The L.A. Dime

Sophia is now over eight months old, and is doing lots of new tricks — her favorite of which is crawling backwards. We like that she’s breaking from the pack and doing things her own way. Growling is her newest sound. She sounds like a lion cub.

Sophie went to her first wedding this weekend, a gorgeous affair in Carlsbad uniting our dear friends Jake and Aiyana. It was hot, and mommy was busy brides-maiding, but Sophie was a champ as we shared a hotel room with Mark and Faleena, who were both a big help. It was a great weekend.

Here are some photos taken by our friend and Sophie’s babysitter, Beth Dubber. She is a professional photographer specializing in shooting on movie and TV sets, but clearly has a knack for portraits, too.

Frequent Dime reader and long-time family-friend, Uncle Jay, has a granddaughter by the name of Mabel who, along with her daddy, has formed the band SNOW MONSTER!, and they are now all the rage.  She writes the songs and sings them, and daddy composes the music.  Read this recent review of Mabel’s latest performance, and click to hear her song, No More Sea Monsters.

…is the best comic book movie I have ever seen. I was a big fan of Batman Begins, as well as the original Batman and the first X-Men, but Iron Man brings it all. A great performance by a supremely talented actor, more genuine, character-based humor than you find in most comedies nowadays, fantastic action you can actually follow (unlike Spider-Man 3), and a tight, multi-layered story that left me satisfied.

BTW — the trailers for the new Indiana Jones and Batman movies weren’t all that exciting, but Fallout Boy’s new cover of Beat It truly rocks.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded a $5,000 grant to the Kentucky Film Lab (KFL), to support KFL’s 2008 Filmmaker’s Studio.

The grant from the Los Angeles-based Academy, best known for its Oscars, comes as the non-profit KFL is gearing up for its fifth Filmmaker Studio in Louisville this fall.

“It’s great news that the Academy recognizes the importance of our mission – supporting cinematic arts in the region,” said KFL co-director Brad Riddell.

“This will pay long-term dividends for filmmaking in Kentucky,” said Arthur Rouse, KFL managing director. KFL studio participants have gone on to direct their own films, form writers’ groups, and work on feature-film crews.”

The KFL Filmmaker’s Studio is a rigorous three-day educational seminar covering the fundamentals of filmmaking, from script to screen. It includes hands-on production training, individual script analysis, and a series of speakers working today in film and television.

“The grant will be used to enhance seminar offerings, while keeping student fees low,” said KFL co-founder Mark Shepherd.

The Kentucky Film Lab is an initiative of the IdeaFestival and is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the cinematic arts in Kentucky through education, collaboration, distribution and production.