amelialourdes: (icon ; music is love)

It has been 15 years... 15 years since I saw The Moffatts for the first time at the Century Club in Century City, California, not too far away from here. I cannot believe it's been 15 years! It does not feel like 15 years. It feels like it just happened yesterday.

I was interviewed on Access Hollywood here and I was treated like a VIP. The people at the table next to me thought I was some celebrity from Asia. I took promotional photos at the show. I listened to the interview they did. It was my first real band experience. I've never done anything like that before and especially for a 13-year-old at the time, it was wonderfully overwhelming. At 13, that really shaped my experience and as you guys know, I've had plenty of positive band experiences since then. But this will always be my first taste of my favorite band in a small club and fantastic things happening in one evening. I'll never forget it. Here's to 15 years!


Me and Dave Moffatt.
I was 13 and he was 14.


One of my favorite Moffatt songs and first heard it 15 years ago.
They had just finished writing it and performed it that night.

amelialourdes: (jonathan ; thinking)

This is a fandom-based journal and people know what it's like when someone they've liked either in television or movies or music passes away, someone who's meant something to someone in their fandom. I think we've all been through it. Jonathan Brandis, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Brad Renfro were a few of mine. Paul Walker was someone I had great memories of as a teenager. I know a lot of you watch the Fast and the Furious series. My little cousin had a birthday party up in Valencia and we happened to literally be around the corner from the crash site. I had my camera and decided to go over there to see what was there and this was what I found.

Paul Walker Memorial Site. )



It was a tragedy but it was certainly one that could've been prevented. It was such a small area to go at top speeds. There were a few industrial buildings around but sharp curves and the 15 mph speed limit sign was posted there. There's a 25 mph sign posted around the corner. It was awful to see. They chopped down the tree and the pole's gone. The stump is the one with the coins on top. But people are writing messages all along the street, the trees, any signs in the small area. It was very touching to be there.

amelialourdes: (canada ; i heart it)
2013 Review! )

I haven't been counting the movies I've seen this year but I have counted concerts and theater shows!

Concerts:
1. January 20th: Lady Gaga at Staples Center
2. February 10th: Justin Timberlake at the Palladium
3. April 19th: Bon Jovi at Staples Center
4. April 20th: Backstreet Boys at the Fonda
5. April 21st: Ramin Karimloo at the Federal
6. May 10th: Jay Brannan at the Hotel Cafe
7. May 19th: Shoshana Bean at the Americana
8. May 26th: Shoshana Bean at the Americana
9. May 28th: Poprocks! Michael Arden and Andy Mientus at Rockwell
10. May 30th: Darren Criss, House of Blues, LA
11. May 31st: Darren Criss, House of Blues, Anaheim
12. July 5th: NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz II Men - Los Angeles
13. July 6th: NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz II Men - Las Vegas
14. July 7th: NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz II Men - San Jose
15. July 13th: NKOTB/98 Degrees/Boyz II Men, Anaheim
16. July 17th: Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls at Gibson Amphitheater
17. July 28th: Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z at the Rose Bowl
18. July 30th: Backstreet Boys at Jimmy Kimmel
19. September 4th: Backstreet Boys at the Gibson Amphitheater
20. September 6th: Backstreet Boys at the Irvine Wireless Amphitheater
21. September 25th: Hanson at the House of Blues, Anaheim.
22. September 26th: Hanson at the House of Blues, LA
23. October 5th: Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson in Chula Vista at the Sleep Train Amphitheater.
24. November 1st: Jay Brannan at the Mint

Theater:
1. February 19th: Jekyll & Hyde at the Pantages
2. February 27th: Jekyll & Hyde at the Pantages
3. February 28th: Wicked at Sergerstrom Hall
4. March 16th: Jonathan Groff in "Red" at UCLA
5. June 15th: Next to Normal.
6. October 9th: Tommy at the Stratford Theater Festival
7. October 9th: Fiddler on the Roof at the Stratford Theater Festival
8. October 10th: Les Miserables in Toronto
9. October 11th: Les Miserables in Toronto
10. October 23rd: Evita at the Pantages
11. November 1st: Jay Brannan at the Mint
12. November 9th: The Black Suits at the Kirk Douglas
13. November 10th: Evita at the Pantages
14. December 14th: Evita at Sergerstrom Hall
15. December 21st: Evita at Sergerstrom Hall

Not nearly enough theater! I had a bit of a drought in there somewhere. To be fair, they were during the unemployed months so I felt like I couldn't go out. But I guess I did go to a bunch of concerts during that time, too. The concert number seems a little low to me. I'm usually in the 30s. But went to some GREAT concerts this year.
amelialourdes: (disney ; castle from above)

Went to see a special screening of Saving Mr. Banks on the Disney Studio lot today. They've only opened the studio to the public for a movie exclusive twice -- once for The Princess and the Frog and for this movie. It was an incredible night. I've never been on the Disney lot before and it was certainly an unforgettable experience. As you watch the movie, you see the buildings you JUST walked past as locations for the film! And there's nothing more magical than watching a Disney movie inside of the Disney theater.

It's almost midnight so I'm trying to fit this entry in but definitely more photos to come. It was an incredible movie and an even more incredible experience made possible by Disney.

Photos on the lot! )

amelialourdes: (cmas ; white)

bmw2

I honestly cannot remember the first time I saw an episode of Boy Meets World. I feel like I've always known of it and it's always been in my life. I started my strong teen idol crush years in 1994 around the time of Man of the House with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. So I'll say I started regularly watching Boy Meets World in 1994. They were kids in school going through the joys and challenge you experience as a child and I could certainly relate to that feeling. But I can't say I cut my hair to prove I wasn't vain about my appearance! (shoutout to Topanga circa late-90s)

I grew up with that show. By the time it ended, I was still in high school but they certainly filled me with expectations I would never be able to fulfill because how perfect were Cory and Topanga? How could you ever find a buddy like Shawn or a brother like Eric? I wanted to be their friend and it felt like I was. I knew their lives, I knew what they had gone through, and I really was there every step of the way.

I didn't really know what to expect from Girl Meets World. I was unsure about the decision to take a beloved show and give those characters new lives. It's been done and it's been done successfully. The recent successful reboot of Dallas is an example of that. But, admittedly, it's a different world. Boy Meets World was filmed as a sitcom during the age of sitcoms. You watch television and it was littered with sitcoms and laugh tracks -- over-the-top reactions captured from a microphone above your head. It was the norm. Today's television sitcom gravitates toward the more of the single-cam perspective rather than multi-camera. The most popular sitcoms of the modern era are your Modern Familys and documentary-style shows like The Office.

That's not to say that television doesn't stop trying to continue the legacy of the multi-camera sitcom through shows like Girl Meets World.

After waiting in line, we're escorted into the building that looks like any other television show created for an audience -- there were three main sets configured for tonight's taping: Riley's (Cory and Topanga's daughter) bedroom on the far left, the Matthews living room/kitchen area in the center, and the classroom set-up on the far right (not used tonight or anywhere throughout the episode).

The audience was mainly comprised of mostly kids and young teens. The only adults found were in the VIP area and adults escorting their kids. I certainly felt a wee bit out of place as a 28-year-old Boy Meets World fan who grew up in the 90s. I was seated in the third row with a great vantage point of the stage.

Before filming began, we were lucky enough to view the pilot. It's been my experience with new shows (as a regular attendee to I Hate My Teenage Daughter, I saw the pilot EVERY SHOW) that they often show the pilot episode so you have a feel for the show and its characters.

The pilot was fantastic. I can completely believe Cory as a History teacher at his daughter's school. I admit, it threw me for a loop. Even now, I'm only used to seeing Cory in the classroom being taught by Mr. Feeny with Shawn behind him and Topanga seated in front. My brain was trying to adjust to seeing him from an adult's perspective. It's a new Cory Matthews. It's the story of a boy who grew up, met the world, and was now living in it. Not that the Cory Matthews we knew and loved is gone but the story is no longer his -- it's his daughter's. He's merely a player and she takes center stage.

I won't give away the pilot but I will say it's not a Hannah Montana. She's not a secret superstar parading around as a "normal" teenager. What's different about our generation and the new are television shows geared to make kids appear more mature than they are. In my shows, kids were kids. They did stupid goofy things that made absolutely no sense. As they grew, that's when they involved themselves in deeper, darker topics like sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. And watching the pilot episode, I'd say that it was geared for this new generation that deals with a completely different set of rules from the ones I grew up with.

But the pilot was only one episode and I continued to have an open mind to see what tonight's episode held.

Michael Jacobs, creator of the show (CREATOR OF MY CHILDHOOD), introduced the cast. He introduced every cast member and then surprised the hell out of me when he introduced Rider Strong and Will Friedle. Though they lined up with the rest of the cast, they didn't make an appearance on today's episode and their future is still unknown on this show. But it was incredible to see them there supporting their friends... and I may or may not have reacted like a 12-year-old as soon as I saw them. I might've gone into a fit of inner hysteria when Ben and Will hugged LIKE THE BROTHERS THEY WILL ALWAYS BE. (And bonus Maitland Ward showed up about halfway through filming!)

They filmed six scenes in front of an audience with large portions of the episode pre-filmed for us to watch. I imagine that the short filming schedule (about three hours) has a lot to do with union rules for the child actors on set. I'm used to such long filming schedules -- Will and Grace, I Hate My Teenage Daughter -- that I wasn't prepared for it to end so soon! But what I did saw was satisfying.

The majority of the episode revolved around the two kids. Cory and Topanga have another child, a son, played by an adorable, rambunctious, and talented 6-year-old who held his own among the teenagers and adults he performed with. It really hammered home that Cory and Topanga had been married for years and this was their new normal. As an older fan, it takes a bit of getting used to. For example. Feeny's no longer next door. They're living in a really nice apartment in New York. They take the subway! It's a different world with new challenges for their kids.

Ben Savage slips back into the role of Cory Matthews with plenty of ease. You look at him and you see Cory. You see Cory's mannerisms, his unique facial expressions, and the way he delivers a joke. Danielle's a little less goofy as Topanga and a lot more grown up and admittedly, it's a bit jarring, at first. Again, I feel like it's just because I'm faced with my own age slapping me right in the face. I'm no longer watching them as kids and I'm no longer a kid. Right? Jarring. But the family works well together. Cory and Topanga are parental and they're just the parents you always thought they'd grow up to be. They're very much the people you imagined they'd grow up to be.

For me, it works so far. The audience sitcom format still has its disadvantages. There will be a lot of canned audience laughter that I hope will work for this show. But it's no reason to turn away. The cast are talented, the show is well-written and tries not to be too heavy handed in terms of life lessons, and I genuinely laughed out loud several times. You know, that gives it the seal of approval, obviously.

I told myself I was only going to go see it once and that'll be it. But seeing Cory and Topanga again and seeing them as adults raising their children? I think I'm already jonesin' for visit number two.

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amelialourdes

May 2016

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