we're authorized.

Friday held only one appointment with the New York Film Academy, located on the Universal Studios lot. The school has locations around the world and I have researched their program quite a bit so it was interesting to meet people and see students working. To be honest, I was more excited about the tour they provided for us to see the studio lot at Universal! I wanted to tour Warner Brothers Studios, which was practically neighboring our atrocious hotel, for the sole purpose of finding Ellen. Next time Degenres, next time. So we saw set designs used in 300, Angels and Demons, sitcoms, War of the Worlds, Desperate Housewives, The Grinch, Changeling, Jaws, and many more than I can’t even remember! It was surreal to be on the same stomping ground where the infamous slice of life from The Truman Show was shot. The end of the movie where he is in the ocean and then walks along side a giant blue wall. Here’s that wall!! (click on any of the following pictures to see them larger)

We couldn’t go into the sound stages because of filming and construction but we did catch the Desperate Housewives cast and crew eating lunch. And as soon as the lot gates closed, our taxing audition trek ended. Then began my quest to get to Katie Keller’s gorgeous Hyatt Regency Hotel. Upon greeting her in the lobby, she hightailed it to a staff party and I headed off to find a place to people watch. Which is even more fun in LA than in NYC. Apart from my phone being the only connection I had to Katie and it all but dying, the afternoon was completely casual and I loved it. I found a grassy knoll to lie down and stare up at shiny famous buildings that house the premier casting agency in the country, CAA and it was the first time I was able to see the beauty of a California sun-filled sky. Around 5pm Katie and I lugged my massive suitcase down and up stairs, in no particular order, and made it to her adorable apartment in Venice.
We decided that painting the town was just toooo Hollywood and we were just tooooo exhausted from an eventful week so we headed for a late-night viewing of Funny People with some free movie ticket stubs. SCORE. Full theater and probably one of the more vocal audiences I’ve ever been a member of (excluding my first performance of Spring Awakening and Eli Young Band). There were some fabulous one-liners and great comedy thrown into a random storyline but I’m glad we saw it. I crashed on Katie’s comfy couch for the longest night of sleep I’ve ever had in California and I remember loving every second of it.
Below are some pictures from the Universal lots (click on any of the following pictures to see them larger):
From THE GRINCH-

Wisteria Lane (they were filming this day hence the contraption)-

I forget the movie this is from...help please?-

Street block used for commercials and occasional films you might recognize-

JAWS reenactment and scary houses for lots of films-

Infamous Sound Stage 12-

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES spread (sorry I was a little slow on the draw)-

Common set seen in 300, Angles and Demons, Vantage Point, ect...-

WAR OF THE WORLDS set pieces-