A Wonderful Weekend at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Have I mentioned lately that I really love my job? Because I do. Last week I got to travel to Orlando for my first work trip ever, and it was so great.  To celebrate the release of the final Harry Potter movie on Blu-ray/DVD, my department put on a huge event at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.

 There were many moving parts of this 3-day event.  There were tons of press outlets (including The Today Show and E! which both did live broadcast/streams), 2 red carpet events, and many activities for the hordes of die-hard Harry Potter fans who traveled from around the world to be there. It really was like a Harry Potter fan's dream come true. Not only is the Wizarding World an INCREDIBLE replication of Harry Potter's magical world, but the fans got to attend many Q&A panels, autograph sessions and a red carpet event with the cast, producers and director of their favorite movies.

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) enjoying some delish butterbeer while chatting with Kathy Lee and Hoda from the Today Show.

The fans excitedly waiting for autographs.

Rupert making dreams come true. 

The Q&A sessions had a different group of talent each time. The most popular one was by far the session with the Weasleys (and moderated by Ben Lyons from E!). I honestly have not heard screaming like this since the Hanson concerts of my youth. The fans went NUTS.

Warwick Davis, Evanna Lynch, and David Yates signing autographs. After the Weasleys, I think Evanna's character, Luna Lovegood, was probably the most popular. Everyone loooved her.

All the beautiful talent in attendance for the event. (If you squint, you can sort of make out Hogwarts in the background...)

My main job was to work at the Q&A sessions, which was really enjoyable because the cast is really funny and fun to watch.  On my breaks, I got to explore Universal Studios, drink butterbeer, and ride roller coasters.  If only normal workday breaks could be like that... ha.

One of my best parts of the weekend was getting to know my co-workers better. My wonderful companions on the Q&A team were from the Consumer Product department... they were so great!

My wonderful boss and I on the magical red carpet. 

Now that you have a basic overview of what went down, here are some of my random observations and favorite moments from the magical weekend:

• My first random observation: Harry Potter fans can be cuh-raaazzzy. Like, many Harry Potter themed tattoos all over their bodies crazy. Yowza.
• I guess it's a testament to his superb acting abilities playing the evil Lucius Malfoy, but I was honestly surprised at how funny and nice Jason Issacs was.  Every time I saw him in a Q&A session or press conference, he was making jokes the whole time, as seen here as he's cracking up the producer, David Heyman. 

• Butterbeer is very delicious, but a bit overwhelmingly sweet.  I have one of the largest sweet tooths known to man, and I could only finish about a quarter of it in one sitting. Pumpkin juice, on the other hand, is a bit easier to take (and also very delicious). 

• During one of the Q&A sessions, Warwick Davis gave an impromptu charms class (which someone in the audience so kindly captured and put on YouTube). Wingardium Leviosa!

• Sidenote to the above video. Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) was particularly hilarious the whole weekend. I really liked him (and his denim on denim) a lot.

• This is one of my favorite moments of the weekend for sure. Our staff badges got us into the VIP area of the parties (holla).  It was small outdoor area with couches, a bar, the talent and their guests, and the WB crew.  My co-worker Olivia and I chatted with David Bradley (who plays Argus Filch) and his (hilarious and very cool) daughter, Francesca, for quite a while. They were so nice! We talked about everything from karaoke (David even sang a couple lines of my go to karaoke song’, “Build Me Up Buttercup” with me) to cats (they have a funny one named Stan who I think would be great friends with my darling Sid).   I found this to be really interesting: his daughter was a huge fan of the books and when they announced they were going to make a film she insisted that her dad was perfect for the role of Filch.  He joked, “I don’t know why she saw me as this old geezer instead of Dumbledore or Snape or something…?” He called his agent and apparently Fran’s instincts were right...Ha. During our lovely chat, I told David I was working at all the Q&A sessions and that he should do his famous run (below) at his session the next morning. 

He was reluctant, but I told him the fans would looove it. The next morning at the Q&A session, I was sitting on the front row.  He made eye contact with me and gave me a little wink.  Then one of the fans asked “what was the most embarrassing thing they had to do on set?” David said, “Well, there was this one scene where I had to run in Great Hall.  I met this girl here on the front row at the party last night and she dared me to do my run today... so, here goes!" And then he got up and did his run up and down the stage! Hahah. Everyone LOVED it.  It was too funny.  I went backstage to thank him for obliging me and take a photo afterwards.  We chatted a bit more at the party that evening as well, and he even did the run again going out for the final appearance with the fans! “You were the catalyst for that… it also helps to have a few vodka tonics in me,” he told me afterwards.  Hahah. He is absolutely the nicest/funniest person ever... definitely my new favorite character. Team Filch. ;-)

• The Weasley twins aren't really gingers. (Gasp!)

• Speaking of the Weasley twins, I chatted with James Phelps (Fred Weasley...the one on the left in the above photo) for a while at the 2nd party. He was telling me about crazy traditions in England like this cheese-rolling competition where people chase a roll of cheese down a super steep hill and tumble and break many bones usually. It's ridiculous. I mentioned that I was from Oklahoma and he immediately said, "Oh, like the Sooners?" One of his good friends did an exchange program and studied at OU... ha! When I was back in LA, I sent him a tweet that said "It was nice to meet you at the party last night. I youtubed the cheese rolling competition... it's CRAZY?! Have fun in Australia." To which he replied, "It was nice to you meet you too. Hope to see you again soon. Happy cheese rolling. Boomer Sooner." Emphasis on the BOOMER SOONER. Isn't that great?? (Well, for anyone who went to OU and understands the significance of that, it's great.  For others, just take my word for it). :-)
• The Frog Choir (which Warwick Davis conducted at the 2 parties) was laughably animated. Like... wowww. This photo doesn't fully convey the extreme level of animated-ness, but it was intense. And very funny. 

Overall, it was an AMAZING event... I couldn't have asked for a better first work trip. I was SO impressed with the Wizarding World (it's so amazing!) and the cast...everyone was so incredibly nice. They've made me a believer... I'm reading the Harry Potter books for the first time now. (I know, I know... very late to the game). Now if only I could learn a spell to make me have one of their glorious British accents... ;-)

xoxo,

Annie.

Annie's Oscar Notes (2011 edition)

A week has passed since the Oscars, a.k.a. the longest, craziest, most surreal day of my year.  (I apologize for the delay in my recap... an overbooked post-Oscar week left me no time for blogging. Boo). While not enough time has passed for me to catch up on much needed sleep (I am still so very exhausted), enough time has passed for some of my initial amazement and awe at February 27th's dreamlike event to start to wane.  Parts of it are such a blur!  I figured I should record and relive my favorite Oscar moments here before any more magical details escape me.

That was an updated version of the opening to my Oscar recap post from last year, but I feel it completely rings true for this year as well. Working the beloved Academy Awards was excellent, exhilarating, and exhausting, and I am so thankful and happy I got to be a part of it again.  Here are some memorable observations and anecdotes from the exciting night... 

It's nice to NOT be in charge of 800 people. 

As a member of the Academy marketing team the past two years, I was in charge of a 30 person bleacher crew and 750 fans from around the world who won coveted seats in the bleachers lining the red carpet.  Coordinating and overseeng this is no easy undertaking, to say the least.  This year, I was simply a member of the bleacher crew, and I must say it was so nice to not have the pressure of being in charge! I simply showed up (at the very early call time of 6:30 AM) and did what the new people in my old position told me to do. Easy breezy.

Sorry guy-who-amputated-your-own-arm, Timberlake's in the house. 

The real mountain climber who inspired the six-time nominee "127 Hours", Aron Ralston, was in attendance, which I thought was very cool. (Too bad the real Mark Zuckerberg didn't come to join the Social Network party... boo). As I mentioned in my last post, that was the one Best Picture nominee that I didn't have a chance to see before the show, but I know the gist: it's a true story about a guy who gets trapped under a boulder while mountain climbing and is forced to amputate his own arm (eek!). Well, as this truly brave and inspiring man was having his few minutes in the spotlight to be interviewed on the main stage of the red carpet, he was suddenly completely overshadowed and cut off by an onslaught of abnormally LOUD screams from all the bleacher fans. The cause of this rude interruption of screams? Justin Timberlake. Of all the people for JT to outshine, why did it have to be the guy with one arm? 

The Governors Ball never ceases to amaze me. 

This gorgeous champagne lounge was a popular spot for guest throughout the night (Russel Brand seemed to be particularly fond of it). Later in the evening, it transformed into a revolving stage for an extremely talented and entertaining Mambo band. 

Russell Brand hanging out on the champagne lounge, as mentioned above. ;-) 

Here's my description of the ball from last year (which, again, echoes my thoughts exactly from this year's experience): It's honestly a bit unbelievable to be in such a beautiful setting for the official Oscar after-party.  The decorations, the lighting, the set up...everything was simply breathtaking.  To make it all the better, I was joined at this gorgeous party by all the Oscar winners, nominees, and other VIPs. My "job" was to stand at the top of one of the staircases and ask these beautiful people if they wanted to do the press line. Umm..okay. Don't mind if I do. 

Armie Hammer is funny and nice.

As "The Social Network" was hands down my favorite film of the year, I was very excited to see the entire cast walking up my designated staircase.  :-)  There was an ever-so-slight incline at the top of the stairs and there was another girl stationed there to warn people to "watch their step" and direct them to their dinner tables.  The elderly guests appreciated the cautionary warning.  The group of young able-bodied Social Networkers, however, thought it was funny.  When Armie made it to the top of the stairs,  he over-animatedly pretended that he was about to completely fall down the stairs because of the small incline. I said, "Good thing she warned you...!" To which he laughed and said, "I know! That could have been terrible!"  It was cute and funny.  Unrelated sidenote: his wife is gorgeous (as is he). 

Moms make good Oscar dates.

Whether it's due to the mothers' requests because they're bursting with pride that their talented sons are going to the Oscars or whether it's because the hot girlfriends are out of town on Oscar Sunday, many guys bring their moms as their date to the show.  A few people I saw with their sweet mamas this year: Russell Brand, Justin Timberlake, Jesse Eisenberg, and Jeremy Renner (who so cutely made sure his mother was very careful to watch her step on the treacherous slight incline mentioned above). Everyone together now... awwww. :-)

Russell Brand is ridiculous.  And hilarious. 

My funniest interaction of the night goes to this unpredictable, Katy Perry-loving Brit. He and his "mum" came up my staircase. Usually, just a few brief words are exchanged. "Hi! Enjoy the party!" or "Hi! Would you like to do the press line?" (to nominees mainly). Brand, however, was a bit different.  He came up and put both hands on my shoulders and said in his thick British accent, 

"I've got a very important question for you..." 

Me: "Okay, what's that?"

Brand: "Where can we get a double espresso?"

(I wasn't 100% sure of this answer to this, so I guessed and hoped that I was right...)

Me: "There's a bar right over there and there's a dessert and champagne bar in the back. They'd probably be able to get you an espresso there..."

Brand: "Wait a second, where are you from?"

Me: "Oklahoma."

Brand: "Oh, then you don't really know what you're talking about..."

In written form, that probably looks like a completely rude jab at my homeland, but it was delivered totally jokingly. He, his mum and I all laughed.  Then a slew of photographers came to snap pictures of them and I silently prayed that I told him the right place to get a double-espresso. (I still don't know if I led him astray or not... but I'm from Oklahoma, so I guess that's to be expected). ;-)

Eli Wallach (the sweet old man from "The Holiday") is the most adorable person in the world.

It's a commonly known fact that I really love old people. I adore the friendship between Kate Winslet's character and Eli Wallach's character in "The Holiday" (it is the inspiration behind my 85-year-old friend crush, but that's a whole other story).  I was so happy that darling Eli would be in attendance at the Governors Ball as he was a recipient of one of the honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards in November. He was so spunky and adorable on the Red Carpet, waving his walking cane at the bleacher fans. Much to my delight, he said, "hi dear," as he walked past me at the ball, and my heart absolutely melted. I love him!  I want to be his friend like Kate Winslet in the movie. Mr. Wallach... want to hang out??  

Jeff Bridges is quite possibly one of the coolest people ever.

This incumbent Best Actor winner and current Best Actor nominee is seriously a badass.  He did the press line with his gorgeous wife (of 34 years!) and three daughters (who look just like their mom).  I found this to be extremely endearing because a.) nominees who don't win usually do NOT want to do the press line and b.) people usually do not bring their families along with them for these mini interviews.  At the end of the press line the Bridges fam congregated right by me and caught up with some friends (including Rick Baker who had his Oscar for Best Achievement in Make Up in tow) for a bit before heading to their table. One of Jeff's beautiful daughters is pregnant and he was especially excited to show that off.  I saw him several other times throughout the night talking to many different people who came to his table to chat.  He's one of those people you can just tell that everyone really likes and he seems to like everyone as well. I definitely wouldn't mind being friends with him either. ;-)

There you have it! Some of my favorite Oscar moments from this year.  I should have photos from the professional photographers at the ball sometime soon, so I'll post those as well.  It was an absolutely lovely magical night... and as per usual...

I'd like to thank the Academy. 

at

Rockin' Around the Office Christmas Tree

In my 2 years in the work force, I have learned many things, one of them being that office Christmas parties are funny things.  Everyone's already feeling extra festive and at my former place of employment, an open bar was involved... this is a beautiful recipe for witnessing unsuspecting co-workers awkwardly dancing and/or getting the rest of the afternoon off. :-)  

This is my first Christmas season at Warner Bros, and our department holiday party is this Wednesday.  I am the 'elf' on the party committee in charge of music.  The party is scheduled to last from 1:00-6:00 PM.  I kid you not.  That's a lot of "Jingle Bells".  What's your favorite Christmas song and/or album?? (No really, please tell me...) I've got some major playlist making on my to do list.  

You never REALLY know what to expect at an office Christmas party, but word on the street is that in addition to a food and 'adult beverages', there will be a tacky Christmas sweater contest, holiday movies, karaoke, and a possible visit from Santa at this WB shindig.  Tempting as it may be, I think I'm going to refrain from busting out rousing rendition of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" this year.  (My mother who once when I was in college solemnly told me, "Annie, I don't care how much you drink... you do NOT karaoke..." would approve of this decision I think). ;-)  Basically, as I thoroughly enjoy celebrating this festive holiday with my new co-workers, I will keep this someecard in the back of my mind, and act accordingly... 

In other news, I got new glasses! Check these babies out...  :-) I'm a fan.  

Currently listening: Eric Hutchinson

Why: You might THINK that given my task of supplying 5 hours of Christmas music, I'd be listening to Hanson "Snowed In" right now, but I'm going to save that for tomorrow. ;-) I discovered Eric Hutchinson when he opened for an (amazing) Andrew McMahon show a year or so ago and was instantly a fan.  I've literally been meaning to get his album ever since that fateful opening act, but never got around to it.  Christmas came a bit early this week, however, and the sweet girl who sits right behind me got a large package of cds from a friend at a record label.  She said I could take whatever I wanted (oh how I love swag!), and I was so excited to see Eric Hutchinson's album up for grabs! Cha chiiiing!  He's just as great as I remember.  Listen to "Ok, It's Alright With Me" and "Rock & Roll".  

Festively yours, 

at

Annie's Oscar Notes

One week has passed since the Oscars, a.k.a. the longest, craziest, most surreal day of my year. While not enough has passed for me to catch up on much needed sleep (I am still so very exhausted), enough time has passed for some of my initial amazement and awe at March 7th's dreamlike event to start to wane.  Parts of it are such a blur!  I figured I should record and relive my favorite Oscar moments here before any more magical details escape me. In sequential order... 

1.) Seeing my mom, brother and camp counselor from when I was 12-years-old in the red carpet bleachers. That's right... my darling old counselor, Marissa, signed up to win bleacher seats after seeing it on my facebook and legitimately won! (That could be YOU next year if you sign up on www.oscars.org in September...)


2.) Being mere inches away from George Clooney as he signed autographs and shook hands with the bleacher fans.  He is truly even MORE dreamy than you imagine... WOW.  Here's a photo of me taking a photo of Mr. Clooney on my phone so you can see his extreme proximity to me. Ha! 







3.) Walking the red carpet with Mar.  It was so much fun to share this beyond-surreal experience with my best friend.  As we made our way to the grand staircase of the Kodak Theatre, we walked alongside Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Sandra Bullock, Stanely Tucci, Gaborey Sidibe, etc.  During my stroll down the red carpet, I also told Chris Harrison (who was in between red carpet interviews) that I loved The Bachelor and he said thanks. ;-) 

4.) Being at The Governor's Ball.  It's honestly a bit unbelievable to be in such a beautiful setting for the official Oscar after-party.  The decorations, the lighting, the set up...everything was simply breathtaking.  To make it all the better, I was joined at this gorgeous party by all the Oscar winners, nominees, and other VIPs. My "job" was to stand at the top of one of the staircases and ask these beautiful people if they wanted to do the press line. Umm..okay. Don't mind if i do. Here's a glimpse inside the beautiful ball (featuring none other than my Meryl...) :-)


5.) Getting called 'baby' by Mo'Nique. When I asked the new Oscar winner if she wanted to do the press line, she sweetly touched my arm and called me 'baby' several times as she held her new shiny prize. I found this to be very funny.  Get it girl. 

6.) Interacting with Chris Pine.  Holy hotness. This extremely handsome guy said "hi" to me as he came up my staircase.  It may seem insignificant, but my stomach definitely fluttered since HE spoke to me first, even if it was just one syllable. ;-) We then proceeded to make really great eye contact for extended periods of time on numerous occasions. A favorite Oscar moment for suuure. Yowza...

7.) TALKING TO MERYL STREEP. This is my #1 ultimate greatest most favorite Oscar moment.  The heavens smiled down on me when my (and the world's) all-time favorite actress came up my staircase.  As I spotted her at the foot of the stairs, I tried to calm my racing heart and play it cool.  I think (slash hope) I was successful in this as I said "Hi, would you like to do the press line?" To which she sweetly replied, "Oh no, I wouldn't."  To which I replied, "Okay, no problem! You look so lovely tonight... enjoy!" To which she said, "Thank you!" and I can't be sure because this is such a blur, but I think we shared a brief arm/hand graze in the midst of this. She is absolutely exquisite. I want to BE her. So amazing. And with that all of 3 second interchange, I'll never be the same again.  :-) 

8.) Making Rachel McAdams and her sister laugh. These two lovely ladies also came up my staircase, so I asked my standard question.  After Rachel said, "No thanks," I asked if they were sisters because they looked so much alike. They indeed were and seemed very happy that I noticed and asked.  Rachel then asked me, "What should we do now?" to which I replied, "Well, there's a bar there, there and there (as I pointed them out), so you really can't go wrong..."  They both laughed.  In retrospect, I should have taken this golden moment to ask if they wanted to be my new best friend and hang out on a regular basis, but I refrained.  ;-) 

9.) When staircase arrivals were over, I walked around the glorious Governor's Ball and called out great photo ops over the walkie-talkie if I saw one.  Tough job, right? :-) As I did this, I saw one table that made me chuckle. It was Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, Gerard Butler, John Travolta and several other actors I can't recall... and the sole female in the midst of these heartthrobs?  Barbara Streisand. What??  So very random and odd to me.  Ha.  As I continued walking around the ball, Bradley Cooper accidentally ran into me (literally) and then I made aaamazing eye contact with Ryan Reynolds.Yow-za he is beyond GORGEOUS. I could relive that moment all day long. Ha!


Well, there you have it. Some of my favorite moments from my one of my favorite days.  I suppose an appropriate closing would be, "I'd like to thank the Academy..."  :-) 


at

Happy Oscars Eve!

As I sit in my room at the lovely Renaissance Hotel preparing for the 82nd annual Academy Awards tomorrow, I am excited, exhausted, anxious, and wondering "how in the world did I get here?" This is my second year working in the marketing department of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, so my nerves are significantly less than they were at this time last year, but they are still alive and well, to be sure. 


Here is a brief run down of how my day will go tomorrow:
4:47 AM-- Wake up. Pray for no rain. 
5:30-7:30 AM-- Report to the bleacher area lining the Red Carpet (my co-worker Lorrin and I are completely in charge of this) and make any last minute preparations that must be done.
7:45-10:45 AM-- Welcome the 705 eager bleacher fans (who are coming from LITERALLY all around the world). 
11:30 AM-- Go upstairs to my hotel room for hair/make up/wardrobe change. Pray for no rain. 
1:30 PM-- Come back down to the bleachers. Attend to all the fans. Wait for Lorrin to get ready now. Pray for no rain. 
2:00 PM-- Check on the amazing Oscar viewing party we are hosting for the fans at the El Capitan Theatre. 
4:15 PM-- Walk down the glorious red carpet with my super hot date (Mary!!).  Take many photos.  (Look for us on the pre-shows!) 
5:15 PM-- Say bye to Mary briefly as she gets seated in the Kodak Theatre.  Go back to the bleachers and help execute the filing out of bleachers. 
6:00 PM-- Make sure all bleacher fans are out of stands. Drop off supplies in our hotel room. 
6:10 PM-- Finally make it to my seat in the Kodak for the OSCARS.
7:30 PM--  Report to the Governor's Ball, the official Oscars after party. 
8:00--9:00 PM-- Stand by the staircase of said ball and ask the nominees and winners if they want to do the press line.  (IE: "Hi Mr. Clooney, would you like to do the press line?")
9:00-12:00 AM--walk around the ball and 'spot' the stars.  (IE: "Meryl is talking to Sandra at table 32"). 
12:00-2:00 AM-- eat, drink, dance, and be merry at the Governor's Ball to properly end the craziest, longest, most surreal day of my year.  


Yowza. 

Oscar Nominations: A Morning of Excitement, a Night of Work.

This morning at exactly 5:38:33 PST, the Oscar nominations were announced by Academy President, Tom Sherak, and Oscar nominated (and ever so lovely) actress, Anne Hathaway.  While this slightly obscure time may seem extremely early, it pales in comparison the group of Academy staff (myself included) who had been working straight through the night to prepare for this big announcement. 

As you might imagine, a huge amount of preparation goes into this announcement. I was lucky to get one of the later call times; I didn't have to be back at the office until 11:30 PM. As I entered the doors, I was completely cut off from the outside world: no cell phones, no land phones, no internet. The reason for this extreme lockdown is because we have access to the sacred nominations which have not yet been announced (gasp!). In fact, my first task of the night was to help stuff 800 press kits with all the information about the noms. 

After a few hours of stuffing, we got to eat a delightful breakfast before freshening up and changing for the big announcement where I acted as an "embargo monitor" for a certain well known news outlet. This is where things get really exciting and interesting. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is completely full of reporters and camera crews from all over the world, all frantically preparing to deliver the news of the highest achievements in film for the year to their loyal viewers. Some funny things I saw during this time: a man on a camera/production crew for a very well known news outlet fall completely asleep, an Asian reporter take several "MySpace"-esque photos of herself on her iphone.  When Tom and Anne announced the nominees there were sporadically squeals of joy, excitement, and surprise from studio reps and publicists as their movies and clients made the cut.  Afterwards I handed out press kits and overheard many other great exclamations like "Six! I can't believe we got six! I'm dying. Dying!", "Quentin [Tarantino] is so excited!", "I represent ___ _____. We're really happy!" 

Despite the extreme tiredness that comes with a brief stint of being nocturnal, I love working this event. The anticipation and excitement are palpable and to witness such a worldwide announcement in person is a true adrenaline rush.  Now I just have to start watching all these movies! Hooray Oscars!!