Rantings of a Creole Princess

"Premonition"

Premonition from rmv on Vimeo.

Twas' the night before the tables were turned...

SIP trying to play nice.

Lesson here?  HD SHOWS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

People are FUN-TAY to me!  LOL!

It's cold as hell without my hat and gloves!!!!!!!  What take is this???????  Imma need yall to hurry up!!!

This is funny because this is my face right BEFORE the perp is going to try to attack me.

 

This is my face once I realize I've seen this fool one too many times so he must be following me.  I wish yall could see my hands.  IT'S ABOUT TO BE ON IN THE PARKING LOT PLAYAS!!!!!!!!!!!!  WHAT????????  DON'T LET THE CUTE FOOL YOU AND IF MY JACKET GETS DIRTY A 157 MIGHT NEED TO BE CALLED IN!  HUMPH!

LOL!  This is going to be continued as these are just a few stills.  One thing I learned?  Never take off your hat when you combed your hair back to ACCOMODATE the hat without checking a big azz mirror and using a comb FIRST.  Layers need to be POSITIONED!  ROFL!

My friends are funny!

Arm Wrestling - watch more funny videos

If you like this video please share it with at least 5 people. My friends are trying to get some clicks on Funny or Die to create buzz!!!!! Thank you in advance!

CreoleInDC Headshot!

 
 

HUMPH!  

I've been dodging it long enough but it looks like I will have to break down and get a professional headshot done. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 

Any tips on what colors I should wear and how I should wear my hair?  The last time I had a headshot done was in 1998.

OMYG!OMYG!OHMYG!OHMYG!OHMYG!

I just got THE call!  Thank you God thank you God thank you God!  Sundance hurt my feelings last week but THANK YOU GOD I GOT A A CALL TONIGHT THAT PUT THAT CREATIVE SMILE RIGHT BACK ON MY FACE!

GO ME!

GO ME!

GO ME!

I.AM.SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!

DO THE SNOOPY DANCE WITH ME CUZ GOTDAMMIT I'M THE SHIT! TAKE THAT BLOOD SUCKING HAPPINESS SAPPER!

Pics from ABFF!

I took this picture for Robby, of course!  LOL!  I saw Kenya Moore (Robby's second wife) and I was BLOWN AWAY by how beautiful she is in person.  Like...you know when you see her in magazines and whatnot and you're like...so...she all airbrushed up.  Um...no.  You can't say that anymore.  The woman is more beautiful in person.  Really makes me wonder why her career didn't take off more in the world of beautiful people.

Notice how greezy the kid looks.  It was already humid as HELL and it rained while we were in the premier so yeah...I was looking a MESS!  By the way...I'm STILL only 5'9".  That is all.

This dude is one of my favorite villains!  LOL!

His girlfriend was like 6 ft tall and about 98 pounds soaking wet.  She was rocking some of the baddest shoes known to mankind.  

Imagine my surprise when I saw not one but TWO people I know from Louisiana doing it up big in the industry!  GO YALL!!!!!!!!!

I don't care WHAT they say...guys gossip waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than women.  They just call it something different!  LOL!

 

oneblackman is allergic to Fiji water.  ROFL!

ABFF and Me!

So...I submitted a script to the Nickelodeon folks that were going to be at ABFF and my script was one of the finalists chosen.  I was invited down for this story telling thingy and then a script review with some suits from Nickelodeon.

The story telling was REALLY good and then we had a one on two with the suits to review our scripts.  My review went like this:

Them:  You are really funny and you captured the voice of the main character really well.  The story was good too.

Me:  (GRINNING BIG CHEESE EATING GRIN)  Thank you!  (All brightly and shit.)

Them: Now...lemme tell you what's WRONG with it so you can fix it.

And this went on for thirty SOLID minutes.  PAGE BY PAGE BY PAGE.

And at the end?  They gave me a one page typed up with my wrong stuff.

Thank you.

Um...I think.

So I got my shit and rolled out going over in my head.  I called The Robinator and told him and he gave me some words of wisdom.  I felt beat the hell up.  Like...BEAT DOWN WITH A LEAD PIPE!  I went to get me a gelati and thunk on it and yeah...they were right.  And hey..these are the people that are ACTUALLY putting things on the air so yeah...Imma work on this stuff BIG.TIME.

But initially ya girl was feeling some kinda way.

I recognized that this was the most valuable thing I have had the opportunity to do so far and I recognize that it's going to make me waaaaaaaaaaaaay better really quick.

Yup.  I'm on it.

So for the rest of the festival I  joined the regular and fancy participants.  I hit the master classes and some symposiums and took in a few movies and a couple of cocktail parties.  I met, as always, some FABULOUS people who I hope to stay in contact with and I continued to think about my beat down.

Fortunately I saw most of the other folks that were finalists as well and found they were beat down too.  LOL!  I felt better.  The thing we all wondered was that if we were the best of the best and got beat down...DANG...what in the WORLD did the other scripts look like????????? ROFL!

CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP!

Sorry...I'm supposed to be writing but I just can't stop smiling!  I feel sooooooooooooo good about myself!  I love it when I get proof positive that I'm good at something I love doing.

I CAN'T STOP GRINNING!  LOLOLOLOLOL!  WHEW!

GO ME!

(Now back to our regularly scheduled shenanigans.)

Dear Panasonic Lumix GH1:

I'm thinking yall need an up and coming female filmmaker to do a review on the Lumix GH1 so real people can relate to it.  Me?  I'm ya huckleberry.  :) 

Holla at me if you need some blog love:  Monica.Mingo@comcast.net

I am sooooooooooo not playing.  LOL!

Talent made me SICK!

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat.  "Talent," as our lead was referred to constantly by our producer, brought some cooties with her from New Jersey and we found ourselves watching her fade quickly.  I tried everything from having her eat on set to making her tea and Airborne but she looked terrible poor thing.

Good thing she was supposed to look sickish huh?  LOL!  She was SUCH a good sport even when she was test driving the fancy BMW that was a stick shift.  LOL!  NASCAR WATCH OUT!

The other "Talent" of the day was soooooooo awesome.  I love his laid back style.  You'd never know that, with a resume like his, he COULD be a div-O if he wanted to be.  Dude is ALL.OF.THAT!

On Friday I had to change Producers and made a call to the most super awesome-ist producer IN THE WORLD!  He was in Florida.  I'd sent him the script before I knew he was in Florida and he called back excited because he LOVED the script.  Dude's flight hit the runway at 1:30pm and he showed up ready to rumble.  AMAZING!  I always knew he and I were meant to work together and I'm oh-so-glad this one worked out to our advantage.

We needed some extra lights and I put a call out to one of my super film friends on Friday.  She packed up and headed straight here after her shoot and spent the night sleeping soundly!

One of my DEAREST friends has been in on this one with me from the beginning.  I watched her run lines with "Talent", saw her break down sets, stand in the freezing cold without a hat on for take after take, provide VALUABLE and VALUED feedback consistently, hold the food for the "Talent,"  make small talk with the cab driver and help strike a set like a pro.

Damn...I love her.

Make up was done so well that we found ourselves gazing at the actors on the monitors.  Dude...they looked like they were ALREADY superstars.  Seriously.  It was important to the script that the lead actress have a beauty about her that makes you want to know everything you can about her. 

That was accomplished.

I walked around my home this morning and it was, surprisingly, clean.  I was pretty amazed.  That also goes to show the level of professionalism and thoughtfulness of the cast and crew.  I'm going to vacuum and clean the bathrooms (because all 4 of them were in use) and then try and get some down time before it starts all over again.  I might grill some food today for them.  Two are veggies so I'll prolly grill some portabello mushroooms too.

(Arnold Schwarzenegger just made a MAJOR funny on "Meet the Press!"  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  )

Jaru and Lucy were surprisingly quiet and seemed to be resigned to not being in the mix of it all as they usually are at 13700.  The Robinator?  He stayed out of the way unless he was headed to the kitchen to get something to eat and/or drink.

All in all we had a charmed shoot.  Everyone got on well and there were no issues to speak of.  We worked EXTREMELY well together and genuinely enjoyed each other's company.

I'm excited dude.

TRULY excited.

Big ups to VH1 Soul for yesterday's programming.  Dude...HOT!  HOT!  HOT!  New Jack City videos ALL DAY!  We saw videos between takes that we hadn't seen since we were teenagers!  Leather MCM outfits?  Blond high top fades?  Singers that are actual DANCERS???????  DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!

Dude...we charmed.  :)

The Robinator:  Can I be the Executive EXECUTIVE Producer?
SIP:  *BLINK*

Strike Set!

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"MovieMaker" Magazine...Why buy to learn to be a Movie Director?

In my quest to be all I can be in the filmmaking business, I'm on a constant journey for continued education.  My textbooks are full of information, of course, but, as with anything that is steeped in technology, the information can become outdated rather quickly.  "MovieMaker" is the perfect bridge to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest information and is always chock full of real first person accounts from people actually in the industry that I'd otherwise  not have candid access to.

In other words..."MovieMaker" ROCKS!

The current issue is just like a textbook and lays the process out from start to finish with all the dots covered to include tax credit information that lowly students of film don't know to consider yet.  I would have never heard about this in class and if I'd read about it in one of my textbooks the information would be obsolete by now I'm sure. 

If you're a novice filmmaker as I am, I say look into it.  To buy an issue in the store it costs $8.95 but if you subscribe you can get a three year subscription for only $38.  Um...BLINK!  NO BRAINER!

I was going to compare this magazine to some others in the near future and actually have it in my 'blog idea' notebook but something happened this morning that made me step it up a notch.

Me likey dis magazine!

:)

The kid done really, REALLY good today.

(Insert big, cheese eating grin HERE.)

I hate people...

Folks know we're looking for a main female actress.  We don't care what skin color she is...just that she's a good actress.

Someone directed me to a site and I did a search for actresses in the area.

This is what I found and now I'm done reading emails for the rest of the day:  http://www.musecube.com/search/model.htm?usertypeid=1&countryid=222&stateid=813&provinceid=&orderby=1&sex=1&agerange=4&interest_film=1

Everybody I know...

...takes suck azz pics of me.

This is a pic of one of my partners and I from our casting call today at my school.  It was a long day but to me, oh so rewarding.  I felt ALIVE again being in the chair of co-director along with someone whose instincts and "eye" I truly trust to direct with me in this project and get it to where we want it to be.  We've received such good feedback on the script that we KNOW we have a winner!

I was very humbled to read the resumes of the actors who auditioned today.  The talent I saw was AMAZING and in my notes I was assigning them roles in not only the current production but in other productions I have in my arsenal.  Dude...these people have acting CHOPS!  One chick cried and the person from our creative team who was reading with her started crying too.  Dude...EMOTIONAL!  Absolutely EMOTIONAL!

The problem I have is in trying to narrow down the list to JUST who we need.  This is going to be very difficult as we saw some really good talent today.

Wow...I wish I could use all of them just out of appreciation for them showing up and giving us their all today.

One thing today solidified for me is that I'm definitely doing what I'm MEANT to do.  Like...this is such a powerful thing for me because often times we need validation that the path we've chosen is the path we were meant to travel and days like today seals the deal for me.  I am MEANT to make movies.  I can SEE IT.  Lawd knows I've already dreamed it.

Two people on our creative team really took ownership of their roles today and showed me why I love them so and why I trust them with helping me birth this baby.  They weren't paid anything except a lovely meal, laughter and good times.  One day man...one day.

In casting these roles I am going outside of the box a lot.  I dont want to just focus on the tried and true actor and want to focus on people who have a dream as well.  There are lots of people who didn't have the opportunity to pursue their acting careers because of LIFE and I want to make sure they know that even if it's just a DREAM...even if they have never acted in a single thing before...they are more than welcome to audition for a role in something I'm a part of.  Why? 

WE ALL GOTTA START SOMEWHERE!

AND...just because you didn't take the path of least resistance doesn't mean you don't deserve the opportunity to pursue your dream.

Check me out.  All grown up and ish. 

I had a tiring and hectic day today and I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

I got up before Prince Ziggy did and started printing out the documents I needed.  But first...I needed to figure out how to put the toner in the new printer:

Yes those are pincurls in my hair.  My first attempt actually.  I liked the way my hair turned out from them:

How does a grown azz womann get toner on her cheek?  The world may never know:

I was under pressure as far as time and Uncle Robby was at the gym this morning so yup...Prince Ziggy was allowed a contraband bottle to keep him happy in his crib while I finished up so I could hit the road:

Rock on T-Monnie...rock on!

I LOVE doing this!

This is what I was doing on Sunday.  Wheeeeeeeeee! 

Black Directors Move Beyond Their Niche

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/movies/11seym.html?_r=1

Cold and Rainy Friend!

The high today in my neck of the woods was about 46 and I promised a friend I'd be an extra in his shoot tonight.  The shoot that was OUTSIDE.  Yup...I'm a good person and a good friend man.  I better get MAJOR kudos for this...humph!  That pic was taken by our classmate...who takes pics like Robby.  Humph.  LOL!

These actor dudes are pretty big in the area.  Dude on the left just got back today from New York where he's doing work in "Lipstick Jungle."  Cool huh?  Dude on the right is the awesomest dude alive.  LOL!  He is sooooo quick wit-ted.  ROFL!

So yeah...I'm just getting home and getting warmed up.  Me and fleece are great friends.  :)

I had two slices of pizza tonight.  I'm sure I won't be able to go to sleep without my stomach reminding me I ate pizza tonight.  My organic stomach does NOT play!

Back in the Saddle

It felt good even though I'm tired as HELL!  I didn't realize how much I miss my film peoples.  LOL!  I missed them MUCHO!  Getting back into the swing was easy as we all genuinely like each other and we all have a great sense of humor.  We rock!

I left my home at 7:15 am and am just getting home.  Bout to watch "Meet the Press" and smile.

And the Chihuahua movie made $29 million it's first weekend...

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a $29 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

WOW.

And yet...some of us STILL don't believe Palin's appeal and WHO she's appealing TO.  We're surrounded by dumb people.

*sigh*

"Miracle at St. Anna" (2008) Box Office Stats

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
Domestic Total as of Oct. 5, 2008: $6,334,000 (Estimate)
Distributor: Buena Vista
Release Date: September 26, 2008
Genre: War Drama
Running Time: 2 hrs. 46 min.
MPAA Rating: R
Production Budget: $45 million

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)

See how much it cost to MAKE the movie as opposed to how much it's MADE so far?  *sigh* And THIS is why bullshit keeps getting made.  And this on the cusp of the news that TP has enough money to open state of the art studios.  Aw well...c'est la vie.  At least he's getting better.

Sheesh!

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo antsy.

The worst thing about THIS two week wait is in not being able to plan my next step cuz if I'm preggo I won't be able to do the next step I'd LIKE to do and if I'm NOT preggo...

Well...I don't wanna think that today even though all that's all I CAN think about.

*sigh*

THANKS DISCO DIVA!!!!!

Security was about to kick me out!  But I thought Monica is worth it..of course in retrospect, no one is worth jail. :)

I explained to them I was just waiting for your name and they stood over me.  My hand was shaking so that's why it's blurry. But you can still read it!! 

I rarely post but when I do it's under Disco Diva.  Sorry the pic isn't better!

CreoleInDC TV: Spike Lee Internship Wrap Up!

Casting Call!

Black woman...late 20's to mid 30's. Unique style. Natural hair. Mid to dark skin tone.

Please send full length body pic and close up face shot to CreoleInDC@mac.com along with age, height and weight.

Shoot will be in September.

Thanks!

Everybody has a story!

When folks ask me what I do...I usually tell them I'm a film student. I've since stopped doing that because it seems that everyone has a story idea and I'm like...say bruh...I'm a STUDENT! I had this one dude who was like...I own the rights to this story and I want to make a movie, blah, blah, blah. I was amazed at this dude's moxy cuz I was like...I'M A STUDENT! I CAN'T HELP YOU! I'M A STUDENT!

And so on and so forth...

After being on a flight this Spring where my seat mate had fifty-lleven questions I decided it was best that I tell folks I'm a housewife.

Usually gets me some peace and quiet cuz nobody wants to talk shop or trade "who you knows" with a housewife. LOL!

Sometimes the housewife works...most times it doesn't. And then...I guess I come across as this azzhole that people just NEED to crack. And well...yall know me. If I'm not trying to give up the goods...I WON'T.

I was super excited about my internship and told yall about it...but I keep it to myself with folks I come into contact with. Especially here where it's all about who you know.

My favorite thing to say is...I don't want any trouble...and hell...I mean that. I can't help you get next to Mr. Lee...I ain't telling him ish you say and why in the WORLD would I give him YOUR script when I got my own dang scripts I'm scared to approach him with. I mean...PUHLEEZE! I think it's cool and all that your brother sister girlfriend neighbor's son Godchild cousin playbeaux is an actor...BUT I CAN'T DO NUFFIN FOR YOU PLAYA! I'M A STUDENT AND HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO VOICE AT ALL! And do you really, REALLY think Imma bother Mr. Lee with some nonsense that has nothing to do with me?

Um...nerp.

That said...I don't tell anyone what I'm doing here and that seems to intrigue the HELL outta folks. Take this chick I was sitting next to recently. After the customary one, two, head to toe...she asks me what do I do that I'm in NY for the week and home on the weekends. I told her nothing much and closed my mouth. She got mad. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DUDE! Why you gotsta get mad Tuan?????

So looky here...if we somewhere out and about don't be telling errybody what I'm doing if they ain't family...mmmkay? Cuz that means Imma hafta listen to them tell their story with the end result being the same...I'M A STUDENT! I CAN'T HELP! I AIN'T GOT NAINH AINH NUTTIN BEHIND MY NAME FILM RELATED.

Mmmmkay?

I'm just a housewife. Seriously.

:)

Guess who gets to be listed in the credits of Mr. Lee's upcoming movie, "Miracle at St. Anna?"

THAT WOULD BE MEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What does than mean to you?

That you will have to take your binoculars to the movie when you go to see it and wait till the ABSOLUTE END OF THE CREDITS so you can see my name. ROFLROFLROFLROFLROFL! I'm sure it will be in .0009 font after the names of such important folks as...erra...paper picker up, dog walker and whatnot. LOL!

BUT...it will be there. Monica Mingo, Post Production Intern along with the other post production interns.

:) I'm STILL grinning since I found out.

GO ME!

Monnie...Monnie...Mo...Monnie...

I just showered and am lying across the bed after a pretty awesome day. Hey...I know it's early and I'm in the city that never sleeps but um...I'm old and tired. In fact...I'm so old that I was wishing I had some talcum powder to toss up in my chest like my Grandmother. LOL! After a bath on a hot day...she always puts on a lil powder. I think Imma start doing that so don't be surprised when yall see pics of me with white ish all up in my chest. ROFL!

That's the spot! GO ME! (I love saying that by the way! ROFL!)

So today I did MAAAAAAAD grunt work...but I'm happy. Hell...the bottom is the best place to be when you don't know ish. Saves you from looking stoopit and having to pretend you know some ish you don't. ROFL! So I've been assisting with archiving media and answering phones. They are in the midst of a remodel so the top floor of the building has all kinds of construction going on. It's looks like it's going to be mad nice. They are thinking it will be ready in a month or so. I've done commercial build-outs before so I'm giving em late September. LOL! Construction people have different clocks than we do. A month to them is an automatic 2 months. So if they are saying a month and a half...you're safe at three. LOL!

Imma need someone to explain this to me cuz I'm confucious. Am I sposed to WALK or STOP? I can't handle too much change man...yall know I got issues:

Okay so...while yall splaining that to me...splain this to me too:

I didn't think I'd get to see Mr. Lee anytime soon since they are in post production. I was grabbed to go to the city with Mr. Lee's right hand man so I could sit in the truck and make sure he didn't get a ticket while he dropped some things off to his Manhattan office at the end of the day. I was sitting there in the driver's seat when here they come out together. I almost crapped my pants thinking I was bout to get sasquatched bout the damn 48 ish earlier. Lemme find out he was mad cool. He even laughed and smiled in my GENERAL direction. LOL! I got in the back and he was in the passenger seat listening to ESPN radio. Me? I was being very quiet and Blackberry blogging. ROFL!

My apartment is an efficiency. The entire thing is the size of our bedroom and bathroom at home. If I told you how much it cost yall would agree to come down with me and hold somebody hotsausage (I miss Robin Harris!).

Cojoe was here yesterday so I was cool. Today it's very clear to me that there is NOTHING between me and the hallway but one...little...door. There are no Jaru and Lucy to warn me...no Robby to protect me. AHA! I have a sofa! That'll do. Up against the door you go playa. Yup...BREAK YOSELF OFF FOOL! And yes...that is trash hanging on the door so I don't forget to dump it in the morning cuz I forgot this morning. Taking trash out isn't usually my job...so I gotta remember.

On my way to the apartment...it got dark...QUICKLY and the wind was NO JOKE!

How does that happen so QUICK???????????

All in all...I had a pretty cool day. It was fun, I was busy and I think I'm going to have the opportunity to absorb a lot from everyone. This is how someone SHOULD feel doing an internship. As if the possibilities were LIMITLESS!

If it doesn't rain tomorrow I think Imma take the video camera out and get some footage of some stuff to show yall. I'll venture out to the city and whatnot and let yall see what I see. Should be cool. What say you? Cool?

P.S. Do not ever, EVER buy a bed in a bag after you are used to REAL sheets! It's like sleeping on wheat. Seriously. I felt ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL SCRATCHED UP this morning. SHEESH! I know I got issues yall. I know.

Cool Huh?

http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/internshipGenInfo.asp?internshipid=352

HOLY BAT CRAP!

I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE! I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE! I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE! I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE! I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE! I GOT AN INTERNSHIP WITH SPIKE LEE!

HOLY BAT CRAP!

PINCH ME TILL I BLEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Learning...Learning...LEARNING!

I've learned something from this experience. I've learned that I ABSOLUTELY 100% HAVE TO BE A FILMMAKER! It is the only thing I want to do forever and ever and ever!

Me happy.

:)

Our Favorite Student!

Robby and I love this kid. LOL! We have officially adopted him as our Cannes baby brother. (I need yall to notice that when I take the pictures they are not blurry but when ROBBY takes the pictures...they always, ALWAYS are! USER ERROR!!!!!)

Hello Mr. Lee!

Yessir! I met Mr. Lee and he gave me contact info to send in my stuff to intern. He asked if I had a spot I could stay in New York and I told him I'd HAVE a spot to stay in New York if need be noooooooo problema! (Guess I shoulda asked The Robinator first huh? ROFL!) SERIOUSLY....how could I turn down an intern with Mr. Lee if given the opportunity????? Lawd geevus...I DOUBT if I can!

Apparently the story is that I ACCOSTED Mr. Lee when we were just chilling and walking and talking. The person who claimed I accosted him is someone I'm going to stay away from because I hate HATERS and the stories they tell. DON'T BE MAD TUAN!

Hmmmmmmmmm....

If you knew someone who had a movie in theaters and you went to see it and didn't like it...what would you tell them the next time you saw them and they asked you?

This Dude...

So there is this dude here and he kept looking at me and I kept looking at him. We were both pretty busy so we didn't have an opportunity to speak. He looked VERY familiar to me and I did as well to him.

When we were in close proximity to each other we both said..."You look familiar...."

And then it began...you know...the questions trying to figure it out.

Well...turns out that he's from Louisiana and we went to school together many moons ago! LOL! How FABULOUS is that????????????? Man...we home-growners are really representing on the coast ya know? And then...my newfound COUSIN (Louisianians claim each other as family when we see each other somewhere other than in Louisiana...lol!) told me he was in my NEW.FAVORITE.MOVIE..."The Great Debaters!" HOW AWESOME IS THAT?????????????

Remember the only debate they lost? The captain of that debate team? IT WAS HIM! I just had to tell him that I remember he looked really mean in the movie and that he shouldn't be that way. ROFL! His reply? "That was Denzel man..." Ya boy knows DENZEL! Go, go, go, go, G-O! And not only that, but he's married, CURRENTLY lives in Louisiana and has three children. LOVE THAT! Robby and I might have to take him to dinner while we're here!

So...his name is Marcus Lyle Brown. Look out for him as I'm sure he's going to do big things. Unfortunately, they lost his luggage. Of COURSE I told him if he had something to do, that I'm sure we could figure something out with Robby's wardrobe. LOL! I'm sure Robby's gonna LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEEEEE loaning his clothes. ROFLROFLROFL!

Anyway...yall remember him. I'm sure he's going places!

Question...

If I could meet anyone on this trip from Hollywood…who do you think I should focus on meeting?

CANNES PICS!

Sorry guys...but this took FOREVER! The connection here is really very slow and it is 11:00pm here. I gotta get some sleep cuz I have to get up at 7:00am and need to get back to my apartment.

Of the 120 pictures I have taken...only 46 uploaded so far. I'll try again tomorrow.

Here are the 46: http://MonicaMingo.smugmug.com/gallery/4912205_djbPM#293404919_8t9jX

I MISS YALL SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

INNERNET BABY!

Aiight...got the innernet at a restaurant on the beach. Imma do a mini vid-yo. I'm having dinner with one of the students who is cool as a white box fan. A lot of the students are very young and well...erra...let's just say it's not a good...um...erra...FIT. :)

His name is Sam and we ditched going to dinner with a buncha folks so to get away from the noise!

Hold up...this is going too slow. Gimme a minute to upload to my Smug Mug account.

Clowning with my Classmates!

My classmates RULE!

It struck me this morning that I haven't really shared a lot with yall regarding school and how it's been going. Well...I won't lie when I tell you I had a rough patch there for a minute because of some serious challenges regarding editing. I made the mistake of not purchasing the editing software in the beginning of the course because I was waiting for Apple to drop the new MacBook Pro. I didn't want to buy a new computer that would be obsolete soon because they were releasing the computers with the new operating systems at the end of February. Also...they didn't tell us we needed to buy the software AND...the cost of the software is such that I definitely consider it a part of the investment and I don't want to be an editor so I wrongfully felt that I could live without it.

I was wrong.

Dear Monica:

Greetings From Cannes!

36 Days and counting!!! Is your travel booked? Please make sure you sign-in and enter your itinerary on the special accept page of the website if you haven't already.

Are you wondering how you will get from the Nice airport to Cannes La Bocca? We are planning to charter busses that will take participants from Nice to our accommodations. The busses will depart the Nice Airport at three or four scheduled times throughout the day on Saturday, May 10th. In addition to providing an easy and organized method of ground transportation, it gives participants a chance to bond and get to know each other a bit before the Program begins. We will also charter busses to transport participants from Cannes La Bocca to the Nice Airport on Monday May 26th. You will be scheduled on a shuttle according to the time you arrive in Nice so make sure you have provided us with your travel itinerary! Please note that we are offering this as an option for ground transfers and you are not required to use this option. There are other methods for ground transfers in Nice including taxis, trains, and public busses.

This weeks tip:

Cell Phones: To have or not to have?

Most people have become so accustomed to being constantly connected that they can’t think of living a moment without a cell phone. Having a cell phone in Cannes has pros and cons but can be easily arranged. If you have a quad band phone it may work in France, but check with your service provider first and make sure you have a good international plan as the calls can be very expensive. You can also rent phones from many different American or European vendors, however, it may be just as cheap to buy a phone. There are many phone stores in Cannes (and Cannes La Bocca) where you can purchase a phone for about 50 Euros and then purchase a French phone number and about 3 hours of time (good for International calls too) for about another 50 Euros. Three hours is usually enough time for the Festival but you can always purchase additional minutes for as little at 10 euros if you are one of those chatty people!

This week’s French lesson :

Is there anyone here who speaks English? Y a-t-ill quelqu’un qui parle anglais? (ee ahteel kehlkang kee pahrl ahnggleh)

Please feel free to contact us should you have questions or need additional information.

See you in Cannes!

_____________________________

From SIP: Have these buses been wiped down with Bleach? Will the French who are NOTORIOUS for being smokers NOT smoke on this bus? Me thinky not. This trip is gonna REALLY show us what Monnie is made of huh?

Monnie: I'm sugar and spice and everything nice.
Robby: Yeah...I've arranged for you to have a car. It's important for you to get started on a positive note.
Monnie: You don't think I can do it?
Robby: *Dialing* Federico...this is Robby...I have Monica's itinerary...
SIP: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wooo...that man REALLY knows you well!

What Say You?

Sex and conflict sells.

I knew that already but it was reiterated CONSTANTLY when I was putting together the package for a documentary on LOVE. Basically I wanted to explore people's concepts of love and what factors contributed to how they felt. I wanted to do all ages and skin colors and had an all-star (in my mind...lol) cast lined up.

BUT....

Who would watch a documentary about such?

Would YOU?<

BUMP! Dreaming Big...

So...yall remember when I admitted to yall about making movies right? Right. It seemed like such a HUGE thing that even I was skeptical. Yup...I was. And scared. And worried.

You know...cuz I might fail.

Well...it's been a while since I've given you guys an update on my filmmaking dreams and I decided that maybe I should in case you were wondering and in case you were still on the fence about whether or not you have what it takes to stick your neck out there too.

I'm going to the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival.

Lemme repeat that.

I, Monica Mingo, country gal from Small Town, Louisiana is going to the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival.

I applied for a student program and was accepted. Only 150 students are accepted and ya girl is one of them.

I've been wanting to tell yall but I couldn't until I worked out a few things by way of living arrangements because yall know I needed private accommodations cuz I can't share my space with 3 strangers. (Can you IMAGINE the uneasiness I'd feel with my bags, shoes and clothes accessible to 3 strangers? ) No way...no how. AND...since I'll be there (Cannes, France) from May 10 - May 26th...I need a private room so Robby can come the last week I'm there cuz yall know I couldn't be away from my Robinator for that long. I'd go CRAZY. Yall think I'm joking when I say I'm not me without him. Well...I'm sooooooooo serious.

What will he do while I'm doing what I'm doing as a student during the day? According to Cojoe, who has decided he's coming as well (because I need an entourage...his words...not mine...*sigh*), they are going to be on the beach searching for butt floss. Yes...you heard me. BUTT FLOSS. There may be a killing in Cannes. Seriously. Robby and Cojoe together visiting nude beaches and searching out butt floss might just be the thing that tips me over the edge. All I ask is that yall take up a collection for me and send me an airmail package every couple of weeks or so in prison. Thank you in advance.

ROFL!

N.E.WAY...I'm going to have access to all the people who ARE the people to know and yall know ya girl is going to try her darnedest to do what she can do and see what she can see. Yupper. I plan to maximize the HECK outta this!

So...why did I decide to tell yall since only my friends and family have known about this thus far? Well...a young lady reached out to me about following her dreams and how she wishes she could. She sent this on Sunday and I'm just getting to her email today. Princess...LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO NOT.START.NOW.

Step out of your comfort zone and make a plan. I'm not saying do anything crazy...but I sure am saying that thangs are gonna hafta change unless you want thangs to stay the same. Me...I have big dreams. HUGE dreams and I'm going to give it all I got.

Write down your plan. You have no idea how IMPORTANT this is. WRITE IT DOWN AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!

My plan?

Within 5 years I want to start a production company and I want to make movies. I want to enter into festivals and present, present, present, pitch, pitch, pitch. I want to make enough money that I can retire my husband to the golf course if that's what he wants and I want our life to be such that wherever I have to travel...he has the flexibility to be with me. Why? Cuz he's my center, my everything...my peace.

Well...now yall know why I have been so scare...I have no spare time since I'm putting together the elements of my plans. :) AND...picking out the fits Imma wear to the PARTAYS PLAYA! (Imma hafta figure out how to stay up past 9:30 for 16 days huh? ROFL!) Do you have any idea how much SHOPPING I gotta do? I mean come on...YA GIRL GOTSTA BE FLIZIE! HANDS DOWN! FOLKS...THIS.IS.HUGEMOUS! You have NO...EARTHLY IDEA!

I, Monica Mingo, am going to make movies. I'm going to Cannes...and it's going to be the stepping stone I need. I'm so proud of myself and Robby is just about to burst. Dr. Punkin, Cojoe and Weezy been braggin to errybody and haven't even been saying it right...just blabbing. ROFL! Apparently, they are proud of me too and all my friends have just been so amazing in their support. The squeals I've received have pierced my ear drums. Seriously.

Dream big folks. Hell...I sure did and I'm going to fricking CANNES. Official site here: http://www.festival-cannes.com/

CAN YOU BELIEVE?????????????????????????????

CreoleInDC TV: Da Skrength

Me: I was worried there that we wouldn't make it.
Robby: Make what?
Me: Make it through that shoot.
Robby: WELL SCREW YOU! I WAS HELPING! I COULD HAVE VERY WELL STAYED HOME AND PLAYED GOLF SO YOU NEED TO GET OVER IT!
Me: *sigh*
SIP: You the one started that screw that mess you know.
Me: *sigh*...yup...I know.

EVERYBODY has a story!

What's yours?  What sets you apart from the rest?

I'm asking for a reason.  SEVERAL reasons.  After you tell your story...please include the state you live in if you're comfortable with that as well as the state most of your STORY happened in (ie...where you grew up).

Do NOT be afraid to brag.  Please.

Thank you in advance for this and please make sure the email address you include is one I can contact you via.

Monica Mingo - Audio

This is the class project we last did in which I did the boring audio. (Although I'm told me done good! LOL!) It was the profile of the comic book store, Big Planet Comics: http://web.mac.com/videofunnery/comics/Home.html

Big Planet Comics

The shoot today was pretty dang awesome. It was "...GOLD Jerry! GOLD!" We were shooting a segment at Big Planet Comics. Cool huh?

Now lemme tell you how this goes down. You have to do research so you know what questions to ask when giving your interviews. I was the audio person this time (which is the suckiest thing in the WORLD OF FILM...holding a boom pole/mike for hours is NOT the HotNESS!) so I didn't have to do much and besides...the producer of this shoot was our top classmate. I mean...old boy is THOROUGH. I was asked to look into getting questions together but by the time I'd done some reading and came up with a list of questions...he'd already sent an entire call sheet with shots laid out, questions, etc.

HOWEVER...I read some VERY interesting things while I was reading up on it and I was STUNNED! Did yall know that Spider-Man made a deal with the devil, Mephisto, that basically ERASES his 20 year marriage to Mary Jane in order to save Aunt Mae? Aunt Mae is like 268 YEARS OLD! Say bruh. I was upSET! I kept reading about it and went on message boards and say playa...FOLKS IS MAD and hell...I can't say I blame them. That's some NONSENSE! http://www.nypost.com/seven/12292007/news/nationalnews/spidey_swings__153114.htm

So while I was there I just HAD to take pics of these books:

Luke Cage ala Rage of Cage:

Black Adam ala DJ Black Adam:

This is OFFICIALLY called my Saturday Shirt according to Robby. For some odd reason...I always end up wearing it on Saturday's. ROFL!

Now...I gotta go. I got me some comic book loot. WHY DON'T WE READ MORE COMIC BOOKS???????????

Why I might NOT go to Prague...

I've sent two emails asking about the living arrangements while we'll be in Prague.

Nobody has answered.

I was discussing it with someone at school and they said it would probably be a hostel-like environment.

*CRICKETS*

Um...ya girl does NOT do hostels. You're kidding right? RIGHT?

Can yall see me sharing a damn bathroom with a floor full of folks? Hell no.

Can yall see me sharing a room with someone other than someone I consider family? Hell no.

Can yall see me leaving my ish in a damn hostel room while I'm out and about all day working my azz off? Hell no.

Can yall see me doing this for 2 weeks to a month and no one is paying me money to do so? H.E.L.L.N.O.

No one has answered my question yet and my participation is based on where I will eat, sleep and...erra...YOU KNOW. I have germ issues. No way playa...NO WAY. Never wonder why I've never been on a mission. I'll be the first one to whup out my checkbook...but I'm not sleeping in no hut for noooooooooooobody. I respect those who do cuz I know I COULDN'T.

I'm too old and set in my ways and the cost of a hotel for that long would make the cons outweigh the pros. Fo real...fo sho.

TOTALLY Cool!

http://smartflix.com/

From Joel Osteen:

Joel's message was for me today.

"Col. Sanders didn't start Kentucky Fried Chicken till he was 66 years old."

Wow.

"If you're bold enough to ask God to make up for lost time...He will. God wants to restore all those years you were hurting."

Imma take that message and RUN with it. I really needed to hear that. I truly, TRULY did.

I may have lost years but God is going to restore those years and I know this has started already with the love of my husband. I know that was God ordained. I KNOW God sent him to me to restore my life. I KNOW he blessed me with the love I have.

http://joelosteen.lakewood.cc/site/PageServer?pagename=JOM_podcasts_register

This is my brand of religion. I can't find a single fault with it.

Happy Sunday folks.