Year in Review: July 2010

I was looking through my calendar and my photos from July 2010 and I was happy to see that I took some time to relax.  I am really going to try and make that a priority for 2011...maybe 2/3 work and 1/3 personal. I think that is a good start since my life last year was 90% work and 10% play.  Here's to New Year's Resolutions!

1. While in Chicago for Women's Health Magazine's annual Are You Game?, I had a chance to hang with one of my favorite cousins, Michael. He's been my little buddy ever since the day he was born.  Awwww......

2.  I was invited by Lexus Dark Ride to the opening of SPiN Hollywood at the Mondrian Hotel.  It was an evening of A-listers like Susan Sarandon and an evening of D-listers like Michael Lohan who arrived at the party on the same exact day his daughter, Lindsay, went to jail.  Ponder that thought for a moment.  Anyway, I had a great night laughing until my stomach hurt with my pal, Maria.

3. On the set of one of my favorite live online shows, Stupid for Movies, hosted by Wade Major and Mark Keizer, and created by my pal, Mike Rotman.  I was lucky enough to be asked to do a guest spot where I had the opportunity to bring in a film you might have missed. Given my love for Bob Fosse, All That Jazz was my pick.  I like to think I was ahead of the latest dance movie trend.  If you love Black Swan, do yourself a favor and watch Fosse's incredible film.  Also, I will hopefully be helping out on SFM during Awards Season in 2011, but I will keep you posted about any possible upcoming appearances.

4.  You know how much I love my Prius, well, you are going to get really tired of me once the 2012 PHV Prius comes out.  Here I am at the Plug-In Conference in San Jose.

5.  The ITVFest Opening Night Gala continues to be one of the hottest parties in Web TV each summer.  Here are a few photos from my red carpet coverage where I hugged.....everyone and check out the red carpet interviews with Mingle Media TV here.

(Yes, that is James Denton of Desperate Housewives. Swoon.)

Photos 5-7:  Courtesy of Mingle Media TV

Weekly Wrap-Up

I didn't post enough this week, but I am going to try and keep the posts going from Monday through Friday to give you the scoop on what is happening here on the West Coast.  So, here's the rundown in case you missed it:

                                                               A Prius on ice.
Monday-Wednesday:  Plug-In Conference 2010:  For those of you who are alternative fuel vehicle minded and like to get your nerd on like me, look no further than this conference in San Jose for the latest in hybrid and battery technology.  With a host of new vehicles coming from Nissan, Chevy, Mitsubishi, Ford, and Toyota, there is going to be a wave of PHV (Plug-In Hybrids) and BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) coming to help green the Earth.  While I was there with Toyota and my future vehicle of choice, the PHV Prius, I can assure you that most manufacturers are working hard on improving the charging station infrastructure and moving further away from our reliance on oil.  If anyone is looking for more information or wants to engage in a lively and geeky discussion on alternative fuel, be sure to leave a comment below.

                                        Me and my future vehicle, the Toyota PHV Prius.


Wednesday:  MoreWireLess:  It's another week of MoreWireLess sponsored by Broadcom.  This week's episode talks about Bluetooth in Consumer Electronics. It's a short video that is worth a watch so you can make fun of me for the worst Wii Bowling game ever.  My Facebook page also makes an appearance, see if you can spot it in the shot:


Thursday:  ITVFest:  One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Independent Television Festival in Hollywood.  The opening night gala is always a high octane affair and this year did not disappoint.  With Illeana Douglas as the night's honoree, sightings of Desperate Housewives tasty treat, James Denton, and a solid mix of LA, NY, and Texas web series, it was a hot night on the red carpet.  Check out all of the coverage from that evening on Mingle Media TV, but here are a few of my favorite interviews and moments:
James Denton:

Hot on the Red Carpet with Erin Brown (Watch us get kicked OFF of the red carpet for James Denton and Illeana Douglas  Ah, Hollywood, the great equalizer.)

Squatters:

By the way, I have obviously become the biggest hugger on the red carpet.  You will see it in the Squatters interview above and a few caught in the act photos below:

Hugging my pal, Ariel Lazrus, of The Crew.

Now, Brendan Bradley of Squatters and Legend of Neil gets a hug.

                      And the most scandalous (and staged!) one of them all, Bernie Su of Compulsions.
                      Photos courtesy of Mingle Media TV. 
See you on the next red carpet.  I am ready with a hug!

 

5th Annual ITVFest

A few weeks ago, I was invited to the press preview panel for the 5th Annual ITVFest to give members of the media some highlights of the series participating in the festival.  It was an excellent opportunity to see where TV pilots and web series in general are heading, especially since 70% of the entries are web series this year.  Last year, the big talk was the fact that web series was carrying equal weight to TV pilots.  My, how things have changed in twelve months.

Interviewing the handsome, James Denton, from Desperate Housewives and the pilot, Twenty Six Miles.


You will notice a few Web Files veterans on the list:  A Good Knight's Quest, SOLO the Series, Squatters, Odd Jobs, The Fall of Kaden, GOLD, and Olga Kay's Circus.  I feel good that we have presented quality shows on The Web Files and they are reaching an even greater audience with the festival.  If you are attending the festival, be on the lookout for some higher profile pilots like Twenty Six Miles featuring the wildly talented, grossly underused, John Schneider as well as Jeffrey Tambor, George Segal, and James Denton.  Another standout to watch is 15 Minutes which gives a behind the scenes look at the world of Hollywood PR.  Creator, Bobby Salomon, mentioned on the panel that he was told by naysayers that, "No one wants to do a show about Hollywood."  Oh really, I beg to differ.  Look for the pilot that features another personal favorite, Allison LaPlaca and John Larroquette.  Finally, don't underestimate the animation category with ITVFest favorite, Stephen Leonard, and his series, Time Traveling Finger.  It's his third year here and given the super secret news he passed along to me at the Gala last night, this won't be the last you see his work.  

                                       Me and Melody Freeman on the red carpet last night.


I will be back with all of the coverage and photos from last night's red carpet gala with Mingle Media TV soon, so come back and visit Red Carpet Closet.  Be sure to check out the schedule below (double click to zoom in.) and get out there and support independent TV and web series.  Congratulations to all of the creators!