Sixteen days.  Wow.  That number might have more significance if I told you that I've planned to move to LA since the 4th Grade (which was also around the start of my Saved By the Bell obsession.  That's probably unrelated, though.)  Anywho, my plan to go to college in LA took a last minute detour when I got a phone call from a somewhat exclusive conservatory in NYC, so I moved North and lived there for 3.5 years.  I loved it, but I continued to venture further and further off my path until I was no longer sure which way to go.  As is often the case when one gets lost, I headed home. 

The "home" portion of my journey was supposed to last 10 months.  Then, I would head back to NYC.  Tomorrow will be the eight year anniversary of my arrival home.  The ten month thing didn't happen.  In 2009, there was a new plan to move back and room with Paul.  This was during the height of the recession, and it turns out that Alabama is more cost-of-living friendly than NYC during a recession.

But, I guess there was a silver lining to that recession.  NYC, like Alabama, is comfortable.  It's homey to me now.  And moving back would be just that-- a more expensive, lots of stuff to do, closer to my NY friends version of Tuscumbia.  And soon, that old voice was back in my head, urging me West.  So, I made a new plan two years ago, and I set a date:  August 2013.  But, who wants to drive across the country in the heat of August when gas prices are high for vacationers?  So, October it would be, although that's right before my birthday.  And then there's Thanksgiving and Christmas, and who needs to spend all that time flying home when I've only just arrived in LA?  So, January 2014 was a go.  The 2nd.  No, the 11th.  But, really, how could I expect to make such a big move when I'm still coming out of Holiday mode???  February 22nd sounds good.  But, then, why not just wait until the fist of the month?  And really, if I wait to leave until the 8th, I can skip paying that California sales tax on my car.  And you know, April would also work...

Except that the March 8th thing appears to be sticking.  And that scares the heck out of me because I have less of a plan than ever of exactly what I want to do with my life.  Screenwriting.  Production.  Script Supervising.  Directing.  Casting.  Management.  PR.  Something in entertainment.  Will that make me happy?  What if I'm already as happy as I'm going to be?  What if I miss something big with my family or my local friends?  What if I want to come back?  What if I don't want to come back?

It doesn't matter.  It's no longer a plan or even a choice.  It's a compulsion, which is why I have decided to stop saying that I'm "moving to LA" or "taking an open ended trip too LA" (as has been my description over the last couple of weeks).  Now, the word I'm using is Sabbatical.  Of course, technically, that means a break from work, but I think it still applies here.  The purpose is essentially to stop what you're doing and spend a year doing what you really want to do.  To accomplish something.  I'm not sure exactly what that accomplishment will be or how the next year will go, but I guess we'll find out.

In sixteen days.

That Time Josh Duhamel Took Me to the Prom

So, this happened...

In the past, I've been a bit of a blog hopper, but this blog has one of my favorite posts, so check it out.    Save The Cat (My Live Journal Blog)

My Oscar Picks

So, the night is upon us!!! I haven't had the chance to review the remaining films, so I shall do that at a later date. For now, I will tell you my picks!!! (My pick in each category is in green.)

Actor in a Leading Role (Don't really have a pick here, but if I had to choose a fave...)
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus”
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (By a landslide, for me)
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Give this woman a second trophy for that last scene alone.)

Animated Feature Film
“Coraline” Henry Selick
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
“Up” Pete Docter

Art Direction
“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
“Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography
“Avatar” Mauro Fiore
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
“Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

Costume Design
“Bright Star” Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

Directing
“Avatar” James Cameron
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
“Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
“Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Film Editing
“Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9” Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
“Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

Makeup
“Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
“The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score) (Three way tie, for me)
“Avatar” James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
“Up” Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Picture
“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Blind Side” Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson, Producers
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
“The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, Producers
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
“A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Sound Editing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
“Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
“Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
“Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
“Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
“The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
“Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
“Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects
“Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Two way tie)
“District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
“An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
“Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
“Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

So, there you have it. I am baffled that so many people are obsessed with The Hurt Locker. It was completely lost on me. Oh well. We probably already know how this is going to end, but those are my choices!

And now, I'm off to ponder the biggest mystery of the night: What will Kristen Stewart wear?

Film #19- Fantastic Mr. Fox

I must begin by saying that claymation usually freaks me out. That said, I really enjoyed this film. It was smart and witty, and it had a realistic element to it. Not to mention, how can you not love a George Clooney film? It's impossible.

My friend, Melissa, learned and often uses her favorite new phrase, "Cluster cuss," from this film, and now I can see why she saw it twice. It was definitely entertaining, funny, and charming.

The dead rat scene kind of got to me, though.

Score: A-

Film #18-- Brothers

Now this, my friends, is how you do a war movie. It's not about showing us two solid hours of battle and gore. It's about letting us in on the moments before, during, and after battle-- that's what makes for a quality piece of entertainment.

The film's leads, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and Natalie Portman, each gave flawless performances. But the standout performance in this film belongs to ten year old, Bailee Madison, who stole my heart as the oldest daughter of Sam and Grace Cahill (Maguire and Portman).

Score: A-

Film #17- Up

*Sob* First of all, I have to say that The Notebook has nothing on Up! I was near sobbing just ten minutes into it. I'm such a sucker for a good "kids who grew up as best friends and then got married" story. I lost a little interest during the action. I'm not much for long action sequences. But, I lurved all of the parts pertaining to the love story. *Sob*

Score: A-