High School Musical: Get In The Picture!

As some of you may know, on Thursday evening I had the chance to attend the "High School Musical: Get In The Picture!" Season Finale in Pasedena, CA at the Civic Theatre. (For those of you wondering what that show is...it's a new reality show that Disney and ABC are producing that is somewhat like American Idol; where they are trying to find the next HSM family member). The series premiere was last Sunday, and the show is expected to be on air until October - when the finale premieres...around the same time *gasp* as High School Musical 3 is scheduled to be released.

This was my ticket for the show:



As you can see, I had a sweet seat in D-2.

I loaded into the house around 5:00, just as requested...and sat in the lovley seat waiting for the show to begin at 6:00. About 5 minutes before the show started, I noticed that the seat next to me, D-1, was still empty. As many of you can imagine, I get extremley happy - because I love stealing asile seats for the legroom.

Just as I was starting to think about stealing the seat, a huge roar of screaming comes from the back of the house. I look back, and Ashley Tisdale, one of the lead stars of HSM, was standing in the back of the house - walking twords the stage.

I thought to myself "oh, how cool...Ashley is here to support the kids tonight and watch the show....I wonder where she is sitting..."

I looked around the front of the stage...and there were NO empty seats....except D-1.

Sure enough...Ashley Tisdale walks right up and plops herself in D-1 and says "hey there!".

What I Wanted To Do: *screams* WOW! HI! HOLY CRAP!
What I DID: "Hello there! So nice to see you this evening! Blah Blah...."

To make a long story much shorter, we talked for a portion of the show....it was nice, and we had a good time. She was a very nice and down to earth person.

After Ashley left, they switched some of us up a little for purposes of our own sanity, continuity, and to fill in some other empty seats and get me moving and such....which was nice and fun. So when you watch for me on the finale, I might be seen on the balcony, the right side of the theatre, or in the seat next to Ashley (if it wasn't the pickup shots they did with her earlier in the morning or later in the evening when I wasn't there or was in the bathroom...but this is Disney + Editing 'MAGIC', so for all we know, they might turn me into Zac Efron.) I'll be very curious to see if I'm in the final cut, and if so, where I am and who I'm next to....

That's all for now! (but frankly all the excitement I need for a while!)

Editing Progress

As everyone knows, editing is a slow process...but today we made quite a breakthrough with the post-production process of 3D animation.

Check out this still!!!!

Are YOU Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Well, Gene Simmons (from KISS) isn't. But at least he got to the Million Dollar Question, which is impressive. (For more on this exciting story, you'll just have to wait and see the episode)

Today I took my film camp kids to see "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?". It was a pretty enjoyable time. The filming lasted about 3 hours for just one contestant...but both Gene Simmons and Jeff Foxworthy were very good and incredibly professional. The show kept moving the entire time...and I seriously think it is one of the better shoots I've been to.

Tomorrow is an exciting day! I'm going to be on BIG BROTHER 10!!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! I'm SO excited to be in the 2nd audience of the season...it's going to be great. So be sure to watch for me tomorrow night on CBS...I'll be wearing all black and smiling from ear to ear.

More to come soon!

Kyle on the news!

Alright, so the other news video I threw up on the blog earlier may not have been real....but THIS ONE is! Enjoy....

Olson in '08!

Here's a fun video that proves I have way too much time on my hands...

Fun FYI

Just for fun, in case you are curious...

ABC will be re-airing KYLE OLSON'S episode of America's Funniest Home Videos tomorrow night in primetime. Okay, so it's not my episode...but I do get about 3 seconds of fame in the first 10-15 minutes.

This will be airing just before the new series: "High School Musical - Get in the picture" premieres. (Which I have tickets to the season finale of...among MANY other things....see the side right bar for more details).

Update

Hello, again everyone! It’s been a little while since I’ve last updated my blog, but, as many of you know, I have a ‘thing’ against updating my Hollywood blog when I’m....not in Hollywood.

This past week that I was able to spend back home in Milwaukee, WI was a lot of fun. As many of you know, I had the chance to film my film thesis project and potential ‘pitchable pilot’, if I get lucky. I think the shoot was an outstanding sucess and I cannot thank my cast and crew enough for all their help and support. I’ll be uploading pictures in the near future that were taken on set....some are pretty awesome!

Outside of filming, I had a chance when I was back in the dairy land to do some other gigs (thank you craigslist), while also having a chance to hang out with some of my good friends that I still miss like crazy. As usual, it was nice to see everyone again.

My flight home was quite an interesting one. It seems as if every positive action was equally balanced with a negative re-action. Example:

Positive: Our flight from Milwaukee to Minneapolis was shorter than expected!

Negative: We ended up going to a different gate (A-1) because of it. (why is that a negative? see below.)

Positive: We had a much longer layover than expected....a nice chance to relax, use the bathroom, get a snack, shop in their massive mall-thing, and get to the gate.

Negative: The flight going to LAX was going out of gate G-13. FYI: That’s on the other flipping side of the airport.

Positive: We have much longer than expected to get there! And with the trains and such, this will be nothing!

Negative: The trains aren’t working.

Positive: I get to the gate with some time to spare, while still managing to fit in all my layover plans.

Negative: Our flight is having mechanical issues and is delayed.

Negative: The stores all closed so nobody could get things to eat or drink during the delay

Positive: Our flight was changed to a new aircraft! We are able to take off right away! Well....almost.....

Negative: The plane we were switched to was departing from gate A-1.

Story of my freckin’ life...

Relive Memories!

Here's a video I found that was just recently posted on YouTube. It features yours truly and a few other familiar faces!

Enjoy this quick blast from the past!

Verick's Very Cool Adventureland

Here's a video some of my film students at Film Camp put together today for our 'advertising & commercials' day.



And YES, my part was 100% scripted.....(*glares at Sean Schult*)

According to Jim - VIP Experience

On Friday night, I had the chance to be a "VIP" on the popular ABC Sitcom - "According to Jim".

Below is a link to the pictures that I took on a disposable camera that I was allowed to bring on set. The episode featured guest actor Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall directed. It was a VERY funny episode and I even ended up leaving with a script that was autographed by the entire cast!

Enjoy the pictures!!

http://www.ppshollywood.com/According%20to%20Jim/

WALL-E Premiere

The premiere of WALL-E was incredible! Tim, Elliot, myself (and a few other friends of mine) had a GREAT time.

The movie was easily one of the BEST that Disney/Pixar has released - and without question, has made it into my Top 3 Disney Movies List (yes, I have a list). There were tons of references to things that gave the film an extra spark at incredible moments in the movie....and it was just...wow. I highly reccomend everyone go see this movie - it's awesome!

Below are some pictures of the celebration leading up to the premiere of WALL-E. We got coupons for some super cheap "WALL-E" ice cream sundaes at the Disney Soda Fountain; which is attached to Disney's El Capitan Theatre where they premiered WALL-E.

Call me crazy....

Here's the joke of the week:

So my freshman college class (as in, the class as a whole) is holding an 'end of the year party'. It's being held tonight and I just got the call a few hours ago asking if I might be coming down. When I asked what kind of party it was and where it'd be, etc... they replied:

"It's a BONFIRE PARTY - down near the beach."

Who's bright idea was it to have a BONFIRE party in the middle of the hotest week on record? It's 112 - currently 93 in my room with all the fans and A/C going...and they want to have a BONFIRE?!?!

More on that irony to come later.

Until then, I'll be off the computers so they don't overheat. I'll be back way later tonight.

Happy Summer!

Hello Everyone! Happy 'official' first day of summer. It seems like summer has been here a little longer than a day, though...with these stupid temperatures in the 120 degree area :-(

Anyways! I have an exciting update for everyone.

Last evening I had the chance to go to the taping of a pilot sitcom. A pilot is the FIRST official episode of any show, which is recorded and then put on air as a 'test', to see if audiences enjoy the show. If the pilot goes over well, the season is picked up. If the pilot fails, the show is dropped and never seen again.

My friend, Sean, was the first AD on the show. This is exciting because if the show gets picked up, I have a obvious new connection into the industry - with a possible job, too.

The pilot was excellent. It was created and produced by the creators and producers of "WILL AND GRACE". It goes without saying that they have some experience in the industry, and that they did a great job with the pilot! They had a AWESOME cast -- 2 people of which were from a show that I used to really enjoy, called "BACK TO YOU". Sadly, that show went off air after a season, but the talented actors are now back in business on another great and funny show.

After the pilot was complete, I got to go down onto the floor with Sean and all the fun important people. It was neat seeing the set and getting the chance to chat with different people. ALOT of powerful network execs were there last night, which was also neat to see.

Oh! I almost forgot. When I arrived on the Warner Brothers set last night, we walked in past security and past Sound Stage #5. Outside of the soundstage, I saw a whole bunch of mini VW bugs - that had the phrase "Nerd Herd" on the side. I just about flipped out, because these are the cars seen in NBC's show "CHUCK" - which I am a HUGE fan of! As we continued to walk, we ran into the ENTIRE CAST - as they were standing outside on a break. The actor that plays Chuck was actually all dressed up and ready for filming, along with some of the other co-stars. I got to wave and say 'great job' as I walked by and they smiled and said 'thanks!' (Quit rolling your eyes, it was exciting!)

Hot, Hot, HOT!

Hello, Everyone! Some quick (but exciting) updates to share:

HEAT WAVE - Holy CRAP is it hot out! It was close to 110 degrees today. I take back all the mean things I said about the weather a few months ago....this stuff sucks!!!

LAST DAY AT SUTTER - Today was my last day at the Middle School teaching film! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Next week starts film camp, and I am super excited about that!

WALL-E PREMIERE - I will be attending the midnight screening (and official premiere) of Disney/Pixar's Wall-E next week at the Disney El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood! I am super excited!

More to come soon :) I'm still working on getting pictures from my trip back home.

Costco is awesome

I got my Costco membership today (thank you mom and dad). This place is better than Sam's Club by FAR! I love it! All my favorite foods - in bulk - for cheap, cheap, cheap!

I'm baaaaaacckkkk

Hello All!

I am officially back in Hollywood once again, after a great trip home. As many of you know, I was recently back in South Milwaukee to help film and run the High School Graduation, along with working on some other productions. I am happy to report that everything went great, and I truly enjoyed my time home to work on all these projects, as well as get some time to see my friends and family again.

It was amazing to see the amount of flood damage when I was home, but I am glad to see that things are (slowly) starting to clean up. I gathered quite the collection of photos and videos from friends that were around during the crazy weather, and I intend to make something in the future (likely for an editing class) that serves as a highlight reel towards all the crazy weather people experienced in the Midwest.

I am now finishing up my last two weeks of classes, while getting ready for the summer load at Columbia. Furthermore, I am excited to soon be starting a Film Camp, where I will be one of the head instructors for the High School group. I am VERY excited for that, and it should be a great time. I am also looking forward to doing some Red Cross classes when I can fit them in, as well.

It seems weird to think that I have almost been out here in California for a year. Looking back, I guess I really have come a long way since first moving out here. I think I am pretty settled in now, and can consider myself alot more ahead of many of my peers that have taken this year to ‘be college kids’, instead of trying to push forward and make a mark in the industry.

More to come soon, including pictures from my trip home. Stay tuned for updates as I get ready for the summer!

Look, up in the sky!

Introducing yet another video I have completed with my Middle School students!

Enjoy!

Universal Studios, Hollywood: Fire Coverage

Wow, today was a crazy day.

Early this morning (for those of you living under rocks), Universal Studios had an explosion that rocked the Southern California area. The explosion lead to a HUGE, MASSIVE fire that completley took control of the Universal Backlot - home to the Universal Studio Tour. Many different sets, street sets, outdoor sets, archieves buildings, and more were distroyed completley in the fire - that is STILL going on as of 10:00 PM this evening.

I got a few chances throughout the day to take some pictures of the event. Here's some below:


Check out all the foam (from fighting the fire) in the water...







The smoke was horrible and filled the air all day long. Tests confirmed that the air was nothing to worry about (I mean, it is...but nothing BAD BAD), and that everything is okay.


In other news....Elliot came in today, which was fun! He arrived around noon and I had a chance to show him around the neighborhood and Hollywood. In the evening, we had a chance to check out more of the remains of Universal Studios from a cool, new vantage point. We got to talk to alot of neighbors, etc in the are for a while...which was neat, because they all had some very unique stories.

Anyways, I think tomorrow will be a relaxing day. I teach at the Middle School and have class that evening. We'll see how everything goes, but something tells me it won't beat today's rush of energy.

BREAKING NEWS: Fire at Universal Studios

For anybody that is getting up and watching the news, it will be breaking on the national level very shortly.

I am OKAY - I am OKAY - Don't worry, I am OKAY.

More later.

Super CPR

Today was a very tiring day. I was at the El Segundo High School ALLLLLL day for a "Super CPR" class - where I was a head instructor that helped certify hundreds (yes, hundreds literally) of people on CPR and other life saving skills. All the students were brought to the school gymnasium where they learned all the skills via the guidance of myself and the local fire department authorities. Needless to say, it was a long and interesting (but still fun) day.

Last night I went to see a stand up comedy act with Breanna and Jared. Columbia College was hosting the event for free - which featured 6 stand up comedians who were all VERY VERY funny. The event was free and there were maybe 30 people there, which is a shame, because all of the comedians were phenomial.

More to come soon! On Sunday, I'll be picking up Elliot as my new summer roommate.