…..in Cookie’s living room. Geena Davis just told a funny story, she is wearing red. I laughed. We are eating pizza, Cookie and I are trying to keep our eyes open after the most torturous commercial ever filmed in the history of commercials. Sandra Oh gave a touching accceptance speech for her role on Grey’s Anatomy, I even teared up a bit. Reese Witherspoon’s dress makes the thing Bjork wore at the Academy awards four years ago look more like true high fashion, ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Lackawanna Blues got stiffed for the star-studded but not that wonderful Empire Falls. Our pizza tonight was provided by Pizza Hut, beverages sponsored by Pepsi. Cigarettes provided courtesy of American Spirit.
Nashville is extremely busy, but I’m not sure how long I could hold out here. I love the work and the people, but there seems to be a mild mirror image of the seediness of Los Angeles throughout. I mean, Nashville the city is really amazing. They have real shopping in many parts of the city, they understand organic produce at reasonable prices and the people are immensely friendly. However, there seems to be a great deal of looking-over-your-shoulder type activity afoot — everyone is doing things and wondering if anyone has noticed what they are doing yet. It’s what I love about Memphis, the fact that in our city people seem to just do things as they please and they really don’t give a crap whether anyone notices or not. In Nashville, it’s a lot of art for commerce. In Memphis, it’s art for the sake of art.
Reese Witherspoon just won Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Walk The Line. Mary-Louise Parker just kicked the crap out of all four Desperate Housewives by winning Best Actress in a TV Comedy or Musical for her role in Weeds. I have my fifteenth glass of Pepsi and sit here muddling over the fact that this has become my life. I need cigarettes, should I go to the store? Did I mention that Steve Carrell won something?
In the most telling event of the night, Kinsey (Cookie’s cat) was sitting in the living room watching the show as it began. Kinsey made a face and walked out of the room. I went in the bedroom to look for smokes, I noticed that she had puked on the floor.
Emma Thompson just came out and slandered Pride & Prejudice. Thank goodness. Now I realize that Cookie has TiVO which, unbeknownst to me, allows us to pause the show in mid-show. We are now sitting here talking about the show we just finished. I’m always scared to talk about work on my blog because I’m sure someone will Google me and find this site eventually. Then they can sit around and read about themselves on my blog and go, “Wow, E.J. is a total asshole,” or, “When did I say that to him?” I guess that’s part of writing about one’s self. I mean, yes, this is my life but living it is one thing and writing about it is an entirely other. Everything is open to interpretation and if, as I’m sure it does, this blog entry seems like some discombobulated jumbled LiveJournal entry then that is, in fact, what it must be. I am so physically exhausted I can’t pull it together to gather my thoughts. Every part of my body hurts. I can’t breathe. I’m on glass seventeen of Pepsi for the evening and I still can’t wake up.
This morning on my way home (I worked 18.5 hours on wrap day) I fell asleep at the wheel four times. Twice I nearly had an accident while driving on the interstate. I could not even find a place to pull over and nap for a while, scared that someone from the job I just finished would notice and ask if I was okay. I watched trucks and cars racing around a track, I got to spend time with Darrell Waltrop (a NASCAR legend and one of the nicest guys ever), I watched a car racing up a ramp, jump through an explosion and land in a mass of cardboard boxes. I watched as a construction site got set up and driven through at high speeds, and I watched the work of a brilliant Emmy-winning commercial director, Director of Photography, a lovely group of people from the commercial agency, and a great group of PA’s.
After unpausing the TiVO I was thrilled to learn that one of my favorite people in the world, S. Epatha Merkerson, just won the Golden Globe for her role in Lackawanna Blues. Her acceptance speech is one of the most touching things I’ve ever seen on an awards show. She is the real deal.
