5.15.2008

Informant fun facts (and observations)

Holy cow! I can't believe all the visitors to my site the last 24 hours. It's funny how it's all getting passed around, but then again, Matt is the Sexiest Man Alive. Too bad he didn't look like this on Tuesday:



I found that I've been linked by a Matt Damon Column, which is why I'm getting all this traffic. Kinda fun, eh? Welcome to all of you from the Matt Damon Column and to those I've seen referred to me through Google images and Google blog search! It's not normally that interesting around here unless you're looking for photography pointers :c) Thanks for stopping by and I'd love it if you commented and told me you were here.

Here are some personal observations from the two days among other facts:

  • Joel McHale is actually quite cute, very goofy and as tall as Neil. He reminds me A LOT of Neil, but Joel is a little more "expressive"!
  • Matt Damon is as cute as I imagined him to be, maybe even a bit cuter. But that may also be because he touched me and he has nice hands :)
  • Matt Damon is very gracious. He took out loads of time for each person waiting to see him. He signed autographs, had his picture taken over and over, even took time to joke around. He spent extra time with those people with young kids and handicapped folks. It was about 40 minutes that he stood signing autographs and having pictures taken. (That's amazing.)
  • Matt Damon's crew is very cute :c)
  • Matt's wife is very very pretty. She is Argentine and according to my friend, Jo, the owner of It's a Girl Thing, she speaks to Isabella in both languages (is it Spanish or Portuguese?). It reminds me of my friend, Beth, who husband is from Brazil and they speak to their son in both languages. It's pretty awesome.
  • I didn't know who Scott Bakula was at all until I overhead someone say he was on Quantum Leap. Then I remembered! I think my mom and dad watched that show! :c) Was it good?
  • Hollywood spends a lot of money to put on a movie. For instance, I know that they "leased" the entire parking lot of the Decatur Club for their equipment and vehicles. They also had to pay the city to have extra security, to block streets, to use buildings, to rent parking spaces, to take city things down (like parking meters), etc. They also paid residents of Decatur $75 an hour to use their cars. They also paid the "extras", and I'm assuming even if they didn't actually work because they had to stand around all day long. And all that, of course, is on top of the actual props, all the crew (I would guess 50-ish crew members), and of course the actors.
  • Hollywood people are like you and me. Luciana had on flats, jeans and a tee. Crew members wore Nike's and jeans. It's nice to see.
  • Matt really likes Starbucks. This was the 2nd time I saw him with Starbucks coffee.
  • Matt does not have as much security as I thought he would. He always had at least a driver and a body guard in the car. When he got out of the car, the body guard never followed him. Police weren't around him; just at certain "spots". Scott and Joel never had security with them - that I saw.
  • they actually say "cut" and "that's a rap!". They also say "Rolling!!".
  • Luciana knows what the sex of the new baby that she is carrying is. And the only other person in the city of Decatur that appears to know, other than Matt, is Jo, the owner of It's a Girl Thing. Luciana bought clothes for the new baby and she made Jo swear she would not breath a word what the sex of the baby is. And she's not! HOW COOL IS THAT?!
  • My father-in-law worked for the same company as Mark Whitacre and was an executive at the time as well. I just found out last night by my husband's mom that the FBI came to their house for questioning. Kinda cool. It's especially cool because Neil's dad had nothing to do with the price-fixing. Phew!
  • Neil works with Kirk Schmidt who is being played in the movie by Eddie Jemison (he was in all the Ocean's movies). Eddie looks nothing like Kirk which is pretty funny.
  • I also learned that i could very easily become one of the paparazzi. I would do it in a heartbeat, actually. I really enjoyed snapping pictures of these people. I enjoyed the excitement and thrill. I totally understand why people do it for the money!! I'm now considering moving to California :c)
  • Matt and the crew really like to eat at Bijou and The Beach House.
  • I also just learned that they're going to Hawaii next for some taping for the show (not sure why?). That would be a great way to end traveling to Decatur, I suppose ;)
The big question of the day is . . . will the premiere of the movie be in Decatur?!?!

9 comments:

Alexis Jacobs said...

I'm still not speaking to you. But on a side note, if the premiere is in Decatur I WILL not miss it by a few days. Hmph.....

Unknown said...

I'm giggling just because last night Neil's mom was visiting and I was telling her how I thought you were mad at me :) She's like "She IS?!". I said I think she'll get over it in a few days . . . :c)

Good thing I'm not scheduling weddings next year. This is the perfect reason not to :c) and if it does happen here...we're staying at a hotel in Decatur so we can be on top of the latest and sneak in and out just as paparazzi would :c)

Louise said...

Love all the 'inside' info you could totally be a reporter/papparazi!! LOL..you make me smile!!
Great to see you've had such an exciting week!
L

Corie said...

Oh wow- you are like my own lil insider! :) Well, not my very own, since apparently EVERYONE is reading your blog entries! But you know what I mean....

mama2dibs said...

You're a good photographer...you could definitely join the paparazzi. Go for it!

Anonymous said...

From Felicity - Matt Damon Column.

The photos were great, and it was my pleasure to link to your site. Thanks for your enthusiasm and your powers of observation (or questions to all the right people).

Anonymous said...

That was great! Man, did you ever get a lot of info. You are very inquisitive : )

MP said...

I bet the premier will be there!~

FYI: Scott Bakula is from St Louis. His family still lives here. I know his cousins.

LiLi said...

Oh Val! you are the best! :) I love your enthusiasm over everything!!! It's one of the main things I love about you!!! And yes, you'd be a great paparazzo! (however you spell it)... You crack me up with your observations about movies. My Dad has been in movies and television for going on 15 or maybe even 20 years now... and so to me, it has never seemed all that crazy... BUT believe it or not... Richmond is a big movie town. What is the coolest is when they build a whole set lot! OMG, it's sooooooooooooooooooooooo wild to see all these places that look like real places, then you look behind and it's just a bunch of 2x4's holding it all up and in place! My brother was paid for letting them use his Jeep in a movie, and my dad has been cast as "extra" in so many movies... and he's SAG now, so he makes a killing and usually he doesn't make it past the editing room floor! He loves a day when they go over time, because he gets paid double and in some cases TRIPLE the already ungodly amount they pay him. And it all started when he just went to a "cattle call" for extra's back in the 80s. He got the bug and has been participating as often as possible, ever since. AND it pays off to have a person in movies/tv... when SAG awards rolls around... my Dad gets inundated with Best Picture/Best Actor/Best you name it, dvd's to help him "vote" This year we got No Country For Old Men, Hairspray, and five others that I can't recall right now. We put the kids down at their house and we have movie nights! It's great! I love the industry. It's really a lot of fun. And one groovy thing is when you sit in the movie and watch the credits roll by, and you see your Daddy's name as a cast member! O M G nearly peed myself that day! He was in HUSH, got chopped out of the movie, BUT because he had speaking lines originally, he was STILL in the credits!!!

KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK! I'm loving all your blogging. OH and before I sign off... WTG MAIA!!!! ((hugs)) I'm thrilled she's decided to be a big girl now! :)