Undesireable #1

I recently read that the Masters Degree is the new Bachelors Degree, that anything less won't make the cut. A lovely little factoid, isn't it? Something to mull over while you can't sleep after the stress and anxiety has kicked in.

I am a girl that has always sworn by my New York driver's license, that I will never leave the city, that I couldn't live outside of the five boroughs. And yet I have found that I am now in a desperate need for a change of pace. I need a break. If I could, I would just pack my bags and move back to Europe - live for a while in a completely different place, get my feet wet again.

I have never seriously considered doing something other than writing since I started college. Not ever. Not in a million years. And now that I am out of school, now that I am ready to put my degree to work, the only thing that I can think to do is anything but. I am now kicking myself for not being practical, for not getting that degree in International Affairs or Politics. Maybe then I'd have a job doing something that matters. Maybe then I would be making a difference. Maybe then I would be changing someone's life.

Maybe I'm just losing it.

E

I Hate Vacations

No, I do. I really, truly do. They tease you with their fancy hotels and expensive champagne, and then - BAM! One week later you are sitting on a cross-country red-eye filled with annoying kids and reruns of Lock Up Raw. You've guessed it! I've just come home from an amazing (all expenses paid!!) trip to California, only to be stabbed by the cold knife of reality.

Now that I am back in New York, I am only reminded of the stressors that I have to face: the heat wave, contest deadlines, bills, and my never-ending job search. Meanwhile, I am doing all of this with jet lag. Gone, are my blissful memories of walking along the cost of Sausalito and sipping champagne cocktails at The Fairmont; all that remains are my unpacked bags and the awkward tan lines on my chest.

The oddity of it all comes from the fact that - despite working on a deadline - I was never stressed on my trip, not once. I never thought about the jobs I should be applying for or the draft of the script that I need to edit. I only focused on myself. And it was amazing. Is there a way to take that type of peace with you when you leave? Because I sure as hell want to.


E

Now that's what I call awesome!

A friend of mine from college is working for a new start up literary magazine and has asked me to contribute a piece for their launch issue coming out this month. Awesome, right? And the best part? They are actually paying their writers! Now, I know that money isn't everything and I know that I would have written the piece for nothing, but there is something about getting paid for your art that feels pretty damn good.

Ah, the (occasional) joys of being a freelancer!

E

5 Movies, 2 Days

Yup, that's right! In the past 2 days I have some how managed to watch 5 movies that I have never seen - another perk of unemployment: free time. Let's recap, shall we?

Beyond Borders: (2003) Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. Those two alone make a movie that I want to watch. Throw in humanitarian efforts and a love story? I'll be putty in your hands. The main downer of the film (a girl criticism) was that I really couldn't stand looking at Jolie's hair. I'm not even joking. It was the one and only thing I was focusing on in every single scene. The stringy bangs, the overly dark black color, its lifeless limp body. As for the actual movie, I enjoyed it, but don't know if I'll watch it again. It does a really great job of bringing the problems of other countries into the limelight and shows that these issues are still going on today - but it wasn't the best thing out there. The end, however, redeemed it for me.

Love & Other Drugs: (2010) Not much to say. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. I don't think Anne Hathaway being naked every 5 seconds served any type of purpose, other than attracting both male and female viewers. I did, however, enjoy that it was a romantic movie with real adult problems. I think that too much lately any movie with a romantic premise draws about these weak female characters and their biggest problem is finding the perfect shade of lip stick. So, to the dramatic balance: kudos. But I sort of wanted more. I wanted something drastic to happen to her - maybe have her end up in the hospital after she drops a glass or something. I don't know. I just wanted the action to be more.

Monte Carlo: (2011) Don't judge. Just don't. I'm still a sucker for girlie movies (above review, aside) All that I will say is that - sadly - I enjoyed this a whole lot more than I enjoyed watching this next movie ...

Bad Teacher: (2011) Sure, I laughed. That's awesome. But I really didn't care about Cameron Diaz's character in the least. Ever. Not once. She didn't have a single ounce of humanity in her bones, and that is just exhausting to watch for 2 hours. She is just this horrible teacher who doesn't give a shit about her kids or the people around her. And that's great, for a while, but then it just becomes miserable. I did, however, enjoy Jason Segel. Because, let's face it, who doesn't like the man?

Nice Guy Johnny: (2010) This one just goes to show that a good movie can be made with a small budget. Hands down. Ed Burns' character Uncle Terry was a great combination of schmuck and lovable, and he just took the scene every time he was on screen. Also, just really honest dialog, which I thought was great.

E

Something Magical is Happening on Nick!

My show - THE WINX CLUB - is finally premiering on Nickelodeon tonight at 8:00pm EST!

I worked with the production team all last year, formatted over 50 of the scripts, and even wrote two of them! This show was my first look into the television realm and gave me my first writing credits, so - needless to say - I really can't wait to see the final product!

Tonight episode is the first of four Specials that will be running all summer long and then followed up by the season started this October. I have never seen the final cut of tonight's run - only the drawing board frames - so even I am in for a a big surprise.

Check out the preview:


-E

Leaving on a Jet Plane

A Writer-Friend of mine recently pointed out the fact that I never stay in one place for very long, that I am always traveling and moving, changing things up and looking for a new start. However, the reality of this didn't really set in with me until today.

Being unemployed has given me the gift of travel. In a way, I am living the New Yorker's dream: I spend my waking days in the city and my weekends on various trips out to the "country" - as one friend put it. I have been back in Brooklyn for three hours after going down to Virginia to surprise my dad for Father's Day and am already re-packing my bags for a woodsy camping adventure at Hollywood Club up in the Adirondacks. Three weeks after that, I am jetting off to San Francisco and Napa for a week, then heading back to Virginia with some friends, and then possibly spending a few days in the Poconos.

But is all of this for the best?

I am, without a doubt, having a blast on all of my trips, whether it's going to the races or to a party in Rhode Island, but I am then - in turn - spending a considerable amount of time away from the work place. I am writing less, applying for jobs less, looking for apartments less. Is a balance of all of this possible, the reality and the play?

-E

The Kiss of Death...

... is undoubtably getting sick the moment one decides to start a new project. That's seems to be just my luck. Beautiful.

I've decided to hang out in the sun at my favorite Brooklyn coffee shop - Pillow - in earnest hope that maybe, just maybe, the Vitamin D will do me some good.

Stay tuned.

-E

50/50

I am very hit or miss with Seth Rogan, but I really freaking want to see this! I feel like it's going to be one of those "tear your heart out and then make you cry with joy" movies...



-E

Writing to a Beat

I've come to find myself only writing to Fleetwood Mac, Carly Simon, and Joni Mitchell ... is this normal?

-E

Day 3: A New Project!

Being on my third day in Unemployment-Land, I have officially started work on a new writing project. For the past few weeks I have been doing little ditty writing exercises here and there to clear my mind from my last screenplay, but now I am finally ready.

The plan: write an impossibly low-budget, Indie script set in New York. And I mean LOW budget. Nothing extraneous. Nada. Something very prosaic, where it's all about the people. Stripped to the bare bones of human interaction. I've never written with production in mind, so it'll be a different vantage point. I want it to be accessible to low-budget directors and producers, young artists like me looking to make a break.

I love the last two scripts that I've written, but they are by no means "low budget" - they involve wars and nuclear power plants, armies and European travels. This will not be that.

The Goal: Work long enough and hard enough to have a solid draft finished by July 1. 30 days and change for 120 pages ... oy!

I'm taking up the life of a real freelancer, writing from 9am-5pm, with only a break for lunch and errands half way through. I will be a slave to my computer, regardless of the bright sunny weather gloating me from outside my window (such as the case right now).

This is now my job, so stay tuned...

-E

Is This Real Life?

I am unemployed. I am broke. I am an artist. Today, it all feels official.

For the first time in my life I have the time to write what I want, whenever I want. No master, no authority figure. On one side, it is liberating; the only rules and bounds that I face are those that I have set for myself. The other side of the coin, however, comes with a world of uncertainty and fear.

Writing is great, but paying my rent is even greater.

A travel journal, originally, this place has seen all sides of my opinions and view points - from my thoughts on Glee to Pat Robertson - so now, it is time for another shift. This will be my outlet, a portal into the life of a nobody Brooklyn writer trying to become a somebody.

For some preliminary information about my writing side, I am a film, theatre, and television writer with an odd love of pretentious literary fiction (I do hold a BFA after all, so it comes with the territory). I am terribly opinionated. I like what I like, and when I really hate something I always have a reason. Hate then, is separate from appreciation. I can appreciate a piece and yet truly hate the way it is written (cough, Virginia Woolf, Gertude Stein, cough), and I think that this is a necessary awareness for all writers. Appreciation of voice. Because, answer me this: what is a writer without their voice?

-E

[yes, I am aware I used "their" for "his or her" - I hate that gender neutral thing.]

Wilde+Jerz=Classic

The dramatic writer in me is doing summersaults of joy right about now...

AND THERE ARE 5 OF THEM!!!

-E

Deadlines, Baby!

I just received the deadline for my thesis this afternoon (April 28), and this is how I feel right about now...

Who's with me?

-E

Jane Austin + Tom LeFroy

I am a sucker for passion in movies, and these scenes from Becoming Jane have to be some of my absolute favorites. I think that this entire film is just a great example of how to show a love story without being trite or frilly.

Check 'em out!





-E

The National Book Critics Circle Announces Award Winners

The National Book Critics Circle Announces Award Winners

Woo! So glad Freedom didn't win ... now on to checking out Skippie Dies and A Visit From The Goon Squad...

-E

Big Apple or Golden Coast?

Lately it seems to feel like time is spinning on this rotating dial, constantly reminding me that my childhood is quickly dwindling into a thing of the past. I've just had my last midterm critique of my art school education and the calendar keeps reminding me that commencement is just around the corner. But what comes next? What is the logical course of action?

I have come to call New York my home, I've even vowed that I will never leave, and yet the more I look for jobs the more I am led towards LA. Is the move worth it? After applying to eight - yes eight - jobs at various production companies in Burbank and Santa Monica, the idea slowly began to grow on me. I began furiously checking Craig's List and the LA Times for real estate quotes and I did the math on how much gas would cost; I could rent a house for what I pay per month ... in Brooklyn.

It went without saying that the cost of living was lower out in La-La Land, but at what price? What about my life back home, where does it all go?

I then couldn't help but wonder, is the industry really only one sided? Is one side of the coin better than the other?

Do you have Irish?

Tá sé fuar inniu. It is cold today!

In the spirit of geimhreadh - winter - here are some fun new Irish words that I'm learning. Ask me in a month if I'll be able to remember them, and the answer will probably be no. But for now ...

oíche -- night (eechya)
aingeal -- angel
fuar -- cold (foor)
seomra leapa -- bedroom (showmra lyapa)
Nollaig -- Christmas (no-log)
Chrainn Nollag -- Christmas Tree (crain no-log)
deoch -- drink (djaw)

-E

Happy Finals!

It's my penultimate college semester, and if only my life were like this ...

rather than this ...

-E

"It's an insane thing, to write a play."

One day, as we all sat around our lounge, sipping cappuccinos, Michael West said to us, "It's an insane thing, to write a play." There we were, aspiring playwrights living in Ireland, about to start the unthinkable - write a play. We must have been mad, loons, all of us. Needless would Michael know that three weeks later he'd be winning the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Playwright. An insane thing, yes.

Sitting in my living room now, six months later and living back in New York City, I think I'm fully starting to realize the extent of those words. Being a writer, trying to create a world. It's an insane thing. I have completed two stage plays in my infant career (a one act, and a two act), and now that I am facing the reality of writing my second full length screenplay, I can't help but go back to those words. Have I lost my mind?

The only thing that is keeping me calm is - I think - the fact that I now personally know a successful writer. I spent 18 weeks with him, I drank coffees and pints with him, I talked about Simba and Hamlet with him. And now his success is becoming a reality. Michael's latest work, Freefall, is premiering at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin later this month, and I can't help but sit here in awe. I know him. I know the flesh and blood man that wrote that play, those words. If you don't know, the Abbey Theatre is the end-all, be-all of theatre in Ireland; it's the National Theatre, the hot tamale of the stage world. 

To think, Michael made an insane thing sane. He wrote a play. He did what I dream to do.  And now, all I can think is how much I want to be there to see it come to a reality, to watch that show grace the main stage of the Abbey in it's full fruition. 

Is truly is, an insane thing.

-E

Amazon's EBook Publishing Scandal

This has just been a week of discovering publishing mishaps...

Amazon, I support your policy on publishing everyone. As a writer, I really, truly do. I am also all for free speech, really, I am. But a book promoting pedophilia? That is the crime of all crimes and is something that can never be defended. Ever. End of story.

The independently published ebook in question is titled, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Phillip R. Greaves.

Here's a BBC's article... it has more info on the whole deal, all of the drama, the controversy, what have you.

-E