Resurrection: An Update

I am back from the dead…. Is that inappropriate to say after Easter/Passover was just this week?

Well the truth is, I have been so overwhelmed this semester. I am a senior, after all, but not only did I go from having one job and being in school full time, I started working a second as a bartender (which is what I wanted), and landed an internship the second week of school at a boutique PR firm called BR Public Relations. Got to check a few things off my list this year. 🙂

The internship is definitely a lot of work, but it has pushed me in many ways and taught me a lot. I get to work with the President one on one twice a week, and the responsibilities I am given are those a lot of aspiring PR Executives in college would love to experience. It isn’t easy though. There is a lot of work, especially when you’re pitching a client releasing a film in two weeks… cough cough… check out Revolution by Rob Stewart. Anyway, that is going well. A rollercoaster, but definitely a worthwhile experience.

But I don’t want to talk about school anymore. I wanted to share some news.

Recently (last month actually), I lost an old friend. We went to high school and college together. There were a lot of memories. Rumors spread the cause of the death was suicide, while others claimed it was an accident. The cause of the death does not matter. Nonetheless, it broke my heart when the news finally sunk in and I saw her in an open casket. It’s not something I wish upon anyone, especially when she was so young. The event pushed me to come up with this idea that is meant to be compelling, powerful, informative and inspiring. Last semester I created this mental health package with some students on campus, where we wrote about mental and emotional health, and thought this has to go further than a website with stories (Not to mention it made the Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 Conference this month).

I thought to myself, “How can I get through to people? What do I have to do to make people understand that suicide is a serious issue and NEEDS to be spoken about, prevented, and not sugar-coated?!” I was furious, outraged after days of finding out my friend died and couldn’t stop thinking about this. I thought I would write a screenplay and turn it into a film. My friend Steven Anderson and I spoke about it and decided that we would collaborate on this together and actually think Series. I have never written a series before and I never really thought I could. The idea of writing non stop without necessarily knowing the ending, or the complete story before production was challenging and I thought to myself, “Why not? Baby steps right?” I can do this. Shonda Rhimes does it everyday and we all love Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. She inspires me and this is a project that I am emotionally tied to and am serious about producing.

This series will cover life and suicide, covering all stereotypes, demographics, and everyday situations. My job is to give the viewer the unexpected and the expected, because a lot in life is predictable. My job is to reveal that suicide is not a just a “white thing,” because plenty of people with different ethnic and racial backgrounds attempt it and some go through with it. This series will be compelling visually and verbally. I would say more, but needless to say I cannot for the obvious reason.

However, I do want your input. If you have a story you would like to share with me because you believe that this is something that really needs to be put out there to make a difference, to lower the statistic rates on the act of suicide, or you just want to express yourself or leave a comment solely, please send me a message. You can comment below or send me a message privately if you want to remain anonymous. I look forward to your thoughts.

Thank you all so much! I cannot wait to update you on this journey I am embarking on.

xoxxo

Aurea

P.S. Rest in Peace Francheska. You’ll forever be in our hearts and our memories.

Sony What?

So this Sony Pictures scandal has gotten out of hand! The moment the “Guardians of Peace” (GOP) hacked their system and released Sony’s first batch of material, something should’ve been done. And so far there have been eight leaks of confidential studio material. For the blow by blow, visit Business Insider and read their article, A Timeline Of The Crazy Events In The Sony Hacking Scandal.

Co-Chair Amy Pascal has had her emails hacked and within the content, along with racial remarks about President Obama and comments about Kevin Hart and Adam Sandler, you find that she calls Angelina Jolie a “spoiled brat” in an email exchange with movie producer Scott Rudin. Well let’s just say Angelina Jolie wasn’t playing the two-face role Pascal has for as long as she and Rudin felt Jolie was a “minimally talented spoiled brat” of an actress. The photo of their exchange after the email was released shows it. Kevin Hart also posted a photo on Instagram saying: “Knowing your self worth is extremely important people…I worked very hard to get where I am today. I look at myself as a brand and because of that I will never allow myself to be taking advantage of. I own my brand…I make smart decisions for my brand…I protect my brand…which is why I’m able to brush ignorance off of my shoulder and continue to move forward. I refuse to be broken people…with that being said, its now time for me to get back to building this empire that I’ve always dreamed of!”

Jolie and Pascal in an awkward exchange
Photo Credit: Alex J. Berliner/AP

Pascal and Rudin both apologized for their unprofessional, insensitive and offensive remarks but Pascal also says, “I do not want to be defined by these emails.” Hello! You work in the Entertainment Industry. It’s 2014. Nothing is ever private anymore, and even if she felt that way about other people’s work and personalities, she should have known to be professional about expressing her opinion. Emails get hacked all the time, why would this be a different case? She is entitled to her opinion, but the way she went about this has yet to make her or the company look good. CEO Michael Lynton is being more productive by giving statements as he tries to save his company from hitting the ground, but he doesn’t stay far behind Pascal as he was involved in the email exchanges as well.

What I find funny is the amount of information that has been released from private emails, social security numbers, salaries, and my favorite, celebrity secret aliases or as I like to call it, alter egos. Jessica Alba went by “Cash Money”, Natalie Portman is “Laura Brown,” Tom Hanks is “Johnny Madrid,” Rob Schneider uses “Nazzo Good,” Tobey Maguire goes by “Neil Deep,” and Ice Cube is occasionally known as “O’Shea Jackson.”

But what I still don’t understand is why Sony can’t hire a really good technician to get a hold of all of the information that has yet been released to the public and place it elsewhere. Why haven’t they invested in good technology to get a hold of their information to prevent more attacks? This isn’t the first time this has happened ever, but this particular hack attack started in June, and every week something new is thrown out into the public, tearing Sony Pictures apart. Instead, Sony lawyers want to warn the press not to use the stolen material. Last time I checked, if the information is leaked, it’s free. Freedom of the Press is still an amendment of the Constitution and you can’t control what the media feeds you.

So will this hack attack ever stop? Will the GOP be revealed? Will Amy Pascal get fired? Will Sony Pictures come to an end? I guess we’re just going to have to sit back and watch this unfold.

Someone pass the popcorn.

xoxxo

Aurea

Thank God It’s Thursday!

I don’t know about you, but I am utterly obsessed with Shonda Rhimes’s shows Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. Grey’s Anatomy is cool too, but I just never watched the show from the beginning. For those of you who haven’t watched last week’s episode of Scandal or HTGAWM (which you should’ve by now), stop reading. Spoiler alert, beware.

Are we really surprised that Daddy Pope was ahead of Olivia, Fitz, and Jake with that dinner-shootout scene? It scared me to see that these people who were sent to shoot him were all shot the minute he let Olivia know he was up to her betrayal of a game. His whole monologue was pretty nerve wrecking as he told Olivia all he did was for her, and that she is now alone for choosing them over him. If Liv wasn’t his daughter, she’d be dead too. How about the Vice President? I was surprised to find out he’s over Melly and is sleeping with the enemy. Shoot, he might be an enemy too. It just makes the show all the more interesting with all the affairs going on and these souls trying to hold on to their humanistic lives while spiraling down a torture chamber of evil politics.

For How to Get Away With Murder, I’m just dying to know who killed Sam. I’m sure it was Rebecca, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Michaela Pratt after her obsession with the trophy and her recent incident with her soon-to-be mother-in-law. The trophy was covered in blood and from the flashbacks, she seemed really upset after the murder. Let’s talk about Blondie for a moment, or as her name in the show is, Bonnie. All this time I’m sitting here watching this show thinking Sam slept with her, or she was obsessed with him, or that they might’ve had something going on behind Annalise’s back! And it was just a small kiss to shut her up about a student fling. Too bad she held it for that long; I would’ve hated to lose my job if I were her. Which explains why she slept with the law student afterwards.

But anyway, check out this article I wrote for City College’s online magazine, The Campus. It’s a very brief article about Shonda Rhimes, controversy surrounding her, and the obsession she has caused not only at CCNY, but worldwide. Leave a comment and share! Especially if you’re watching this Winter’s season finales tonight! I’ll be tweeting live along with the rest of the world, so make sure to follow me @RockstarRave and keep up with the discussion.

http://www.ccnycampus.org/2014/11/living-in-shondaland/

Happy Thursday!

xoxxo,

A.