"you offend me, you offend my family"

Thanks to my friends Hank and Berda, Angel and I attended a really fun VIP reception and the opening night festivities at the VC Asian Pacific Film Festival last night. Poor Jim caught some bug and stayed home. I forged ahead, but stupidly decided not to bring my camera, thinking I wouldn't need it. Luckily Berda brought hers and took the pics below (thanks Berda!).

I have mixed feelings about FINISHING THE GAME. It's a mockumentary about the search for the new Bruce Lee and while it had its moments, I don't know that I can get behind it. It's like the cool indie film your friend made, not necessarily something you'd see because it was playing near you. There were some cool cameos, some very good acting, and really great use of some of my favorite character actors. In any case, opening night was fun and you couldn't swing a dead cat over your head without hitting an actor you recognized but couldn't place. There were, of course, some exceptions.


James Kyson Lee, from HEROES and emcee of the opening night ceremonies, graciously poses with me and Berda.


Ron Jeremy, who made an appearance in FINISHING THE GAME, poses with me at the post-screening reception.



Did I mention that it was open bar?


Or that Hank was jacked up on sweets (there was a post-screening dessert reception)?


I was feeling a little under the weather, so I didn't "work the room" or anything. But minutes after we sat down in the theatre, a well-known actor/comedian (who I promised not to name) sat down in front of me. Berda and Hank sat behind us, engrossed in conversation with some programming director from another film festival. I think I was telling Angel about Pastagina when this actor/comedian turned around to see who was making all the 'gina jokes. We started talking - he was bummed because his movie just came out and "tanked horribly." I told him I didn't see his film - that I was invited to the premiere party, but not to the screening of the actual film. Who the hell does that?

Of course once people around us realized that the actor/comedian was talking to people and not being all Greta Garbo, everyone tried to jump into the fray. We both sat on the aisle, so people would come up to him and interrupt our conversation so they could suck up. In between interruptions, he'd say things like, "This is so depressing," or, "They're just trying to get something out of me, like for me to wear their shirts or shoes so they can get free advertising," and "The blogs hate me, they're the worst. They just tear me apart, saying how much I suck."

I then promised (because he was so depressed), "I won't say bad things about you on my blog."

He then asked, "Please don't write about this on your blog, or don't say it was me! I'm going to get so much shit, saying how depressed I am because the movie tanked!"

Then this white chick comes up and awkwardly tells him how she loves him and then said nothing else, but stood there staring at him intently. So I whispered in his ear, "Dude, I think she wants to fuck you." He looked at Angel, then at me, hesitating to reply. Finally the girl leaves and he says, "Maybe I should date an Asian girl."

You know, before I married Jim, I was the beneficiary of that kind of thinking. I replied, "Yeah, I used to date an Asian chick. But Asian guys never asked me out."

He replied, "Yeah, Asian chicks and Asian guys never ask me out either."