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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

RVIP Lounge LA Film Festival: This Weekend, June 27-29th

This weekend, June 27-29th, the RVIP Lounge is heading to L.A. Film Festival with a group of up-and-coming filmmakers & actors, inspired technology startups, and our favorite bloggers & press, to rock the RVIP Media Lounge

We shuttle people to screenings, throw down our own red carpet, and connect the press with celebs & tomorrow's indie superstars on an R.V. with a karaoke bar and H.D. video den.

All Aboard!
For location updates, follow us on twitter: text "follow rviplounge" to 40404

Tentative Schedule:
Friday (6/27):
4:30-6:30pm : LAFF, Westwood
10:30pm : TBA

Saturday (6/28):
1:30pm 11pm: LAFF, Westwood

Sunday (6/29):
12pm-10pm: LAFF, Westwood

Sponsors:
www.Cinefamily.org
www.GoodnightBurbank.com
www.AbigailsTeenDiary.com
www.3jam.com

(more TBA)

www.rviplounge.com
Hop on!

(and a special pre-thanks to www.mickipedia.com, www.skampy.com, and www.hustlerofculture.com

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sweden Rules! 5 reasons why...

Sweden is probably the best country ever--it's "The Shire". The highlight of our trip was literally dancing around a maypole with a group of grown adults in the forest, holding hands and singing on Midsummer's Eve--their primary national tradition. Here are 5 more reasons why this country rocks:

1.) The sun never sets during summer.



2.) It always smells good-- be it roasting meats, baking breads, or jasmine flowers.



3.) Absolutely every place you go, there's good music playing: train station, bathroom, hotel lobby, friend's house, bar, club, shoe shop, wierd antique store, boat, party, dorm room, etc.



4.) They take their food very seriously. It is ALWAYS good: restaurang, friend's house, kebab stand on the corner, etc.


5.) The Swedes truly are as hot as we imagined-- and they all spoke to us in SWEDISH, which mean they thought we, too, were well-dressed and good looking.




I'd post pictures and the legendary video I filmed, if that creep in the Copenhagen train station hadn't stolen my purse. As a traveller, it's one's sole responsibility to guard the bag with their passport, drivers license, credit card, video camera, digital still camera, and all the tapes to their film project, with their fullest attention, but OUCH! Granted, it was a 2-man operation and the guys were serious pro's who basically took it from my lap, but it's still my fault it's gone. On the plus side, my Danish friends apologized to me on behalf of their country and then fed me, so it worked out alright!


Apparently, this film-- Starmonster 2 (in Europe)-- was too visionary for this world, and I was meant to just finish editing "Marathoners" already!

Monday, June 23, 2008

New York Magazine loves "Expired"


Opens this Friday, June 27th, in Los Angeles. It's very dark and funny, and act with Samantha Morton in it. Check it out!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Portrait of a Bat

There's something you should know about me-- I'm a drooling idiot dog owner. I recently succumbed to my crazy dog-loving genes and got schmancy professional portraits taken of my noble hound, Batgirl.




It started when Jonathan's sister, Flora Grubb, said, "Let's get a dog that looks like a bat and namer her Batgirl!" Jonathan obsessively cruised the web for dogs until he found the weirdest looking animal ever, and said "I must meet this dog." At the petsunlimted.com rescue center, he was introduced to a little pooch named Batgirl.



1 year later I stole her and took her to photographer extraordinaire, www.furtographs.com, to get dog portraits taken of her (behind Jonathan's back) as a surprise birthday gift.

It is the gift that keeps on giving-- since every person I know will also receive framed prints of Batgirl for the next several years.




We're now formally accepting applications from those who want to make her a star.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Kestrin on "Alter Eco", Adrian Grenier's new show


I recently made an appearance on Adrian Grenier's new show, "Alter Eco" , the details of which I shall not speak, you'll just have to see for yourself. I'm deeply humbled and honored to have worked with the wonderful cast and crew of the show, which has a timely, profound, and sincere message which I whole-heartedly support.

"Alter Eco" educates viewers on how to build a life and community in an ecologically mindful way, through conservation and a "green lifestyle". It features musical guests, incredible excursions, as well as abundant hot and hilarious guests. Adrian's co-host is supermodel Angela Lindvall , who is as cool as she is gorgeous, and every single person working in front of (and behind) the camera is an angel.

Keep your eyes peeled. The show premieres June 9th!

Rob Dickinson is on the Radio! (and I'm on his record!)


Indie 103.1 is rotating the crap out of Rob Dickinson's (former lead singer of The Catherine Wheel) new single "The End of the World". And guess who's playing cello all over his new record of Catherine Wheel classics? It's a dream come true--ever since we played Largo w/ Grammy Award Winning producer Greg Collins & then sold out The Viper Room.

You can hear our new recordings of Rob's songs at www.myspace.com/robdickinson

Goodbye Ian is now His Orchestra

Goodbye Ian has been in the music laboratory for the last few months since Austin's Enchanted Forest Gig (aka "the best gig ever"), and have mutated into His Orchestra. Which is pretty much the same people with more songs-- and produced by the legendary Jimmy Tamborello (The Postal Service).

myspace.com/hisorchestramusic


We have some completely awesome upcoming shows:

JUNE 8TH, 3PM (SUNDAY) @ The Los Feliz Street Fair
Vermont Ave, btw. Sunset & Franklin, LA, CA

JULY 11TH, 10:30PM (FRIDAY) @ El Cid
4212 W Sunset Blvd, LA, CA

JULY 19TH, 9:30PM (SATURDAY) @ The Hotel Cafe
1110 Seward Street, LA, CA

JULY 28TH, 10PM (SATURDAY) @ The Silverlake Lounge
2906 Sunset Blvd, LA, CA

...and just shot our first television show appearance! (not that doug and raviv aren't used to it, since they're already the stars of HBO's "Big Love" & Disney's "Phil of the Future".)

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Breast Cancer Fundraiser: ROCKING the Climb Against the Odds



On May 15th I Executive Produced a fundraiser with my good friend, Sarah Carter. We raised over $30,000 for The Breast Cancer Fund, which builds awareness around the preventable causes of cancer and their link to the health of the planet, and SOLD OUT the venue. We exceeded our goals, with delight, and it was the best party--some even called it a festival! -- primarily due to Lucent Dossier, Sarah's heart of gold, and The Chocolate Fountain.



The best part of the night was when I was totally winded by producing and sat down to get my first drink of the evening-- which was a challenge, since the VIP bar was totally swamped with people (awesome). I ordered 3 "fresh muddled strawberry" cocktails, compliments of Lotus Vodka, and sat down to talk w/ our guest speaker Jaime Pressly. We had spent a month in China together while I was visiting Sarah, who was shooting a movie with Jaime. We chatted awhile-- it had been a long time-- and I told her "You know, after talking with you, for the first time tonight I feel completely relaxed." Then I looked down and realized I'd consumed not one, not two, but 3 entire "Muddled Strawberry" cocktails in one sitting. Probably had something to do with the relaxation.


The event featured performances by:
Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, Do Lab & Coachella favorite
Jillian Speer, LA Music Awards Top Album of the Year
Sierra Swan, Produced by Linda Perry
Eagle and Talon, Sia National Tour,
D.J. Marques Wyatt, KCRW
Carlos Vera, Live painting
Spy Emerson, Famed Burning Man, Coachella, & International Art Curator


and a glamorous Host Committee:

Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl)
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)
Jeremy Piven (Entourage)
James Woods (Shark,  Casino, The Way We Were)
Chris Noth (Sex in the City)
Alex O'Loughlin (Moonlight, The Shield )
Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2)
Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother )
Orlando Jones (Magnolia, Mad TV, The Replacements)
Malin Akerman (The Heartbreak Kid, Entourage )
Holly Valance ( DOA , Entourage , Shark )
Steve Howey ( Bride Wars, Reba )

(all photos by Josh Reiss)

Coachella: Cover of the LA Times

Coachella sent a private chartered train down to the Palm Desert this year, and it was packed with film crews (one of which I was part of, along with Rosanna Arquette and the good boys at Subtractive ). The encompassing concepts surrounded conservation, community, and non-stop rocking. It was truly the first raddest American party train. We felt like we were writing history-- and apparently, we did.

I was awakened at 7am, slumbering in the Coachella Valley after a long afternoon & night of partying, to my friend Liz shouting, "You're on the cover of the LA Times!". Turns out, I was.

For the next several days I was referred to as "the face of coachella" by friends and strangers, which was totally weird and a wicked honor. The weekend consisted of my first official Coachella performance onstage w/ Adam Freeland, dancing around all night in "the doggie coat", and wearing all-gold for 3 days straight. Best. Coachella. Yet.

"Stars and Suns" is a Winner! (And coming to festival near YOU!)



"Stars & Suns", the movie in which I played bitch sister to "Me, You, & Everyone We Know's" Najarra Townsend, won an award at the Malibu Film Festival where it premiered alongside some fablulous films starring Kyle Gass ("Tenacious D"), Buster ("Arrested Development") and Creed ("The Office"), with whom I kicked it on the red carpet. awesome.




Our film has been rocking the international festival circuit, and is playing this month at the prestigious Cinevegas Film Festival, where it will air alongside many brilliant films, including the new Murkami feature, and a celebration honoring Don Cheadle, Rosario Dawson, Viggo Mortsensen and Sam Rockwell.





(above, "award-winning" cast of "Stars and Suns"

RVIP Lounge LA: Total Success



So, we totally rocked the RVIP Lounge LA at high-to-maximum levels. A complete success, we had a series of adventures whose highlights include : crashing a T.V. Guide red carpet event and stealing the hottest of the starlets, rocking all night long with O'Dean(former lead singer of Motley Crue), singing the raddest karaoke in town, by the soft glow of light-saber air guitar.




We love you, Los Angeles. We also love the AWESOME WRITE UP and front-page listing METROMIX gave us. Thanks, hot ones.





We'll be recovering for the next few months, in anticipation of a magical resurgence, at a curbside near you. Check out the original RVIP LOUNGE BLOG for more specific hilarious anecdotes.

(all photos by Josh Reiss)