The 'Net will be a-buzzin' tomorrow, so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring:
First of all, if you haven't seen the episode, and you want to be surprised, read no further...
Now that we've gotten that over with, I guess I can begin. This may seem a little roundabout, but trust me, I eventually get to a point...
Back when the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was released, a reporter (who obviously wasn't a fan of the film) asked Kubrick (and I'm paraphrasing): "There are lots of long, slow takes of things moving in space, set to music, that last for several minutes at a time. Honestly, I was bored. Why on earth would you put something like this in a film?" Kubrick's response: "Because I can."
The medium of film has had a long history of what I like to call "fucking with the audience" - basically putting whatever one desires in a film, and not thinking of the potential viewers so much as just simply fulfilling one's personal artistic goal, others opinions be damned. When this fails, it's catastrophe. When it succeeds, it's a bold artistic statement. What does this have to do with the final episode of The Sopranos? Simply this: In perhaps the most anticipated finale in modern TV history, the last image the viewer sees at the end of an unresolved chain of events is a ten-second long black screen. David Chase has probably the biggest balls I've ever seen.
Chase has made a bold artistic statement, and, without doubt, he's going to catch a lot of flack for it, for years to come. Even as I watched these final unexpected seconds, I felt the way most viewers probably did: I was first immensely surprised, and then felt a little cheated. Eventually, as I sat and re-visited the chain of events in my head, I realized how perfect the finale really was. A series which had become popular in its earlier seasons for its mix of entertaining spurts of violence and personal family drama, The Sopranos had become criticized by fans in its final season for becoming overly character-driven and dialogue-heavy, and this final episode was just the cherry on top of this very different season. To do anything else would have been a cop-out. This past season was the equivalent of a monologue at the end of a film or a soliloquy at the end of a Shakespeare play. Drawn out to full-season length, I can understand why some people were irritated with strong feelings of anticipation. The final few seconds seemed to be a buildup to a murder, but with bookies in Vegas giving 20-to-1 odds that Tony would get killed, would you give the public what they wanted, or would you take the high road, giving them something to think about instead?
What do you do when you're the most successful television show of the last ten years? You do what you want.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Script excerpt from "A Simple Choice"
EXT. OPEN FIELD – DAY
A group of dozens of mourners sit in folding chairs, set up in rows in an open, grass field. A makeshift stage has been set up at the front, on which Brian is standing.
BRIAN
Nokia was not a gay man, but he cared about us, and he cared about our cause. He tried to help us. He tried to help his friends. He had no ego. Not a selfish bone in his body. He was a straight man who counted gay men among his best friends. That, in itself, is a wonderful and extraordinary thing. If more people could be like Nokia, and accept people’s differences, we’d be living in a much happier world. I’d like to read something now. At the funeral, his mother gave me this book. It’s his journal. I asked her if I could read something, and she accepted. She’s in the audience now. Mrs. Cowan, please stand up.
A WOMAN stands up, and a huge, thunderous applause rises from the crowd. The sound dissipates, and Brian goes on:
BRIAN
This is a poem, dated exactly one year ago today. I doubt he imagined a year ago that we’d all be standing here, doing this... But in that year, he accomplished something great. And with that said, I now read to you something he wrote, entitled, “This Afternoon”...
During the reading of the poem, the camera focuses on small groups of the crowd at once, cutting every few seconds.
BRIAN
“I want a girl with red hair, and a personality to match
Who smells of suntan lotion and burnt perfume
On long lazy afternoons,
On long, sleepless nights,
On curving roads that stretched into the haze
My only friend was the sky.
Turn the music up... loud, loud, loud...
For all the days
For all the nights
For all the words that flowed right through me
Like little bumps in the road.”
A group of dozens of mourners sit in folding chairs, set up in rows in an open, grass field. A makeshift stage has been set up at the front, on which Brian is standing.
BRIAN
Nokia was not a gay man, but he cared about us, and he cared about our cause. He tried to help us. He tried to help his friends. He had no ego. Not a selfish bone in his body. He was a straight man who counted gay men among his best friends. That, in itself, is a wonderful and extraordinary thing. If more people could be like Nokia, and accept people’s differences, we’d be living in a much happier world. I’d like to read something now. At the funeral, his mother gave me this book. It’s his journal. I asked her if I could read something, and she accepted. She’s in the audience now. Mrs. Cowan, please stand up.
A WOMAN stands up, and a huge, thunderous applause rises from the crowd. The sound dissipates, and Brian goes on:
BRIAN
This is a poem, dated exactly one year ago today. I doubt he imagined a year ago that we’d all be standing here, doing this... But in that year, he accomplished something great. And with that said, I now read to you something he wrote, entitled, “This Afternoon”...
During the reading of the poem, the camera focuses on small groups of the crowd at once, cutting every few seconds.
BRIAN
“I want a girl with red hair, and a personality to match
Who smells of suntan lotion and burnt perfume
On long lazy afternoons,
On long, sleepless nights,
On curving roads that stretched into the haze
My only friend was the sky.
Turn the music up... loud, loud, loud...
For all the days
For all the nights
For all the words that flowed right through me
Like little bumps in the road.”
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Loveline
Seeing as I've downloaded a whole shitload of Loveline episodes lately (about 1500 hours worth), here's a few clips:
Clip 1
A fan called up and basically made dozens of in-joke references to the show, stretching back at least the past five years. To the uninitiated, the following will make no sense whatsoever. In my case, I understood everything he said. Yes, I listen to this show way too much.
Clip 2
Clip 3
Monday, June 04, 2007
Friday, June 01, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Movie music quiz
I was bored tonight, so I took a few minutes and did this...
Below there are 8 clips of film music scores - try and guess which movie each is from. Some are pretty obvious, others are more obscure.
Below there are 8 clips of film music scores - try and guess which movie each is from. Some are pretty obvious, others are more obscure.
Some hints:
- The movies range from the years 1975-2001
- Four of the clips are John Williams scores (and three of those are Spielberg movies)
Click here to open the comment box in another window, so you can listen and answer at the same time.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Recently, I downloaded the Almost Famous soundtrack...
Like the Freaks and Geeks soundtrack, I took the route of downloading all of the music from the film, song by song, instead of the official soundtrack, which contains a minimal amount of music from the production. In both cases, it was well worth it.
What follows is a list of every song in the film, in order (based on Crowe's original screenplay - thus, that's why Stairway is on there, even though it's not in the film):
Like the Freaks and Geeks soundtrack, I took the route of downloading all of the music from the film, song by song, instead of the official soundtrack, which contains a minimal amount of music from the production. In both cases, it was well worth it.
What follows is a list of every song in the film, in order (based on Crowe's original screenplay - thus, that's why Stairway is on there, even though it's not in the film):
- Brenton Wood - The Oogum Boogum Song
- Simon and Garfunkel - America
- The Who - Sparks
- The Stooges - Search and Destroy
- Todd Rundgren - It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference
- Black Sabbath - Paranoid
- Jethro Tull - Teacher
- Yes - I've Seen All Good People: Your Move
- The Beach Boys - Feel Flows
- Joni Mitchell - River
- Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf
- Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
- Pete Droge - Small Time Blues
- Thunderclap Newman - Something in the Air
- Little Feat - Easy to Slip
- The Raspberries - Go All The Way
- The Seeds - Mr. Farmer
- Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
- The Allman Brothers Band - One Way Out (Live)
- The Guess Who - Albert Flasher
- Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man
- Led Zeppelin - That's the Way
- Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
- Fleetwood Mac - Future Games
- Deep Purple - Burn
- Blodwyn Pig - Dear Jill
- Elton John - Tiny Dancer
- MC5 - Looking At You
- Steely Dan - Reeling In The Years
- David Bowie - I'm Waiting For the Man (Live)
- Cat Stevens - The Wind
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
- Clarence Carter - Slip Away
- Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop
- Free - Wishing Well
- Elton John - Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters
- Chicago - Colour My World
- Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
- Neil Young - Cortez The Killer
- Led Zeppelin - Bron-Yr-Aur
- Led Zeppelin - The Rain Song
- Led Zeppelin - Tangerine
- The Beach Boys - Feel Flows
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Great news today (well, for me at least)...
A few months ago, I was in the middle of downloading ALL of the Adam Carolla-era Loveline shows from this site. Unfortunately, it was shut down before I could finish downloading.
Today, a torrent was put up which contains ALL of the shows! For those interested, click here (At-work warning: the site, TorrentSpy, sometimes contains explicit ads).
It's going to be a big download (over 44 gigs of shows), but well worth it.
A few months ago, I was in the middle of downloading ALL of the Adam Carolla-era Loveline shows from this site. Unfortunately, it was shut down before I could finish downloading.
Today, a torrent was put up which contains ALL of the shows! For those interested, click here (At-work warning: the site, TorrentSpy, sometimes contains explicit ads).
It's going to be a big download (over 44 gigs of shows), but well worth it.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Just wanted to point out that we're not even into the summer movie season yet (which officially starts on Memorial Day weekend) and we've actually had some great films so far this year.
Usually the studios dump their crap into theaters between February and May, release their big blockbusters between June and August, lots of terrible horror movies are released between September and October, and then the awards season releases begin in November and end in January (where small films then open in wide release).
Well, we're in the middle of May, and so far this year we've had the unusual pleasure of seeing movies like Grindhouse, The Lookout, Zodiac (which is no less than a masterpiece), The Hoax, Waitress, and 28 Weeks Later. And even better, in the weeks ahead we have Knocked Up (Judd Apatow's new movie; June 1st), Fay Grim, Once, The Wendell Baker Story (all May 18th), The Golden Door, Ten Canoes (both May 25th), Rescue Dawn (July 4th), and many, many more smaller films. And that's just the next couple of months. Hopefully this means a good year for movies.
Usually the studios dump their crap into theaters between February and May, release their big blockbusters between June and August, lots of terrible horror movies are released between September and October, and then the awards season releases begin in November and end in January (where small films then open in wide release).
Well, we're in the middle of May, and so far this year we've had the unusual pleasure of seeing movies like Grindhouse, The Lookout, Zodiac (which is no less than a masterpiece), The Hoax, Waitress, and 28 Weeks Later. And even better, in the weeks ahead we have Knocked Up (Judd Apatow's new movie; June 1st), Fay Grim, Once, The Wendell Baker Story (all May 18th), The Golden Door, Ten Canoes (both May 25th), Rescue Dawn (July 4th), and many, many more smaller films. And that's just the next couple of months. Hopefully this means a good year for movies.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Saw The Wind That Shakes the Barley last night. Good film, and definitely deserving of its Palme d'Or win. One complaint, however. When are filmmakers going to realize that when a film features people talking with a thick, heavy accent, that presenting the film with subtitles would be extremely helpful! I was able to make out most of the dialogue in this film, but there are several passages in the movie - especially when people are whispering - where several minutes go by without a clue as to what people are saying. That said, things get much easier to understand as the film goes on and you get more used to the thick Irish accents. The situation is not nearly as bad as Ken Loach's previous film Sweet Sixteen, where it is utterly impossible to understand the dialogue through the amazingly thick Scottish accents of the actors. Hotel Rwanda is another example of a film that would have benefited immensely from subtitles. Keep in mind, the films mentioned have subtitles on their DVD releases, but were released in theaters without them. I know, it's real movie-geek stuff here, but even just on a basic level, it just baffles my mind that a director wouldn't want to make sure that all viewers were able to understand every line of dialogue. (A funny side-note: Without going into too much detail and giving anything away, the emotional impact of The Wind That Shakes the Barley's ending depends on you having correctly heard a dialogue exchange about halfway through the movie. I was able to discern it, but I'm not sure how many others did.)
Monday, May 07, 2007
Tonight I checked out (i.e., downloaded) the new Elliott Smith album, "New Moon", which is due out in stores tomorrow. It is a collection of rarities and unreleased material he recorded before his death.
A couple of gripes about this release: First of all, the album is being released on 2 CDs, but all of the material quite easily fits on one CD, with time to spare. The only reason I can see for this is to make some extra money by selling a 2-CD release, therefore upping the price tag, as most double-disc albums cost more. I know most of the money from this album is going to charity, but it still seems a little low to me. Second, there is still quite a bit of unreleased Smith material that is not on this album. I have most of it from bootlegs, but it still would be nice to have it in decent quality. Anyways, it's nice to now be able to hear "High Times" and "New Monkey" without it being all garbled and shit.
A couple of gripes about this release: First of all, the album is being released on 2 CDs, but all of the material quite easily fits on one CD, with time to spare. The only reason I can see for this is to make some extra money by selling a 2-CD release, therefore upping the price tag, as most double-disc albums cost more. I know most of the money from this album is going to charity, but it still seems a little low to me. Second, there is still quite a bit of unreleased Smith material that is not on this album. I have most of it from bootlegs, but it still would be nice to have it in decent quality. Anyways, it's nice to now be able to hear "High Times" and "New Monkey" without it being all garbled and shit.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Hey Matt! Thanks for the comment on the last post... glad to hear you liked the script. I tried to pay tribute to your brilliant article, which was both funny and amazingly poignant. For those of you that don't know, Matt is the person behind X-Entertainment.com, a wonderful site that focuses not just on nostalgia, but, well, just about everything you can think of... Visit it. Read it. Love it.
Anyways, I'll try to keep everyone posted on the development of the short...
Anyways, I'll try to keep everyone posted on the development of the short...
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Someone brought to my attention a short film festival taking place in July... I think I'm going to attempt to get something finshed for it... Here's the latest draft of what will probably end up being the short:
"DR. SBAITSO"
Screenplay By
Andrew Leavitt
Based on an article by
Matt Caracappa
TITLES OVER BLACK
CUT IN:
EXT. BACKYARD - DAY
Kids are playing, laughing, etc. in the backyard next door. CAMERA then pans to the left, revealing MATT watching them from a window. Matt leaves the window.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – THAT MOMENT
Matt walks to the other side of the room, and lies on his back, on his bed. CAMERA then goes to an OVERHEAD view, as Matt looks up towards the ceiling. Cut to his POV, as we see the curtain above him blowing in the open window.
MATT (V.O.)
There was a period of my life when I didn’t have many friends.
(Start Bach’s “Minuet in G" - song loops continuously)
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM - DAY
Matt is looking in the mirror, looking at himself and fixing his hair, etc. Shot ends with him simply looking at himself.
MATT (V.O.)
As a teenager, I was awkward, nervous, and impossibly uncool. The strange thing is, I don’t really regret it. When you have nothing and no one, you tend to appreciate things a little bit more.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Matt is sitting at the computer. CAMERA DOLLIES RIGHT...
MATT (V.O.)
There was one thing, however, which helped me through the tough times of being a total recluse. It was Dr. Sbaitso.
CU on the computer screen (we also hear the Sbaitso “voice” coming through the speakers):
HELLO MATT, MY NAME IS DOCTOR SBAITSO.
I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.
SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
CU on Matt, thinking. CU on the keyboard as he begins typing. Then back to the screen:
>I have no friends.
ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE ANY FRIENDS?
>No, like I said, I DON’T have any friends.
THAT’S NOT MY PROBLEM.
CUT to WIDE SHOT. Matt’s at the computer. DOLLY left.
MATT (V.O.)
Ah, Doctor Sbaitso... I spent countless nights chatting it up with the good doctor. The program was a little game that came with my computer. Dr. Sbaitso was meant to be a sort of virtual “psychiatrist”, talking through text on the screen and a horrendous voice coming through the speakers.
CU on computer screen.
>Look, I need help making friends.
PERHAPS YOUR LOVE FOR FRIENDS WORRIES YOU.
>It does. Maybe you could be my friend?
YOU DON’T SEEM TO BE CERTAIN.
CU on Matt’s face, as he types.
MATT (V.O.)
You would think it had some sort of artificial intelligence, but it really didn’t. He couldn’t understand a thing. All of his responses were basically rephrasings of whatever you said.
WIDE SHOT of Matt, at the computer. CAMERA pushes in.
MATT (V.O.)
I didn’t know any better, and so I used to sit up all night trying to get this computer game to solve all of life’s problems.
CU on computer screen.
>I’m all alone. Nobody likes me.
DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS NORMAL TO BE ALL ALONE NOBODY LIKES ME?
>I wish people didn’t hate me.
WHY EXPRESS THIS STRONG EMOTION. IT’S NOT GOOD FOR YOU.
>It’s true, people can’t stand the sight of me.
I AM BORED, TELL ME SOMETHING MORE EXCITING.
>Well you’re a big help.
ONE MUST BE CRAZY TO EXPECT HELP FROM ME.
>Can’t you tell me how to make friends?
I’LL HAVE TO RESEARCH THAT ONE.
>How long will it take?
KEEP ASKING, YOU WILL FIND THE ANSWER ONE DAY.
CU on Matt, typing.
MATT (V.O.)
Sbaitso’s responses were a mix of non-answers and answers that didn’t make any sense. So, while nobody in their right mind would’ve paid money for Dr. Sbaitso as an actual video game, I credit it with saving my life.
CUT TO:
MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
MONTAGE:
Matt is lying back on his bed. CAMERA PUSH-IN.
DISSOLVE
Matt is looking out the window at the stars/moon.
MATT (V.O.)
You see, these were depressing times for me. The nights seemed longer and bleaker than ever, and each day seemed to be worse than the last.
CUT to Matt on the computer. CAMERA push-in from the side.
MATT (V.O.)
Sometimes, I tried to level with Dr. Sbaitso. I figured that he’d cut the bullshit and start talking to me for real if I made everything sound desperate and important enough. To be honest, I guess I was hoping more that God himself would somehow manifest and start talking through the white text on the screen.
CU on computer screen.
>What is the meaning of life?
I AM BORED, TELL ME SOMETHING MORE EXCITING.
CAMERA pulls back from Matt.
MATT (V.O.)
Of course, none of this worked. Sbaitso was still the same goofy idiot he always was, no matter what I told him. Nevertheless, no matter how ridiculous his responses were, I tried to take them as gospel, and I wracked my brain to conjure up some deep meaning behind his every statement.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CU on computer screen.
>Why are we here, on this earth?
WE ARE HERE.
CU on Matt’s face. A look of confusion.
BEAT.
WIDE SHOT. CAMERA pans from Matt to the open window.
MATT (V.O.)
I didn’t have the instruction manual and I didn’t know that computer programs weren’t magical things capable of supernatural feats. In my mind, there were no limitations to Dr. Sbaitso. I just had to stumble across the secret words and he would give me his undivided attention. Unfortunately, those words didn’t exist.
DISSOLVE TO:
MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
CU on the keyboard, fingers pressing keys...
CAMERA pulls back.
MATT (V.O.)
Sometimes, I’d get on a roll. I’d get eight or nine decent responses from Sbaitso, and gain wrongful confidence that he and I had finally made some kind of connection.
CU on computer screen.
>Why do you think that is? 4
DO YOU LIKE MATH?
MATT (V.O.)
With my guard down, I’d make a typo, and type in a number by mistake, and Sbaitso would go right back to asking me if I liked math. Asshole.
CU on Matt, frustrated.
Back to the screen. Matt repeatedly types the words “fuck you” over and over again.
MATT (V.O.)
Whenever I got frustrated with Sbaitso’s lack of compassion for my important problems, I’d start cursing him out. It felt good. However, Sbaitso was NO advocate of bad language. Whenever such words were spoken, he’d warn you to knock it off. If you didn’t listen, he’d give you something called a “parity error”.
The computer makes a loud beeping sound, and dozens of lines of nonsensical characters flood the screen, followed by the words PARITY ERROR.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CAMERA pans from the open window over to Matt at the computer.
MATT (V.O.)
Seems so stupid, but I managed to sit there for hours with Dr. Sbaitso. He was like a diary with entertainment value. I probably had more than 500 conversations with Dr. Sbaitso during my youth, and I’m pretty sure that each of them ultimately steered towards sex. At that age, I knew very little of the subject, and neither did Dr. Sbaitso.
CU on the computer screen.
>Sex.
AGAIN?
>Sex.
THERE IS AN EXTRA CHARGE FOR TALKING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM
>Sex.
ALWAYS REPEATING
>Sex.
REPHRASE YOURSELF PLEASE.
>Let’s talk about sex, baby.
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT SEX?
>I want to have sex.
SOMETIMES, I WANTED TO HAVE SEX, TOO.
>But you’re a computer. Computers can’t have sex.
DON’T YOU THINK COMPUTERS CAN HELP PEOPLE?
>Not if they can’t have sex.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OTHER INTERESTS.
>I enjoy eating baby heads.
WHY?
DISSOLVE TO:
CAMERA pans across Matt, staring at the screen.
MATT (V.O.)
Sbaitso never seemed to understand me, and I certainly didn’t understand him. But that didn’t stop me from asking questions. When I had nobody else to turn to, I sought the advice of the invisible man behind the screen.
(The looping of “Minuet in G” stops).
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CAMERA pans over to Matt, at the computer.
CU on Matt.
CU on the keyboard, typing.
Then, CU on the screen.
>Why do you think that is?
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW.
BEAT. Matt looks at the screen. He stops, looks to the open window.
CUT to the window. Matt walks into frame. He looks outside, watching several kids talking.
MATT (V.O.)
Today, I have no complaints. I don’t have a bad word to say about Dr. Sbaitso. It sounds messed up, but the guy really did help me. Sure, he had no idea what I was talking about, but I got to vent my frustrations.
Matt walks away from the window. CAMERA pans to the window and focuses on it. Moments later, an OUT-OF-FOCUS figure (Matt) passes in front of the window outside.
MATT (V.O.)
If you were young and depressed and bad at everything when you were 16, Dr. Sbaitso was Prozac before Prozac was ok.
Start Bach’s “Minuet in G” again.
CAMERA pulls back slowly from the window...
END CREDITS START over this image.
THE END
"DR. SBAITSO"
Screenplay By
Andrew Leavitt
Based on an article by
Matt Caracappa
TITLES OVER BLACK
CUT IN:
EXT. BACKYARD - DAY
Kids are playing, laughing, etc. in the backyard next door. CAMERA then pans to the left, revealing MATT watching them from a window. Matt leaves the window.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – THAT MOMENT
Matt walks to the other side of the room, and lies on his back, on his bed. CAMERA then goes to an OVERHEAD view, as Matt looks up towards the ceiling. Cut to his POV, as we see the curtain above him blowing in the open window.
MATT (V.O.)
There was a period of my life when I didn’t have many friends.
(Start Bach’s “Minuet in G" - song loops continuously)
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM - DAY
Matt is looking in the mirror, looking at himself and fixing his hair, etc. Shot ends with him simply looking at himself.
MATT (V.O.)
As a teenager, I was awkward, nervous, and impossibly uncool. The strange thing is, I don’t really regret it. When you have nothing and no one, you tend to appreciate things a little bit more.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Matt is sitting at the computer. CAMERA DOLLIES RIGHT...
MATT (V.O.)
There was one thing, however, which helped me through the tough times of being a total recluse. It was Dr. Sbaitso.
CU on the computer screen (we also hear the Sbaitso “voice” coming through the speakers):
HELLO MATT, MY NAME IS DOCTOR SBAITSO.
I AM HERE TO HELP YOU.
SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
CU on Matt, thinking. CU on the keyboard as he begins typing. Then back to the screen:
>I have no friends.
ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE ANY FRIENDS?
>No, like I said, I DON’T have any friends.
THAT’S NOT MY PROBLEM.
CUT to WIDE SHOT. Matt’s at the computer. DOLLY left.
MATT (V.O.)
Ah, Doctor Sbaitso... I spent countless nights chatting it up with the good doctor. The program was a little game that came with my computer. Dr. Sbaitso was meant to be a sort of virtual “psychiatrist”, talking through text on the screen and a horrendous voice coming through the speakers.
CU on computer screen.
>Look, I need help making friends.
PERHAPS YOUR LOVE FOR FRIENDS WORRIES YOU.
>It does. Maybe you could be my friend?
YOU DON’T SEEM TO BE CERTAIN.
CU on Matt’s face, as he types.
MATT (V.O.)
You would think it had some sort of artificial intelligence, but it really didn’t. He couldn’t understand a thing. All of his responses were basically rephrasings of whatever you said.
WIDE SHOT of Matt, at the computer. CAMERA pushes in.
MATT (V.O.)
I didn’t know any better, and so I used to sit up all night trying to get this computer game to solve all of life’s problems.
CU on computer screen.
>I’m all alone. Nobody likes me.
DO YOU BELIEVE IT IS NORMAL TO BE ALL ALONE NOBODY LIKES ME?
>I wish people didn’t hate me.
WHY EXPRESS THIS STRONG EMOTION. IT’S NOT GOOD FOR YOU.
>It’s true, people can’t stand the sight of me.
I AM BORED, TELL ME SOMETHING MORE EXCITING.
>Well you’re a big help.
ONE MUST BE CRAZY TO EXPECT HELP FROM ME.
>Can’t you tell me how to make friends?
I’LL HAVE TO RESEARCH THAT ONE.
>How long will it take?
KEEP ASKING, YOU WILL FIND THE ANSWER ONE DAY.
CU on Matt, typing.
MATT (V.O.)
Sbaitso’s responses were a mix of non-answers and answers that didn’t make any sense. So, while nobody in their right mind would’ve paid money for Dr. Sbaitso as an actual video game, I credit it with saving my life.
CUT TO:
MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
MONTAGE:
Matt is lying back on his bed. CAMERA PUSH-IN.
DISSOLVE
Matt is looking out the window at the stars/moon.
MATT (V.O.)
You see, these were depressing times for me. The nights seemed longer and bleaker than ever, and each day seemed to be worse than the last.
CUT to Matt on the computer. CAMERA push-in from the side.
MATT (V.O.)
Sometimes, I tried to level with Dr. Sbaitso. I figured that he’d cut the bullshit and start talking to me for real if I made everything sound desperate and important enough. To be honest, I guess I was hoping more that God himself would somehow manifest and start talking through the white text on the screen.
CU on computer screen.
>What is the meaning of life?
I AM BORED, TELL ME SOMETHING MORE EXCITING.
CAMERA pulls back from Matt.
MATT (V.O.)
Of course, none of this worked. Sbaitso was still the same goofy idiot he always was, no matter what I told him. Nevertheless, no matter how ridiculous his responses were, I tried to take them as gospel, and I wracked my brain to conjure up some deep meaning behind his every statement.
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CU on computer screen.
>Why are we here, on this earth?
WE ARE HERE.
CU on Matt’s face. A look of confusion.
BEAT.
WIDE SHOT. CAMERA pans from Matt to the open window.
MATT (V.O.)
I didn’t have the instruction manual and I didn’t know that computer programs weren’t magical things capable of supernatural feats. In my mind, there were no limitations to Dr. Sbaitso. I just had to stumble across the secret words and he would give me his undivided attention. Unfortunately, those words didn’t exist.
DISSOLVE TO:
MATT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
CU on the keyboard, fingers pressing keys...
CAMERA pulls back.
MATT (V.O.)
Sometimes, I’d get on a roll. I’d get eight or nine decent responses from Sbaitso, and gain wrongful confidence that he and I had finally made some kind of connection.
CU on computer screen.
>Why do you think that is? 4
DO YOU LIKE MATH?
MATT (V.O.)
With my guard down, I’d make a typo, and type in a number by mistake, and Sbaitso would go right back to asking me if I liked math. Asshole.
CU on Matt, frustrated.
Back to the screen. Matt repeatedly types the words “fuck you” over and over again.
MATT (V.O.)
Whenever I got frustrated with Sbaitso’s lack of compassion for my important problems, I’d start cursing him out. It felt good. However, Sbaitso was NO advocate of bad language. Whenever such words were spoken, he’d warn you to knock it off. If you didn’t listen, he’d give you something called a “parity error”.
The computer makes a loud beeping sound, and dozens of lines of nonsensical characters flood the screen, followed by the words PARITY ERROR.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CAMERA pans from the open window over to Matt at the computer.
MATT (V.O.)
Seems so stupid, but I managed to sit there for hours with Dr. Sbaitso. He was like a diary with entertainment value. I probably had more than 500 conversations with Dr. Sbaitso during my youth, and I’m pretty sure that each of them ultimately steered towards sex. At that age, I knew very little of the subject, and neither did Dr. Sbaitso.
CU on the computer screen.
>Sex.
AGAIN?
>Sex.
THERE IS AN EXTRA CHARGE FOR TALKING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM
>Sex.
ALWAYS REPEATING
>Sex.
REPHRASE YOURSELF PLEASE.
>Let’s talk about sex, baby.
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT SEX?
>I want to have sex.
SOMETIMES, I WANTED TO HAVE SEX, TOO.
>But you’re a computer. Computers can’t have sex.
DON’T YOU THINK COMPUTERS CAN HELP PEOPLE?
>Not if they can’t have sex.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR OTHER INTERESTS.
>I enjoy eating baby heads.
WHY?
DISSOLVE TO:
CAMERA pans across Matt, staring at the screen.
MATT (V.O.)
Sbaitso never seemed to understand me, and I certainly didn’t understand him. But that didn’t stop me from asking questions. When I had nobody else to turn to, I sought the advice of the invisible man behind the screen.
(The looping of “Minuet in G” stops).
CUT TO:
INT. MATT’S BEDROOM – DAY
CAMERA pans over to Matt, at the computer.
CU on Matt.
CU on the keyboard, typing.
Then, CU on the screen.
>Why do you think that is?
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT BY NOW.
BEAT. Matt looks at the screen. He stops, looks to the open window.
CUT to the window. Matt walks into frame. He looks outside, watching several kids talking.
MATT (V.O.)
Today, I have no complaints. I don’t have a bad word to say about Dr. Sbaitso. It sounds messed up, but the guy really did help me. Sure, he had no idea what I was talking about, but I got to vent my frustrations.
Matt walks away from the window. CAMERA pans to the window and focuses on it. Moments later, an OUT-OF-FOCUS figure (Matt) passes in front of the window outside.
MATT (V.O.)
If you were young and depressed and bad at everything when you were 16, Dr. Sbaitso was Prozac before Prozac was ok.
Start Bach’s “Minuet in G” again.
CAMERA pulls back slowly from the window...
END CREDITS START over this image.
THE END
I met an Oscar-nominee today...
Yeah, you heard that right.
I ran into Todd Field... people never really seem to look the same in real life, so I wasn't quite sure at first. But sure enough, it was him. Nice guy too. So I guess he still lives in this state.... crazy.
So, along with John Waters, those are the famous people I've met. Good times.
Yeah, you heard that right.
I ran into Todd Field... people never really seem to look the same in real life, so I wasn't quite sure at first. But sure enough, it was him. Nice guy too. So I guess he still lives in this state.... crazy.
So, along with John Waters, those are the famous people I've met. Good times.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I was watching an interview with Spike Lee today, and he was talking about the best films to be released so far in this decade, since the year 2000. I was very happy to see on his list Requiem for a Dream, Brokeback Mountain, and, somewhat surprisingly, Roger Dodger. Not "surprisingly" because it's a bad film - it's a great one - but because it's a little movie that hardly anyone remembers. Spike was mentioning how the screenplay was so great, that it was fun even just to read it, like a good book. I searched on the net real quick and found the script, and, since I won't post the entire thing on here, here's an excerpt. Great dialogue...
******************************
INT. RESTAURANT – DAY
Roger and Nick sit across from each other at a table.
ROGER
So, Nick... You need some help with the ladies?
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET – MAGIC HOUR
Roger and Nick walk down the street.
ROGER
All right. Here we go. Get this straight. Sex is everywhere, okay? It is all around us. It's not some distant destination. It's not Everest. It is right here. You have to attune yourself to it.
You have to bring yourself into alignment. You have to find the zone, Nick. Okay? Do that, and I promise you a whole world will open up. Look at me. I walk around in a state of total receptivity. I'm like a fucking lightning rod.
NICK
All right. Fine. What do I do?
ROGER
For starters, let's get rid of that little meditation. The blue triangle. We don't block things out, Nicholas. We let them in.
NICK
Let what in?
ROGER
There are millions of women in this city, Nick. Millions. Most of them are blessedly unaware of the countless ways...
in which their bodies are exposed to our eyes. So, first, learn to read the sun, where it sits.
You'll notice... correlation between backlighting and transparency. They wear light-colored clothing, underwear shows right through. Bra straps, panty lines. No need to stretch or squint. It is there for us, okay? For example—
A WOMAN passes by. Roger skillfully, subtly checks her out. Nick, on the other hand, stands there staring at her as she walks by. Roger looks at him.
NICK
What?
ROGER
Are you blowing my cover? Are you blowing my cover like some... construction worker?
NICK
No. I was just—
ROGER
Jesus Christ, Nick. Use your head. Step back. Let her pass. Okay? Give it a few seconds. Watch this, and then camouflage the move. Pay attention.
Roger once again skillfully checks out a woman as she passes by.
ROGER
Checking of the watch is good. Or of the pager. Or looking for a street sign like you're lost.
Or just now you saw me do a combination. Whatever it is, don't get caught. Do you think women have a clue what goes on up here?
What do they think, it's just stock quotes, drill bit sizes?
They don't know shit! Let's keep it that way.
NICK
All right.
ROGER
What about your eyes?
NICK
What? My eyes?
ROGER
Your eyes. How's your vision?
NICK
No, it's good. It's 20-20.
ROGER
Okay. Peripheral?
NICK
I don't know. It's fine, I guess.
ROGER
Fine's not gonna cut it, Nick.
You gotta work your muscles like you're training for the fucking Olympics.
NICK
Yeah.
ROGER
Up, down, left, right, et cetera. Here. Follow my finger.
NICK
Okay.
ROGER
Tell me when it's gone.
NICK
All right.
Roger moves his finger only a couple of inches away from Nick’s field of vision.
NICK
Okay. Stop.
ROGER
That's it? Nick, you need a hundred, a hundred and ten degrees...
before you're ready for the street. I see behind me on a good day. You play video games?
NICK
Sure.
ROGER
Good. That stuff is training for the eyes. Registering images in a split second. It's invaluable. Oh. Right there. Blue sweater. Blue sweater. Median. Blue sweater. Blue sweater...
Nick searches frantically for who he’s pointing at. He finally sees her just as she stands up.
ROGER
That young lady just-- And you missed it.
NICK
I know.
ROGER
In just a fraction of a second.
That's all. But a trained eye can get in there for a look. You have to learn to anticipate your opportunities, okay? Getting out of a cab, wind from a subway grate... or as you so sadly missed there, bending over to pick something up. These are situations which require lightning reflexes.
NICK
I tell you, I can do that.
ROGER
You're a step slow right now, Nick.
Hey, no wonder. I remember what it's like out there. No interaction. No face time. Look at me. Every day I have the street, the subway, the ATM line... the office, the gym--
What have you got? Young people sitting in cars in Ohio. Wistful glances at the stoplight....
NICK
No, I go to school. That's interaction.
ROGER
Okay. Let's work with that.
The high school building is four stories, if memory serves.
NICK
It's five stories now.
ROGER
Whatever. It's multistory, and that means stairs, which is good.
Free yourself from the tyranny of eye level. Come here. Use the angles. High for cleavage. Low for the skirts.
NICK
All right.
ROGER
Remember, there's no shame in calling on an old standby, right?
Dropping of the pencil. Tying of the shoe. Just don't telegraph it.
What about reflective surfaces? Mirrors, windows?
NICK
What, in school? No, there's no mirrors.
ROGER
What about that ugly glass trophy case?
NICK
Yeah, that's there.
ROGER
Well, use it. It's perfect.
Go stand over there for a second. Keep going. Keep going. Stop.
If you can't stare directly, turn your back and use the glass.
He waves at Nick’s reflection in the window.
ROGER
Hi, gorgeous. Remember, angle of incidence equals angle of reflectives. In other words, if you can see them, they can see you. So be alert.
NICK
This is really complicated.
ROGER
It's rocket science. You were smart to ask for help.
NICK
I have a good one. When they're wearing short sleeves...
and they raise their arms to fix their hair, you can see in that gap there.
ROGER
Now, see? That shows me you're using your faculties.
NICK
Don't they know we can see in there?
ROGER
Of course they do. Breasts are very sensitive. They know when they're exposed to air. Are women gonna walk around with their hands clamped to their sides? No.
Their hair has to be dealt with eventually, Nick. And it is our job, it is our vocation to be ready.
NICK
All right. So all this looking is fine, but how do you take the next step? I need to meet someone.
ROGER
If you can't see how the two things are related, Nick, there's nothing I can do for you.
Roger begins to walk away.
NICK
Wait. Relax. Come on.
ROGER
You think we are kidding around here? Do you think this is a joke?
NICK
No. Why do you think I'm here?
ROGER
You have got to make sex a presence... in your mind, in your life... in your spirit.
NICK
All right. I'm sorry.
ROGER
All right.
******************************
INT. RESTAURANT – DAY
Roger and Nick sit across from each other at a table.
ROGER
So, Nick... You need some help with the ladies?
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET – MAGIC HOUR
Roger and Nick walk down the street.
ROGER
All right. Here we go. Get this straight. Sex is everywhere, okay? It is all around us. It's not some distant destination. It's not Everest. It is right here. You have to attune yourself to it.
You have to bring yourself into alignment. You have to find the zone, Nick. Okay? Do that, and I promise you a whole world will open up. Look at me. I walk around in a state of total receptivity. I'm like a fucking lightning rod.
NICK
All right. Fine. What do I do?
ROGER
For starters, let's get rid of that little meditation. The blue triangle. We don't block things out, Nicholas. We let them in.
NICK
Let what in?
ROGER
There are millions of women in this city, Nick. Millions. Most of them are blessedly unaware of the countless ways...
in which their bodies are exposed to our eyes. So, first, learn to read the sun, where it sits.
You'll notice... correlation between backlighting and transparency. They wear light-colored clothing, underwear shows right through. Bra straps, panty lines. No need to stretch or squint. It is there for us, okay? For example—
A WOMAN passes by. Roger skillfully, subtly checks her out. Nick, on the other hand, stands there staring at her as she walks by. Roger looks at him.
NICK
What?
ROGER
Are you blowing my cover? Are you blowing my cover like some... construction worker?
NICK
No. I was just—
ROGER
Jesus Christ, Nick. Use your head. Step back. Let her pass. Okay? Give it a few seconds. Watch this, and then camouflage the move. Pay attention.
Roger once again skillfully checks out a woman as she passes by.
ROGER
Checking of the watch is good. Or of the pager. Or looking for a street sign like you're lost.
Or just now you saw me do a combination. Whatever it is, don't get caught. Do you think women have a clue what goes on up here?
What do they think, it's just stock quotes, drill bit sizes?
They don't know shit! Let's keep it that way.
NICK
All right.
ROGER
What about your eyes?
NICK
What? My eyes?
ROGER
Your eyes. How's your vision?
NICK
No, it's good. It's 20-20.
ROGER
Okay. Peripheral?
NICK
I don't know. It's fine, I guess.
ROGER
Fine's not gonna cut it, Nick.
You gotta work your muscles like you're training for the fucking Olympics.
NICK
Yeah.
ROGER
Up, down, left, right, et cetera. Here. Follow my finger.
NICK
Okay.
ROGER
Tell me when it's gone.
NICK
All right.
Roger moves his finger only a couple of inches away from Nick’s field of vision.
NICK
Okay. Stop.
ROGER
That's it? Nick, you need a hundred, a hundred and ten degrees...
before you're ready for the street. I see behind me on a good day. You play video games?
NICK
Sure.
ROGER
Good. That stuff is training for the eyes. Registering images in a split second. It's invaluable. Oh. Right there. Blue sweater. Blue sweater. Median. Blue sweater. Blue sweater...
Nick searches frantically for who he’s pointing at. He finally sees her just as she stands up.
ROGER
That young lady just-- And you missed it.
NICK
I know.
ROGER
In just a fraction of a second.
That's all. But a trained eye can get in there for a look. You have to learn to anticipate your opportunities, okay? Getting out of a cab, wind from a subway grate... or as you so sadly missed there, bending over to pick something up. These are situations which require lightning reflexes.
NICK
I tell you, I can do that.
ROGER
You're a step slow right now, Nick.
Hey, no wonder. I remember what it's like out there. No interaction. No face time. Look at me. Every day I have the street, the subway, the ATM line... the office, the gym--
What have you got? Young people sitting in cars in Ohio. Wistful glances at the stoplight....
NICK
No, I go to school. That's interaction.
ROGER
Okay. Let's work with that.
The high school building is four stories, if memory serves.
NICK
It's five stories now.
ROGER
Whatever. It's multistory, and that means stairs, which is good.
Free yourself from the tyranny of eye level. Come here. Use the angles. High for cleavage. Low for the skirts.
NICK
All right.
ROGER
Remember, there's no shame in calling on an old standby, right?
Dropping of the pencil. Tying of the shoe. Just don't telegraph it.
What about reflective surfaces? Mirrors, windows?
NICK
What, in school? No, there's no mirrors.
ROGER
What about that ugly glass trophy case?
NICK
Yeah, that's there.
ROGER
Well, use it. It's perfect.
Go stand over there for a second. Keep going. Keep going. Stop.
If you can't stare directly, turn your back and use the glass.
He waves at Nick’s reflection in the window.
ROGER
Hi, gorgeous. Remember, angle of incidence equals angle of reflectives. In other words, if you can see them, they can see you. So be alert.
NICK
This is really complicated.
ROGER
It's rocket science. You were smart to ask for help.
NICK
I have a good one. When they're wearing short sleeves...
and they raise their arms to fix their hair, you can see in that gap there.
ROGER
Now, see? That shows me you're using your faculties.
NICK
Don't they know we can see in there?
ROGER
Of course they do. Breasts are very sensitive. They know when they're exposed to air. Are women gonna walk around with their hands clamped to their sides? No.
Their hair has to be dealt with eventually, Nick. And it is our job, it is our vocation to be ready.
NICK
All right. So all this looking is fine, but how do you take the next step? I need to meet someone.
ROGER
If you can't see how the two things are related, Nick, there's nothing I can do for you.
Roger begins to walk away.
NICK
Wait. Relax. Come on.
ROGER
You think we are kidding around here? Do you think this is a joke?
NICK
No. Why do you think I'm here?
ROGER
You have got to make sex a presence... in your mind, in your life... in your spirit.
NICK
All right. I'm sorry.
ROGER
All right.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
This is crazy... I was watching TV just now, and they had an interview with this guy, he started his own website, called Justin.tv -- Apparently, for some reason this guy has decided to wear a small video camera, attached to his baseball cap, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and broadcast the video on his site. I guess The Truman Show is now reality...
So anyways, I logged on to his site as the interview was taking place (on a live tv show) and, sure enough, there he was, giving the interview (from his POV). The interview ended, he talked with people backstage, and then he walked outside to his car, to find a parking ticket on his windshield. I stopped watching as he was driving in his car (it's not too exciting watching someone drive - from their point of view), but I dunno, this whole thing just struck me as insane and I felt compelled to report it on here. Check out the site, at your own risk - I didn't see anything graphic, but apparently he wears the thing ALL the time, even going to the bathroom, so if that's something you don't want to see, you probably shouldn't take the chance. You might log on and see a little surprise someday, who knows...
So anyways, I logged on to his site as the interview was taking place (on a live tv show) and, sure enough, there he was, giving the interview (from his POV). The interview ended, he talked with people backstage, and then he walked outside to his car, to find a parking ticket on his windshield. I stopped watching as he was driving in his car (it's not too exciting watching someone drive - from their point of view), but I dunno, this whole thing just struck me as insane and I felt compelled to report it on here. Check out the site, at your own risk - I didn't see anything graphic, but apparently he wears the thing ALL the time, even going to the bathroom, so if that's something you don't want to see, you probably shouldn't take the chance. You might log on and see a little surprise someday, who knows...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I was right...it didn't take them (YouTube) long to delete the David O. Russell freakout video... here's the repost (for as long as it lasts) of the 2nd video from below:
Also, they deleted the short clip (2 minutes) I posted from Freaks and Geeks, and yet entire episodes still remain on YouTube... that site is going down in flames if they don't come up with some kind of compromise in terms of what kind of content is allowed...
Also, they deleted the short clip (2 minutes) I posted from Freaks and Geeks, and yet entire episodes still remain on YouTube... that site is going down in flames if they don't come up with some kind of compromise in terms of what kind of content is allowed...
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Came across something really interesting today...
People that know about director David O. Russell know that he has a reputation for going absolutely insane on the movie set, even going so far as to scream at the actors and crew and throw things around and sometimes even physically assaulting people (there was an infamous incident back in 1999 where he and George Clooney almost got into a fistfight).
Well, things were apparently no different on the set of his 2004 film I ♥ Huckabees, where Russell repeatedly freaked out on-set. This brief explanation gives you the gist of it, but the real reason I'm posting this up is because of what lies below: Two video clips of the actual on-set craziness... This is really rare, I tell ya... you hear stories about this sort of stuff happening, but you never get to see it. Well, here's some leaked on-set production video... enjoy it before somebody's lawyers get pissed and take it down:
You get the feeling from the clips that Lili Tomlin may be marginally insane, but it's hard to tell how far Russell has actually pushed her before we see her on-camera outbursts. On the other hand, she was in 3 Altman movies, and he was known for not putting up with any shit (i.e. with Warren Beatty in McCabe & Mrs. Miller), so I get the feeling that Russell had just pushed her over the edge... But in any case, she had already been in a Russell film, 1996's Flirting with Disaster, and if he was that nuts, why would you work with him again? Maybe he's just become insane fairly recently?...
People that know about director David O. Russell know that he has a reputation for going absolutely insane on the movie set, even going so far as to scream at the actors and crew and throw things around and sometimes even physically assaulting people (there was an infamous incident back in 1999 where he and George Clooney almost got into a fistfight).
Well, things were apparently no different on the set of his 2004 film I ♥ Huckabees, where Russell repeatedly freaked out on-set. This brief explanation gives you the gist of it, but the real reason I'm posting this up is because of what lies below: Two video clips of the actual on-set craziness... This is really rare, I tell ya... you hear stories about this sort of stuff happening, but you never get to see it. Well, here's some leaked on-set production video... enjoy it before somebody's lawyers get pissed and take it down:
You get the feeling from the clips that Lili Tomlin may be marginally insane, but it's hard to tell how far Russell has actually pushed her before we see her on-camera outbursts. On the other hand, she was in 3 Altman movies, and he was known for not putting up with any shit (i.e. with Warren Beatty in McCabe & Mrs. Miller), so I get the feeling that Russell had just pushed her over the edge... But in any case, she had already been in a Russell film, 1996's Flirting with Disaster, and if he was that nuts, why would you work with him again? Maybe he's just become insane fairly recently?...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
You don't want to "over-watch" something, so I sometimes purposefully refrain from watching certain things for months at a time, only to revisit it at a later date (often - however unintentional it may be - in marathon-like sittings of several hours at a time). Such as it was I decided to turn on Freaks and Geeks tonight... God damn, this show never gets old...
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
I downloaded Zodiac tonight, so I could watch it again, and I've got to say... it's really early to be saying this, as the movie year's just started (and movies released this early almost always get forgotten by December) but I'd like to put in an early (hopeful) prediction for Robert Downey Jr. as Best Supporting Actor for next year... he completely stole the show in this picture.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
I found an old box the other day, and in it I discovered, on several videotapes, the entire series of American High. It was on TV in 2000 on Fox, canceled after 4 episodes, and then re-aired on PBS in its entirety later that year (which is how I was able to record the entire series). It was quite an interesting experience to watch it again, since I first saw it during my freshman year: It borders on the melodramatic at times, but, after all, that's quite a melodramatic point in your life. Overall, it's a great examination of high school life. While it bills itself as following 14 kids (for a year), it really concentrates on about 6 or 7 in detail (even that's a large task, for only thirteen 30-minute episodes). A large amount of then-current music was used in the show, so it's doubtful it will ever be released on DVD. Watch a 3.5 minute trailer here.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Just a quick word on the Oscars...
No real surprises (well, except for Best Picture... but a great surprise nonetheless...)
I briefly switched on the telecast for the Director award... and while it was great to see Scorsese win, I was a little surprised that, for all the years he's been waiting for this, he basically just read off a list of names...
And on a final note, we all like to see good, decent people receive something... enter Forest Whitaker. While a quick viewing of his acceptance speech shows he's a great guy, I'd like to relay this short story that quickly came to my mind when I saw that he won and frantically turned on the TV to view his speech: Amy Heckerling once told a story about Forest's audition for Fast Times at Ridgemont High - his first role, which was just one line. After he auditioned, he found out he got the role, and he left to go to his car. Heckerling watched him out the window... thinking that no one was watching, he happily skipped to his car, thrilled to have his first movie role. Now he has an Oscar. Doesn't that just put a smile on your face?
No real surprises (well, except for Best Picture... but a great surprise nonetheless...)
I briefly switched on the telecast for the Director award... and while it was great to see Scorsese win, I was a little surprised that, for all the years he's been waiting for this, he basically just read off a list of names...
And on a final note, we all like to see good, decent people receive something... enter Forest Whitaker. While a quick viewing of his acceptance speech shows he's a great guy, I'd like to relay this short story that quickly came to my mind when I saw that he won and frantically turned on the TV to view his speech: Amy Heckerling once told a story about Forest's audition for Fast Times at Ridgemont High - his first role, which was just one line. After he auditioned, he found out he got the role, and he left to go to his car. Heckerling watched him out the window... thinking that no one was watching, he happily skipped to his car, thrilled to have his first movie role. Now he has an Oscar. Doesn't that just put a smile on your face?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The best films of 2006, in order
(To qualify, the movie must have had its U.S. premiere sometime in 2006. If a movie premieres at a film festival in 2005, and then opens in the U.S. in 2006, it will be counted as a 2006 release).
- United 93
- When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
- A Prairie Home Companion
- Babel
- The Departed
- Dave Chappelle's Block Party
- The Pursuit of Happyness
- Half Nelson
- The Last King of Scotland
- Notes on a Scandal
- A Scanner Darkly
- World Trade Center
- The Illusionist
- Little Children
- The Queen
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Borat
- Idiocracy
- Inside Man
- Marie Antoinette
- The Dead Girl
- An Inconvenient Truth
- Jesus Camp
- Brick
- Children of Men
- Flags of Our Fathers
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- Hollywoodland
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I finally sat down tonight and downloaded the entire Freaks and Geeks soundtrack... not the lame "official" 1-disc soundtrack available for purchase (which is mostly made up of score, not songs), but rather every single song that appeared in the show. It took me forever to do, but it stretches across 5 CDs, and it contains 86 songs - every song from the show (except for a couple of disco songs from the last episode, which I decided not to include), in roughly the order in which they appeared. Great music on that show - it has just about everything: great classic rock, cheesy pop, some country-rock, and even some punk near the end of the show's run. Complete list below:
- Joan Jett - Bad Reputation
- Van Halen - Running With the Devil
- Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright
- Styx - Renegade
- Styx - Come Sail Away
- Deep Purple - Hush
- Doobie Brothers - Jesus is Just Alright
- Rick Derringer - Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
- Santana - No One to Depend On
- Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
- Janis Joplin - Maybe
- Kiss - Do You Love Me
- Cheap Trick - Gonna Raise Hell
- April Wine - Roller
- Ted Nugent - Free For All
- Van Halen - Jamie's Crying
- Van Halen - Ice Cream Man
- Little River Band - Reminiscing
- BTO - Taking Care of Business
- Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
- Love Unlimited Orchestra - Love's Theme
- Van Halen - Little Dreamer
- The Faces - Debris
- Rush - The Spirit of Radio
- Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
- Cream - Crossroads
- Cream - White Room
- Madness - One Step Beyond
- Billy Joel - C'etait Toi (You Were The One)
- Billy Joel - Rosalinda's Eyes
- Billy Joel - Don't Ask Me Why
- Brothers Johnson - Stomp
- Alice Cooper - I'm Eighteen
- Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post
- Journey - Loving, Touching, Squeezing
- Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin
- Styx - Lady
- Kansas - Dust in the Wind
- Queen - Keep Yourself Alive
- Van Halen - Everybody Wants Some
- Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
- Joan Jett - Do Ya Wanna Touch Me
- The Who - The Song is Over
- Ted Nugent and Amboy Dukes - Journey to the Center of Your Mind
- XTC - No Language in Our Lungs
- Joe Jackson - I'm the Man
- Joe Jackson - Look Sharp
- The Who - Slip Kid
- J. Geils Band - Flamethrower
- Supertramp - Take The Long Way Home
- Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4
- Bob Seger - Beautiful Loser
- The Cars - Let The Good Times Roll
- Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Karn Evil 9
- Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
- Pure Prairie League - Amie
- Lynard Skynard - Free Bird
- Boston - Smokin'
- Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls
- Blood, Sweat and Tears - Hi-De-Ho
- Jethro Tull - Aqualung
- George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag
- Mac Davis - Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me
- The Who - I'm Free
- The Who - I'm One
- The Who - Boris The Spider
- The Who - Love Reign O'er Me
- The Who - Squeeze Box
- The Who - Going Mobile
- The Who - Drowned
- Seals And Crofts - Summer Breeze
- Black Flag - Rise Above
- Diesel Boy - Lime Green
- Diesel Boy - Happy Street
- Diesel Boy - Punk Rock 101
- Dean Martin - You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You
- Rush - Tom Sawyer
- Bob Seger - Katmandu
- Bob Seger - You'll Accomp'ny Me
- Warren Zevon - Poor Poor Pitiful Me
- David Bowie - Fashion
- Jackson Browne - The Road
- Foxy - Hot Number
- Heatwave - The Groove Line
- Grateful Dead - Box of Rain
- Grateful Dead - Ripple
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
I don't watch Oprah, but I was flipping through the channels today and caught like the last 10 seconds of it... and I noticed that John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence were all sitting on the couch together... and my first thought, obviously, was "what the hell?"... Strange group of people to all be sitting together, for sure. A little internet research revealed that they're starring together in some lame upcoming movie called Wild Hogs. Who would really sign on to something like that?...
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
2007 Academy Award nominations
Well, the nominations were announced this morning... no big fuck-ups or surprises here, it's all very much as expected. To summarize:
Best Picture - nominees:
Basically the same line-up that we've seen at all the other awards shows this year... the one interesting change here is the addition of Iwo Jima in the Best Picture category instead of the Foreign Film category, which is where most other awards have been placing it. I personally like this choice (I'd rather have it omitted entirely, but oh well), as it seems to me pretty stupid to have a Best Foreign Film nominee from the USA (which I believe would've been a first). As I've stated before, put United 93 in Iwo Jima's place and you have a real list. But I must say: REALLY happy that Dreamgirls didn't get in there. In terms of the winner, well, Sunshine won the Producer's Guild and Babel won the Golden Globe...so it's really between those two.
Best Actor - nominees:
- Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond
- Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson
- Peter O'Toole for Venus
- Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness
- Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland
Once again, the same as every other list out there. Whitaker has won basically every single award out there, so he's pretty much a lock. And hey, it'll be fun to see the big guy in Fast Times that warned "Don't fuck with it!" win an Oscar. If you ask me, DiCaprio should have been nominated for The Departed instead. And lastly, my personal favorite performance of the bunch is Gosling in Half Nelson.
Best Actress - nominees:
- Penélope Cruz for Volver
- Judi Dench for Notes on a Scandal
- Helen Mirren for The Queen
- Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada
- Kate Winslet for Little Children
Once again, no real surprises. Mirren has won, like Whitaker, basically every award under the sun this year, so she's virtually a lock. Dench (the most overrated actress of her generation working today) continues to get nominated for almost every little performance that comes vomiting out of her, and Streep has somehow gotten recognized for a quirky little performance in one of the worst movies of the year. On the other hand, both Cruz and Winslet were very good. Mirren has it in the bag, though.
Best Supporting Actor - nominees:
- Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine
- Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children
- Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond
- Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls
- Mark Wahlberg for The Departed
While I like seeing Wahlberg's name on there, his role was admittedly too underdeveloped to accurately guage the quality of his performance. Hounsou is really a filler nominee in a year of mostly weak films. My personal favorite is Haley (remember him from The Bad News Bears?) who really is brilliant in Little Children. But it's really between the last two: Arkin turned in a solid, if unremarkable performance...the aging actor, however, just might pull a victory. The frontrunner right now, however - strange as it may seem - is actually Eddie Murphy, who's won this damn Supporting Actor award all over the place. It truly is a performance not even worthy of the nomination. Believe me, I love the guy, but he just didn't bring what it took to his performance in that movie.
Best Supporting Actress - nominees:
- Adriana Barraza for Babel
- Cate Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal
- Abigail Breslin for Little Miss Sunshine
- Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls
- Rinko Kikuchi for Babel
Well, this is the category I get angry at this year. Usually there's several - this year it's only this one. But it's a big one. Jennifer Hudson is the frontrunner this year, but I really can't imagine why. It's the kind of awards-season choice, the kind that seems to be unanimous among everybody, that makes you wonder if everybody has truly become retarded. Her performance is as bland as a TV dinner. With no dimension, and no sense of middle ground, her performance is either too low, or way over the top. Granted, she has a fiery presence, and the anger comes through in her singing, but whenever she opens her mouth to talk (which rarely happens in the movie) it comes out flat. I honestly don't see how she can, or will, make it as an actress, unless every single movie she does in the future is a musical. A sad and blasphemous misstep this year. As for the rest, Blanchett is solid as always, and it's nice to see the two Babel women - who stole the show away from everyone else - actually nominated. The young Breslin was very good, and it wouldn't be bad to see her win, but it's a long-shot.
Best Director - nominees:
- Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima
- Stephen Frears for The Queen
- Paul Greengrass for United 93
- Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel
- Martin Scorsese for The Departed
Finally, some goddamn recognition for Greengrass (after getting shut out of the Directors Guild nominees). Although technically, his was my favorite direction of the year, you really have to give it to Scorsese. I mean, come on, it's like a running joke now, he's been nominated so many times. He's the favorite right now, and I truly hope he finally gets the damn thing. I might even turn on the telecast (which I promised myself I wouldn't watch this year) near the end just to see his acceptance speech. Hopefully. You all know my hatred for Eastwood (besides Mystic River) so you don't have to guess what I thought of his nomination, and although Frears and Iñárritu were both exceptional this year, you have to give it to Scorsese. Finally. Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?
Best Original Screenplay - nominees:
- Guillermo Arriaga for Babel
- Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis for Letters from Iwo Jima
- Michael Arndt for Little Miss Sunshine
- Guillermo del Toro for Laberinto del Fauno, El
- Peter Morgan for The Queen
Basically, what you have here is this: It comes down to Sunshine and Babel - whoever wins Best Picture, the screenplay award will go to the other one (the Academy likes to award a little bit to everybody). If they especially fall in love with the movie, they might give it both. The only other movie capable of creeping up on the two is The Queen. Pan's Labyrinth's single award will probably be for Foreign Film. And let's just say this about the remaining film: if that hack Paul Haggis wins anything else, I will be very pissed.
Best Adapted Screenplay - nominees:
- Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips for Borat
- Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby for Children of Men
- William Monahan for The Departed
- Todd Field and Tom Perrotta for Little Children
- Patrick Marber for Notes on a Scandal
This might actually be the closest race of the night...a pretty sad year for movies when the closest race is in the Adapted Screenplay category. The Borat nomination is great, but it's a sympathy nomination, because it's a great movie, but not the sort of movie that the Academy recognizes. The Notes on a Scandal nomination makes sense, but probably won't see a win. The Departed was a great film, but the nomination is a hard call, since it's actually a remake of a (apparently superior) series of three Hong Kong films, combined into one for this American version. Children of Men was critically acclaimed this year, so the Academy may want to give it something....but it really isn't actually deserving of the nomination...the script is murky and vague and probably the weakest of the nominees (ironically, it's one of the top contenders to win it). I'd personally like to see Todd Field (who deserved something for In The Bedroom) win it this year. But this is basically wide open.
And that's about it. All the technical awards (cinematography, editing, music) are actually quite close this year, so we'll see.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Directors Guild of America nominees
Martin Scorsese for The Departed
Bill Condon for Dreamgirls
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Babel
Stephen Frears for The Queen
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris for Little Miss Sunshine
Decent list, except... where is Paul Greengrass? Everyone on there is deserving, but Greengrass's direction on United 93 hovers way above the direction in Sunshine, and Condon did a servicable job on his picture, but it was mostly by-the-numbers. Replace either one of those with Greengrass, and you have a real list. The thing about the Directors Guild is this: the nominees here usually go on to be the Best Picture nominees... yet another reason why I'm not watching the Oscars this year.
Bill Condon for Dreamgirls
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Babel
Stephen Frears for The Queen
Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris for Little Miss Sunshine
Decent list, except... where is Paul Greengrass? Everyone on there is deserving, but Greengrass's direction on United 93 hovers way above the direction in Sunshine, and Condon did a servicable job on his picture, but it was mostly by-the-numbers. Replace either one of those with Greengrass, and you have a real list. The thing about the Directors Guild is this: the nominees here usually go on to be the Best Picture nominees... yet another reason why I'm not watching the Oscars this year.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Clip from Children of Men
(Warning: HUGE spoilers in this clip - although it occurs early in the film, it gives away an important plot point. Only view it if you've seen the movie or don't care about seeing the spoiler.)
So, is Children of Men as good as everyone's saying? Short answer: no. The film had five screenwriters, and this point is painfully obvious while watching the movie. I gotta say though, there are some great shots in this movie. Most of the movie is obviously inspired by I Am Cuba, as there's lots of one-shot, long, choreographed shots with a handheld camera. The shot from the clip above is awesome; it appears as if it was shot with a remote camera on a small motorized dolly track on the roof of the car... that's the only way I think it could've been done.
(Warning: HUGE spoilers in this clip - although it occurs early in the film, it gives away an important plot point. Only view it if you've seen the movie or don't care about seeing the spoiler.)
So, is Children of Men as good as everyone's saying? Short answer: no. The film had five screenwriters, and this point is painfully obvious while watching the movie. I gotta say though, there are some great shots in this movie. Most of the movie is obviously inspired by I Am Cuba, as there's lots of one-shot, long, choreographed shots with a handheld camera. The shot from the clip above is awesome; it appears as if it was shot with a remote camera on a small motorized dolly track on the roof of the car... that's the only way I think it could've been done.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Idiocracy
Wow, why was this movie buried? It's great. Sure, it's not perfect, and it gets a little hackneyed at the end, but it's better than most of what gets into the theaters these days. I feel really sorry for Mike Judge. Here he's created a daring, original film that really deserved an audience. Instead, it was buried by 20th Century Fox. Granted, Judge shouldn't have tried to work with Fox again (after the problems he had with the release of Office Space). He really should have seen it coming, but you can't blame the guy for trying. The movie, at least, hopefully will get an audience. He's so vicious with his satire here, that you really can't blame Fox for being scared of it: The movie takes place in a future world where Starbucks no longer sells coffee, but instead sex; one of the only phrases people know is "I like money"; and people can buy law degrees at Costco. True to Judge's other work, the satire is mixed with broad humor: The #1 television show in the country is called "Ow, my balls!" and features a guy getting kicked in the nuts for 30 minutes; the #1 movie in the country is a film entitled "Ass" and features a naked butt onscreen for 2 hours; pornography and newspapers have been blended into one simplified magazine; and the anchors on Fox News are portrayed as shirtless muscled men. Definitely not the kind of thing you can market to midwestern America. But for everyone else, my advice is to go see it. It's released on DVD January 9th.
Idiocracy
Idiocracy
Monday, January 01, 2007
Random thought: What the hell happened to Little Children? This was one of my most-anticipated films in a while, ever since I heard about it back in 2004. It's director Todd Field's 2nd film after 2001's brilliant In The Bedroom (which was always, in my opinion, the best film of that year), but after a little buzz early on, it has gone virtually ignored. It never even opened in Maine (which is a little ironic, considering Field grew up there and Bedroom was filmed there). In fact, it never opened in more than 30 theaters. The only disappearing act this year that could be considered more bizarre was Mike Judge's Idiocracy...and that was because it was "controversial". New Line used to be one of the best in the 'biz, but judging by the blunder of Little Children, they can't market a movie for shit anymore (case in point: The New World).
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Library of Congress Selects New Films for Preservation
Among the more notable of the 25 new entries in the National Film Registry:
- Blazing Saddles (1974)
- Fargo (1996)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Halloween (1978)
- Notorious (1946)
- Rocky (1976)
- Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
All in all, a good selection for this year. And I'm quite happy that they chose Sex, Lies and Videotape, as the NFR sometimes has trouble remembering to put independent films on their list. What should be next? Well, it's high time they put A Christmas Story (1983) on there, and more Cassavetes stuff would be nice, especially
Faces (1968), along with A Clockwork Orange (1971), 12 Angry Men (1957) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975). Lots of great films that still need to be preserved.
The list of films on the National Film Registry (sans this year's additions)
Friday, December 22, 2006
Borat
| "Most of the humor comes from the fact that Sacha Baron Cohen is using his character to show other people's faults. To be honest, while it is funny, most of the time it's simply a real eye-opener to how stupid and bigoted people in America can be." | |
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
The nominees for the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards (one of the last film awards that really mean anything)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Funny story tonight... I was fucking around with my computers, and since I figured the problem with both of them was overheating, I downloaded a little program that tells you how hot the temperatures of your fan and processor are. Well, the laptop fan is completely dead and is no longer moving, because the program told me that the CPU no longer is aware that a fan is attached(!) and the laptop processor, which is supposed to be at a temp of about 123 degrees fahrenheit, was clocking in at over 200 degrees(!) so the processor is fried, because, obviously, the fan had stopped cooling the processor long ago, and once a processor gets that hot, it's over. So, I tried that program on the desktop, and both the processor and fan temperatures were also too high, meaning the fan wasn't doing its job either. Luckily, the processor wasn't so hot that it had fried yet, so I opened up the side of the computer case, and I have a little fan blowing in there, and now the program shows a normal CPU temperature... so I dunno. Maybe it will at least stay on a little longer than usual.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Most movies - good movies - have one great moment... if they're lucky. Just one. It might not be much more than a look, or the way a certain line was said, but most have at least one. This moment might make you laugh, or cry, or think about something in your life. Moments that you easily remember weeks, months, and years after you've seen them. Most movies have a couple. Magnolia has over two dozen, and I can name them off the top of my head: The opening prologue. The "wise-up" sequence. The Frogs. The music - every single note - and how it drives the story. Jason Robards' deathbed monologue. John C. Reilly after he's lost his gun. Donnie's speech in the bar. Frank Mackey's on-stage, double-meaning dialogue after he's found out his father is dying. The beautiful camerawork. Cruise's breakdown. Melora Walters - in basically every scene. The kid telling the father "you have to be nicer to me." Cruise walking down the hallway as the looping music plays. The subtext - all of it - the father/son stuff, the spiritual aspect, and most of all - hope. The frogs waking up Robards. The kid's speech on the gameshow. John C. in the car after asking for a date. John C. praying by himself in his bedroom. His date with Melora. Julianne Moore. The whole structure of the film itself. Aimee Mann's music. And I could go on and on. Rarely does someone have the audacity to attempt something like it, or, more importantly, the talent to ensure that not one note of performance or direction is off key. It's not really a movie, it's an experience. I once heard a story that when Darren Aronofsky watches Apocalypse Now (another great "experience" film) he gets the room completely black, going so far as to tape the cracks in the windows and doors and use black curtains. He then starts the movie from the beginning, and if for whatever reason he has to stop it, he can't continue, he has to start from the beginning again. He does this once a year - watching the movie like this. It sounds insane, but all of us film people have a movie that we treat like this. Before he goes to direct a new movie, Spielberg always watches Seven Samurai, Lawrence of Arabia, It's a Wonderful Life, and The Searchers, in that order, and without stopping. We all have one picture we treat like this. I guess mine's Magnolia. Yes, we're weird. But we're movie people.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Gaslight District, Part 4
He continued looking out his window, down on the dark street below and the rows of brownstones that littered the block. The early-morning dog walkers started to emerge from their houses and sleepily made their way down the long flights of stairs leading to their doors. The street consisted of many of these old brownstone buildings – many of them hundreds of years old – and a single large apartment complex on the end. Each side of the street was lit with gaslights – a dozen on each side, leading all the way up to the other side of the street, to the chestnut tree on the other end. The street sat on a hill, enabling anyone at a high enough altitude and facing the west to look down upon the entire Gaslight District, and, further on in the distance, the rest of Boston.
As the old man stood staring out his window, he heard a sound from the kitchen. It seemed to be a slight rattling noise, although he could not pinpoint the source of it. At first he thought it might be an intruder, but he soon realized that was not the case, as his front door opened into his living room, and he would’ve heard someone enter the front door long before this. As he stepped into his kitchen, he spotted a mouse scurrying across the floor. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped in its tracks, and looked up at the old man, who continued walking into the kitchen. The mouse stood, frozen. Not one step. Not one hesitation. It was not out of fear – in fact, it stood there casually, making a chirping noise with its mouth. Even the mouse knew this man meant no harm.
Then, abruptly, the room went dark. He looked out his window, and noticed that one of the gaslights had gone out. Now all that remained was the moonlight. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the faint lighting in the room, he squinted behind his thick glasses and staggered over to the kitchen table, where he sat down at the rickety old chair near the window. He looked through the aged, scratched window glass and observed the stars fading one by one, and then the first rays of sunshine struggling to penetrate the thick morning fog. As he watched a young city worker trying to fix the broken gaslight outside, he turned his attention back inside, where he noticed his little rodent friend was how sitting on the table next to him. Years ago, he would have chased the little animal away, broom in hand, all around the apartment – as if he was reenacting some lost comic image from an old Charlie Chaplin film. But age had gotten to him – in more ways than one – and now he slowly raised himself from his chair and made his way to the cupboard. He rummaged through the boxes and cans, and victoriously arrived at a box of crackers, which he opened up and brought back to the table. He took one out of the box, breaking a piece of it off and carefully placing it down on the table. The mouse’s first instinct was to snatch it up as quickly as possible with its little paws and run back to its hiding place, but this was a different situation, and it knew this fact very well. It confidently strolled over to the cracker and ate it in that very spot, mere inches from the man’s hand. After it was done, the man broke off another small piece and placed it in the palm of his hand, laying the back side of his hand flat against the table. The mouse hesitated this time, but its little feet began to creep forward, until he was next to – and then in – the palm of his hand. Just then, a loud sound outside made the man jump, and the mouse went scurrying off into a corner. Looking outside the window, he noticed the worker who was fixing the gaslight had dropped his toolbox, which had sent dozens of wrenches and hammers onto the street and scattered across the sidewalk. The old man turned his attention back inside and began to look for the mouse.
The Gaslight District, Part 1
The Gaslight District, Part 2
The Gaslight District, Part 3
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham (1969)
Two people who are definitely on opposite ends of the religious spectrum...
Interesting conversation.
Part 1
Part 2
Interesting conversation.
Part 1
Part 2
Monday, December 04, 2006
Sunday, December 03, 2006
I was thinking about it, and it just hit me this morning: This has been a shitty year for movies. Sure, there's been a few decent ones, and one flat-out masterpiece (United 93), but I guess nothing could really compare to last year, and I don't think anything will for quite some time. Last year really was a terrific year for movies. I mean, just think about it: Brokeback Mountain. The Squid and the Whale. Syriana. Capote. Murderball. Cinderella Man. Good Night, and Good Luck. Broken Flowers. Match Point. Saraband. A History of Violence. The New World. Walk the Line. Grizzly Man. And that's not even everything. Last year will probably go down in history as one of the best, right down there with '94 (The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Quiz Show, Ed Wood, etc.) and '95 (Apollo 13, Leaving Las Vegas, Dead Man Walking, Casino, The Usual Suspects, etc.) and only a handful of other years. Good times.
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