The Smurfs

Becoming a successful actress has always been one of my career ambitions. I aspire to perform as a triple threat in film, television, and on Broadway. Like most performers with the same ambition as me, I have been promoting myself to casting directors, choreographers, and producers on a daily basis. Building a strong resume is a key factor in becoming successful in this very tough career path. I got the opportunity to make my resume stronger by adding a feature film to it. Yesterday morning I received a phone call from C & G Casting that I had been booked as an extra for the upcoming film The Smurfs!!!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up extremely early this morning...like 3:45am early...to get ready for this exciting day. I arrived in Prospect Park, Brooklyn around 5:45am and was immediately sent to the holding tent to check in. Once I was checked in, I was pampered by the hair, makeup, and wardrobe departments in order to be camera ready. At 8:30am, all the actors (about 150 of us) headed to the set to begin shooting.

The scene was a launch party for a new cosmetic line, Angelou. I was a socialite invited to this extravagant event. Everyone started outside during the cocktail hour of the party. During this scene, I met Tim Gunn (from Project Runway) and shook the hand of Neil Patrick Harris, who is starring in this film. It was a great opportunity for me to get a behind-the-scenes perspective of how the movies are made. As a Cinema and Media Studies Graduate Student, this gave me the insight to how a director works with the actors and the surroundings of the scene. For instance, we could not film a scene outside until the ducks stopped quaking or an airplane flew over us because the sound department could not pick up their noises.

Two and a half hours later, we headed inside to film the party. Sofia Vergara (star of the television show Modern Family) made her presence known as the C.E.O. of the cosmetic line and boss of Neil Patrick Harris' character. She is BEAUTIFUL in person! We worked on this scene for another hour or so before we took our break for lunch. We returned to the set around 3:30pm where we filmed the remainder of the party scene. The day ended roughly around 6:15pm.

This was one of the greatest opportunities I have ever had in my acting career. I had so much fun on the set. And I must say I had my fair chances in front of the camera. So hopefully I won't be on the cutting room floor...

Curse of the Barberi

So this morning, around 10:30 to be exact, I was driving home from the gym listening to Z100 when all of a sudden there was an announcement, "Breaking news! The Staten Island Ferry has crashed! More details after this song."

.....(gasp) WHAT?!?!?!?!?! was my initial reaction to the news. I was in a state of shock for two reasons: 1. The ferry had crashed into the dock of the Staten Island Terminal and 2. I would have to wait until AFTER a song to play to get any information.

Once I got home, I turned on the television and watched the drama unfold on NY1. Just in case you we not aware of the crash, here's the 411:

• At approximately 9:25am, the Andrew J. Barberi ferry boat crashed into the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island.
• Interestingly enough, this is the same boat that crashed in 2003 that killed 11 passengers when the pilot, suffering from extreme fatigue and on painkillers, passed out at the wheel and the boat hit the terminal in St. George at full speed.
• Multiple blasts on the ship's whistle were used to warn the passengers of an emergency. The "Red!" heard by passengers was a signal to the crew from the captain of an imminent emergency situation.
• Janette Sadick-Khan, Transportation Commissioner, said the crash was due to a “mechanical error”.
  -The ferry's throttle failed to engage as it prepared to dock which meant that the crew was unable to use the engines to apply reverse thrust and slow down. Instead, the boat sped up as it crashed into the dock.
• Captain James DeSimone, the ferry's chief operating officer, said it was unlikely that the mechanical failure had anything to do with damage suffered by the vessel in the 2003 accident and that it had passed all the required inspections so that it could be placed back in service.
• Out of the 252 passengers and 18 crew members on board, a total of 37 passengers were injured: 17 with serious injuries and 20 with minor injuries.
• The Andrew J. Barberi vessel will be taken out of service and resigned.

The first thing that went through my head when I heard the news was : "I hope no one I know was on this ferry". As a native Staten Islander, it is second nature to use the ferry as a means of transportation to get into Manhattan. When I was a freshman in high school, I knew several people who were killed on 9/11. This incident had that same impact in the sense of wondering if there was anyone I knew effected by this devastation. Luckily, there was no one I knew on the ferry at that time. Please continue to pray for those effected by the crash.

Clean Up the Butts!

Ever since the Miss America Organization has taken up the Go Green Platform, I have been developing ways to incorporate my platform with the Keep America Beautiful Campaign, whose mission is to engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environment. Now one of my pet peeves is when people flick cigarette butts onto the ground like it's nothing. Little do these smokers realize how hazardous this habit is to the environment. Cigarette butt littering constitutes as a major environmental crisis, which is why I thought this was an excellent way to make the going green connection with my platform.

Keep America Beautiful launched the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program in 2002. It wasn't until 2005 when the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program made a statement addressing the nation's most widespread litter problem- improperly disposed cigarettes butts. Research has proven that cigarette butts are the most littered item in America, accounting for nearly 0ne-third of all litter nationwide (measured by item number, not volume). Smokers who would never consider littering an aluminum can, a piece of paper, or other items may be littering cigarette butts. This epidemic of cigarette littering is caused when ash receptacles are not readily available. Littering mainly occurs at transition points- places where a person must discontinue before entering a smoke-free environment. Some examples of transition points include bus stops, store entrances, and walkways leading toward public buildings. Lack of awareness and increased outdoor smoking adds to the visible impact of cigarette littering. Many American smokers believe that cigarette butts are an exception to the no-littering rule because they see butts as a more natural kind of trash than a plastic bottle. Most people assume they are biodegradable and pose no long term threat to the environment...BIG MISCONCEPTION. The fact is that 99% of cigarettes sold today are filtered. Those filters are made of cellulose-acetate, a form of plastic that is not biodegradable. Filters capture substantial amounts of tar and nicotine from burning cigarettes. Once cigarettes become used butts, they act as repositories for other toxic chemicals. So if a cigarette butt enters a sewer, it will be swept into the river and eventually out to sea where it releases toxins like benzene and cadmium. These toxins end up killing marine life and contaminating domestic water supply systems. Cigarette butt littering is also costly. Cleaning up the butts requires additional sidewalk and street sweeping, greenway and park maintenance, storm drain cleaning, and increased maintenance of storm water filters. Residents and business owners bear the expense of cigarette butt litter cleanup around entrances, exits, sidewalks, and parking lots. Last year, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom placed a 33-cents-a-pack tax in order to cover the $11 million that the city spends annually to remove cigarette litter. So not only is cigarette butt littering unsightly and ubiquitous, but it is also expensive to clean up.

Staten Island has been increasing the number of facilities and other public places that have made the transition to become smoke-free. I spent the day visiting some of these public places to see where cigarette butts are prominent. Since Staten Island is known as the "Borough of Parks", I decided my first stop was going to be the most visited park on the island: Clove Lakes Park. I was pleasantly surprised to find only a few cigarette butts by the entrance of the park (clearly a transition point). I believe people have a respect for nature and treat the park as a recreational location. I saw many people either walking, running, or bike riding...definitely not smoking. I was pleased with the results and moved on to the next location: some of Staten Island's health care facilities.

Clove Lakes Park

Just a few cigarette butts at the entrance of the park

...and right by this bench which is also by the entrance

As I was heading to the health care facilities I imagined that they would have the same results as the park...I was wrong...very wrong. Richmond University Medical Center was the next stop on my cigarette butt mission. As soon as I approached the entrance I was greeted by an enlarged stop sign that read "THIS IS A SMOKE FREE/TOBACCO FREE CAMPUS". However, people have disregarded this sign because I saw two groups of people actually smoking within the campus. There were clutters of cigarette butts just a few feet away from the campus. Across the street is the Regional Radiology North. They also had signs that covered the entire fence. Once again, there was a group of people smoking by the fence. Both areas had no ash receptacles, not even at the entrance of the campus.

Richmond University Medical Center with one of its smoke free signs by the entrance

As you can see it is pretty hard to miss this sign

Regional Radiology North with its tobacco free sign

...and the cluster of cigarette butts right below the sign

Staten Island University hospital North was my last stop of the day. Just like the two facilities before it, the hospital also had a smoke free sign at all the entrances. However, I made an interesting discovery as I walked around the campus. On the Mason Avenue side of the hospital, I noticed cigarette butts everywhere with no ash receptacles. On the Seaview Avenue side, I found two ash receptacles (finally a sigh of relief). However, it seemed that some smokers did not use them. I found a few cigarette butts right next to them! You would think people would have the decency to dispose of their cigarettes properly. What disturbed me the most was when I found a cluster of cigarette butts right at the entrance of the hospital's Heart, Lung, and Surgery building. Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Finding these butts by this specific building made me realize that people do not respect the health care facilities as much as the recreational locations such as the parks.

Staten Island University Hospital North enforcing the smoke free environment

The result of lack of ash receptacles on Mason Avenue

An ash receptacle on Seaview Avenue...with a cigarette butt right next to it

A broken ash receptacle on Seaview Avenue

Some positive reinforcement: The Smoke-Free Air Act assures clean air and healthful environment by prohibited smoking throughout the facility, prohibited smoking on the property of the facility, and requiring the posting of signs.

And here are the cigarette butts found right outside...

...the Heart, Lung, and Surgery building

I am committed to improving the appearance of my community by making ash receptacles more available. I have contacted the three City Council Members who represent Staten Island asking for a sponsorship to place ash receptacles at places where smokers must extinguish their cigarettes before entering a smoke-free environment. This would act as a visual reminder to properly dispose of cigarette butts. Having more ash receptacles will alleviate this epidemic and ultimately improve the community. I hope to achieve my goal by the end of this year.

Miss New York Workshop

Yesterday was an eventful day in Albany. Titleholders from all over the state conjugated for the 2010 Miss New York/Miss New York's Outstanding Teen Workshop. After meeting all the contestant for Miss New York, I can honestly say that the judges have a tough task on there hands. There are twenty beautiful, talented, and articulate young women vying for the title of Miss New York. It was wonderful seeing all the teen contestants as well.

The day began with handing in all our paperwork to the Miss New York Board and getting measured for the opening number dress (which is absolutely STUNNING!). All the Miss and Teen contestants performed their talents for Kent Parham (Choreographer/Artistic Director for the Miss New York Pageant) and Elizabeth Baldanza (Miss New York 2007). My talent is a contemporary dance to "Suite from Mulan" from Disney's Mulan. It is the same music I used in last year's pageant, however, I changed some of the choreography. The panel enjoyed my performance saying it was technical, effortless, and a pleasure to watch. I am appreciative of all their constructive criticism, which I will be able to implement effectively.

Paul Brown, Director of Operations, discussed the schedule for pageant week while Kent went over the wardrobe requirements for pageant week. Some exciting news was that Kenny Mack, Executive Producer of the organization, was announced as the new Executive Director for the Miss New York Organization.

The Miss contestants took part in an interview seminar with Kenny Mack and the reigning Miss New York, Alyse Zwick. We had the opportunity to see the interview of Chasity Hartman, Miss Georgia 2008 and first runner-up to Katie Stam at the Miss America Pageant. Once that was done we headed back to the stage where we did some walking and dancing with Kent. The conclusion of the day was a swimsuit seminar where we talked about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while preparing for the pageant (all while actually wearing a swimsuit!).

It was definitely an informative and productive day. I enjoyed getting to know all the contestants and cannot wait until June for the Miss New York Pageant!!!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I hope all of you took part in improving our environment in some way. Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in New York City. Denis Hayes, environmental activist, coordinated the first Earth Day event on April 22, 1970. Republican Mayor John Lindsay assisted Mr. Hayes into organizing the most successful premier for an Earth Day demonstration. Twenty million people came out to support this momentous event. He felt that this event had a big turn out due to a deep hungering to come together to improve the environment. "In 1969, nobody would have been able to give a coherent definition of the environment." At that time, breathing the New York air was equivalent to smoking two or two-and-a-half cigarettes a day. Forty years later, Earth Day in New York City remains to be a prevalent way to advocate the importance of protecting our planet.

As a local titleholder in the Miss America Organization, I noticed that the organization was also taking part in the celebration. Miss America has taken the initiative to promote the "green" movement through its Go Green platform, Keep America Beautiful. Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010, traveled to New York City to help launch the Keep America Beautiful's Green Starts Here Rally. Since I had the day off from work I decided to take the S.I. Ferry to Manhattan to take part in the festivities by supporting the Miss America Organization's going green movement. Earth Day New York hosted a public celebration in Time Square featuring environmental activists, business leaders, government officials, and entertainers. I had the chance to chat with Caressa Cameron about her Year of Service. She has such an outgoing personality. It was a pleasure talking with her. The event also highlighted the Great American Cleanup effort, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plaNYC (focusing on the efforts to improve the five key dimensions of the city's environment- land, water, air, energy, and transportation), and the Keep New York City Beautiful Organization.

Times Square

Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010

Caressa Cameron singing "America the Beautiful"

Matt McKenna, CEO/President of Keep America Beautiful

Gail Cunninghamm, Senior Vice President of Keep America Beautiful

Mandy Gonzalez, starring as Elphaba from Wicked

Broadway Cast of HAIR

Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser

The Ronald McDonald House has held a special place in my heart ever since I joined Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. One of the positive aspects of being a sister to any sorority is the impact you enforce when you give back to your national philanthropy. In 1979, Alpha Delta Pi adopted the Ronald McDonald House as its national philanthropy. Since then, the sorority has contributed over $2 million nationally. For thirty-five years, the Ronald McDonald House has been improving the lives of families who has been faced with adversity. Known as "the house that love built", the Ronald McDonald House works to help the health and well being of children. It provides comfort, care, and acts as a home away from home for the families of seriously ill and injured children receiving medical treatment at nearby hospitals. More than 10 million families have utilized the Ronald McDonald houses, saving over $120 million in housing and meal expenses. There are a total of 240 houses in 25 countries.

My sorority sister, Martha Price, is the current Philanthropy Chairperson who invited me to emcee the sorority's second annual talent show supporting the Ronald McDonald House. Now here's an interesting fact about Martha...she is the reigning MISS BRISTOL! She will be competing in the Miss Connecticut Pageant in June. Actually, it is the SAME EXACT DAY as the Miss New York Pageant! She has chosen the Ronald McDonald House as her platform mainly for her active involvement with the organization. The talent show hosted a variety of performers including singers, musicians, and break dancing. I was ebullient to have this opportunity to give back to my sorority and the Ronald McDonald House. I remember when I was Philanthropy Chairperson how rewarding it was to have the opportunity to spearhead the fundraising efforts of my chapter to improve the lives of the children affiliated with the Ronald McDonald House. I am so proud of my sorority for the continued passion and dedication they have for this worthy charity.

Emceeing the Talent Show

Martha, Miss Bristol

The winners of the talent show

First.Finest.Forever

Gamma Pi Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi

Last year as Miss Staten Island, I visited the Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan. I was accompanied by some of my sorority sisters, who enjoyed playing video games, creating arts and craft projects, and dressing up with these inspirational kids. Here are some pictures from that appearance:

Alzheimer's Foundation Endless Pastabilities

The Cromwell Center hosted the annual Endless Pastablilities event presented by the Alzheimer's Foundation of Staten Island. And let me tell you...the pasta was ENDLESS! Restaurants from all over Staten Island donated their best dishes to celebrate the organization's international food and wine festival.

Gladys Schweiger, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Foundation of Staten Island

My Dad and I even made the local paper! Here is the picture from the Staten Island Advance:

"Anna Lattanzio, left, gives a pasta dish from LiGreci Staaten to Lawrence Cantoni and Miss Richmond County 2010 Kimberly Cantoni. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores)"

Also happening today was the last local pageant in the Miss New York organization. Congratulations to Katie Martin, the new Miss Greater Rochester, and Chelsea Prophet, the new Miss Genesse Valley!