Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Goodbye Crazy Apple Lady

Sue GardnerSue Gardner who played Sarah Jennings (better known as Crazy Apple Lady) in my award winning short film "We've Got Johnny" has passed away. Del and I found Sue actually speaking in the apple orchard we were going to shoot the movie in. She was going on and on about apple growing to a group of people who were there picking apples and Del and I looked at each other and knew we'd found our girl.

Sue was truly a one-of-a-kind and she will be remembered fondly through out all of PlasticVille. I'm starting to feel like the movie's I'm involved with are cursed. Sue died of ovarian cancer Sunday Sept 17. You can read her obituary here.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Goodbye Daniel Smith

Larry The Lizard and Daniel SmithAnna Nicole Smith's 20 year old son Daniel died suddenly Sunday in the Bahamas while visiting his mom in the hospital. I can't imagine what she's going through; on Sept 7 she gives birth to a baby girl then on Sept 10 her son dies sitting in her room. Looks like the investigation into this will drag out for awhile.

I met Daniel and his mom on the set of "Illegal Aliens" almost exactly a year ago. He was a pretty quiet kid and kept close to Anna's entourage but we did speak enough to make it obvious he was a decent and smart guy. He was on the set anytime his mom was, looking out for her, making sure things were funny and light. He even hung out with Larry The Lizard at the wrap party.

I always expected "Illegal Aliens" to get lots of attention. Exec Producer John James and Director David Giancola have been all over the news and were even on "Larry King Live" last night along with Joanie "Chyna" Laurer, but not for this reason. "Illegal Aliens" will now be dedicated to Daniel Smith and here's hoping that Anna and all Daniel's family and friends can laugh again soon.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Boston by Foot

Today Lori led a weight-loss talk and walk through Boston that I tagged along for and it was surprisingly fun. It was very cool to actually stop and pay attention to all the things I ignore while trying to drive in Boston. Normally, the only thing I'm focused on is open parking spaces. We did a two-hour walking tour of the Back Bay and South End, learning about the history of each neighborhood and some of the many cool pieces of architecture. This is first time since I was a kid that I did any sort of tourist thing in Boston. There were so many little architectural details and stories I didn't know, it felt like we were visiting some other country. Boston By Foot put the tour together and I highly recommend doing one. They have a special Halloween tour we might do this year too.