Back in LA, regular posting resumes and the USC graduation review

Today, before I could even get my bearings of moving back to LA I was sucked into the long, hot, tiring world of graduations. Graduations, as events, are fraught with meaning, hope and potential for it's participants, but for the viewers it's just a long, hard slog through dull speakers, uncomfortable folding chairs and incredibly uncomfortable outdoor conditions. Mind you, I'm incredibly proud of my brother; he graduated so quickly and already has a job at a fortune 500 company (making him the EXACT opposite of me), but ugh was his graduation in dull (of course he didn't notice cause he was flirting with the blonde in his row). Well, maybe not entirely dull as this is LA and what is LA without celebrities?

My brother's graduation had two special guest speakers. The main graduation had Disney Chairman Robert Iger and his satellite graduation had Geena Davis (she of the bad teeth to gum ratio). Iger spoke about starting from the bottom and working to the top, it was inspiring (and self-deprecating, he blamed himself for putting Full House on the air) and the guy is incredibly charismatic. I dug him because at the end of the day he's still the guy who green-lit Enchanted and re-upped the deal with Pixar, so that's pretty damn savvy. He talked about character launching into a whole thing about "I know about charcters, at Disney we have Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Buzz & Woody, Captain Jack Sparrow and now even Hannah Montana." Couple things struck me about this list, first the fact that he mentioned A.A. Milne characters (which therefore weren't created in house) and then two live action one's. I wonder what these character's revenue is compared to what Iger mentioned. Is Tigger a bigger money-maker than I thought? Why no mention of Minnie Mouse or Goofy for goodness sake? Also isn't kind of hypocritical to mock yourself for unleashing the Olsen twins on the world but not Hannah Montana? Or does the ungodly amount of money she brings into the company already answer my question for me?

Geena Davis showed she's better off reading from a script than note cards. She talked about the hyper-sexualization of women in modern movies and the disproportionate ratio of female to male characters in children's entertainment. I found this amusing coming from the same Geena Davis who spent a good chunk of her first screen role dressed like this. But anything to break in, right Geena?
Sadly no mention of The Long Kiss Goodnight or Cutthroat Island was made. I honestly do love Long Kiss Goodnight. We need another Davis v. Bierko showdown post-haste.