Sunday, September 22, 2013

Working with Talent at VH1



Just a few weeks ago, I got offered the amazing opportunity to work with VH1 as a talent intern and have had the pleasure of working on their latest show, Best Week Ever. Some of my duties working in the talent department are researching new talent that may be fit for upcoming projects/ shows in addition to my main responsibility of making sure the talent coming in each day to film Best Week Ever is happy and that they are taken care of during their time at our offices.

The talent who are on Best Week Ever are comedians who have had a substantial following and buzz locally in the New York area, and for some, this is their first time on television. Just as I was nervous to be starting my first week on a shoot for a major television network, so were some of the talent I was coming in to assist. Most of the comedians who came in to film I was familiar with because I had either seen them on TV from the previous season of Best Week Ever, or I had seen perform live at comedy clubs. The idea of interacting with these comedians was very exciting, even if they aren’t considered “celebrities” just yet.

Not knowing what to expect from them, I greeted each person coming in to shoot as if I knew who they were and tried to be as personable as possible in order to make them feel comfortable in the short time they have from make-up to on set. Some of the talent had been doing this for weeks before and it was obvious they were comfortable making requests and knew their way around, but for the talent who had not filmed before it was interesting to see just how lost they really were in the whole process. None of them knew this was my first time on the shoot and that I had no idea of what was going on ether, but I made it a point to be confident in the way I interacted with them and if I had been doing this for a long time. I knew that if I didn’t seem confident that the newer talent wouldn’t feel as confident either, and that was very important to their performance. Just the simple gesture of handing them a bottle of water while they wait in the green room or make sure they have their script to go over in make-up can go a long way.

The good thing I’ve noticed about working with comedians in particular, is that they have all been very down to earth and I have not had to deal with any “egos”. As the show continues to film, I look forward to getting to know the talent much better and forming some great working relationships with them. I want to be someone they can rely on during the run of the show who helped make their experience enjoyable, and after the show, someone they remember not just as that intern.

-Alyssa

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Spielberg's Jurassic World Set to Release Summer 2015

Universal Pictures 4th installment of the dinosaur action/adventure film Jurassic Park, the newly titled Jurassic World has been set to be released for June 12, 2015. This major film is being filmed in 3-D and is sure to be another epic project produced by Steven Spielberg. The first Jurassic Park film was re-released earlier this year to theaters in 3-D for its 20th anniversary and left fans anxious for another Jurassic Park installment. The cast has yet to be selected but Deadline reports that along with Spielberg, Pat Crowley and Frank Marshall will also be producers for the film. Colin Treverrow, of 2012's Safety Not Guaranteed, will be directing. An interesting choice since Treverrow's directorial credits show that this will be his first blockbuster film... it will also potentially be the film to put him on the map as a major Hollywood director since his other films have been much more under the radar.

Just from looking at the success of the previous three films, it can already be predicted that Jurassic World will easily be a summer blockbuster and major contender for the big summer films of 2015. The re-release of the original Jurassic Park alone raked in an impressive $114 Million worldwide.

Previous stars of the franchise have included Sam Neil who has played Dr. Alan Grant in all three of the films and Jeff Goldblum, who appeared in the first two Jurassic Park films. Leading ladies of the past films have included Laura Dern, Julianne Moore and Tea Leone, raising the question of who will be the lead female role for Jurassic World?

My prediction based on her role as a strong leading female in action/adventure film the Hunger Games, is Jennifer Lawrence. She has just enough roughness to have to handle dinosaur manure, if needed, and confidence to outrun a ferocious T-Rex!