Rachel Bilson Paparazzi

This past weekend my brothers and I were simply cruising around town checking out some of the sights of Salt Lake City.

I wanted to show them some cool "hole in the wall" stores, so I took them to a little place Candyce loves called "Decades." It's basically a bunch of really old vintage clothes and a few rockin flower covered suitcases.

So, I'm just browsing the merchandise when good ol' Rachel Bilson walks by me. I had what's called "instant face recognition" occur. So, I went and grabbed my brothers and told them who she was. It took them a minute to even know who I was talking about. Had I not been married and been forced to watch the O.C. with my wife, I would probably not have know who she was either.

Anyway, so we devised a plan to get some photos of her talking to us, without letting her know we were getting photos of her talking to us.

Zak was coordinating from within the store via his cel phone. Burke and I were on a conference call with him at all times. I was in the back seat of the car parked in front of the store. I had 300 mm zoom lens at my disposal. Burke and Tay were just outside of the front door. The plan was, that Burke would be talking on his phone about not knowing where to eat in this po-dunk town. And when Rachel walks out, Tay would walk up to her and ask if she was from around here, and if she knew any good places to eat. Zak's code for her going outside was "let's eat at KFC."

The plan was flawless in it's preparation, and equally as impeccable in it's execution.

We waited for about 30 minutes at our posts (Girls really know how to take their time while shopping). Rachel was with a small group of people that we referred to as her "Posse, Entourage and sometimes Clan." We had nothing better to do, so don't think we're too desperate. Well, go ahead and think whatever you like.

So, finally over the conference call we hear the words "Let's go eat at KFC. I repeat let's go eat at KFC!" I quickly started snapping off photos like my plane was going down. As she came outside, Tay approached her with surprising confidence and delivered his line without hesitation. She simply said she wasn't from around here, and put on some big sunglasses.

We watched them get into a car, and quickly pursued them. I have no idea why we were following her. What were we actually going to do? More than likely nothing. But it was still fun. Some of the people with her hopped into a BMW with no license plates and led the way to another store, while Rachel and the rest of her posse followed.

Anyway, after a minute of watching them again we decided we were pathetic and went to a movie. (We saw Disaster Movie. It is undeniably the dumbest film ever made). I'm not sure why people freak out over movie stars. Maybe it's the mystic, the unknown, or maybe it's the...ummm I can't think of anything clever to write, so I'll just stop right there.

So yes, it was an intense hour in an otherwise fairly mundane October afternoon.

Rhetty

Salt Lake City...land of the free.

So here I am on a sunday afternoon blogging,  I never thought that would happen because sunday afternoons are for naps and eating.

The move to SLC went pretty smooth, but still pretty frustrating.  Why is moving so lame?  I think, for me, it's the idea of packing up everything you own only to unpack a day later.  It's the same kind of lameness that goes with washing your work clothes only to get them dirty...or washing your car and the next day it rains...or getting lost and having to backtrack where you've already been.  It's like that line from Seinfeld: "that was the longest possible way to get to where you already were!"  That's what packing feels like...what's the point?

Leaving the valley was harder than we thought it was going to be.  Even though we were packing for weeks, it still seemed to happen so fast.  In a matter of a few hours we rented a 24 ft truck, packed up rhett's house, the studio, my apt...and we were on the road.  Well, at least rhett, candyce and my mom were.  I decided to stay one last time in my apt and sleep on the couch and drive through the canyon in the light of day to see the fall colors.

Have you ever slept on a couch that is 2 inches too short?   It's lame to say the least.  Because the whole night you think that if you turned your head just right then you could straighten your legs.  You try that for a few hours before you realize it's a hopeless effort.  And before you know it, it's 5:45 am and time to go unpack.

I set off through the canyon in the blackness of morning...not even being able to see the trees.  I was drinking my last Stewarts Orange and Creme that I had been saving for a good time.  My random playlist treated me to songs of John Denver, Kenny Rogers, and Barenaked Ladies...which seemed to fit the mood perfectly.

It's weird, you can't really leave somewhere without leaving a piece of yourself behind.  And better yet, you can't really choose what parts of you stay and what parts you take with you.  You also leave people behind but take with you everything those people taught you, shared with you, and gave you.  It really is like a rebirth.  Everything around you is new, you have no where to go, no one to go see, you can't find a grocery store, even though you know there are still people that will help you only a phone call away, you can't help but get that alone feeling, time passes more slowly, you pay more attention to the people and things around you because your survival depends on it...I actually found myself looking in a phone book to find the nearest DI just so I could go there, sit on the couches, stare at the weird people that the DI attracts, and feel a little piece of something that, for some reason, reminds me of the home that I just left.

Your reminded of the people you love, the people you've lost, people you never got to know, people you've left, people that you will never know, people that have changed who you are, people who you hope that you've changed...experiences you had, experiences you never had the chance to have, experiences you turned down, time you wasted, times you cherish.

Then after all that, tomorrow it's back to work.  I've got a full day shoot that can't be postponed.  I'd like to sit back for a second and breath...but you can't stop.

here's to you Cache Valley,

Good Ol' Chaps

In the process of moving ourselves and our company to the grand world of Salt Lake, we've realized we are going to miss Lil' Logan a lot more than we thought we were.

I'm not quite sure how, but we've managed to make some really good friends up here.  Our good buddy Spack has been with us through thick and thin.  He's easily one of the most loyal friends we've ever had.  I've never met anyone that doesn't just adore the kid.  Sadly, he'll be staying behind starting his own company selling accessories for Rhinos.  

Our brothers have always been a huge help to us as well.  Especially Zakk and Tay.  They've pulled some serious all-nighters over the years with us.  In the credits of our movies we often use our brother's middle names instead of their last, just so every credit doesn't end in "Lewis."

Anyway, I've just been thinking about all the good people who have helped us along our way.   Good advice, good lunches, and really great friends.  Even though we're only moving 80 miles away, it feels a lot farther.

Maybe in one of my next posts I'll list the names of everyone who's influenced us somehow. That would be one long list.  And I'm sure we'd forget someone, and then they'd hate our guts, but then we'd apologize, and we'd be friends again and put them on the list.

This is my scooter, Stella.  I get called very explicit names whenever I ride her around town.  But it never makes me feel like a complete loser and nerd.  Usually.

This is an ad that Genuine Scooter uses to promote Stella.  It's pretty clever.

My turn again...

Rhett and I have started this new thing where we each write a post every other week. That way there's a new blog entry every single week for our huge base of cult followers to read and catch up on all of our happenings.

Not a whole lot to report on...we've gotten some good reviews on "billy." Thank you Brett and Emily Tingey.

We're planning on moving to SLC here on Oct 3rd...sweet. So if anyone wants to take us out to dinner or lunch before you'll never see us again...then send all requests to burke@rhettandburke.com. I'm pretty good at eating. I've got almost 26 years experience and I do it everyday.

Last night I was strolling through Wal-Mart with Spack and we found some self-heating hot chocolate. Sounds too good to be true...but believe me it's incredible. It's not the most tasty hot chocolate I've ever had...but the idea that you can buy a six pack of this stuff and go on a rhino ride in the winter and have hot chocolate without having to pre-heat it is pretty amazing. Life changing you could say.

Well, that's it for today...

peace,

boike

2 Year Sinus Infections

Yes, 2 years ago like it says in the title, I got an unbearable sinus infection.  I can still see the face of the snot-nosed 3 yr old that gave it to me.  Oh, how I wish I could go back in time and stay away from the little cry baby of a kid that would constantly wet himself in the corner of the sunbeam classroom.  I remember having to take the little guy to the men's room in the church.  I put him in a stall, and he just stared at me as if waiting for me to undo his pants to help him pee.  There was no chance of me going down there to no-man's land, so I just took him back to class.

Anyway, since that life-changing interaction, I have not been able to smell or taste, and my nose is always stuffy.  I've been to over 5 Doctors, including ENT's and Allergists.  I even got a CT scan, which doctors looked at and said "Wow, you're really congested."  Such insight.

The only pill that would clear me up was a Nasal Steroid, Dexamethasone.  I loved those little green pills.  They'd clear me up within a few hours, and then I could smell the lovely world around me, and taste the good food Candyce makes.  Sure the side-effects were: weight gain (I put on 35 pounds in 2 months, and have the stretch marks to prove it), osteoporosis, liver failure, asthma, bad headaches, and the list goes on.  But, man it was worth it.  I mean, imagine not smelling anything for a day.  You can't tell if you have B.O. or bad breath, and when someone says "mmm, that smells so good" I have no idea what they're talking about.  It's pretty sad really.  So, the Doctors won't let me take that pill anymore because of the said side-effects, so I must suffer with the consequences.

But, I've decided to accept this new life of mine.  Now when we eat something, Candyce will sit there and explain to me what it tastes like so I can feel like I can enjoy it somewhat.  She does a good job.  

So, if you're ever around me feel free to have bad breath, pass gas, burp, and don't wear any B.O. buster, because I won't be able to smell a thing.

Rhett

Blogging...

For real, other than me I can't think of anyone who is going to read this.....well, maybe my mom...but other than that this post will go unread. But, here it goes anyway...

It's the end of August and that means that summer is almost over. This is one of the saddest times of the year, at least for me. No more cruising with the top down, eating ice cream, watching fireworks, making illegal fireworks out of legal ones, disc golf, BBQ's, roasting startbursts over a fire, midnight walks, hot days, cool nights, derbies, rodeo's, fairs, skipping rocks, skinny dipping...just kidding on that last one....but for real.

One more thing to bring in the end of summer is the completion of "billy was a deaf kid." It's gotten some very mixed reviews from some of the select people we've screened it to. Some love it, some like it and some hate it...which is to be expected. What's interesting is some of the people who have hated it, hated it because of how some of the characters acted...and that's interesting because we based a lot of the conversation and characters off of these people who hate it. It's funny that when people see themselves from a 3rd person perspective they don't even realize that they're looking at themselves. They think they're watching someone who is oppressive, mean, and has no likable quality to them....when really they are seeing certain aspects of their real life and they won't accept that, either consciously or subconsciously. It just goes to show that people aren't aware of who they really are. People look at movies like "the Bourne Identity" and think "I'm a lot like Jason Bourne" or they think they're Leo Decaprio in "Titanic" or Keira Nightly in "Pride and Prejudice." When really we're not these always-perfect, never-a-dull-moment, get-along-great, happily-ever-after people...in fact, we're all less than perfect and that is what keeps us human. How many of us snap, for no reason, at the people we care about most? Are the majority of our arguments based on things worth arguing about? Or are they usually based on superficial things that if you stopped for a second and breathed in you'd wonder why you started arguing in the first place? I'm willing to bet it's almost always the latter.

There's quote at the end of the flick that I think sums up peoples reaction better than it sums up the movie:

"I used to have a girlfriend that thought I was the funniest man alive.
Whenever I went out with her and thought I was being romantic and
dashing, she simply used to roar with laughter - at everything I said and did.

This taught me a very basic, necessary lesson: that we really aren't
ourselves, and the impression we make on people is often the direct
opposite of the one we intended."

John Cassavetes


So there you go...that's then end of my rant...

I'm off to lunch.

ps here's a dead beaver I found under my porch one day:



peace,

Boike.

if ya smoke em' got em'

I'm sure you're wondering what that little phrase means.  Well, I'll tell you the story...

Many moons ago, I was forced into shooting a lame wedding video all by myself ( I don't remember how Burke got out of it) anyway, there was this prominent Photographer there, whom I really wanted to impress for some reason.  You know how you get around people that are really good at what they do.   You want to make them think that you know your stuff as well as be very charismatic, knowledgeable and all around very funny.  ( At this very moment I'm trying very hard to be funny and interesting with the way I'm writing this, and it's totally not working.)  In any case, me and this guy are talking for minute, and we start talking about rich people and how they get everything handed to them.  Especially if they work with cameras.  They always seem to have the best of the best stuff.  Now, prior to this exceptionally terrible wedding, Burke had been using this phrase "Smoke em' if ya got em" which I thought was a sweet little term that if used correctly, could really make you sound cool.  So the whole time this guy is talking to me, I'm reciting this phrase in my head.  I actually geared the conversation toward rich people just so I could use it.  So, when a small lull entered are little chat, I spewed out the words "If ya smoke em' got em."  The guy just stared at me.  He said nothing.  I'm sure he was trying to figure out what I just said, and why I said it.  It was awkward, so I turned and walked away.

It's been years now, and I still feel stupid.  That's pretty terrible.

We are at the final stages of editing "Billy was a deaf kid" and we think it's turned out to be a great film.  It's a little long coming in at 100 minutes, so now we are going through and cutting stuff out, to make it a cool 90 minutes.  Our buddy Spack keeps telling us that he'll turn any movie off if it goes past the 90 min mark.  And well, we must keep the kid happy.  

The big fest's deadlines are fast approaching so we might be pulling some all-nighters here to get her done by next week.

We'll post a mock trailer soon...

Rhett