La vida es como una caja de chocolates...

someone wise once said, "life is like a box of chocolates. you never know what you're gonna get." someone (debatably) even wiser used to translate that phrase into spanish because, hell, things are always funnier when said with a spanish accent (hi james!).

"La vida es como una caja de chocolates...." we stopped translating there because 1) our american spanish education was limited and 2) we figured we've already butchered the language enough for our amusement.

this unpredictable nyc adventure really took an unexpected turn yesterday. i got to be an extra in an upcoming john cameron mitchell film! totally random - but really goes to show, in this business, it is completely about who you know.

the woman on the left is grace kahng, an old boss of mine. she's an emmy-winning producer who runs her own production company out of sf in investigative journalism and documentary segments for networks like msnbc, nbc and abc. grace is a great mentor and is the reason i was able to get this gig. BUT let's focus on the man on the phone here, mr. john cameron mitchell. for those of you who have seen hedwig and the angry inch (the movie), he's the director AND hedwig him/herself!

i knew he was the director of hedwig, but i didn't realize that he was also the star of the movie until i got home and imdb-ed him (shame on me, i know).

see the resemblance? yeah i didn't either. after banging my head on the wall a few times for being too slow to realize this fact on set, i re-watched the movie and downloaded the album, and was reminded of how brilliant of an actor and director john cameron mitchell is. in person, he's so sweet, friendly and soft-spoken with immense wit and a dash of twinkle in his eye. then, when the cameras are rolling, he is completely focused and sharp, but always making sure that the actors are comfortable with what they are doing and with exploring their characters. it was totally amazing to see him work as a director, and even more mind-blowing to watch hedwig again and see the actor behind the character.

needless to say, i have origin of love and wig in a box on repeat, and have youtubed every possible live performance of john singing these songs. goodness, such incredible talent and humble personality. what an honor to have met him. if you haven't seen the movie, go go go watch!