Jeez Jon

The Best Reality Show On Television

The 2008 Presidential Election.  I've been obsessed with how the race has been going.  Since this is the first US presidential election since 1924 where an incumbent or former president or vice president hasn't run, the field has been wide open.  Usually by now, the candidates on both sides of the aisle have been weedled down to  one each.  But today, it's still wide open.  Now with Kucinich dropping out of the race, the Dems are now down to just Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.  Those are three of the best candidates we've had on our side of the aisle in a long, long time.  Personally, I'm leaning towards Obama due to his emphasis on inclusiveness... and frankly, I find him a lot more forthright.  But I'll take Hillary or Edwards over any Republican, especially amongst the motley group that is over there right now.  The most palatable amongst them is McCain, and I only "don't like him", as opposed to Huckabee whom I "lividly hate." 

At any rate, it's awesome and fascinating... and way better than most of the fare on TV right now.  Most of it.

Asshole of the Month Award Goes To...

...Fox News Host John Gibson, for making fun of Heath Ledger's death with some derisive references to "Brokeback Mountain".   We can now count off the minutes, now, until he claims his comments were taken out of context.  This jackhole should be boycotted.   

RIP Heath Ledger

The news of Heath Ledger's passing rolled through our office here at the speed of the technology yesterday, as we were barraged with IM's and texts with comments of "Dude, holy crap, Heath Ledger died!"  This was first met with denial, then the rest of the Kubler-Ross stages. 

Very, very sad news.

There Will Be Awesomeness

Just saw There Will Be Blood. Fantastic.  Daniel Day-Lewis is just amazing.  Every performance of his is an actor master class for me.  He's completely different in every film he does - his voice, his pace, his Tempo, his Shape -- every Viewpoint covered.  It's not a short movie and it's necessarily a fun movie, but it does kick ass.  I'm watching the rest of No Country For Old Men tomorrow.  Sweeney Todd was also excellent.  La Vie En Rose was pretty terrible, despite some good acting.  A decent awards season so far...

One Link To Make You Smile, Another To Piss You Off

According to reports, Dr. Phil is being investigated by the State of California for sticking his fame-whore nose into the Britney Spears debacle.  Ahhh, nice.  Gotta like that.

In other news, Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee directly likens gay marriage to bestiality.  Well, douchebag, you really know how to insult millions of people with one short phrase.  Congratuations, ass. 

My Decadent Hollywood Lifestyle

I work long hours.  I come home. I eat dinner, watch TV, check my e-mail, then go to sleep.  In between all of these activities, I'll surf the internet, chat with Tom, IM with friends, play Scrabulous on Facebook, and keep up on the news. 

And this, my friends, consists of my decadent Hollywood lifestyle.  According to many people outside of this inside 'burg, as an actor who (shock! horror!) works behind the scenes in reality television, I should be snorting coke off of the taut and tawny buttocks of some hot 22-year-old Panamanian hustler as I engage in unprotected sex with many, many partners as I alternately piss on the Bible while lecturing commoners about how green they should live.  Well, sorry to disappoint you all, but I don't do any of these things. 

Boring, huh?

See, here's the hidden secret about how Hollywood really operates.  No, I'm not talking about the crap you see on "Entourage" or whatever fucked up trouble La Spears has gotten into today. What really makes the entertainment industry function out here is... well, it's work.  It's people getting up very early in the morning to take a shower, slurp down some coffee and drive to work, just like everyone else.  Except in this case, their office is a commercial set in some run down section of North Hollywood, making sure all the equipment is put into its right place.  Or they go off to their cramped little casting office, looking through headshots on their computer for 12 hours a day, trying to cast a bunch of 2 line roles for a soap opera.  Or, in my case most of the time, driving all the way across town every morning to sit at an IKEA desk, watching footage on my computer, trying to make sense out of random footage and form it into a cohesive story for your amusement.  Or, in my case some of the time, it's me driving across town in order to read a couple of lines for a commercial audition and make them believable and spontaneous and funny... or to read for that aforementioned casting associate for a 5 line role on a quirky dramatic series. 

This is what my life is like... as it is for everyone else here in Los Angeles in the industry.  We work.  It's not glamorous.  It's not pretty.  It's not all together clean.  And yet... it's awesome.  It's amazing. It's everything I've ever wanted and more.  Yes, I'm not a big celebrity with millions of dollars, but every day, I go to my day job, knowing that I'm working on a TV show that will put smiles on millions of people's faces.  Even though I am pulling at least 55 hours at work this week, I know I'd rather be doing this as my day job than anything else.  With the writers' strike showing no foreseeable end in sight, working in a day job in reality TV seems like one of the safest bets in town. 

So, in the meantime, what do I do with my time?  I work.  I watch movies with Tom and friends.  I have the occasional brunch.  I work.  I go to auditions.  I get stuck in traffic.  I work.  I surf the web.  And I work.  Oh, and sleep. 

That is my decadent Hollywood lifestyle. 

2007 Round Up of Jeez Jon

Here are random first sentences from 2007 entries, one picked from each month:

I've been away for a while and I do apologize for that. 
We finally have a trailer up for Fellowship of the Dice. 
It takes a lot of chutzpah to take a risk and follow a dream.
There are a few certainties in life:  death, taxes, the swallows returning to Capistrano, a rainfall after you washed your car... and me getting a call for an audition when I'm out of town.
I never try to wish anyone dead.
I was thinking about writing a long entry about traffic in Los Angeles, but I'm more concerned about Nina Totenberg.
In front of me in line at the Coffee Bean, texting away on her cell phone, wearing modest workout clothes and some cute glasses?
In my mind, Aliens is the best action movie ever made.
Thursday was what I call an Actor Day.
Twice in the last 3 weeks, awful things have happened to my right eye.
Back in college before I met Tom, I had one huge crush.
I've had quite a week.

And that was 2007. 

An Incredible(s) New Year

A new year, a new leaf.  2007 wasn't the best year for me but it wasn't the worst.  There were some great highs and some awful lows -- some of which didn't make it to this blog.  But trust me when I say that there were some stretches during 2007 where I was really freaking out, money-wise.  The one-two combo of the commercial and the long gig on the Makeover show have helped stem any money freak-outs, so that's good. 

I am really looking forward to what the year can bring.  A great manifesto for approaching the new 365 days ahead of us was written by the brilliant scribe to the north, bstewart.  His entry Try Hard With A Vengence very eloquently and evocatively sums up how I feel about... well, pretty much everything.  Thanks, Bret, for typing what I'm thinking. 

My actual New Year's Eve consisted of Tom and I watching a huge swath of our Disney DVDs:  Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Bambi, Dumbo, a collection of shorts from World War II, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast.  We ended it all with probably my favorite Pixar film, The Incredibles. 

Growing up with a healthy collection of comic books, this movie is definitely up my alley.  But what I always gravitate towards is the message -- how one has to not be afraid of being different, of being special, of being dynamic.  So much of what we are taught as kids is about being a citizen in society, which is necessary and great.  But what is lacking is nurturing of creativity, of nurturing and supporting excellence.  In a world where kids get participation ribbons instead of trophies 'cause no one wants to hurt people's feelings, The Incredibles really hits home.  Also, it's just a damn good movie.  Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, I've run across The Incredibles at least 6 times on cable.  And I've stopped to watch it every single time.  Not only is the action fun and the characters great and the music awesome, but it just... well, speaks to me.  I can't think of a better way to kick off 2008 than with a family of superheroes who gleefully fight against fear and cynicism. 

Well, that and a good glass of wine.