Hugs at the Husbands Premiere

I love a good comedy.

I also love the gays.

So of course I'm ridiculously drawn to Husbands, the comedy Web series created, written, and produced by Jane Espenson and Brad Bell.

For the uninitiated, Husbands is about...husbands. (Duh.) Your classic opposites attract sitcom set-up - free-spirited gay drunk marries buff, athletic gay. And hilarity ensues.

Check out the first episode of Season 2 --



Joss Whedon cameo for the win!

When I heard there would be a standby line for the Husbands Season 3 premiere, I had to bring my fangirl self out for the night. The event was held at the Paley Center for the Media in Beverly Hills.

Lots of costumes from the world of television in the lobby, including this collection of t-shirts. Recognize any?

My poor iPhone camera clearly couldn't handle the excitement. Here's me on the step and repeat --

And in the screening room --

The screening was everything I hoped it would be and more. The new episodes really ups the ante in a beautiful way. More guest stars, more hilarity, more emotion. Season 3 will be shown one episode at a time on CW Seed, the CW's new online video venture. But we got to watch the entire season - score!

The post-screening reception started with a cocktail, of course --

The fans had sent a cake for the premiere. How awesome is this?

Met the lovely Amy Acker, who guest stars in the first part of Season 3. Gushed a little about how much I loved her Beatrice in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. Okay, maybe a lot.

Watched as Brad Bell (aka Cheeks) tried Google Glass for the first time --

Then got to say a proper hello and congratulations to him and Jane. We've chatted a few times since meeting at a WGA event. As always, they were lovely, classy, generous people. I hope to work with them both someday soon!

Watch Husbands on CW Seed now!

Wise Words from Woody

I love Woody Allen's movies.

Well, the ones I've seen. Annie Hall and Manhattan are still on my list of shame. I read the script for Hannah and Her Sisters to prepare for the scene I did at the DGA a few years back, but I have yet to see the film itself.

Still, I know he's a genius. Everyone does. He's an accomplished writer, director, and actor extraordinaire who has been creating films in his unique voice for years. Regardless of anyone's opinion of his personal life, he deserves respect for creating his art his way for so long.

Woody Allen: What I've Learned, a recent feature in Esquire Magazine, just reminds me what a compelling artist he is. We can all learn from what he's learned. A thought-provoking and inspirational read for all artists.

(Interviewer Cal Fussman also wrote an accompanying essay called Meeting Woody Allen that is equally delightful. Be sure to check it out too!)

One of my favorite quotes from the interview --

"If you're born with a gift, to behave like it's an achievement is not right."

A lesson in humility from a man with a wealth of achievements. Just beautiful...

Secrets...

So many things going on in my life right now that I can't talk about.  For example, I'm in Washington, D.C. right now for a secret conference.  (No, I'm not solving Sequestration - they have other chumps dealing with that...)

And I'm developing for television, which I also can't talk about.  Partly because the ideas are proprietary and precious commodities during pitch season, and partly because I don't want to jinx myself.

But rest assured, I am working hard on a bunch of exciting projects! Hopefully I can tell you about them soon.

If you want to see me in the midst of this end-of-summer secrecy, I'll be doing a public reading of the sci-fi romance novel I've been writing at Work in Progress at A Place to CREATE in Atwater Village on Sunday, August 18.  The event is free, though donations to the wonderful art school that hosts us are welcome.  Be sure to get there early to get a seat!

Nursing in a Newspaper Building

Booked and shot a small role in an indie feature a few weeks back. Guess who I was hired to play?

Helloooo nurse! (Still waiting for the call to model scrubs for a medical uniform catalog. Seriously.)

It was a low-budget feature called North Blvd, written by, directed by, and starring Amy Esacove about her real-life experiences of finding her birth parents. She previously told the story in a one-woman show, then in a short film. Shooting the feature-length version was the obvious next step! (Amy raised $38K+ on Indieagogo - impressive!)

The production was low-budget, but they generously had a honeywagon for me --

Not a deluxe model, but I was still so grateful for it - it was a crazy hot day in downtown LA!

First things first - craft services --

Spent the morning munching and writing in my trailer --

Then lunch! Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a yummy kale salad --

We were shooting at the Herald Examiner, a defunct newspaper building turned mish mash of standing sets available for film shooting. On the way to the film's set, I passed this gorgeous ballroom-like lobby --

And walked through a saloon set, which was actually the original Paddy's Pub set for the first two seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia --

We were in the police station set area, shooting in the "morgue" --

Lots of amazing women on the crew - that's what happens when you have female filmmakers at the helm!

It was fascinating watching Amy direct herself and the other actors while giving direction to the DP and crew. I've always wondered how writer/director/actors do it all at the same time. Amy was the picture of poise and collaboration - I learned so much while watching her work.

Shot my scene in the sweltering hot room and was wrapped in a few hours! Here I am with the auteur herself --

Thanks for a fun day, North Blvd! Can't wait to see the finished film!

The Hump Day Update: Mid-Summer Edition

My summer days have been anything but lazy! Here's an update on what's keeping me unseasonably busy --

• June was mostly spent in the throes of pre-producion for Early Retirement as well as stunt training --

But then, for a variety of reasons, we decided to postpone the shoot to October. I promptly started eating carbs again. I missed pizza - sue me. Pre-production continues - training will resume next month...

• The big writing project drawing my focus has been developing a new series with a big-time film producer. Can't really talk about it yet, but here's a hint --

Not much of a hint, but like I said, I can't talk about it yet!

• Jamming on my sci-fi romance novel - more than 13,000 words so far! Writing this story has been a delicious journey, particularly because of the leading men inspirations that have been swimming in my imagination. These guys are in my dreams anyway --

• Wrapped up a truly enjoyable first year of volunteering with WriteGirl at their Season End Celebration at the Writers Guild Theater. I spent most of the event wrangling the celebrity guest readers, though I was able to watch my mentee read her awesome poem. Go M!

And of course I posed for a silly picture in front of the step-and-repeat --

• I indulged my inner NPR nerd by attending a live taping of A Prairie Home Companion at The Greek Theater. My first time at the Greek! Clean, hearty, good-natured fun with special appearances by Paula Poundstone, Martin Sheen, and Lily Tomlin.

I was particularly taken by songs by Colin Hay, the former lead singer of Men at Work. His voice was still a powerhouse and his acoustic version of "Overkill" was just incredible. It sounded something like this --


Thanks to Goldstar for such fantastic seats!

(I went back to the Greek a week later to see Barry Manilow and screamed my head off. But we won't talk about that here...)

• And ICYMI, I have a new demo reel!

My New Demo Reel is Here!

Otherwise known as a collection of scenes in which I wear scrubs...



Editing genius by Bubba's Chop Shop. They're fantastic. Hire them.

Keep Writing Anyway

Genius writing advice gem from my alma mater --