Hollywood & Highland

I once visited Hollywood and Highland when I was younger, having gleaned that this was a fancy, glamorous place where movie stars hung out. When we got there, it was already dark, we felt unsafe, and lo and behold, Hollywood and Highland was an empty dirt plot. Where was the magic? The stardust?

Cut to 2010.

Kevin Fukunaga, who directed fellow USC alum TJ Thyne in TJ's first student film, has created a new series launching this fall called "Hollywood & Highland."

Guess who's in it!

That's right, me! Good job!

After auditioning for the role of Sydney, the struggling stand-up comedian, he called me the next day to schedule a callback at a cafe. This is unusual, but he assured me that he just wanted to get a feel for my personality, as, he said, it was only between me and one other girl.

I met him, we talk, we're having a blast, and then he asks me if I'd accept the role. "Uh....what about the other girl?" I mean, yay! But, the other girl should still have her shot, cause I'm a middle child and very empathetic and believe in being fair. He replied that he had to have a second choice in case I said no, but the role was mine. That, after my audition, he became extremely excited because I had brought a level to her that no one else had. That he was so excited about me and what I had given the character, that he had rewritten parts of some episodes so that Sydney would fit me better.

Awesome, right?

We had our first table read the other week, and it was fun! Kevin has some really brilliant marketing ideas that I'm super excited about and we've already done some promo shots and videos!

Where can I find them, you ask? Right Here! This is our Indie GoGo page where you not only see a video of all the cast members explaining why we need this page, but if you go to the Gallery tab, you'll also get to see a rehearsal of Katie Wilson playing struggling songstress covering The Climb. And she's good! No bleeding ears, I swear.

Our fundraising goal is only $6,000 and so far, we've already raised $395, with 34 more days to raise the money we need. You donate money, you get some fun perks! Go ahead and check it out. Get your Lira fix.

Since my first visit to Hollywood and Highland, things have changed. The dirt plot was just in preparation of the huge mega shopping center they were planning, with stores, restaurants, and glitter in the concrete. I'm confident Hollywood & Highland is going to have a similar, magical unveiling.