So,
I just read the news that Joaquin Phoenix has decided to retire from acting and pursue music as his career.
I could not be less ambivalent towards what another person outside my little world decides to do with their life but I must comment on the comments I viewed following this announcement on comingsoon.net
A lot of people, claiming to be first as usual, just railing against the man and calling him a terrible actor and that he's a douchebag and he's a fool for leaving acting and it's "unfair" that a great actor like Heath Ledger died and Joaquin Phoenix is just throwing his career away...
It went on.
And pretty much any post about anything these days is followed by a string of comments bashing this or that or completely missing the point of why these things exist in the first place.
Do these people really care that much about Joaquin Phoenix that they have to bash him?
Is there a shortage of actors?
Do they really believe he is retiring?
Again. I couldn't care less. If he wants to retire and he does, fine. If not, fine.
I don't care.
Even if the situation was that he was leaving in the middle of some grandiose Hollywood franchise series (imagine if the Harry Potter kid just decided to retire after 5 films or whatever), it doesn't matter.
This culture of simple minded cretins echoing false sentiment as if it really matters to them is exhasperating.
And I could continue to comment that the internet gives every wannabe cyberpunk with the net handle of J3D1 or N30, or any other stupid handle, but then I remember that I am writing a blog that nobody reads.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Review Yourself
Had a few extra hours this evening and decided to whittle them away at the computer.
Mostly, I've been working on transferring a lot of old files into new formats.
For example: I have been a mac user since 2000 and the default word processing application on macs up until last year was a crappy little program called, "Appleworks." This was, of course, a meager rival to MS Office but so long as you were isolated to a mac computer, this wasn't a big deal.
That means that 100% of my documents that I have drafted over 8 years have been created using, "Appleworks."
College papers and thesis'
Resumes
Scripts
Short stories
Poems
Production Book notes
Everything I had to commit to paper, was with "Appleworks."
Sure, I ran into issues occasionally when employers told me that they could not open my resume.
Luckily, Appleworks lets you save as Word 98 documents so I was still able to send files to the rest of the world to read and enjoy.
Now it's 2008 and we bought a new Macbook Pro in January.
After booting it up and uploading all of my Smashing Pumpkins, Tom Waits, and Nine Inch Nails into iTunes, I started exploring and what did I discover?
I'm sure you have guessed by now.
No Appleworks.
Not a single lo-tech word processing program on the machine.
The only way I could draft a letter was through simpletext or a sticky.
It then became a mission of where to buy the cheapest copy of MS Word.
I'm no longer a student (more on that later) but eventually we acquired a very cheap AND LEGAL copy of MS Word and since then I've been drafting all new documents from there.
So...all of my old documents have been slowly getting the transfer treatment.
I started with a few of the active screenplays that I tell people that I am working on.
Then I got to the half dozen files of poetry that I have written over the last twelve years.
Today, I finally moved the remaining documents over to the MacBook and spent too much time transferring them to Word documents.
This is not as easy as it should be.
Locate the original file. Which has a .cwk suffix by the way.
Double-click to open.
Word launches but then asks what to interpret the file from.
A series of options is listed.
Choose: Recover text from any file (which is the last option in the list)
The file opens, only it's a mess of what looks like unicode and html had butt sex and conceived a butt ugly document.
But sure enough, the original document is embedded in there after a lot of code.
So, I merely have to strip off the top and bottom of my document.
Re-format the paragraph settings because everything is aligned left.
Occasionally reformat a few lines that end abruptly, mid-word.
Convert some ugly symbol back into the beautiful "'s" and ""s" that they are supposed to be and fix any other severe grammatical errors I made in the throngs of passionate higher education.
I've made it through the fiction folder.
What's left is the non-fiction folder but there is little to convert from there.
A few lists and abstract factoid sheets I have compiled over the years.
Nothing important.
In doing this, I've been able to review a lot of old writing projects that I haven't really thought of since I clicked Apple+S.
I've got about a dozen first acts...each one followed by an outline for the remaining second and third acts.
I've got a few shorts that aren't as bad as I thought they were.
I noticed that my script format is never consistent and downright incorrect in samples as recent as 2004..which is the year I took Screenwriting I and II.
All in all, I'm mostly surprised that I was ever able to write so much.
If only I could throw them all into a pile and stir it up with a large fork to make one real and decent feature length screenplay.
But then I would be robbing myself of a lot of effort that has gone into actually writing original scripts. Minor ideas that, if taken care of and nurtured properly, could grow into themselves and do what they want to do.
As Philip K. Dick inspired fantasies play out in my head, I wonder how I spent the last four years not writing and not being productive.
The huge gap of creativity says a lot about my character.
What was I doing?
Mostly struggling.
Mostly searching for direction and a career.
I still am.
Mostly, I've been working on transferring a lot of old files into new formats.
For example: I have been a mac user since 2000 and the default word processing application on macs up until last year was a crappy little program called, "Appleworks." This was, of course, a meager rival to MS Office but so long as you were isolated to a mac computer, this wasn't a big deal.
That means that 100% of my documents that I have drafted over 8 years have been created using, "Appleworks."
College papers and thesis'
Resumes
Scripts
Short stories
Poems
Production Book notes
Everything I had to commit to paper, was with "Appleworks."
Sure, I ran into issues occasionally when employers told me that they could not open my resume.
Luckily, Appleworks lets you save as Word 98 documents so I was still able to send files to the rest of the world to read and enjoy.
Now it's 2008 and we bought a new Macbook Pro in January.
After booting it up and uploading all of my Smashing Pumpkins, Tom Waits, and Nine Inch Nails into iTunes, I started exploring and what did I discover?
I'm sure you have guessed by now.
No Appleworks.
Not a single lo-tech word processing program on the machine.
The only way I could draft a letter was through simpletext or a sticky.
It then became a mission of where to buy the cheapest copy of MS Word.
I'm no longer a student (more on that later) but eventually we acquired a very cheap AND LEGAL copy of MS Word and since then I've been drafting all new documents from there.
So...all of my old documents have been slowly getting the transfer treatment.
I started with a few of the active screenplays that I tell people that I am working on.
Then I got to the half dozen files of poetry that I have written over the last twelve years.
Today, I finally moved the remaining documents over to the MacBook and spent too much time transferring them to Word documents.
This is not as easy as it should be.
Locate the original file. Which has a .cwk suffix by the way.
Double-click to open.
Word launches but then asks what to interpret the file from.
A series of options is listed.
Choose: Recover text from any file (which is the last option in the list)
The file opens, only it's a mess of what looks like unicode and html had butt sex and conceived a butt ugly document.
But sure enough, the original document is embedded in there after a lot of code.
So, I merely have to strip off the top and bottom of my document.
Re-format the paragraph settings because everything is aligned left.
Occasionally reformat a few lines that end abruptly, mid-word.
Convert some ugly symbol back into the beautiful "'s" and ""s" that they are supposed to be and fix any other severe grammatical errors I made in the throngs of passionate higher education.
I've made it through the fiction folder.
What's left is the non-fiction folder but there is little to convert from there.
A few lists and abstract factoid sheets I have compiled over the years.
Nothing important.
In doing this, I've been able to review a lot of old writing projects that I haven't really thought of since I clicked Apple+S.
I've got about a dozen first acts...each one followed by an outline for the remaining second and third acts.
I've got a few shorts that aren't as bad as I thought they were.
I noticed that my script format is never consistent and downright incorrect in samples as recent as 2004..which is the year I took Screenwriting I and II.
All in all, I'm mostly surprised that I was ever able to write so much.
If only I could throw them all into a pile and stir it up with a large fork to make one real and decent feature length screenplay.
But then I would be robbing myself of a lot of effort that has gone into actually writing original scripts. Minor ideas that, if taken care of and nurtured properly, could grow into themselves and do what they want to do.
As Philip K. Dick inspired fantasies play out in my head, I wonder how I spent the last four years not writing and not being productive.
The huge gap of creativity says a lot about my character.
What was I doing?
Mostly struggling.
Mostly searching for direction and a career.
I still am.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Top 12 New Shows This Season
12. Fox will be following American Idol on Tuesday nights* with the exciting reality series, "Who Wants To Be A Scab," which will feature reality actors (oxymoron) breaking picket lines and learning union jobs on the fly and competing for livable wages and health benefits.
Hosted by former scabs, Joe Montana and Elizabeth Hurley.
*Editor's note: Show is scheduled to run through January 20th. Full schedule pending November 3rd election results.
11. "Are We Drawn Yet" is an animated series based on the succesful(?) films, "Are We There Yet" and "Are We Done Yet," starring actor/producer/director/rapper Ice Cube and his new family, including two adorable and precocious kids that try his patience with cute little phrases such as, "Are we there yet?" and "Are we done yet?" The pratfalls and laughs will continue in a 2-d animated series that will be airing six times a day for your kid to watch before school, after school, and right before bed to guarantee that they can annoy the fuck out of you with an infinite variety of aggravating ways to say, "Are we there yet?" and "Are we done yet?" until you might perhaps fit them in the dryer and run it a few cycles to keep them quiet. And yes, the opening titles will feature an OG rap from Ice Cube titled "I may be in family films but I still say 'fuck da police!'"
10. A writer who worked on one episode of "Arrested Development" and a showrunner who worked briefly on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" have teamed up to create "Action John" a fall sitcom starring Hugh Dane, best known for his work as the security guard in five episodes of the US version of "The Office." Action John is a normal suburban Akron, Ohio man who decides to don tights and a cape to be a crimefighter. This outrageous situation is punctuated by a sassy and sarcastic wife who would rather John maybe helps raise the kids and take her shopping. John also has a nosy neighbor who pops in daily to escalate the intensity of his alternate lifestyle. This show will premiere as part of NBCs WT Thursday bloc that is already robust with such hits as "My Name Is Earl" and "Kath and Kim."
9. Joining the ranks of such popular police procedurals as "Law & Order," "CSI" and "Medium," is "Prints." Similar in style and tone and plot, "Prints" tells the fascinating story of crime-solving inside the crime lab where fingerprints are analyzed and compared with existing files. And if the print isn't on file, it is now.
With a full cast of actors who have more than likely appeared in several of the aforementioned series' multiple times and usually as a completely different character, fans of cops solving crimes won't be disappointed. The 8-person team of analysts will be working around the clock to log-in and double-check the accuracy of every print that they are told to process by their watch commander, just to go into court later on to match the print to the defendants. Your Sunday night doesn't get more exciting than this unless you're watching football or "Desperate Housewives."
8. If you love "Raw is War," "TNA Impact," and WWE wrestling, you're gonna love "Grease Fighters." Each week, match-ups between huge, overly macho and barely dressed men wearing lots of make-up and foundation will pit them against each other in the grease pit, a ten-foot circular arena filled with baby oil. Watch with crazy closeted redneck excitement as these totally straight dudes get all oily and hot and sweaty as they grapple and hold each other in positions you really only see in one other form of media. And just to re-assure the psychotic audience that they are straight, a few beautiful women wearing bikinis will strut around in the pit and be all sexy and hot in-between the real feature: Buff men wrestling in a grease pit.
7. "World's Most Blankiet Blank" is the new reality show that exhibits some of the world's most blankiest blank videos. Each week, former TV star, Sasha Mitchell will show a bemused audience of tourists and old people some of the world's most blankiest blank that have been caught on tape. You will be shocked to see just how blanky these blanks can get.
6. "ATL" will premiere on the CW as the fresh new sitcom from Michael Petok, producer of "The Sinbad Show" and "The Bernie Mac Show." ATL is a comedy series set in the Atlanta, Georgia high school of Marietta HS and stars a score of young black actors who are just trying to get some work but were too black to appear as the black person on white shows.
Watch as these adolescent students deal with a wide variety of situations that are comedic and have only been touched upon briefly in "Saved By The Bell," "That's So Raven," "Boy Meets World" and any other show about high schoolers who have way too much free time.
5. "Parejas con Fuego"
Adela Noriega y Eduardo Yañez fueron pareja de telenovela hace muchos años en Dulce Desafío. Su química infalible vuelve a encender las pantallas en Fuego En La Sangre, de lunes a viernes a las 9pmET/8CT por Univision. Por eso han pasado a formar parte de la lista de parejas con más química de las telenovelas. Recuérdalas aquí.
4. "The Border"
David Mamet and David Simon have teamed up to write and produce one of the most remarkable narratives ever broadcast on your television. "The Border" tells the story of the unending battle between the US-Mexico border patrol and the thousands of immigrants who attempt to cross each day. With a sweeping cast of hundreds, Mamet and Simon promise to tell honest and well-researched stories of the border patrol and the people they are trying to stop. US Weekly calls the show, "absolutely riveting." EW's Lisa Schwarzbaum says "you have to watch."
"The Border" will air at an undetermined time on an undetermined channel.**
**Editor's note: Show is scheduled to run through January 20th. Full schedule pending November 3rd election results.
3. "O, I Did"
If you love Oprah and you don't care how she made her money and you agree with everything dumbass thing she says and does, Oprah has the show for you. "O I Did" is an hour-long show that will air on the Oxygen Network daily from exactly 4:00pm to 5:00pm. Viewed as an almost experimental show by some, Oprah has stated that, "this is really just the same as my show but without me having to do my show. I can get my message across without doing any more work in my already busy schedule of self-promotion and selfishness and ignorance.
Every day "O I Did" will broadcast a single image of Oprah Winfrey for an entire hour. There will be no commercial breaks per se because for one second of every sixty seconds the image of an Oprah endorsed person/place/thing will flash across your screen. If you are a homemaker looking for more answers to your life than Oprah can present during her appropriately titled, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as well as her magazines "O" and "O At Home" then tune in.
"O, I Did" will be scheduled to air between "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Oprah After The Show."
2. "So Did I"
"Pretty much the same thing as "O, I Did" but replace Oprah with Phil McGraw and re-direct to a white male white trash audience."*** Will air immediately after "Oprah After The Show."
***Editor's note: Quoted directly from Marcy Carsey
1. "The Cleveland Show"
Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he'd be there when she called.
Hosted by former scabs, Joe Montana and Elizabeth Hurley.
*Editor's note: Show is scheduled to run through January 20th. Full schedule pending November 3rd election results.
11. "Are We Drawn Yet" is an animated series based on the succesful(?) films, "Are We There Yet" and "Are We Done Yet," starring actor/producer/director/rapper Ice Cube and his new family, including two adorable and precocious kids that try his patience with cute little phrases such as, "Are we there yet?" and "Are we done yet?" The pratfalls and laughs will continue in a 2-d animated series that will be airing six times a day for your kid to watch before school, after school, and right before bed to guarantee that they can annoy the fuck out of you with an infinite variety of aggravating ways to say, "Are we there yet?" and "Are we done yet?" until you might perhaps fit them in the dryer and run it a few cycles to keep them quiet. And yes, the opening titles will feature an OG rap from Ice Cube titled "I may be in family films but I still say 'fuck da police!'"
10. A writer who worked on one episode of "Arrested Development" and a showrunner who worked briefly on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" have teamed up to create "Action John" a fall sitcom starring Hugh Dane, best known for his work as the security guard in five episodes of the US version of "The Office." Action John is a normal suburban Akron, Ohio man who decides to don tights and a cape to be a crimefighter. This outrageous situation is punctuated by a sassy and sarcastic wife who would rather John maybe helps raise the kids and take her shopping. John also has a nosy neighbor who pops in daily to escalate the intensity of his alternate lifestyle. This show will premiere as part of NBCs WT Thursday bloc that is already robust with such hits as "My Name Is Earl" and "Kath and Kim."
9. Joining the ranks of such popular police procedurals as "Law & Order," "CSI" and "Medium," is "Prints." Similar in style and tone and plot, "Prints" tells the fascinating story of crime-solving inside the crime lab where fingerprints are analyzed and compared with existing files. And if the print isn't on file, it is now.
With a full cast of actors who have more than likely appeared in several of the aforementioned series' multiple times and usually as a completely different character, fans of cops solving crimes won't be disappointed. The 8-person team of analysts will be working around the clock to log-in and double-check the accuracy of every print that they are told to process by their watch commander, just to go into court later on to match the print to the defendants. Your Sunday night doesn't get more exciting than this unless you're watching football or "Desperate Housewives."
8. If you love "Raw is War," "TNA Impact," and WWE wrestling, you're gonna love "Grease Fighters." Each week, match-ups between huge, overly macho and barely dressed men wearing lots of make-up and foundation will pit them against each other in the grease pit, a ten-foot circular arena filled with baby oil. Watch with crazy closeted redneck excitement as these totally straight dudes get all oily and hot and sweaty as they grapple and hold each other in positions you really only see in one other form of media. And just to re-assure the psychotic audience that they are straight, a few beautiful women wearing bikinis will strut around in the pit and be all sexy and hot in-between the real feature: Buff men wrestling in a grease pit.
7. "World's Most Blankiet Blank" is the new reality show that exhibits some of the world's most blankiest blank videos. Each week, former TV star, Sasha Mitchell will show a bemused audience of tourists and old people some of the world's most blankiest blank that have been caught on tape. You will be shocked to see just how blanky these blanks can get.
6. "ATL" will premiere on the CW as the fresh new sitcom from Michael Petok, producer of "The Sinbad Show" and "The Bernie Mac Show." ATL is a comedy series set in the Atlanta, Georgia high school of Marietta HS and stars a score of young black actors who are just trying to get some work but were too black to appear as the black person on white shows.
Watch as these adolescent students deal with a wide variety of situations that are comedic and have only been touched upon briefly in "Saved By The Bell," "That's So Raven," "Boy Meets World" and any other show about high schoolers who have way too much free time.
5. "Parejas con Fuego"
Adela Noriega y Eduardo Yañez fueron pareja de telenovela hace muchos años en Dulce Desafío. Su química infalible vuelve a encender las pantallas en Fuego En La Sangre, de lunes a viernes a las 9pmET/8CT por Univision. Por eso han pasado a formar parte de la lista de parejas con más química de las telenovelas. Recuérdalas aquí.
4. "The Border"
David Mamet and David Simon have teamed up to write and produce one of the most remarkable narratives ever broadcast on your television. "The Border" tells the story of the unending battle between the US-Mexico border patrol and the thousands of immigrants who attempt to cross each day. With a sweeping cast of hundreds, Mamet and Simon promise to tell honest and well-researched stories of the border patrol and the people they are trying to stop. US Weekly calls the show, "absolutely riveting." EW's Lisa Schwarzbaum says "you have to watch."
"The Border" will air at an undetermined time on an undetermined channel.**
**Editor's note: Show is scheduled to run through January 20th. Full schedule pending November 3rd election results.
3. "O, I Did"
If you love Oprah and you don't care how she made her money and you agree with everything dumbass thing she says and does, Oprah has the show for you. "O I Did" is an hour-long show that will air on the Oxygen Network daily from exactly 4:00pm to 5:00pm. Viewed as an almost experimental show by some, Oprah has stated that, "this is really just the same as my show but without me having to do my show. I can get my message across without doing any more work in my already busy schedule of self-promotion and selfishness and ignorance.
Every day "O I Did" will broadcast a single image of Oprah Winfrey for an entire hour. There will be no commercial breaks per se because for one second of every sixty seconds the image of an Oprah endorsed person/place/thing will flash across your screen. If you are a homemaker looking for more answers to your life than Oprah can present during her appropriately titled, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as well as her magazines "O" and "O At Home" then tune in.
"O, I Did" will be scheduled to air between "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Oprah After The Show."
2. "So Did I"
"Pretty much the same thing as "O, I Did" but replace Oprah with Phil McGraw and re-direct to a white male white trash audience."*** Will air immediately after "Oprah After The Show."
***Editor's note: Quoted directly from Marcy Carsey
1. "The Cleveland Show"
Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he'd be there when she called.
Well, this man done her wrong.
Donna's husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she's come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and CLEVELAND JR. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family.
Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block.
FAMILY GUY was only the beginning. Get ready for THE CLEVELAND SHOW (working title)!
The series is written and executive-produced by Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, AMERICAN DAD), Rich Appel (THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL) and Mike Henry (FAMILY GUY)****
****Editor's note: Copied and pasted directly from the Fox Network website.Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Bloggy B Bloggington
I take refuge in the Three Jewels. The Buddha, The Sangha, and the Dharma.
I am nothing but a single blade of grass in an infinite field.
While I am indistinguishable from all others, my roots are deep and my stalk is tall so that I am unmoving and bold.
I am nothing but a single blade of grass in an infinite field.
While I am indistinguishable from all others, my roots are deep and my stalk is tall so that I am unmoving and bold.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
11 Things My Mother Wants Me To Do
1. Get Married
2. Have a Baby
3. Be on "The Lot"
4. Live next door like on that funny show, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
5. See a doctor about that cough
6. Be a doctor
7. Be a psychic
8. Be a married psychic doctor that lives next door
9. Eat more
10. Drink less
11. Cheer up
2. Have a Baby
3. Be on "The Lot"
4. Live next door like on that funny show, "Everybody Loves Raymond"
5. See a doctor about that cough
6. Be a doctor
7. Be a psychic
8. Be a married psychic doctor that lives next door
9. Eat more
10. Drink less
11. Cheer up
Thursday, July 31, 2008
12 Things I Don't See Anymore
12 Things I Don't See Anymore
1. Guys with tissue blots on their face from shaving
2. Black, round bombs with the fuse sticking out of the top
3. God
4. Ticker Tape Parades
5. Common Courtesy
6. Famous Russian actors
7. Heavy weights that have "1 Ton" printed on their side
8. Super Soaker 16s
9. Sunrises
10. FBI Agents
11. Employment Opportunities
12. The Big Deal
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Times Are Hard
Observations of others:
Friendly and sociable.
Too much.
The world and its reality shifts dramatically in increments of days.
A significant project of mine has already been overwhelmed by wealthy French people.
I can only hope that their intentions are as sincere as mine were.
Leaves more room to work on other projects. Perhaps original projects that are substantially less stealable.
The dual worlds of reality and fantasy submerge into each other as more filmmakers fall under the rising tide of remakes and reboots and original ideas are simply squashed and mangled into familiar and friendly fare.
What hope is there?
It's a shame I won't live, but then again, who does?
Friendly and sociable.
Too much.
The world and its reality shifts dramatically in increments of days.
A significant project of mine has already been overwhelmed by wealthy French people.
I can only hope that their intentions are as sincere as mine were.
Leaves more room to work on other projects. Perhaps original projects that are substantially less stealable.
The dual worlds of reality and fantasy submerge into each other as more filmmakers fall under the rising tide of remakes and reboots and original ideas are simply squashed and mangled into familiar and friendly fare.
What hope is there?
It's a shame I won't live, but then again, who does?
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Time Enough At Last
Fantasy drips and dissipates into the sewer.
Where once was imagination has decayed back into reality.
All the time I spent and there is still nothing but reality.
Will I bury my stories or will they bury me?
What prevents me from crafting meticulous lies to hide behind?
Olives appear on the tree outside and soon they will fall to the cold hard ground.
Nothing grows here.
Where once was imagination has decayed back into reality.
All the time I spent and there is still nothing but reality.
Will I bury my stories or will they bury me?
What prevents me from crafting meticulous lies to hide behind?
Olives appear on the tree outside and soon they will fall to the cold hard ground.
Nothing grows here.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Au Cinema
Reviews to read:
Started the week in a bad mood due to the fact that I was unable to secure tickets to see Chuck Palahniuk.
In my dreams I was in a super villain guild and we voted out Josh Holloway/Sawyer from "Lost."
Outside was Darth Maul and a bunch of other icons. It was kind of like the Guild of Calamitous Intent from The Venture Bros.
In my dreams I saved a friend from drowning by pulling him through flooded rooms.
In reality I watched several movies:
REDBELT
dir. David Mamet
starring. Chiwetel Ejiofor
"Redbelt" is the Mamet written story of a Jiu-Jitsu instructor who through an escalating series of events, is forced to compete on the under-card of a major mixed martial arts fight. While I had been interested in seeing this film for sometime, I was mostly prompted by watching Chiwetel Ejiofor in Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" the night before.
Ejiofor is a nearly-broke jiu-jitsu instructor whose unwavering code of the warrior stands out in a modern world of scumbags, tricksters, thugs, and prize fighters. He refuses to compete because competition is merely an exhibition and is, per this story, always fixed.
Here we have Mamet drawing direct correlations between the lessons of Jiu-Jitsu to pretty much any life lesson.
The school is financially bankrupt, his friends have fallen, and his wife is tired of him. Not to mention all of his equals are deep in money and power.
Having trained Capoeira for several years it is always nice to see a martial art get the respect it deserves by being held up to such a pure and noble standard and not just being relegated to another action movie.
Ejiofor is uncompromising in his will to simply be a fighter who teaches people to survive.
"There is no situation that you cannot escape from."
Mamet, being Mamet, revels in his Mametry with a lot of the simple repetitive one-liners delivered by frequent Mamet actor Ricky Jay and company. Mamet also pulls Max Martini from the under rated Mamet produced (and returning for a 3rd season) show "The Unit" in another supporting role.
You can't beat Joe Mantegna's response to the one death in the film,
"Everybody dies."
The camera is not invasive but it is also not creative. The third act sort of falls apart as certain characters and elements veer out of control of the film's minimalist structure and I wasn't happy with the result of wife, Alice Braga's character. But again, this is not a fight movie. This is a drama that uses Jiu-Jitsu as its thematic foundation and yet it almost becomes a noir film by the end when we, as an audience, get the whole picture and understand how calculated the entire story really was.
But then, "There is no situation that you cannot turn to your advantage."
Just as "Spartan" was under rated and passed over by most film critics and audiences, so too, will be "Redbelt."
Started the week in a bad mood due to the fact that I was unable to secure tickets to see Chuck Palahniuk.
In my dreams I was in a super villain guild and we voted out Josh Holloway/Sawyer from "Lost."
Outside was Darth Maul and a bunch of other icons. It was kind of like the Guild of Calamitous Intent from The Venture Bros.
In my dreams I saved a friend from drowning by pulling him through flooded rooms.
In reality I watched several movies:
REDBELT
dir. David Mamet
starring. Chiwetel Ejiofor
"Redbelt" is the Mamet written story of a Jiu-Jitsu instructor who through an escalating series of events, is forced to compete on the under-card of a major mixed martial arts fight. While I had been interested in seeing this film for sometime, I was mostly prompted by watching Chiwetel Ejiofor in Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" the night before.
Ejiofor is a nearly-broke jiu-jitsu instructor whose unwavering code of the warrior stands out in a modern world of scumbags, tricksters, thugs, and prize fighters. He refuses to compete because competition is merely an exhibition and is, per this story, always fixed.
Here we have Mamet drawing direct correlations between the lessons of Jiu-Jitsu to pretty much any life lesson.
The school is financially bankrupt, his friends have fallen, and his wife is tired of him. Not to mention all of his equals are deep in money and power.
Having trained Capoeira for several years it is always nice to see a martial art get the respect it deserves by being held up to such a pure and noble standard and not just being relegated to another action movie.
Ejiofor is uncompromising in his will to simply be a fighter who teaches people to survive.
"There is no situation that you cannot escape from."
Mamet, being Mamet, revels in his Mametry with a lot of the simple repetitive one-liners delivered by frequent Mamet actor Ricky Jay and company. Mamet also pulls Max Martini from the under rated Mamet produced (and returning for a 3rd season) show "The Unit" in another supporting role.
You can't beat Joe Mantegna's response to the one death in the film,
"Everybody dies."
The camera is not invasive but it is also not creative. The third act sort of falls apart as certain characters and elements veer out of control of the film's minimalist structure and I wasn't happy with the result of wife, Alice Braga's character. But again, this is not a fight movie. This is a drama that uses Jiu-Jitsu as its thematic foundation and yet it almost becomes a noir film by the end when we, as an audience, get the whole picture and understand how calculated the entire story really was.
But then, "There is no situation that you cannot turn to your advantage."
Just as "Spartan" was under rated and passed over by most film critics and audiences, so too, will be "Redbelt."
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Red Eye
In a dream, there was no time; only space.
Movement across time was like vaulting from star to star in a vast field of galaxies all swirling against each other at the speed of infinity.
In the center of the universe is light. Is the word. Is God.
And from this center, all reality emanates in concentric circles.
Out at the edge of space, where it is darkest is where chaos is born.
And there I was...amidst the maze of stars, searching for events in my life as though they were scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces that composed my entire life.
Even in waking, I was unable to believe where I was.
In reality, I am constrained by time.
Time wraps around me and suffocates me while I wander listlessly through space.
Time projects me forward and backwards inside of my prison.
Outside, it is warm and sunny and logical.
People are living and dying and breathing in between.
I can barely swallow.
Movement across time was like vaulting from star to star in a vast field of galaxies all swirling against each other at the speed of infinity.
In the center of the universe is light. Is the word. Is God.
And from this center, all reality emanates in concentric circles.
Out at the edge of space, where it is darkest is where chaos is born.
And there I was...amidst the maze of stars, searching for events in my life as though they were scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces that composed my entire life.
Even in waking, I was unable to believe where I was.
In reality, I am constrained by time.
Time wraps around me and suffocates me while I wander listlessly through space.
Time projects me forward and backwards inside of my prison.
Outside, it is warm and sunny and logical.
People are living and dying and breathing in between.
I can barely swallow.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Caved In
Reviewing the Situation #1
IRON MAN
dir. Jon Favreau
Any more caveats would be redundant as it is inexplicably false to believe that anyone who ever finds this blog would not be aware that the big screen adaptation of Marvel's IRON MAN was released a few weeks ago.
This film, unlike the several other comic book cum superhero movies, treats the source material as a blueprint for the foundation, but certainly not a hard script to adhere to when actually producing images and sound for people to intake for two plus hours.
Historically, if we examine the earlier comic book movies that were successful, we see a definite pattern of formula.
1) Cast an unlikely actor for the part.
See also Tim Burton's "Batman" and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man"
Unsuccessful attempts with Nicolas Cage/Ghost Rider, Ben Affleck/DareDevil, and several others have shown that simply casting actors who always play heroes but bring little sensibility to the role will almost always fail.
Robert Downey Jr. was not the fan favorite for several reasons but, as the actor himself has expressed...the challenge of turning him and his character into a superhero was worth it. And he certainly does embody the spirit of Tony Stark, defense contracting billionaire turned superhero by very ironic (not a pun) circumstances...blah blah blah. What really struck me about his performance was that RDJ has perfected the art of being able to act with only the eyes. If you focus on his eyes, they will tell you infinitely more than the background or the suit he's wearing or the physical and emotional pain he endures.
2) Don't overdo the SFX.
See also "Batman Begins."
While it's true that the draw of most of these comic book movies is the CG-heavy action pieces of hero and villain tearing up the streets and making things go boom...there is much to be said of those films where such mayhem and overdone sfx are absent. "Spider-Man 3" and the "Blade" series have suffered from an exaggeration of sfx where none is really needed and tends to thoroughly disengage the audience from the hero and his (or her) efforts to save Boringville, USA.
"Iron Man" carves out a minimal use of CG in places where it is generally not noticeable. The titular man of iron spends half of the time in his suit with the headpiece open for "acting" purposes. The exposed face is an interesting aspect of the cloaked superhero. It allows the audience the chance to see both the person and the hero at once and resolve the, usually, disparaging differences in the actions of both. Tony Stark is not a warrior and probably knows very little of physical combat. His iron man suit is an augmentation of the power that keeps him alive. When Tony Stark is in the suit, he does not become a warrior ninja knight. He makes mistakes and he fights...well messy. This is an aspect of the character that will probably be improved in time for the 2010 release of the sequel...but I digress.
Do not look for poorly rendered CG characters hopping around and raising the casualty count.
3) Make the villain human/humane.
See also "Batman Begins" or "X-Men"
This is a strange argument but are we not more engaged by a villain that holds principles that we can relate to. In the above two examples the main villain is not merely a harbinger of chaos with the will to control or dominate everyone. The same is ALMOST true of "Iron Man."
The build-up of the main villain is certainly well executed and the character remains human up to a point. In the third act, we begin to see the faltering of an actor who hasn't had time to transition his character from normal human being to potential evil villain. In fact, it is not the character that is evil but the power that they come to control that spoils them. It is a human flaw that none of us have a god-complex until we are given god-like powers. And even then, our mistakes are a result of our narrow perception. Films such as "Sin City," "Batman Forever," and "Superman Returns" suffer from cartoon villains living in the real world. Characters with very little motivation but enormous potential for conflict and inflated personalities accomplish two things 1) We, the audience don't really care about them so when they die, it's not even that big of a deal and 2) Are so out of place that we wonder if the filmmakers would be more comfortable directing Saturday morning cartoons.
"Iron Man" is also an interesting story due to the fact that he is one of the public superheroes. People know his alter ego.
In general, I have never been a fan of these characters simply because they are so far from the classic "hero" paradigm. The alter ego/person should never be able to receive the accolades and idolization of their hero persona. Also, your several enemies will just start going after everyone you know to get at you. I am interested to see how this is handled in the next Iron Man film. Especially since the P.S. to "Iron Man" introduces the S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers aspect into the story.
"Iron Man" is certainly a fun film that is worth seeing in a movie theater. The villain story could have used a smoother story arc but Robert Downey Jr. did a great job. One of the frustrating aspects of the narrative is that the passage of time is not well defined and if a character is moving from Point A to Point B in a hurry, when would they change their shirt? I noticed that Jeff Bridges' character changes his shirt three times in the span of a few hours when there is no reason for this.
I rarely enjoy watching Gwyneth Paltrow in movies but she was not bubbly or sexual in the same way as her other failed film roles.
Terrance Howard is just a great actor to watch and I have never seen him fuck up a role. The man could (and may very well be) in "Snow Dogs 3" and could make it watchable.
Another annoying aspect was Jon Favreau himself playing one of Tony Stark's guard/handlers.
Seeing the director stand around on-screen and just stare at the lead actor is distracting and unnecessary. Yes, we all know Jon Favreau is a triple threat but couldn't he have given himself just one small scene or one background moment. His character isn't a lead character or even a supporting character but not an extra either.
I'm also not happy about seeing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
There are other black actors who can play badasses and who are probably younger.
I have never imagined Sam Jackson when reading The Avengers. I doubt anyone else has.
IRON MAN
dir. Jon Favreau
Any more caveats would be redundant as it is inexplicably false to believe that anyone who ever finds this blog would not be aware that the big screen adaptation of Marvel's IRON MAN was released a few weeks ago.
This film, unlike the several other comic book cum superhero movies, treats the source material as a blueprint for the foundation, but certainly not a hard script to adhere to when actually producing images and sound for people to intake for two plus hours.
Historically, if we examine the earlier comic book movies that were successful, we see a definite pattern of formula.
1) Cast an unlikely actor for the part.
See also Tim Burton's "Batman" and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man"
Unsuccessful attempts with Nicolas Cage/Ghost Rider, Ben Affleck/DareDevil, and several others have shown that simply casting actors who always play heroes but bring little sensibility to the role will almost always fail.
Robert Downey Jr. was not the fan favorite for several reasons but, as the actor himself has expressed...the challenge of turning him and his character into a superhero was worth it. And he certainly does embody the spirit of Tony Stark, defense contracting billionaire turned superhero by very ironic (not a pun) circumstances...blah blah blah. What really struck me about his performance was that RDJ has perfected the art of being able to act with only the eyes. If you focus on his eyes, they will tell you infinitely more than the background or the suit he's wearing or the physical and emotional pain he endures.
2) Don't overdo the SFX.
See also "Batman Begins."
While it's true that the draw of most of these comic book movies is the CG-heavy action pieces of hero and villain tearing up the streets and making things go boom...there is much to be said of those films where such mayhem and overdone sfx are absent. "Spider-Man 3" and the "Blade" series have suffered from an exaggeration of sfx where none is really needed and tends to thoroughly disengage the audience from the hero and his (or her) efforts to save Boringville, USA.
"Iron Man" carves out a minimal use of CG in places where it is generally not noticeable. The titular man of iron spends half of the time in his suit with the headpiece open for "acting" purposes. The exposed face is an interesting aspect of the cloaked superhero. It allows the audience the chance to see both the person and the hero at once and resolve the, usually, disparaging differences in the actions of both. Tony Stark is not a warrior and probably knows very little of physical combat. His iron man suit is an augmentation of the power that keeps him alive. When Tony Stark is in the suit, he does not become a warrior ninja knight. He makes mistakes and he fights...well messy. This is an aspect of the character that will probably be improved in time for the 2010 release of the sequel...but I digress.
Do not look for poorly rendered CG characters hopping around and raising the casualty count.
3) Make the villain human/humane.
See also "Batman Begins" or "X-Men"
This is a strange argument but are we not more engaged by a villain that holds principles that we can relate to. In the above two examples the main villain is not merely a harbinger of chaos with the will to control or dominate everyone. The same is ALMOST true of "Iron Man."
The build-up of the main villain is certainly well executed and the character remains human up to a point. In the third act, we begin to see the faltering of an actor who hasn't had time to transition his character from normal human being to potential evil villain. In fact, it is not the character that is evil but the power that they come to control that spoils them. It is a human flaw that none of us have a god-complex until we are given god-like powers. And even then, our mistakes are a result of our narrow perception. Films such as "Sin City," "Batman Forever," and "Superman Returns" suffer from cartoon villains living in the real world. Characters with very little motivation but enormous potential for conflict and inflated personalities accomplish two things 1) We, the audience don't really care about them so when they die, it's not even that big of a deal and 2) Are so out of place that we wonder if the filmmakers would be more comfortable directing Saturday morning cartoons.
"Iron Man" is also an interesting story due to the fact that he is one of the public superheroes. People know his alter ego.
In general, I have never been a fan of these characters simply because they are so far from the classic "hero" paradigm. The alter ego/person should never be able to receive the accolades and idolization of their hero persona. Also, your several enemies will just start going after everyone you know to get at you. I am interested to see how this is handled in the next Iron Man film. Especially since the P.S. to "Iron Man" introduces the S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers aspect into the story.
"Iron Man" is certainly a fun film that is worth seeing in a movie theater. The villain story could have used a smoother story arc but Robert Downey Jr. did a great job. One of the frustrating aspects of the narrative is that the passage of time is not well defined and if a character is moving from Point A to Point B in a hurry, when would they change their shirt? I noticed that Jeff Bridges' character changes his shirt three times in the span of a few hours when there is no reason for this.
I rarely enjoy watching Gwyneth Paltrow in movies but she was not bubbly or sexual in the same way as her other failed film roles.
Terrance Howard is just a great actor to watch and I have never seen him fuck up a role. The man could (and may very well be) in "Snow Dogs 3" and could make it watchable.
Another annoying aspect was Jon Favreau himself playing one of Tony Stark's guard/handlers.
Seeing the director stand around on-screen and just stare at the lead actor is distracting and unnecessary. Yes, we all know Jon Favreau is a triple threat but couldn't he have given himself just one small scene or one background moment. His character isn't a lead character or even a supporting character but not an extra either.
I'm also not happy about seeing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
There are other black actors who can play badasses and who are probably younger.
I have never imagined Sam Jackson when reading The Avengers. I doubt anyone else has.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ou Ou Ou?
In my dreams I was driving pillows that became canoes. I was attending parties where time stood still. I was vaulting buildings with ease.
In reality I was searching for clues and opening safes. I was surrounded by stranger strangers. I was wasting my day.
Is the phenomenal world really just information that is projected from our minds?
What is time?
I am haunted by the idea that I may never accomplish all of those things that I say I will.
That maybe I will spend my life on a piece of art only to realize that it isn't art.
And in that time, reality will slip away from me and I will become the walking dead.
There will be my body, and inside there will be me. From two empty sockets I will look upon the world and observe the very nature of purgatory while my body toils away on what used to be art
"Imagine being sentient but not alive. Seeing and even knowing, but not alive. Just looking out...Sometimes what looks out at you from a person's eyes maybe died back in childhood."
Philip K. Dick
In this world, what we create will outlast us by generations, and will be more important than ourselves. Well...what if all we create is trash and more trash. What if the cumulative effort of our life is a slightly above average heap of waste?
This probably applies to more people than we even know.
Can I recognize suffering?
Can I end suffering?
Apologize
Pull out his eyes
Pull out his eyes
Apologize
We are still protoplasm...drifting within the microcosmos...stretching to evolve...to escape.
Or Or where?
In reality I was searching for clues and opening safes. I was surrounded by stranger strangers. I was wasting my day.
Is the phenomenal world really just information that is projected from our minds?
What is time?
I am haunted by the idea that I may never accomplish all of those things that I say I will.
That maybe I will spend my life on a piece of art only to realize that it isn't art.
And in that time, reality will slip away from me and I will become the walking dead.
There will be my body, and inside there will be me. From two empty sockets I will look upon the world and observe the very nature of purgatory while my body toils away on what used to be art
"Imagine being sentient but not alive. Seeing and even knowing, but not alive. Just looking out...Sometimes what looks out at you from a person's eyes maybe died back in childhood."
Philip K. Dick
In this world, what we create will outlast us by generations, and will be more important than ourselves. Well...what if all we create is trash and more trash. What if the cumulative effort of our life is a slightly above average heap of waste?
This probably applies to more people than we even know.
Can I recognize suffering?
Can I end suffering?
Apologize
Pull out his eyes
Pull out his eyes
Apologize
We are still protoplasm...drifting within the microcosmos...stretching to evolve...to escape.
Or Or where?
Friday, April 11, 2008
Close Your Eyes
In reality, I am working as a camera assistant on an independent feature film titled, "Fruit Fly" from the creative team behind "Colma: The Musical," "The Princess of Nebraska," and "Option 3."
We are at the halfway point of production and it has been a lot of hard work in some very cramped spaces.
I am doing this for a reason that is uniquely separate from any pecuniary motivations.
In fantasy, it's all the same.
I wake up at night thinking about where the DP wants the camera placed and why are we still shooting at 3 am in MY apartment and how long have I been thinking this.
I lay awake and think about all of those unfinished scripts that hide inside folders inside folders inside my hard drive. I wonder when all of these dreams will become reality and whether I even have the wherewithall to accomplish anything beyond video games and taking out the trash.
My excuses are narrowing to myself and myself.
8 more days of production.
And then what will I create?
I close my eyes and find that it's all the same.
We are at the halfway point of production and it has been a lot of hard work in some very cramped spaces.
I am doing this for a reason that is uniquely separate from any pecuniary motivations.
In fantasy, it's all the same.
I wake up at night thinking about where the DP wants the camera placed and why are we still shooting at 3 am in MY apartment and how long have I been thinking this.
I lay awake and think about all of those unfinished scripts that hide inside folders inside folders inside my hard drive. I wonder when all of these dreams will become reality and whether I even have the wherewithall to accomplish anything beyond video games and taking out the trash.
My excuses are narrowing to myself and myself.
8 more days of production.
And then what will I create?
I close my eyes and find that it's all the same.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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