One Allison Janney and Two Work Days Later.

It's becoming more and more clear to me just how lucky I am to have scored this internship pretty much on the say-so of a guy I talked to for a couple hours on the phone.

I started my job on Thursday with not a little bit of apprehension, driving up the 110 and the 101 (all these interstates and freeways in Los Angeles sound so timeless, but I don't know why) to Studio City, where CBS is located. I drive up to the gate and give my name, praying that this guy is going to tell me where to go. Sort of. He directs me to the parking garage, where the attendant has no idea where I'm supposed to go, but I tell him I'm supposed to be in the Art Department, apparently. So he gives me some directions, I park, and I'm off. It was a huge thrill just to be walking around inside of the lot of a major television studio. Now obviously star power on the lot is low, since it's summer time and not a whole lot is going on. But even so, there's a buzz of energy, and it was cool to be part of that.

I spent about half an hour wandering around before I got to Human Resources (after soliciting the help of a repairman, possibly an actor in this show called Defenders, and a gaggle of artistic types), spent the next hour and a half signing dull paperwork, then ended up with my very own brand new shiny CBS intern lanyard badge. I wore it for that whole first day, decked out in some very suave business clothes, and of course when I walk into the small Dare to Pass building dead center in the lot, I am greeted with the visage of my boss (who looks a lot like a slimmer Jonah Hill, curiously) and his boss, a Bulgarian badass who's worked there for 10 years and calls everyone "brother," decked out in jeans and casual button-downs. The first thing they said to me was that I was overdressed. Go figure.

But anyway, I got down to business, Jonah Hill (aka David Boorstein) briefed me on what I'd be doing: besides reading scripts on the weekends, I'm doing research for their upcoming projects. Sorry guys, but I unfortunately signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company, so I can't actually tell you what they are. But anyway, I get to sift through countless magazines and newspapers, looking for the cream of the crop. Also, I am currently tasked with finishing this book by Anthony Zuiker (creator of CSI and my ultimate boss) called Level 26, sub-titled "The first digi-novel," which means that you read a few chapters and log into this website to actually watch some of the story unfold, almost like webisodes. At 20 clips and 3 or 4 minutes each, the amount of video content is about as much as a television hour-long drama. Pretty cool, right? I'm on the fence as to whether or not the idea actually plays out.

Let's see, what else? Apparently upstairs in my building is the home base for a company owned by Samuel L. Jackson, and the day before I started he stopped in to check on things- ridiculous. If he just strolls in one day and says hi, I might have a heart attack. Should I make a Snakes on a Plane joke? It's a tough decision. Other than that, I have spotted one of the guys who created Land of the Lost, Marty Krofft. David jokingly threatened him (he's about 73) with a fake fireman's axe. This did not seem to phase Marty. I guess he's used to it?

I got to meet Anthony Zuiker briefly as well, very cool, considering that pretty much the first thing he said when he came in was, "CSI is officially the number 1 watched show in the entire world." And it's true, actually- apparently House was number 1 until just recently.

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/06/csi-the-worlds-most-watched-show.html

So basically I work in a frat house with the creator of the most popular TV show in the entire world. See what I meant about beginning to realize how lucky I am right now? Apparently they were going to hire more interns, but right now it's only a female USC student on Monday through Wednesday and me for Thursday and Friday. If only I actually enjoyed the show, right? The ultimate irony. But it really doesn't matter much, since my task is entirely to focus on upcoming developments. I can only hope and pray that I do a decent job, because I think that how I do after I graduate depends entirely upon the say-so of these guys. No pressure!

I think I covered the most interesting stuff so far, but more soon. There's a whole shit ton of stuff coming up. E3, maybe the world's biggest video gaming conference (where Microsoft is showing off its brand new motion capture controls, for instance) is right next door, frustratingly, since I have to work in the world of games to get in. The LA Film Festival is coming up, which I can hopefully spring some tickets to. Also there's this thing called EDC, the Electronic Daisy Carnival, that my new roommates (who are all very cool, by the way) tuned me into. I can't even put this into words, just check it out for yourself. Needless to say, I'm going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63usjIwz9GY