(click the picture above for
the high definition
video - but also click
YouTubefor me!)
4:20 PM, Saturday,
October 11th, 2008:
What a freaking
title. I almost don't want to explain it because the
imagery is so damned funny, but it refers to the old
Apollo Theater tradition of rubbing the Tree of Hope
stump before performing. That's basically what I was
able to do on my first night in New York thanks to the
generosity of Chad & Angela.
In
2006 when CBS flew me out to announce the
winner of Living Room Live I decided I
would stay for what ended up being a
month until something happened. The
only reason that was even remotely
possible was because they let me stay with
them in Manhattan. So in essence
everything in that building from the
stairs to the elevator to their apartment
to the rooftop feel like freaking magic to
me.
It was
there that I got the call from Tammy who
indicated that my pitch worked by calling
herself my "agent" and forever changing
the course of my life. And although
I am hopping all over this time out,
it seemed only fitting to spend my first
night in the same magical place and relive
that phone message, that yes, I have saved
for two years. I'm a nerd.
Unfortunately
however, things are changing. Chad &
Angela bought a country house upstate and
are in the process of selling this
apartment. This will most likely be the
last chance I have to stay here or
re-enact any of the magical moments
within. It goes back even beyond
2006...
This
was the rooftop I stood on (to the
left) with my heart 3 sizes too big in
2005 announcing with certainty that my
break would come from NY and
I had to move here.
A year later, I was right and
got that break in NY - only to find
that Adam & The Egos would be
shot at Television City... in LA.
It's
also where I got the call that I
would be on the set of The Sopranos at the
Bada Bing. How unbelieveable was that
NY trip 2 years ago? My
GOD.
And of
course, Donna. Which was eventually where
I spent most of my time in '06. This
was the first time I had been in the
apartment since then and it was a tad
bittersweet. She is completely enveloped
with that trip and although sad, it's
quintessential Adam Kontras. You can't
argue with that. :-)
And it's something
that everyone reading this should really try and
understand. That same quality that allows artists to
continue to believe against enormous odds... is
what makes us believe in people against
enormous odds. It's not that we're all "hollywood" and
have no integrity - it's that we are in a mode of
jumping our entire lives and it's the only way
we know how. You fight with everything you have until
you can't move. The suspension of disbelief you have
to have to think you can make it in the entertainment
industry is the definition of LOVE. Something that
requires an unbelieveable amount of faith and
something several people cannot do. I can and will
again.
Ha. So genuinely
shocked on the left. Love it. And if this isn't a more
glowing example of how important lighting is to a
shoot, I don't know what is. The picture on the right
comes from a high-definition source and it's twice the
camera the one on the left is. However, the one on the
left was shot in the magic hour in that golden glow of
sunset. On the right it's early morning with no direct
sunlight. Night and day. Ha, literally.
:-)
Alright, meeting
tomorrow with Friedman about his production company
and the Letterman show. Bring it on.
