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9 August 2008 |
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Upstate Michigan
Menace, danger, warnings, prohibitions and homemade cherry pie.
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23 July 2008 |
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The bonus nuance of the Extra interview was that it wound up being shot in my room at the Beverly Hills Hilton, so our publicist booked me a suite, for size and industry-standard ostentation. If the camera were rotated 180 degrees, you'd see gaffer's tape holding the drapes closed and all of my belongings in mild disarray on the fluffy, comfortable bed.
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20 July 2008 |
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Beverly Hills, California This was midway down the red carpet at the NBC 2008 All-Star Party, where my co-host Bar was obviously doling out a whopping share of the glamour. I took out my camera just long enough to document the gauntlet (see below), and then went back to being debonair and unnoticed. The PR lady behind Bar is holding up a foamcore sign with her client's name and TV project written on in, because that's how these things are done. |
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19 July 2008 |
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Napa Valley, California
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This was my third year back at the Taste3 Conference, and I missed the presence of Robert Mondavi---especially his awesome, totemic head and great shirts. The man was the suavest wheelchair passenger I've ever seen, with a constant straw going from his lips to a ruby glass of Cabernet. |
Fog blowers like this one are positioned throughout the vineyards in Napa Valley. Because apparently sometimes you want fog on your grapes, but at other times, you absolutely don't want fog. Something about freezing dew. |
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I ditched most of the after-party and wandered off into the vineyards, finally getting to the foothills, the mockingbirds and the oak trees. Thanks, bench. |
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18 July 2008 |
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8 July 2008 |
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Chez Hilfiger
The TV project I just finished writing is all about American icons. So I was particularly pleased, on our final location, to have a production manager ask me which of Tommy Hilfiger's Andy Warhols I wanted hanging over the Wurlitzer. Muhammad Ali? John Wayne? Mickey Mouse? I chose the Liz Taylor (it's small) and put a little James Brown on the jukebox for our billiards scene. Tommy won, by one ball, and I very prudently didn't mind: you don't beat a man at pool in his own mansion.
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5 July 2008 |
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Greenwich, Connecticut Apparently there are still such things to sit on, on front porches, in front of general stores. But who knew it'd be the Nutmeg State? Thanks, box. |
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23 June 2008 |
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New York City
This is where we wrapped principal photography on a shoot that started June 1, back in Los Angeles. The room was tiny, our crew was mid-sized, and I wasn't in the scene anyway, so I opted to watch the action from the sidewalk, like a passerby gawking at a live and humongous storefront television set.
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20 June 2008 |
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This was my first time at the Jersey Shore. I stayed at the Starlux and got up early to experience the two phenomena a California nightowl may never quite get used to: the sun rising out of the ocean, and morning in general.
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19 June 2008 |
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Wildwoods, New Jersey I was pretty disappointed that we rolled into town just a touch too late to catch the National Marbles Championship. I wanted to see the finals, because I'm a big fan of pre-teen heroes, but the serious charm happens afterwards. The traditional Marbles King and Marbles Queen kiss on the cheek has got to be the cutest peck in the nation, check it out. |
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18 June 2008 |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
When I first wrote a Harley into the script, the legal people said no, for insurance reasons. When I wrote the Harley back into the script, the legal people made me take a physical, which consisted of gripping a doctor's index fingers as hard as I could for six seconds and then...that was the extent of the physical.
So I was happy enough driving this rented Softail over the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philly, and I was additionally happy to pull it up onto the sidewalk around the corner from one of my favorite national monuments. But I got patriotically, serendipitously happy when this renowned Benjamin Franklin impersonator happened to drive by, and pulled his car over (yeah--Ben rocks a station wagon) for an on-camera chat.
Turns out, the big news in this guy's life was that he was preparing to marry, on July 3rd, his fiancee---a Betsy Ross impersonator.
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17 June 2008 |
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Museum of Sex This was our museum guide, and I'm assuming the red dress was her idea. Just over her shoulder is the Lap Juicer. |
| Hot dog stand This is how many hot dogs we had to take a bite out of before we nailed the take. There were two of us, and one of us doesn't eat hot dogs. |
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The Center for Permanent Cosmetics This permanent makeup artist tattooed her own eyebrows. She also gave a really savvy interview, but I kept getting a little hung up on the "permanently natural" phrasing from the pamphlets. |
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16 June 2008 |
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New York City
The Top of the Rock scenario was that we couldn't start shooting until the Empire State Building's lights came on, but we would have to stop if the security guard saw lightning, heard thunder, or felt raindrops. So we stood around in a roped-off area, waiting on the atmosphere. I didn't mind a bit, because I was wearing a killer tux, and I'm particularly fond of evening time.
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13 June 2008 |
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Sleepy Hollow, New York
On the left is the Headless Horseman's horse. Turns out, he tows a pretty elaborate trailer. On the right are some items that the Headless Horseman needs to set down for a minute while he gets wired with a microphone. Turns out, the eeriness from inside his pumpkin comes from three glow-in-the-dark bracelets. Oh, and he gives a pretty good interview.
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