Disney, big scars, huge balls.

When I first moved to Los Angeles I interned at (the now disbanded) Sodium Entertainment. http://www.sodium11.com/ if you're interested. Actually, I don't know if they're exactly "disbanded" or what. There used to be four producers, then one moved to Uganda and one started working for this other company and the other two started working from home. So whatever that means is what happened to them. REGARDLESS. I had a motorcycle and my primary job for them was to drive things from point A (sodium) to point B (anywhere in LA) and often times I would find myself cruising down Olive Ave. in Burbank or jostling down the 134, heading out towards Calabassas and just off the freeway I would spy the Disney building. It's a large green structure with a picture of Mickey Mouse on the top. And as I drove by I'd wonder how one would acquire a job at a place like Disney. Did you send in your resume? Did you walk into the front lobby and demand an interview? Did you email a reel? What. Did. You. Do?

This morning I found myself parking in the Disney parking garage and marching through the rotating doors and into the marble lobby and I finally, five and a half years later, found myself answering my own question. How do you find yourself inside this building?

The answer is - you don't. It finds you. You do not join. You are invited.

I had to check in at the front desk. This black woman in her.......maybe early 50s? asks to see my ID. I hand her the goods. She looks at it and says, "WHAT is your first name? Is it.......JOHN?" And I say, "Yeah, John". And she says, "Okay.........I was just makin' sure". And then she says, "And WHAAAAT is your last name?" And she stares at my license like she can't believe her eyes. And I say, "Brookbank". And she looks at me and laughs and says, "Okay, I just thought my eyes were playin' tricks on me. I guess - I mean - I guess that IS your last name. I just had to check." John Brookbank. My name is JOHN Brookbank. She was behaving as though my license read Kareem Abdul Jabarr.

Upstairs, the bays were really nice and the producer I worked with had a great attitude. She spent the whole day surfing around for new (to you) furniture off of craigslist.

Here's just ONE of the many gems she found:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bab/1288296684.html

That is.......a high heel chair.

She took me FURTHER upstairs (11th floor), showed me around and introduced me to some people. I met a girl sitting on this giant ball instead of a chair. I almost said something to her, asked her a question, delved into the meaning behind this.....but didn't. Instead I just imagined the funny day when she actually had to bring that thing into the building and walk through the parking garage and the lobby and up the crowded elevator with this GIANT ball. I also thought about the day she gets fired and has to pack up her little shoebox of personal belongs and kick her chair / ball out the revolving front doors.

Downstairs (6th floor) I walked by an edit bay and saw this guy sitting in this crazy chair. I was sure it had something to do with ergonomics or back support or something. I was JUSt about to walk into his bay and strike up a conversation about it when I realized it was a fancy wheelchair.

Boy would THAT have been embarrassing.

"Hey, man - cool chair. Where'd you get it?"

"The hospital. I can't walk."

In my bay I worked on a sizzle reel for High School Musical 4. That's right ladies and beans, there's a part FOUR coming out and it stars a whole new class!!!

Can't wait.

fer sher.


My dog had surgery today. I had a sinking feeling in my guts all day that she wasn't going to make it through BUT alas.....she did and all is well in the Brookbank home. Here's a photog of TWO of her SEVEN battle wounds.




Finally, I'll try to end this mess on a positive note. As promised (I'm such a good guy) here's a link to the James Bond piece that I cut for Impact (action on demand).

http://www.johnbrookbank.com/Impact.html