TheMommyBlog

Monday, September 14, 2009 Me, Me, Me, Other people who write, Family, Entertainment

So I arrived home Saturday night from Los Angeles, ready to collect the children from their dad’s Sunday morning. Order of business: get meds, allow brain chemistry to restore prior settings, collect children, hang out. Instead, I picked up only two, left the third still having a sleep over at dad’s, took one immediately to a playdate and the other to my house for thirty minutes and then to a playdate with the sleepover playdate’s brother. Why that needed two parents and four trips is beyond me, but then what isn’t, these days?

Am totally exhausted, but learned a ton this weekend from Sony Pictures and Sony Electronics. We had two intensive days of photography and video workshops, followed by places in the paparazzi pen at the red carpet premiere of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” one of our family’s favorite books. I had no idea how they were going to make that wonderful though relatively short story into a full blown feature, but they did a stellar job. They worked on it for five years, so I suppose IT HAD BETTER BE GOOD. We had a chance to interview some of the stars Friday before watching the movie with a thousand of our closest friends at the Mann Theater in Hollywood.

Sony sent us home with some lovely gifts, including the HD Handycam HDR-CX100 and the Cybershot Exmor DSC-TX1. We also received instruction on the Alpha A380 DSLR, but had to leave them behind, following the Drug Dealer’s Credo: the first rock is always free; after that you’re on your own.” Tons of photos on Flickr from the Sony Mom group, practicing all over the Sony Pictures Lot and the W hotel where we were twice the age of everyone there.

Can I just say that we totally fell in love with the directors of CWACOM? They are like twelve years old and we wanted to just eat them up, but that would have been insulting to a couple of guys who have accomplished more before thirty than many before fifty, what with that side project, “How I Met Your Mother” and all. We had a blast talking with them, and heard that we were the most fun of all the interviews. They had each group in separate rooms at the Four Seasons and rotate the actors and directors through the rooms for fifteen minute interviews. I have no idea how long we went over, but we would not let them leave. It must have been okay, from the tweets we saw later from Philip Lord: “you guys were the hit of the premiere/the junket/our weekend. Warm wishes & let us know your readers’ reax 2 flik” and “mommies have mad internet reach y’all; follow @TheOnlineMom @TheMommyBlog @TheGoToMom @sourwine @EZF_MomBloggers or be left behind.”

Anyway, after so many days of holding equipment to my face and walking in high heels for an entire day all glammed up for the red carpet, I am WRECKED. Thrilled, but wrecked.

Oh, before I forget, I have a Public Service Announcement: PR people? If you are going to send perishables by Fedex, please be sure there will be someone in town to accept deliver. Thanks so much.

When I came home there was a box out front, a PR package from Gorton’s fish. It was full of exciting, new Gorton’s fish products, packed in what used to be dry ice. I’m sure it had been in the 100 degree heat for a day or two by the time I opened it and was hit by the wall of stench. So, basically, I went from chatting with iCarly’s Miranda Cosgrove and snapping closeups of James Caan from the paparazzi pen to clearing out rotting fish left on my doorstep. SO LIKE MOTHERHOOD TO DISH UP THE JUXTAPOSITION.

I don’t have all the cords I need to transfer the video, they are in the box being shipped for me from the event. Lots of good stuff, including Mr. T talking about how boys should love their mothers, James Caan deftly steering his wife and kids clear of the rabid mommy bloggers at the end of the red carpet, Miranda Cosgrove saying hello to my daughter on camera, and the directors, Chris Miller and Philip Lord saying what fans they were of a friend of mine who loves “How I Met…” Hilarious. “Hi! We like you too! We suited up for you!”
Anna Faris was amazing, so down to earth, was a geek at heart, loved insects as a child, and completely won me over. Bill Heder slayed me with the stories about the Dateline NBC guy he’s parodied on SNL. He said he and his wife would just be sitting around on Sundays, watching the show and marveling at how the host could drag a five minute story out for two hours. Then I watched the SNL clips. The guy is seriously funny, though a little scared he’s going to get into an elevator with him at 30 Rockefeller. And Neil Patrick Harris, well, I can’t say how funny and friendly he is.

OK! Off to film for Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Channel, twice, and then ABC New Now later on. Oh, and laundry and school runs. And lord know what else, but if I owe anyone anything out there and you haven’t received what I promised, lemme know. I need a kick in the pants.