAm actors being cast as extras, day players and yes, supporting characters on more TV shows here in the U.S.

Of course, predating these is the fact that in the last five or so years more AsAms have been cast in TV commercials (both local and national), thus showing a foresight of thought, originality and pragmatism among advertisers that the networks and studios would do well to more quickly adopt.

And kudos as well to “The Mentalist” for casting Tim Kang as supporting actor Agent Kendall Cho, as an Asian American law enforcer who not only speaks without an accent but is also in possession of a seemingly dry wit. Truth be told, whenever I catch the show, it’s more in anticipation of his scenes than for anyone else’s…

Getting back to “Wingmen,” I’m off later this month to Studio City to meet up with more potential contacts to talk about our show (as well as other non-Wingmen-related stories and scripts I’ve written to date). So we’ll see.

Anyway, here’s hoping I’ll have something good to write about by the time I get back!

Bye for now,

Marie

Update: Oops! My mistake — apparently the character’s name is Kimball Cho and not Kendall. I stand corrected.

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