“I could have swore you wrote this,” Sean said in an IM (even though he’s in Westwood Village and I’m on campus).
“I didn’t,” but I’ve written something very similar (the advantages of blogging for nearly 10 years). I fished around the archives of my current and old blog and found the post. It’s still relevant.
Oh yes. Sean passes the test. Of course he does.
yeah, yeah, i love the sandlot [04.18.05]
Last fall I accompanied my best guy friend, Eligio, to the movies. I can’t remember what we watched, but for some reason I think it was related to sports. Anyway, I mentioned that I loved baseball movies and The Sandlot was my favorite. And then Eligio dropped a bomb on me. He confessed that he had never seen the film.
I said something along the lines of, “You’re killing me, Eligio! What?! We’ve been friends how long? How come I never knew this about you?!”
From that point on, our friendship has been different and even a little strained.
It might have not surprised me if Eligio was not as much of a baseball fan as me. We have a lot in common and I just assumed that he always caught on to the frequent references I make to The Sandlot in everyday dialogue. But he hadn’t.
When the film was released in 1993, I immediately loved it. Rather, I loved Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez (Mike Vitar). Yeah-yeah, I was swooning every single time Benny’s beautiful face and intense green eyes filled the screen.
It didn’t hurt that the film was focused on one of my favorite subjects, baseball, that there was plenty of witty dialogue, and that Benny was the star of the film.
If you ask me what my all-time favorite film is, I will always respond with The Sandlot. There are other films I enjoy that are more profound, artistic, and (let’s face it) mature. However, these are films I’ve liked for a much shorter time.
I’ve watched The Sandlot dozens of times in the last twelve years and still have not outgrown the humor and silly gags. If you watch it with me, you might even get annoyed because I have the habit of quoting nearly every line.
I currently do a Sandlot test of most people I meet. I quote a few lines and see if he/she catch the reference. If he/she doesn’t, I know we’re not soulmates nor is he/she a potential best friend. Yeah yeah, it is that serious.
Benny: Anyone who wants to be a can’t-hack-it pantywaist who wears their mama’s bra, raise your hand.
Benny: Man, this is baseball. You gotta stop thinking.
Benny: I bet you get straight A’s and shit.
Smalls: No, I got a B once, but it should have been an A…
Squints: If you’da been thinkin you wouldn’t ‘a thought that.
Squints: It’s about time Benny, my clothes are goin’ outta style.
The Babe: Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you’ll never go wrong.
Ham: Hey, Smalls, you wanna s’more?
Smalls: I haven’t had anything.
Ham: No, do you wanna s’more?
Smalls: How can I have some more of nothing?
Ham: You’re killing me Smalls!
Ham: This pop isn’t workin’, Benny! I’m bakin’ like a toasted cheeser! It’s so hot here!
Smalls (adult): Even my own mom, a grown-up girl, knew who Babe Ruth was.
Ham: You play ball like a girl!
Squints: Come on, Benny. Man. The kid is a L, 7, WEENIE!
Yeah Yeah: Yeah-yeah, a real square
Squints: Oscar Meyer even, foot-long, a Dodger Dog!
Mr. Mertle: Baseball was life! And I was good at it… real good.
Squints: forever!
Mom: You’ll always be just an egghead with an attitude like that.
Way back when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I had to write a report on a famous person. I chose Edward James Olmos. I’m not really sure why, I was probably influenced by Stand and Deliver* and wanted to know more about one of the few Chicanos I saw in mainstream entertainment. I learned that his father (or grandfather, can’t remember) printed a newspaper and fled Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. I also learned about his roles in movies, television shows and plays I’d never even heard of, like Zoot Suit
Of course, his roles have varied. Via Wikipedia:
Among his most memorable roles are Commander/Admiral William Adama in the Battlestar Galactica re-imagined series, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, teacher Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film Selena, Detective Gaff in Blade Runner, and narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of Zoot Suit.
Do you have a favorite Olmos role/scene? One of my favorites comes from Selena:
*I just recently learned that my sister, a math major and aspiring math teacher, has not seen Stand and Deliver. What’s worse is that we have a few cousins who took calculus with Jaime Escalante! I felt like I failed my sister the day I learned that.
I don’t hide the fact that I love the Harry Potter series. My brother… well, he’s not so open about it.
Still, we’ve been talking about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for a while. Last November, we bemoaned the fact that we’d have to wait until July for the release of the penultimate movie in the series. We kept ourselves entertained with flashy trailers. As the July 15th, we’re making plans for opening night. We’ll definitely catch a midnight showing, but still need to decide if we’ll upgrade to IMAX or IMAX 3D.
If you can’t wait until the 15th, you might be in luck! I have three pairs of tickets for screenings in the following cities: New York, Monday July 13, 6:30 pm Los Angeles, Monday July 13, 6:30 pm Miami , Monday July 13, 6:30 pm
To enter:
EMAIL ME with the subject line “Harry Potter Contest.” In the body of your email, include your name, phone number and which city you’re entering for: Los Angeles, New York or Miami. [contact page]
Email entries must be received by Monday July 6th at 11:59 pm PST.
I’m not a big South Park fan, but once in a while, I’ll watch to catch a glimpse of my favorite character, Towelie. (And no, he’s not my favorite because I share his, um, habits.)
Last night’s episode, “Eek, A Penis!” makes me wonder if South Park has Chicanos from East LA on the writing staff. Half the episode was a parody of Stand and Deliver (1988)…
Read the rest at VivirLatino. If anyone finds a clip of the episode (I already search hulu and youtube), I’ll love you forever, not just on your birthday.
Starring: Lou Diamond Philips, Esai Morales, Elizabeth Peña and Joe Pantoliano
Neighborhood: Pacoima (San Fernando Valley)
Based on a true story: Yup, which is what makes anyone with tear ducts want to cry when Connie Valenzuela learns of her son’s death in a plane crash. There really was a Ricardo Valuenzuela whose name was later changed to Ritchie Valens to “broaden his appeal.” He lived in Pacoima, California where he taught himself to sing and play guitar. He gained fame while still in his teens, but we all know how that ended. That creepy incident where the planes crash over the playground and kills hi best friend? Yeah, that was real too but Valens was absent that day. He went to his grandfather’s funeral. According to a close listener of the DVD commentary who posted on the discussion board at Ritchie Valens Tribute the following aspects of the film were fictional: Ritchie’s crush on Rosie; trip to Tijuana and visit to the curandero (what a surprise); Ritchie’s tattoo (not a flying guitar, but his initials instead); doing a rock rendition of La Bamba was Ritchie’s idea (Bob Keene, says it was his idea).
Edward James Olmos connection: No Olmos, but there’s definitely a connection. Luis Valdez wrote and directed La Bamba as well as Zoot Suit, which starred Olmos as El Pachuo. Esai Morales and Olmos both starred in Mi Familia.
Main themes: rags-to-riches, fame, family, interracial dating
Memorable quotes:
Richieeeeeee!
And pretty much anything that comes out of Bob’s mouth. I’ll add more after I watch the movie again. I’ve been meaning to do so all week, but haven’t gotten around to it.
Bonus: Joel/DCNatsWin featured La Bamba as part of his Film Vault Tuesday in January 2006 (link). Check out why he loves the movie despite bad acting and cornyness.
Back when I was still contributing to Metroblogging LA I had an idea for a series on films based in LA where Latinos were the main characters. I made a long list and drafted posts. I even reached out to El Chavo! so we could tag team on posts for Metroblogging LA. He was down, but I never followed up. A year after my initial idea, I’m finally getting around to the movies. Enjoy. Oh yeah, and feel free to add another movie to the list.
Starring: Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Kamala Lopez-Dawson, Daniel Stern and Lupe Ontiveros
Neighborhood: East LA
Based on a true story: No. However, deportations of undocumented workers are a common occurrence in/around Los Angeles. During the Great Depression and then again in the 1950s, the US launched mass deportations of immigrant and US-born Chicanos. Present day, we have the story of mentally disabled Pedro Guzman who was wrongfully deported by ICE and was lost in Tijuana for three months (LA Weekly story on Guzman). So, it isn’t too far of a stretch to imagine that Rudy, a US-born Chicano, who barely knew Spanish could be mistaken as an undocumented worker and deported.
Edward James Olmos connection: Not directly. But there are several actors including Paul Rodriguez and Lupe Ontiveros who have worked on projects with Eddie Olmos such as American Family and Mi Familia.
Main themes: immigration, undocumented immigration, assimilation and reconnecting with one’s roots.
Memorable quotes:
Immigration officer: Where were you born?
Rudy: What?
Immigration officer: Read my lips, El Paco. Where were you born?
Rudy: I was born in East L.A., man.
Immigration officer: Sure, sure. If you were born in East L.A., then who’s the president of the United States?
Rudy: I-I don’t know, that guy, that guy who was on T.V., the guy in the cowboy hat… he used to be on “Death Valley Days”… uh, John Wayne!
Immigration officer: Get him out of here.
Rudy: The president of the United States is Ronald “dickhead” Reagan!
Feel free to add more quotes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie!
Gilmore Girls, my favorite television show for the last six years, ended last night (TV Squad review of the series finale, Bon Voyage). I’m not ashamed to admit I shed a tear or two. Like other long time fans, I was not sad when I heard the news a couple of weeks ago that the series would be ending this season. The first half of the season was lmost painful to watch and not nearly as witty and entertaining as the first 5-6 years. I was more sad about what the show represented to me and my family.
I started watching the show during my last year of college in 2001-2002. Lori, my sister, was already a fan. She would record the show and on the weekends, I’d catch up on the episodes I missed because I was often in a meeting at 8 pm on Tuesday night. Over the years, both my mom and dad became Gilmore Girls fans too. My dad thought Lorelai was cute, and my mom identified with the mother/daughter relationships depicted on the show.
I loved the show because it depicted women who were smart and silly, strong and vulnerable, and simply fun. I know others disliked the show for the dizzying pace of the dialogue, but that was one of the things I love about the show. I also loved the pop culture, history and politics references. When the DVD’s were released, a guide to “Gilmore-isms” was included to help younger and less pop culture savvy fans follow along with the semi-obscure references.
I’ll miss the show, but at least I have the DVDs to keep me entertained.
Anyone else think Johnny Depp drew some inspiration from early ’80s Eddie Olmos in his role as el Pachuco in the film and theater versions of Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit? Compare and contrast.
Depp is missing the hat and from this full body photo you can see that the pants are not as high waisted and as baggy as a pachuco would wear them. I also couldn’t find any photos of Depp doing the lean back with left foot forward stance. Despite the differences, the resemblance is uncanny (at least from the waist up).
I know the cute guy at Hollywood Video looked at me funny when he saw the DVD in my hand. I wanted to explain myself and my taste in movies. In my head, I played out a quick conversation.
Cute Guy: So you like Katie Holmes?
Me: Oh no, I just picked First Daughter because I like watching movies that were filmed at UCLA.
CG: [weird look] Right.
Me: No really. I’m not much of a fan of Katie Holmes or predictable romantic comedies. Plus, this is “free” with the MVP pass.
In my imaginary conversation, I wasn’t being completely honest. I enjoy both cheesy romantic comedies and watching movies filmed at UCLA. I like to see how the set crew has transformed a very familiar place to look like a fictional or actual university (such as Harvard). I can often recall being inconvenienced by yet another filming on campus, especially if the film was shot within the last seven years.
First Daughter was filmed during the summer when there are less students on campus. I remember trying to walk from parking structure 4 across Bruin Walk to Kerckhoff Hall and being told by members of the film crew that I had to go around. Well, they didn’t have to tell me because after 5 years of being at UCLA (this was in 2003), I knew that you just have to be patient with the Hollywood crowd. I eventually got back to work at Kerckhoff, but during the breaks, I’d go back out to the front steps of the building to watch Forest Whitaker direct lanky Ms. Holmes and “President” Michael Keaton.
I watched the movie when I got home and was amused to see both the interior and exterior of Kerckhoff, a building where I’ve spent a lot of time in the last eight years (for work, student government and MEChA). Once again, I saw the door to the GSA office on screen. Coincidentally, last week I tried to get into the same office and was semi-blocked by film equipment and some crew members. My friend asked and found out that they were using the interior and exterior of Kerckhoff for the CBS series Cold Case.
Below is my favorite story to tell about a filming on campus. If you’ve seen Old School, you’ll know exactly what scene I’m referring to and find some inaccuracies I only learned of after watching the film.
Keep your pants on
Written 02.15.02 (with some recent minor edits)
Beep, beep, beep. Who called me? I checked the number on my phone, which told me only that someone called from on campus. As soon as I got out of my boring service-learning seminar I checked the message.
“Um, Cindy, its Eligio. I was just calling to ask if you could pick something up that I left at the GRO . I need it, but won’t be going back over there. It’s on the desk, you can’t miss it. I’ll call you later.”
I walked toward the other end of campus where my office is located. The campus was unusually quiet for a Thursday evening. It was only 7 but no one seemed to be around. Maybe they were all getting ready for their V-day plans. My Valentine was 400 miles away, but I had plans to go to dinner with some friends.
I met Chispa where she works on the first floor of Kerckhoff and asked her to accompany me to third floor so I could deliver some Monster’s Inc. Valentine cards to my co-workers and fellow council members.
We exited the elevator (we’re lazy, I know) to a hallway crammed with the film crew’s equipment. I’m used to filming on campus. My campus has been in everything from Scream 2 to Gilmore Girls (that wasn’t Harvard). Most of the time, the filming isn’t so close and they’re outdoors.
Lately, however, they’ve been unusually close. In January I sat at my computer at work and looked out onto an argument between a couple at the fictional Finchley College on Crossing Jordan. The film crew set up lights in the office, and the extras chilled on the couch. It didn’t bug much.
Yesterday was worse though. I entered my office and flipped the switch to find something I never expected. Directly opposite the door I looked out on the window and roof/makeshif balcony overlooking the Kerckhoff Patio. My friends and I climb out on the roof all the time when the offices feel cramped and we need fresh air or when someone wants to smoke.
Out on the two-foot high brick wall surrounding the roof stood 5 men of varying heights with their pants around their ankles. They faced the patio with boxes covering their crotches. Long shirts covered their butts, so all we saw were hairy legs.
Chispa and I picked up the “wallet” Eligio forgot in the office, a single long-stemmed rose on my iMac’s keyboard. We mouthed an awkward ‘sorry’ to the crew guys and pants-less actors for disturbing them with the light, and proceeded to go find an ATM to get cash for dinner.
I doubt I’ll ever find guys with their pants down again on the roof — at least I hope not — but I shouldn’t be too surpried since my campus often used by the nearby studios for movie and television filmings.
Fin
I know UCLA has been used in several other print ads, commercials, television shows and films, but these are all I could think of right now. Seeing Stars has more info on the UCLA-Hollywood connection.
“I could have swore you wrote this,” Sean said in an IM (even though he’s in Westwood Village and I’m on campus).
