Hopeless Romantic

I admit that I am a hopeless, sappy romantic; and, I LOVE chick flicks. Thanks to my friend Barbara, I got to see this one at a screening on the Warner Bros. lot last night. It's so much fun to be on the lot...makes me feel way more important and connected than I am. I guess I just choose my friends appropriately. ;) Anyway, I digress...Valentine's Day is a pretty good as far as chick flicks go...some predictability, some surprises, and you CANNOT beat the cast! It was also fun that it was filmed entirely in the LA area...it's always fun to recognize the sites as they pop up on the screen.

One of the things that is fun about the WB screenings is that they always do an intro with insider information about the movie. This movie was all about being green. It was fascinating to hear how much they did with solar panels, biodiesel and recycling. Here's an article about it:

"The production is among the first in the film industry to consciously “go green” in a major way and try to lessen its environmental impact.

Executive Producer Diane Pokorny was largely responsible for spearheading the project’s green initiative, which extended from director and cast to the entire crew. It encompassed virtually every aspect of production, including the use of reusable set pieces, solar-powered lighting, hybrid or biodiesel vehicles, solar and biodiesel generators, and biodegradable plates and utensils at craft services. The crew even composted or recycled 25 tons of waste. Every member of the cast and crew was given his or her own reusable stainless -steel water bottle, eliminating the need for thousands of plastic bottles during the production.

'Every department was very proactive about coming back to us with ideas on what they could do, and we also had the strong back of Warner Bros, which was key. We met with [Warner Bros. Pictures sustainable production manager] Jon Romano about how to make the entire production more environmentally responsible,' said Pokorny. 'It’s not only about making a difference now; it’s about creating technologies and methods that will continue to be improved upon for the next movie. And so on. It was exciting for everyone involved in the film because they could see the tangible differences they can make.'

...Warner Brothers estimates that it reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 67 metric tons. Filmmakers explain that the solar generators increased the costs, but otherwise the movie did not cost more to make.

'There are a lot of things wrong with our environment, so to ‘go green’ seemed to be a very good thing. It’s not that big and effort; if we could do it, others can do it,' Marshall says."