Donna in Hollywoodland

Life in and around Hollywood and Los Angeles as told by Donna Grayson

Saturday, February 19, 2005


Constantine Wallpapers

Currently on both my desktops - the one at home and the one at work - I have Constantine desktop wallpaper. Yeah, the ones with Keanu Reeves .
The Official Constantine Website actually has alot of nice stuff - wallpapers, fan art ... check it out.


posted by Donna Grayson  # 9:34 AM (0) comments

Friday, February 18, 2005


Hey, its the 3 day weekend !

It poured out today, This morning, Cinnamon the cat was sitting on my lap as I had my coffee.I did not want to get up. It was raining terribly out. I just wanted to stay in the apartment with the cat on my lap for the rest of the day. But I finally got moving and drove to work in the downpour...

Then when I got to the parking lot, there is a huge flat-bed truck moving concrete dividers into the parking lot behind our builing. Turns out the parking lot is now tented for Oscar Night parties. I had to sit and wait in the pouring rain while the workers tried to get the huge flat bed truck to back into the lot. I ended up calling my boss from my cell phone telling her I was stuck at the parking entrance.

Today at work just dragged on. Usually on the Friday before a holiday, they let us leave early.Not today. Oh, it was painful. Especially since half of the employees took vacation days, so the place was half-empty.

After work, I dashed over to the Laemmle Sunset Five to see Vera Drake.
Driving down Sunset Blvd, lightening flashing in the sky. I made sure my cell phone was off because they say you can get struck by lightening if you use your cell phone. So as the bolts flashed over West Hollywood, I made sure the cell phone was off. Ah, sunny California ...

That 8000 Sunset Mall that the Laemmles is in must have been designed in the 1980s.The escalators are outside. Which really doesn't work very well with our new weather in California. They had yellow tape wrapped around the escalators. And the stairs up to the theatre were slippery with rain. I managed to find the elevator that goes up to the upper floors -its the one near Buzz coffee. The walkways are made with a covering that gets very slippery in the rain.

I got my ticket for Vera Drake .

Then, since I am trying not to eat junk, figured I would go eat at a Restaurant. Well, all the restaurants were closed. What used to be Wolfgang Punks is being turned into a California Pizza Kitchen - and that won't be opened until Summer.
It looks like there is some remodeling going on - I guess everyone needs to catch up to The Grove and Hollywood and Highland just to keep the people visiting.

So I navigated the sidewalk on Sunset, risking injury by Cars that don't want to stop. And walked over to the Subway sandwich shop. When I got back to the movie theatre,I ended up getting Red Vines anyway. So much for my healthy dinner.

Vera Drake was a good movie. Dramatic. I wanted to see Imelda Staunton's performance since she is up for Oscar's Best Actress. She goes from being this naive do-gooder "helping" women who are in the "family way" during the 1950s - and by the end of the film she sees that what she had done has has hurt her husband and children.

I don't see this movie as pro-abortion, even though abortion is the topic. To me, it is about a woman who feels strongly about something.. and is pretty naive about how she handles it. She gave a medical procedure to women, and then didn't bother to check up on the afterwards to make sure they ended up alright. And she didn't think about what it would do to her husband and children if she ever got caught doing what
she was doing. The movie doesn't really portray her as a crusader for her cause - but as a woman who does something illegal without thinking the entire thing through. I mean, she doesn't even accept money for what she is doing, allowing herself to be taken advantage of by the woman who is getting her the abortion assignments.
She does these only because she just wants to help these young girls get out of trouble. So the movie really just tells the story of what happened to this character without being preachy about the topic. It is the dramatic story of this womans life. The scenes at the end where Vera is arrested and her family is shattered, are very dramatic and handled with raw emotion.

Oh, just as I am writing this, there is more thunder and lightening... and the lights are flickering. I better light some candles and get off the computer.
Just keep repeating.. Sunny California... Sunny California ... Sunny California


posted by Donna Grayson  # 11:33 PM (0) comments

Thursday, February 17, 2005


Sunday and Church and more

I have been so busy this week, I haven't had anytime to finish telling you about last weekend. Well, I guess thats the way it goes ... when lifes exciting, I don't have time to sit at the computer.But when nothin's going on in my life, there's no point in posting about it. Oy ....

About a post or two ago I told you about last Saturday. And I really wanted to find the time to to tell you about last Sunday.
The weekend before last I finished the membership class for the church that I attend. And the more I get involved with it, the more blessed I feel -
and the more thankful I am that there is a church that meets in a nightclub not so far from my house.(huh?)

This last Sunday I officially became a member of the church. After one weekend in class, this last Sunday they called us up in front of the congregation to pray for us and welcome us into the church. Two of my classmates were baptized.

They called us each by name and we went on stage at the nightclub. The pastor prayed for us. My two classmates got water poured on top of their heads. And I can't tell you how emotional it was for me. I really felt like I was going to cry or fall over, or I don't know what. It was a very deep, very hear-felt experience for me. And it meant alot.

That is one thing I like about this church. They are non-traditionalist enough to meet on Sunday mornings in a nightclub. And they are traditional enough to have a little ceremony for the new members. Its a wonderful combination of the two.




Once I was done with that, it was over to one of my other favorite places The Egyptain Theatre for my volunteer work.
First, I met one of the other volunteers, Karie, who runs Film Radar.com. We had lunch at Mel's Diner before we headed over to our volunteer gig.

The movie at the Egyptian was The Scarlet Empress . Its interesting how Acting and Filmmaking has changed over the years. There were parts in this film that are funny in the year 2005 - that I am sure were very serious when the film was made in 1934.

After I was done with that I had enough time to run over to Hollywood and Highland to see Closer
To me, it was an "okay" movie. Some of the audience were giggling at certain parts that weren't supposed to be funny. I guess the thing about them breaking up and getting back together gets alittle old after a while, and alittle ridiculous.

My opinion is that the actors in Sideways gave better Supporting Actor and Actress performances -so thats where my vote goes, even though I don't get to vote.


posted by Donna Grayson  # 9:17 PM (0) comments

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Thought for the Day

Abundance is not measured by what flows in
but
by what spills out

- A Passion for Life Audio CD


posted by Donna Grayson  # 7:11 PM (0) comments

Monday, February 14, 2005


Constantine with Keanu Reeves
Hi, Don't have alot of time to type ... I just returned from a screening of Constantine at my favorite place, The Egyptian Theatre .
It was presented by Aint It Cool News .
I really liked the movie. Of course, I would like anything with Keanu Reeves in it.
Rachel Weisz also is fantastic in it. Peter Stormare as Satan and Gavin Rossdale as Balthazar both steal every scene they are in - it was perfect casting for both.

It is a very scary movie, with lots of demons and possessed people. But it also has alot of comedic elements to it. After I got used to the fact that it was both scary and funny, I really enjoyed it.

There is alot of Religious stuff in the movie. But it is mainly myth and fantasy. Not alot directly out of the Bible, tho bible-related. Even tho I am a nice church-going lady, I understand that "Its Only A Movie", and it takes alot to offend my religious values. So I can appreciate this for what it is: a good sci-fi fantasy horror movie.

Also, a really big highlight was that the Director, Francis Lawrence, was there to speak about the film. And I just love to hear a director discuss his film. Francis Lawrence has directed alot of music videos, and this is his first real feature film. He gave alot of interesting insights especially as to why they filmed in Los Angeles and Mexico.

I also got to see it via one of my Volunteer coupons, so that was really nice. If you volunteer and you can't see the movie that night - mainly if you are the volunteer captain for the evening - well, then you get a coupon to come back and see another movie on another night. So this was a very fun (and free) evening for me.

Anyway, I do want to type more. I have alot to tell you about things that happened on Sunday. But it is getting way late and I haven't had time all day. Not to mention I need to finish up addressing post cards to casting directors.
So hopefully, I will have time to type more tomorrow. Looks like I am running behind on the Blog.


posted by Donna Grayson  # 11:56 PM (0) comments

Sunday, February 13, 2005


Time and Traffic in LA
Saturday was a pretty average day. Spent the morning puttering around on the computer. Then ran a few errands - the Post Office for .23 cent stamps for the post cards I need to mail to Casting Directors.
Paid my phone bill, Went to the Library. Stopped off at the office to work a few hours. Then dashed out trying to catch the movie Closer at the Hollywood and Highland complex.

Okay... why if I am at Sunset and Vine - and I need to get to the corner of Hollywood and Highland - Why, oh, why - would it take me over a flippin' half hour ? Traffic is that BAD in Hollywood. I left at 4:30 to try to catch a 5 pm movie. Ain't gonna happen. I didn't even get close. Or Closer for that matter ....

And I usually don't read the LA Times while I am driving.But I had the Calendar section with me, and I needed to find out where to go. I mean, I'm on a mission and I only have so many days until the Oscars, and I am still getting caught up. Time was not on my side today.
Ok, so I did indeed pull over and park when looking at the movie schedules ...

I ended up driving over to The Grove . And decided to catch Meet The Fockers Its probably going to be out of the theatres soon, and it is one of the movies I almost missed because of the stupid walking pneumonia.

I had nearly 2 hours to kill after I bought my ticket. Went over to the Barnes and Noble and got a Decaf Iced Caffe Latte. Like many places in Los Angeles these days - the bookstore has built an enclosed area over a portion of the Cafe that used to be a balcony. To much rain in Los Angeles these days, and they need the space.
When the cafe area got to crowed, I walked around and and found a seating on the second level in front of the glass window overlooking the Grove Courtyard. Nice comfy chair. Nice view. I brought my library book with me - All I Did Was Ask by Terry Gross . I love the Nicolas Cage
interview that starts out the book.

I enjoyed Meet the Fockers and am glad I decided to see it before its gone. There were like 3 commercails and only one Preview. I would much rather watch Previews than commercials, but I guess the commercials pay better. The lady next to me talked on her cell phone during the pre-show entertainment, then she disappeared during the first 20 minutes of the movie. I don't get that. But Whatever....


posted by Donna Grayson  # 2:09 PM (0) comments

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