Caffeinated Clint
By Charlotte Brewster
When asked if I wanted to visit PDI/DreamWorks to see a rough cut of Shrek the Third, I believe my response came in the form of shrieks, probably three, followed by an expletive that I�ll leave out since this is a family film. I was ecstatic to have an official reason to be in the same room with these creative geniuses and arrived hoping that smarts might also be transferred via osmosis. Would I leave smarter? Eh, if not, I�d at least leave happier. And nighttime-ninja-rappelling access would not be necessary; I walked right in and was handed a badge. Joy.
What a fun place to work! The third floor is host to people-sized Shrek castle and Poison Arrow bar replicas. We slurped down a Shrek-inspired banquet�complete with goblets and purple potatoes. Everyone was genuinely friendly and not in an �I�m cooler than you� way, though, clearly, they are. They had their presentable faces on, but I could tell that there must be days when there�s a whole lot of prankin� going on; long hallways make for good running leaps�I�m just sayin�.
Who knew that nestled away in Redwood City is a giant, gleaming, glass tower of geniusitry? (You know about my making-up-words problem, right?) Anyway, I dream of genii indeed. Except, instead of throwing stones, these glass-house dwellers throw hits�megahits�one after the other. And Shrek the Third is going to be next.
We saw about twenty minutes of footage in various stages of completion. The glimpses they shared had me laughing out loud�you know the Julia Roberts horse laugh?�like that. If I�d have had popcorn, I�d have been spitting it out mid chuckle. Unless some naughty gnome gets a hold of it in the editing room and ruins the film flow, this is going to be a �monster� hit. (I permit you one groan�) These people just know where the funny bone is�and they love jostling it.
Okay, this is completely off topic, but Bay Area singles, if you are wondering where all the stylish and adorable lads and ladies are�they�re at DreamWorks! I couldn�t believe how many cute, geeky, quirker bees I saw floating down the halls and around every corner. Seriously, I was in pain. By the end of the day, I couldn�t bear to see one more tousled-haired, black-framed, well-shoed geekatron. You�re welcome. Invite me to the wedding.
The press corps was treated to a tour of the maze that is DreamWorks. We went up, we went down, and we went all around. (There were times when I wondered if they were taking us where our bodies would never be found. A whole floor that I dubbed �The Catacombs� was completely dark and quiet except for the odd, pasty face peeking up from behind a screen. Alas, my reason kicked in and convinced me that we would survive�if for no other reason than for the truth to be leaked about how damn gorgeous and talented they all are�. The up and down did have a point to it as we weaved our way through the creative process�the same one that brought Shrek the Third to life.
