Let’s just skip another eloquent resolution to blog more and get straight to the skinny, shall we?

Last Saturday, Fig, Chloe, and I went to an LA user group and demonstration for the RED camera and ran into Dorkman in the process. We saw a couple of presentations on various aspects and hung around and asked questions of owners who had set up there cameras for demonstrations. To be honest, I hadn’t thought about my RED order in awhile, having been distracted since the holidays (when I first placed the order) by moving cross country and then setting up shop and finding a job.

Which, speaking of, demonstrated progress this week, when someone from Legendary Pictures emailed Tuesday, asking if I could come in for an interview on Thursday. And I totally would have gone too, if I hadn’t already promised myself a beach day.

But the beaches will be there for at least a couple more years (before the ice slips away from the poles and sends the beach towards Denver), so to the Warner Brothers lot I went and had a lovely chat with two of the guys from Legendary. I got there about half an hour early, leaving nothing to chance, and spent the extra time walking around the lot a bit. From where I parked, the famous water tower was very close by, on the other side of a T intersection with Legendary off to the right, and the back lot past the water tower. As I walked around, trams filled with tourists trundled too and fro and I managed to catch snippets of the tour as they went by. I felt as if I had one foot on the tram and one on the lot. In my shirt and tie, with portfolio in hand, I would’ve been indistinguishable from any other person that belonged there – unless you could tell by my meandering route and gawking eyes. In about five minutes time I walked from Los Angeles (Burbank, actually) to New York to Gotham City to Metropolis to Chicago and back to Burbank again, past Judge Stone’s courthouse, the ambulance bay of County General, and Clark’s subway stop.

Surreality is something I must be prone to, not that this is my first encounter with the screen come to life. But first or thousandth, the difference in dimensionality never ceases to strike at me in a way that I can’t help but marvel at. And not in the typical fanboy way of, “OMG! The courthouse from Night Court!” but just an intense curiosity at the idea of fantasy become reality. Or maybe the other way around. Or the mutability of the two to become the other. Something like that.

But seriously, OMG the water tower that Yakko, Wakko, and Dot live in!

Anyway, at five minutes before the scheduled time, I dutifully walked into the Legendary lobby and had an interview with two of the guys there, who were both very genial. We talked and overall I think it went pretty well, and that’s about as much detail as I’ll go into until I know whether or not I got the job. Either way, the news of whether or not I did will likely be the final word on it, since should I get it, I’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement that will probably forbid me from publishing anything on the internet ever again (and receiving electro-shock treatment that will permanently wipe the existence of Aint It Cool News from my brain). All of which I’m perfectly willing to do! Just in case they’re reading.

Otherwise, in my quest to master every aspect of the filmmaking process, I’ve volunteered to be a stage hand for a play at the acting school that includes in its cast some teachers. The past couple of Fridays I’ve helped haul furniture and props back and forth, hanging out with actors that take their craft quite seriously and who are an absolute blast to hang out with.

Also on an acting front (more of a casting front), in the past week and a half I helped Chad in holding auditions for the second half of his movie, now dubbed Apocalypse, CA. In lieu of him finding any real actors to read opposite the hopeful auditioners, I’ve stepped in. All of that’s now done though, with shooting rapidly approaching, which I shall help with whenever I can and not otherwise occupied or employed.

And today I had a phone conversation with Dr. Michael Stebbins, a member of the Board of Advisers for Scientists and Engineers for America and president of it’s Action Fund. After Bill Foster’s special election win in Illinois a couple of weeks ago, I got it in my head that more scientists and engineers should hold public office, and wrote a diary to such effect on DailyKos. One of the commenters pointed me in SEA and Michael’s direction and we were able to talk things over today. We were both excited about me getting involved, and I can’t wait to dig my hands into some of the things they’re doing and want to do.

Also, and finally, I’ve been helping to organize the Los Angeles chapter of Yuri’s Night, a worldwide celebration of Gagarin’s flight on April 12th. The group (they will admit) has been a little late on the ball this year, but things are starting to work into place. The chief obstacle to progress was setting a venue, a task now accomplished, setting the event at Cinespace on Hollywood Boulevard. It should be a fun time, and if you’re in the LA area, you should definitely come down and check it out, or find the nearest Yuri’s Night event near you and check <em>that</em> when the time comes.