Yes, I’d like to believe that having shook hands and taken photos with them, I should now be on a first-name basis with Mr. Butler and Mr. Banderas – even if they don’t remember me at all.

So I met my two new best friends while on a working assignment in Los Angeles. There’s this tiny film studio, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it – DreamWorks – who’re releasing a couple of small-time animated films with some obscure actors/actresses… Yeah, DreamWorks likes to pick nobodies to be the voice talents their shows; people like…

or…

Since the Hollywood noobie actors they selected to voice their latest films (one of which is an animation called Shrek Goes Forth, about a kind-hearted ogre or all things… As if that’s gonna fly) were so green to the industry, DreamWorks decided to thrown a little dinner party so they could get some exposure with the media, and maybe learn a thing or two about talking to the press, y’know…

And I thought they did pretty well. Like the Spanish actor, Antonio – he was working the crowd, and I managed to get a photo with him. But I think he needs a bit of work on his personal grooming:

Antonio and I.

The Moses look is so Old Testament school.

Then there was this Scottish actor, Gerard, who apparently made a name for himself acting in some movie as an ancient warrior king who only wore a red cape and a pair of undies to battle. It’s weird, the kind of movies people make these days…

But he was pretty cool, though he got a bit annoyed when one of the reporters called him “Gerald”. If you asked me, I’d say you only get to be a diva when you’ve acted in like a REAL blockbuster movie, and you have some iconic line like “You jump, I jump” to your name. Sheesh…

Anyway, this is what Gerald Gerard looks like when he’s not angry over people forgetting his name: 

Gerard wasn't quite ready for the photo...

Ianyway, for me, a good working trip isn’t all about meeting famous celebrities, and watching previews of the latest blockbuster movies. It’s also cool to be there at the beginning of some new actors’ careers, y’know, to see them stumble their way through the industry, get chewed up and spit out, or even face the humiliation of having a reporter not knowing their names so when they do finally make it, I could say that I was there at the beginning.

Btw, y’all know I’m just kidding right? I almost fainted when I took that picture with Gerard Butler. Jonah Hill (Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder, Knocked Up) and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg were all at the dinner too. It was an experience I won’t soon forget.