Music anyone?

The British are Coming!


 So, I was on ONTD, and came across a post last week about this up and coming pop artist.  She goes by Jessie J. and she hails from England.  Her voice is amazing.  She kinda sounds like a mix of Joss Stone and Fantasia, but still she's unique. She co-wrote Miley Cyrus's addictive song, "Party in the U.S.A."  and tons of celebs are praising her work, like Justin Timberlake.  Seriously Check her out.  She's today's music release!




This deserves to be on a T-shirt! :) I'd buy it

  For all my music freaks out there, I found this cute little picture.  It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it with you. :) Enjoy!

Break it down!

Hey guys! So I created a poll last night, to find out what types of TV shows most interest you.  I wanted to know what my viewers are in to.  So, I asked my English class and my friends on Facebook to respond.  Eleven awesome peers, around the ages of 17-20 took the poll, and here are the results:

54% like Primetime dramas

18% like Reality shows

18% like Sketch comedy shows

9% just don’t like the TV

  To the one person who doesn’t watch TV…Boo you! Lol jkJ I can understand why you choose to leave it off….let’s be honest, it is super distracting.

Darn that box!

  Seems as though Reality shows and sketch comedies are tied for second! People like to laugh every now and then, and I think shows like SNL, and late night comedies, are great ways to just laugh at society.  We can’t always be uptight! 

We were SNL crazy during the 2008 election



On an episode of Fear Factor



  Reality shows, well, shows with nobodies who want their 15 minutes of fame are entertaining in a weird way.  I mean we’re watching a bunch of normal people, like us, do strange or sometimes awesome things, usually for money.  Remember Fear Factor! My favorite right now is Amazing Race, though.



   Then there’s also the reality shows that document the lives of celebrities.  Catch Mel B’s- A Scary World, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, etc.

  Oh the Drama! I had a feeling this would be favored by the vast majority.  Everyone has their favorite drama they like to get hooked on.  A lot of teen girls love Gossip Girl…Chase Crawford perhaps!   

For the stay at home moms out there-Desperate Housewives.  And everyone likes a little crime and order-CSI: NY, Law and Order, The Closer, etc.  The music geeks love Glee (I’m included!)  I mean there’s such a variety of primetime shows, that there’s practically one for everyone.

What's Your Favorite show?

TV Interview

I’ve always been curious of what goes on behind the scenes.  How a television set operates.  What a television set is like.  So, to find the answers, I interviewed a St. John’s alumnus named Sharese Perez.  She majored in television communications and even worked at WABC for 2 years, and Lifetime Television for 3 years.  She had her mind set on being a director.

Me: Good morning, glad to have you here, how are you?

Sha: Good, glad to be here.

Me: So, why did you major in TV communications?

Sha: Growing up, I’ve always had a fascination with TV, movies, actors/actresses.  I always wanted to be a part of that world.

Me: What is it about TV that fascinates you?

Sha: Well, back in my days, TV had more variety than today.  Now, I just see a bunch of reality shows! They had a lot of made-for-TV movies, and sitcom shows which were family oriented.  SO, it’s like you became part of the family, week after week watching it.  Overall, TV’s ability to just take your mind off of things and put you into another realm was what fascinated me.

Me: I know you told me that you were involved with the St. John’s TV club.  Can you tell me about one of your experiences with it?

Sha: Sure! Well I had a professor, who used to work at channel 7, with the soap operas.  I think he was a producer or director…can’t really remember. Anyway, he took us on a tour of the set of All My Children on W67th and I got to see all the props and secrets of the set, like where actors dash their scripts sometimes.  It was very interesting.

Me: Did you visit any other set?

Sha: As a matter of fact, we did.  We went to another soap opera set, One Life to Live on W66th.  I remember seeing the desk that the Buchannan patriarch had in his office.  I remember noting how beat up and chipped it looked, and that’s when the professor told me that TV can hide those things-it’s the magic box.

*a brief chuckle from us both*

TV show set

Me: So you wanted to be a director, what are some things you learned about that field?

Sha: How insanely hard it is.  When you think of director, we see a guy sitting behind the camera in that cool chair with the words “director” written on the back, and you picture him yelling “action” and “cut.”  Those things are tiny compared to what he really does.  He/she has to mark the floor for where the actors stand or read their lines from, he/she has to know the camera angles, which way he wants a scene filmed.  The director has to be in touch with everyone on the set.  He has to know practically everything from budgeting to remembering the character’s lines.  It’s just a lot of work. And it certainly is harder than it seems.

Me: Wow. That sounds crazy!

Me: What was your role at WABC?

Sha: Well, I worked in the operations department as a log coordinator.  I prepared logs for the day of air.

Me: What are logs?

Sha: Logs are like the storyboard for a particular show.  It lays out, in detail, the script of the show.  It’s basically how the program will be chopped you.  You know, we may start with an intro, run the theme song for 30 seconds, have a 5 min commercial break, return to the show for 10 minutes.  It’s just organizing the show into bits.

Me: Tell me something interesting that you learned there.

Sha: well, while working on the commercials, I discovered the manufacturing companies that market certain products.  For example, one commercial I had was for Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing, and I found out that the manufacturer behind it is Clorox.  Of course, they never aired that part on TV.  Though it may be on the bottle, I was just shocked to learn that the same company that makes cleaning products also makes salad dressing.

Me: O.O my goodness! Ranch was my favorite dressing! I’m sure they don’t make it at the same facility, though.

Sha: yea…but still.  It’s just the thought of what these companies are hiding from the general public.

Me: yea I agree.

Me: So, last question.  Have you met any actors, while working at your ABC or Lifetime?  I never saw a celeb in my life, so I’m always curious.

Sha: eh, not really. Working at ABC, I remember Regis Philbin holding the door for me.  Later when I worked at Lifetime, I got to see a taping of the Cosby show, because our office was in the same studio they filmed in.  It was cool. My time at these jobs was fun…stressful, but I enjoyed it overall.

Me: Thanks for your time.  There’s a wealth of info here!

Sha: Sure thing, any time.

Well that was my interview.  I’ve got to say, it was quite fun hearing about someone else’s experiences.  Despite me trying to write down every word Sharese said, verbatim, (next time I’ll bring a recorder!) and trying to think of questions that flowed from one to the next, I had a blast.

Teenage Paparazzo critique

Back in late September, I saw the HBO premiere of Teenage Paparazzo, Adrian Grenier’s latest project. You may recognize him from the hit show Entourage, which depicts the dramatic life of a working actor and his posse or “entourage” in LA. However, in Teenage Paparrazo, Adrian strips himself of his celebrity-ism and grabs a camera, filming the insatiable American appetite for celebrity gossip.

After getting “sprayed with 10-15 rapid fire shots” by a 13 year old who could barely lift the camera up to his face, Adrian was utterly shocked that this young boy was taking his picture and being paparazzo. By documenting the life of 13 year old Austin Visschedyk-the premature, fast-talking paparazzo- Adrian wanted to discover this obsession with celebrity life and what motivates people to stalk the famous.

That's Austin

It was quite interesting seeing this little kid get calls at all times in the day about where Kim Kardashian is, or where Paris Hilton is, and then having to grab his camera and jet to the site to take some shots. What’s funny is that these celebs are more willing to let Austin take their pictures, because they see him as a little, “cute,” and adorable boy, but the fact that he’s profiting off of their social life, and their every move doesn’t really affect them. This kid makes $500 -$1000 a picture, and it really is showing of how much we are willing to spend just to see a celebrity getting into their car, or leaving a bar.

They seem like hounds

  As the documentary points out, people want to get as close to these celebrities as possible because they feel they know them personally from seeing their movies or hearing their songs. We feel a connection. However, we must realize that we only know their characters or their personas…not themselves personally. In addition, within ourselves we feel a little desire to be celebrities too. While Adrian was filming Austin, Austin asked him if the paparazzi will go and take his (Austin’s) picture when the film gets released. This desire to be famous, and be in the spotlight is exciting to many, but to some it only shows vanity. The stereotype about celebrities is that they are self-centered, always want to be in the pictures, and indulge in their glamorous lifestyle. However, the documentary also does a great job of balancing the pros with the cons of celebrity-ism.

Several appearances by well-known celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon, Paris Hilton and others, show that while the glam is all cool for a little while, it stresses their private life, giving them little privacy at all. After hearing their stories, I realized that the little things we “normal people” do everyday are extremely difficult for celebs; going to the grocery store, shopping at the mall, walking the dog, and hanging out with friends. We can do these things with no hassle, but the moment a celebrity steps out of their house, they are swarmed by the paparazzi. This funny video puts it all into perspective.



But in all seriousness, why are we that interested in the lives of celebrities? As the documentary stated, we feel their lives are different from ours, but in all truth they are just as human as we are. They use the bathroom, they brush their teeth, they cook, and they clean too. They are “normal people living abnormal lives.” What’s sad is that these celebrities are ridiculed for the smallest thing. We hold them to such a high standard that when we see an imperfection with them, it becomes a huge deal. For instance, when those recordings of Mel Gibson lashing out at his girlfriend were released, it shocked the public and now his career is down the toilet. I’m not defending Mel because he’s totally crazy, but people get into arguments/fights all the time, and it’s not nearly as shocking as when a celeb throws a fit. Look at when Rihanna was abused by Chris Brown, his career is poop too, but the point is tons of women are domestically abused everyday and we don’t see their stories on the news. Even worse, look at Lindsey Lohan, her bout with alcoholism and going to court has been going on way too long, but yet we are still wrapped up in her story because it’s Lindsey Lohan. If it were any average Joe, would we care?

The documentary serves to point out that these celebrities are public figures. When starting this career, they know that paparazzi and stalking and random people asking for autographs all come with the lifestyle. But I believe we are going too far. For instance, remember when Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears were having their babies, magazines paid millions… (Millions!) to have the first baby pictures. To me, these celebrities are cashing in on their private lives. The more exposure they get, whether they do good or bad, means the more people are using tossing their names around at home, the more movie or recording deals they may get. And ultimately, the more fame they receive. In addition, in a post documentary interview, Adrian points out how important the need for fame is especially in Hollywood, where everyone is vying to keep their name in the lights. In New York for example, we have more than one industry. We have Wall Street, the fashion industry, and big corporations. Entertainment isn’t our only industry as it is in Los Angeles. In addition, there are so many people in New York, so it’s easy to fade out of the limelight here, than it is in California. In a way the paparazzi are helping the Celebs keep their status and their reputation.

Adrian tackles all of these themes of privacy, fame, money, and dignity that seem to be taken advantage of in the lifestyle of a celebrity. His documentary also shows how being a paparazzo at such an early age has changed Austin and has affected his life. For instance, at one point in the film, you can see Austin yelling at his mom and telling her what to do. Obviously he has lost his place as a child by being involved in an adult world. What concerned me was how this kid is missing out on his childhood, by chasing celebs. Austin; there are better things to do in life! Youth doesn’t last forever, so enjoy it while it lasts. At the close of the documentary, I think Austin begins to realize how much of a monster he has become and declines his Reality show deal and returns to being a normal teen.

In short, I think Adrian did a fabulous job. He really covered how the paparazzi affect celebrities and vice versa. We have to remember, that as cruel a job as it is, the paparazzi need to pay their bills too. Furthermore, Adrian didn’t take a biased standpoint. Being a celebrity himself, he realized how important it is to have the freedom to take pictures and make movies. The mere act of him making this documentary was representative of how everyone has the right to buy a camera and go out a film something; nothing should stop you. Check out his interview.


However, we must realize that celebrities need their space too. Even though I mentioned that I won’t talk about celebrity lives on this blog, I couldn’t help but report on this documentary. It really is exemplary of how hard their lives are, and of their unforgiving lifestyle. While some enjoy being starry-eyes wannabes and others like saying cruel things about them, this documentary conveyed how much celebrities sacrifice and how corrupt (idk if I’m using the right word?) the entertainment industry is. Seriously, to me celebrities seem like puppets in a fake world that’s just as easy to enter as it is to leave.

Check out this song, it was originally performed by Courtney Love, but Hole remade it in1998. Called Celebrity Skin, this song depicts the harsh celebrity world; how easy it is to be forgotten, how easy it is to be transformed from the real you to a made up/ crowd pleasing personality. In comparison to the documentary, this song shows other aspects that celebrities undergo in the entertainment world. The lyrics speak of the struggle to remain famous while everyone around you is making you up to be a “walking study” for the world to pick at. It may seem like some sort of grunge anger at how superficial the industry is, but I guess it speaks the truth at the lifestyle, just as Adrian’s documentary did. Here’s a glimpse at the lyrics and check out the song.



“When I wake up in my makeup
It's too early for that dress
Wilted and faded somewhere in Hollywood
I'm glad I came here
With your pound of flesh
No second billing cause you're a star now
Oh, Cinderella
They aren't sluts like you
Beautiful garbage beautiful dresses
Can you stand up or will you just fall down

You better watch out
What you wish for
It better be worth it
So much to die for”