LA wish come true

So, studying screenwriting at UCLA and being so close to Hollywood I've had some great opportunities to hear from seasoned professionals and attend some cool screenings, especially with it being Oscar season. My wish finally came true when the director I've wanted to hear from most since being here finally had a screening and Q&A this last Friday: Christopher Nolan. I find it amazing that time after time he can create not only big blockbusters that a variety of people love (including me), but that they also have such depth and great story to them. He is a great storyteller, and I was excited to go listen to him. There wasn't necessarily one thing he said that stood out. It was the whole experience of being there and seeing someone who has been so successful and continues to be while maintaining a strong sense of what makes him unique. It was kind of cool that Guilllermo del Torro was the one who mediated, and they talked about their influences and love of noir, Borges, trying different things to tell good stories and really get to the simple, bare bones of an idea. Just two great directors just chatting for all of us. We were not allowed to ask questions about The Hobbit or Batman, however. Not that there was even much time for questions, but you take what you can get. This is another thing I love about LA (besides the awesome weather), having all this so close...and yet when you figure in traffic it's not nearly as close as you think which brings me to the thing I hate most about LA - traffic. It seriously took me 2 hours to get from Redondo Beach to UCLA which is really only about 30 miles away. Then it took another hour to get to the Egyptian theater in Hollywood. I was getting so frustrated with the lack of movement, with being so close to my destination and yet moving so glacially slow that I thought I wouldn't make it in time that I could feel my body heat rising and my habit of talking to myself increasing rapidly. I'm so glad we made it in time. It was a sold out theater, mostly fan boys. They asked that no one film any of the interview since they're using it for promotional stuff, so of course the next day some fan has already edited and introduced the interview and put it on youtube for all to see. In a world of self-promotion no one cares about the rules. Or so it seems.
Friday night I also experienced another LA attraction - the food trucks. As I dropped one of my classmates off in Venice we stopped and got some tacos at the Koji truck, but not just any tacos...Korean and Mexican fusion tacos. It was so delicious I didn't care that I'd already had a falafel sandwich before the movie and couldn't fit anything else in my stomach. I made room for these delicious creations. And they were actually cheap too. It was a good weekend, and good to get out and enjoy LA. Still love the little house by the beach, though.