Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

We Meet Shawn Johnson... And Contemplate The End

Yesterday afternoon, I was able to treat my daughter to a rare opportunity: a personal chat with Olympic gold medalist and Dancing With the Stars finalist Shawn Johnson.

I was referred to the meet and greet (part of a promotion by Oscar Mayer Lunchables and the Woodward camps) by LA Mom Blogger Elizabeth Peterson, who knows that I blog quite a bit about my daughter's participation in competitive gymnastics.

On Monday afternoon, just as I was getting ready to drive her to her workout, my daughter dropped a bombshell on me.

"I want to quit gym," she said, tears streaming down her face.

I've written a lot about the sacrifices my daughter makes to participate in this crazy sport. I also confess to a bit of smugness about it, because in contemplating the adolescent storm she has now entered, her dedication to gymnastics makes ME feel very secure. If she is spending 20 hours a week at gym, she won't have time for activities that might get her into trouble.

But I also know that the reason she excels in the sport is because she LOVES it. There is NO WAY you can MAKE a child spend all of her evenings and most of her weekends in a hot, chalky gym unless she or he is having FUN. And I have always known that there might come a time when she might not feel that way about it any longer.

The question is: Is THIS really THAT time?

"It's not my favorite thing any more. I'm not enjoying it."

This statement is flabbergasting to me, my husband, my friends and my family, who have all seen my child at home, practicing floor routines (not just hers but the routines of all her teammates). But if it's true -- if she really isn't enjoying it any longer -- she should be allowed to quit.

But exiting gymnastics would leave a huge 20-hour-a week void in her life -- not to mention the fact that I count on her being at gym during the summer so I can work n peace. I absolutely don't want her to spend her days hanging out at home watching TV or prowling the local mall. I don't think she wants that, either. She has too much energy for that.

"If you do quit, you need to find another sport," I told her.

"I've been thinking I might try track and field. Or tennis."

Now that the bomb was dropped, she went out back to sit on our diving board, dangling her feet in our pool. I called the gym to let them know she wasn't coming -- and why. Her coaches weren't there yet. I was told to expect one of them to give me a call.

I started researching summer track and tennis programs in our area.

I hadn't seen any previous indication that she was tiring of the sport. In fact, she was moving full steam ahead: she had been promoted to Level 8 after just three meets at Level 7 (the third was her state competition). She had momentum. Her coach was training her on tough new skills at advanced levels 8-10.

Ahhhh...

"I've been thinking about this since just before state," she told me. About a month. Since her 13th birthday.

"I can't do the double back flip on the high beam, and that's what I've been assigned for the tumble-a-thon. All I do is fall and my coach has to catch me. Every time. I hate it."

Ah-haaaah...

The tumble-a-thon is our new old gym's current fundraiser. It's like a walk-a-thon, where the kids find sponsors... only instead of paying for laps walked, they have to pay for successful performance of assigned skills. Megan's coach probably thought she was encouraging her to try harder at this skill -- but my daughter's perfectionism -- which is an asset for a gymnast -- may also be causing her a major bout with fear of failure.

In hindsight, maybe her coach should have assigned her a skill she's already mastered -- a conclusion I think she now shares, judging from the chat we had when she called.

"I don't want to talk to her," Megan sulked.

I relayed the information.

"She's 13," her coach noted in a way that seemed to say that explains everything. "Put me on speaker," she said.

Megan scowled and turned her back at me when I pressed the speaker button.

Her coach admitted to riding her pretty hard the last couple of weeks. She told her that she was going to lighten up, and ease off on that double back handspring on the high beam. She begged her to come in -- even if just to talk. She said that they would be having FUN that day.

Megan wouldn't hear any of it. She walked away from me and my phone and locked herself in her room. I thanked her coach for calling and told her I'd keep her posted.

"You are going to have to talk to your coaches," I told Megan.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you can't just leave without having a discussion. They need to know why. It's helpful for you and it's helpful for them."

Silence.

"Even when you quit a job, you have to have an exit interview," I told her.

It was obvious that talking about it any more that afternoon was not going to be productive -- so I grabbed one of the gift cards she received for her birthday and took her shopping, which brightened the mood a little. I resisted the urge to make a stop at the gym, even though we were in the neighborhood.

Monday night, Megan received a text message from her coach. "Shavahn wants me to call her tomorrow after school," she sighed. And when one of her teammates called her after practice, we overheard Megan tell her she intended to quit... "unless Shavahn talks me out of it."

Megan also complained that she learned that Monday's workout had turned into a "fun day" - heavy on silly games and light on conditioning. "I didn't want to miss that! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" she whined.

So there was hope.

On Tuesday, Megan finally talked to her coach.

"What did she say?" I asked Megan eagerly.

"She said that when she was a gymnast, she almost quit five different times -- but always decided to come back. And it all began when she was 13."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"I guess I'll give it a try. She says that we're going to have a lot more fun days. And that in the summer, we'll have days when we do beach trips or go to Magic Mountain."

So she's back at gym... for now. But she says she still feels confused. I guess that's why I couldn't resist asking Shawn Johnson about it (check out the look on my daughter's face when she hears my question):

See the rest of our interview with Shawn Johnson here.

The Jonas Brothers: NOT the Reincarnated Beatles. And That's OK...

... because two days after I attended the world premiere of their new concert film, my ears are STILL ringing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This week, I found myself in the enviable position of being invited to TWO simultaneous red carpet events. The fact that this largess has nothing to do with my own accomplishments (Donna WHO?) is one of the many ironies of spending a life in the shadow of Hollywood.

(NOTE: I will eventually get to the part where I talk about the Jonas Brothers and their first headlining concert film. But this is my blog, and you're gonna have to read what I have to say about ME first.)

However, here's a little taste of what I saw on Tuesday night:

SoCal Weekend: Grocery Shopping with the Stars at 10 Items or Less

Los Angeles is just like other company towns.

In Washington, you are likely to rub shoulders with politicians and lobbyists. In Seattle, you meet a lot of aircraft workers. And in certain neighborhoods in SoCal, you stand in the checkout line with celebrities.

That happened to me a lot when I lived in Studio City. It was no big deal to see Michael J. Fox buying bagels at Art's Deli, or sit beside Journey frontman Steve Perry while sipping coffee at Muffins, etc. (Yes, I'm remembering an establishment from a LONG time ago.) And I have a friend who swears she once saw Paul McCartney - and his entourage - buying groceries at the Ralph's Fresh Fare on Ventura and Coldwater.

But those of us who live several miles north of Ventura Boulevard rarely come face to face with people familiar to the readers of People.

Except for the folks who live near a certain Jons Market in the center of the San Fernando Valley, which doubles as the production offices and set for the TBS series "10 Items or Less."

TV sitcom productions have changed a lot since I worked as a production assistant (my last gasp was back in 1991!) Reality has changed the television landscape forever. Series are no longer stuck on soundstages in front of studio audiences. I love identifying Valley locales that double for the fictional town of Camden on "My Name is Earl," and I confess to wasting more than a couple of hours searching for the nondescript Van Nuys business park that houses Dunder-Mifflin on "The Office." (No luck yet, but I'm pretty sure it's near the former warehouse where my daughter used to train for gymnastics.)

Therefore, I wasn't surprised to learn that "10 Items or Less" is taped in a real, live grocery store in middle-class Reseda. I WAS surprised to discover that they tape their episodes during the store's operating hours... allowing real live shoppers to wander into the same aisles that are serving as their set, doubling as "atmosphere."  A disclaimer is posted at both store entrances, warning customers that their entry onto the premises gives them implicit permission to use their images on TV.

George Carlin, RIP

I was saddened this morning to learn of George Carlin's death from heart failure.

As a college student in the 1970's (with a major in Radio-Television-Film and a minor in Journalism), I was a big fan of George -- both for his brilliant comedy and for his fight for his First Amendment rights of freedom of speech. Of course, I had watched him perform traditional standup comedy on his many appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. But I got hooked as an 18-year-old, when I got to see him live at a show in Pauley Pavilion.

He had me with a routine he did on Oxymorons... like JUMBO shrimp... and MILITARY intelligence. (This was at the tail end of our involvement in Vietnam.)

I'm not good at remembering jokes, but 34 years later, I still chuckle ruefully at that observation. Too bad it still rings true.

In February 1975, one of my college instructors announced that Carlin would be appearing on a TV show taping at NBC in nearby Burbank, and anyone who wanted to be in the audience could watch for free. I gathered a few of my friends together and we showed up at NBC -- only to discover that I was supposed to have RSVP'd, or something -- the show had begun and the guard would not let us in.

He did, however, let on that Carlin had just left the building for a moment and would return, and if we wanted to stick around for a few minutes, we might be able to ask him for an autograph. In the meantime, he told us stories about how he moonlighted as a security guard on Bob Hope's estate (and that Bob never went anywhere without a golf club).

We were about ready to pack it in when Carlin returned, with a man I assumed was his manager. They both reeked of marijuana.

He did not give us his autograph... but instead, he did about five minutes of his comedy routine --just for us, by the security desk at NBC. We left Burbank feeling stoked, as this personal encounter was way better than being part of an audience for a TV taping.

Several years later, I briefly worked with George's older brother Patrick as a writing partner. We never finished the spec sitcom script we were attempting to write - the chemistry just wasn't there. But Patrick was a lovely person -- and (in the opinion of some of the Tonight Show guys, who had arranged our introduction) even funnier than George. I learned a lot about the rough and tumble way the Carlin boys grew up. And I gained a more nuanced look at the way they approached comedy.

George Carlin is most famous for the "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television," which was the subject of obscenity arrests and a major FCC ruling. Times have changed - but even if the words no longer carry the same shock value, the rhythm of the routine - and George's expressions and body language - illustrate perfectly why he's mentioned as an influence on so many comedians today.

(This clip is the most profane thing I've ever had on this blog - but funny as hell. Play at your own risk!)

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Wow. The Oscars are finally over.

I've blogged before about how irritating it is that everything that is broadcast "live" is only tape delayed here on the West Coast - even events that originate here. There are a few exceptions: one is the Super Bowl. The other is the Academy Awards.

Thank goodness they started at 5:30 p.m.! What were they -- one hour longer than scheduled this year? Does anyone out on the East Coast stay up for the whole thing? I don't think I could. By their 9:30 finish, I was ready.

As for the awards themselves -- I wasn't unhappy. This is the first year in a long time when I actually got to see a couple of the nominated films ("The Queen," and "Little Miss Sunshine.") It was great to see Scorsese finally win. I felt bad for Eddie Murphy and Peter O'Toole, but happy for Alan Arkin and Forrest Whittaker. Jennifer Hudson and Helen Mirren were amazing in their nominated roles. I  enjoyed the montages about the movies -- especially the tribute to the screenwriter. I know. I'm weird that way.

We had a busy weekend, starting on Friday with Megan's gymnastics meet in San Diego. Documenting her accomplishments on film is a challenge -- you can't use the flash while the competition is on (it could affect the athletes' ability to see what they're doing) and the light is frequently poor. That's one of the reasons my husband gave me for buying his cool new camera. So now, he's experimenting. On Friday, he thought he would try setting it for the fastest speed he could, so he could try and capture her in action. The results were very grainy (which he expected) and he wasn't happy with this photo -- but I include this photo because I was amazed to see how high Megan's jump on the beam actually is. (And Megan says she didn't jump as high as usual!)

She was scored an 8.95 on beam, which I thought was pretty good -- especially as she's only been competing at this level for a couple of months. She went home with third place medals in beam and floor... and looked happier than any of tonight's Oscar winners (even Marty Scorsese).

Carrie Bradshaw Would Love It

Trio was a cable network I watched for its series, "Brilliant, but Cancelled," which featured TV shows that were wonderful, but never found an audience. Unfortunately, Trio (a subsidiary of Bravo, which made it part of NBC), was also cancelled.

I had been such a fan of the series that I signed up for their email list so I would know when it would air again. This is why I have started receiving daily emails from Trio, even though they are no longer on the air. Instead, they have migrated to the web. This is wonderful for a student of TV and pop culture (like most people I know who blog). You can see Brilliant, but Cancelled TV shows on http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com , as well as get into discussions about which current shows are likely to make it (their "Death Watch" corner!)

The second site, http://www.gettrio.com is the home of the new daily email I'm receiving, which is divided into three sections: "Stuff to See," "Stuff to Buy" and "Stuff to Do." So far, they've been quirky (today's Stuff to Buy discusses elephant art -- yup, paintings made by elephants).

Today, they also have a couple of travel-related items. (1) The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, which holds something like 10,000 shoes divided into collections -- North American Indian, Ethnological, Circumpolar, and my two favorites: History of Western Fashion (self explanatory) and Walk of Fame (celebrity shoes! See Elton John's platforms from the 1970's... or Marilyn Monroe's red leather pumps)

The second item describes a new chain of airport-based wine bars. So far, Vino Volo can be found in just three: Dulles, Sacramento, and Seattle-Tacoma -- but there are plans to open more. The name is kind of a pun, meaning "Wine flight" -- as in a flight of wines (a series of little tastes). You can believe I'm going to be there the next time I fly to Sacto to visit my family!

Socal Weekend: With Tara Reid and Bowling -- It's Bound to Be FUN

In my never-ending quest for good SoCal material, I signed up at a website that recruits locals to be extras in film and TV productions -- and promptly forgot about it. So I was a little bit surprised to receive this email yesterday.

Believe it or not, with it being spring break and all, I reflexively considered this for a brief moment -- and then remembered I'm almost 50. And that my kid is home for the week, too. (Not to mention the fact that being an extra is really BORING.)

(Note: I am cutting and pasting into the post AS IS, as a, er, public service... no editorial comment from me! So don't blame me for the poor spelling and grammar.)

From: Free TV Tickets
Date: Friday, April 7, 2005
Subject: Last Minute! ***MOVIE This coming TUESDAY*** w/Tara Reid

MOVIE * MOVIE * MOVIE

* This Tues., Wed., Friday *

Simi Valley, Southern Calif.

Hey Friends...

Here's a out of the blue cool surprise.....

Just got a zany film in for this coming week in the Simi Valley area.

A Bowling comedy starring Tara Reid. So you know this is going to be a FUN set.

7/10 SPLIT is a new comedy abut three best friends, down on their luck in Los Angeles, who decide to make a run at the PBA!

It's a CRAZY bowling comedy...

Think Elvis Presley MEETS the Tiger Woods of Pro-bowling!

The hours are pretty off the wall also....

10 PM til 2 PM is the commitment due to "Continuity" (matching one scene with the same person in the next scene).

BUT they will be filming till 5 in the morning if you want to stay longer.

With stars like Tara Reid, who's going to want to leave.

This production company is pretty off the wall FUN.

I think this is going to be one of those really silly and fun filmings that everyone's going to have a blast.

You can come one or all days...

BUT you can only sign up for one day online. We'll let you sign up for more days on the set.

Everyone MUST be 18 or Older

Tue.........Apr. 11.................(Midwestern Look and Dress)

Wed........Apr. 12.................(Hip LA Night Club/Bowling Alley Attire)

Fri...........Apr. 14................(High-Fashion Show Look!)

This is a come for fun and be in a movie event.

This is NOT a paid extra gig, so things are going to be pretty relaxed and fun.

We can only invite 50 people each night...so first come first serve.

Other co-stars joining TARA on the set:

1. RAY WISE (GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK)

2. ROSS PATTERSON

3. ROBIN LIVELY

Oh, by the way...

They'd like most everyone to bring an extra shirt to the set that they don't mind riping one of the sleeves off of.

It's a long story...but it's important to one of the strange scenes in the film.

**** HOW TO SIGN UP FOR 7-10 SPLIT ****
We don't have time right now to put this up on our BeInAMovie.com website...

So if you Do and CAN attend one or more of the three days

Put your name on our

TVTix.com WISH LIST

and we will get in touch with you on MONDAY and give you all the details.

Here's the link for info and "sign up".

http://tvtix.com/show.php?eventID=310&scheduleID=11774

****P.S. About the ATLANTA, GA film****
WE ARE MARSHAL

We are still waiting for the final small details like: arrival times, exact location, what to wear etc.

We were hoping to start sign up this weekend ....
BUT looks like it will be towards the end of next week.
So hang in there ATLANTA,
it's worth the wait.
Filming will be in mid May and June
With some really awesome awsome stars like:

Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox.

Pretty Cool!.

Have a great weekend all...

SoCal Sunday: The Emmys

Just before last year's telecast, I wrote a long post about my experiences attending the show back in the day. Read it here.

---

9:00 PM - The show has been on for an hour here on the West Coast. I was pleased to see the writing staff of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart win the Emmy in the Tonight Show's old category.

I was less happy to see that after 20 years, there were still few females nominted for comedy writing. There were NO WOMEN writers on Jon Stewart's staff, nor on the staffs of any of the nominated shows (well, at least those I could see. The credits for Conan's show went by too quickly -- but how much do you want to bet it's all a bunch of guys from Harvard?).

I'm sorry, but that really sucks.

---

9:15 pm: I thought David Letterman's tribute to Johnny Carson was really classy -- and appropriate.

10:29 pm: As was the tribute to broadcast news and Peter Jennings.

---

10:07 pm: The "American Idol" thing with the TV theme songs was cute, but here on the West Coast, they ran a big VOTING IS CLOSED message across the screen. So once again, those of us in the Pacific time zone get left out of the fun. I mean, why bother?

Then again, when they announced the winner (Donald Trump & Megan Mulalley singing "Green Acres") I didn't really care. So I repeat - why bother?

---

FINAL WORD ON EMMY TELECAST:

In my young, idealistic days I refused to watch all awards shows on principle, because I didn't think it was fair or appropriate to compare five shows or performances and deem one more worthy of an award than another.

That was before I got the opportunity to attend these things myself, and got to know people who were actually nominated for the things. And as I took them less seriously and accepted them for what they are -- just another entertainment choice and an excuse to see a lot of stars dressed extravagantly -- I began to enjoy them.

But I'm still irked by the lack of imagination of the Academy voters. OK, we get it, they all love "Raymond." And it's nice to send off a beloved program into syndication heaven. But this is a show that has already been recognized - many many times.

Take a look at some of the people who were honored just to be nominated, but snubbed in the end. I mean, were Brad Garrett's performances last year really better than Jeremy Piven's portrayal of amoral agent Ari Gold in "Entourage?" And how can they honor "Raymond" year after year and ignore "Scrubs," which continually surprises me by shifting on a dime from high comic antics to serious issues - and then back to the yuks again? I had hope last year when "Arrested Development" got the Best Comedy Series award, and it was interesting to see that four of the five nominees (including the winner) for sitcom writing this year also came from that series (if "Raymond"'s final season was so outstanding, wouldn't it begin with the writing?). I have been a fan of Doris Roberts since her scene stealing days in movies like "A New Leaf" -- but how about giving someone else a chance? I would have loved to see the Emmy go to Jessica Walter, who is hysterical as the mother from hell in "Arrested Development."

Since the Academy voters seem to be so set in their ways, voting for the same people and series again and again and again, I would love to see them enact a new rule limiting the number of awards someone could win for the same thing. You know, like "Three Strikes." I hate to advocate something like that -- but maybe proposing it would force these guys to consider something new.

George Clooney in Hell

Everyone thinks that TV and movies are the businesses that built Los Angeles - but those of us who live here know that we also rely on real estate. "Location, location, location" is not just a truism for buying a house -- it applies to just about everything here. And if you're looking for a good doctor, there is no better location than Beverly Hills.

I began seeing an OB/Gyn there soon after I started working in "the biz." He came highly recommended by a colleague, and I never looked back. The fact that he was affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Hospital also gave me some confidence -- it's considered one of the best in the city. It's also notorious as being one of the places where the tabloids troll for information on the stars -- it's rumored that some hospital workers are on the Enquirer's payroll for telling tales on the many famous patients who check in there.

In January of 1996, I was seven months pregnant and ready to start childbirth classes at Cedars.

Socal Friday: Breakfast with a Beatle

That meme I dashed off yesterday in the space of five minutes got more comments than anything else I ever posted -- even my Tonight Show stuff.

It's obvious that you guys love the show biz stories. So in a pathetic attempt to get you all to keep coming and commenting -- and even come back to read my posts about how boring and mundane my life is now -- I'm going to honor a request and expand upon one of the items I mentioned in yesterday's post: My interview with Ringo.