2011: Looking Back

It's hard to believe, but another year has come and gone. I always like to take some time at the end of each year to look back and see how far I've come over the last 365 days. Here's just a few of the highlights...


I attended the People's Choice Awards at the beginning of the year.


This summer, I brought a bit of Hollywood to my hometown by offering the third year of my Summer Entertainment Camp.


I directed my FIRST 'real' comedy production in LA -- called "Mouth to Mouth".


I witnessed Hollywood history in the making as John Lasseter, one of my 'industry idols', received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


I made some INCREDIBLE new friends while working on numerous TV shows.

Overall, I think I've had a great year. I look forward to 'raising the bar' even more as we enter 2012. I have many projects on the horizon that I cannot wait to keep moving on. I have also set some big goals for myself, and I sincerely hope to reach and exceed all of them.

Until then, here's to a great 2011! More very soon as we enter the new year!

Happy New Year!

Carly's Visit

Hey, everybody! I hope you all had a great Christmas. As always, I had a marvelous time back home in Milwaukee. It's always nice to see friends and family you haven't seen in a while.

I am now back in California where it is MUCH warmer! My friend Carly is out here with me for a little while -- so I am taking her around, showing her the "LA Scene", and just having a good time! In a few days, we'll be heading to San Diego to check out the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. I think both will be a good time!

For now, check out some of the pictures from Carly's time in Los Angeles so far. We've done some cool things!

Mail from Oprah

Oh, hi Oprah!

Thanks for writing.  I'd love to tell you about my camp you are just now finding out about.... :-)

Meeting Baby Lucy

Last night, I had a chance to meet my cousin's new daughter - Baby Lucy! I *think* this makes Lucy my second cousin? Family trees are confusing. But at any rate...

Seeing Tabitha and Chad is always fun! We went to CityWalk for a bit before going back to Chad's parent's house where I got to meet Lucy. We also had a wonderful, home cooked meal which was delicious!

Being a photographer, I couldn't help but pull out the camera and play a little.

Enjoy some pictures below!

Citywalk Christmas

Tonight, my friend Doug and I traveled to Universal CityWalk to see the lighting of the CityWalk Christmas Tree. It was a fun-filled evening with lots of entertainment, good food, and good company!

The entire event was recorded -- so be sure to watch for the ceremony during the Hollywood Christmas Parade. It will air soon on the Hallmark Channel.

Rex Sikes Movie Beat

Hello, everybody! I hope this blog finds everyone well.

Today, I had the chance to be on REX SIKES MOVIE BEAT. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Rex Sikes is a great individual who works in the entertainment world in Milwaukee. He is constantly connecting Hollywood to Wisconsin in new and exciting ways, and does some fantastic work!

I've had the pleasure of knowing Rex for about three years ago -- and today, he asked me to be a guest on his show! The show went GREAT, and we even had people listening in from outside of North America! How cool is that?!



I'd like to give a special thanks to Rex Sikes for inviting me on his show, and for doing some great work for the film community in Milwaukee.

In case you missed the show, you can click on the link below to listen to the broadcast. OR - You can click on the widget below and stream the audio right here on the blog! When you click the either link, the show will automatically start steaming. Be patient -- there's an advertisement / about 30 seconds of blank space before the show starts.

Click Here to Listen!

OR

Listen to internet radio with rex sikes on Blog Talk Radio

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I hope you all had a fantastic day.

Today, I spent my holiday with my Top Model family -- having turkey and all the traditional thanksgiving sides. It was a lovey day filled with good food and good company!

It was also the first time a bunch of kids cooked a huge Thanksgiving dinner without the help of parents and such, so there were many phone calls to mom and dad to double-check how to cook turkeys and such :) See the fun picture below.


Many people take today as an opportunity to reflect on all the things they are thankful for, and I certainly have a list myself. As always, I am thankful to have my incredible family and fantastic group of friends who support me and are always there for me. I am also extremely thankful that I have the opportunity to be living my dream in California. I know a lot of people would give everything they have to do what I'm doing out here, and I make a point of always reminding myself not to take any of it for granted. I am thankful for the opportunity to be 'living the dream' out in California. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I am loving every minute of it.

I hope you all have a fantastic day full of lots of turkey and pumpkin pie!

Our Trailer is LIVE!

Hey, Everybody!

Please take a few minutes to check out our FIRST OFFICIAL TRAILER for my new web show, Mouth to Mouth! I'm very excited to finally be able to release this, and I look forward to releasing the first episode very soon!

Enjoy!

BICEPP Dinner

Tonight I attended the BICEPP Annual Awards Dinner in Los Angeles, with my good friend Nancy. For those of you wondering, BICEPP stands for Business and Industry Council for Emergency Planning and Preparedness. Nancy is currently the President of the group, which means I was the President's guest. :) It sounds fancy, but all it really means is that our table was fed first. (Which, for the record, is ALWAYS a plus).

The dinner was lovely, and I had a chance to meet some wonderful folks who really strive to keep LA safe. I was also the official photographer of the evening -- snapping photos of some of the awards that were presented! Take a look at a few of the pictures I took at the event.


Nancy speaking at the event.


Nancy presenting the PRESIDENT'S AWARD to Dr. Lucy Jones - a seismologist and public voice for earthquake science and earthquake safety in California.

I must confess...I never would have seen myself being a part of this community when I first moved out to Los Angeles. But now that I have found myself a part of it, I can't see not being involved somehow! Even as I continue to pursue my Emmy and all ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Hooray! It's my birthday! It was a lovely day.

What made it even better was receiving an out pour of love from my friends who took some time to call, text, or shoot me messages online. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and well wishes. It means the world to me that I am lucky enough to call you all friends. :)

In case your curious, I spent my day at Disneyland with my good friend, Doug. As birthday tradition insists, we unleashed our inner child by going to a character buffet. Pictures below :)

Arts in Education - MPTV Panel

On November 2, 2011, MPTV held a "4th Street Forum" about Arts & Education. My former High School theater teacher and good friend, Bill Jackson, was on the panel. He had some great thoughts to share with the audience, and it was an incredibly interesting conversation that lasted almost an hour.

Check it out!



As a side note, Mr. Jackson is considering starting his own blog. Would that be cool or WHAT?!

Birthday Bash!

Last night, I had my first ever "Hollywood Birthday Bash". This was the first time (since moving to California five years ago) that I had a birthday party with a whole bunch of people. It was also an unofficial wrap party for a lot of my friends on Top Model.

The party was fantastic, and it showed me how many truly incredible friends I have. I have some magnificent friends who know how to make a guy feel like a million bucks :)

Take a look at some highlight pictures below!










You'll notice the 'gag' and highlight of the evening was my cake that Mary, Pat, and a few other fantastic folks from Top Model secretly created. Pretty cool, eh?

I want to thank EVERYONE who came out to my birthday bash for making it such a great time! Between my Top Model family, my Mouth to Mouth family, and everybody else, it was a night full of fun and laughter!

Also, I want to throw a quick shout out to my parents, Grandma and Grandpa Olson, as well as Aunt Debbie Thatcher for sending me birthday cards and gifts!

It's not even my birthday yet, and I feel so loved :)

John Lasseter Day!

Today, I witnessed Hollywood History in the making! My friend Joey and I went downtown to watch John Lasseter receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

For those that do not know who John is, besides being one of my idols, he is an entertainment icon. Serving as the CEO of Pixar and head of Disney Animation, John has done great things for the industry -- specifically when it comes to animation production.

Today, he was celebrated in Hollywood with his very own star. It was such a cool ceremony! Some big name celebrities even showed up as well -- like Don Rickles, Bonnie Hunt, Brad Paisley, and more!

Check out some pictures from what was truly a great day.


Don Rickles arrives for the event!


Bonnie Hunt speaks about John


John and Bonnie share a moment


Brad talks to the crowd. Check out all the celebrities!


John speaking, and getting a little emotional when talking about Steve Jobs - who died a few days earlier.


A star is born!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Things are staying busy right now over on Top Model, but I wanted to quick come on and share a picture from some of my friends and their incredible Halloween costume!

What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?

Halloween with Shelly!

Happy Halloween, everybody! These past few days, my friend Shelly has been visiting me in LA again and we've been having a blast. I feel bad because I've been busy working while she's been out here, but we've still had a chance to do some pretty cool things during her time here. We even met up with Shelly's friend Nikki, who is also a Wisconsin native.

For starters, we traveled to the LA Abandoned Zoo. Back in the day, this used to be the original LA County Zoo (in the early 40's). They have since moved to a new location, and this zoo was just abandoned -- with cages and the works all left behind.

What made this trip extra special was the fact that they are holding their Haunted Hayride at the Abandoned Zoo this weekend (sounds creepy, eh?). Therefore, everything was decorated in a very scary and haunted fashion. It was neat, and it made for some cool photos:






We also had a chance to do some other neat things, as well -- including the popular tourist spots! Good times had by all!




More soon, everybody! I'm busy, busy, busy, but I am having a great time and lovin' life right now!

Tim Burton Exhibit

Today, Shelly and I decided to go downtown to check out the Tim Burton Exhibit at the LA Art Museum. I wasn't too sure what to expect when we arrived, so it was nice to go in with an open mind.

Inside, we found so many treasures! For starters, there were HUNDREDS of drawings and paintings created by Tim Burton in his early years (childhood, etc). From there, the exhibit displayed original claymation figures from some of Burton's biggest films -- such as The Nightmare Before Christmas. As the displays continued, movie props and costumes from every Burton film were on display as well. From the original 'Batman' costume, to the anamatronic characters featured in the revival of 'Willy Wonka', this exhibit had it all!

Perhaps my favorite piece was a letter that Burton wrote to Johnny Depp during production of 'Willy Wonka'. In the letter, Burton shares an idea about a funny line that came to him, which eventually made it into the movie. It was (without question) the funniest and most memorable line in the movie, so it was neat to see the origin of it.

Check it out!

Updates

Hey, folks!

WOW - It's been a while since I updated. I'll be going back shortly to add a few extra blog posts. In the meantime, I know a lot of people are curious as to how things are going. Allow me to give you some updates.

Top Model - Once again, I am working another season of Top Model. This is my fourth cycle with the show, and it keeps getting better and better. This season I've been meeting some really great people who I am quickly starting to call good friends. This is a wonderful thing and it means a lot to me.

Camp Documentary - I have officially started 'production' on the camp documentary that was filmed this summer when I was home to do Year 3 of my Summer Entertainment Camp. Now that all the footage has been shot, I think I have found a team to edit all of the video into a glorious masterpiece. The hope is to have something to show this December when I come home for the holidays.

Mouth to Mouth - My web series is almost ready for release! The trailer will be coming out in just a few short weeks! I'm so excited to get it out for everyone to see!

Upcoming Birthday - It seems like this year is moving super quick! Before I know it, my birthday will be here. That means one thing: the year is almost over! It's only a few weeks until Thanksgiving, and then Christmas will be here in a flash! I DO love this time of year though, so you don't hear me complaining :)

Jenny Arrives in LA

Living in LA for five years has it's perks. Perhaps one of the most exciting ones is seeing friends that always talked about coming out here actually follow through with the plan.

A lot of people 'talk' about coming out here, but few people do. Over the course of the past few years, I've been able to roll out the 'Welcome Wagon' for some of my good friends who have made the trip out west.

Most recently was my friend Jenny Hoffman. Jenny and I have had a history together that dates back YEARS ago -- to the days when we used to be in summer youth theater productions together. She is now out here to continue pursuing her acting dreams of taking to a Broadway stage one day.

During her first weekend in town, I took her and her family around so they could get to know the area better. Below are some pics!

Universal with Nancy

A few days ago, I had the chance to go to Universal Studios with my good friend and colleague - Nancy Matthews.

Nancy is a consultant at Universal Studios in the Environmental Health and Safety Department. I work with her when I teach CPR classes at Universal, and together, we help prepare Universal's employees for the unthinkable. Last week, she was given some free tickets to the park, so we decided to hang out for the day exploring all the sites there were to see.

While I have been to Universal more times than I can count, this trip was Nancy was quite a bit of fun, because I got to see some behind the scenes stuff that I have never seen before. (Even after working there for almost two years) Nancy truly hooked me up with a "VIP Experience" that you can't buy anywhere.

Take a look at some of the pictures!


After the massive fire on the Universal back lot a few years ago, Universal Studios has built a completely new and totally 'high definition' lot for movie makers to use!



Do you recognize this staircase? It's from Spartacus!

ANTM 17 Premiere

The other night, America's Next Top Model - ALL STARS premiered on the CW to rave reviews! It's been two days since the premiere, and we are still in the Top 3 spots on Twitter trending worldwide!

Did you see the Jimmy Kimmel sketch about ANTM the other night? It's pretty awesome.

Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl

Last night, I had a chance to go to the Hollywood Bowl to see the hit Broadway show, "HAIRSPRAY". It was a GREAT show with an incredible cast! The All-Star cast included Harvey Fierstein, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Corbin Bleu, Drew Carey, Diana DeGarmo, John Stamos, and Nick Jonas...to name a few ;)

I always love going to the bowl to see a show because the experience is an incredible one. Check out some pictures and video from the show below!