Marvelous Malina and August:Osage County

The sun finally came out at 2PM today and so we headed off for our shoot of August:Osage County.  What can I say about a young student director who is intelligent, centered, creative, helpful beyond her years?  I have learned so much from Malina.  Her crew of Diego, Garrett, and Hugo were delightful and it was my pleasure to bring them all home baked cookies. Her dear friend Tony joined us and gave great feedback.  (Translation:  he told me he really enjoyed watching our work). 

We set up at one location which was too traffic noisy so we moved and then were in the midst of good work when a pick-up drove up and told us we had to leave. Very seriously...I looked for his shotgun.  Seems we were on land owned by a corporation worth billions (what else is new?) We finished the shoot and just as we were packing up  he returned.  Made Malina nervous.  Finally he went away.

A shout out today to my teachers at the State School.  Had you not taught me what I've learned (hopefully) about relaxation, focus, and personalization, I would have been at a loss to work with my partner.  I thank-you all.

Today I told Abe that Social Work really nailed it for me for 36 years.  In Austin it seems I've found my happiness through studying acting and helping a student.  Austin, you shine!

LET ME IN/LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

What's scarier?  Growing up or getting close to  a vampire?  We watched the American version of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN on DVD tonight.  The film really presents the horror of growing up bullied  in a chilling and scary scary light.  The young actors are incredibly realistic. You want to rip the bully's heart out!   But we both agreed the Swedish film was much more artistic, compelling and sunk deeper into our skins.

A postponed shoot of August:Osage County today due to grey weather.   A 5 minute scene takes so much work it makes one get a better understanding of the enormous collaborative effort of film making.

Buenas noches.

Gigglepants at UT

Tonight Abe and I opened a door to the CMA Auditorium (Communications Bldg) and were absolutely blasted by the energy of an auditorium filled with undergrads.  Bouncing in their seats, talking, singing along with piped in music and waiting for the Improv troupe Gigglepants to begin their work.  OMG we were not disappointed. What fun! Malina (UT directing student) is in this troupe and we are so happy she invited us!  What a find!

Today we shot on location 15 miles from Austin, recreating the Plains.  3 young men from Malina's directing class were the crew.  Motts,(I'm sure I spelled that wrong)  from Norway, chose UT Film school over  NYU and USC because of its fine reputation.  This crew worked collaboratively and cheerfully and were a pleasure to be with.  Once again I learned more from this rehearsal than in any Film class I have taken thus far. Everyone answered my questions patiently.

The morning as always began at Gold's Gym in good company with Abe and Judith on bicycles.  Before that I listened to FREEWHEELIN' Bob Dylan.    A fine day I must say!

ROOSTER COGBURN at the Paramount

Tonight we saw John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn in the sequel to True Grit.  What a duo! Both Abe and I liked this better than True Grit and maybe it's our age but we both preferred Eula to Mattie! Shot in Oregon this film is gorgeous! We saw it at the beautiful Paramount, a classical revival theater built in l9l5. It reminds me of the Loew's Paradise on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

Once again a rehearsal today for August:Osage County with the wonderful Malina directing.  Tomorrow we rehearse on location and Saturday we shoot with a crew of 5, all of her classmates.

After the rehearsal I picked up our film passes for SXSW at Waterloo where I also picked up two Bob Dylan CDs.  I can never leave Waterloo without some old time music.  I just love that place!

Hong Kong Fashion/UT OLLI

My day began with checking out the coolest and edgiest and most creative fashion coming out of the HK Design Institute on line.  Check out   Hong Kong Fashion Photo Blog  hkdifashion.blogspot.com    for this fun blog.  (Truth is I'm the proud mama of the photographer).

We then moved on to UT for classes.  Conversations in Contemporary Art brought us Rachel Adams from Art House on Congress Ave.  We love that institution of non-collectors current Art.  A great conversation with Laurence and classmates about the architect for the renovation coming out of NY rather than Austin.  I really enjoyed the controversy.  This afternoon was the lecture by Adm Bobby Inman on Challenges and Opportunities in a Turbulent World.  What can I say?  World events can leave you sad and scared!

We came home to major leaf gathering...when will it end?  Nevertheless, I love this town with its leaves and all!

AFS THE WHITE MEADOWS/Rehearsal at Burger Field

Tonight we saw an Iranian film, THE WHITE MEADOWS. Stunning cinematography to tell a story which symbolizes the complete repression of artistic expression in that country.  The director and film editor of this film have been under house arrest (threat of 6 year imprisonment) and have been silenced for 20 years following their show trials in 2010.  Once again Chale gave informative and entertaining intros and handed out two pages of background history.

The afternoon was spent in rehearsal of August:Osage County which reminded me  that learning by doing is invaluable.  Hats off to our 23y.o. director whose style, intelligence and humanity comes shining through each time we work together.

So A Man Walks Into the Library With A Gun

On Tuesdays Abe bicycles with Reed, a true friend we've made since moving here.  He was born and raised in Midland but we would have much preferred he was elected President!  Last Tuesday Abe waited for Reed in the lobby of the Twin Oaks library and noticed a man walk into the library with a gun under his arm.  Abe saw the man leave the library after using the restroom and followed him to see him deposit the gun in the garbage dumpster outside.  Abe watched the man walk away, kept his eye on him, retrieved the gun, and hastily bicycled toward Reed while he held the gun in one arm holding it against his chest.  I can hear everyone's questions as I write (believe me I had a bazillion!) Our cell phones have NYC #s so 911 would have connected him to NYPD. He motioned to Reed to keep going and they speedily biked to Reed's house where finally Abe called APD.    Reed described the look on  Abe's face as  pure glee.  Well now that Abe's fingerprints are all over the gun we hope APD finds the guy who tossed it.  A pretty cool story I think from a NY social worker who has  no experiences with guns but has watched a ton of Law and Orders!