Pacoima, Machete, Donuts and Levi…

April 12, 2016

I had business in Pacoima. Well, when given lemons you make lemonade so the saying goes… I took my Volvo to a mechanic Jen thought needed the work more than someone in our own neighborhood; I had wanted to see and take a pic of the mural “Mona Lisa” anyway and knew it was close to said mechanic; and I wanted to see if I could get info on the artist. There was no parking in front of the mural and it was raining so we turned the corner and there I saw a gigantic mural of young Danny Trejo looking as menacing as ever and once of Pacoima’s favorite sons. Took a pic of that mural first and posted it to my Instagram account @MrPeterSantana and the artist was Levi Ponce. Went to “Mona Lisa” and took that pic and realized it was by the same artist. Later I found out he had painted many of the murals on MuralMile.org . He was a very impressive artist; and the fact that I can’t really draw and this person was drawing a huge version of a drawing to cover a wall was mind blowing.Please check out LeviPonce.com

Like when in Dodge once your business ends in Pacoima it’s the time to get outta ( with a quick stop at Me Gusta Gourmet Tamales (13754 Van Nuys Blvd.)…Went home and engulfed my Chile Cheese and Pork Tamales and worked late into the afternoon when a listing from Chadrian McKnight at House Casting listed a commercial seeking a real muralist. My instinct was to submit Jennifer Korsen ( http://humansmakeart.com/home.html ) and they loved her work like so many Angelenos do but the client ( Dunkin Donuts ) wanted a male. Bummed, but then I remembered Levi Ponce, and although I didn’t know him personally I submitted him and the response was “Can he come in at noon, Monday?” I said sure and hoped I could get in touch with him since I never spoke to this talented man before! I left him a message at his web site and tracked him down on various Social Media sites. He called back and of all things at the time he lived in Valley Village! He is a young handsome and talented Latino and the client loved him.

Levi Ponce goes in for the audition we hear nothing. Three weeks later I am driving on the 405 by The Getty where I got cut off by an 18 wheeler. I hit the brakes so hard I do a 360 degree turn ( should have have been t-boned the minute I swerved right) headed toward another 18 wheeler but taller (thought the top of the Volvo was going under the truck taking my head off) and did another 180 where I ended up in my original lane facing a red Mercedes and somehow stopped without incident. I feel very lucky to be alive.The more I repeat and describe the actions that happened in what seemed like an hour but was probably seven seconds tops is very terrifying! I had just turned fifty less than a month before and I saw Jenny’s face pass before my eyes and that is all I had time to see! To get back in the right direction I had to make another 180 turn through the carpool lane and get in the original lane again. People were magnificent; they were in shock too! I saw people giving me the thumbs up and communicating to me if I was all right and I go where I was originally headed; The Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles to see the Bachelor’s and FMA acting classes of USC and arrived to the theatre completely in shock. I sat at one of the little tables in the theatre’s lobby like I had done so many times when my beloved son Nicholas performed in a play for three months called “Way to Heaven” and just kind of shook violently thinking how did I get through that unscathed? I called Jenny in tears describing what had just happened but no matter how I describe it the situation becomes even more surreal each time I play it over in my head. I turned my phone off and focused on the showcase and needed the laughs I got and had a couple of clients with me (Joseph Cannon and Austen Jaye) who helped me get over the scare by laughing along with me. The showcase was good; SC’s acting program is very good and I always enjoy it but I just wanted to go home and kiss the boys and Jenny-totally knowing how lucky and grateful I was! I turned my phone back on and my first call was from Levi Ponce! He booked the commercial!

I have been in this business long enough to know that a myriad of things could happen: They could scrap the commercial, scrap his role, get edited out, the commercial could go on a shelf and he could be replaced by Jennifer Korse (See above!)

What happened was he filmed his commercial and got paid for two days. He took an illustration they wanted and made it a mural. Perspective, accuracy and artistry made a pretty colorful and exciting mural; just like the client wanted.

The “set” was a wall near Jefferson and La Brea and they let him have his way with this wall for two days and he worked on and off a scissor lift and had lots of supplies provided from his wish list. I got to the set just in time for his shot. The cinematographer got on the scissor lift with him and his first shot was to drink an iced coffee and take a bite of a breakfast sandwich. He choked; not figuratively but literally! The iced coffee went down the wrong pipe. It was an “uh-oh!” moment but the kid was nervous and he probably sipped way too much. It was not a we’ll laugh about this later moment; we all laughed after we found out he was ok. The next shot was perfect and so were the other angles and they got the footage they needed and they moved to the next location-which was the interior of the building of his mural. It was a glass blowing shop that also taught people of all ages.

The goal line stance on this project involved this last set of worries: Would the commercial appease the client?, would Levi make the cut? , would it be a limited play or would it be a “hit” and he is a reason for it?

He not only made the cut; but is the first image you see on iSpot.com for the play button and he is one of only two actors who gets two cuts in the commercial and there are tons of actors in this shot.

Overall, my take away from this whole experience is it was supposed to be. Pacoima was a trigger, Trejo was my guardian angel and getting to know Levi has been a god send for business and for friendship.

We met one morning before the shooting of the commercial and he and I looked over some paper work and he said he had to head off to work. I didn’t know if that meant another lovely commissioned mural or what but I had to ask what his day job was. He is a Disney Imagineer! He has been working back and forth coasts preparing Disney World in Orlando for their new “Frozen” ride and attraction.

Levi Ponce has a variety of ways to become a household name and the world is his oyster! I am extremely proud of him and I can’t wait to see how his life plays out in full!

So, it is with great pleasure to present to you “Keep On” the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial for your enjoyment and approval!

 

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AGLe/dunkin-donuts-keep-on

 

 

Tom Jones on Parrot Records…

What was the last album your parents bought? More importantly how old were they when music lost it’s priority?

I know there are several ways to enjoy music in this technological age and that the “record store” has gone the way of the Do-Do Bird…But, that just made it easier for certain groups of people to stop buying or listening to music because they feigned not knowing how.

My mother and father bought albums and had several record players or those humongous record player cabinets that were like a piece of furniture you could never put anything on in order to lift the top up and down.

I remember my mom taking me to Wallich’s Music City ( catty-corner from where the Amoeba Records is now today) and it was as overwhelming in it’s contents as was the first time I went to Amoeba (I walked in saw all the treasures, was so knocked out I left!) Wallich’s had an escalator and several sections like sheet music, LP’s, TVs and musical instruments. They were the wacky pioneers who put cellophane on the albums and it was an event every time you visited.

But, it eventually closed like many Hollywood landmarks (Schwabb’s Pharmacy, Beverly Hills Park, The Brown Derby’s…don’t get me started!) and it had to have something to do with over saturation of places where you could buy albums. I bought records at The May Co., K-Mart, Zodys to name a few) and of course the Mecca and every trip was an event, Tower Sunset. So, my parents stopped buying records when they became more and more accessible. Oh, and they had every Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass album and the Christmas record was a family favorite. So, I wonder why they stopped buying records.

I remember my career Postal clerk mom met some co-worker who sold records out of his trunk; so she stopped buying records for “her” and started buying records for me! She bought Elton John’s “Rock of the Westies,” “Saturday Night Fever (Before the movie was even released!) ” and Stevie Wonder records. How did music lose her importance to her and then became part of what she wanted to impart on my soul and my mind?

Never made sense and then the fever hit and I bought my own records vowing if I had kids never to stop buying and enjoying music; it had become my life and I swore to never, ever forget that!

I once met a lovely lady who worked at Warner Bros. Records and she invited me to meet her for lunch and then said, “Follow me!” She took me down some stairs and opened this little door and then I realized I was in the music library! She said look around and pick out whatever you like! I was in hog heaven and I saw the albums on Asylum, Sire, Reprise, WB, Elektra and like those first trips to Wallich’s and Amoeba I nearly fainted!

I picked some bands and artists that were just coming out; some broke others did not. I was listening to a LOT of KROQ in those days so I picked up some albums from folks that never even earned “One Hit Wonder” status.

But, the albums became cassettes ( they have made a comeback with teens somehow! ) and then CD’s. I remember when I got my first and humongous DVD/CD player going to the Music Plus in Studio City ( it’s the Trader Joe’s now…) and I wanted to buy the new Phil Collins on a Tuesday ( that was the preferred day of the week for new releases of any kind back in the glory days) and the album was there but I was told I had to wait two extra weeks for the CD to come out! I understand instant gratification is another reason why record stores died. I downloaded the app Tidal after swearing I wouldn’t solely to hear the Kanye West album exclusive to Tidal. Tidal was the most downloaded app that week it came out and the exclusiveness of the scheme was brilliant ( Even though that same week Kanye claimed he was over 50 million in debt…)

Another reason I have kept Tidal and sadly ironic is that it is the exclusive music site for Prince! Also, Neil Young’s catalogue and just recently one of the exclusive places you could hear Radiohead’s ” A Moon Shaped Pool” ( I liked it better the second time on headphones…still fidgeting with it …) and they sprung it on the fans; no warning or hype or Billboards or press like an album used to get and it’s stirred up the fans and now everyone is a junior Robert Hilburn or Leonard Feather. But, the silver lining is an artist can still set an expectation in the digital age and Kanye and Radiohead got clicks in record pace and benefitted from this web for once!

So, having recently turned 50 I can honestly say I am still one of music’s biggest fans and that I am current with what is where. Christmas came twice last year when The Beatles finally released their catalogue on all platforms and it was a Christmas miracle for the world! But, that too was a greatly kept secret just like Radiohead’s new album just came from nowhere, and it was the equivalent of lining up on a Monday night and being the first to buy and listen to a new record at midnight Tuesday! I had the pleasure of working at Tower Sunset in the 90’s and I worked midnight releases for Metallica and Guns n’ Roses and they were crazy crowded and the fans were excited like the “Belieber’s” are today.

Anyway, you don’t have to leave the house or even get dressed to listen to a new release drop.

Poor U2; they went from heroes to goats when Apple ( U2 and Apple had partnered together several times before so this was weird to me…) paid them the money upfront to record, release and give to all Apple Music listeners the album ” Songs of Innocence ” and it incensed people who resented the fact that there was an album they did not want on their device(s) and they weren’t quiet about it; they took to social media and it worked against U2 as if Apple had forced their customers to own a Slim Whitman or Andreas Vollenweir record instead of an album from one of the most prolific bands of our times.

So, you can hear, buy if you feel like it or pay to have exclusive content at a bevy of music platforms and there is no way you can feign ignorance of how and where to listen unless you’re so behind the times you still bank inside the bank, read the newspaper or rely on the mail to send and receive money-I know that Tidal or Spotify aren’t on your radar.

My sons aren’t even interested in keeping any of my CDs; they love going to vintage record shops and hearing and exploring and seeking certain records on lists they make up and they love kitsch as much as classic albums from days gone by.

Music is in their blood, it’s in their parents blood ( Jen still eerily and inexplicably likes the old hair bands a little too much for my liking… ) but I never want to get to that place where baby boomers and older just switch from laces to Velcro and bingo instead of musical exploration.

I will be writing a variety of essays on when the music died in the lives of people. Woodstock and disco and punk and the lack of challenges to the greatness of The Rolling Stones and select others and of course the sad reality of some world treasures leaving this earth too soon or inevitably but not on a day we were prepared for.

I am listening to the Dodgers game on my iPad as I write this and before that I listened to Wes Montgomery and Oscar Peterson and will probably fall asleep to either a Brian Eno or Roxy Music album tonight so I am enjoying my iPad and it’s music apps similar to my days of discovery at Tower, Licorice Pizza, Moby Disc or Wallich’s Music or Amoeba all the while wondering what is the next new way to listen to music. I’m ready for it; are you?

50 Fun Facts!

I am still very interested in learning and experiencing life; I’m not going to put a sock in it or fade away but like everyone who knows really what the future has in store for us.

I have been receiving birthday love and I really appreciate it; every year I get older there is seemingly a new format or platform to be wished a Happy Birthday on and I can’t wait to see what technology brings us next B-Day.

I would be a different person without these fifty impacts on my life:

1. Frank Sinatra
2. Elvis Presely
3. Buddy Holly
4. Miles Davis
5. John Coltrane
6. Stevie Wonder
7. The Talking Heads
8. Willie Nelson
9. David Bowie
10. Elvis Costello

1. John Irving
2. Tennessee Williams
3. John Steinbeck
4. J.D. Salinger
5. Frank Conroy
6. Ernest Hemingway
7. F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. George Orwell
9. Mark Twain
10. Kurt Vonnegut

1. Pablo Picasso
2. Wassily Kandinsky
3. Hieronymus Bosch
4. Norman Rockwell
5. Jean-Michel Basquiat
6. Keith Haring
7. Diego Rivera
8. Piet Mondrian
9. Paul Klee
10. Roy Lichtenstein

1. Martin Scorsese
2. P.T. Anderson
3. Francis Ford Coppola
4. Woody Allen
5. Pedro Almodovar
6. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
7. Stanley Kubrick
8. Clint Eastwood
9. Steven Spielberg
10. Quentin Tarantino

1. Irene Santana
2. Pedro Santana
3. Anthony Francis Santana
4. Rafael Hernandez
5. Herminia Hernandez
6. Jennifer Ann Santana
7. Nicholas Francis Santana
8. Alexander Pierce Santana
9. Aidan Irene Santana
10. YOU

I am willing to see the next gen; except for the family one there is no particular order but my mainstream of  life would be entirely lifeless.

Thanks for being my friend; lets do another 50 years and compare lists!
Have I told you lately that I love you?

God is Love,

PRS

Rest in peace…

These three little words have been said quite a bit in 2016. Several notable personalities and entertainers have died and they are people who once seemed immortal and a reminder of our earlier life. Garry Shandling died today; he was a person who gave you a behind the scenes look at a late night talk show and all the things and personalities and egos that gather together to make a one hour show come to life five nights a week.

I last saw him late last year at the memorial of one of his “Larry Sanders” writers Chris Thompson; Mr. Shandling looked fit and sharp and was in very good spirits despite the gathering being a memorial. I approached him and asked him if he was still boxing. I read in a GQ profile that he had begun boxing and Buddist meditation at the same time. This seemed like the make up of Mr. Shandling all his life is an internal Ying/Yang. He was legendary for hosting a regular pick up game of basketball at his house with all the more athletic comedians shooting hoops.

He left the earth too soon and of this writing no official cause of death has been announced.

One of the more staggering deaths many of my friends and quite honestly myself has been the death of David Bowie. He truly seemed immortal once Ziggy and The Thin White Duke came to life. He left this world with the remarkable and haunting “Black Star” album. He left the world swinging. Although I’ll never be a fan of death; he made it seem wonderful with his actions just prior and his requests to follow once he was gone. Ambitious and photogenic to his last breath.

I went to see his “Serious Moonlight” Tour at Dodger Stadium and this new more mainstream looking Bowie had sold out the place a few dates. I went to the show with a child hood friend from a conservative family and when the Dodgers scoreboard showed him in younger versions and make up and red cropped hair my innocent companion asked, “Who is that person?” He could not believe they were the same guy! I like so many Bowie fans knew anything was possible and he could go in any direction.

Some of his contemporaries that have passed including: Bassist Chris Squire of Yes, Actor Ken Howard, Conductor Pierre Boulez, Writer Pat Conroy, and former Eagle Glenn Frey just to mention a few felt a lot less surprising to me than the death of David Bowie; they had all seemed to live a full life-not necessarily a long life but one with long histories and accomplishments. I just remember when the late Dick Clark spoke after the death of Elvis Presely, “We all wondered what an elderly Elvis would be like and sadly we’ll never know.” I would have loved to see Bowie one more time, hear his follow ups to “Black Star” but sadly we’ll never know.

I don’t use the words rest in peace lightly but I am quite tired of those three little words; to be completely honest with you.

Thanks Gary Shandling; you’ll be missed by many.

Dallas Buyers Club by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Dallas Buyers Club by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Took several years too long to get made but worth the wait and efforts. Great script.

 

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American Hustle Screenplay: written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

Oscar Nominated screenplay for “American Hustle” by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell. Enjoy !

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Oscars Best Director : Heart and Head Picks…

If Martin Scorsese doesn’t win tonight the remaining four nominees will have the potential of having just as many as Mr. Scorsese. “The Wolf of Wall Street” could not have captured the time with the frenetic pace and masterful enthusiasm than any of the four other non Scorsese nominees and that Mr. Scorsese doesn’t have at least four Oscars is a true disgrace. But, if the Academy wants to correct an injustice this film would be a great place to start; however, since a finger wagging Academy member confronted Mr. Scorsese and suggested he should be ashamed of himself its highly unlikely but Hollywood is made of dreams, right? Steve McQueen made “12 Years a Slave” a visually stunning picture of the horror of this nation’s history. He made the surroundings contrast the horror with its beauty and the gothic feel of the South. Alexander Payne didn’t win for films with more depth than “Nebraska” but he shot a film in black and white that brought a beauty to the midwest seldom portrayed. David O. Russell is going to have a few more Oscars than Mr. Scorsese someday but it sadly won’t begin with this film. The technological breakthroughs Alfonso Cuaron achieved in “Gravity” will be the 21st Century’s Directing 101 starting point. The film was short but he worked hard to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. My heart says Martin Scorsese and my head says Viva Mexico!

Best Adapted Screenplay-Heart Picks and Head Picks

I would be very disappointed if Richard Linklater (or Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke) won an Oscar before Matthew McConaughey did. I would also have rather had wanted to see “Lone Survivor” get the nod over “Before Midnight.” Billy Ray’s script for “Captain Phillips” was probably not calling for accents to be lost over the course of the film and maybe it dealt with the eventual heroes the Navy Seals. The wrong script about Navy Seals was chosen again. “Philomena” was masterful and a serious toned with moments of levity fueled by sarcasm by its male star and co-writer Steve Coogan. John Ridley’s adaptation of”12 Years a Slave” recounted a story many Americans wish wasn’t in our history. It’s comedic counterpart of last year, “Django Unchained” was a winner in the original category and it makes me wonder what the Academy will do eventually. The best most exhaustive screenplay was “The Wolf of Wall Street” and a return to form of the master, Terrence Winter. If we saw Mr. Scorsese film the scene it all began and ended with Mr. Winter’s words.

My heart Terrence Winter and my head John Ridley.

Oscar for Best Original Screenplay: Heart and Head Picks…

There was plenty of originality this year and by virtue of the screenplay Spike Jonze wrote and conveyed for “Her” and its futuristic view on relationships and their unfortunate continual difficulties Mr. Jonez seems to be the front runner. I have accepted this but it certainly wasn’t my favorite screenplay of the year. “Blue Jasmine” is Mr. Allen’s Tennessee Williams contribution of the 21st century. If they can make a musical out of “Bullets Over Broadway” they sure can make this a dramatic juggernaut on the great white way! There were two scripts which had several lives and incarnations and stops and starts, “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Nebraska.” The former for several production turnovers and the latter for Mr. Alexander Payne’s insistance on shooting the film in black and white or not at all. They gave the foundation for great performances. Mr. Bruce Dern waxed poetic about the simplicity of Mr. Bob Nelson’s script. Every single word held weight. The script I had thought would be the one to beat was “American Hustle.” It was a madcap, twist of a roller coaster ride and it incorporated some truths about a totally different era, the 70’s. My heart says “American Hustle” and my head believes “Her” will be Spike Jonze’s first of many Oscars to come.

Best Supporting Actor Oscar: My Head and My Heart Picks.

This was a great group of actors vying for one statue; strongest field in years. Weakest link? Barkhad Abdi of “Captain Phillips” he was an excellent thug and was completely believable. The Academy has a history of awarding a complete unknown before; 1984 Dr. Haing S. Ngor won for “The Killing Fields” and that made more sense then than an Abdi win tonight. The trio of Michael Fassbender for “12 Years a Slave,” Bradley Cooper for “American Hustle” and Jonah Hill for “The Wolf of Wall Street” signs of future nominations to come and of those nominations wins. Jonah Hill was the perfect foil in “Wolf” and he brought a tremendous levity to an über intense way of living. Michael Fassbender is a newbie to the nomination process and you ask yourself, why? He has had plumb roles in the recent past and as diabolical as he was in “12 Years” it would be unjust if he won tonight. There is a great scene in “Dallas Buyers Club” where you are first introduced to the character “Rayon” (and a similar way director Jean-Marc Vallée introduces all three of his major leads) where the action in a hospital scene where the doctors are attending to Ron Woodroof and on the other side of the adjoining hospital bed behind the separating curtain you see a little out of focus head peeking a look at his “room mate” and shortly after you realize it was tonight’s eventual winner Jared Leto. Mr. Leto was as perfect a choice as there ever could have been to play this part and like his co-star Mr. McConaughy the physical toll they brought to their roles was worth the weight in gold they’ll hold tonight!

Head and heart agree: Jared Leto