Elizabethan Theatre

I've Moved!

2009-07-10T08:58:00.001-07:00

Hi all! I'm packing up and moving to a nice new home over at www.elizabethditty.com. I'd love to have you visit! This blog will be sticking around for a while, but I'll be doing all future updates over at the new place, so stop on over if you feel so inclined (and I hope you do!).

The Art of War: Act Two vs. the Screenwriter

2009-07-05T20:56:00.001-07:00

(via i can read)

As my friend Joselyn so eloquently and amusingly expressed earlier this week, this screenwriting business is hard work. I am, once again, in the doldrums of Act Two. Whenever I get to Act Two, I suffer that common delusion that the time I've allotted to write is the perfect and absolutely necessary time to do laundry, clean the kitchen, bake, go to the grocery store, play with my dogs, or "do research" for various other projects. I am pleased to report that all of my clothes are now clean except for what I'm currently wearing.

Tonight I made my plea to Act Two on twitter, and Act Two seems to have listened -- at least for tonight. I got a perfectly acceptable seven pages done. My goal is to have this baby finished by the end of July at the very latest. It's completely doable. And it's necessary. I've got too many unpolished specs lying in wait and too many new ideas bouncing around in my brain. Averaging three pages a day is not too much to ask of myself, even during my busiest weeks.

And the truth is, if being a screenwriter is a priority in my life, then I need to treat it as such. In short, "Do your work. Don't be stupid." Besides, with my laundry done and my kitchen clean, Act Two is running out of battle tactics with which to distract me.

Moving Movies

2009-07-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Julie Gray over at The Rouge Wave wrote a post about films that move you. You know the ones: they make your tears well up (or spill over), or they give you that tingling feeling, or that swelling sensation in your chest that makes you proud to be a human being. Roger Ebert calls it Elevation or Transcendence.

It's something I've felt in all of my 5-star films this year. It's not always a joyous feeling, mind you. Sometimes, it's as simple as the feeling of camaraderie with a character who's making a difficult decision. It doesn't feel good, but you're right there with them. So, with that being said, here's a shortlist (in no particular order) of movies that move me. What movies move you?

Joyeux Noël
This film tackles some pretty heavy subject matter. On one Christmas Eve during World War II, troops from three different countries (two were allies but not fond of each other; the third was Germany), called a truce, got to know one another as humans instead of soldiers.

* * *

Waking Ned Devine
This fun, little screwball comedy has one of the most heart-swelling moments I can remember seeing on film. Forced to give a eulogy on the spot for a dead man he didn't really know, the main character proceeds to instead deliver a tribute to his underappreciated best friend, who's sitting in the front row of the wake. The friend is moved, along with those attending; and we're all reminded to appreciate those who mean the most to us while they're here.

* * *

Angel-A
This is the story of a man learning that he is a worthwhile human being who deserves to be loved — not just by others, but also by himself. In the scene where Angela forces the man to look in the mirror and tell his reflection that he loves him, the man (understandably) feels incredibly silly. But Angela's not one to be trifled with, and she forces him to stick with it. What he's saying to himself eventually breaks through, both to him and to the audience.

* * *

Harvey

This is the story of a man who's best friend is an invisible giant rabbit. Despite his ability to live a completely normal life with the exception of his best friend, everyone has pretty much given him up as insane. He knows this, accepts it, and it doesn't seem to bother him. It's a movie about accepting who we are and who others are. In the movie, Elwood delivers some words of wisdom imparted to him by his mother: "'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

* * *

Dead Poets Society
I've already made my love for this movie perfectly clear here, so I won't expound further except to say this is the cream of the crop when it comes to the Inspiring Teacher genre, in my opinion.

* * *

Elizabethtown
This movie splits the crowd, critically speaking, but I adore it. There's a lot of thematic material, most of it linked to the concepts of success versus greatness. What do you do when the life you'd envisioned for yourself comes crashing down around you? What happens when, having striven for greatness, you find yourself in the midst of a fantastic failure? Is it better to play it safe to ensure success, or is it worth it to risk failure in order to achieve greatness? Well, as Drew puts it, "No true fiasco ever began as a quest for mere adequacy." It's a movie that inspires us to risk, to go all out, and to let the chips fall where they may.

* * *

Benny & Joon
This is the story of two oddballs who, despite the odds, find love and acceptance. In some of the same ways as Harvey, the movie also tackles the issue of the dignity we afford people who are different than we are. The moment when Johnny Depp as Sam swings in front of the window, bringing Joon out of her funk — and inspiring her to believe in herself again — is absolutely iconic.

Recap: 29 June 2009

2009-06-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

So far, 2009 has been a pretty fantastic year for movies, in my opinion. Granted, that's speaking from a more indie-based scene than the average moviegoer. But it just goes to show you that, if you're not satisfied with the blockbusters out there, there are plenty of wonderful, smaller films for the choosing.

To put this in perspective, last year, I only had two five-star movies the entire year, and it's only June and I already have 5 (those are Star Trek, The Brothers Bloom, Up, Easy Virtue, and Away We Go).

What I Watched

Some Kind of Wonderful (4 stars): I can't believe I'd never heard of this movie until Gigi's mention of it in He's Just Not That Into You. My sister and I love that movie, so, of course, we had to check this one out, too. And it was funny and charming and sweet without being too saccharine. I think it's pretty underrated as far as '80s romcoms go.
Away We Go (5 stars): I was really interested to see what Sam Mendes could do with a quirky comedy/dramedy that tackles some of the same themes as a couple of his other films, the much darker American Beauty and entirely depressing Revolutionary Road. As much as I love American Beauty, I'm thinking maybe he should stick to this sort of thing. It was absolutely wonderful. If I thought I was in love with John Krasinski before, I most certainly am now. And Maya Rudolph was beautiful and complex and, well, just great. I'd recommend making an effort to check this one out, folks.
Hope Springs (3 stars): Sister and I needed a Colin Firth fix, so we picked this little-seen romcom from 2003. It wasn't bad, wasn't great. Firth was absolutely charming, though, as we expected. Interestingly enough, this movie is based on a book by the same author who wrote the book upon which The Graduate was based. A little trivia for you there.

Other Goings-On
Joselyn and I are likely going to participate in the 48-Hour Film Project, which is happening the last weekend in July. We haven't yet decided whether to join a team or to try and form one of our own. So, if you're in the Kansas City area and would be interested in joining our dynamic duo for one crazy weekend of filmmaking, drop me a comment or shoot me an e-mail at izzi [dot] ditty [at] gmail [dot] com.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

The True Story of the Gingerbread Man

2009-06-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've been taking this children's book class, right? Well, in addition to what I'm working on with Kate, I'm also revising a story I wrote in the 4th grade. We were assigned the task of doing our own version of classic fairytales, and, inspired by The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.

I've scanned the complete book and posted it here for your viewing pleasure. I've even left the incomplete "About the Author" page and the back cover with little snippets of reviews. Enjoy.

(Also, that's going to be the future location of my blog, so, if anyone has any good tips on how to migrate from blogger to wordpress without ripping your hair out, I'd appreciate you sharing them!)

Recap: 22 June 2009

2009-06-22T06:38:00.000-07:00

Not too much to cover today, but here goes anyway.

What I Watched

Adaptation. (4 stars): I'd watched this a number of years ago and totally didn't get it. At all. I was urged by a friend (Writer-Nurse-Student-Comedienne-Extraordinaire, Joselyn) to give it another shot. I did. And I loved it this time. Maybe it's the whole, now I'm an aspiring artist bit, but I thought it was hilarious and sweet and par-for-the-course-Kaufman-style-crazy.
Easy Virtue (5 stars): Seeing this on the big screen instead of a dinky computer monitor has caused me to up my star assessment. I adore this movie. It's sort of Meet the Parents meets Farce of BBC Films. Everything about it is gorgeous (the cinematography, the scenery, the sets, the music, the actors and actresses), except the characters' psyches, which makes them entirely interesting. It's a dark, dry comedy with some dramatic twists along the way, but it's packaged a charming and wacky box that you leave feeling energized rather than moody. Or at least I did. Anyway, point is, this is one worth putting a little extra effort into seeing. Besides, a trip out to your local indie/arthouse theatre is good for the soul.
The Proposal (3½ stars): This romcom is pretty standard, but still enjoyable. It serves up a lot of typical clichés, but it also adds a little biting wit you don't often see in these sorts of typical fare. Honestly, without the casting of Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, I think this film would have had a hard time ekeing out that extra ½ star. But, as it is, the two leads' chemistry makes the film work much better than it would have otherwise.

What I'm Writing

My sister and I started a children's book class last week, which was pretty interesting. I've got an old idea I actually wrote in the 4th grade that I was planning on using as my workshop piece. But then my Sister the Artiste was having trouble coming up with a narrative. She knew the sorts of images she was interested in doing, so I started thinking along those lines and managed to come up with an idea for a story. I wrote it out the next day, and she liked it. So I guess we're going with that now.

In a way, children's books and screenwriting (and graphic novels/comics, I'd imagine) are sort of like distant cousins. Both deal with using words to evoke images that eventually manifest either on screen or on the page of a book. Both require attention to pacing, to the rhythm of language in regards to a scene. I may post some images here once we have them and if my Sister the Artiste gives permission, of course.

Beyond that, I'm working on a dark comedy script called 'TIL DEATH PARTS US while still trying to work out the story for the doppelgänger script. I had a potential breakthrough of sorts on that one during my morning drive today. Hopefully my subconscious will continue working on it while I'm focused on TDPU. It's much easier when the muses do the work for me. :-)

That's all for now, folks. Have a lovely week!

Recap: 16 June 2009 + Good news!

2009-06-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been two-plus weeks since I've done a post? Sorry about that! I've been on vacation the past eight days, but now I'm back in the saddle (literally starting Sunday).

What I Watched

The Hangover (4 stars): This movie is, in my opinion, what Pineapple Express should have been. It was hilarious and outrageous, and my sister and I both had a fantastic time. It's surprisingly tame as far as sex and nudity goes until the closing credits. What really makes the movie work beyond the gags and jokes and shock-value moments is the fact that the movie has heart. In the end, it's really a story of four guys who care a lot about one another; it's just wrapped in the most ridiculous and loud package ever.
His Girl Friday (3½ stars): This movie starts as a fairly typical screwball comedy but evolves into something that tackles some fairly serious subject matter before ending up back in screwball. And it works pretty well. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant shine, as would be expected. This was apparently one of the first movies where actors talked over one another in order to better mimic natural speech. The technique might have been used a little excessively, but watching Russell and Grant spar was still fun.
I Love You to Death (3 stars): This is a dark comedy starring Kevin Kline as a philandering Italian husband who finally gets caught cheating by his wife. His wife proceeds to try to kill him, but things do not go according to plan. This wasn't a fantastic movie, but Kevin Kline as an over-the-top first-gen Italian New Yorker was pretty hilarious. Worth checking out if you're in the mood for something silly and/or Kevin Kline.
Benny & Joon (5 stars): I adore this movie. Seriously. So, so, so much. Sweet, funny, heartwrenching at times, and, ultimately, completely and utterly heartwarming. Johnny Depp, per usual, is fantastic, and Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn are also great. I can't believe this has a below-7 rating on IMDB. Highly, highly underrated, and equally recommended by me.
December Boys (3 stars): Full disclosure: I watched this on a smaller-than-I'm-used-to TV with mediocre-at-best sound in a condo with plenty of distractions. That being said, the movie didn't really do much to keep my attention. The exception being when Daniel Radcliffe was on screen, and I don't mean that in a cradle-robbing sort of way. The kid gives a very good performance, and his character struck me as by far the most interesting. I think the main problem was that there were just too many different storylines to keep track of in the movie; perhaps it would have made a better miniseries.

What I Read
I finished The Romance Readers' Book Club. I don't like to do negative reviews of books (or of movies, really) because who's to say what someone else will enjoy? That being said, I didn't really like it, but I'd never tell anyone NOT to read a book. I'll leave it at that; if you want more details on my opinion, you can ask me in a more private forum. :-)

I left American Gods at the condo when we went on my sister's college visit, so I picked up The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (author of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series) at a Target for the drive back. It was a frothy, delightful and quick read, perfect for the beach or a summer's afternoon or a day when you just need to focus on something not-so-serious for a while.

The Good News
Last night, after trying very hard all day not to think (i.e., worry) about the BlueCat quarterfinalists being posted, I finally allowed myself to pull up the Web site around 10:15 p.m. only to find that the results had not been posted. My muse at that point started laughing at me because I was supposed to be touching up my outline for the screenplay I'm starting today.

So, I trudged back to my outline and did a few lines, but, about 15 minutes later, I could take it no longer and pulled up the site again. This time, the results were up. In reaction, I immediately tensed, and then I told myself it didn't matter whether I was on that list or not because it doesn't change what I do next, which is keep working.

So, after several nervous, catch-my-breath pauses whilst scrolling down the list, I finally came to the Ms, and then to the Mos, and then to the Mus. I took a deep breath, and then I moved my scroll wheel one more click. There it was! "Mute by Elizabeth Ditty."

After jumping around (and removing the last bit of water from my ear from swimming laps earlier), I called my family and told them the news, to which they replied, "We didn't understand you. Less squealy." So I told them again, and they were pleased for me. So, that's the good news. And, in case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty excited about it.

Recap: 31 May 2009

2009-05-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

In this entry:

Movies: Hooray!
Writing: Blurg + a small hooray!
Reading: I <3>
Dreams Do Come True

1. What I Watched

Night at the Museum 2 (2½ stars): There are certainly worse ways to spend a couple of hours in a movie theatre, but the sequel to 2006's surprisingly amusing NatM was a pretty big letdown. I wasn't expecting much, but it seemed like every single joke went on about 5 to 10 seconds too long. There is one exchange between Ben Stiller and Hank Azaria that is absolutely hilarious, but that's about it. It's not terrible, and kids will like it, but, overall, kind of disappointing.
YPF (4 stars): I first read about this movie over at Roger Ebert's blog last year, and so, when it showed up on Netflix's Instant Player, I decided to give it a shot. Full disclosure (no pun intended): Y stands for Young, and P stands for People, and I'll let you infer the F from there. The movie follows several couples through the act of, well, coupling. What transpires is at times hilarious, at other times heartbreaking, and pretty much all emotions in between. It's also worth noting that, despite it being a movie about sex, it's surprisingly chaste. Sure, there are boobs and butts, but they're very rarely gratuitous (only The Roomates toes the line, in my opinion). So, if you're open-minded, check it out. I, like Ebert, was pleasantly surprised.
[Guilty Pleasure Movie Night] Kingdom of Heaven [director's cut] (4 stars): If you've only ever seen the theatrical version of this movie, you haven't seen the movie. There's so much that makes absolutely no sense in the theatrical release because they cut out HUGE chunks of character development. Seriously huge. The director's cut is definitely epic at 3 hours and 19 minutes, but it's totally worth it.
Harold & Maude (3½ stars): It took me a while to get into this movie because I didn't like Harold. Normally in a movie, even when the protag isn't a very good person, there's still some clue given to the audience that you're supposed to root for him. I didn't see that. But eventually Maude won me over, kind of like she won Harold over. Five adjectives for this film: quirky, dark, funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming. There you go.
Up (5 stars): Best Movie of the Year (so far). I doubt anything's going to beat it, frankly. I was in substantial tears twice (thanks in part to the fact that protag Carl looks a lot like my grandpa), and was laughing heartily throughout. Truly fantastic. Disney-Pixar continues to raise the bar. In my opinion, this is their best yet.
Duck Soup (2 stars): I know this is supposed to be a classic movie and all, but I just didn't get it. I thought it was lazy. The comedy didn't mesh at all with the few threads of a story. It should have been either a simple sketch comedy show, or they should have worked a lot harder on creating an actual story in which the comedy could be organic. As it was, it was like the opposite of synergy.
Cassandra's Dream (3 stars): Another foray into Woody Allen territory. Frankly, this 2007 thriller didn't strike me as his best work, despite fine performances by Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell. It took a very long time to actually get started, but, once it did, it trotted along nicely enough. I think it's a movie that will grow on me in hindsight, thanks to my sister pointing out the theme (when is loyalty right?). Still, it's not as slick as some of his other thrillers, like Match Point.
Mostly Martha (4 stars): I loved this movie. It was remade in 2007 as a Catherine Zeta-Jones vehicle called No R eservations. I haven't seen that version, but I imagine it'd be hard to beat this one. It's the story of a Type A, German chef who's life is disrupted when her niece comes to live with her after her sister's sudden death in a car accident. Throw in an Italian chef who comes to work in her restaurant? Lots of fun, and maybe the best "leaves you wanting more" scene I've seen in years. (Bit of trivia: the Italian chef is played by Sergio Castellitto, who also played Mraz in Prince Caspian; he was much nicer in this.)

2. What I Read
A week ago, I found myself absolutely compelled to read The Picture of Dorian Gray again. Couldn't help myself. I read it slowly this time: trying to absorb every word, attempting to wrap my head around each of Lord Henry's epigrams, letting the imagery and the feelings sink in. And I still devoured it in a week's time. It was exactly what I needed for the emotions I've been dealing with lately, and I've now admitted to myself that it's become my favorite novel of all time, usurping the position that was held by Les Misérables since 1996.

I'm also reading a fluffy little novel called The Romance Readers' Book Club. Not really my usual type of stuff, but the back cover and the title intrigued me, and it was on clearance at Borders.

3. What I'm Writing
Ugh. Do we have to talk about this? OK, fine. I'm still muddling through The Sound of Silence. It's like pulling teeth, and it's still coming out way too short this time around. So annoying.

I've also started outlining hardcore for the rewrite of my Doppelgänger script. I'm going back to basics on this one, doing the 40-scene with the conflict and emotion change factors, hoping to break out of my screenwriting rut.

The silver lining is I wrote a short story last week that got a lot of very nice feedback on twitter. Being compared to both The Twilight Zone and Neil Gaiman was definitely a writing career highlight. It was also one of those rare occurrences when you're writing and suddenly things just click, with no effort of your own. True magic, I think: rare and to be savored when it happens.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman...

4. My Conversation with Neil Gaiman
The scene: Twitter
The time: The afternoon of May 22nd
Me: Had dream that @neilhimself tweeted at me, which caused me to let forth a joyful yawp, which woke me up. But at least I woke up smiling.
And then:

That's right, people. Neil Gaiman makes dreams come true. Literally. How awesome is that? I still get a little thrill of excitement thinking about that moment, which did indeed include a yawp of joy and also a little dance and lots of jumping around a bit of screaming and a phone call to my mother in which she became concerned that her eldest daughter had finally dropped off the deep end. All of which seems like a completely reasonable reaction to having a conversation (yes, I'm calling it a conversation!) with Neil Freaking Gaiman.

Recap: 17 May 2009

2009-05-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Not much to report, so let's get straight to...

What I Watched

Intolerable Cruelty (3½ stars): Amusing and quirky; pretty much what you'd expect from a Coen Brothers romantic comedy. Nice chemistry between the leads (George Clooney & Catherine Zeta-Jones), fun dialog. I enjoyed it.
Star Trek (5 stars): As for the Star Trek canon, I thought they found a way to make this film fit perfectly. My mom, a very devoted TOS trekkie, disagreed wholeheartedly. So, take from that what you will. Outside of the Trek canon, there's not much to say about this one that hasn't already been said. I absolutely loved it. It's not perfect, but, in my opinion, it blew last year's The Dark Knight out of the water. Heart-wrenching at times, heart-warming in others, thrilling in its fair share of moments and funny in the others, it may just be a perfect summer movie.
The Soloist (3 stars): Sweet story of friendship and of the art of acceptance. Some things (like the orchestra filling in when Ayers was playing a cello solo, and the weird, potentially seizure-inducing light show during their trip to the orchestra rehearsal) took away from the impact of what should have been really moving scenes. There were also some issues with the definition of relationships outside of that between Lopez and Ayers. Still, very solid performances all around.
Chinatown (3½ stars): I'm still sort of processing this movie, to be honest. It was a bit meandering at times, and I'm still not quite sure what the true motive of the villain was. That being said, the great performances and interesting storytelling certainly made it compelling.
Teeth (3½ stars): Ah, what to say about this movie. It's a very, very dark horror comedy. And it's pretty graphic without being overly gory. Certainly not something you want to watch with kids around. I had a great time watching it. My main complaint is that every single guy turned out to be a douche, but, hey, I didn't expect this movie to be perfect. Bottom line: it's loads of fun, and you should check it out if you're in the mood for a very, very dark horror comedy (though, guys be warned, there are a number of scenes designed to make you very, very uncomfortable).
Taken (4 stars): Luc Besson (who co-wrote the screenplay) delivers another solid action flick. There are a few moments where you've got to suspend disbelief, but nothing jarring enough to make you care. Liam Neeson is fantastic and, in my opinion, totally believable. Truly, it's his movie to make or break, and he sells it with no problem.
Angels & Demons (3 stars): I realize it's the popular thing to hate on this movie, but I actually thought it was a perfectly acceptable summer popcorn thriller. It's entertaining, the acting is fine enough, and I was never bored. Plus Ewan McGregor. I didn't like The DaVinci Code, but Angels & Demons delivers a couple of hours of solid entertainment.
[Guilty Pleasure Movie Night] Lethal Weapon (4 stars): The movie that shot screenwriter Shane Black into the big leagues. I hadn't seen the first installment in this series in a long while, but it really holds up quite well. Riggs and Murtaugh are... well, they're awesome. The banter, the teamwork, the balance, and, well, the love. They're great. Watching the film in this Age of the Bromance, it's easy to see how they've served as the basis for many an archetypal buddy flick since.

That's it for now. Have a good week, folks.

The BlueCat 10-Page Workshop: Lessons Learned

2009-05-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

I attended one of Gordy Hoffman's BlueCat 10-Page Screenwriting workshops this past Saturday in Kansas City. For those unfamiliar, these workshops involve exchanging the first 10 pages of a screenplay with nine other writers in preparation for reading them aloud and commenting at the workshop.

I came away with a number of lessons.

Sometimes it's impossible to judge the potential of a script by its first 10 pages.
People will do it anyway, so you'd better do everything you can to make sure those first 10 pages are good.
Writers who appear to be beginners can still offer excellent advice to writers who have been at it a bit longer.
As an aspiring writer (in addition to many other time in life), writing people off before you've fully heard and understood what they have to say is a mistake.
As Gordy himself said, all the how-to guides out there are simply solutions to the problem of how to tell a compelling story. There's really not a wrong way to do that, per se. If you're keeping people interested, you're on the right track.

Now, with those four lessons, I also have a confession. It's not an easy one because I really strive to have humility regarding my writing and myself in general. But the fact remains that, when you work very hard at learning a craft, the ins, the outs, the technical aspects, the theoretical aspects, all of it... Well, you're bound to develop a bit of an ego, even if it's a realistic one in which you know you don't know everything but you know you do know a little because you've worked and are working your tail off to learn everything you can. And sometimes that little bit of ego is all the reward you have in a given moment: the knowledge that you are doing everything you can. And by "you," I mean "me." So, that being said and perhaps unnecessarily justified, here is my confession.

After receiving the nine other screenplays, I was highly skeptical about how the workshop was going to go.

There was some solid stuff, but there was also some stuff I deemed not so solid. I don't need to go into detail here about any specific thoughts, but what I will say is that I was ridiculously impressed by Gordy's ability to dig out the potential -- and offer suggestions on how to start down the path to reaching that potential -- in each of the 10-page samples. It's a quality that I always considered to be one of my own strengths, but, I must say, whatever ability I have in that area pales in comparison to what Gordy showcased.

I do realize that this presents a certain caveat venditor, though: If someone who actually strives to be open-minded and seek out potential is thrown off by nonstandard formatting, spelling and grammar issues, and nontraditional structure, then think how much more turned off an industry reader who must sift through any number of scripts a day will be. So, it's probably wise to do your research regarding those things.

Here are a few resources I've found wildly helpful:

[A gift to all aspiring screenwriters] John August's blog
[A solid go-to style guide] The Hollywood Standard
[Advice from the trenches of Hollywood] The Rouge Wave
[An easy-to-understand guide to structure] Save The Cat! and Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies
[A blog to pick you up when you're feeling down] Blake Snyder's blog

I really enjoyed the BlueCat workshop, and I'd highly recommend attending one if the opportunity is available to you. Gordy is realistic without being harsh, and he played a big part in making everyone feel at ease throughout the day. We all shared a lot of laughs and a lot of great advice, and I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with my fellow workshoppers.

Recap: 3 May 2009

2009-05-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, look! It's May! Is it just me, or is this year flying by incredibly fast? Well, the good news is, despite April disappearing, I've come out of it with a not-completely-horrible-but-still-very-rough first draft of a new screenplay thanks to ScriptFrenzy.

Other highlights:

I've started taking horseback riding lessons.
I got to attend a screening at the new AMC Mainstreet here in Kansas City the week before it opened (they hosted the KC FilmFest). The six-screen theatre's super cool, and you should check it out, too.
I'm starting an intermediate French class next week.
I've signed up to take a class from the Kansas City Art Institute about creating a children's book starting in June.
I've declared that Sunday night is now Guilty Pleasure Movie Night, in which I need no justification to watch a movie other than I just plain feel like it.
I'm going solo to the Lord of the Rings Symphony next Friday at the Music Hall because that's how I roll, yo.
There's a Narnia exhibition coming to Union Station here in Kansas City May 22 through August 23, and I want to go. Want to come with me?

Now that we're up to date on that, let's look at...

What I Watched

Brick (3½ stars): This is a noir detective film set in a high school. The tone starts out kind of satirical but quickly turns very, very serious. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a strong and deep performance, which seems to be par for the course for him post-3rd Rock. Also very interesting visual style. All the more impressive is that this is the first feature effort from writer-director Rian Johnson.
Evil Demon Golfball from Hell!!! (3 stars): I checked out Rian Johnson's short film prior to seeing The Brothers Bloom at the AMC Mainstreet theatre. It's sort of a comedic, modern take on Poe's The Tell-tale Heart. You can watch it here.
The Brothers Bloom (5 stars): First five-star film of the year! This is one of those movies that has everything you want: comedy, romance, drama, suspense, action... It's all there, and it all works together. Rachel Weisz plays one of the most unique and fascinating female characters I've seen in recent memory. Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo play the titular brothers in this "fairytale about conmen," as Rian Johnson himself put it before the screening. It's getting wide release at the end of this month; if you have the opportunity to see it, I highly, highly recommend it.
Match Point (3½ stars): My Woody Allen education continues. This is the movie that people say ushered in a new era for Woody Allen, and, I must say, I wasn't super crazy impressed. I had some issues with the character development, but overall it was entertaining, and I enjoyed the theme.
Earth (3 stars): Let's start with the negative: as far as weaving a narrative goes, Earth didn't do such a great job. It didn't focus on the "three families" it proclaimed to in the trailer. They were more like bookends to the movie than the heart of it. And the stories they did show? Pretty much all total downers. If you're going to cast animals as "villains" in a nature story, sometimes you have to show the underdog getting away. Now, the positives? Gorgeous. Informative. A solid first effort for DisneyNature, and enough to make me look forward to next year's Oceans.
[Guilty Pleasure Movie Night] The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (4 stars): I named this one of my favorite movies of 2008 (and anticipated it would be such back in September 2008, and I think I've made my adoration for this movie clear.
Across the Universe (3½ stars): This film is sort of an impressionist portrait of the '60s. Some odd sequences in the middle, but overall a stunning piece of work that's worth seeing just for the creative challenge of taking the Beatles body of work and cobbling together a narrative out of it.
Wolverine (2½ stars): Hm. Well. Hugh Jackman looked good, eh? Important lesson here, folks: set pieces do not make a movie!
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (3½ stars): I was really disappointed in this movie when I saw it in theatres. I grew up watching this version, and so I had some very specific ideas about what I wanted to see. And there were some things they took in a different direction. I still think the movie would have been more effective with a greater visual transformation for the White Witch when winter starts to end. In the animated version, it's like she's practically melting herself. But having a deeper understanding of the characters thanks to a little more character development in Prince Caspian, I gained a better appreciation for this movie the second time around.
Mona Lisa Smile (3½ stars): This is a fairly typical venture into the Inspiring Professor Genre. And, while it's not the strongest one out there, it's still a solid and enjoyable movie.
[Guilty Pleasure Movie Night] Stardust (4 stars): Like Prince Caspian, I wasn't all that impressed the first time I saw this movie, but, also like Prince Caspian, it's grown into one of my favorites. It was mismarketed when it came out, so, if you discounted it as a boring fantasy epic (which is how the trailers made it look), give it a shot. It's more in the vein of The Princess Bride in that it's a love story wrapped in an fantastical adventure story.

What I'm Writing

This week's going to be spent preparing my Screnzy effort for the BlueCat 10-Page Workshop this coming Saturday. Additionally, I'll probably start doing a bit of work on incorporating the changes I've marked for Monsieur Valentine this past week as well as outlining my next spec script 'Til Death Parts Us. Sort of a transitory week for the writing gig, but those are necessary sometimes.

Recap: 19 April 2009

2009-04-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

It's funny how life seems to hit all at once sometimes. Here's what I've dealt with in the past week:
1) Work insanity (more so than usual), culminating in a 10-hour work day on Friday.
2) The death of my last grandparent, which, in addition to the emotional fall-out, led to:
- An unexpected daylong road trip to Joplin, Mo., where I spent all major holidays and the occasional weekend for the first 21 years of my life.
- Eating way too much food at Casa Montez, the best Mexican restaurant in the history of the world.
- Meeting my great aunt and uncle and hearing soap-operatic stories from my family history that struck me as both tragic and captivating.
- Seeing what happens after everyone leaves the burial site.
- Feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under me after seeing childhood memories distorted by time, "progress," and a lack of care.
- A lovely day spent on the road with my mom, during which we talked about many subjects, both trivial and serious (and a few in between).
3) Receiving my first Make-A-Wish assignment and subsequently having to miss the first meeting due to sheer exhaustion and the hint of a cold (thus not wanting to pass anything along to the Make-A-Wish family).
4) Tax Day!
5) ScriptFrenzy!

And despite all that, I'm still going to stay up late and do my movie recap because I didn't do one last week, and three weeks is just too long to go without one. So, off we go!

What I Watched

Sunshine Cleaning (3½ stars): Even with solid performances from a great cast (Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, etc.), I didn't think this movie quite lived up to what it could have been. Don't get me wrong; obviously with a 3½-star rating, I still thought it was pretty good. The movie could have used another half-hour to tie everything up a little more smoothly, but overall, it was a good character study with an amusing premise.
Hot Fuzz (4 stars): Loved this movie. Great fun. It got a bit whacked out at the end, but I was mightily impressed with Simon Pegg. I'd only ever seen him play the bumbling idiot role, so this was a nice (and totally convincing) change of pace.
Jane Austen Book Club (3½ stars): A solid (if sometimes cheesy) ensemble romantic comedy. This is the movie that made both my sister and me fall in love with Hugh Dancy. I haven't read the book, but the film does a nice job weaving in the themes of the Austen novels with the lives of the characters in the book club. Writer/Director Robin Swicord also does a lovely job of keeping the story moving, which must have been a challenge in a film about a group of people getting together to talk about novels. Definitely a chick flick, but one of the better ones out there.
Monsters vs. Aliens (3 stars): This was a lot better than I thought it would be. My mom dragged us to see it, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it featured some interesting characters, funny jokes (and not too many in the category of Toilet Humor). The villain was pretty bland, but, all in all, not a terrible way to spend a couple of hours. Also of note, it was great to hear the voice cast actually acting. In a lot of animated films, actors just use their normal voices, but the cast went to the trouble here to actually create voices for their characters, which was much appreciated.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (4 stars): I'm still not sure how Disney managed to make this such a great movie, but they nailed it. Perfect casting all around, groundbreaking effects, and, most importantly a completely charming story that didn't take itself too seriously all lift this movie much higher than it had any right in going. So much fun.
Husbands and Wives (4 stars): My fifth venture into the Woody Allen canon, and I'm becoming more and more of a fan. Filmed quasi-documentary-style, this film tackles the subjects of love vs. passion and how they affect marriage. It hits all the emotional notes you'd hope to find in a movie about such a topic.
The Phantom of the Opera [2004] (3 stars): I'd love to see this story in the hands of Baz Luhrmann or Tim Burton. I've never seen the staged version, but it appeared that the film version was extremely faithful -- to a fault. A few of the songs, most notably "Phantom of the Opera," lost their impact in this version, whether due to strength of vocals or arrangement, I'm not sure. Truly, if it weren't for the last 30 minutes or so, I probably would have rated it lower. It was at that point that I truly felt for the characters involved. At a runtime of 2 hours and 23 minutes, it really could have benefitted from cutting some of the songs (or at least shortening them). Still, it's a visually beautiful film and an interesting story if you can get through the bloat.
17 Again (3½ stars): This movie was really better than it had any right to be. The dialog was average for the most part, and some of the film editing choices bugged me, but the cast, especially Zac Efron, was so darn charming, I just couldn't help but enjoy myself. Granted, since I harbor an admittedly crable-robbing crush on Mr. Efron, I went in expecting to enjoy myself, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't have to do so as shamefully as I expected.
Jules et Jim (4 stars): It's hard to really describe this story. It's about the unusually enduring friendship of two men. It's about the woman around which their lives revolve. It's about the nature of love. I was taken in by it. Also worth noting, if you're in the mood for a double feature about crazy but captivating woman, check out this one with Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Elizabethtown (4 stars): This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Now, I realize that this is not a perfect movie, and you can complain about Orlando Bloom's imperfect American accent all you want (which I find totally charming, by the way). But I adore this film. The themes never fail to strike a chord with me, whether it's dealing with success vs. failure, focusing on yourself vs. taking the time to see the world around you, family discord, or life and death. (As Chuck would say, "Death and life, and death and life... right next door to each other?!") It's also got arguably the best use of the song "Freebird" in a movie ever. If you've been skeptical about giving this movie a chance, I'd suggest you do. You may not love it as much as I do, but it deserves a lot more respect than it generally gets.

What I Wrote
Still hammering away on my ScriptFrenzy screenplay. Hit 81 pages tonight. As I tweeted, I think this may end up being the longest script I've written since my horrible, terrible, no good, very bad first attempt at ever writing a screenplay. (That monstrosity ballooned to 145 pages for no good reason.) I usually run short, between 90 and 100 pages, and I think this one might come close to 120 before I'm done.

I also know that this one's going to need a LOT of work on second draft. It's not very cinematic right now, but I still love the story and think it has plenty of potential to be cinematic. And since it's the first draft, it's totally fine that it's not perfect. First drafts are for potential, not perfection. 10 days left to go in this roller coaster month. Assuming I don't have another week as insane as the last one, I think I just may make it out alive.

The Best Character Introductions in Film

2009-04-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

The introduction of a character has the ability to set the stage for an entire movie. Character introductions create icons. The best ones survey a place in our brains, set up camp, and never leave. These are a few of the ones that have done that for me.

Manhattan (youtube): Isaac Davis

It opens simply with Isaac's voice over stop-and-start attempt to write the introduction to his book. The images are nothing more than stock footage of New York. But the music! Need I say more than Gershwin? Woody Allen's intro isn't just an intro to his character, but to his entire body of work, to himself as an artist, to the city he loves. However you feel about the rest of the movie, there's no denying this intro is absolutely classic.

Elizabethtown: Drew Baylor

Drew Baylor. The weight of the downfall of an entire company rests on his shoulders. He's fine. Everybody knows. He's fine. She knows. He's fine.

Beauty & the Beast (youtube): Belle

The song tells us everything we need to know about Belle: she's beautiful, she's intelligent, she's meant for more than the life she's living and she knows it.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (youtube): Amélie

We see the world as Amélie sees it: full of happenstance, whimsy and magic. We see her as an infant, a child, a teenager, a young adult. We see what makes her who she is. We understand her, we're captivated by her, and we want to see the world like she does.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Captain Jack Sparrow

When I think of iconic character intros -- and really iconic scenes in general -- this is the first one that jumps to mind. Salty, stoic, and rugged, Captain Jack Sparrow sails into shore. Fearless. Even in the face of his fellow pirates hanging from the gallows, he is brave and respectful, doffing his cap to his fallen comrades. Adventure awaits. Even as he steps onto the dock, perfectly timed to the sinking of his ship, he exudes easy confidence. Before he's even spoken a word or flashed that mischievous grin, we're in love.

For more favorite scenes in a variety of categories from others, visit Kate and Matt. And feel free to weigh in!

Recap: 5 April 2009

2009-04-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

I feel I must start off this week's recap with an impassioned plea/open letter to January. So, here it is.

Dear January,

Please go away and let April come back.

Cheers,
izzi

Now that that's out of the way, let's get on to...

What I Watched

I've Loved You So Long (5 stars): Kristen Scott Thomas stars in this French-language film about two sisters reuniting after the elder is released from prison after 15 years. In my opinion, Kristen Scott Thomas gave the best female performance of 2008 in this film. The film is ultimately a character study; it's not full of twists and turns and surprises. It's simply about human beings, but it's a prime example of how a character study film should be crafted.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (3 stars): I was a bit disappointed in this one, to be honest. I expect some low-brow humor from Adam Sandler comedies, but some of the gags here were just plain stupid at best and extremely offensive at worst. That being said, it does have its fair share of funny moments, and, while it doesn't always execute well, the movie seemed to have its heart in the right place.
Rachel Getting Married (2½ stars): I think I know what this movie was trying to be about. But truly odd direction prevented it from ever getting to the core of its message. At times I almost felt as if I was watching an unedited home video of a wedding, which, if you've ever seen one, is full of dull, uninteresting and pointless bits of life. For instance, I kept waiting for some sort of subtext in the neverending string of toasts, but it was either far too buried (or I am far too dense, I suppose) or it simply wasn't there. Same with the reception dance montage. I'm actually planning on reading the script this week to see if something was lost in the translation to screen. All this being said, there is one absolutely fantastic and heartbreaking scene worth seeing. The performances are all great; I just wish the film had been a vehicle for some sort of message more than just performances.
Adventureland (3½ stars): This was a solid coming-of-age story, sort of Nick & Norah-esque in tone. My only real complaint is that I wish they'd amped up the humor a bit more. It was interesting and good to see a story about people in that weird limbo between college and adulthood. Also worth noting, I loved the last image of the film. It was unexpected and simple and... yeah. It was just really great.

What I Read

I finished reading Gods Behaving Badly, which was a fun little novel by Marie Phillips. I was slightly heartbroken to find that Ben Stiller's production company optioned the novel back in 2007 to develop into a TV comedy series, as I'd set my heart on some day finagling the opportunity to adapt it for a feature. Right now, IMDB has 2009 as the date attached for the series, but I haven't heard anything about it, so maybe there's still hope for me yet!

What I Wrote

I've come out of the first weekend of ScriptFrenzy relatively unscathed. Tonight's been the toughest so far; I only managed to write a measly 1½ pages. But that's OK. I'm ahead of schedule, and I think I know where I'm going next.

I've been battling this story a bit because my main character seems to want to take a lot of fictionalized pages from my own life. I've never wanted to be the sort of writer who writes herself. But, then again, I need to let my story go down a natural path, even if that means there are some parallels with my own life, I guess. And truly, any story is going to have pieces of me in it. I know the stories I've written that I love best certainly have. They've just seemed a little more well-veiled.

It all goes back to writing without inhibitions, I guess. Mystery Man on Film had a piece of art in his latest blog post that I think I'm going to print and frame. It says, "Kill your timid notion." Which I take to mean, stop being afraid of where your story wants to go, of hurting your characters (or yourself), of digging too deep. Kill your timidity. Serve your story, and do it justice. So that's what I'm going to try to do this week. Sounds so easy, doesn't it? :-)

And so it begins: ScriptFrenzy 2009

2009-04-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

So, remember how I said in my last post I was going to write a stage musical for ScriptFrenzy? I lied. Not intentionally, mind you. In fact, until about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, I had every intention of writing my stage musical. But, as it turns out, whatever force that drives me to write had other plans.

I woke up feeling really distressed about what I was planning to write for Screnzy. It was a fun idea, but I just wasn't feeling it, you know? I'd been having a mini-existential crisis for a few days, as I do from time to time, so I chalked it up to that. And I felt better. For about 20 minutes. So, on the drive to work, I said to no one in particular, "All right, if you want me to write something else, you'd better give me an idea and quick."

That morning I spent some time link-jumping, digging through my idea box, and soul-searching. I'd been thinking for a while that I really wanted to write something about women. And I wanted to do a story about women that wasn't really a story about men (e.g., wedding-themed movies, most romantic comedies, etc.). Not that there's anything wrong with those sorts of stories. I enjoy them a lot of the time. But I wanted to write a story about women and their relationships with one another.

Whilst searching Billy Mernit's fabulous blog for inspiration, I stumbled across a post of his about memento mori votives. Memento mori translates roughly to "Remember you will die." I was checking out the wiki on it, which then led me to some other Latin phrases.

Et in Arcadia ego :: "Even in Arcadia I exist." (As spoken by, say, Death personified.)
Timor mortis conturbat me :: "Fear of death disturbs me."

And I was intrigued by these phrases. So then I started going through my Idea Box. I'd made a note about an old PostSecret card from someone having an existential crisis and a note about doppelgängers and vardøgrs.

And then I thought, "BAM! Comedy!" What? Isn't that how your brain works?

So I jotted down notes in between work tasks the rest of the day, and then I wrote up half a beat sheet that night whilst watching American Idol. And the rest is history. I wrote my first 5 pages tonight, and so far, so good. We'll see how the rest of the month goes, but I'm cautiously optimistic so far, despite the disturbing lack of preparation.

Recap: 29 March 2009

2009-03-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure where last week went. Did I really only manage to watch three movies? Weird.

What I Watched

I Love You, Man (3½ stars): While not as sharp as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, this movie about a guy with no guy friends showcases the sort of humor with heart that's become the calling card for the emerging "bromance" genre. It's not a perfect movie, but it's the most I've laughed in a theatre in a long time. It's also pretty low on raunch for this sort of movie, if that sort of thing bothers you.
Easy Virtue (4 stars): This film came out in the UK in November 2008, and I was highly anticipating it for a few months prior to that. Sadly, it's currently scheduled only for limited release to the States, and not until May 22. So, (through perhaps legally gray means) I procured myself a sneak preview of this quirky gem of a film. It speaks to the quality of the movie that I'm already committing myself to seeing it at least once in theatres (if it gets wide release), buying it on DVD, and purchasing the soundtrack. On the surface, it's a lighthearted, comic romp through prim British film. But it's really the dark undercurrent themes that make the movie. It's a bit uneven: I'd say the first two-thirds of the film is perfectly delightful, but it's the last third that really grabs you. Or at least me. So, all that being said, if you get the chance to see this film, I encourage you take the opportunity. It's well worth your time.
The White Sheik (3½ stars): I began my Fellini education with one of his earlier films. The term Fellini-esque is more in reference to his later films, like 8½ (which I was told by many fine folks on twitter is a must-see movie but not the place to begin). I thought this film had some really funny parts and also some truly heart-wrenching scenes. The only thing that kept it from getting 4 stars was that I didn't think the ending was quite as solid as it could have been.

What I Wrote

Just tonight I finished up the first draft of the rewrite of M. Valentine. Feels good to have that out of the way. I'm planning on taking the first 10 pages to the Kansas City BlueCat workshop that's coming up in May, so I'll be revisiting it after ScriptFrenzy.

Have I mentioned I'm attempting a stage musical for ScriptFrenzy? No? Well, I am. Since I churn out most of my first drafts in a month anyway, I wanted to take on something that's truly a challenge for me. And this will definitely fit the bill. I've got two more days to get myself a good foundation of planning, and then we're off to the races. April should be an interesting month!

Recap: 22 March 2009

2009-03-22T20:19:00.001-07:00

Been a while, so let's get to it, shall we?

What I Watched

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (3 stars): I got about halfway through this movie and realized I didn't really have any clue what was going on. To clarify, I understood what was happening, but I guess I missed the meaning of it somewhere along the way. The last third of the film seemed to get to the core of the message, and that's when I got interested. So, with a 2-star first half and a 4-star second half, it's seeing Hugo Weaving in drag that bumps this up to 3 stars instead of 2½ for me.
Watchmen (4 stars): Having recently read the graphic novel and having enjoyed it immensely, I was pretty excited for this movie. Happily, it lived up to my expectations. It's not a perfect movie, of course, but it's faithful to the tone of the graphic novel in most places, and it's as visually stimulating as I'd hoped it would be. (And no, that was not a reference to the post-rescue scene in Archimedes.) Whether you've read the graphic novel or not, the film is certainly worth seeing for the epic storytelling and different take on the superhero genre. Truly, though, if you've been against reading the graphic novel because you "don't read comics," then do yourself a favor and get over that prejudice. There's more depth to Watchmen than half the "traditional" novels out there.
Peter's Friends (3½ stars): This is a charming little picture about nothing more than a group of friends and how the ways they relate to one another both change and remain the same through the years. It's got all the sorts of moments you'd hope for in a film like this: funny ones, poignant ones, heartbreaking ones, and sweet ones, too.
Annie Hall (3½ stars): Continuing my Woody Allen education, I was pleasantly surprised that this movie lived up to most of the hype, unlike Manhattan. Neurotic Woody at his best employing film devices that have been used numerous times (and usually less effectively) since. Highly quotable, highly memorable, and worth your time.
Waking Ned Devine (4 stars): It's extremely rare that a movie makes me cry out of sweetness instead of tragedy. This is one such gem. It plays as sort of an elderly, Irish buddy comedy. Laugh-out-loud funny in a lot of parts, and it leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. Time well spent.
Let the Right One In (3½ stars): No offense to Twilight, but this is a REAL vampire movie. That being said, it's not exactly traditional either. It's part love story, part coming of age tale, with a side of horror thrown in for good measure. Make sure you choose the subtitles because the DVD defaults to the absolutely horrendous English dubbing. Also worth noting, Lina Leandersson, the girl who plays Eli, is one of the most captivating young actresses I've seen in a long time.
Duplicity (3 stars): I'm still not sure why people seem to think Julia Roberts needs some sort of comeback, but I suppose this is as good a way to do it as any. I feel a bit blasé about nonlinear storytelling these days, but it works well enough in Tony Gilroy's follow-up to Michael Clayton. It's a fun, heist sort of movie, and it's fun to see Roberts and Clive Owen paired up on screen again (their first outing being the interesting if lacking-in-point Closer). That being said, part of the fun of a heist movie is being able to potentially guess where the crosses, double-crosses and triple-crosses are happening. Duplicity doesn't always do the best job of that, but it's still the smartest romantic comedy so far this year.
Happy-Go-Lucky (2½ stars): Despite Sally Hawkins' great performance, this movie left me feeling a little cold. It plays like a bit like Amélie without the whimsy or hopeful undercurrent. The theme instead seems to be, "Life is what it is, and a lot of the time it's kind of crappy, but you might as well make the best of it because it's what we've got."

In Other News

ScriptFrenzy is only eight days away! If you're at all interested in writing a script (TV, film, stage, comic book, whatever your heart desires), then get over the Web site and sign up! If you're in the Kansas City area, stop by the regional lounge and say hello. I'm the Municipal Liaison for Missouri, and I'll be holding write-ins on both the Kansas and Missouri sides of the state line. So, even if you're not officially participating, you're welcome to join in the write-ins anyway. You can view the Screnzy KC calendar here.

Miss me?

2009-03-17T20:23:00.001-07:00

I've been rather neglectful of my poor little blog here this month. Truth be told, my life sort of exploded the first week of March. (Yes, that's a bit dramatic. But I'm a screenwriter. What do you expect?) And I haven't had too many movies to recap despite my two-week absence. And until nine days ago, I didn't have much to tell by way of my own writing either.

I still don't have much to tell, but there is this. Nine days ago, I allowed myself to stop slogging through a story I just couldn't wrap my heart around. And nine days ago, I picked back up a story I used to love but knew needed a huge amount of work, starting at page 1.

I spent the first few days rewriting the set-up completely (a few times). I was sort of approaching the rewrite with what I shall henceforth call The Spaghetti Method, meaning, throw stuff at the page and see what sticks. Eventually, I recaptured the tone I was going for, found my theme, and was able to move on past those first 10 pages. Tonight, nine days after starting, I'm 43 pages in. And it feels AWESOME.

I haven't felt this sort of fire since I finished MUTE, and I was beginning to fear I'd never feel it again. Turns out I just needed to get back to the stories and, most importantly, the characters I loved so much. So, despite the fact that I haven't accomplished much (compared to last year anyway) since November, I have learned an important lesson about what grabs me as a writer. It's characters. Premises and concepts are great, but if I can't attach a character I adore, then I have an extremely difficult time telling the story.

I know I can churn out a draft if I have to (see TEA, for example, which has gone through 2.5 major drafts to date), and I think that's an important skill to have as well. But one of the benefits of being an aspiring screenwriter and not an assignment screenwriter is that I get to focus all my time and energy on projects and characters I do love. (How's that for glass-half-full thinking, huh?) So that's what I'm doing.

I've got 13 days to finish this page-one rewrite of THE AFFAIR OF MONSIEUR VALENTINE, and then it's off to the races for ScriptFrenzy. I've got a premise I think is fun for Screnzy, and I'm planning on doing some development here soon that'll hopefully give me a chance to fall in love with the characters as well. If that doesn't happen, I'll still finish it because it's Screnzy and that's what I do. Either way, it'll be a great learning experience because I'm trying my hand at writing a stage musical. That's right. You heard it here first.

It's late and I'm starting to ramble, so I'm going to cut it off here. I'll try not to disappear for another 16 days, just in case someone out there missed me. :-)

Recap: 1 March 2009

2009-03-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Was a bit blogged out after churning out my Oscar predictions, but I'm back now (for the two or three of you who may have missed me). :-)

What I Watched

Changeling (4 stars): I think it's easy for a lot of people to forget exactly how talented an actress Angelina Jolie is. She's the rare sort of person who actually suffers from being strikingly beautiful. While the woman she plays in Changeling is just as beautiful, she's so different (in the beginning) from the type of woman I consider Jolie to be: she's timid, oppressed, plays by the rules, etc. And Jolie is utterly convincing. Her Oscar nomination for this role was well-deserved. The rest of the movie holds up well, too, so it's worth seeing even if you're not generally an Angelina fan.
An Ideal Husband (3 stars): Not as good as director Oliver Parker's adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest, but still generally amusing. I'd recommend reading the play over seeing the movie, though.
Frozen River (3½ stars): This is the story of a woman willing to do just about anything to provide for her family. Melissa Leo was nominated for an Oscar for her performance and understandably so. The film was an eye-opening look at both immigration and Native American territories and their relationship with the U.S. law enforcement. It's not an issues movie, but it does open your eyes to some issues without preaching, all through the lens of two women trying to make the best of the cards dealt them.
La Maison en petits cubes (4 stars): This year's Oscar winner for Best Animated Short. Melancholy story with a sweet ending. Creative animation. Viewable online, too: Part 1 and Part 2.
Oktapodi (3 stars): An Oscar nominee for Best Animated Short. It's a cute story about two octopi fighting for their love, more or less. I actually enjoyed this more than "La Maison," but it's not groundbreaking. View it here.
Lavatory Lovestory (3 stars): Another Oscar nominee for Best Animated Short. Simple but sweet story of a woman trying to find out who her secret admirer is. View it here.
The Professional (5 stars): Fantastic movie, written and directed by Luc Besson, starring a very young and exceptionally adorable Natalie Portman. The story of a hitman who takes on a girl whose family is murdered by corrupt law enforcement officers. Sounds a bit dreary, I know, but it's actually quite amusing throughout. Highly recommended.
Dumplings (3 stars): Part of "Three... Extremes," a compilation of three short films by different Asian directors. Not really my thing, but my friend Matt said it reminded him vaguely of the script I'm working on, so I checked it out. It was certainly interesting, especially from a film studies perspective in the manner of how different cultures communicate. Definitely not for the faint of heart, though.
Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (4 stars): Really interesting documentary on film make-up interviewing some of the pioneers and best known artists in the field. It covered range of films, from classic horror to modern fantasy.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (3 stars): Not nearly as good as the first one, but still enjoyable. The story was a little bit more out there, which took away from the movie, I think, but that's OK. It's Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. I'm not going to complain.
That Funny Feeling (2½ stars): Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee star in this fairly typical rom-com. If you're in the mood for Bobby & Sandra, I'd go with If a Man Answers instead. This had some laughs but was otherwise pretty weak.
Sita Sings the Blues (4 stars): I've been hearing about this for what seems like ages, and it's now available to view in its entirety here. I'm not even sure how to begin describing this animated film. It tells the story of both Sita and Nina, one a goddess separated from her Lord and husband, the other an modern-day animator shunned by her husband via e-mail. It's narrated off the cuff by three shadow puppets. And on top of all this, Sita sings out her emotions in the voice of '20s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw. It really shouldn't work, but somehow, it all manages to come together to create something pretty charming.
When Did You Last See Your Father? (3½ stars): The story of a man seeking to reconcile his feelings about his dying father. Great performances and a touching story about how neither life nor people are perfect.

What I Read

I finished reading Persepolis, an autobiographical graphic novel about a girl (and then woman) growing up, first in Iran and then as an immigrant in Austria. Extremely funny, extremely touching, and extremely eye-opening. Hard to ask for more than that. I have yet to see the film adaptation, co-written and directed by Marjane Satrapi herself, but you can definitely expect to see it in a recap soon.

I also made it through Good in a Room, which is a guide on how to communicate your ideas effectively and with poise. A lot of it is common sense, but I found it really helpful to have the concepts laid out succinctly and honestly. I read it with my writing aspirations in mind, but it's given me some insight into how to better conduct myself at my day job, too.

What I'm Writing

And finally, I've decided to give up on EARNEST for now. It just wasn't working, and I'm not a fan of beating my head against a wall. I'll save the idea for the future when I'm better equipped to tackle it.

So, that means I'm moving on to a rewrite of the screenplay I wrote last year during ScriptFrenzy, TEA. It's already been through one rewrite, but I've learned a lot since then. I realized my main character had no flaw, which makes it hard for him to have any meaningful arc. So, that's what I'm working on. It's reading better so far, and there's still a lot of work to do, but it should keep me busy until it's time to start planning for this year's Screnzy in a couple of weeks.

Whew, that was a lot of movies. That's it for now. Hope everyone's March is off to a good start!

The Oscars 2009: Predictions in Best Films

2009-02-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

And finally and barely in under the wire, Part V of my Oscar predictions.

Best Live Action Short Film, Best Animated Short Film, & Best Documentary Short
I haven't actually seen any of the films nominated in these categories (with the exception of Pixar's animated short, Presto, thanks to their inclusion of shorts on DVDs or with their theatrical releases). Don't get me wrong. I'd love to see them, but I wouldn't have the first clue how to without the benefit of being an Academy member. I always just pick based on the names I like best. Which, in these cases are:

Live Action Short: "Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
Best Animated Short: “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
Best Documentary Short: “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan

Best Documentary Feature
Nominees

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
“Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
“The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
“Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
“Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

✔Predicted Winner: “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
People love this film. It even beat out Slumdog Millionaire at the BAFTAs for Outstanding British Film. It's the only one of the documentaries I was able to see prior to the ceremony, and I thought it was pretty great, too. The "characters" were really interesting, and the story was well-told (avoiding that "dry" feeling a lot of docs have). If you haven't seen it, it's well worth checking out.

Best Animated Film
Nominees

“Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
“Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

✔Predicted Winner: “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton
Only one of these films has people upset (including me) that it didn't get nominated for Best Picture, and that's Wall-E. I thought Kung Fu Panda was surprisingly delightful, but it feels like it belongs in this category. If this is the closest Wall-E can get to Best Picture, I guess it'll have to do.

Best Foreign Film
Nominees

“The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
“The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
“Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
“Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

✔Predicted Winner: “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel
Sadly, I haven't gotten the chance to see any of these either. Animated drama Waltz with Bashir seems to have the most buzz going in, though The Class could be a dark horse.

Best Picture
Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
"Milk" (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

✔Predicted Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer
I'm still flummoxed that The Reader made it onto this list instead of Wall-E, The Dark Knight, or even Revolutionary Road if the Academy wanted to stick with Oscar bait. But that's how the cookie crumbles. Out of the five nominees, only Frost/Nixon scored my oh-so-coveted five-star rating. That being said, if I'd gone into Slumdog Millionaire without such high expectations thanks to all the buzz, it might have garnered a fifth star, too. I'll be perfectly content with another Slumdog victory.

That sums it all up, folks! And just in time! I meant to do these at a more evenly staggered pace, but work and life have a way of throwing off the best-laid plans. :-) The Oscars air tomorrow night (Sunday) at 8 Eastern/7 Central/5 Pacific on ABC.

The Oscars 2009: Predictions in Acting

2009-02-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

Part IV!

Best Supporting Actor
Nominees

Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

✔Predicted Winner: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
Looking back on the performances of the nominees, I actually do think Ledger deserves the award here. He gave the most transformed and captivating performance of the five, and he trounced Jack Nicholson as the pre-eminent version of the Joker.

Best Supporting Actress
Nominees

Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

✔Predicted Winner: Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
I'm really torn on this one. Personally, I'd have chosen Rebecca Hall (for Vicky Cristina Barcelona) or Amy Ryan (for Changeling) had they been nominated. As it is, I've switched Viola Davis and Marisa Tomei about six times just while trying to write this post. In the end, I'm going with Marisa Tomei, if only because she gave what I thought to be an equally devastating but lengthier performance.

Best Actor
Nominees

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

✔Predicted Winner: Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)
Rourke seems to be the awards-season darling this year, and rightly so. His performance was brave, honest and heartbreaking. My only complaint for this category is the lack of a nomination for Michael Sheen in Frost/Nixon. Maybe the Academy just can't swallow nominating someone who's starred in the Underworld films.

Best Actress
Nominees

Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

✔Predicted Winner: Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)
Again, this seems to be Kate Winslet's year, as predicted by Ricky Gervais. Not being a fan of The Reader, I really wish she'd been nominated for Revolutionary Road. Either way, though, Winslet's an obviously gifted actress, and I've got no qualms about her finally getting her Oscar this year.

The Oscars 2009: Predictions in Storytelling

2009-02-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

Part III of my Oscar predictions begins... NOW!

Cinematography
This is the blend of lighting and camera choices that come together to set a visual tone for a film beyond the sets and costumes.

Nominees

“Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

✔Predicted Winner: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
This was a hard category to call because The Dark Knight was strikingly shot, too. But there some truly beautiful images in Benjamin Button, despite the fact that I thought it was a mediocre film.

Director
In a nutshell, the director is the conduit between what's on the page and what gets shot.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

✔Predicted Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle
Out of the nominees, this was by far the most complex story told. Ron Howard and Gus Van Sant both did great jobs with their respective films, but the stories and the themes were pretty straightforward. Boyle took a story that could have easily derailed into a convoluted mess of threads and turned it into a beautiful tapestry, so he gets the prize in my book.

Film Editing
Film editing involves taking the film that's shot and determining how to piece it together to achieve a narrative that is both clear and compelling for the audience.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

✔Predicted Winner: “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
How do you take a film about the filming of an interview—basically two talking heads—and make it not only interesting but edge-of-your-seat compelling? I have no idea, but apparently Mike Hill and Dan Hanley do.

Original Screenplay
Best screenplay not based on some other written material.

Nominees

“Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
“Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
“In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
“Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

✔Predicted Winner: “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
I haven't seen the first two nominees (though Frozen River is on its way to my house via Netflix), but In Bruges is so different from any sort of movie I've seen in recent memory that I have to throw my support behind it. Thematically, tonally, verbally... It's just a really interesting piece of work.

Adapted Screenplay
Best screenplay based on other material.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
“Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
“Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
“The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

✔Predicted Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy
The amount of research that went into the writing of the screenplay alone makes it worthy, let alone the sheer talent that goes into weaving a series of short stories into something that hangs together so well. There's really no contest here in my opinion. Beaufoy's got to win it, hands down.

I'd love to hear what you all are thinking, too! Coming soon: Predictions in Acting!

Recap: 15 February 2009

2009-02-13T20:27:00.000-08:00

Missed my recap last week due to the lack of a weekend thanks to work. But it definitely made me appreciate finally getting a break this weekend!

What I Watched

He's Just Not That Into You (3½ stars): A cut above your typical romantic comedy, but it doesn't hit the bar set by Love, Actually. Still, I really enjoyed this one, and it strikes me as pretty guy-friendly. This one's taken a lot of critical flack because it plays up stereotypes while proclaiming to knock them down, but, frankly, I just didn't care. I had fun, the crowd had fun, and that's really all I was looking for.
A Life Less Ordinary (3 stars): This is exactly the sort of romantic comedy I would expect from Danny Boyle. Funny, sweet and weird.
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2 stars): I didn't go into this movie wishing for me than a mildly fun time, but I didn't even get that. It's really too bad because the cast was excellent, but they just couldn't do anything with the story they were provided. I still have no idea why I was supposed to root for the main character, let alone root against the debt collector who was just trying to do his job.
Scoop (3 stars): My third venture into Woody Allen territory. I was mildly amused but not blown away. Better than Manhattan but not as good as Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Oliver Twist (3 stars): This is the 1997 TV version that ran on ABC. I had semi-fond memories of it, mostly due to the fact that it aired during the height of my crush on Elijah Wood. It didn't quite live up to my memories of it, but it was still fun and a fairly solid depiction of the classic Dickens story.
Neverwhere (2½ stars): I read Neil Gaiman's novel several months prior to taking in the 1996 BBC miniseries, and I'm glad I did it in the order I did (despite the series coming to life before the book). There are some stories that need a big budget, and this is one of them. I'd still love to see Neverwhere on the big screen some day because I think it's a really cinematic story, but it just didn't work on the small screen with the tools they had to make it.
Coraline (3½ stars): This was one creepy movie. Seriously. Don't let the cute trailers fool you. That being said, the first half was a little slow, but once things got rolling in the second half I was pretty entranced. The third act felt a little too easy, but this is certainly one of the better films out right now. As for 3D vs. 2D, I would have preferred to have seen it in 2D, but Neil Gaiman himself says see it in 3D since it'll be available forever in 2D and not in 3D. So there you have it. FYI, it won't be in theatres in 3D much longer thanks to the ubiquitous Jonas Brothers.

I should also mention I saw Lee's Summit West High School's production of Footloose on Saturday. Despite some issues with the sound system (something you get accustomed to seeing in high school productions), the kids put on a great show. The choreography was impressive, and the two leads especially did a stellar job. If you've got high school or even college productions happening in your area, make sure you go out and support them when you can. It's amazing how much work goes into a production like that, and the arts programs deserve the support of the community they're trying to entertain.

What I Read

I finally finished Breaking Dawn this past week, meaning I'm through with the Twilight series. I think I've already made it clear that I was unimpressed. Now, I'm not going to go as far as Stephen King did because it's obvious by the astounding success of the novels that Stephenie Meyer is doing something right. I'll simply say that I wish her editor had pushed her harder. While I didn't enjoy the novels (as evidenced by the several times I was sitting on my bed literally yelling in frustration at them), I'm glad that I read them so that I can have an informed opinion at the very least.

I also read through JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which I found to be quite charming. They stand fairly well on their own even without the foundation of the Harry Potter series, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Ms. Rowling has up her sleeve for future works (whether they're set in magical worlds or not).

What I'm Writing

EARNEST is doing better this week. I'd been feeling really frustrated by it and by the writing process in general. And then three things happened.

Screenwriter Kevin Lehane (along with several others, but I saw his first) posted a link on twitter to this wonderful TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love). It really struck a chord, and I've felt much less pressure ever since.
I listened to a Creative Screenwriting podcast with Robin Swicord, screenwriter of The Jane Austen Book Club, among other adapatations (including screen story for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). She shared some practical tips for adapting novels into screenplays, and I feel much more comfortable attempting the feat now.
I listened to another Creative Screenwriting podcast with Luc Besson, who gave the simple advice of listening to the same music for the entirety of a project. I've heard and employed this before, but I'd sort of forgotten it for whatever reason. I'd been listening to Sondre Lerche on and off throughout my struggle with EARNEST, and it occurred to me that my less hair-pulling nights have been whilst listening. So now, the earbuds go in as the fingers hit the keyboard.

That's it for now. Look for the rest of my Oscar predictions this week as we gear up for the big show on Sunday. Have a lovely week, all!

The Oscars 2009: Predictions in Visuals

2009-02-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

Oscar.com tells me there are just nine days left 'til the big show, so I'd better get moving on this whole prediction thing. On to the visual categories.

Costume Design
Pretty self-explanatory, this one.

Nominees

“Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

✔Predicted Winner: “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
One of the things the title character was known for was her trend-setting ways. Unsurprisingly, the costumes were intricate and gorgeous. The other nominees all did a nice job as well, but the designers for The Duchess had the most work cut out for them, and they succeeded beautifully.

Art Direction
Again, from my limited research, Art Direction appears to encompass the overall look of the physical aspects of the movie (most notably, the sets).

Nominees

“Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
“The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
“Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

✔Predicted Winner: “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
I haven't seen Changeling quite yet, so it's possible (though doubtful) that it will yet blow my mind and I'll have to come back and change this. But, for now, I'm giving this one to The Duchess as well. All other nominees were entirely adequate, but the sets and overall look of The Duchess was, again, gorgeous.

Make-up
Another self-explanatory category.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

✔Predicted Winner: “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz
I know the Academy doesn't like to give awards to comic book movies, but I think this really has to be the fair winner. It appeared to me that a grand portion of Benjamin Button's aging effects were done with CGI (and a lot of the time, you could tell). Hellboy II was a true spectacle for the art of make-up.

Visual Effects
And here we have the special effects category.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

✔Predicted Winner: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
This was a tough one. Part of me thinks that Iron Man deserves it, but, despite the fact that I knew I was watching CGI effects, I really was rather impressed by what they managed to do with Benjamin Button. I think this one could really go either way and still be fair, but I think Oscar will lean toward the bait, and that's Benjamin Button.

The Oscars 2009: Predictions in Sound & Music

2009-02-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Leading up the Oscars on Feb. 22, I'll be making my predictions for each of the categories. I've seen most of the nominated films, so I feel like I can actually offer informed opinions this year. Tonight, I'll tackle the sound and music categories.

Sound Editing
From my quick research (in lieu of easily-found descriptions on the Oscar Web sites), I've come to believe that Sound Editing more or less encompasses the selection of sound effects.

Nominees

“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
“Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
“Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

✔ Predicted Winner: "Wall-E" (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
Out of the nominees, I think Wall-E required the most creativity as far as choosing sound effects that were both whimsical and realistic.

Sound Mixing
Again, from limited research, it appears Sound Mixing is the art of compiling dialog, sound effects and music together to create the soundtrack for the film.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten (HORRIBLE)
“The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
“Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

✔ Predicted Winner: “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
I'm going to go with WALL-E here again. When I try to recall anything about the other nominees, I can't think of anything truly remarkable (except for how remarkably bad I found the sound mixing to be for BENJAMIN BUTTON; it's possible the theatre I was in was having issues, I guess, but I had a lot of trouble hearing and understanding dialog in certain places). WALL-E, however, had the dust storms, the spaceship landing, the "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" montage... lots of good sound stuff.

Original Score
Hopefully this award is pretty self-explanatory. But, for those not in the know, the score of a film is the music that runs throughout it. The easily recognizable themes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and the Harry Potter films all come from the scores.

Nominees

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
“Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
“WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

✔ Predicted Winner: “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
I don't remember much from BUTTON, MILK or WALL-E. I haven't seen DEFIANCE, but I caught an excerpt on youtube. It's beautiful but traditional, and it has no buzz. I think SLUMDOG will take this, since the soundtrack is also beautiful, catchy, and something not usually seen in Oscar-nominated films. WALL-E might put up a good fight, but I think SLUMDOG will come out victorious.

Best Original Song
Again, pretty self-explanatory. I still shudder when I think of poor Amy Adams being sent out on stage last year to perform "Happy Working Song" all by her lonesome with only invisible animals to accompany her. Too bad, because that could have been a very cool bit. Oh well. Onto this year.

Nominees

“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

✔ Predicted Winner: “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
This is a tough one. All three songs are great. But it seems like SLUMDOG's going to be the Oscar darling this year. Of the two, I like "Jai Ho" just a little bit better than "O Saya," though they're both great. So that's my pick.

Any thoughts from you all out there? If anyone can offer any better explanations of sound editing vs. sound mixing, feel free to chime in. Next week: The Visual Categories!

Recap: 2 February 2009

2009-02-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

The dearth of quality films opening in January allowed me to round out my Oscar-nominee viewing this weekend. Next weekend that all changes, though, with Coraline and He's Just Not That Into You (which may or may not be a "quality" movie, but it will be fun, and I'm OK with that). By the way, if you haven't seen this video about the clichés you will not find in HJNTIY, it's worth checking out.

What I Watched

Milk (4 stars): Stellar performances here, as expected. The framing was interesting, but sometimes confusing. The only thing that kept it from earning 5 stars was that I would have liked a more even-handed take on the "villains" of the story. As it is, they're set up as sort of one-dimensional versions of evil; an exploration into the development of their motives would have been more effective. It would be interesting to see an alternate version of history if this had been released prior to California's Prop 8 vote; methinks it might have made a difference.
The Wrestler (4 stars): Despite the bloated first act, the film was able to deliver a fairly powerful, albeit disappointing story. When I say "disappointing," I mean my own disappointment in the characters as human beings. They were well-written, but I hate seeing journeys that begin and end in the same place, even if the arc is true to character. That's just a personal preference with no bearing on the quality of the movie, mind you. The movie was solid, and Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei earned their respective nominations.
If a Man Answers (4 stars): This is a sort-of screwball Sandra Dee-Bobby Darin movie about the trials and errors of marriage. I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up adoring it. Dee is adorable as usual, and Darin reminds me of Ben Savage here, which makes for a good combination.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (3½ stars): This one has grown on me in the past 18 hours. I nearly turned it off because the dialog was driving me up a wall in the first 15-20 minutes, but it improved once the story got moving. This is only my second time exploring the Woody Allen canon, so I don't really have a huge frame of reference for comparison, but I did enjoy it more than Manhattan, as it seemed to be less about nothing than Manhattan was. Also, I think the Best Supporting Actress nomination should have gone to Rebecca Hall instead of Penelope Cruz. Cruz was great, but Hall had to give a more layered performance.

On Writing

I got my BlueCat analysis back last night, and my fear that MUTE sucks (and by association, that I suck) is starting to lessen just the smallest, tiniest bit. Don't get me wrong; I love MUTE, and I worked very hard to make it the best I thought it could be, but there's always that little voice of doubt in the back of my mind.

The feedback from BlueCat made me incredibly grateful I read and applied this post from The Rouge Wave blog, run by The Script Department head Julie Gray. By the way, I purchased script notes from The Script Department back in October before submitting MUTE to the BFSC, and they really helped me punch up my script a bit. They're not cheap, but they're definitely worth it.

I keep getting bombarded by all these what-if scenarios, usually when I'm trying to go to sleep, of course. What if I win? What if I place? What if I don't advance at all? And then I try to imagine what I would do and how I would react in all those situations. I usually let my mind play around for a minute in each of those scenarios before reality checks in and gives me the real answer. And you know, the answer that always comes back is pretty simple: Keep writing. And so that's what I do. Keep writing, keep studying, keep learning.

This Week's Goals

Seriously, I need to get through my Netflix rentals. It's not even funny anymore.
Finish reading Breaking Dawn so I can finally be done with the Twilight series.
Hit 65 pages in EARNEST.

Oh, and Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! Only six more weeks of winter!*

*Please excuse the forced optimism. I'm trying to convince myself that I'm actually OK with six more weeks of bitter cold. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

You Only Get What You Give, Except When I'm Doing a Meme

2009-01-28T19:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Matt stumbled across an interesting meme, and I decided to join in the fun. I've been toying with doing some sort of blog give-away anyway because I think they're fun. This seems like a good opportunity, so here it is.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
What I create will be with you in mind.
It'll be done sometime this year (2009)
You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be something written, some physical thing made, could be anything at all, but I will make it myself. It's entirely my choice what it is. No quibbles, no refunds--because you never paid me in the first place. :p
Most of these things will probably be IRL items, but I won't ask for addresses until later--if I need them at all.

The catch?

Oh, the catch is that you put this in your journal as well. If you don't, you don't get anything.

And that last part about the catch? You can ignore it. Feel free to join in if you like, but I'm not holding you to that requirement. First five commenters get something. Plain and simple. Ready, set, GO!

Recap: 25 January 2009

2009-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

Where did January go? I'm barely able to comprehend that it's 2009, let alone almost February 2009. Sheesh.

What I Watched

Revolutionary Road (3½ stars): Any movie that makes you think is probably worth seeing, and this one certainly falls into that category. That being said, I didn't think this film was as effectively put together as, say, American Beauty (also directed by Sam Mendes). That being said, I'm astounded that it got Oscar-snubbed and am suspicious that perhaps they got The Reader and Revolutionary Road mixed up.
Inkheart (3 stars): This one just barely eked out a third star. The more of them I see, the more I believe that epic fantasies need to be at least two hours long*, and this one falls 14 minutes short. My reasoning here is that it's integral to give your audience both a footing in the fantasy world and an understanding of the characters (who they are, what they want, why they're doing things the way they are). And that's where Inkheart falls short. It becomes a movie where you witness a bunch of events without ever really connecting with any of the characters. It has some strong elements: Paul Bettany as Dustfinger is especially great, and his banter with Farid (who fell out of Arabian Nights) is amusing. Still, as one of my most anticipated movies of 2009, I was pretty disappointed.
Like Water for Chocolate (3½ stars): This wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be, but it was still solid. It tells the story of a woman who is forbidden to marry her true love because it is family tradition for the youngest daughter to care for the mother until her death. This particular woman finds that she can transfer emotions into the food she cooks. I was hoping for a bit more overt magic or at least whimsy, à la Chocolat, to be honest, but it was still a romantic and moving little story worth seeing.
Holiday (4 stars): While I wouldn't call this 1938 film "heavy" by any means, the Katharine Hepburn-Cary Grant rom-com certainly carried a little more weight than I was expecting. In some ways, it tackled some of the same themes as Revolutionary Road but with a lighter, more hopeful touch. I'd put it in the rare category of classic films that hold up over the years.

What I Read

Well, I finished Eclipse (the third book in the Twilight series). I hate Bella now more than ever. I hate Jacob. I'm annoyed by Edward. Everyone else is kind of a non-issue, since Aro (very sadly) wasn't in the third book. He is literally the only character I like, and, admittedly, I absolutely adore him. I will say this: I suppose it's better to have a reaction to a character (even if it's an extremely negative one toward the ones who are supposed to be protagonists) than to have no reaction at all. Right?

What I Wrote

Remember how my goal was to hit 25 pages in EARNEST? Well, I did. And then I promptly deleted 23 pages and started over. It occurred to me that I was having to try way too hard to make the setting work, so I adjusted it, and now it's working much better. I'm back up to 13 pages total, and I might even try to scrounge up a couple more before the night's done. Either way, I'm pleased despite the drop in page count. Sadly, I have made zero progress on Fairytale Redux this week.

Quick Oscar Thoughts

I'm going to do a more thorough post on this pre-ceremony, but I was more or less unsurprised by the nominations. I was happy that Frost/Nixon got a best pic nod, but The Reader? There are some films that get Oscar buzz that I don't like but can at least understand (I'm looking at you, There Will Be Blood). The Reader is not one of them. I also think Michael Sheen deserved a best actor nod far and above over Brad Pitt (who was perfectly fine in Benjamin Button, but didn't exactly have to really do much beyond the expected).

Also, the nominations have confirmed my status as a movie junkie. Excepting documentaries, foreign films, and shorts, I've seen or will see everything except Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Frozen River, Happy-Go-Lucky, and Defiance before the ceremony on Feb. 22. And you know what? I'm OK with that.

* What I consider the best epic fantasy films of the past five-ish years have all come in at two-plus hours: Stardust (2 hours, 7 minutes); Prince Caspian (2 hours, 30 minutes); and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2 hours, 23 minutes). Another epic fantasy novel adaptation with great potential that turned out pretty dismally, Eragon, clocked in at just 1 hour, 44 minutes.

Some News + Recap: 19 January 2009

2009-01-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, back in October 2008, I entered a screenplay called MUTE in the British Feature Screenplay Competition. I found out last week that I've made it through the first round of judging. I'm one of 412 who made it through. I have no idea how many total entrants there were, and I'm pretty convinced at this point that it must have been the equivalent of getting a point for remembering to put your name on a test in school. But I'm still ridiculously happy.

I'd been having a rather unfortunate day when I sat down at my computer to write and decided to pull up the Web site on a whim. When I saw the heading that they'd announced their first round qualifiers, I actually said to myself, "Great, one more disappointment for today." So, all depressed and frowny-faced, I scrolled down, saw my name, and proceeded to scream, cry, laugh and pretty much behave like a maniac. One of my dogs actually went and hid in her kennel.

Even though I'm obviously quite excited by this turn of events, there are still five or six more rounds of judging, and I have zero expectations of making it through the second round. However, I'm still thrilled. This is only the second script I've entered in a competition, and it's nice to know I'm heading in the right direction after a year of toiling away. I worked very hard on this script, including a complete rewrite of the last 20 or 30 pages and a number of other changes in the 62 pages prior in the last 10 days before I submitted it. So, even if I did only get through the first round because I managed to mail my script to the correct address overseas, I'm OK with that.

So, now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's...

What I Watched

The Reader (2½ stars): I'm a fan of character-driven dramas. But the key to character-driven stories is that I, as an audience member, must connect with at least one of the characters. For me personally, I wasn't able to do that as fully as I would have liked with this movie. It's an interesting story, but I just wasn't as moved as I felt I should have been.
The Age of Innocence (2½ stars): Again, I had a lot of trouble feeling for any of the characters in this film. I haven't read the novel, but I have read Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, which is one of the only books that's ever made me cry, so I doubt it's a problem with the source material. It seemed there was a lot of focus on the (admittedly beautiful) sets rather than on the characters and their motivations. I didn't find anyone all that likeable. So, yeah. I was disappointed.
Valkyrie (3 stars): Again with the character development. Less time could have been spent on the nuts and bolts of the plot in order to give us better insight into why these people were willing to make such a sacrifice. A character can say he's willing, but unless we understand the circumstances of that specific character's life that have led to that stance, it doesn't feel authentic. That being said, this film didn't deserve a lot of the ridiculously harsh criticism it received. It was a solid effort that could have used another half hour to really delve into the characters, I thought.
Man on Wire (4 stars): A pretty fantastic documentary about a man and his obsession with completing a tightrope performance between the two World Trade Center towers in 1974. Seeing his single-minded determination, his artistry, and the people who believed him and helped him was quite moving. The film ends on a bittersweet note that left me wanting to know more about what happened to the people post-performance, but, all in all, it's a wonderful story.

Last Week's Goals

Hit 94,000 words on Fairytale Redux: Passed 93k, but didn't quite hit 94. This is OK, though, because of Goal No. 3.
Finish Earnest outline: Done.
Write 5 pages of Earnest: Actually wrote about 15 pages, thus excusing my bare-miss of Goal No. 1.

This Week's Goals

Get through the three Netflix rentals I have at home. (Yes, this counts as a goal!)
Break into Act Two with Earnest, which will put me at about 25 pages in.
Hit 96,000 words in Fairytale Redux.
Finish reading Eclipse.

Recap: 12 January 2009

2009-01-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

So, my shows are coming back from the holiday hiatus, which makes me both happy and sad. Happy because they're back obviously, but sad because it means less time for movies. I only managed to catch a few last week. Rough life I have, huh?

What I Watched

It Happened One Night (4 stars): The precursor to the modern American romantic comedy. Clark Gable is as charming as I've ever seen him, and this little movie that almost wasn't ended up winning the five major Oscars. Definitely worth checking out.
The Graduate (3½ stars): I'm still kind of confused about this one to be honest. It gets the extra ½ star because of the performances given by Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. I think it's definitely worth seeing (it did win an Oscar and five BAFTAs), but I'm not sure I could concretely tell you why.
Bride Wars (3 stars): This movie survives on the sheer charisma of Anne Hathaway. If you're in the mood for a typical rom-com, it's not a bad choice.

What I Read

I finished reading New Moon yesterday. I thought the prose improved slightly over Twilight, but I still find myself very frustrated at my failure to connect with any of the main characters. And Bella drives me up a freakin' wall. That being said, I did very much enjoy Aro, one of the Volturi. He was suave verging on flamboyant, and I'd really prefer to read a book about him instead.

What I'm Writing

I'm just about ready to start the actual writing of my Importance of Being Earnest update. I basically finished my outline, but I'd like to go over it again since I've still got some threads sticking out. I'm splitting time between that and Fairytale Redux, depending on what my brain feels like doing. I've also got a short story I'm working on when the gray matter rebels against either of my two main projects. Heaven forbid I focus on one thing at a time these days.

This week's goals:

Hit 94,000 words on Fairytale Redux
Finish Earnest outline
Write 5 pages of Earnest

Post Golden Globes Stream of Consciousness

2009-01-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Is David Duchovny getting hotter? I think so. Lots of love for John Adams. Haven't seen it, but no surprise as everyone involved rocks (Hanks, Giamatti, Linney, Wilkinson, etc.). I used to think Colin Farrell was kind of a douchebag, but now I'm finding him really quite charming. Wish Brendan Gleeson had gotten some recognition, too. Kate Winslet = very cute. Tina Fey = very awesome. Steven Spielberg = wow. Sacha Baron Cohen = ouch! Sad that Frost/Nixon didn't get any love, but can't blame people for loving Slumdog Millionaire. Hollywood loves an underdog story, and so do I. And Hollywood really loves a comeback (see: RDJ, Colin Farrell, and Mickey Rourke). Oh, and Ricky Gervais? Fabulous. Well done, Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Goodnight.

12 Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2009

2009-01-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

Inkheart

I haven't read the books, and, while Brendan Fraser tends to be hit and miss for me, this one looks like a really fun, well-done fantasy film.

Earth

Nice to see Disney returning to it roots this year with this nature film and also my No. 2 pick down below. The trailers look gorgeous, and I'm a sucker for cute animals.

Coraline

This will be the first Gaiman adaptation I've seen in theatres since I became a fan. The stop motion animation looks quite impressive.

Watchmen

I totally didn't get the hype for this movie until I read the graphic novel. Fantastic. Hope the media congloms don't screw over the fans with their lawsuits.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince

HP5 was the most successful of the adaptations in my opinion, and we've got the same people helming this version. So I'm hopeful. The trailers just get better and better, too.

The Soloist

Like HP6, this film was supposed to come out last year and was mysteriously pushed to 2008. Writer Susannah Grant is one of my favorites, and can you really go wrong with Robert Downey, Jr.? Also has Joe Wright, who directed Atonement, at the helm.

New York, I Love You

I adored Paris, Je T'aime, and, while I've never been to NYC myself, I like to think there's a little New Yorker in all of us. Even if I'm off-base there, the list of talent attached is plenty motivation to seek this one out.

Julie & Julia

The casting of Amy Adams pretty much guarantees I'll see a movie these days. Additionally, I loved the memoir, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they'll do with it on screen. Bonus: Meryl Streep as Julia Child and Stanley Tucci as her husband.

Easy Virtue

Screwball British comedy. Fabulous soundtrack. Colin Firth. Ben Barnes. Need I say more?

Sunshine Cleaning

Two down-and-out sisters start a crime scene clean-up business. Just the premise sounds great. Add Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as the sisters? Gold.

The Princess & the Frog

Disney's return to hand-drawn animation. Finally!

Dorian Gray

Ben Barnes and Colin Firth team up to make all my dreams come true. OK, maybe not all of them, but this is like my Sweeney Todd of 2009 anticipation-wise, except it's even worse because I love the novel so, so, so much. From the little bit I've heard in interviews, it sounds like they're really delving into the character of Dorian with this adaptation, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The 1945 version feels dry because they never get inside Dorian's head, which is such a shame because that's the most heartbreaking and poignant part of the novel. I cannot wait to see how this turns out.

How about you guys? What movies are you looking forward to in 2009?

Recap: 5 January 2009

2009-01-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

That's right! 2009! Crazy! I'm suffering from the procrastination bug tonight regarding the writing of my novel, so I thought I'd at least procrastinate productively by writing a blog post. So, here I am. And here's...

What I Watched

Gidget (3 stars): My sister insisted I watch this Sandra Dee flick on New Year's, and, while it's no masterpiece, I will admit it was very cute and I enjoyed it. There, I said it.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3½ stars): At a running time of 2 hours and 48 minutes, you're certainly getting your money's worth out of your theatre ticket with this one. Honestly, I would have been perfectly happy with a run time of about 2 hours and 15 minutes, which would have forced the cutting of a few sequences that were unnecessary and, in my opinion, muddled up the narrative and the theme, which in turn lessened the potential emotional impact of the story. That being said, I did enjoy the movie. The make-up and special effects were very well done, and there were parts of the movie that were really touching.
Ever After (3½ stars): This retelling of Cinderella has had a huge impact on me over the years. I blame it for starting my obsession with dark, longish, wavy/curly hair on men, and it definitely had an impact on my philosophical views as well as dooming me to life as a hopeless romantic. It's not as clever as The Princess Bride, but, as far as reimaginings of fairytales go, this one's pretty charming.
Doubt (4 stars): I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The transition from stage to screen wasn't as smooth as the one for Frost/Nixon, but the powerhouse performances by Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as the grounding character played by Amy Adams, had me glued to my seat.
Death at a Funeral (3 stars): An amusing but slightly uneven dark comedy. With a little more heart, it could have been great.
In Bruges (4 stars): This had all the potential to be a five-star rating, but it seemed like the film was never able to decide whether it was a comedy or a drama. It was great at both, but it really jerked my emotions around so much that I just didn't know how to feel when it was done. Great story, great performances. Just puzzling.

What I'm Writing

I'm still toiling away at Fairytale Redux, but I've also started planning an adaptation/update of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. After reading it and seeing the 2002 film version last year, I started toying with the idea of reimagining the story set in today's world. And, since it's in the public domain, I've really got no excuse not to do it. I'm almost done with my beat sheet, and I hope to get a 40-scene outline done in the next couple of weeks.

That's all for now. Hope the New Year's off to a good start for everyone!

2008: My Year in Review

2008-12-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

2008 was a landmark year in my life. It was a year of transition: ends, beginnings, redefinitions, and, most of all, getting back to the core of who I am and what I want out of life. Looking back over my tangible accomplishments, it's also been a fairly productive year.

I wrote or rewrote five screenplays totaling 489 pages and 93,500 words.
I wrote five pieces of short fiction and one free-verse poem, totaling 10,300 words.
In the last two months of the year, I wrote the first 90,000 words of a novel.
I wrote some nonfiction essays and brainstormed/planned a number of others.
I wrote 88 blog posts (make that 89, I guess, including this one).
I started jogging, kept coaching little kid soccer, and took fencing lessons.
I participated in and won ScriptFrenzy for the first time and also served as the municipal liaison for the Kansas City area.
I participated in and won NaNoWriMo for the fourth time.
I reached my goal of reading 24 books a year for the second year in a row.
I watched 151 movies and learned a lot about the art of cinema.

Beyond the accomplishments, the year sneaked in a number of valuable lessons as well. Here are my Top 3.

Appreciate the present, and do not cling to what is not so. I've learned to better appreciate the ebb and flow of life. Things come and go, and we cannot control it all. There is beauty in every phase of life, even in the moments of melancholy.
Do something every day that moves me one step closer to my goals. Even if it's something minuscule, I try to do at least something. No day should be wasted.
Most importantly, I made the decision to be authentically and unapologetically me. After many years of trying to fit the mold of what I thought I should be, I realized that what I should be is, simply, me. It has been the most freeing decision of my life to date.

So, with 2008 behind me, I've set up some goals for the coming year. I like to call them New Year's Initiatives rather than resolutions. Eleven worked well for 2008, so I'm going with that for this year, too.

Finish the first draft of Fairytale Redux.
Adapt a novel for the screen.
Edit/re-write SoS.
Rewrite M. Valentine.
Write a stage play or a comic book script for ScriptFrenzy 2009.
NaNoWriMo 2009.
Visit a place I've never been before.
Read another 24 books.
Finish a themed short story collection.
Write another spec screenplay.
Film a short.

So, cheers to 2008 being over, and here's to 2009 being the best year yet. Happy New Year, everyone.

2008: The Year in Movies

2008-12-30T04:54:00.000-08:00

I saw a total of 151 movies this year, which, if you're counting, comes out to about one every two and a half days. Out of those, 46 were new releases. Below are my ratings of those new releases, along with an explanation of what I tend to mean by those ratings.

THE BEST OF THE YEAR

5 stars
(Must See)

Wall-E
Nixon

4 stars
(Should See)

Definitely, Maybe

Bigga Than Ben
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Penelope

ALL THE REST

3 1/2 stars
(Worth Seeing, But Not Groundbreaking)
Iron Man
Hellboy 2
What Happens in Vegas
X-Files 2: I Want to Believe
Bottle Shock
Wanted
Hancock
Tropic Thunder
Burn After Reading
The Duchess
High School Musical 3
Mamma Mia!
Bolt

3 stars
(Take it or Leave it)

Cloverfield
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Baby Mama
Made of Honor
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Kung Fu Panda
Get Smart
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Hamlet 2
Ghost Town
Australia
Twilight
Yes Man
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Seven Pounds

2 1/2 stars
(Only See if You're Interested in the Genre/Actor/Some Other Factor)
There Will Be Blood
The Other Boleyn Girl
Leatherheads
The Tale of Despereaux

1 star
(Avoid!)
Prom Night

BEST RATED RENTALS/PURCHASES

Additionally, I thought I'd list the 4- and 5-star rentals/purchases. If you haven't seen these, they're worth adding to your Netflix queue.

5 stars
Ordinary People (1980)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Once (2007)
Harvey (1950)

4 stars
(or a strong 3 1/2 stars)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Rear Window (1954)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Tootsie (1982)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
The Lion King (1994)
The Full Monty (1997)
Wilde (1997)
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Almost Famous (2000)
Hedwig & the Angry Inch (2001)
Amélie (2001)
Conversations with Other Women (2005)
Shopgirl (2005)
Angel-A (2005)
Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut) (2005)
Joyeux Noël (2005)
Children of Men (2006)
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Eastern Promises (2007)
Meet Bill (2007)
Ratatouille (2007)
The Orphanage (2007)
Stardust (2007)
The History Boys (2006)
Return to Me (2000)
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Son of Rambow (2007)
Then She Found Me (2007)
The Visitor (2007)
All the President's Men (1976)

Recap: 28 December 2008

2008-12-28T15:45:00.001-08:00

I love being on break from work. Probably too much. I've been off for five days. I've got to head back in tomorrow for two, and then I'm off for another five. When I'm off from work, I get to spend my days doing the things I love most: writing, reading, watching movies, and hanging out with friends & family. It's really a shame I have to pay bills and whatnot...

What I Watched

Joyeux Noël (4 stars): A film about German, French and Scottish troops who call a cease-fire over Christmas during World War II. Sad, funny, moving and optimistic. Great movie for the holidays, or really anytime.
The Tale of Despereaux (2½ stars): This one was really quite a disappointment. The animation was cute, but the sound mixing was awful with some characters barely audible and others booming for no apparent reason. The narration was odd, at best. More importantly, the different threads of the story never seemed to tie together. I haven't read the book, but the translation to screen seems to have been less than successful.
All the President's Men (4 stars): Watched this in preparation for seeing Frost/Nixon. I hadn't watched it since high school, and it stirred the journalistic strings of my heart once more. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as "Woodstein" are, of course, fabulous.
Slumdog Millionaire (4 stars): If this doesn't win the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, I will be astounded. Simon Beaufoy ties everything together beautifully in what was obviously a challenging narrative. I wasn't blown away by this movie, probably due to all the hype, but it was definitely a strong and solid film. Grabs you at the beginning and doesn't let go until the Bollywood send-off at the end.
Seven Pounds (3 stars): I appreciated what this film was trying to do, but I don't think it went far enough. I can't say too much without giving things away, but I wasn't as emotionally impacted as I'd hoped to be. The closing scene didn't help matters. Will Smith and Rosario Dawson both gave excellent performances, but I just left feeling kind of empty.
Frost/Nixon (5 stars): Best movie I've seen this year. Michael Sheen is spectacular. Nixon was long out of the limelight by the time I was old enough to remember, but Langella creates a character that is both despicable and heartbreaking. Supporting cast? Stellar. The story itself, though of course dramatized from the truth, is riveting. Excellent, excellent film.

What I'm Reading

Confession time. I'm reading Twilight. There, I said it. Next confession: I totally don't get all the excitement surrounding this book. Do the sequels get better? Can someone please explain the appeal? I don't think I've gotten too old to not appreciate teen angst, but if I have to read about how Edward's touch left Bella breathless one more time... I'm determined to finish and to read at least the second book, but seriously, if there's anyone out there who can help me understand this phenomenon, I'd honestly appreciate it.

I've also managed to get myself into a situation where I'm reading three (technically four) books at once again. Hoping to get Twilight knocked off the list, then I'll finish up A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Vile Village (Book 7). I'm also reading Good in a Room. The technical fourth is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which has been put on hold until the new year when I can devote a little more time to such a huge tome.

What I'm Writing

This hasn't been the most productive month for me, but after the marathon that is NaNoWriMo, I think that's OK. I'm still working on finishing up Redux, and then I've got to decide what to tackle next. M. Valentine needs a rewrite, SoS needs an edit and at least 20 pages added to it, and Tea still needs a better third act. Beyond that, I've got several other new projects in the queue. So, I've got choices, but I think perhaps I have too many choices. I'm still anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 words out from being done with Redux, so I guess I've got time to figure it out.

Hope you all had or are having a lovely holiday. Stay tuned this week for my Year-End Wrap-Up!

Recap: 22 December 2008

2008-12-22T05:53:00.000-08:00

This month has been crazier than expected. I've not gotten nearly as much writing done as I'd hoped. In fact, this has been my most slackerish month of the year, which, after churning out as much as I did in November, I suppose is OK. I have at least managed to catch a few movies recently.

What I Watched

An American in Paris (3 stars): Hard to go wrong with a classic Gene Kelly musical. The end sequence is a lot more interesting if you know that they're paying tribute to five different French impressionist painters (including Manet, who's my favorite painter).
I Really Hate My Job (2½ stars): Helmed by Oliver Parker, who's done a number of Oscar Wilde adaptations (including 2009's Dorian Gray), this film would have fared better with a more sparkling and perhaps Wildean script. The similarly-themed Caffeine did a better job of embracing its character-driven quirkiness.
Little Voice (2½ stars): I had high hopes for this movie, so I was really disappointed to find an almost total lack of character development. It seemed to be trying for a Benny & Joon-type vibe at times, and other times I wasn't sure what it was going for. The character motivations were unclear, which made the characters' arcs seem very uneven most of the time. Perhaps it plays better on the stage, but it seemed like a potentially very moving story was really mishandled in the transition to screen.
Yes Man (3 stars): I was pleasantly surprised by this fairly standard romantic comedy. It really wasn't anything like Liar Liar, despite what the previews suggested. It was nice to see Jim Carrey play the straight man to zanier performances throughout a portion of the movie.
Pillow Talk (3 stars): A fun, classic Rock Hudson-Doris Day flick. Funny, charming, and all that jazz.

That's all for now. Hoping to have another update later this week.

Recap: 8 December 2008

2008-12-08T05:05:00.000-08:00

It was an exciting weekend for me, at least in the area of media consumption, as I got to use my new HDTV and Blu-ray player for the first time. I'd been using a nice-enough big-screen tube TV, but the difference between it and the new DLP I'm rocking now is pretty amazing.

So, after massive amounts of help from my mom, sisters and sister's boyfriend, I settled down to watch my first Blu-ray movie, Prince Caspian. I was a bit disappointed to find out most of the special features in which I was most interested are not available on the US-region discs. In fact, the only region that gets Bonus Disc 1 (which includes the LOTR-appendices-type making-of features) is apparently Japan, according to NarniaWeb. That being said, watching one of my favorite movies of the year in high-def Blu-ray was quite fabulous.

What I Watched

Trainspotting (3½ stars): A funny but harsh (and honest) look at how heroin addiction affects the lives of a group of Scottish 20-somethings.
Ballet Shoes (3 stars): My sister and I watched this because we were interested to see Emma Watson in something outside of the Harry Potter movies, and, while it wasn't great, it was cute (and there was admittedly one part where I teared up). Apparently this is a rather beloved children's novel. I hadn't heard of it, but it does seem like it would make a rather charming little book.
The Visitor (3½ stars): This is the story of an emotionally-stilted widower who returns to his rarely-visited New York apartment to find an illegal immigrant couple living there. What follows is a sweet and often heart-breaking story about the widower's reawakening, so to speak, against the backdrop of the plight illegal immigrants face post 9/11. It's a pretty eye-opening tale, and, though it gets a bit slow at times, it's definitely worth seeing.

And just in case you're interested, this weekend's box office was filled with hold-overs. Where are all the quality, Oscar-bait films, I wonder?

This Week's Top 10

Four Christmases ($18.2 million)
Twilight ($13.2 million)
Bolt ($9.7 million)
Australia ($7 million)
Quantum of Solace ($6.6 million)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ($5.1 million)
Transporter 3 ($4.5 million)
Punisher: War Zone ($4 million)
Cadillac Records ($3.5 million)
Role Models ($2.6 million)

Memes: What to Give & What to Get

2008-12-04T04:49:00.000-08:00

Penguin asked a bunch of their authors what books they're giving and what books they'd like to get this holiday season, and I thought, "Hey, that's a good idea for a meme." So, if you'd like to join in, here are the rules.

1. Post a link to the original list from the Penguin Group.
2. Tell us what books you're planning (or would like to) give this holiday season.
3. Tell us what books you'd like to receive this holiday season.
4. Tag others, if you so choose.

GIVE

The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman's newest novel is pretty much everything you want in a book: funny, sweet (but not cloying), honest, poignant, scary, adventurous, great for all readers, etc., etc., etc.

Stardust
This was my first Neil Gaiman novel, and I think it's still my favorite. It's quite different from the movie in tone (but fairly similar in content). Often billed as a "fairy tale for grown-ups," it's a story about love, longing, evil and, of course, magic.

The Picture of Dorian Gray
I think I've already made my love for this story and for Oscar Wilde in general quite clear. With a movie adaptation coming out next year, this seems like the perfect time to introduce or reacquaint people with this excellent novel. Also, because of Wilde's way with words, it's a great starting point for people looking to get into the "classics" without being overwhelmed by the language.

Watchmen
A great way to introduce someone to the graphic novel medium. Beautiful art and an intense story. And again, with an adaptation coming out next year, it's a good time to do it.

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously

Hey look! Another book being adapted for film next year! Julie & Julia is the memoir of a woman who decides to cook through every single one of the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And she has no training, and she lives in a tiny New York apartment, and she's going through a quarter-life crisis after turning 30. It's a fun story, obviously good enough to grab Amy Adams and Meryl Streep for the movie version.

GET

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I've heard nothing but good things about this book, and a bunch of the Penguin authors agree. So, apparently it's going on my "to read" list next year.

Sandman / American Gods / Coraline

In the pursuit of continuning my Neil Gaiman education, of course.

His Dark Materials Trilogy
Controversial books always pique my interest. After seeing the film adaptation of the first in the triology last year, I'm intrigued enough to read them. Also, epic fantasy is a guilty pleasure.

Biographies by Antonia Fraser I've found Antonia Fraser to be an extremely skilled biographer. Historical nonfiction has the tendency to err on the side of boring, but that's something from which Fraser manages to steer quite clear. I've read Marie Antoinette: The Journey and The Wives of Henry VIII, and I'm looking forward to reading another one next year.

Persuasion After being delighted by Pride and Prejudice and then not being able to force myself through Emma, I've decided it's time to give Jane Austen another shot.

Now that that's finally done, I'm tagging Brittany, Matt and Jen. Have fun!

I'm still alive!

2008-11-30T21:39:00.000-08:00

I'm coming back up for air now that NaNoWriMo 2008 is done. I managed to make my personal goal plus a couple of extra thousand for good measure, with a final NaNo-site-official word count of 77,090 words for the month of November. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

What's up next? Finishing the story, of course. I'm guessing I've got at least another 25,000 words left before the story is complete. I've also got a backlog of short stories wanting to be written. So, during the month of December, I'll be keeping with the prose and shooting for 35,000 words combined between the novel and the short fiction. That'll keep me at a still-productive pace while hopefully not driving me insane in the midst of holiday shopping and celebrating. Plus I've still got to fit in a couple more books to make my 24-books-per-year quota.

I'm also looking forward to being able to fit in a few more movies. And on that note, here's What I Watched for the past two weeks.

Twilight (3 stars): Having not read the books yet, I was able to go into the movie without preconceived notions. That being said, I was going in with fairly low expectations to be honest. My sister wanted my company at the midnight showing, and since I rarely say no to a movie invitation in general and since I enjoy the unique atmosphere of midnight openings, I said yes. The chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson was undeniable. The trailers make this out to be kind of an actiony pic, but it's actually very character-driven, which was a welcome surprise for me. Not a spectacular film by any means, but it's entertaining, and sometimes that's good enough.
Bolt (3½ stars): Cute animated film about a dog who, having grown up on a TV show set, believes he is, in fact, a superdog. Gets off to a slow start, but the supporting characters (the cat and the hamster) really make the movie. Especially touching if you're a pet-lover, I think.
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (3 stars): This is an interesting little French dark thriller/dramedy. I don't want to give too much away, but the story is told from two vantage points, one following the other. If you're a fan of the genre or of Audrey Tatou, definitely worth a rental.
Australia (3½ stars): Baz Luhrmann's first movie since Moulin Rouge is basically two movies in one, and with a running time to show it. There are two complete story arcs here, and each is enjoyable, but they really could have been released as two separate films. That being said, it's as pretty as you would expect from Lurhmann (though not as lush as Moulin Rouge), and despite some cheesy moments, it's a welcome return.
Beowulf [Director's Cut)] (3 stars): If you go into this movie expecting a direct interpretation of the epic poem, you'll more than likely be disappointed. However, if you approach it as an action-adventure, slightly tongue-in-cheek epic variation on that theme, then there's a good chance you'll enjoy it. At least I did. Though, I couldn't help feeling that it would have been so much more impressive as live action rather than motion-capture CGI. The technology has yet to capture the life of the human eye.
Conversations with Other Women (3½ stars): Helena Bonham-Carter and Aaron Eckhart give excellent performances in this quasi-experimental drama. It's shown entirely in split-screen, and, while it took me a few minutes to acclimate, it actually worked really well for the story. The dialog was some of the best I've heard in smaller films like this.

That's all for now, folks. I've got approximately four hours 'til I'm supposed to be up, so I'm going to give this whole sleep thing another shot. Oh, and congrats to everyone who either won or attempted NaNoWriMo this year. Enjoy your accomplishment, whatever it may be. Cheers.

NaNoWriMo: Week 3 Update

2008-11-19T19:33:00.001-08:00

I managed to cross that magical 50,000-word mark last night at my solitary write-in. This is the second year in a row I've hit 50k while writing solo in a coffee shop surrounded by strangers. It's an odd feeling: accomplishment mingled with melancholy.

This year, I was actually planning on having at least one writing friend with me, but dear Lee Horne somehow managed to smack her head against one of the flat-panel televisions bolted to the walls in the cafeteria where we work yesterday afternoon. Thus, her head injury precluded her from making it to the write-in. I'm still waiting for her explanation as to how exactly she managed to accomplish this feat, which left her with a sizeable lump, when the televisions are in decidedly hard-to-run-into locations. Alas, she has been rather vague on the details.

Nonetheless, I'm choosing to focus on the feelings of "Hey, I just wrote 50,000 words in 18 days!" instead of the wimpy, bemoaning, annoying thoughts of "Woe is me; being a writer is so lonely." After all, I've still got 30 percent of my novel to write after tonight to hit my personal goal of 75,000 words.

Anyway, just wanted to give a quick Week 3 update and to say to my friends who are still striving for that 50,000-mark (or even for the 25,000-mark), DO NOT LOSE HEART. Do not be afraid that you are writing drivel. You undoubtedly have indeed written some. That's OK. Because you've also written things that have much potential. The key here, especially during the month of November, is simply to write. The goal is not to change the world, or to write the next Great American Novel, or to land an agent or a book deal, or even to write a completely coherent story. The idea, once again, is to write.

If you are doing that, no matter what your word count is on Nov. 30, you win. You have thousands of words more than you did at the beginning of the month, and you can add thousands more if you simply allow yourself the freedom to write without boundaries or rules or expectations. Just write. One word after the other (even if the perfect word is elusive, just pick one--or several--that are close enough; perfection can come later). That's all it takes. Words, strung together, possibly with some punctuation thrown in (though I can think of a couple of authors who have had much success without even that). Just keep going. Be proud of what you've accomplished so far, and let it give you hope for what you still have left in you.

Recap: 16 November 2008

2008-11-16T15:14:00.001-08:00

So, during NaNoWriMo, I'll often get to a point in my writing where I'm struggling a bit but I'm still slogging onward, writing mostly crap, but at least still writing. And then, on occasion, it's as if one of my characters finds a way to say something to another character when in reality they're talking to me. Such a thing happened today.

I was writing a scene between one of the main characters, Emmaline, and her best friend, Vanessa. Vanessa's trying to figure out what the hell's going on, and Emmaline is hedging. After going back and forth for several minutes, Emmaline says to Vanessa, "You don't understand." To which Vanessa responds: “Then enlighten me! For fuck’s sake, Emmaline. You’re talking in circles.” To which I responded, "Oh. Right. Sorry about that."

And then I decided perhaps I should step away from the computer and let my brain rest for a while. Which I did. It's a little disheartening when your characters start ribbing you about your writing, but since I've written more than 43,000 words in the past 15 days, I suppose I should cut myself a little slack. As soon as I finish this blog post, I'm going to get to the writing again, and hopefully my crap:salvageable ratio will improve slightly.

In the meantime, here's What I Watched:

Manhattan (2½ stars): I have trouble enjoying movies when there are no likable characters and/or there are no true character arcs. When every character starts and ends in the same place, I feel as if I've wasted two hours. Such was the case with this movie. The acting was fine, and the dialog was amusing. The whole thing was very Seinfeld-esque, really, but it was more like the series finale than, say, The Puffy Shirt or The Soup Nazi. This is apparently Woody Allen's least favorite (but most commercially successful) of his films, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy his other works more.
The Red Balloon (3 stars): This is the only short film ever to have won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It's a sweet film about a boy who strikes up a friendship with a red balloon, who follows him around Paris. I wasn't blown away, but there are certainly worse ways to spend 35 minutes of your time.
Bridget Jones's Diary (3½ stars): I imagine it'd be rather hard to go wrong with both Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, and luckily Bridget Jones's Diary doesn't prove that theory wrong. This is standard-issue rom-com fair, but it's better than average thanks to the cast.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (3½ stars): A fairly faithful if superficial adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel. It glosses over the darker themes and avoids perhaps the most disturbing ones altogether, but that's not surprising for a film made in 1945. While I enjoyed this version, it mostly just made me excited for the potential of the version coming out next year, as it looks to be tackling the glossed-over issues head on judging by the newly released promo posters.

NaNoWriMo 2008: Week Two

2008-11-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I've survived to the middle of Week Two. Monday was little sketchy as my normally bionic immune system threatened to fail me, but it seems to have repaired itself (as bionic things are prone to do) for the time being. I very rarely get sick, but about once every four to five years, all the bugs I've managed to avoid band together and launch a full-scale attack, plunging me into a pit of sickly despair. I'm about due for another pants-kicking, but I'm just hoping my system can wait for the reboot until at least December.

That being said, once I broke through Sunday's bout of writer's apathy, the writing began to go fairly well. And by well, I don't mean I'm writing especially great material here, but the staring contests between myself and the blank page have become relatively short. I'm to the scenes which were the jumping off point for this entire story, so I've been riding the wave of joy at being able to write these bits that have been playing around in my brain for about a year now. If all goes well, I might just be able to break 50k by the end of the weekend, which would be a speed record for me. Of course, I'll still have another 25k to pound out after that landmark, but it's always nice crossing that 50k hurdle.

I will now break from this NaNoWriMo update to tell you a short parable.

Once upon a time, there was a young woman who lived with her two little dogs in a typical suburban neighborhood house. After spending the evening hours writing at a coffee shop, she came home parked her car in the garage, lugged her computer, her purse, two bags of write-in materials and her coat into the house.

She then poured herself a small glass of red wine and settled onto the couch to unwind by watching House, after which she put the dogs in their kennels and went to sleep. At 11 p.m., this was a bit late for her, since she would have to be up by 5 a.m., but such is life. The caffeine in her system made getting to sleep a bit difficult, but by the time the calendar flipped the page, she'd slipped into a light sleep.

Half an hour later, she was abruptly awoken by the barks of her two chihuahuas downstairs. Vaguely annoyed, she waited for them to stop, figuring they'd heard a noise outside and would quickly quiet down. But instead their barks grew louder and more ferocious. She started to grow concerned. She saw a flash of light through her blinds. Lightning? Was it storming? She peeked through the side of the blinds. She felt the rush of dread accompanied by adrenaline. There were two dark figures in her backyard. One was coming down the deck. They had high-powered flashlights.

The woman scrambled out of bed to her cell phone, which was on the floor a few paces away. Crouched in the middle of the room, she could see lights flashing under the door. Were they in the house? What if they'd seen the light from her phone from underneath the door? She couldn't hear them in the house, but what if they were and what if they heard her if she called the police? The stream of thoughts jetting through her brain was stopped by a loud rapping on the front door. Shaking, she pulled on a T-shirt over her tank top and walked down the hall, down the stairs and to the front door.

Through the window, she could see a police officer standing on the front stoop. She pulled open the door, stumbling a bit as it stuck and then released.

"Hi," she said, her voice unsteady.

"Hi, ma'am. Your garage door is open, and we just wanted to make sure everything was all right."

"Oh..."

"Are you all right?" the officer asked, obviously not realizing the trauma he'd just put the woman through.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Just a little freaked out. My dogs were going nuts and the lights..."

"Oh, sorry about that. We didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's OK. I appreciate it. I didn't know the garage door was open. Thank you."

"No problem, ma'am. Sorry to wake you."

"It's OK. Thank you."

The two officers left the stoop and walked to their car. The woman closed the door behind them and then walked, almost zombie-like, and opened the door into her garage. Sure enough, it had been open. She pressed the button and watched it close. "Holy shit," she muttered to herself, shaking her hands in an effort to get rid of the jitters. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, the combination of the adrenaline and remnants of caffeine combining forces to ward off sleep.

The moral of the story: DON'T FORGET TO CLOSE YOUR GARAGE DOOR, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT!

While I was obviously rather traumatized, I was pretty impressed by my two pint-sized dogs who rose to the occasion rather magnificently. Obviously, when you hear "long-haired chihuahua," you don't think "guard dog." But they did a great job of alerting me at least. And, while the officers' approach might have been a little gung-ho (they circled my house, checked all the doors, including the one on my rickety deck, and were about to try to find out how to phone the owner), I do appreciate their dedication to attempting to keep me safe. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll be checking at least twice to make sure my garage door actually get shut from now on. Oi.

Writer's Block Recipes: Vegan Pumpkin Cookies

2008-11-09T13:39:00.001-08:00

So, after tapping out more than 25,000 words in the past 9 days, I found myself hit with a severe case of writer's apathy this afternoon. Instead of staring daggers at a blinking cursor, I gave myself a short break and decided to create something else from scratch: Vegan Pumpkin Cookies.

I'm pleased to report that the cookies were a success. They're more like mini-cakes, actually, but I certainly don't think that's a bad thing. Anyway, if you're suffering from writer's apathy/block but would like to feel productive by way of baking, here's the recipe (adapted from here).

Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1 cup white sugar (mine happened to be organic)
2 t. vanilla
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 t. baking soda
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. ginger
1 cup currants (optional)
4 cup all-purpose flour (this also happened to be organic)

Directions

Beat together pumpkin, sugars, oil and vanilla.
Sift together remaining ingredients except for currants. Add to wet ingredients about a half a cup at a time until well-mixed.
Fold in currants.
Drop by heaping spoonful onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. These don't expand outward too much (at least mine didn't), so you can put them pretty close together. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 15 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
Transfer to a cooling rack and (duh) let cool. Then enjoy! These would also be fabulous with a bit of cream cheese frosting.

Box Office Predictions: 07 November 2008

2008-11-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

New wide releases this week include animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; Soul Men, a comedy starring the late Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson; and Role Models, another comedy starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott.

Kind of a boring weekend. America wants silly escapism, though, so Madagascar's expecting a pretty big opening. Admittedly, I found the first one to be surprisingly fun. The voice cast is returning, which bodes well.

Official Predictions
1. Madagascar
2. Soul Men
3. High School Musical 3

NaNoWriMo 2008: In the Midst of Week One

2008-11-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

So, Neil Gaiman has a knack for lifting my writing spirits. In his post today, he linked to this old post, which had the following question and answer.
______

NEIL,
I'm trying to find my place in writing, and I am leaning towards the Screenplay format. Since you write in almost every format, Which is easier?
1. writing a comic
2. wirting a movie
3. writing a novel
Signed,Bob Castle.
I think it depends on which one I'm not doing at the time. When you aren't doing it, the other ones are always easier, and the kind of thing that you're writing is much too hard.

______

Ah. That's my problem. It's funny how my brain seems to have forgotten the utter despair I felt sitting in my hotel room at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville a mere two weeks ago as tried to figure out a way to rewrite the last 30 pages of my screenplay.

So, with this realization (the epiphany being that I always go through pits of self- and story-loathing at varying locations during a project), I feel much better as the write-in approaches tonight. I imagine it also helps that I'm well-rested and highly caffeinated. With a little luck and a lot of effort, I'm hoping to hit 15,000 words tonight, which will put me at 20 percent of my total goal.

I shall leave you, faithful readers, with a picture of Mr. Gaiman himself, that stirs the writing fibers of my heart.

Recap: 3 November 2008

2008-11-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

As predicted, HSM3, Zack & Miri, and Saw V took the Top 3 spots. Here's your Top 10.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year ($15 million)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno ($10.7 million)
Saw V ($10.1 million)
Changeling ($9.4 million)
The Haunting of Molly Harvey ($6 million)
Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($4.7 million)
The Secret Life of Bees ($4 million)
Max Payne ($3.7 million)
Eagle Eye ($3.4 million)
Pride and Glory ($3.3 million)

Everything Else

My movie-watching this past week was pretty dismal. The first half of my week was spent in a mad race to finish my script before sending it off to the BFSC. I managed to watch about half of Creepshow on Thursday before I got caught up in Thursday night television.

Friday I met up with a good friend to discuss The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I'd roped her into reading for the selfish reason of having someone with whom to discuss it. We had a good time being book nerds before she went off to a Halloween party and I went home to hand out candy to a whopping 12 trick-or-treaters. I spent most of the night prepping for the NaNoWriMo kick-off party/write-in on Saturday. (By the way, Sam, if you read this, the cupcake was marvelous.) At midnight, I kicked off the month by writing about 1100 words and went to bed.

Sunday was a pretty crazy day, and thank God for the extra hour of sleep. I got up and pushed to the 10 percent completion mark on the novel, and then I went to coach our last little kids' soccer game of the season. After that, I went straight to the Sunday write-in at which I ended up being the ONLY attendee. So, here's my plea: If you ask me to specifically schedule a write-in at a time and place you specifically request, PLEASE show up. I've got plenty of NaNo spirit, believe me. But I don't generally drag all my write-in crap, including a huge poster board declaring the writing goals and progress of my fellow WriMos, if I'm just going to be writing alone.

The upside is that I did manage to break 10,000 words at my solitary write-in. So, I went home and worked out (because an overworked brain sadly does not burn many calories), and then as a reward I settled down with some dinner, some leftover Halloween candy, and a nice big glass of wine to watch Love Actually. Which by the way has officially become my second-favorite Christmas movie after the untouchable The Muppet Christmas Carol.

This morning I'm feeling a little melancholy for the following reasons:

I miss screenwriting. I've fallen in love with the medium over the past year, and I'm bummed that I won't get back to it until December at the earliest.
I don't have a large chunk of hours I can allot to writing today because I've got my day job and then freelance editing job this afternoon/evening.
My spine feels like it's melting into my back, which is not pleasant. I've also been fighting a nasty headache-causing knot in my neck/shoulder for several days.

So, if anyone would like to contribute a little metta, prayers, or back/shoulder rubs to my cause, I'd much appreciate it. I think I just need to get into a groove, and then I'll probably be OK. And if not, Dec. 1 is only 27 days away!

Box Office Predictions: 31 October 2008

2008-10-31T04:19:00.000-07:00

This week we've got a several new or expanded releases: Clint Eastwood's drama Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie; obligatory horror movie The Haunting of Molly Hartley; Guy Ritchie's latest, action/heist/comedy/I'm-not-really-sure-what-genre-based-on-descriptions RocknRolla; and sex comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno with Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks.

The two big rollovers from last week are, of course, High School Musical 3 and Saw V, and it's likely these will both do well again.

It's likely Jigsaw's latest escapade will do well on Friday, it being Halloween and all, but HSM3's got a larger target audience and multiple-viewings power. The dark horse here is Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which has gotten plenty of publicity based on the name alone.

Bit of a tough week, but here goes:

Official Predictions
1. High School Musical 3
2. Zack and Miri Make a Porno
3. Saw V

And now, for your Halloween pleasure, I present to you, BumbleSchmo!

And now, LiloBurrito!
(Dressed as a Chipotle burrito. Barbacoa specifically.)
(Yes, I'm one of those dog owners. No, Lilo does not like being dressed up. Happily for her, she'll be spared the horror this year.)
Happy Halloween, everyone!

Seven Facts Meme

2008-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'd managed to escape this meme for quite some time, but it finally caught up with me. Thanks, Danielle.

The idea is to share seven facts about yourself and then to tag five people.

Seven Facts about Elizabeth Ditty

During parent-teacher conferences in the fifth grade, my teacher told my parents that I was "eccentric" and "dared to be different." I've never lived it down, though I have learned to embrace it.
One of my favorite movies as a child was The Last Unicorn, which, if you've ever seen it, explains a lot about me, I think.
Between college and my current job, I spent five hellish weeks working in the Tire & Lube Express department at Wal-Mart . I was placed there despite knowing next to nothing about cars. But the upside is I can now help you pick out tires and I can take an educated guess at what kind of oil your car uses.
I've played just about every major sport (major as defined in the States). Soccer, softball and basketball were the biggies, but I've also taken tennis lessons, and I participated in swim team for a number of years in my youth (breaststroke and fly were my specialties). I was a tetherball champion in elementary school. I've never played on a volleyball team, but I know the basics. I even did a year of cross country in seventh grade. I also took an introductory epée fencing class in August, and I hope to continue fencing after NaNoWriMo. I've never really played football, but I think I get a pass on that, being a girl and all.
A few months ago, I started speaking to my dogs in French. This is mostly an effort to keep my level of French somewhere between elementary and conversational. I think it also makes me a little weird (see No. 1).
I love to cook and bake. I love trying out new recipes, and I love feeding people. But I hate cleaning, so I rarely partake in this hobby these days.
I really enjoy having intellectual conversations with people, be it about books, movies, religion/spirituality, politics, philosophy, whatever. I tend to be fairly quiet in group settings, but if you get me one on one or in a very small group, I'm much more talkative. I love to debate for the sake of learning about people and hearing new perspectives, and my goal is often just to get people to think rather than to convince someone that my stance on any given issue is correct.

Phew, that was harder than I expected. Now to unleash it on other unsuspecting bloggers...

Have fun!

Recap: 26 October 2008

2008-10-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

I was on a business trip/quasi-vacation last week, which explains the lack of posts. Sorry about that. With NaNoWriMo starting Saturday, a couple of things could happen. I'll either be posting more since blogging is at least a semi-productive form of procrastination. Or I'll be posting less because I'm shooting for 75,000 words this year and will be bleeding from my fingertips due to my output. Anyway, back to business for now.

This Week's Top 10

High School Musical 3 ($42 million)
Saw V ($30.5 million)
Max Payne ($7.6 million)
Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($6.9 million)
Pride and Glory ($6.3 million)
The Secret Life of Bees ($5.9 million)
W. ($5.3 million)
Eagle Eye ($5.1 million)
Body of Lies ($4.1 million)
Quarantine ($2.6 million)

What I Watched

The Duchess (4 stars): I'd expected this movie to be a bit drab, to be honest, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Period pieces are a guilty pleasure of mine, so I would have enjoyed it anyway, but it moved along quite nicely. Keira Knightley lives up to the hype and gives her best performance to date.
High School Musical 3 (3½ stars): I dragged my sisters to the midnight showing, which is really rather embarrassing considering I'm 25 and they're 19 and 17 respectively. Once we survived the hormone-drenched mob getting into the theatre, I had a really fun time. The story's cheesy and predictable and admittedly a rehash of the same themes from the first two outings, but the music is solid and the choreography is wonderful.
Sunset Boulevard (4 stars): See full review here.
Starter for Ten (3 stars): Starring James McAvoy, this is a British romantic comedy/dramedy set in 1985 (and released in 2006). It's not spectacular, but it has some fun moments. If you're a fan of the genre or James McAvoy, it's worth adding to your Netflix queue.
Lost in Translation (3½ stars): See full review here.

What I Read
I finished Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors while at the airport before the first flight of my trip. Luckily, it was good enough that I didn't mind having to lug an extra book with me through four flights, a trek on foot through Nashville, a one-way Greyhound bus ride (which inspired a bit of short "fiction"), and an odyssey through the monstrosity that is the Gaylord Opryland hotel. It's the first collection of short stories I remember reading, and it's a good way to get into the genre for anyone looking to do so.

I also devoured Neil Gaiman's newest novel, The Graveyard Book. It was tense and delightful and touching, and it made me cry, which is a fairly rare occurrence for a book. I don't imagine it'll be too long before someone snatches up the film rights for this one.

I picked up a new book, Eat, Pray, Love, before starting the flights home. I'd been wanting to read this one for a while, and it showed, as I worked through the first 150 pages the first night (which is extremely rare for me). Hoping to finish that before the end of the week.

What I'm Writing
I'm working feverishly to finish MUTE before the end of the week for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there's a contest I'm planning to enter, and the deadline is in mid-November, but I have to ship a hard copy overseas. Secondly, Saturday is, of course, Nov. 1, which means I'll be starting my NaNoWriMo novel as soon as the clock strikes midnight.

I've been looking forward to starting this novel for what seems like months, which is always a dangerous feeling for NaNo, which has a tendency to produce feelings of despair and self-loathing in even the most steel-hearted writers. Luckily, I'll have thousands of other WriMos with whom to wallow.

I've also been writing a bit of short fiction here and there, most of which I've posted on this blog. I spent most of one of the conference days working on a short story that's a long way from being complete, but I might find a few spare moments to work through it even in the midst of the avalanche of words I'll be writing in November. The genre kind of fascinates me at the moment, so hopefully I'll be able to keep churning these little story flashes out on a regular basis.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Guess that's what happens when I'm away for two weeks.

Netflix Project: Lost in Translation (2003)

2008-10-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation is about an encounter between a washed-up actor going through a mid-life crisis and a 20-something woman struggling to find fulfillment in her life and marriage.

While I enjoyed this movie well enough, it's certainly not for your average moviegoer. It is essentially a character study and not much more. Nothing really happens; lives are not radically changed. And yet, it's those very things that make this film feel very real.

One gets the feeling while watching that Lost in Translation would have been a complete and utter failure without the casting of Bill Murray as actor Bob Harris. His dry delivery and nuanced expression are key in a film with such little dialog. The subtle humor he manages to bring to an otherwise bleak film without overwhelming it is its saving grace.

I would have enjoyed more interaction between Scarlett Johansson's bordering-on-brooding Charlotte and Anna Faris' bubbleheaded actress, Kelly. Throw Bob into the mix, and I think there was some missed potential there.

Overall, I'm a little surprised this movie won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Then again, looking at the competition for 2003, nothing else jumps out at me as something that should have beat it. Either way, it's a good study in how to put together a story about nothing more than two people struggling in life without making it boring.

Favorite line: During a phone call between Bob and his wife, Lydia, that dissolves into a marital spat.
Lydia: Do I need to worry about you, Bob?
Bob: Only if you want to.

Netflix Project: Sunset Boulevard (1950)

2008-10-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Sunset Boulevard is the story struggling screenwriter who is hired to edit a screenplay by a silent film star trying to make her grand return to film after years of obscurity.

Penned by D.M. Marshman Jr., Charles Brackett (who produced), and Billy Wilder (who directed), Sunset Boulevard is a deservedly classic film noir that paints a brutally honest picture of the film industry's transition from silent to talkies.

Some of silent film's most popular stars make cameos in the movie, including Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nillson, and H.B. Warner. Gloria Swanson herself, who plays the deluded Norma Desmond, hadn't had a feature film release in nine years when Sunset Boulevard was released. Erich von Stroheim, who plays the butler, Max, who had discovered Norma, directed many of her films and had been her first husband, had directed Swanson in real life in one of her last silent film flops, Queen Kelly (which happens to be the film screened in Norma's private movie theatre in the film).

I particularly enjoyed the parallels between Norma's derailment and the story of Salomé, which was the film she was hoping to make with Cecil B. deMille, who also cameos in the movie as himself. While Norma is in many ways the antagonist of the film, she's also its most tragic character. Put on a pedestal as a young woman and then having that pedestal yanked from beneath her once silent film gave way to talkies, it's hard not to feel for this forgotten star.

At the same time, you can't help but feel she's being a bit melodramatic about the whole thing. As Joe tells Norma toward the end, "There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five." But with the knowledge that her butler Max has been feeding her delusions, convincing her that the audience still thirsts for her by writing fake fan mail, hiding the industry's lack of interest from her, you come to the conclusion that Norma stood little chance in a place as brutal and crazy as Hollywood.

And yet, Sunset Boulevard, while indicting some of the tactics, also shines light on the heart of Hollywood in the form of young Betty Schaefer, played by Nancy Olson, as an aspiring screenwriter who reminds Joe what it's like to work on something that's about more than just a paycheck.

There are a number of good bits of dialog in this movie, but I'm going to have to go with perhaps the most famous as my favorite.

Favorite Line: "You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark! All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

Short Fiction: Greyhound

2008-10-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Customer service was not a priority for the overweight, dreadlocked woman behind the counter.

I caught sight of a tattoo on her wrist. 'Mary,' was it? I glanced at her nametag: 'Dominique Q.' I immediately imagined a tragic backstory that was obviously the reason for her apathy bordering on disdain. A sister, a mother--maybe even a lover!--ripped from her all too soon by a demon called Cancer, Car Accident or Gang Violence. My heart swelled with empathy.

I smiled sadly, sincerely, as she handed me my bus ticket, but she didn't meet my eyes. It's OK, I told her telepathically. I understand. I looked at the tattoo one last time. I now realized it was not 'Mary' this woman desired so fervently that she would emblazon it on her wrist. It was 'Money.' My heart deflated.

She looked at me with dead eyes and an expression that clearly said, 'Move along now.' I dragged my bag away, feeling a little sting when she bellowed the word, "Next."

Recap: 12 October 2008

2008-10-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of predictions Friday. I would have lost miserably anyway.

This Week's Top 10

Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($17.5 million)
Quarantine ($14.2 million)
Body of Lies ($13.1 million)
Eagle Eye ($11 million)
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist ($6.5 million)
The Express ($4.7 million)
Nights in Rodanthe ($4.6 million)
Appaloosa ($3.34 million)
The Duchess ($3.32 million)
City of Ember ($3.2 million)

What I Watched

Dead Poets Society (5 stars): See full review here.
Caffeine (3 stars): This relationship comedy set in a London coffee shop almost plays as an amalgam of short films instead of a cohesive feature-length movie. In a good way. Most of the time. Once I got over the less-than-stellar British accents the Americans were trying to put on, I was decently amused.
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (4 stars): People proclaiming this is a Juno wannabe are sorely mistaken. They're two completely different films, and if Juno is known for snappy, snarky dialog, Nick & Norah's dialog at times feels almost too natural and too awkward for it to be a movie. This movie left me feeling pretty restless with my own life. And any movie that can affect me for hours afterwards has done something right.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (3½ stars): See full review here.
Igby Goes Down (3½ stars): I hesitate to call this a dark comedy because it's not particularly comedic in the traditional sense. Then again, it's not overly dramatic either. And yet it doesn't really fit the mold for what I would normally call a dramedy. So... let's just call it a dark, sometimes comedic film with stellar performances from a cast including Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum.

Netflix Project: Dead Poets Society (1989)

2008-10-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Tom Schulman's screenplay for Dead Poets Society won the 1989 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke, among others, Dead Poets Society tells the story of a group of students at a staunch prep school and the effect a non-traditional teacher has on their approach to life.

I first saw this movie the summer before my junior year of high school, and I was completely affected by it. This was the first time I'd seen it since that summer, and I was just as captivated and moved by it, if not more so, the second time around.

Robin Williams as Professor John Keating is spot on, and it's movies like this that remind me what a treasure he actually is when he chooses quality projects. Robert Sean Leonard looks practically the same as he does now as Dr. Wilson on House, minus about twenty-five pounds of muscle. He is funny, charming and heartbreaking, much like he is in his current role, come to think of it.

One thing that struck me this time around was the cinematography. There are some simply beautiful shots in this film. The dialog is so entrancing and the characters so deftly developed that it's easy to forget to pay attention to the visually artistic elements of the film, but they're there to observe if you can remember. Perhaps it speaks to the artistry that the cinematography doesn't distract but adds another layer to an already brilliant film.

Honestly, I could gush about this film for hours. Many of the lines are entrenched in my brain, and the themes of the movie have goaded me to escape my comfort zone on more than one occasion. In fact, the movie was the catalyst for one of the most defining moments in my life. So, it's possible I'm a little bit biased simply because I attach so much in my life to this film. But the fact that I can do that means something, I think.

I'd just copy and paste the entire screenplay for my favorite line if I could, but instead I'll leave you with the one I come back to again and again.

Favorite Line: "Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

Courtesy of Wordle

Netflix Project: The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)

2008-10-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

1948's Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay comes in the form of The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, written by Sidney Sheldon.

Starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple, the movie follows Margaret and Susan Turner, sisters living together with a mother-daughter sort of relationship. Margaret is an uptight, emotion-avoiding judge, while Susan is an emotion-driven, precocious 17-year-old high-school student. Their relationship is summed up well in the first five minutes when Margaret says to Susan, "You know I'd die for you, but sometimes it's very hard living with you."

We have two meet-cutes right away, when Margaret lets Richard Nugent, a playboy artist, off the hook for a brawl in which he played a part. That one is quickly followed by Susan falling for Richard as he gives a speech on art at her high school. Susan quickly decides Richard is her knight in shining armor, and she schemes herself into his apartment unbeknownst to him. Chaos, of course, ensues. Richard is arrested, but they decide to drop the charges if he agrees to pretend to date Susan in order to let her outgrow her little fantasy without scarring her for life.

Got all that? OK. What follows is an enjoyable if predictable romantic comedy with amusing performances from all parties. I believe this may have been my first Cary Grant film, and I understood Margaret's point when she told Richard, "I've never been subjected to such charm before."

The dinner scene where the strings of everyone's schemes unravel is very well-done, and it's always fun to see refined men doing unrefined things like the potato sack race, three-legged race and obstacle course during the picnic sequence. Additionally, the last scene went for a great bit of bookend dialog instead of the typical rom-com cheese ending, which I appreciated.

The movie's not phenomenal, but, thanks for the clever and sharply delivered dialog, it's the first chronologically in the project that's been consistently enjoyable.

Favorite Line:
Set-up: Richard has just complimented Margaret on her dress.
Margaret: "You said that gracefully. Perhaps the result of practice?"
Richard: "You said that ungraciously. Perhaps the result of practice, hm?"

Short Fiction: Learning to Fly

2008-10-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Learning to Fly

I never really wanted to live here. In this apartment. In this city. In this life. Then again, I never really wanted not to live here either. One day, you wake up, and your life's become a caricature. And the worst part is I just don't give a shit. My waking hours are dulled by a steady IV drip of apathy. And yet, I don't even cling to that. I wouldn't be up here staring down at the worker bees hustling to and fro below me if I were properly apathetic. That's the problem. I'm even apathetic about my apathy.

The only thing I ever really wanted to do was fly. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" my parents would ask me. "I want to fly!" I'd retort, throwing my arms in the air and running around the room. My father would curl an arm around my waist and bring me back down to earth. "So you want to be a pilot then?" he'd ask, his face a textbook case of logic and parental support. "What's that?" He smiled and took me to the library where I was presently inundated with books about Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh, though strangely not about the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II. I remember the reddening in my ears as I forced a smile and feigned interest. Sure, planes were cool, but neither my father nor the librarian understood. I didn't want to be flown. I wanted to fly. A year later, I was fitted with glasses to correct the laziness of my right eye. See, I'm even biologically apathetic. After that, my father abruptly curtailed any talk of learning to be a pilot. I didn't care. It wasn't what I'd wanted anyway.

As with just about all kids, I eventually learned to believe that the idea of learning to fly (or x-ray vision or super-strength or shooting spiderwebs out of your hands) was patently absurd and meant to be relegated to the immature world of comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. I wonder about those kids whose parents and teachers couldn't beat it out of them. You know the ones. The weirdos running around willy nilly in the grassy area of the playground. The ones you snickered at with your friends because it was the cool thing to do, even though in the deepest recess of your conscious mind you knew they were having a much better time than you were. Our pointing fingers and cruel snorts were laced with jealousy, and we all knew it, even though we'd never admit it. Do you ever wonder where they are now? I'd venture they're either on meds, in the loony bin or special ed teachers. Either way, even if it took longer than the rest of us, I'm sure they've been gutted of the whimsy somewhere along the line.

But I'm getting off the point here, I guess.

So, what do you think? Am I up here because I've lost all hope? Or am I here because I have a shred of it left? Am I staring at the pavement 18 stories below my balcony because I think it could use a nice, fresh coat of blood and brains? Or because I think there's a chance I might not have to set foot on the sand and stone amalgam ever again? Either way, perhaps today is the day.

"Are you ready to go?"

The voice is small and excited. I turn to see my son. The baseball mitt on his left hand is nearly as big as his head. He still believes baseball and learning to fly are completely valid subjects on par with learning the alphabet and counting to 100.

"Yup, I'm ready," I tell him.

He grins and runs back into the apartment. I look back over the edge of the balcony and shrug. Oh well. I've waited this long. I can always learn to fly tomorrow, I guess.

The idea for this story also came from Matt, though he doesn't remember it. I started out wanting to write something for a short story competition Lee Horne's entering, but then I decided I'd rather just post it on my blog. And despite the content of my two short stories, I promise I'm not suicidal.

Recap: 5 October 2008

2008-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

This is becoming something of a trend: I pegged the top 3, but not in the right order.

This Week's Top 10

Beverly Hills Chihuahua ($29 million)
Eagle Eye ($17.7 million)
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist ($12 million)
Nights in Rodanthe ($7.4 million)
Appaloosa ($5 million)
Lakeview Terrace ($4.5 million)
Burn After Reading ($4.08 million)
Fireproof ($4.07 million)
An American Carol ($3.8 million)
Religulous ($3.5 million)

What I Watched

What a Girl Wants (2 stars): My sister convinced me to watch this because of Colin Firth. And, sad to say, that's probably the only reason to watch this. Granted, without the silly B-story love interest, I think this movie might have been perfectly respectable. Well, maybe that's going a bit far, but you get my drift. As it is, save yourself some time and just watch this.
F inal Draft (2 stars): I did learn a very important lesson from this movie. Cutting yourself off from the outside world by locking yourself in an apartment to finish a screenplay is a very bad idea.
Woman of the Year (3 stars): See the full review here.
Son of Rambow (3½ stars): I was highly amused by the reasons behind the PG-13 rating for this film: "violence and reckless behavior." This is a story about unlikely friendship and love of movies, so I, of course, loved it. The two leads were wonderful, and the story (if a little uneven at times) is funny, sweet and emotionally authentic.
The Full Monty (4 stars): The story of down-and-out steel workers who convince themselves that performing in a strip show would be a good idea. As you can imagine, chaos ensues. It's hilarious and touching, and it walks the line between feel-good and schmaltz better than I've seen in a while. I'll also note that, despite the plot, the movie is monty-free, though butts do abound from time to time.

In Other News

I finished Voyage of the Dawn Treader earlier this week. I think this may be my favorite of the Narnia books so far. I was a bit let down by the ending (I wanted to see Caspian's interaction with Ramandu's daughter), but surely that's something that will be improved upon in 2010's film version. (As an aside, I just checked out who they cast as Eustace for the film, and it's none other than Will Poulter who was *fabulous* in Son of Rambow. Well done!)

I've since moved on to Neil Gaiman's collection of short stories, Smoke and Mirrors. I only started reading it three or four days ago, and I'm already halfway through, which is generally a good sign, especially since it's been a rather busy week.

Last but not least, it's nearly time for National Novel Writing Month! Get thee to the Web site and sign up! If you have no idea what NaNoWriMo is, check out Matt's post about it. He sums it up quite nicely. And, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. This will be my fourth year participating, so I'm a bit of a veteran as far as NaNo goes.

Edit: Matt says this post is better, but I say you should check out both. There's no such thing as too much when it comes to NaNo-related motivation.

Netflix Project: Woman of the Year (1942)

2008-10-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Woman of the Year, the first collaboration for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, tells the story of a political columnist and a sports reporter who meet after trading barbs, fall in love, and then find marriage isn't quite the bed of roses they thought it would be.

Written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin, the film contains some amusing dialog and a couple of laugh-out-loud sequences. Overall, though, the film struck me as rather unremarkable.

From the beginning, I was never really quite certain what Sam saw in Tess, nor what she saw in him other than he had the moxie to actually go after her. There was an obvious physical attraction and even an undeniable chemistry between the two leads, but I never understood the undercurrent that pulled these two together.

For the modern viewer, the second act seems to drag on longer than necessary. There's a good twenty to thirty minutes in the middle where the plot gets too serious for its own good. (It was at this point, when we had to pause the movie for a moment, that my less-patient-with-movies-than-I-am mother remarked, "Is it just me, or is this movie really boring?") Luckily, they saved the best for last as Tess attempts to make breakfast for Sam in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. That scene alone bumped the film from 2½ stars to 3 on my scale (of 5).

And not because it's all that clever or unique but simply because it's true...

Favorite Line: "What's the sense of abolishing the thing you're trying to protect?"

Box Office Predictions: 3 October 2008

2008-10-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

We have a slew of wide releases this weekend: family flick Beverly Hills Chihuahua, smart teen comedy Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, conservative comedy An American Carol, drama Blindness, and biopic Flash of Genius.

As much as it pains me to say it, it looks like Beverly Hills Chihuahua has the best shot at taking No. 1. The box office has been lacking in family films lately, and this one's opening in more than 3,000 theatres. It's movies like this that make me embarrassed to admit I own two chihuahuas, albeit long-haired and very anti-purse ones.

After that, it's between Nick & Norah and last week's winner, Eagle Eye. We've had at least a couple of weeks with thrillers at the head of the pack, so I'm banking that the theatre-going crowd will be in the mood for lighter fare this weekend.

Official Predictions
1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua
2. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
3. Eagle Eye

A Writer's Theme Song

2008-10-01T08:08:00.001-07:00

Found another meme over at Write Here, Write Now.

Here's the deal:

Find a song that sums up what you think it means to be a writer and post the lyrics on your blog and why you've chosen it. NB: It doesn't have to be your favourite song, it just has to express how you feel about writing and/or being a writer. It can be literal, metaphorical, about a particular form or aspect of writing - whatever you want. Then tag 5 others to do the same (reprint these instructions).

I'd never really thought about a theme song as a writer. I have plenty of project-themed songs that come to mind for various characters, stories, etc. I've also got a number of songs I relate to as an entire human being, but the part of me that is a writer had never resonated clearly with a song. But no longer. I present to you, "Shark Food" by Starsailor. You can listen to the song for free at last.fm. And while you're there, add me as a friend if you like.

Lyrics
Sunshine in the glory skies,
When the broken men open up their eyes.
Sunshine in the glory skies,
When the day is long and the clouds are high.

We're stepping through the door
We're shooting from the heart
And if we get it wrong
They'll feed us to the sharks

The first stanza reminds me of what a bitch writing can be at times contrasted with the euphoria of when it goes well. I picture the quintessential high noon gunfight, except it's me versus my laptop.

The second stanza hits home in a couple of ways. First, it's always a risk revealing something that's come directly from your heart and brain to others. But that's why we do it, too, because there are stories we feel compelled to tell. The risk is worth the reward of seeing someone connect with what we've put out there. Second, I feel a sense of responsibility toward my stories in that I want to tell them clearly and with the attention they deserve. If I don't make the effort to do my absolute best and to continually raise that bar I call "my best," then I deserve to be shark food (and certainly will be in this industry).

I'm not going to tag five people since I don't know five people who will do this. But I will strongly encourage Brittany and Matt to join in the fun.

Recap: 28 September 2008

2008-09-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

My suspicion that Eagle Eye would take the audience away from Lakeview Terrace turned out to be unfounded. The big surprise this weekend was Christian drama Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron, which has already made 13 times its budget. I think we can chalk this one up to a pretty brilliant marketing strategy.

This week's Top 10

Eagle Eye ($29.2 million)
Nights in Rodanthe ($13.6 million)
Lakeview Terrace ($7 million)
Fireproof ($6.5 million)
Burn After Reading ($6.2 million)
Igor ($5.5 million)
Righteous Kill ($3.803 million)
My Best Friend’s Girl ($3.8 million)
Miracle at St. Anna ($3.5 million)
Tyler Perry’s the Family That Preys ($3.2 million)

What I Watched

The Great McGinty (3 stars): See full review here.
Cinema Paradiso (3 stars): Netflix sent me the 170-minute director's cut of this 1988 Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language film, and I think this is the exception to the rule that director's cuts are better than theatrical releases. Having not seen the theatrical, I obviously can't compare, but this movie seemed to go on forever. That being said, it was a sweet story, well-acted and all that jazz, but I was expecting more.
Eagle Eye (2 ½ stars): I always have trouble rating movies that are obviously not very good but during which I still had a good time. This movie falls into that category. There are huge plot holes, and the script could have used more humor, but I was still entertained. Shia LaBoeuf was better than I expected; I'd anticipated feeling like he was miscast, but he pulled off the character well enough. Still, I miss the days of Louis Stevens when he got to showcase his talent for comedy.
Then She Found Me (3 ½ stars): Helen Hunt's directorial debut, this movie explores a woman's life as she deals with divorce, meeting her birth mother, a new relationship, and her desire to get pregnant at age 39. The cast as a whole is equal parts funny and touching, but Colin Firth is, as usual, rather brilliant. Bette Midler also shines as Helen Hunt's birth mother. The story suffers a little because of its insistence on tackling so many issues, but all in all it's a solid little movie that deserved better distribution than it got.
Citizen Kane (3 ½ stars): See full review here.

Netflix Project: Citizen Kane (1941)

2008-09-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

The default favorite movie of critics everywhere, Citizen Kane stars Orson Welles in the title role as a famous newspaper baron. When he utters a single word, "Rosebud..." with his dying breath, a reporter is assigned the task of finding out what the heck he meant.

What follows is a stunningly filmed, wonderfully acted journey through the life of Kane. The use of light and silhouette is striking, the sets are gorgeous, and the make-up is fantastic. It's easy to see why Citizen Kane is hailed as such a technical pioneer in the industry.

That being said, I wasn't blown away by the story. I was impressed by just about everything except it, in fact. The script, penned by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, is greatly aided by Welles' direction. It's not bad; it's not even weak. It's perfectly solid. But it's just not... well, spectacular. When the most remembered line from your movie is a single word, it seems perhaps an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay might be a win in the wrong category. Amazingly, it lost out in the eight other categories in which it was nominated, including Best Actor, Best Film and Best Cinematography (Black & White).

Nonetheless, it's certainly a film worth watching for anyone interested in film, even if your only motivation is to have an opinion on it when it inevitably comes up in movie buff conversation.

Favorite line: "Rosebud. Dead or Alive. It'll probably turn out to be a very simple thing."

EDIT: I forgot to mention that my first knowledge of the whole Rosebud legend came from this episode of The Real Ghostbusters. I'm equally amused and annoyed by this. On one hand, I appreciate the somewhat clever tribute. On the other, I've known since the age of 8 or 9 that Rosebud is simply a sled, which kind of ruins the mystique.

Box Office Predictions: 26 September 2008

2008-09-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Opening today, we have thriller Eagle Eye, Spike Lee's war drama Miracle at St. Anna, and sapfest Nights in Rodanthe.

Eagle Eye should have no problem taking the top spot. Miracle at St. Anna is only playing in 1,100 theatres, so it's doubtful it'll break the Top 3.

Official Predictions
1. Eagle Eye
2. Nights in Rodanthe
3. Burn After Reading

Netflix Project: The Great McGinty (1940)

2008-09-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Penned and directed by Preston Sturges, The Great McGinty tells the story of a man who, after impressing a mob boss with his audacity and charm, is set up as a puppet mayor. All goes well until he falls in love with his politically-arranged wife, who encourages him to be a better man.

Let's start with the bad.

The story is framed by scenes in which McGinty, now a bartender, tells his story to a drunk patron and a dancer. Whether or not this enhances or takes away from the story is open to interpretation. Personally, I was a fan of the technique but not the execution. When done well, it can enhance the poignancy of a story. Unfortunately, all it seemed to do here was give away the ending.

Overall, I was left unsatisfied because McGinty's arc didn't stick. We see him start as a bum, move to a bum in a suit, and finally (via the love and encouragement of his wife) become a man who deserves to wear that suit. Right as he's finally become the man he should be, he's carted off to prison for prior nefarious deeds. He escapes with the mob boss, moves to a foreign country, and does more or less nothing with his life despite this transformation he supposedly had. The last scene was humorous, but it was also hollow.

And now for the good. The movie had a surprisingly modern feel to it. Most classic films I've seen feel classic. They meander, and the dialog feels sluggish somehow. This didn't seem to be the case with McGinty. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly the difference is. Without actually taking out a stopwatch and doing some comparison, I'd venture that the typical dialog length in McGinty was shorter than the average film in the '30s and '40s. There was more back-and-forth than soliloquy, and I think that must have added to the modern feel.

There was also a particularly defined shift in the tone of McGinty's dialog from the beginning to the middle and to the end. In the beginning, McGinty as the bum speaks with a lot of slang and a slight drawl. He strikes a happy medium between educated and down on his luck.

As the puppet mayor, his drawl increases and his speech becomes less concerned with appearing educated, which, of course, is kind of the opposite of what you'd expect for a man going from bum to mayor. At first it bothered me. But when I gave it some thought, what it really represented is McGinty shutting off a part of himself that cared what other people thought of him. To do what he was doing (which was making money for the wrong people and ignoring the plight of his constituents), he had to shut off a part of himself that cared about anything. His lack of careful speech represents this.

Once he falls in love with Catherine, the woman he married for purely political reasons, he starts to care again. Before he's carted off to prison, he's carrying himself like a governor should. He speaks carefully, with obvious thought behind what he's saying. When we see him as bartender, he's reverted back to his original happy medium.

The shift was clever, though whether via the writing or the delivery, at times it was overdone. Nonetheless, it gives me food for thought when watching my own characters go through an arc.

Overall, I wasn't blown away, but it was a solid film. There aren't many films of that era where I think a remake would improve the material, but I think this story is ripe for an update.

Favorite line: "Do you want to go upstairs and have your fortune told?"

Netflix Project: Oscar Winners for Best Original Screenplay

2008-09-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Despite (because of) the lack of suggestions for a Netflix movie project, I've come up with one of my own. I've decided to work my way through the list of Oscar winners for Best Original Screenplay since 1940.

Why 1940? Mostly because that's where the Wikipedia entry starts. The history of the award is a little muddled, with name changes, combinations and divisions with other awards, etc. I needed a logical starting point, and Wikipedia chose for me, so there you have it.

In case you're curious, here's the list from which I'm working:
1940: The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges)
1941: Citizen Kane (Herman Mankiewicz, Orson Welles)
1942: Woman of the Year (Michael Kanin, Ring Lardner, Jr.)
1943: Princess O'Rourke (Norman Krasna)
1944: Wilson (Lamar Trotti)
1945: Marie-Louise (Richard Schweizer)
1946: The Seventh Veil (Muriel Box, Sydney Box)
1947: The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (Sydney Sheldon)
1949: Battleground (Robert Pirosh)
1950: Sunset Boulevard (Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman, Jr., Billy Wilder)
1951: An American in Paris (Alan Jay Lerner)
1952: The Lavender Hill Mob (T.E.B. Clarke)
1953: Titanic (Charles Brackett, Richard Breen, Walter Reisch)
1954: On the Waterfront (Budd Schulberg)
1955: Interrupted Melody (Sonya Levien, William Ludwig)
1956: The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse)
1957: Designing Woman (George Wells)
1958: The Defiant Ones (Nathan E. Douglas, Harold Jacob Smith)
1959: Pillow Talk (Clarence Greene, Maurice Richlin, Russell Rouse, Stanley Shapiro)
1960: The Apartment (I.A.L. Diamond, Billy Wilder)
1961: Splendor in the Grass (William Inge)
1962: Divorce, Italian Style (Ennio de Concini, Pietro Germi, Alfredo Giannetti)
1963: How the West Was Won (James Webb)
1964: Father Goose (Peter Stone, Frank Tarloff)
1965: Darling (Frederic Raphael)
1966: A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch [story]; Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven [screenplay])
1967: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (William Rose)
1968: The Producers (Mel Brooks)
1969: Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (William Goldman)
1970: Patton (Francis Ford Coppola, Edmund H. North)
1971: The Hospital (Paddy Chayefsky)
1972: The Candidate (Jerry Larner)
1973: The Sting (David S. Ward)
1974: Chinatown (Robert Towne)
1975: Dog Day Afternoon (Frank Pierson)
1976: Network (Paddy Chayefsky)
1977: Annie Hall (Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman)
1978: Coming Home (Robert C. Jones, Waldo Salt [screenplay]; Nancy Dowd [story])
1979: Breaking Away (Steve Tesich)
1980: Melvin and Howard (Bo Goldman)
1981: Chariots of Fire (Colin Welland)
1982: Gandhi (John Briley)
1983: Tender Mercies (Horton Foote)
1984: Places in the Heart (Robert Benton)
1985: Witness (William Kelley, Earl Wallace [screenplay]; William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, Earl Wallace [story])
1986: Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
1987: Moonstruck (John Patrick Shanley)
1988: Rain Man (Ronald Bass, Barry Morrow)
1989: Dead Poets Society (Tom Schulman)
1990: Ghost (Bruce Joel Rubin)
1991: Thelma and Louise (Callie Khouri)
1992: The Crying Game (Neil Jordan)
1993: The Piano (Jane Campion)
1994: Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino [story and screenplay] and Roger Avary [story])
1995: The Usual Suspects (Christopher McQuarrie)
1996: Fargo (Ethan and Joel Coen)
1997: Good Will Hunting (Ben Affleck, Matt Damon)
1998: Shakespeare in Love (Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard)
1999: American Beauty (Alan Ball)
2000: Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe)
2001: Gosford Park (Julian Fellowes)
2002: Talk to Her/Habla con Ella (Pedro Almodóvar)
2003: Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth)
2005: Crash (Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco)
2006: Little Miss Sunshine (Michael Arndt)
2007: Juno (Diablo Cody)

I'm going to try to get through at least one of these a week, and I'm also going to try to post some sort of analysis of each film. I figure this will force me to actively analyze these movies as opposed to just sitting back and watching them without any critical thought. Should be a good academic experience, and hopefully I'll be able to use some of what I learn to improve my own writing.

Recap: 22 September 2008

2008-09-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I wasn't too horribly far off. I pegged the top 3, just not in the right order.

Lakeview Terrace ($15.6 million)
Burn After Reading ($11.3 million)
My Best Friend's Girl ($8.3 million)
Igor ($8.0 million)
Righteous Kill ($7.7 million)
The Family That Preys ($7.5 million)
The Women ($5.3 million)
Ghost Town ($5.2 million)
The Dark Knight ($3.0 million)
The House Bunny ($2.8 million)

What I Watched:

Ghost Town (3 stars): The first act of the movie was pretty slow. We get it: Ricky Gervais' character is unlikeable. Let's move on. The real fun comes when he has to start actually interacting with people instead of just avoiding them.
Amélie (4 stars): I saw this several years ago and was unimpressed, which leads me to believe I've become increasingly quirky over the years. Amélie is delightfully whimsical.
Hedwig & the Angry Inch (4 stars): I feel well-versed in the world of rock movies now that I've seen Almost Famous, Spinal Tap and Hedwig. Hedwig might be the most well-rounded of the three in the way it blends sentiment and satire. And it had the best music, too.

In Other News

I finished what I'm calling my gamma draft of MUTE this weekend. Cheers to me.
I'm in the midst of planning my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, nicknamed Fairytale Redux. I attended my first pre-NaNo KC write-in last night. I think my level of planning might be slightly anal-retentive compared to the other WriMos there. Which, if I'm being honest, is really no surprise.
Speaking of NaNoWriMo, the site is getting a makeover for its 10th anniversary. When it relaunches on Oct. 1, my campaign to ensnare new participants will intensify. Be prepared.
I'm taking suggestions for a Netflix project, in which I explore the filmography of a screenwriter, director or actor. So, suggest away.
I'm going to start doing this with all my Netflix flaps (thank you, Lifehacker).

Box Office Predictions: 19 September 2008

2008-09-18T19:35:00.000-07:00

We've got four more wide releases this week: Lakeview Terrace (a thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson), rom-com My Best Friend's Girl, animated flick Igor, and finally Ghost Town, starring the always hilariously acerbic Ricky Gervais.

Lakeview Terrace has the magical PG-13 rating, but My Best Friend's Girl is opening in more theatres. They also have to compete with last week's No. 1, Burn After Reading. Ghost Town is rated 78 percent fresh as I write this, but it's only opening in 1400 theatres, so it's doubtful it'll crack the Top 3. And finally, I think Igor would have done better with an October release. It's a tough week, but here goes.

Official Predictions
1. My Best Friend's Girl
2. Lakeview Terrace
3. Burn After Reading

Something tells me I might miss horribly this week... Oh well.

Recap: 14 September 2008

2008-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I want you all to know that it took every ounce of my will power not to start this post off by saying the Coens "burned up the box office" this weekend. Here's the top 10:

Burn After Reading ($19.4 million)
Tyler Perry’s The Family that Preys ($18.0 million)
Righteous Kill ($16.5 million)
The Women ($10.1 million)
The House Bunny ($4.3 million)
Tropic Thunder ($4.2 million)
The Dark Knight ($4.0 million)
Bangkok Dangerous ($2.4 million)
Traitor ($2.1 million)
Death Race ($2.0 million)

What I Watched:

Burn After Reading (3½ stars): Unapologetically and hilariously pointless. If you like the Coen Brothers, it's definitely worth checking out.
Angel-A (3½ stars): A French-language film from Luc Besson, this film is one of the most aesthetically striking I've seen in a while. It's shot completely in black & white with Paris as its backdrop, if that says anything at all. It's a touching story: funny, poignant and sweet. Its ending takes away from the impact of the story a bit, but all in all, it's a solid and beautiful piece of work.
Meet Bill (3½ stars): Any synopsis I've run through my head comes out sounding like some sort of after-school special, which doesn't do the movie justice. Yes, it's a coming of age story; yes, there's a middle-aged schlub mentoring a wild-child prep school teen; yes, they change each other for the better. BUT this movie is better than that. It's not sappy, and it's not even necessarily heart-warming so much as it simply affirms the fact that life is what you make of it even if you don't know what the hell you're doing.

What I Read:
I fulfilled my sisterly duties by finishing Peter Pan this week. I didn't necessarily agree with its themes, but I appreciated the story nonetheless. While the story is essentially the same as the Disney-fied versions I've seen over the years, the tone is entirely different. I'd almost peg it as cynical much of the time.

Having finished that, I felt the need to return to something whimsical, so I've picked back up my Chronicles of Narnia tome to read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

What I Wrote:
This weekend I've been working feverishly on MUTE in an attempt to finish my gamma draft by Tuesday in time for discussion at a write-in. I spent Saturday ripping apart some scenes, and I spent Sunday putting them back together. I'm about halfway through, so hopefully tomorrow will prove similarly productive.

Additionally, I'm spending more and more time planning Fairytale Redux for NaNoWriMo 2008, which is probably why I felt the need to move onto some more whimsical reading material. I was recently introduced to a character who might knock MUTE's Sieg off his pedestal as my favorite character I've written. But we'll see. The story's turning out to be fairly epic, but I'm trying to hold off on feeling overwhelmed until November when I'll have thousands of other writers with whom to commiserate.

Box Office Predictions: 12 September 2008

2008-09-11T19:23:00.001-07:00

We've made it through the doldrums, folks. This weekend brings four wide releases with Righteous Kill (reteaming DeNiro and Pacino), Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, token chick-flick The Women, and the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading.

I think it'll be a pretty tight race this weekend. I've seen more marketing for Burn After Reading, though, so I think it'll just barely edge out Righteous Kill for the No. 1 spot. The No. 3 spot similarly could go to either The Women or The Family That Preys. Tough calls, but it's a good problem to have after the past three or four weekends.

Official Predictions
1. Burn After Reading
2. Righteous Kill
3. The Women

My Life in Snapshots

2008-09-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Came across a fun meme-ish type thing today over at Janet's blog and thought I'd join in. Above is my life in keyword-defined pictures according to the questions below. Here's the how-to:

The Concept
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, and pick one image.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

The Questions
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food? right now?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. What is one word that describes you?
12. What is your flickr name?

It's a fun way to spend 15 minutes, and it yields something pretty, which is never a bad thing. Have fun!

Two Types of Research

2008-09-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

A post from a fellow writer on research got me to thinking about, well, research. Since I promised more content this week, I truncated the huge comment I was writing on her blog and figured I'd do my own post about it.

What I've come to conclude is that there are two types of research: fact-based and what I've decided to call knowledge-based.

Fact-based research is something you can look up with a Google or Wikipedia search. To use an example from my current project, which is more common: a tequila shot plus lime or a tequila shot plus lemon?¹ The most research of this kind I ever had to do was for Tea. And boy did I do a ton of it. One of my friends who was kind enough to read that script is now terrified to accept any sort of beverage from me because of it, in fact. This sort of research is nearly always project-specific.

Knowledge-based research requires study. It's not just a collection of facts but a synthesis of ideas. It's "I need to study Greek mythology" instead of "What were the twelve labors of Hercules?"² The key difference here is that, while often initiated by a specific project, this research is not necessarily project-specific. Knowledge-based research often teaches us how to think in a new way. It allows us to make connections we might not have been able to see before. It provides depth to our work that mere facts cannot.

It's very easy to get caught up in fact-based research. It's a great way to procrastinate while still feeling productive. With all of the research I did for Tea, I probably only used a quarter of it in the actual screenplay. Attention to detail is important, but we also get the benefit of a little dramatic license most of the time. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally don't be afraid to cut yourself a little slack on naming that part of the castle just right.³ Sometimes it's easier just to describe what you're trying to talk about rather than spending six hours finding the correct name for it. Chances are the description will mean more to your audience than the word will anyway.

As for knowledge-based research, I'm not sure a person can do enough of this. One of the first pieces of advice given to most writers is to read, read and read some more. Any time you read a book or watch a movie (or even read news articles and commentary), you're increasing your knowledge on how to tell a story. Any time you tackle a subject beyond just the mere facts, you're changing how your brain synthesizes material. And that will help you on your current, past and future projects. Beyond that, there's a good chance it'll help you outside of your writing life as well.

So, while fact-based research is obviously necessary and important, knowledge-based research has a much farther-reaching effect. Make sure you're making time for both.

¹ Google says lemon.

² Wiki says, "Slay the lion, slay the hydra, capture the stag, capture the boar, clean the stables, slay the birds, capture the bull, steal the mares, obtain the girdle, obtain the cattle, steal the apples, and capture Cerberus."

³ Glossary of Castle & Church Terms

Blogging and Other Failures (aka Recap: 7 September 2008)

2008-09-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, I've kind of been slacking on blogging lately. It's not like my content here is ever all that amazing, but still, I try to keep up with it usually. I have three excuses.

1. August and early Sept. movies sucked for the most part (as evidenced by the fact that this past weekend was the slowest movie weekend in five years). Sure, there were a few bright spots (Tropic Thunder; Bottle Shock, which only made it to limited release; some might argue Pineapple Express, though I would not), but all in all it's been a pretty dismal five or six weeks.

2. I have been swamped at work. Horribly, soul-suckingly, terrifyingly swamped. On Friday, I worked 11.5 hours and ended in the same place I started, if that's any indication. Sadly, the swamp does not include scanning projects at the moment, which means no movie-watching for me. So, on top of seeing next to nothing at the theatre, I hardly watched anything on DVD either. I've had the same three Netflix DVDs for an embarrasingly long time because I just haven't had the energy post-work to commit to two hours of concentration. I usually sneak in blog posts while I'm at work, too, but the workload simply hasn't allowed that recently.

3. I haven't been writing. I seem to blog more when I'm in the midst of a writing project, and I'm currently awaiting feedback on my beta draft of MUTE. I should be getting back into editing on that this week, but I don't have another writing project scheduled until Nov. 1. However, once I've finished up MUTE, I'll be able to focus completely on planning my 2008 NaNo novel, which will hopefully breed some ideas for blog posts.

So those are my excuses. Not good ones, really, but that's life. That being said, I did get my Netflix queue moving again this weekend, though, with my viewing of The Last King of Scotland (4 stars) and Children of Men (4 stars). Both lived up to the hype and were excellent. I'd been fearing LAST KING would be rather boring, but it actually zipped along quite well, and James McAvoy had me glued to the screen. How did he not get nominated for an Oscar for his performance? Crazy Academy. I mean, Forest Whitaker was great and his Oscar was deserved, but McAvoy really carried the film in my opinion.

Oh, and in case you're curious how the worst movie weekend in five years was divided up, here you go.

Bangkok Dangerous ($7.8 million)
Tropic Thunder ($7.5 million)
The House Bunny ($5.9 million)
The Dark Knight ($5.7 million)
Traitor ($4.7 million)
Babylon A.D. ($4 million)
Death Race ($3.6 million)
Disaster Movie ($3.3 million)
Mamma Mia ($2.7 million)
Pineapple Express ($2.4 million)

To put that in perspective, The Dark Knight made $155.3 million on its opening weekend. This weekend's Top 10 made a combined $47.6 million, which is about 30.6 percent of TDK's take. Ouch.

My Top Seven of 2008: January through August

2008-09-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

The summer movie season is officially over. Soon, the studios will begin rolling out the Oscar bait, which will hopefully lift us out of the doldrums of the past few weeks (and the next couple, come to think of it). It seems an appropriate time to look back at the movies I've enjoyed most in the first half of the year.

Now, I want to note that these may not be the best movies, critically speaking, but they were the ones I recall the most fondly, which perhaps means more in the long run. Here are my Top 7.

7.
The Dark Knight

This one kind of had to go on by default. Honestly, I often have trouble remembering exactly what it was that I loved so much about this movie, but I do remember what went through my mind as the credits began to roll: "That was f***ing amazing."

----------

6.
Penelope

I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and this is about as whimsical as they come. It's always refreshing to see something slightly outside the norm in theatres, and this fit the bill quite nicely.

----------

5.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

This slipped under most people's radars it seems, which is surprising considering it stars the always-impressive Frances McDormand and always-delightful Amy Adams. Nonetheless, it's a truly charming story, refreshing for its takes on female friendship, beauty, the importance of history, and—of course—love.

----------

4.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe

I think I've waxed poetic enough about my love for The X-Files, so I'll spare a further rehash. Despite the fact that the second feature outing was far from perfect, I still enjoyed the characters and the themes immensely.

----------

3.
Mamma Mia!

I must admit, I've changed my tune (har, har) pretty dramatically on this one. I still hold that my original opinion was valid, but I just don't care anymore. The movie and the music won me over. So much so that my sister and I (me, notoriously shy when it comes to singing in front of an audience) happily belted out every single song loudly and with vim at the sing-along showing this past Friday.

----------

2.
Wall-E

Wonderful, wonderful movie. My only 5-star rating so far this year. As much as people raved about The Dark Knight, it doesn't hold a candle to Wall-E when it comes to heart.

----------

1.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

I'm not sure why this movie struck such a chord with me. Some out there might suspect it has something to do with Mr. Barnes, but, while I certainly enjoyed that aspect of the movie, it takes a lot more to trigger such a strong reaction. Perhaps it's that I've been hankering for a good epic fantasy film in the vein of The Lord of The Rings for a while. And while Caspian doesn't measure up to LOTR in scale or depth, the story had an earnestness and, to use the term again, heart that I didn't see very often in other summer fare. And that was enough to get me to the theatre of my own accord three times as well as to cement it as my No. 1 pick so far this year.

Recap: 24 August 2008

2008-08-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty unspectacular weekend for the box office. But it is August, so I guess that's to be expected.

Tropic Thunder ($16.1 million)
The House Bunny ($15.1 million)
Death Race ($12.3 million)
The Dark Knight ($10.3 million)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars ($5.7 million)
Pineapple Express ($5.6 million)
Mirrors ($4.9 million)
The Longshots ($4.3 million)
Mamma Mia! ($4.3 million)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($4.1 million)

I only caught one movie this week: Bottle Shock (3½ stars). There's nothing here that's going to blow you out of the water, but it's a charming flick with good acting and a heartwarming ending that you know is coming but that's done in such a way that you love it anyway. I must admit, though, I did want to pull Alan Rickman aside and explain the difference between a French 'r' and the pseudo-Italian 'r' he was using every time he had to speak French, but that's a nitpick that will go unnoticed by most of the population, I'm sure.

I spent a lot of my free time this week (of which there wasn't much) devouring Watchmen. It's a compelling read, and I'll go ahead and throw my hat in with everyone else who highly recommends it. Also, the trailer makes a lot more sense (and looks exponentially more amazing) now.

In lieu of more mini movie reviews, I'll leave you with this (surprisingly accurate, at least for me) quiz I came across. While initially disappointed that my personality's corresponding font is so boring, I decided it was actually fitting enough, being a screenwriter and all (though technically I write in Final Draft's version of Courier).

You Are Courier New

You have a deep appreciation for tradition and history.

You don't eschew modernity, but you do have a deep reverence for the past.

You are very literate. It's likely you enjoy writing and reading.

Some people may feel you're a bit cold, but you just have high standards for who you hang out with.

What Font Are You?

Box Office Predictions: 22 August 2008

2008-08-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Better late than never. I blame the lack of anything notable opening. Wide releases include The House Bunny, Death Race, The Rocker and The Longshots, none of which managed to crack "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. I'm putting The House Bunny at No. 3 only because the target market is different from pretty much everything else playing.

Official Predictions:
1. Tropic Thunder
2. The Dark Knight
3. The House Bunny

I'm spending my weekend doing edits on Mute so I can send it out to my beta readers on Sunday. With nothing to draw me to the theatre, it should be a productive weekend.

Dialog Study No. 1

2008-08-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to listen to day-to-day dialog lately as an exercise to hopefully improve my writing. Whenever I hear something unique, catchy or well-said, I take the opportunity to write it down as I would write it in screenplay or prose format. From time to time, I hope to feature these bits of dialog here. And so...

Because I lack the knowledge and couldn't quickly find it via google, I present to you with sketchy formatting (that most likely won't even show up in RSS) Dialog Study No. 1.

SISTERLY LOVE

The scene: Kate, 16, has just told Sarah, 25, that she can borrow her nearly-brand-new car to drive to work the next day so that Sarah does not blow out a tire and die on her way to work.

SARAH

See, if I weren't around, who would you hang out with?

KATE

Kenzie.

SARAH

OK, well, who would you work out with?

KATE

Crystal.

SARAH

All right, all right. But what about all of our dorky jokes?
Who would do those with you?

Kate considers the question for a moment.

KATE

You're right. I'd be so much cooler.

SARAH
(sadly)

You so would be.

End Scene.

Recap: 17 August 2008

2008-08-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to peg the top three this week, as Tropic Thunder finally dethroned The Dark Knight.

Tropic Thunder ($26 million)
The Dark Knight ($16.8 million)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars ($15.5 million)
Mirrors ($11.1 million)
Pineapple Express ($10 million)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($8.6 million)
Mamma Mia! ($6.5 million)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 ($5.9 million)
Step Brothers ($5 million)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona ($3.7 million)

What I Watched:

Barton Fink (3 stars): I was entertained. John Goodman was great, as always, and John Turturro delivered as well, but I wasn't really sure what the point was other than the movie industry sucks.
Wilde (3½ stars): A fairly standard biopic with excellent performances and a compelling story. It was interesting to hear the film makers talking about DVDs and Web sites as new media in the special features. Things have come quite a long way in 10 years.
Step Brothers (2½ stars): I was forced to see this because of a deal I made with my sister a few weeks ago, and I was pleased that it wasn't nearly as bad as I was dreading. That being said, it wasn't all that great either. I chuckled throughout it, and I daresay I even laughed quite a bit during a few scenes, but I was hardly in stitches. That being said, there are worse (and better) ways to spend a couple of hours.
Tropic Thunder (4 stars): I've been looking forward to this movie, and it didn't disappoint. It's gruesome, hilarious, and it even borders on touching at times. Ben Stiller is finally funny again, Robert Downey Jr. is a riot, and Jay Baruchel steals the scene whenever he gets the opportunity.

I know I said I'd be seeing Bottle Shock this weekend, but fear not; I'm actually seeing it Monday with the family instead.

What I Read:
I've finally finished the three books I've been reading for the past [insert embarrassingly long timeframe here]. Last up was Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. It didn't seem quite as polished as Stardust, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. The end was perfect. I'm also tempted to pull out a handful of my old troll dolls and station them on my desk at work as a tribute that no one will get except me.

Up next, upon recommendation from both Matt and Jon, along with seemingly the rest of the world, is Alan Moore's graphic novel, Watchmen. This is my first time reading a graphic novel, so it should be an interesting journey.

Box Office Predictions: 15 August 2008

2008-08-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

This week marked the arrival of the highly-anticipated Tropic Thunder. It didn't open to spectacular numbers on Wednesday, but that just means there are more people to see it this weekend.

Of course, I thought Pineapple Express would knock TDK out of the top place last week and was wrong then, too, but it has to happen some time. At least I think it does...

Also opening are Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is set between Episodes II and III of the saga, and horror flick Mirrors starring Kiefer Sutherland.

There are also a smattering of semi-wide releases, including Henry Poole is Here, Brideshead Revisited, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen's latest), and Bottle Shock (which I'll be seeing this weekend).

While none of these will break the Top 5 obviously, they could draw some of the audience away from the bigger releases. So, I've gotta tell you, I'm pretty stumped this week. Oh well, here goes.

Official Predictions:
1. Tropic Thunder
2. The Dark Knight
3. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The 12 Movies Meme, or If I Held a Film Festival

2008-08-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

I came across a meme the other day over at Bamboo Killers that sounded like fun. Originally started at Lazy Eye Theatre, the idea is to post your dream film festival à la Diablo Cody's turn at New Beverly Cinema.

Day One: LOVE 'EM OR HATE 'EM NIGHT
Moulin Rouge!
Elizabethtown

To kick off my festival, I'm starting with two films that seem to split the crowd between passionate love and passionate hate. My feelings about these two films fall into the "love" category, which is appropriate since this is my imaginary film festival.

Day Two: TIM BURTON, JOHNNY DEPP & SHARP OBJECTS NIGHT
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Edward Scissorhands

The most recent Burton-Depp collaboration followed by the first one seemed an appropriate way to pay homage to the pairing that has nearly become a genre in and of itself.

Day Three: SIBLINGS NIGHT
The War
Summer Stock

For Siblings Night, I polled my sisters for their picks. What came out of that was two films featuring siblings from my siblings that are generally underappreciated. I'm taking my middle sister's word for that on the first pick, which I haven't seen since it came out. The second one is a Judy Garland-Gene Kelly musical that is really quite charming. It's my youngest sister's favorite movie, and I actually prefer it over the better-known Singin' in the Rain.

Day Four: FAIRYTALE NIGHT
Stardust
Ever After

I originally had The Princess Bride slotted in Ever After's spot for Fairytale Night, but I think fewer people have seen Ever After. I think both of my choices are underappreciated, but, more importantly, they're both a lot of fun. Ever After had quite an influence on one of my first screenplays, and Stardust is going to have a major influence on what I'm writing for NaNoWriMo this year as well.

Day Five: INDIE BUT GOODIE NIGHT
Once
Playing by Heart

While it's grown in popularity, too many people still have not seen Once. As for my second pick, I think the only people who have ever heard of this movie are people I've told about it. I found it during the height of my X-Files mania when I was exploring the filmographies of Gillian Anderson (who stars) and David Duchovny. The cast is really phenomenal: Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Madeleine Stowe, Jay Mohr, Ellen Burstyn, Jon Stewart, and a very young Angelina Jolie, among others.

Day Six: THE CLASSICS NIGHT
Casablanca
The Wizard of Oz

And we end with two undeniable classics. I don't think either one of these needs much explanation. It just felt right to end with two paragons of cinema, and these are the two that jumped to mind. They also made this list of the Top 50 Movie Endings, which seemed fitting for the last night of my imaginary film festival.

So, there you have it. This little exercise has made me wish I had my own little theatre so I could actually run festivals like this. Alas, the start-up cash for such a venture eludes me for the time being. Maybe some day. For now, maybe I'll just have to run my own one-man, one-viewer film festival in my own home.

Recap: 10 August 2008

2008-08-10T19:16:00.001-07:00

The Dark Knight, despite nearly everyone's predictions, reigns again.

The Dark Knight ($26 million)
Pineapple Express ($22.4 million)
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($16.1 million)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 ($10.8 million)
Step Brothers ($8.9 million)
Mamma Mia! ($8.1 million)
Journey to the Center of the Earth ($4.9 million)
Hancock ($3.3 million)
Swing Vote ($3.1 million)
WALL-E ($3 million)

It was a slow movie week for me, but here's What I Watched:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2½ stars): After crying our eyes out during the first installment, my sisters and I were hoping for a similar tug on the heartstrings. Sadly, the sequel didn't deliver, and nary a tear was shed. It was still decent enough, but it seemed as if the writer had trouble tying the myriad threads of the story together. As it was, it was pretty much like watching four separate movies intercut with one another. That being said, the performances were pretty solid for the most part.
Pineapple Express (2½ stars): I've been having trouble pinpointing exactly what went wrong here, I can I can't seem to put my finger on it. The movie seemed to move at a snail's pace. There were some story elements that could have been cut that might have led to a tighter, funnier film. However, Seth Rogen's performance was typically enjoyable, and James Franco was wonderful.
Pride and Prejudice [BBC mini-series] (3 stars): I actually enjoyed this version of Jane Austen's novel more than the 2005 version starring Keira Knightley, mostly because it followed the book nearly to the page, or at least to my recollection of it. It was also nice to see a different side of Colin Firth.

There were a few reasons my movie-watching was lower than usual this week: 1) I am tired of scanning and thus avoided it a bit more than usual this past week, plus I started in on Season 1 of The X-Files; 2) I left my three Netflix DVDs at work over the weekend; 3) I spent most of the weekend working feverishly on Mute to get it ready to send out to my alpha readers (it went out in the wee hours of Sunday morning); and 4) I've been trying to finish up the three books I've been reading. Which takes us to...

What I've Been Reading:

I'm happy to report I finally finished Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume last week, and just before writing this post I finished up a collection of Oscar Wilde's major works that included The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lady Windermere's Fan, Salomé, An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Ballad of Reading Gaol.

I don't want to do a full review of either book here, but suffice to say, both are certainly worth picking up. Jitterbug Perfume is a wonderful study in how to turn a phrase. My only major complaint is that the story would have moved along more quickly had the major players not had to stop to have sex so often. Beyond that, I was charmed almost against my will at times by the story of Alobar and his adventures.

As for Oscar Wilde, he is a master at saying one thing and meaning another. He is possibly the most out-of-context-quoted author I've ever come across. And something tells me the notion would make him chuckle. I think I've already made clear my love for Dorian Gray, but it's worth noting that The Ballad of Reading Gaol is one of the most potent and heart-wrenching poems I've ever read. For as much as Oscar Wilde is known for his wit, it's evident through his writing (both comic and otherwise) that there was a sincerity and sensitivity in his manner that has the capacity to make your heart swell or break. I am now and forever an ardent fan.

Box Office Predictions: 8 August 2008

2008-08-08T04:34:00.000-07:00

Our wide releases this week include Apatow stoner action comedy Pineapple Express and unapologetically chick flick The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Both of these movies opened on Wednesday, and it looks like Pineapple Express is finally going to dethrone The Dark Knight.

Official Predictions
1. Pineapple Express
2. The Dark Knight
3. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

On a side note, they've also released the first promotional pic for next year's Dorian Gray.

I was a little nervous about the casting choice of Colin Firth as Lord Henry (in my opinion, he was perfectly suited for Basil), but this picture gives me a bit more confidence. And really, between Colin Firth and Ben Barnes, it's hard to complain too much.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my favorite novels, and I'm ridiculously excited about this film adaptation. So, fair warning, you'll have to excuse my occasional squee-induced off-topic postings about this movie for probably the next year or so.

Short Fiction: The House

2008-08-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

The result of The Schadenfreude Challenge¹ with Matt, I present to you my first-ever complete effort at short fiction, entitled The House.

"Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed in them."

— Henry David Thoreau

"People make one happy, not houses? I do not think so. Houses are more to be trusted than people."

-- Elizabeth Aston

The House

Kay wakes from a naive sleep, filled with technicolor rainbows and poppy fields and cinnamon swirls. With her lids shut tight, her mind's eye desperately grasping the vestiges of that innocent dream world, she rolls over and reaches for the strong arm of her husband. Decorated by a silver bracelet from which a dozen charms dangle, her hand finds only air, then the sheet, then the pillow.

Faced with such an unexpected and unpleasant reality, Kay reluctantly pries open her eyelids. Her hand has not deceived her. She sits up.

Her unlined brow furrows, putting on a show of confusion with one particularly deep crease starring as frustration. The cast is quickly booted off the stage in favor of a chorus of crinkling around her eyes, the audience of her mind favoring amusement instead.

Maybe John's bringing me breakfast in bed!, she thinks. Butterfly wings beat her stomach. She lies back down, feigning sleep lest she ruin her own surprise. The minutes pass. They choose captains and pick teams. They engage in a rousing game of kickball. They take their balls and go home. And still Kay waits.

Giddy anticipation fades to a light slumber. Finally, her stomach, having run out of patience before her brain, announces its complaint with an annoyed grumble. It cues the original cast, and the deep crease takes center stage on her forehead for its encore performance. She sits up again. Her eyes catch the absence of light emanating from her alarm clock. She stands, berating the clock with her stare. Her eyes catch another anomaly. A black plug sits idly on the wooden floor, daydreaming of an electrifying union long since past. Kay picks it up. The plug hopes for, longs for, aches for its rendezvous with the socket. Always the hopeless romantic, Kay gently inserts the prongs into the only place they've ever felt truly alive.

But the spark is gone. The clock remains stubbornly unmoved by the plug's overtures. Still crouched, eyes fixed on the failed relationship in front of her, Kay calls out.

"Johnny!"

The house answers, but, having no vocal cords, goes unheard. Kay, always a pillar of modesty if no longer one of chastity, rises and pulls on the pastel pink terry cloth robe she'd discarded onto the chair beside the closet before sliding into bed last night.

"Johnny!" she calls again, the deep line on her forehead now making a cameo appearance in the tone of her voice.

The house tries again to tell her. She only hears the creak of the boards under her feet. She does not understand their language.

She plods down the stairs, her bare feet slapping against the wood.

"Johnny?" she calls again. The vertical blinds sway, shaking their heads sadly.

Kay wanders into the kitchen, the lines around her mouth spidering into a show of perplexion. Her eyes grasp a stark white rectangle where only a deep cherry should be. She retrieves the paper from the dining room table . Embers of teenager-in-love passion burn deep into her skin, and, despite being well out of her teens, she swoons at the sight of John's handwriting.

She starts with dessert, savoring his signature and its preface proclaiming "all my love." The paper scratches against her skin, scoffing at the words. Kay ignores it. She instead digs into the decadent appetizer: "My dearest Kay."

The industrial gray light fixture above her head sighs. Sleek and masculine, hanging from exposed rafters, it was the only bit of decorating John had been allowed. The light fixture was ashamed of its heritage.

By the time Kay finishes the introduction and the finale, she is nearly too full to consider the main course itself. Out of politeness, she nibbles at John's explanation that he'd been called away while the stars still twinkled in the sky.

Kay does not think much of it. She never had. He's a doctor, and these nighttime excursions are to be expected. At least that's what television and movies and John himself had always told her, and she had no reason to doubt those gods.

The spring back in her step, she springs back up to their bedroom. She has grand plans for her day, and she wants to look good whilst accomplishing them. And, more importantly, she wants to seduce her husband when he returns home. The electricity can wait. She has other circuits to ignite.

As the water rushes to the shower from the depths, it makes an inquiry to the pipes. The pipes hiss a bitter reply. The water resolves to make Kay feel beautiful even if--and perhaps because--her husband so often fails to do so.

As the water rushes over her, conspiring with the soap, Kay admires her own glistening skin.

"There's no way he'll be able to resist me tonight," she says aloud. The tiled wall hears the rest of her thought, though she does not voice it: "... again."

While Kay half-reminisces and half-fantasizes about tender caresses from her husband, the components of the house they share hold court. Collectively, the house decides it can take no more. A plan had been set in motion by the circuit breaker. The house would see it through to its end.

Back in her robe and still damp from the shower, Kay begins laying out her clothes. A casual but flattering green dress, with buttons undone only enough to hint at indecency--and then only from the right angle--would be her bait. It had worked before.

She removes it from the hanger as gently as she imagines John removing her bra tonight. A smile plays on her lips, and a mischievous twinkle glints in her matching green eyes. She continues her fantasy, laying the green dress on the bed in the manner she hopes to be once the green dress has served its purpose.

Next, she considers her lingerie. She browses the catalog in her mind and settles on her favorite--and the one that had proven to be John's in the past. She imagines her friends at church discovering she owns something so blatantly sexual and petitioning on the spot for her excommunication. A giggle escapes her, and she is not sorry for it.

She moves to the dresser she shares with John. The top two drawers are dedicated to her unmentionables; the bottom two house John's, and the drawers are embarrassed by just how unmentionable they are.

Kay tugs on the brass handle of the second drawer. It does not open. She and the drawer engage in an epic battle of tug and war for a full three minutes before she falls to the floor in defeat and the drawer, in its glorious moment of victory, remains shut.

"It must be jammed," she says aloud. If that's what you choose to believe..., the drawer thinks smugly.

She sighs and moves to John's first drawer. It offers its own challenge.

"You, too?" she asks, incredulous. Its staunch resistance against her second tug confirms its stance on the issue.

Desperate, she moves to the bottom drawer. Always a dreamer, the drawer imagines Kay as a young King Arthur, and it styles itself as a bejeweled, destiny-laced sword. Accordingly, it slides out at her touch.

"At least someone's on my side," Kay notes. The exasperated tone in her voice does not go unnoticed by the drawers, who sit indignantly in their grooves.

She pulls out John's bottom drawer 'til it teeters dangerously on its precipice. She feels at the bottom of the drawer on top, unintentionally shuffling John's boxers around, disturbing evidence never meant to be uncovered.

The dresser shudders as Kay's charm bracelet catches on a piece of lace. The dresser remembers watching John as he debated keeping the artifact now clinging to Kay's wrist.

"What could it hurt?" he'd whispered. "She'll never find them, and, if she does, I can play it off as a gift for her or something."

The dresser remembers his wicked smile as he believed his own justification. It had watched as he'd tucked the black lace thong into the least-worn pair of boxers he owned. The dresser had cringed as John had made it an accomplice by shoving the boxers into the back corner of the bottom drawer and covering them with several other pairs. In the dresser's mind, the memory evokes the notion of a dog covering its shit with dirt.

The dresser feels sick with pity as Kay's arm emerges from its belly, wearing another woman's underwear as a new charm on her bracelet.

At first, a glimpse of amusement plays the lines around her eyes before they snap in shock at the realization that this lace garment is not hers. She picks it off delicately, holding as little of the offensive lace as possible between her thumb and forefinger.

Her own blood applies a rouge to her cheeks, and her brain feels like a head of cabbage on St. Patrick's Day. Her breath becomes deliberate as her autonomic reflexes cease to function properly. She tosses the underwear onto the regretful dresser and runs out of the bedroom.

She is suddenly overcome with a primal, urgent need for fresh air. The house, however good its intentions, is stifling her. She arrives at the back door.

"There's more you need to see," it tells her.

She grunts in frustration at the door's refusal to cooperate.

"Please!" she yells. The door stands its ground.

She runs again, feet battering the floor, this time down the path to the front door. She does not realize it is in cahoots with the back door.

Desperate, drawing rickety breaths, she runs into John's office to the window overlooking the garden. She rips open the shades, nearly pulling them off the rods, much to their chagrin.

"Don't shoot the messenger!" they insist.

At the sight of the boards haphazardly nailed across the window, the thong is momentarily forgotten. Kay's stomach turns over in her abdominal cavity. The rouge retreats in favor of a seasick olive green. She fingers the lock on the window clumsily.

Against he protests of the pane, the lock replies, "What can it hurt?" It unlatches at Kay's touch.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," the pane replies.

"This is no time to get Biblical," the lock snorts.

The pane shudders in agreement as Kay tries to force open the frame holding it. "You're right. That time was long ago."

Kay grabs the phone on John's desk and punches John's number into its face. Her ear is greeted with silence. She drops the phone to the floor. Being dead, it doesn't mind much.

Kay stumbles back from the boarded window, suddenly afraid it might attack her. Despite the boards' pleas that they're only trying to help, she flees from them.

Her journey takes her to every window in the house. Each one proves complicit in the plot. Each drapery steps aside, every blind rolls up, each painted eyelid lifts to reveal a wooden eye staring back at her.

By the time she reaches the last window, Kay is no longer running. She is resigned to her role, though she is uncertain as to what it might be. She begins to believe she might be dreaming. Yes, she must be dreaming. That explains everything, she thinks. John is surely sleeping beside her, his arm draped over her abdomen. The sun must still be sleeping, and her house is once again a gentle cocoon and not a fortress in which she is the proverbial trapped princess. Most important, there is no incriminating lace thong in her husband's underwear drawer.

"I should get dressed," she says, no longer caring to keep her thoughts inside her mind. "Who knows how long this dream will last?"

She returns to the scene of the crime. The thong remains, taunting her, but the dresser is on her side once again, it seems. She opens her drawer and pulls out a satin bra and underwear. Their shiny, pale blue looks positively Puritan compared to the lace phantasm on her dresser. She no longer fears excommunication. Determined to ignore it, she turns away from the underwear and walks to the bathroom. The house sighs sadly, but it is unsurprised.

The terry cloth robe once again discarded on the chair, Kay now stands in front of the mirror in what she'd once viewed as her most powerful tool of seduction: her birthday suit. Where once her eyes took her on a greatest hits tour, they now push her through a haunted house.

An old scar turns into a mad scientist flinging colored noodles disguised as brains. A wrinkle, barely visible, becomes moving eyes in a classical painting. The extra insulation on her thighs turns into a chainsaw-wielding psychopath bent on tearing her apart.

She makes it out of the haunted house alive, but not unscathed. Tears wet her cheeks as she pulls on the satin underwear. The mirror tries to tell her she's beautiful, but it is clumsy, and its compliments only serve to point out the contrast to what Kay has just seen with her own eyes.

Kay pulls on the green dress. She forgoes shoes. She grabs the thong from the dresser, no longer bothering to touch as little of it as possible. The house begins to fear its plan may have unintended consequences.

As she passes by the boarded widows, shafts of light stream through the cracks, trying to impart hope. Kay is unfazed by them.

She sits in the executive leather chair in John's office. She drops the lace underwear onto the desk blotter calendar. They engage in a staring contest.

"This isn't my fault," the underwear tells her.

"It's not my fault," Kay retorts.

Kay rests her head on her crossed arms, and her crossed arms rest on John's desk. Her bracelet begins excavating her forehead. It finds nothing, but its ditches remain when Kay lifts her head from the desk some time later. Anger casts rarely-seen shadows on her face.

"I want to wake up!" she screams. She doesn't listen to the house, who gently tries to inform her that she is, indeed, already awake. Instead, she pounds her fist on the desk.

The drawer to her right rattles a whisper in her direction. It is open only a centimeter, but the invitation is definitive and obvious. Kay pulls it open, and, ignoring any sense of foreplay, she thrusts her hand straight to the back and fumbles for she knows not what. Tired of her groping and just wanting to get back to sleep, the drawer offers up a crumpled piece of paper. A bitter smile forges new paths on Kay's face. She takes the ball of dead tree with her as she exits the office.

At the dining room table, Kay flattens the paper and lays it beside the note left for her. She looks up at the exposed rafters she once thought beautiful and rustic. They now strike her as painfully practical.

Her eyes travel down to the two sheets of paper. Long-lost cousins? No, twins separated at birth, perhaps. One clean, unblemished and pure; the other roughly-handled, smudged and used. This time, she starts at the beginning.

"My dearest Kay," one reads. "My dearest Jane," declares the other.

She skips to the end. They are signed with the same lie.

The body no longer matters to her, but she offers each a glance. One is an excuse for being gone; the other is an excuse for being unable to leave. Kay's eyes once again travel upward.

"I've got to wake up," she whispers. The house reads her thoughts and weeps for her.

Hours later, John cheerfully walks up the path to the front door wearing traces of lipstick and perfume--among other things--that only a forensic scientist could detect. He is always careful. The house knows this, too. It has seen him plan, seen him carry out, and occasionally been forced to drive the getaway car in his crimes. But no longer.

John opens the door. It whines a smarmy hello. He steps inside. The floor boards creak their I-told-you-so's. He notices that all the window shades are drawn and that light is streaming into the house. He thinks it strange but pushes it out of his mind in favor of more pleasurable thoughts. The air conditioner kicks on, scolding him. He turns the corner into the dining room.

The rope is pleased to be in service once again, having long sat in the cellar unused. John's eyes slide from the rafter down the length of the rope to the makeshift necklace under his wife's chin. His eyes dart to the two letters below her bare feet. She sways gently above them in a morbid but strangely enchanting dance. John declines to join her and instead falls to his knees. The house stands still, but John's world spins. The house screams at him, accuses him, blames him, sentences him. But he hears nothing except his own agony as it escapes from his lungs, travels up his windpipe, and sweeps over his vocal cords, finally entering the world as a pinched, vibrato-filled wail.

¹The prompt that was the catalyst for this story was, "Female main character awakens to find her husband vanished and her country house boarded up from the outside."