Saturday, May 05, 2007

Ian Calip - Assistant Director and Andrew Kaplan, Chicago Photographer

 

During lunch in Charlotte, Andy Kaplan and Ian Calip has a chance to discuss film making and directing.
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Andy Kaplan with Leatherheads Concession Vendors in Greensboro War Memorial Stadium (5/4/07)

 
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Leatherheads Costumers Julia Rusthoven (r) and Rachel Goodman (l) with Andy Kaplan

 
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Andy Kaplan in Makeup Chair Outside War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro (5/4/07)

 
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Leatherheads - The day before Day 8 - New Costume, New Haircut, New Location

The phone rang again. It was Wednesday,May 2nd. The casting director called to see if I could come up to their offices in Statesville, NC to be cast in a different scene in Greensboro, NC to be filmed the next day. They also called back to ask if I could play a fireman in a scene being filmed a week later.

I told them I could be up at their offices to meet them and get fitted for my new wardrobe. I was given an appointment time of 2:20. I drove up to their offices in an manufacturing complex. I followed the signs into a warehouse door and up the stairs to a casting office. There were 3 casting people working the phones. DJ who had called me earlier the day introduced herself. I had expected to go to wardrobe to get my clothes. To my surprise, at the end of the hall was an office with 5 chairs outside and 4 chairs for hair. Three hairstylists were inside. After waiting outside for about 5 minutes, I was signalled into the third chair. The woman who I believe was named Mary, looked at my hair. I thought I might get a small cleanup, however 15 minutes later she completed my styling...(a complete new haircut -short all around)...We talked about where she was from (Tennessee) and that the 3 of them travel all around doing movie productions..she called herself vagabonds.

After my hair was cut I proceed down the stairs to the wardrobe area. I passed by the wardrobe including a box of muddy football cletes from the Charlotte filming. I walked up to the table and checked in. I was given a new number 5001. I asked if that meant you had 5,000 people in the film and she said they had 5,000 different outfits so far since they begain filming. I told her that I was here to be a fireman for next week. She looked at me and said, I am sorry I don't think you can be a fireman...(ah...my mind wandered back to Kindergarten when most boys wanted to be firemen or policemen)..I gave a fake cry. she smiled. I was too big for the firemen outfits they had. We did however get a new wardrobe for being a fan. It was a light brown twill coat and a tain Fedora and a mulitcolored brown, tan and maoon scarf. That was to be my outfit in Greensboro the next day.

After that I drove back home with my new haircut...ready to get ready to start my day at about 4:30 am.

Leilani Munter - From Nascar to Indy


Leilani Munter and I met up at the Corkscrew last summer after we connected on LinkedIn. (I had been searching on LinkedIn for NASCAR contacts in my geographic area). Leilani intrigued me after I read and saw her professional blog as she her background, interests, political leanings matched up with mine.

She was an up and coming driver in Nascar, but still under the radar screen compared to Danika Patrick. Leilani has a diverse background being a biology major in college, then she was a model and stunt double (she was the stunt double for Catherine Zeta-Jones) in the movie Traffic. In addition, she was starting to get noticed by fashion magazines and even secured her position with Hostess (the twinkie) company to be on a poster called the "Hostess Diva". I also found out when we met that her brother in law is Bob Weir from the Greatful Dead who now plays in a band called RatDog.

Over the next few months Leilani raced but was looking for a sponsor to help her race full time. There is a catch 22. In order to be on tv more, you need sponsor money to race more frequently and at higher levels.

We both decided that our paths and interests (NASCAR, blogging, media, internet tv,and branding) coincided and that we should keep in touch to see how we can help each other. I wanted to help find a sponsor or other media outlets for her with some of my old connections in cable tv.

Well, last week I called Leilani to see if she wanted to meet and she told me she now was an "Indy" driver and had just signed on with a major race team. I also found out she was in the April 15th edition of Sports Illustrated as one of the top 10 female drivers in the world.

Congratulations, Leilani!!! Your hard work and determination are paying off!!! I know how much you love to race!

Elvis and me - 1st time - NBC Radio Summer of 77

Elvis was is an iconic figure who seems to somehow enter each person's life throught the sheer magnitude of his impact on our culture. My brush with Elvis up until this point happened on two different days.

I was working at WYNY FM (NBC - 30 Rock) as a summer intern. It was August 16th, 1977. The summer was about to end for me and a new team of people let by a young 23 year old Bob Pittman from WMAQ (Chicago) which was transformed into a country music station were hired to run WNBC Am working to being a long term transformation of WNBC AM which had some of the top disc jockeys in the world such as Cousin Brucie (a legend in NY in the 1960's and 70's) and Imus. Down the hall I heard shreeks and screems from down the hall near the studio "Elvis Died, Elvis is Dead". I remember a young disc jockey named Ellie sobbing and crying.

I ran outside my office and toward the studio and people were embracing each other, consoling each other.