Viva Las Vegas
I drove from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to meet with Mary McGuckian, who has optioned Plus One. I decided to drive and not fly as I've driven there before on a girls' road trip and had a great time, probably because I wasn't driving. On my first drive there with my sister, Julia, her manager Lori and Lori's girlfriend, Joan, our first bet had been how long would it take us to get there? Four hours and 28 minutes was the answer and I won the $40 in the kitty. No wonder I have such fond memories.
Husband Colin and Julia both thought I was making a terrible mistake in driving there on my own, as I am prone to getting lost, but I had Mapquested it and was supremely confident. I telephoned Colin every 20 minutes and shouted: “Bored.” It’s one long, tedious road and none of my radio stations worked. I only got lost twice. I’ll wager thousands of people before me have ended up in Barstow en route to Vegas from Los Angeles. That was stressful enough, but not as stressful as being lost in Vegas itself and gagging for a pee. I pulled into the hotel with the pirate theme and made full use of their facilities before being pointed in the direction of the Renaissance Hotel.
Mary McG was thoroughly immersed in shooting her latest movie about couples going to Vegas in search of IVF, or A.R.T. in Las Vegas, as it will be called. As the producer, director and writer, she had much to deal with, including an issue with the Teamsters’ union that threatened to shut down production for some minor confusion with the drivers. You don’t mess around with those Teamsters or you could wake up with a horse's head in your bed, but Mary handled everything with great aplomb and serenity and quickly defused the situation. The cast and crew were also mad, crazy busy, so there was much hanging around for me with nothing to do but admire these people who work 18-hour days without complaint. Mary was working 20-hour days. I kid you not.
She had 40 seconds to talk with me in between takes and invited me to run with her from the production office up to room 1503 where they were shooting the next scene. Enough time for her to ask me what I thought about her idea to make two films, one a film about the making of Plus One, a sort of mockumentary (if you will), with the actors playing the parts of the producers, etc., that would start shooting in Cannes next May. Then the actual film based on Plus One. Sounds like an excellent plan. Does that mean two checks for me?
We could have discussed it over the phone, but I’m glad I went all that way to hear it from her lips and see for myself that Mary McGuckian is the real deal. Look out for her film Intervention, due for release in November.
There's been little chance to enjoy quality time with myself before having to find further gainful employment, as I caught a heinous gastric flu from Colin just before my friend, Diane, flew in from the UK for a 10-day flying visit. I shall spare the gory details. Suffice to say, a high fever and much toilet paper was involved.
If you're still reading, you have Diane to thank for this blog ending sooner rather than later. Diane is something of a blog whiz (www.dianealdred.com) and has advised me that my previous missives have been way too long and infrequent. She says readers quickly lose interest and move on to something else.
She also advised using photographs to spice things up. To this end, here is a photo of my feet after Diane and I enjoyed manicures, pedicures and massages at The Four Seasons Beauty Spa, courtesy of Diane’s ex-husband.
I could write another 800 words on our perfect day of pampering, but I wouldn’t want you to lose interest.
Husband Colin and Julia both thought I was making a terrible mistake in driving there on my own, as I am prone to getting lost, but I had Mapquested it and was supremely confident. I telephoned Colin every 20 minutes and shouted: “Bored.” It’s one long, tedious road and none of my radio stations worked. I only got lost twice. I’ll wager thousands of people before me have ended up in Barstow en route to Vegas from Los Angeles. That was stressful enough, but not as stressful as being lost in Vegas itself and gagging for a pee. I pulled into the hotel with the pirate theme and made full use of their facilities before being pointed in the direction of the Renaissance Hotel.
Mary McG was thoroughly immersed in shooting her latest movie about couples going to Vegas in search of IVF, or A.R.T. in Las Vegas, as it will be called. As the producer, director and writer, she had much to deal with, including an issue with the Teamsters’ union that threatened to shut down production for some minor confusion with the drivers. You don’t mess around with those Teamsters or you could wake up with a horse's head in your bed, but Mary handled everything with great aplomb and serenity and quickly defused the situation. The cast and crew were also mad, crazy busy, so there was much hanging around for me with nothing to do but admire these people who work 18-hour days without complaint. Mary was working 20-hour days. I kid you not.
She had 40 seconds to talk with me in between takes and invited me to run with her from the production office up to room 1503 where they were shooting the next scene. Enough time for her to ask me what I thought about her idea to make two films, one a film about the making of Plus One, a sort of mockumentary (if you will), with the actors playing the parts of the producers, etc., that would start shooting in Cannes next May. Then the actual film based on Plus One. Sounds like an excellent plan. Does that mean two checks for me?
We could have discussed it over the phone, but I’m glad I went all that way to hear it from her lips and see for myself that Mary McGuckian is the real deal. Look out for her film Intervention, due for release in November.
There's been little chance to enjoy quality time with myself before having to find further gainful employment, as I caught a heinous gastric flu from Colin just before my friend, Diane, flew in from the UK for a 10-day flying visit. I shall spare the gory details. Suffice to say, a high fever and much toilet paper was involved.
If you're still reading, you have Diane to thank for this blog ending sooner rather than later. Diane is something of a blog whiz (www.dianealdred.com) and has advised me that my previous missives have been way too long and infrequent. She says readers quickly lose interest and move on to something else.
She also advised using photographs to spice things up. To this end, here is a photo of my feet after Diane and I enjoyed manicures, pedicures and massages at The Four Seasons Beauty Spa, courtesy of Diane’s ex-husband.
I could write another 800 words on our perfect day of pampering, but I wouldn’t want you to lose interest.
Labels: book, film, Four Seasons, Las Vegas, movie, screenplay
posted by Claire at 4:21 PM
1 Comments:
Lovely pedicure, but go for more color next time.
After considering your words,I'm going to have to decide whether to be emotionally prepared for success as a writer or to prepare for the worst.(I don't think I should prepare for a movie deal!I live in dull upstate NY!)
Love your blog!
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