My name is Michelle Wood and I live in sunny Naples, Florida with my husband and 4 furry children: 2 cats (Emma & Oliver) and 2 dogs (Nikki & Kacie). From a young age, I pretty much knew I didn’t want to produce any humans. Shhh! If you listen closely, you can hear a round of applause…..
I am originally from Chicago (go Sox!) and moved down to Naples back in 1997 with my now ex-husband (I think every girl needs at least one). Talk about culture shock! Things more very S-L-O-W-L-Y down here and I still haven’t acclimated myself since I’m an on-the-go Chicagoan at heart. On the flip side, just knowing that I will never ever have to scrape ice from my car’s windshield at 6 in the morning makes it all worth it.
As far back as I can remember (and most days that doesn’t go beyond yesterday), I’ve always been quite fascinated by the filmmaking business. Every aspect of it. And I am still fascinated every time I watch a major motion picture. And may I just say that “Cloverfield” was the shit?! Holy cow, was that one awesome flick! I felt like I just got off an amusement ride by the time that movie was over. Brilliant!
Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. I’ve always had a secret desire to try acting. I just never had the “balls” to try it so I never pursued it and I never told anyone about this desire. I’m a natural ham, and I really love making people laugh. That’s probably why I was voted “Female Class Clown” my senior year of high school. An honor which was very well deserved, mind you. Too bad that prestigious honor didn’t get me anywhere …
Sadly, my friend’s father, Matt, passed away from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in November 2006. He was an amazing man and accomplished so many amazing things in his short 60 years on this Earth. From that moment on, I decided I didn’t want to be left on my deathbed with nothing but regrets for being too scared to try new things. I also decided that 2008 was going to be the “Year with No Fear” for me. So thanks for the inspiration, Matt: I wouldn’t have had the courage to do it otherwise.
Since Matt’s death, I’ve been taking all the acting classes I can get my acting chops on. My Improv class was definitely my favorite. I performed with my Improv class at our local Barnes & Noble on “open mic night” back in March 2008. I was so nervous right up to the moment I got up on “stage.” And by “stage”, I mean a small 8′x8′ space cleared out in the coffeehouse section, with the audience being so close I could actually see their nose hairs. But once I was on “stage,” my fear quickly disappeared and it turned out to be quite an exhilarating experience for me. Now, I’m kinda addicted and I’m pursuing it for fun trying to get in some commercials. I’m looking at it as “whatever happens, happens. I can at least check it off my Bucket List” kind of a thing.
I should probably also mention that I have a teensie weensie obsession crush on Christian Bale. He is probably THE most incredible, and underrated, actor of our generation. Where the hell are his Oscars already?!!!! Some dude named Johnny Depp ain’t bad either. Just kidding. Christian and Johnny are 2 of my most favorite actors ever. They just suck me into any movie they do – they’re so brilliantly talented. Okay, so how happy am I that they’re going to be in Michael Mann’s movie “Public Enemies” in 2009? You’re gonna have to chisel the sheepishly huge grin that is permanently plastered on my face, if that’s any indication.
Since March 2008, I’ve been working for a video production company here in Florida and writing a blog for them, but was recently put on “financial hiatus” because of the “non-recession” we’re having (if you believe President Bush’s bullshit). But I love to write and I’m fascinated by all things Hollywood and current events in general, so here I am.
My Daily Five will consist of 5 of my favorite “news” pieces from the Internet, TV and my own personal stories if it’s a really, really slow news day. Or, in the condensed version:
Hollywood bullshit, regular bullshit and all bullshit in between.
And even if you don’t learn anything new here, I hope I can at least put a smile on your face.
Much peace and love…
- Michelle
