Up

It's tough to drag me to an animated movie."But, Staci," you say. "How can that be? Didn't you work at Disney Feature Animation?" Why, yes. I did. But I always felt like an interloper with a dirty secret. The secret? I don't really like cartoons. It's true. I mean, I absolutely appreciate certain movies and love them once I get there, but animation is a hard sell for me. I don't think I really cared for it much as a kid either, preferring to watch the Little Rascals or Shirley Temple movies on a Saturday morning instead. But tonight was an exception. My friend Mark took me to see Up. If you get a chance to see it, go. It was funny, moving, and the performances were good. And I loved the dog.

Afterwards we went for pizza at Casa Bianca. I hadn't been there in 20 years, but only because I couldn't remember the name or location. Mark took me there when he directed me in my first film when I was 18. I didn't live in LA at the time, so I had no idea where in the world it was. Very good pizza, although Barone's still remains my number one. We ended up meeting Frank there, the man who played my boyfriend's father in the movie. He's an excellent actor and I'll never forget the take when he unexpectedly slapped his onscreen son. Me, Mark and the rest of the crew had to stifle our laughs, it was so incredibly funny. I still crack up when I watch it. Anyway, the three of us ended up getting into a conversation about God and faith. Frank is an atheist, Mark became a Christian at the end of last year and I became when when I was about 20. It was cool to have such an open conversation. I find most Americans reticent to discuss these issues, or if they do, they're far too emotionally charged. It seems silly to take it personally when someone has a differing opinion from your own. Why are we so threatened? Frank asked some very valid questions, questions that I've often asked myself. Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Faith, which might be one resource that addresses some of the common barriers to taking a leap of faith. I'll just say this: if I have a choice between hope and no hope, I'll choose hope every time.

It was great to see both Mark and Frank after so many years. Mark re-connected with me a few months ago on Facebook. We hadn't seen each other since we did the movie. While I have some complaints about the whole Facebook thing, it really is fun to be contacted by people with whom you've fallen out of touch. Although, my high school reunion is coming up in a few weeks and most of us have already found each other on Facebook, so it's a little anti-climactic...