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Name: Nadine
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 5/4/1981
Gender: Female
Interests: Drawing, painting, dancing, swimming, reading, hiking....DAYDREAMING
Expertise: Monkeys and Daydreaming
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/30/2003
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i swear! sorry xanga...but i promise, all the friendsters,
myspaces, and facebooks in the world cannot compare to the true and
original xanga!
anyhow...may is nearing its end. which
means, june is around the corner...which means half of 2007 is already
over! shiet! i feel some significant changes coming up this year too.
Grad School - After a long application process, some interviews,
waitlists and rejections at other schools (boo to NYU and UCLA), AFI
(American Film Institute) has decided to have me be part of their MFA
directing program. YIPPIE! and at the risk of sounding conceited, but
i'm really proud to have made it this far at all three schools i
applied to. competition was pretty fierce (UCLA only admitted 18
directors....AFI admitted 28....out of 600 something applicants)....
Some very solid and cool people graduated from there. Steve Golin
("Babel" producer), David Arata ("Children of Men" writer) came from
AFI, and currently they have a great faculty and list of guest
lecturers on board. One of the people who interviewed me there was Gill
Dennis, the writer of the Academy Award wining motion picture "Walk the
Line" with Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. Line was directed by
one of my fav directors James Mangold, so we had a lot to talk about
during the interview. He also had some great feedback on my
"Chopsticks" short, that I had sent in for their review. That made me
feel cool. And he was also the one who personally called me twice to
let me know of their decision to admit me into the program. I think i
found out by checking my message after a VIFF screening of
"Chopsticks", and i probably squealed like a little whale.
i
can't wait to go back to school and learn about something that i really
really enjoy and care about. The other night, I had my first dream
about shooting a movie. That's when I knew, I am about to really live,
drink, eat, sleep and dream filmmaking. Having Khanh about to finish
her first year in med school, Uy about to enter med school, and Jeff
finishing up his masters and starting his doctoral studies in
psychology, makes me feel like i'm at a good age and mindset to tackle
school again.
Starting to research more scholarship
opportunities. film school is freakin' expensive. damn. anyone want to
contribute to the nadine-is-a-starving-artist fund?
i've been
told by my good friend lee, that there's such a thing as "nadineisms",
words and phrases that don't exist, but sound like something i've made
up. he says that i've invented my own language, that people can still
understand. i find that funny. oh shittles skadittles!
after a
long long break, i have decided to run today. it's 1pm, and i've been
lazy all morning. but i will get myself to go for an excruciating
painful run. i haven't gone for one in over two months! crazy!!!! grrr!
i got so busy with work, and all these film projects.
i miss
my cake. he went down to OC last night to work and then hang with the
family...and is apparently getting a new haircut and exchanging shoes
and whatnot...can't wait to sniff him. i'm telling you...he smells like
happiness :)
though...he looks kinda funny in this one...hmmm... :)
do
u guys remember the lobster? i had lunch with him last week and then we
strolled thru the mall. that was pleasant and nice. a little nostalgic
in a non-tension way. no cake in sight for him, he's checking out
peanuts and such. hahahaha, i crack myself up. our friendship is slowly
rebuilding, and i look forward to sisterhood with whoever will be his
real new love. i think that's one of the wonderful things my cousin
khanh exposed me to. being able to see beyond the initial catty
jealousy feelings, burry it, and let a friendship bloom. i remember her
saying once (about her exboyfriend) "i want to love the woman that he's
going to marry like a sister, because my love to him is as deep as that
of siblings...non-sexual...sometimes annoying....but always there and
unconditional. and whoever he ends up with him, must be awesome and
special, because he would never settle for less. that means i would
totally fall in love with her too. it only makes sense!"
i
realize that all this sounds very idealistic and utopian...but i really
believe it's possible. just gotta find the right people!
watched
"28 weeks" with cakey chris the other night. i haven't been this scared
in a while. i realized that when we walked back to our car, and i kept
imagining to see zombies running towards me. and it made me want to buy
a gas pistol. chris bought me a rifle last month (with plastic pellets)
and so far i've only gotten to shoot it once. i shot lee right in the
chest. that was kinda cool. casual. when we came home from the movies,
i took my sword and played with it for a bit. oh yeah, i bought a sword
and some kendo sticks. no idea how to use them properly, but who cares.
u just wait and see...i shall go all mr and mrs smith on you soon!
ok, kisses to all! must go run now!
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| I have a new project
in the works with CuzCuz Productions for the VC Armed with a Camera
Fellowship. It's a 5 minute experimental short film, which will
incorporate a vague story line, charcoal drawings, and a spoken word
poem (loosely based on "The Warrior of Light" and "The Guardian"). The short is called "The Muse". Here's an excerpt of the script:
"I
have screwed, I have lied, I've been crippled, I've even already died.
Multiple times. I've been betrayed and left alone. I have damaged my
own. But reaching old age is earned. For the trials in life are
obstacles to overcome. Every single wrinkle and fold on my face is
proof that I spent my time under the sun. It's proof that I've lived,
that I was given a gift. And it's proof that I've finally finished and
that my spirit never had diminished." Here's a picture of
Christopher Dinh aka as my baby cake from the set of "This will all
make perfect sense some day", a 12 minute short produced by HKS Films
and CuzCuz Productions, directed by Peter Phan and shot on super 16mm.
He's been aged by a special effects make up person to his 40's.
Photo by Chris Lim
I
love this picture so much, because it somehow references "The Muse". It
also makes me look forward to aging gracefully and with dignity...and
also to still knowing him in the future. it's weird. chris and i are
definitely honeymooning right now. took us 5 years to get here
though...but better late than never! i like the following pictures,
because i know that as they were taken, we really had that weird
exchange of loving energy going on...no acting needed for these. it's
what makes them so real to me...and maybe cheesy to you?
*sigh*
but to go back to christopher...i think this picture is hilarious!
"How about diamond shaped framing, Aaron?" "Yeah Chris, I think it'll work.We'll just tilt the camera."
While
shooting "Sense", I was also shooting Thomas' Apartment's first music
video for their single "Universe". Oh, what a great experience! And
aside from being able to work with great people and being part of
something so wonderful, I really valued bonding with my friends who
have given me so much in life already. I <3 you guys!
I don't have that many pics from that shoot yet, but i thought you should see this one of thomas being badass.
and also this one..look, it's me sitting on thomas's shoulder! i'm tinkernade!
i love filmmaking. and i love all those people surrounding me, because they make me a better artist. | | |
| Darnit! i got a ticket for not making a complete stop at a red light before turning right. LAME...hello internet traffic school, here i finally come! BLEH! stupid cops with their end of the year tickets...
so i got home, all grumpy...and jenni listens to me bitch... and then she goes "are you ready for good news?" yes. after an aggrevating phone convo with my mom, and a stupid ticket, good news would be nice.
jenni and i BOTH got the VC Fellowship (visual communications, not viet cong!) "Armed With a Camera"...it's soooo awesome! we entered independently with two different projects, and we both made it! i can't believe it! it's so freakin' awesome! so by april, with VC's help, we'll be producing/directing "The Wall" and "Me Oi"...we'll have the grants from them, and will be able to do this without straining our own wallets...oh soooo cool!
"Me Oi" aka "Oh Mommy" is gonna be a stop motion piece...i'm excited to learn about that and see where jenni can take it...it's good to experiment with different mediums. what a great idea...
"The Wall", the one that i'll be directing, involves a really big abstract mural painting...uhm...when i wrote this, i didn't actually think i'd get to produce it...so i may have to rewrite this a little bit...but in any case, i'm very excited to start thinking about painting again...cuz i definitely want to paint it myself (or with the help of others)..it's a 5 minute, experimental silent short...way different from our big "chopsticks" production....
CuzCuz Productions will have cranked out 3 projects, plus one additional project we're currently co-producing with HKS Films by this spring...man, we've only been in existence since july!!! i'm so happy i want to flip!
Yin and Yang...oh so true.
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| A few weeks ago, James Kyson Lee of NBC's TV show "Heroes" (yes, i name
dropped) asked me to be his date to this gala, hosted by the korean
american magazine "Koream" (yeah, i know, clever name, ey?) it felt
funny to be treated like a pseudo celebrity and get my picture
taken...there even was a red carpet...but i didn't get to take pictures
there...but others surely did....
anyhow, here are some pics for your viewing pleasure...
this is james and i posing like normal people
 
and this is james and i posing like silly people
 
The gala....seriously felt like a prom or a wedding
James, Karin Anna Cheung (of "Better Luck Tomorrow), and two of the members of the band "At Last"
Table 21...with advertising execs and chief editors of ... uhm...companies
Joe Hahn of Linkin Park....man, he's shy
Karin and I again; every time i run into her, she's mad partying, dancing and/or drunk...but she ALWAYS looks good!
James, At Last and I
Drummers
Unfortunately
I didn't get to take a picture with Grace Park or Henry Cho or any of
the other rockin' koreans...but u get the pic...
thanks for tuning in. E Entertaiment will now sign off...
Oh, but just so you know...
This man right here...is still my absolute favorite! I <3 you, Chris 
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| | t-minus 2 days... ( F*CK!!!! this is more nerve wrecking than VCN!!! - Nadine)this weekend "Chopsticks".. the first project of my cousin Nadine and i's new film company, CuzCuz Productions..... KICKS OFF!!!! we start shooting at 9am on Saturday at my pad... over 2 weekends... Oct. 21, 22, 28... with a skeleton crew (like 5 of us) on Sunday, the 29th. we're shooting 1/2 in the OC, 1/2 at my apt. (Speaking of skeletons...Chris and I are also in the process of finding a mixture of good and bad bone replicas for the cremation scene...on top of various different ways to recreate ashes...crazy! - Nadine) it's my first time producing and it has been a great experience... and crazy one!! oh man.... what started as 9 pages, comedy/drama.... became 14 pages, drama, vietnamese and japanese monologues, and a cremation ceremony. (actually it started off as a 7 page comedy...crazy how things change once you start revising! it's my first time directing film as well...i'm proud though...we've both been long enough in the industry that we're running this thing pretty smoothly and professionally...and the fact that we vibe together so well, means there are no egos on set! - Nadine) what the-- yeah, we vietnamese be dramatic.  but working with nadine has been awesome blossom, yes indeedy (right back at ya, it's been wonderful - Nadine).... we had a production meeting (our only full one before the short) on Tuesday at the offices of Cherry Sky Films... and well, seeing all these shiny faces... friends of Nade's, friends of mine, friends of their friends.... made me smile and made my heart melt a bit. it also made me start sweating like a mofo cuz that happens when i'm excited/nervous/in the proximity of cute boys/all of the above. Nadine wrote the script, i've helped her revise it and put in my creative input... and i'm producing. "what does a producer do?" people often ask.... well... a lot... but to put it simply.... i ....make it happen, baby!! plus i take care of everything logistically and managerially (is that a word? hehe) in order for nadine to concentrate on the creative part (although producing wise, i still get headaches!)... tho of course i collaborate wtih her on the creative stuff as well. our set is run by women, babe! female director, female producer, female cinematographer.... and chris (You can include him under "women", trang! - Nadine). my co-producer. you may remember him as "the guy who's always with Kathy Nguyen in asian american short films" or "the guy who takes off his shirt for LCC shows back in the day" (G7!) some kinks we're frantically working out before the big day: - LIGHTS! ah shit. we're shooting on dvx100b and using an anamorphic lens to get that 16:9 cool, film-ic look.... (Widescreen baby! - Nadine) but as a result it cuts our light a LOT and therefore we have to rent additional lights.... an HMI, too... which is a tig ole bitty light. hardcore. it's gonna rest on a stand one story down and shine light from the outside into my living room window.
- FUNERAL LOCATION.... becuz we're dealing with somewhat shady vietnamese folk, we lost our funeral location a few days ago... so after making a few calls... i came across Victor Vu *doh*... i don't know why i didn't think of using him earlier.. he gave me a contact and so now i'm talking with a real funeral home.... we're trying to shoot in the crematorium... complete with big oven and creepy vibes. nice.(We should just use this location to shoot a ghost story! Dum dum duh!!!! - Nadine)
at the production meeting, everyone kept exclaiming about how big the crew is for a short... and we're renting a dolly and adding animation to it.... well... you know how nades and i roll... ghetto bling styles (OH YEAH, YOU KNOW IT, BABY - Nadine). and by that, i mean... tho we live in the ghetto and have no budget, we still be blingin' it... know why? cuz we do it with heart, humor, and style. ------------------------------- Thanks Jenni, now I don't have to repeat the chaos of filmmaking....although...i actuallly feel like we're pretty organized! But yes, while Jenni has been a fabulous producer, I've been concentrating on making creative decisions. It's been great rehearsing with the cast here and there, getting acquainted, have phone discussions about the characters, etc... and on the other spectrum coming up with a shot list with eve, the cinematographer...that's like choreographing a dance for a camera! at that production meeting on tuesday, we passed out actual crew deal memos. people gave us some quizzical looks...but dude, gotta recreate the most professional environment! especially since this project really is run by women in the key positions, we really want people to know that despite of our good and soft nature, we don't take things lightly...we be gung ho, yo! Yeah, the cast and crew has grown quite a bit. We now have over 30 people ( not all avail on all days though) on the crew, and 9 speaking roles...plus extras...the equipment list is growing and growing...man, that shit better look good! however, from what i've been gathering from other shorts, our budget is still relatively low! Thank you to everyone who is helping making this one possible! THIS IS SO MUCH FUN! |
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