Tiny Coffee Shops; Long Days in Class; and Conan, Avatar & Miramax in the News......

Sunday was a heat wave!  Well, comparing to the “feels like” near-zero temperatures of the preceding days, Sunday was darn near balmy.  And it was a good thing, since I was venturing out of the warm comfort of regulated central air to interview Nadia Dajani.

I will say here that I am a creature of habit.  For example, if I order in, it’s always from the same Chinese restaurant and it’s always steamed chicken with broccoli, black bean sauce on the side and brown rice.  (And they know it too – it’s practically at my door before I complete my phone order).

I have my places in the city I like to go, and I rarely try a new meet-up spot, especially if the person I am meeting up with is not someone I know very well:  There are always hits and misses from bars to restaurants to coffee shops.  So, when Ms. Dajani suggested that I pick out a place in the West Village for our Sunday interview, I panicked – I don’t have a “usual spot” in the West Village.

So I literally Googled “coffee shops in the West Village,” and the often-trusty New York Magazine was the first to pop up with their “Guide to West Village Coffee Shops.”  Perfect.  I settled on the first option, Mojo, thanks to several user reviews that commented on the relative ease of finding a place to sit, and it’s easy-going atmosphere.

When I walked in at 1:15pm on Sunday afternoon (hoping I’d found the right place since the only visible sign over the door said, simply, “coffee,” with no mention of Mojo from what I could tell), I did in fact see a few available seats, but the place was so small, it was impossible to imagine conducting an interview with the neighboring patron nearly sitting on our laps.

Fortunately, a very kind customer offered his relatively spacious choice window-flanked corner table in exchange for my itty two-top (Thank you again kind sir!).  Shortly after the swap, Ms. Dajani arrived, and the interview was under way (she was just lovely and has a great story which will be posted in the coming days, so check back!)

Monday and Tuesday were filled mostly with classes, however I did receive word back from actor Frank Whaley that he is happy to chat with me and found a few moments for additional phone calls – so I’m certainly encouraged with this feeling of momentum!

And now for some News Nuggets from the past few days:

• Chairman and CEO of News Corp. (and parent of Fox) Rupert Murdoch responded to questions regarding whether or not Fox will move into negotiations to bring Conan O’Brien to the network during their Tuesday earnings call.  According to Murdoch there have been “conversations” but no real negotiations.  He added that Fox affiliate stations currently run profitable syndicated programming from 11:00-11:30, but “If the program people can show us that we could do it and be fairly confident about making a profit, we’d do it in a flash.”

• Murdoch also commented on the possibility of an Avatar sequel…but although he confirmed that both sides are interested in moving forward with the idea, Murdoch said (and I love this), “Being Jim Cameron I wouldn’t hold your breath for an early one.”

• Now that Miramax is up for grabs, it looks like the Weinstein brothers might seek to reclaim the indie studio that bears the combined names of their beloved parents (and holds the library to their stock of films made at what was unarguably the height of independent filmmaking…and of their careers to date).  The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman reported that two hedge funds approached the brothers about a team effort to buy back the studio, which the Weinsteins’ sold to Disney in 1993.  Read more about it HERE.

Going to Court, Startups, Previsualization, & Week Round-up

The last two days can be summed up in two words: “busy” and “freezing.”

Temps on the East Coast these last few days make me wonder why I chose the Right Coast over the Left to call home.  I’m sorry Weather.com, but when you tell me that it’s “23 degrees, feels like 8,” I would much prefer you just tell me “it’s 8 degrees, hunker down, crank up your heat, and do not - under any circumstances - venture out of doors!”

Then again, had I REALLY understood the concept of 8 degrees, I might not have gotten so much accomplished.

I started Friday by going to the New York City’s Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street to begin work on my investigative reporting assignment – simply, “go to court and write about it.” (That’s grad school for you:  I mean, I get the whole value of “figure it out for yourself,” but sometimes I just want someone to tell me how and I’ll get it done…I’m paying for this, after all).

So, Google map in hand, I braved the chilling cold (how is it the wind, no matter which direction I faced was never at my back), ducking inside a Duane Reade at one point, just to warm up for a moment.

I finally arrived at the courthouse and found the room for the trial.  I’d be attending the proceedings for the young assistant accused of murdering her boss, the famed “Real Estate Agent to the Stars,” Linda Stein, as I’d read the trial was currently underway.  And I knew I’d found what I was looking for when I spotted several photographers standing at the ready to capture photos of the deceased’s daughters…not sure how I felt about that.

Overall, it was a very strange experience – incredibly sad, and I felt just awful, voyeuristic (and not in a good way) for even being there. 

Fortunately, my next meeting was with an old friend, and certainly a spirit-lifter.  I had lunch with a college pal to discuss his latest entrepreneurial venture, and if his track record for success holds, and the idea is as solid as it sounds, it will be a great success.  The company is called Wanduta…and a post is forthcoming!

Following lunch, I raced home for a call with the CEO of a previsualization company in LA – The Third Floor.

“What is previsualization,” you ask?  Well, guess you’ll just have to tune back in to find out…but, suffice it to say that previs guys are the unsung heroes of modern-day moviemaking – really exciting stuff!

I’ll close this post with a wrap-up, highlighting interesting bits of news I read this week:

• Conan is still tied to NBC:  The Hollywood Reporter posted that the network now infamous for putting O’Brien – and his entire staff – on the unemployment line has picked up a multi-cam comedy (“The Pink House”) AND an hour-long drama (“Justice”)…both hailing from Conan’s production company Conaco.

• Director Kathryn Bigelow was the big winner at the DGA Awards, beating out ex-husband James Cameron for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film…and making her the favorite for an Oscar win (it’s known that the winner at the DGA ceremony most often takes home the coveted Golden Statue!).  Start placing your bets now!

• And…if you’ve been keeping up – The Wrap announced Wednesday that Miramax (the independent studio founded by the brothers Weinstein) would close its doors on the 27^th, and then updated the news on Thursday with the following:   “A Disney spokeswoman called to protest that Miramax is not 'dead.' ‘Miramax will consolidate its operations within Walt Disney Studios, and will be releasing a smaller number of films than in previous years. But it will continue to operate within the Walt Disney Studios,’ she said.”  The latest news is that Disney is actually looking to sell the indie house…to the tune of over $700 million.  Any takers?