t v land

Well, Fall TV is off and running. And actually looks pretty good so far.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the pilot for Studio 60. It's actually one of the best pilots I've seen. Perfect set up, great characters, sharp writing. I just hope people watch it. They might not be interested in a behind-the-scenes of a TV sketch show, but hopefully they'll tune in. Special nod to Matthew Perry. The whole cast is great, but he nailed it.

Kidnapped is bascially Ransom, or at least Ransom-ish. It's even got Delroy! But that's a good thing for the show. It wasn't as bad as it should have been. I am a bit curious to see where they'll go with it, so it's my guilty pleasure, although if it never came on again I wouldn't miss it.

Jericho was a pleasant surprise. It was a solid pilot, a bit creepy actually, since you could picture this going down in "real" life unfortunately. I'd tune in again to see where it goes.

Stand-Off is a smart show. Love the chemistry, although my concern would be having a stand-off/hostage situation EVERY week might get old. We'll see how the whole season unfolds.

Justice - not bad for yet another lawyer show. It's got a nice cast, decent writing so far, I'll tune in again.

Nip/Tuck - Sucks. I was a fan of this show, but last year was disjointed, and this year is already sucking pretty hard. It's like the writers are just throwing ideas up on a wall for the hell of it. I'll tune in for 1 or 2 more episodes, but if it doesn't improve, I'm bailing.

Shark - not going to watch it. I just can't.

Looking forward to 30 Rock, and am curious about The 9. Not sure about 6 degrees, and am pretty sure Heroes won't make it to the mid season.

As for returning shows, It's all about The Office in our house. Great show, funniest on TV. Weeds, too. Weeds is off to a great start this season, can't wait for the next episode.

Animated Flix

Now this looks like Suess. Blue Sky Studios (Robots, Ice Age) nailed it, at least from these pics from Horton Hears A Who.

It used to be cool when some animated epic came out, like A Bug's Life, then next year another one would come out. Now, they're all over the place. Over the Summer, we actually had a three week span when 3 new animated movies came out - Monster House, Ant Bully, and Barnyard. They all pretty much sank, especially Bully. Monster made the most (of those 3) but I'm sure their budget was enormous. And Barnyard did okay. Cars is the animated king of the Summer (240+ million) followed by Over the Hedge (around 150 million) which is cool. I enjoyed them both.

This week we have Everyone's Hero. Every time I see that damn commercial I wanna put me head through a wall. Or at least slit my wrists. "I GOTTA GET BABY'S BAT BACK!" It's BABE Ruth, you asshole kid! Then we'll have Open Season. Then Flushed Away. Hopefully the better of these won't get lost (leaning towards Flushed Away as the "better."

Which also brings me to my theory I blogged about before that someone is ripping off someone. We've got Flushed Away, about rats. Then next summer we have Pixar's Ratatouille. About rats. Years ago we had the Bug's Life/Antz showdown. And don't forget Shrek & Monster's Inc came out the same year (both monster heroes, work with me). And who could forget Finding Nemo & Shark Tale (adventures of sea life). Or Madagascar/The Wild. Or Robots & Cars (both metal...okay, I'm reaching).

Anyhoo, what's your favorite animated movie? Mine would be the Iron Giant, by Brad Bird, who also directed the excellent Incredibles. I also enjoyed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Shrek (1), and Ice Age. And if you can find it, there's this animated film from England called When The Wind Blows about the aftermath of a nuclear war. Haunting, amazing.

So, what's your fave?

Later on, Luc

So, Luc Besson is done. He has directed his last movie, his 10th. Interesting, can't he just take a break? He's gotta pack it in? Well, good luck to him. His movies were hit and miss. His best being The Professional (Leon) (Yeah, I liked it better than Nikita), and his most horrible creation was, in my opinion, The 5th Element - great trailer, by the way, I remember being blown away when I saw the trailer, but the movie was a travesty. An absolute mess. One of my least favorite movies, ever.

Anyhoo, as far as I know, he's calling it quits. Maybe he'll be back, and I'm not sure if he'll still be producing, maybe he'll keep at that. But for now, later on, Luc.

Hey, I wrote that, Beeyotch!

Ever see something either "coming soon" or listed in Variety, and it's basically the same shit you've been working on? Mr. Robby Hogan ran into this recently, and it has pissed in my face once again.

First of all, back in 1998 I made a short called The Family Dog. Had minor sucesses online at places like ifilm, atom & some other sites. It was about a guy who was meeting his girlfriend's parents for the 1st time. Even had an overflowing toilet.

Also in 1998 I wrote a script called Superhero Blues, which was a script with superheroes, but wacky! Soon after Mystery Men came out (bombed). Although my script did get into their personal lives more, one of them was divorced, one was a single guy, etc, their tome was similar.

In 1999 I wrote a script called The Go Getters about a group of geeky high school boys trying to get by through fresman year. You could say it had freaks & geeks in it.

I wrote a script called The Pirates Of Pissbottom two years before POTC (Part 1) came out.

Oh, and I can't forget my mob comedy about an outside-type who falls for a girl who doesn't know her family is in the mob (Mickey Blue Eyes, anyone?)

In 2001, I wrote & directed a short film called The Reappearance of Homer Pitts, about a boy who felt left out, bullied, and neglected, and thuse, turns invisible. When he realizes he is loved and missed by his family/friends, he reappears. Now, coming later this year? The Invisible! About a boy who........Get the picture?

Oh, and I can't forget about the script I wrote called There Goes Ruby Fields, about a wedding crasher who meets the girl of his dreams at a wedding he crashes.

Not that these scripts/stories are all that original, but it sucks to work on something and then see it come out first, pretty much deflating your idea.

Thank god I've got a better manager now, so hopefully I can actually get my work seen before somebody else freakin' thinks of the same idea.

This shit ever happen to you?

Hi Skool Flix

The latest EW has put together a list of the best high school movies. A top 50, no less. 50? That's a lot of damn high school movies. I think they should have went for Top 20, because the pickings get slim. Their #1 is The Breakfast Club. Could not agree more. One of my faves of all time. It most definetely captures high school. The confusion. Anxiety. Joy. And the weight of it. After that, the list gets shaky....especially putting 16 Candles at #49.

But there's plenty that should not be on there at all, in my opinion. Harry Potter/Goblet Of Fire? (#36, ahead of 16 Candles!). That's a HIGH SCHOOL movie? C'mon, I swore that was about magic (at a SCHOOL OF MAGIC). Do they have a football team? German Club? A Prom? A Morp?

And Back To The Future? (#28). In my opinion, I'd say that was about time traveling. I'll give them Friday Night Lights (#37), although any high school scenes in that movie were limited to montages of football players walking down a hallway. And I think the focus of that movie is football. On Friday night. With lights.

They did score with a bunch. Fast Times. Dazed & Confused. Heathers. Clueless. Say Anything. American Pie. Election. Rushmore. Brick. Here would be my list:

1. The Breakfast Club
2. Ferris Bueller
3. Say Anything
4. 16 Candles
5. Rushmore
6. Three O'Clock High
7. The Last American Virgin
8. Dazed & Confused
9. Election
10.Heathers

Also, two recent movies, Chumscrubber & Thumbsucker are growing on me and might someday may a list of this sort.

They also have Donnie Darko on their list, which is okay and it makes sense, but let me just say something about that movie........it's way overrated. Don't get me wrong, it's got some great moments in it, but it just doesn't hold together for me. And think about it, where would it be without the haunting "Mad World" cover at the end of it.

Anyway, what are some of your faves?

Idiotic Sequels

First, thanks for the replies/suggestions on Headshot. Good stuff there, lots to think on. I honestly like the story as it unfolds, but see that the logline needs revamping first of all. I know in my logline & synopsis, it's mostly about the Extra/Killer, and I need to make sure I bring the Screenwriter (Our Hero) more in focus.

And now, these direct-to-dvd pieces of shit that basically piss all over the original movies, although most were garbage to begin with. I'm talking about that Roadhouse 2. 8mm 2 (Both with Jonathon "Where The Hell Did My Career Go?" Schaech). I also heard there's gonna be a Cutting Edge 2 (What the hell is the point?? It's got basically NO name recognition with the original ice skating epic!!).

Also: Legally Blonde 3, Into the Blue 2, Wargames 2 (actually a remake would be a better idea I think), Species 4. And I know there's another I Know What You Did Last Summer coming, I think it's called: I'M POSITIVE THAT YOU MAY HAVE DONE SOMETHING NEGATIVE IN THE RECENT PAST THAT YOU SHALL BE KILLED FOR.

Disney morons were guilty of this before the Pixar merger. They had Bambi 2, Cinderella 2 The Revenge, Leroy (!) and Stitch, and recently another Brother Bear, and of course their Alladins & Lion Kings 3.5 or whatever.

At least Disney seems to be stopping the madness after BB2, but are these other shit-flicks necessary? Will you really go out and rent 8mm 2? The first one bombed, remember? How could Part 2 possibly make any money? Christ, and all of us are out here still struggling with all these "ideas" coming out of Hollywood?

Assist Me Please!

Help me here. What's wrong with this script? Not the logline so much, 'cause people have requested it after reading it:

The cast and crew of an independent film production have more to worry about than the budget when a psychotic extra snaps and begins killing them off.

My basis of the script was dealing with an annoying extra on my own movie, called WAIT A MINUTE, the we made a trailer for 3+ years ago. After that, he would NOT stop bothering me. condtasntly asking if the trailer was finished, over, and over. The dude was BARELY in it (he was in a crowded dance club scene). If he's lucky, his shoulder might be glimpsed in a nano-second long shot. That's another post though - Extras.

So, the script is called HEADSHOT. Basically, as the premise suggests, an actor lands a gig as an extra on a small movie, but this guy is the most annoying person on Earth, gets on everyone's nerves, fucks up shots/scenes, etc. So he gets fired and bascially kills most of the cast & crew in his crazed revenge.

Now, it's not straight horror. It's really 75% comedy, 25% horror I'd say.
People have read the script, and their main concern is that we know who the killer is (his name is Dagnus Todd). SO? I mean, my point is NOT who the killer is, we know the guy is nutso at the beginning, I feel that the entertainment of the story is how/when he's going to snap, and who's going to survive. Nightmare on Elm St, Friday The 13th, Halloween, Chucky, etc - We know the killer.

Thoughts/reflections on this?

Worst TV Show Ever?

Cool Band to listen to: YOUTH GROUP
Cool Movie now on cable: THE BAXTER
Cool Baseball Team to Cheer for: The Phils (be even better if they had some decent relief)

Now the reason for this post.......

I was thinking about some of the cool shows I watch nowadays (when Spongebob or Fairly Oddparents aren't clogging the TV). Entourage. Scrubs. Lost. The Office. And I'm happy that my guilty pleasure (What About Brian?) is returning. And I'm looking forward to some of the new stuff, like Studio 60 & 30 Rock. But it got me thinking back to stuff I used to watch, stuff like Miami Vice (yeah, it's dated, but it rocked), Cheers, and I loved that 'Nam show Tour Of Duty. The A-Team. Knight Rider. The Dukes!

But what show did I despise?? What did I hate hate hate? Only one show comes to mind. No, not Blossom, although Mayim or however you spell her name did get under my skin. And there are plenty of other lame comedies or boring dramas that leave a stench. But the one show that made me want to swallow a lit stick of dynamite was..(drumroll)..Small Wonder.

Oh my God how I wanted her to malfunction. Forever!

What's your worst TV show EVER?

Let's Shake This House

Writing Update for those who give a dump.

CRICKET HILL Pilot - Waiting for final notes. It's a half-hour of comedy gold!

FOOD FIGHT - Manager has sent it out to agents. The big boys. We're talking ICM, Willy Morris, Endeavor, Gersch, and that upstart CAA, plus a couple smaller ones. Of course, they have to like it. Keep you posted.

ZUCKER - ALMOST done! I love this script, it's a fun comedy about a 40 year old realtor who falls in love with a 19 year old hottie. There's much more to it than that, at this point he's trying to outwit a hotman in the sewers of Mexico. Been tied up with FF & CH to properly finish it but since they're done for now, I'd like to end Zucker.

Westville -Formerly titled Skid Marks, I changed it because I realized it wasn't as broad or "gross-out." although it does have certain elements of that stuff, and as for the main plot, I must keep that underwraps.

Got some other ideas/partially written scripts in the works but I want to finish Zucker & Westville first.

Entourage Note - I loved this season, but got a bit pissed during the last episode - Drama was the only one making sense. Why fire Ari? Just for the "shock" of it (story-wise?)? He's been behind Vince all the way. And when he went behind "Bob's" back, he did so for the best of the project, and for Vince. He couldn't have that loser tagging along with them, killing his mojo during their meetings. Eric knew this, and witnessed Ari's magic when he landed them an offer. So to go and say "Oh let's fire Ari" in the final episode of this season, I thought it was kinda out of leftfield.

Flickmaking - Dealing With Editors

First, movie news:
28 WEEKS LATER - coming 2007.
Invincible - 14-16 Million.

DVD Review: V For Vendetta
Snooze. Quite boring. It thought it was a bit more important than it was. Script was lazy. V simply looked ridiculous, especially cooking eggs.


And now, about editors..........

My main suggestion to anyone about to make a flick, get signed contracts. This might be obvious, but some of y'all out there might be thinking about skipping this detail. Don't.

I got burned twice by editors, 2 different situations. Here's the 1st. We'll call this editor Bob. 'Cause that's his first name. Nice enough dude, good at cutting the scenes together (in his defense, I really gave him a lot of crap to work with). We verbally agreed on a price for the edit, but we never had a contract. And as the edit grew longer, the price went up. And he had me really, because, well, he had 75% of the movie edited at that point, and what was I gonna do, tell him to pound sand? Finding another editor (and paying them) at that point didn't seem worth it. So the price went up, I paid him in installments and finally the movie was done. This was 5 years ago now.

2nd bad experience was 2 years after. For this tale, we'll call this editor JD. 'Cause that's his initials. This situation was the opposite. He was hungry, fresh out of college, and eager to edit his 1st feature. Started off well, then he talked about needing $$. I was ok with that, the guy was putting a lot of time & effort so I paid him what he asked (wasn't much). Then he talked about moving to NY. He finally finished the rough cut. It had some things that needed fixing, but not too much. So it went back to him for the final cut.

Time passed, he was in NY at that point, working full time as an editor. But I was in no real rush so I let him work on it when he could. But he didn't. And the final cut that I eventually got STILL HAD 4 noticeably edits that needed to be completed. I left messages for him, no reply. E-mails. Nothing. Then his phone # changed and was unlisted. E-mails were returned as undeliverable. I've never even gone to another editor to finish this project, mainly due to the fact that I knew the thing wouldn't ever get sold anyway (it was a feature, ultra-low budget, and it showed) so I gave up on it.

So draw up some contracts if you're heading into production. We always had them, even for PAs, but for some reason those pesky editors slipped through my fingers. Never again!

And one thing you should do in order to make your editor's life easier - ORGANIZE. Countle$$ hours were spent (on that 1st project) sifting through footage trying to find the right shots, etc. Get yourself a great Script supervisor on-set, and BEFORE you go to your editor, you have all of your footage logged in great detail. It'll save you, trust me.

Some of this crap most of you will know, I just figured to post about it for those who might not think of it.

Little Children

Children of Men (among a handful of others) is certainly on my list of MUST-SEES for this year. And now this, Todd Field's next movie, called Little Children. Talk about a great, great trailer. Perfect.

Check out the site, and click on the trailer.

Pluto Will Always Be A Planet To Me

They can't just take away one of our planets. Can they? I mean, growing up, going to ol' Roosevelt School, I learned about those 9. The 9, man! This is bullshit. Don't these spacenerds have anything better to do? Go find another solar system, or build Hubble 2. I don't care. Just not Pluto. You fuckers already messed me up years back when you said Saturn wasn't the only planet with rings. And now this?

Oh well. I could always write a script about it. Hmm, titles. Pluto Rising? Pluto & Me? Saving Pluto? Fisting Pluto? Pluto Attacks? 'Cause it's pissed off at Earth, get it? And it wants some payback.

Excuse the lame post. Long day at work, and the Phillies lost today (Cole Hamels got crushed!).

A Pleasant Surpise

So I'm flipping through the channels on Saturday night, licking my wounds from another Red Sox loss (yeah, and another loss tonight. If only Big Papi could pitch, too) and I come across Stander, starring Thomas Jane. It got good reviews when it "came out" last year, although it was nowhere to be seen around NJ and was quickly gone from any theaters in the US as far as I know.

What a great freakin' film. Damn. Thomas Jane was amazing, and the rest of the cast was equally as kick-ass. Go find this movie and see it. But there's an exchange between Thomas Jane and one of his partners-in-crime toward the end of the movie (Jane is a cop in South Africa but has been robbing banks) that blew me away. They're escaping from the police in this scene and are speeding down endless highways at dawn. The writing here, and their performances, made the movie for me. Seek it out if you haven't already seen it. Great stuff.

Ever come across a movie that you had little or no info. about it, and it just blew you away?

Told Ya

Well, Snakes is on the loose and is tearing up the box office, ok, maybe not. Like I figured, after all the hype, people have figured out that it's still a dumb movie with a dumb title (still, a fun title, yes) and it should make UP TO 21 million (they're figuring 18-21) for the weekend.

Figure next week as most horror/action flicks do it'll lose 60% of the box office and make 8-10, and by the end it'll be lucky to clear 50-60 million. Look, that ain't bad really, but after all these reports of Snakes bloggers/internet buzz changing the face of movies? Nah. Not with this one, anyway.

Best Picture....2007?

Production begins in December on The Darjeeling Limited, starring Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody in a comedy/adventure (across India) directed by Wes Anderson. Sweet.

Don't Tell Me What To Do, H'Wood!

They went and did it again, ol' Hollywood, trying to tell us what to do.

And they think I'll fall for it. STEP UP? Why the hell should I? I certainly didn't TAKE THE LEAD when you asked me to. And while we're on the subject, I didn't listen when you said RAISE YOUR VOICE. So there! And when you requested me to SAVE THE LAST DANCE, well, I didn't. And I did not, absolutely did not SING!

Scripts/DVD/Music/Johnny Drama/Mel

Well, it's official, Food Fight is el completo. Next step is selling the mofo. My manager rode me on this, a very good thing, his notes were amazing and right on. And now I feel great about it. So, we'll see. I'll let you know its progress through the ranks of H'wood. It's going out this weekend so maybe by next week I'll have news. Of course, it could take months now for any news to surface, either way I'll keep y'all posted.

Cricket Hill tv pilot is next. I'm finishing my re-write of that this weekend. The director is in Canada this weekend, doing some re-shoots of his next movie.

As for my next original scripts, I've got 2 comedies coming. One is called Zucker - This has been almost done now for months, but I've been too busy with Cricket Hill & Food Fight to work on it seriously. It's been at page 80 since March! Also, I'm starting a fresh one called Skid Marks. I'll post a logline for it at a later date, all I can tell you is that it's gonna be funny as hell.

On the music front, I bought the new Youth Group album (Ebay) and eagerly awaits its arrival. They're Aussies, go buy their last album (Skeleton Jar). It's amazing. I'm also loving the new Killers' single.

On DVD, I saw Brick (awesome) and The Matador (terrific). Both worth a peek.

In TV land, Entourage is about the only thing I follow, along with baseball. Entourage is having a great season. Each episode has been solid. Kevin Dillon & Jeremy Piven rock.

Haven't seen any flicks in the theater lately, I'd like to see Ricky Bobby & WTC. My wife & kids saw Barnyard, said it was just ok. They skipped The Ant Bully (apparently so did everyone else).

Also, in my previous post regarding Melly Gibson I wrote that Sugartits was a good line (in the comments section). Got some flack for that (WG). I still think it's funny, but understand why it might be taken as offensive, however, it's such a ridiculous term/word, that I think it's hilarious. Sugartits. I mean, c'mon, what is a sugartit exactly? And as WG asked, what if I was called Needledick? Well, honestly, I'd laugh just as hard.

CHILDREN OF MEN

I've got a new movie to add to the coming-soon must-see list (that now includes The Fountain, The Prestige, The Science Of Sleep, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Departed).

Children of Men - this is one of those trailers that gives you the chills. Wow, can't freaking wait for this one. Click this to experience it. (The Sigor Ros music certainly helps, but still, it looks amazing).

In other news, my last draft of Food Fight went over wonderfully, just a few more weeks and we're going to get it to some agents (bigtime agents, Endeavor, ICM, we'll see) and after that? Who knows. I've got a damn good feeling about it though. Cricket Hill Pilot is just about lokced down, I'm finishing Act 4 this weekend.

By the way, I love the idea of Heath Ledger as The Joker in the upcoming gonna-kick ass movie, The Dark Knight. Nolan knows what he's doing.

I finally done it

I'm on myspace.com, yeah I did it. I'm on it for the networking angle, so if you're a spammer/pornsite/whore/pimp/webcam slut/Mel Gibson, don't make me your "friend."

Okay, that Mel comment may have been uncalled for. Maybe not. I've always liked Mel, but it's hard to at this point. After Passion he seemed to sorta lose his mind. And Apoca-lame-o just isn't doing it for me. I mean, dude, your life is handed to you on a gold plate (he's loaded, in other words) the least he could do is NOT fuck it up.

And no, Dr. Phil, there was more than alcohol going on with Mel. You don't just start throwing around racial slurs 'cause you're drunk, sure, I'd buy him being an asshole and calling the cops "dicks" or whatever, but not lobbying out racial slurs (while slurring, no doubt). Plus I've seen footage of his ultra-racist Dad rambling on about how the Holocaust never happened, blah, blah, blah, so I'm sure this stuff was in Mel's head for quite some time.

Just got back from Virginia Beach, we were there a week. Good times, hit the ocean a lot with the fam, the kiddies had a blast checking out the dolphins that seemed to swim by constantly. A bit trashy though tourist-wise, I actually prefer the Outer Banks (Kitty Hawk) that we went to last Summer, but overall stilll a good time, and much better than most Jersey Shores (although Cape May rocks pretty hard).

So, check me out on myspace, add me as a friend or whatever and I'll do the same: http://www.myspace.com/pjrodio

'Sup!

Updates - Finishing my LAST Food Fight re-write tonight and will e-mail it over to my manager. It kicks a whole lot of ass. Okay, it might not be the last re-write EVER, but it's the last one for now (the re-writes were based on my managers notes, now it's in amazing shape!).

And in about 5 weeks, we hope to go out with it. Why 5 weeks? 'Cause it's Summer, and he wants to take it out when it people aren't on their vacations, etc, which will be after Labor Day. Useless to send out a script if 50% of the people you want to read it ain't there!

Cricket Hill (pilot) is off to the director now, he's going to check out Acts 2 & 3 and after I get his notes, we'll lock down those acts. I got some good stuff in there, I'm pretty happy with it.

After all the Snakes On A Plane hype, how much do you think it'll actually make? I'm thinking not blockbuster money, more like the gross of a solid horror flick that opens semi-big then drops like a stone. Like, it'll make 20-25 in it's opening weekend, then sink to 10 the following and by the time it's out of theaters, maybe it'll clear 50-60. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Besides the fun, trashy title, it looks like a pretty stupid movie that will fill it's opening weekend audience with college frat boys and internet hypesters (this is no 4 quadrant movie, like Pirates 2), then drop.

Two movies have truly caught my eyeballs, both coming in November. The first one is Stranger Than Fiction, which I've heard about for quite some time. Looks wonderful. And then, there's The Fountain. HOLY SHIT!! The trailer for that is simply amazing. If the movie's half as good, well, it'll be a pretty wild, beautiful ride. clcik on the movie titles below and you will go to joblo.com, both links have links to the trailers. Awesome stuff.

Kick Ass!

I was pooping today and thought of a good post. What movies are cool, kick-ass movies? Then I got to thinking and made a small list. Please add to it. "Kick-ass" can mean a few different things. The way it was shot, it's "Fuck you" attitude, the characters, etc. Kick-ass movies might not always be great movies, but you'll watch them when they're on. Why? 'Cause the kick ass!

Some examples:

The Hitcher - This movie grabs you by the balls and yanks. Good plot twists, and surprisngly unpredictable.

Near Dark - Kicks the shit out of The Lost Boys.

Aliens - James Cameron owns this. He took the series to a whole other level. It's a shame David Fincher came in and pissed all over it with Alien 3, but what can you do.

Run Lola Run - See it.

Reservoir Dogs - Pulp Fction doesn't kick ass in my book, although it's a superior movie to Dogs. But this movie shambles along, quickly, to it's awesome, bloody finale. And no, Kill Bill doesn't kick ass in my book because I didn't like Kill Bill at all. Although I did like...

From Dusk Til Dawn, written by QT and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It's a throwaway movie, but it has some balls.

The Bourne Supremacy - Bourne literally kicks ass, but the filmmaking here is also notable. Awesome car chase.

The Thing - "Maybe we shouldn't." Great characters. Perfect ending.

Danny Boyle's Trainspotting & 28 Days Later. Amazing stuff. But NOT The Beach, although that could have been a great movie. It wasn't.

Jaws - "Show me the way to go home........"

70s thrillers - The French Connection, Marathon Man, Three Days of the Condor

Dawn Of The Dead - This movie pulled me right in from it's amazing opening sequence to its tragic finale. Can't wait to see what he does with 300, coming in 2007.

Your turn - what kicks your ass?

Best & Worst - Updated!

Okay, think about your favorite directors, or at least some well-known established directors, and give me your favorite movies from them, and then your least favorites. C'mon, it'll be fun.

Here's some of mine............

Marty:
My Fave: Mean Streets & Goodfellas
Least Fave: The Aviator
Flawed but underrated - Bringing Out The Dead

Spike Lee
My Fave: 25th Hour, Crooklyn, Clockers
Least Fave: She Hate Me, Mo Better Blues
Underrated - Jungle Fever, Overrated - Do the Right Thing

Stevie Spielberg
Fave: Jaws, Close Encounters, Private Ryan, Empire Of The Sun, Raiders
Least Fave - AI, 1941
Overrated - The color Purple
Underrated - Munich

Steven Soderbergh
Fave - Out Of Sight, King of the Hill. The Limey, Traffic
Least - Solaris

Coens:
Fave: Miller's X-ing, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Fargo
Least Fave - Intolerable Cruelty (had some moments though)
Underrated: Hudsucker, The Ladykillers
Overrated: Blood Simple

Sam Raimi:
Fave - A Simple Plan, Evil Dead
Least Fave: Darkman

Brian DePalma
Fave: The Untouchables, Casualties Of War, Carlito's Way
Least Fave: Dressed To Kill, Mission To Mars, Raising Cain
Underrated: Blow Out

Cronenberg
Fave: The Fly
Least Fave: Naked Lunch
Overrated: History Of Violence

Peter Weir:
Fave: Gallipoli, Fearless, Dead Poets, Truman Show, The Last Wave, Witness, The Mosquito Coast
Least Fave: Green Card (it does have moments though), The Year Of Living Dangerously.

Woody Allen:
Fave - Manhattan, Annie Hall, Sleeper
Least Fave - Match Point, Celebrity, Everyone Says I Love You

Ron Howard:
Fave - Gung Ho, Willow, Apollo 13, Night Shift, Cocoon, Parenthood
Least - The Missing
Overrated - A Beautiful Mind

John Hughes
Fave - Planes Trains, 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, She's Having A Baby
Least Fave: Curly Sue
Underrated: Christmas Vacation

John Carpenter
Fave - The Thing, Escape From NY, Halloween
Least Fave - Escape From LA, Vampires
Underrated - They Live

Clint Eastwood
Fave - Unforgiven
Least - Anything with a monkey, Garden/Good/Evil
Underrated - A Perfect World, Mystic River

Georgie Lucas
Fave - Star Wars, American Graffitti
Least Fave - Eps 1, 2, 3

Francis Ford Coppola
Fave - Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, The Conversation, Godfather 1 & 2
Least Fave - Jack, The Rainmaker, Rumble Fish, Godfather 3

YOUR TURN!!!!

Cool Posters

Spidey 3 & Bobby. By the way, look at that Bobby cast (directed by Emilio Estevez).

BlueCat Feedback 2

I got my Cricket Hill feedback from BlueCat.

What did you like about this script?

The author has a sly sense of humor that is incorporated into the script. One example: when Bean and Billy are at the top of Dead Man’s Hill, Bean complains that people have died there. “Tall tales,” counters Billy, until they hear a kid scream in the distance. “Mostly tall tales,” he amends. Another moment: when Grandpa puts vodka in everyone’s juice. Or when a clueless co-worker hurts herself and Oliver asks how she is. He gets the offhand reply, “Her hand was on fire.” To which he asks, not really caring either way, “You put it out.” The piece de resistance is the revelation-filled family dinner. Everyone confesses all from infidelities to homosexuality to incest to adoption, and it is all taken in stride as only things are in such a offbeat comedy.

This is an oddball family, but one where every character is distinct and interesting. Our hero Billy is, of course, the straight man in a family of crazies. The deaf and senile Grandpa. The ditzy daughter Anna. The sex and toaster obsessed father who lost his job and hasn’t worked up the courage to tell anyone. The teacher mom who deals with vomit and blood on a daily basis and doesn’t remember the names of her students. The former golden boy football star and valedictorian turned hippie Dave with his pregnant, older girlfriend. The only semi-sane brother Oliver who works at a burger joint with complete idiots and lusts after his sister. The two-time high school failure and closeted gay John. This script is reminiscent of Arrested Development. It has the same sort of offbeat collection of characters but ones who are likeable. In particular, Billy makes a good narrator, one who fits into his strange family but is also apart from it enough to be an impartial observer.

I often dislike voiceovers. There are usually employed as a cheap device to fill in holes the author neglected. In this case, Billy’s voiceover works. Especially in the opening sequence, he introduces us to all the family members and supporting characters with a brisk ease and dry wit that makes them memorable. The device with Billy writing a book about his family (a school project he simply couldn’t finish) makes sense as well. The author has crafted a compelling, smoothly-paced story. At 101 pages, it never grows tired or sluggish. The dialogue is witty and flows naturally. The description is enough to give us a clear mental image without getting bogged down in endless detail. Overall, this is a charming, humorous script with strong characters.

What do you think needs work?

For a relatively smart comedy, there is an over-reliance on low-grade toilet humor. Is it necessary to have quite so many fart/bathroom/etc. jokes? The humor plays to two completely different audiences. The smart, offbeat humor will appeal to the same fans of shows like The Simpsons or Arrested Development. The bathroom humor is going to attract teenage boys and not many others. I think it would be a mistake to turn off the first set of viewers with the inclusion of too much toilet humor.While most of the characters made a strong impression, a few didn’t ring true. In particular, Brooke comes across as a high school vixen, not at all subtle, and it seems silly. Why does she like Billy anyway? Teenage girls usually pursue older men, not younger. Dating a younger guy would be social suicide, and the fact that he’s your best friend’s brother is even worse. Plus, how many high school girls are so sexually advanced and blatant? This character seemed silly and over-the-top. Chad Gross was your typical gross teenage bully. His character, while stereotypical, is fine. My question was what does Daphne see in him? She’s into Billy, Billy’s into her. But since he hasn’t gotten his act together and asked her out, she’s dating Chad. Chad is nothing like Billy. If she likes Billy, she’s unlikely to like Chad and vice versa. For a smart-seeming girl, she looks idiotic to hook up with this guy.

A small problem character-wise is that a few of the family members seem different once we get into the story than they do in Billy’s opening introduction. Anna is presented as an empty-headed, ditzy cheerleader, but after the opening sequence, she never seems quite so air-headed. John is shown as a high school failure (on his second or third go-around of senior year), flicking boogers at others for amusement. Basically, your typical stupid teenage boy. Yet, he actually appears to be more sensitive in the bulk of the script than the opener gives him credit for. In fact, he turns out to be gay, something that, based on the opening introduction, is completely unexpected and out of thin air.

This week, I'm busy locking down acts 2 & 3 of the Cricket Hill pilot. It's still a blast to write after all this time (I originally wrote in in 2003) and now that we're creating a TV show out of it, it's really fun to open it up and expand the characters and their situations.

I'd recommended BlueCat when it rolls around next year, as you can see it offers some decent feedback, plus the entry fee is sweet ($35).

Cool Movies Coming Soon

Both The Fountain and The Prestige look amazing. Can't wait to see both.

Pirates 2 just blew past 250+ million, of course, in record time. Depending on how it holds up against Boredom In the Water, Monster House, Clerks 2, and Super Ex, it should be past 300 million soon. Will it hit 400? We'll see how it holds up.

Meanwhile Superman might (MIGHT) finish with 200 million. I swore that would have made more $$. Cars in still cruising with 220 million and counting.

Chow Yun Fat has been cast in Pirates 3 as a pirate captain, which I think will be pretty damn cool.

The Worst!!!

So, what's the WORST movie you EVER saw? After checking out some reponses over at Scott The Reader's latest blog, I was inspired to think back on the biggest pieces of shit I ever wasted my movie-going time on. Some lowlights.....

Firebirds - Nicholas Cage, Sean Young, Tommy Lee Jones, and some Apache helicopters. Dreadful.

A Kiss Before Dying - Sean Young (See a pattern?). Terrible, terrible.

Meatballs 4 - Featuring Corey Feldman and that levitating alien freak, what a great way to take a huge shit all over the original movie (which I liked). Parts 2 & 3 (featuring a young, awkward, Patrick Dempsey) were bad enough, but this cockscab of a movie brings it to a whole new sub-level of bad.

Mac & Me - Diarrhea on film.

Darkman - I may have liked it when it first came out years ago (1991?),and if that's the case I was young and stupid. I saw it last year and what a horribly made/acted/directed/written/shot piece of garbage.

Alien 3 - I still hate this movie. I don't care if ol' Fincher had to re-cut or if the movie was taken away from him, etc, etc. The plot sucked, and it took the story from the 1st two AMAZING FILMS and flushed it all down the toilet. I actually enjoyed Alien 4 much more than this crap.

Alien Vs. Predator - Stupid. Please don't make another. Too late? dammit!

Vertical Limit - Okay, your sister is trapped on a mountain so you piss and moan until you can assemble a team of climbers to help you go get her, and you get MOST of them killed in the process. Nice going, douche. when I saw this in the theater I also noticed the BOOM POLE or an actual film crew member in 80% of the shots, and I'm not lying.

Superman 4 - Quest 4 Peace - Christ Almighty. The battle with Blonde Man was lame enough, but did they notice that a HUMAN BEING was brought up into SPACE and was just floating there, not dying???

The Village - I think M.Night is an awesome director, I just wish he'd stop writing.

Catwoman - Meeooowch! I don't mind watching Halle Berry prance around in tight leather, but have her fight a villain better than - A cosmetics empire?!?!?! Directed by Pitof. 'Nuff said.

Wing Commander - Dumb as a bag of dead monkeys.

A Lot Like Love - Actually harmful to watch.

Chicago - God, how I despised this.

High Tension - Poor taste, and crappy, too.

Shark boy & Lava Girl - I like Robert Rodriguez but this was simply a crap movie.

Iron Eagle 3: Aces - Poor Louis Gossett, Jr.

Most John Waters movies. No, wait, all of them.

That's all I can come up with off the top of my head. I'm sure I'll think of more. What are some of yours??

POTC!

Well, it's landing at 132 million.

Saw the movie last night - Loved it. Great stuff happening in there. The Perfect Summer movie, and a perfect compliment to the 1st film, and I eagerly await to see what they come up with in the final installment, "At World's End."

Orlando Bloom has some nice stuff in here, his scenes with Stellan Skaarsgard are great, and this movie fleshes out some stuff we've heard about in the first movie. I like Bloom, shame he got stuck in the clunker, Elizabethtown, but I don't see that as his fault, that was more of Cameron Crowe's blunder.

Keira, sweet as always, and her character's actions are interesting to see.

Loved Bill Nighy as Davey Jones. Wow. Incredible work by him as well as the F/X team.

Depp - What can you say. Still owns this role, and his I did like what they did with his character here.

Gore Verbinski should get a special commendation for steering this ship, he's got so much well-choreographed action sequences going on at the same time throughout, it was a delight to see. Also, if you think he can only do big Summer flicks, check out The Weather Man, which he directed last year.

Was it a perfect movie? No, but it was fun as hell. Better than the 1st? I'd say it's a good companion piece. It's what a Summer movie should be.

Also, stick around through the end credits, there's a little something at the end that's quite funny.

Pirate$ Update

Pirates grossed 54.9 million.....on Friday. That killed the previous 1 day record holder (Sith) and they're estimating it will rake in 135-145 for the weekend (old record is Spidey 1 at 114.8 million).

Feedback'd

Okay, here is my feedback for The BlueCat Screenplay competition for my script, THE MONEY SHOT, followed by brief comments for CRICKET HILL, which I entered into Writers On The Storm (which was before Prospect Pictures picked it (and me) up to turn it into a TV series).

The following is from Bluecat, regarding The Money Shot (originally written in 2000). In a nutshell - college student loses financial aid & tries to make a porn:

WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS SCRIPT?

It’s definitely got some funny moments - there’s some good character based humor, as well as some laugh out loud slapstick scenarios. The premise of a group of film students shooting a clandestine porn film on the side isn’t particularly original, but it is handled with a genuine affection for its subject matter, and enough fresh angles that the overall script didn’t feel as though it had all been done before.

The characters were diverse and most of the major ones had some interesting levels to them. The relationship and interaction between Kenny and his friends was well presented and intriguing. The dialogue and tone was consistent and for the most part well matched to the characters, although there were some issues. (See part two.) The characters didn’t all sound the same - a frequent problem in many scripts. Boston’s snappy one-liners were funny, and the excruciating dialogue of Kenny’s parents in front of Megan was perfectly over-the-top. The action and description was clear, well written, and visual; and the story was easy to follow without any confusing or distracting scenes. There was a good balance between physical humor and dialogue/character humor, and some funny, original scenarios, usually plausibly constructed. The “Adam and Eve” scene on page 77 was very funny - although I think it could’ve been pushed even further. In general, I didn’t feel the story line lagged or slowed down at any point, and the tension of how long they could get away with their film-making unnoticed was nicely sustained. The opening scene was great, and a nice way to introduce the varied characters, as well as set the tone and subject matter of the script. The bracketing of Kenny’s voiceover in the opening and closing scenes works well thematically to tie the script together, and offers a nicely unexpected heartwarming feeling about the joys of sitting back with a group of friends and watching midget porn. Who would’ve thought?

WHAT DO YOU THINK NEEDS WORK?
There are some character inconsistencies. Grace is set up as an uptight prude - we meet her as she’s organizing a protest against the local go-go bar. When we find her smoking pot on page 82, it’s out of character. We can believe her and Gabriel’s tryst in the gym - the uptight prude turns out to be suppressing desires that have got the better of her - but her getting stoned just didn’t seem believable. The Dean’s dialogue doesn’t read realistically at many points - even considering that his character is preachy and didactic.

There might be a benefit to having an actor (or friend) read the lines aloud, and listening to whether or not they flow naturally. There’s also a problem throughout the story of the stakes involved. They never seemed high enough, which weakens the drama. What are the consequences of Kenny not graduating for another six months? Yeah, it sucks, but a whole lot of students don’t graduate on time, and life works out. He needs to have a strong emotional reason - gaining his father’s respect, winning true love, something powerful, something meaningful for Kenny, whatever that might be. Along with higher stakes for accomplishing his goals, there needs to be higher risks if he fails. In fact, there needs to be more risk for all the characters, and the risks need to escalate throughout the film. As it is now, it’s difficult for the audience to truly care about their situation and whether or not their porno succeeds. (I’d argue that the first “Revenge of the Nerds” was a much better movie than its sequels largely because in the first one the two main characters were fighting for one’s father’s respect, and the other’s first true love; in the sequel, they were fighting for an inter-fraternity competition.) If Kenny’s emotional life hangs in the balance between succeeding and failing, then we have a reason to root for him to succeed. The script, as it is now, would make a cute movie, but it could be much more.

Pretty good notes. I disagree slightly on their take of Grace; at that point in the script she has sorta lost all hope, and the point was that although she was a prude she was a closet pothead. Their main concern was with the "stakes." I agree with them to a point, although in the script I did make several mentions of a huge job opportunity for Kenny upon graduating, but if they're mentioning it as a negative then I should make that clearer.

As for Writers On The Storm - Good contest, cheap entry (like Bluecat, it was $35) and they give feedback (not as in depth, but it's nice to hear ANY notes on your screenplay. They did mention that they had 907 entries, and that 210 made the quarter-finals, and that mine came in at 250. Not too shabby.

"A well-written, entertaining script. the dialogue is sharp and many of the scenes have a good amount of conflict. The tension is good throughout most of the script, but some of the structure is off. Overall, it was a fun read. Good effort and good luck." Their scoring came down to checkmarks in the GOOD categories for Premise, Characters, and Dialogue, and SO-SO for Structure.

Well, they were right about the structure, but the script was never your typical 3-act Syd Field blueprint, and that was on purpose. But that's also the reason why when Prospect Pictures decided to take it on, they said it makes a better TV series than a feature, and since I started developing it with them as a TV pilot, I couldn't agree more!

I am awaiting Cricket Hill Bluecat feedback, and when I get that I'll post that, too.

Okay, I'm done. I'm hoping to catch Pirates 2 this weekend with the wife, and it's my B-day on Sat! Go on, say it!

Des Serpents!!!

It's coming soon, gang! Best movie of the year? Well, no. Will it make a lot of $$? Well, maybe not. I picture opening big for an action flick (no more than 25 million, I bet it makes 18-20 in it's opening weekend), then it'll fall off quickly and make about 60 million total, maybe 80 if it has any legs. But, it will likely be HUGE on DVD.

They're murmuring that Pirates 2 might beat the all-time opening weekend gross. I think it's possible. It looks great and will wipe all the other movies out this weekend. My $350 million estimate may be way off, it might do north of 400 million. Dang!

FeedMeBack

BlueCat feedback will be posted on my site, they said it should be e-mailed by 7/15. I'll include every word, except anything negative. Oh, stop, I'm joking.

The first act of Cricket Hill TV Pilot is locked down, now I'm working on Acts 2 & 3, as well as a re-write of my feature script, FOOD FIGHT. Once FF is done, my manager will take it out, sell it, and I'll retire.

After I wake up, I'll then finish my high-concept idea (co-story by credit goes to my bro-in-law, Ken!) called The Stand-In. It's an idea so good, so high concept, that I dare not announce it yet! It's good! Also working on 3 other high concept comedies, 2 awesome ones coming from my wife's mind (She's good! Her first idea she ever had scored us an option back in 1998!). My manager will be pushing me as a high concept comedy dude, so it'll be a long (but fun) summer of getting these scripts done.

Haven't seen Superdude yet, we only see a handful of movies per year due to children and a lack of decent babysitting, so it may have to wait. however, I WILL SEE Pirates 2 in the theater, dammit!

I hope NJ will open back up again soon. Quite a sad statement when your state has to close (even the beaches?!?!?! What the f***!). Oh, that was FUCK for those who couldn't read asterisk.

Cranked!

Check this poster out - It's for a movie called CRANK, which sounds like a sorta update of an underrated Dennis Quaid movie from a ways back called DOA. In this, a man (Jason Stratham) has been injected with a poison that will kill him in 1 hour unless he's constantly stimulated by adrenaline (think kick ass action stuff, yeah!) as he tried to track down the bad guys. Nice!

Well, Superman is kicking butt. Not kicking ass, but I'd say more of a butt. It did 21 million on Weds (Spidey 2 made 40.4 million on its opening day) and Supes did 11 million on Thursday (down a larger percentage that War Of the Worlds) and is estimated to hit about 90 million for 5 days. The main thing will be how it holds up, espcially with the juggernaut of Pirates of the Johnny Deppster approaching, although I'm wondering if some people will be turned off since Pirates 2 ends with a sorta cliffhanger (Pirates 3 is next summer). I doubt it, I think Pirates will still rake it in.

3 !

Can't wait until May, 2007!

My Box Office Estimates - An update!

Back in March, I posted about what the summer box office might look like. Let's see how I'm doing thus far.......

I've got Superman at 480 million. (chuckles). Well, maybe that's high, although the movie looks great and like I said then, if it turns out to be great, and something the kids can get into also, then maybe I'm NOT so crazy.

Pirates 2 - I guessed 375 million. I stand by that 100%. People love the Depp as Cap'n Jack, and rightly so, he owns it, makes people laugh, and so on. This is the only movie that could put a beat down on Supes. If I'm wrong it'll be because I didn't estimate enough.

Cars - Cool movie, I liked it a lot. Some amazing animation here. But it ain't gonna hit 350 million, which was my guess, it might be more like 240-250 million. I thought it might a few months back, but now I realize that although kids will flock to it, not too so many GIRLS will flock to it, mostly boys who think race cars are cool (and their Dad's who KNOW race cars are cool). It's actually a great family movie.

DaVinci - I'm sorry, I assumed it was actually going to be a good movie. I was so bored I couldn't even fall asleep. It just barely squeaked by 200 million so my 275 estimate ain't gonna happen. And it doesn't deserve it either.....on a Ron Howard side note, just (finally) caught Cinderella Man - Great movie, Crowe was awesome, loved everything about it. By the way, maybe I'm too tough on DaVinci, it had some good moments, like when the rear view mirror broke!

MI:3 - I said 240, it's hovering around 130 and will stop around there. Why? It deserves at least 250, and it's a shame. Well, it's Cruiseball's fault for shoving his dopey opinions in the world's face, but he still made a KICK ASS movie.

X-3 - I was damn close - I estimated 230, it's now at 225 after making 4.4 million this weekend, so I'll be a little off, but pretty close!

Poseiden - I estimated 200 million - Oops!

Over Da Hedge - I guessed 180-190, which as it turns out will be a little high, it's now a bit over 140 and pretty much done.

Click - I've got it at 175, it just made 40 million as it's opening, it should kick ass through the 4th weekend. Depends how it'll hold up. Too early to tell.

The Break-Up - I pegged it at 150. It just went by 100 mil, but it's losing steam so my guess will be too high.

The Fast and REALY Furious 3 - I thought 80. It won't make 80.

Nacho - I said 80 million, and it appears that I was dead-on. Experts are guessing it'll end around 75-80.

The Omen - I guessed 80, it's at 60 and dropping like Julia Styles career, so that estimate will be high.

Everything else on the list has yet to open, so I'll have to throw down an update in about a month.

Cricket Hill & Food Fight!

Pic is from Pretty Persuasion, directed by Marcos Siega, produced by Prospect Pictures.

I'm in the process of "locking down" act 1 of the Cricket Hill TV series pilot. Once I finish this post, I plan on wrapping it up and e-mailing it over to Prospect Pictures. I've got all the notes I need from them, they are really awesome regarding making notes, etc, about everything.Every change I've made has made the project 1000% better. Then we'll write Acts 2 & 3 into stone and we'll be good to go. It's been going very smoothly and I've loved every moment of this experience.

Also just finished my Food Fight! draft (feature). It went over very well, just a bit of tweaking of Act 3 and we're going to send it on out into the world. My manager has been kicking ass with this one; he's already talked about it with a ton of people in the indusrty and they are eagerly awaiting it. The plan is to take it out and attach a few actors/a director. He's aiming at a Jack Black/Luke or Owen Wilson/Ryan Reynolds/Vince Vaughn/Will Ferrell - you get the point, it's got two male leads, so some sort of cool, fun combo will really make it kick ass. Jason Bateman (not a huge name, but a great actor with a kick-ass sarcastic/paranoid/neurotic/hilarious demeanor would also be perfect for one of the roles.

Song of the day - Mason Jennings - BE HERE NOW.

Updates, Etc....

That's the poster for the upcoming Gondry movie, the Science Of Sleep. I wish all posters at least TRIED to do something creative and different like this one. Great poster.

Here's an update.

Working on the final touches of the Cricket Hill script. We're in the "locking down scenes" phase now. It's looking good.


Caught up with some movies:

X-Men - Eh. Liked the concept, but way too short to have that many characters. Why the hell is Angel on ANY posters? He's in it for 2 minutes! He doesn't even warrant his own flashback! And how do you kill off a major character, off-screen no less, and have pretty much NO reaction to it from any of the characters?? I like Beast, and Grammer was good.

DaVinci - Eh. It was long, it felt long, and for such a fascinating subject/plot, was very uneventful. I felt every minute of it.

MI:3 - Easily the best of the summer thus far, best of the year so far is United 93.

Over The Hedge/Cars - Both are fun, smart, and damn cute, and both create excellent visuals in their worlds. Great stuff all around. The end credits of Cars was especially well done.

On DVD:
Underwhelmed 2. Oh, I mean Underworld 2. Boring as shit. Took 2 nights to watch it. It sucked. 1st was was pretty tedius, and redundant, as well as redundant, but I actually liked the 1st one better. Not much, mind you. These movies are a WASTE of an excellent idea (werewolf/vampire war? How freakin' cool is that?!). Yet, for most of their battles, they just shoot at each other.

Fun With Dick & Jane - I loved the hell out of this, and that surprised me. Jim Carrey owned it, and Tea Leoni rocked hard as well. I just liked it's fun, lightweight feel, and there were some terrific set-pieces. The whole immigrant/Mexico/busted mouth/"Hola" sequence was amazing. Alec Baldwin was good as usual.

Date Movie - Had some good laughs but ran out of steam pretty fast.

On TV:
Big Love finale kicked ass. Entourage is back and it looks like it'll be a great season. Also, looking forward to Psyche and I'm also digging The 4400.

Music - Snow Patrol's album is great. Also, check out Gnarles Barkley, Editors, and Mason Jennings.

Batman, Lois & Supes!

How's Routh gonna do as Superman?

An Auteur Walks Into A Bar And Says.........

Hearing some of the news coming out of Cannes regarding Richard Kelly's SOUTHLAND TALES inspired this post. It's about directors (and writer/directors) who really need someone over their shoulder, helping guide them sometimes.

Because sometimes, well, many times, they'd make a much better movie if only they listened to other opinions.

Look, I don't know if Southland sucks or not, who knows, it might blow me away. But EVERY review has been horrible, so it doesn't look good for it. Even Richard Kelly was quoted to say something like "I'm not sure what we're going to do........" Not a good sign.

You see, these guys are given too much rope, and often hang themselves with it. Here's some good and bad examples:

Richard Kelly - He did Donnie Darko, which I liked. Not loved. Mainly because of his music choices, when you think about it, that movie loses a ton of power at the end if you take away the cover of Tears For Fears "Mad World." But regardless, it's a great debut. Apparently, he's dropped the ball on Southland. We'll see.

Terrence Malick - Didn't see the New World yet, but I'm mainly referring to Thin Red Line. It was a good movie, but wildly overrated by some. If you take out 40 minutes of gibberish you'd have a kick-ass movie. And I'm not talking about action scenes. Jarhead didn't have much "action" but I was enthralled by it. No, I'm talking about the gibberish while we see a 10 minute shot of morning dew....and then a lady bug walks by! Dude, this is a war movie, and the grunts you are portraying aren't staring off into the dense foilage thinking "Where's the light within." No, they're thinking "I hope I get out of these fucking woods alive without an assful of malaria."

Quentin Tarantino - Did we really need two movies (3+ hours) of Kill Bill? Hell, no. He's pissing away his talent on that crap. Did it have some cool sequences and kick-ass fights? Sure, but c'mon. We didn't need two movies. Saw Jackie Brown the other night on HBO again, good damn movie. Somebody should've pulled him aside and said "Dude, make one kick-ass 2 hour movie and move on."

Peter Jackson - I loved King Kong. But it was too damn long. There was no reason to make that movie 3 hours long. Again, Kong as a 2 hour flick would kick major ass, we simply didn't need to know that much about old NY and who really cares that her play is shutting down. Snooze, bring on the monkey!

Georgie Lucas - I've ranted about this one too many times, so I won't get into it too much. He's a master of production & F/X, I just wish he had let someone else write and direct the prequels. They're your babies George? Sure, ok, crackhead mothers have babies, too, and they aren't the best mothers in the world.

Cameron Crowe - Elizabethtown - nice idea for a movie, but it seems like something some low-budget indie kid from Mumblefuck USA might make. Nothing wrong with making a personal story, but at least make it interesting.

Some good examples:

PT Anderson - Magnolia walks the line, but I was blown away by it, and with Hard 8 & Boogie Nights also under his belt, this dude knows what he's doing. Punch-Drunk Love is terrific in my book.

Wes Anderson - his Amex commercial reminds me of why I like him. He could have made The Life Aquatic 3 hours long I'm sure. But he didn't. And while it was no Royal Tennenbaums or Rushmore or even Bottle Rocket, well, his other movies are Royal Tennebaums, Rushmore & Bottle Rocket, and The Life Aquatic makes a fine addition.

Marty - Gangs of NY walks the line, too, but it's got a lot of story to tell. Unfortunately, most of that story is a pretty lame revenge tale, but it's still a fascinating film, and Daniel Day-Lewis absolutely blows my mind in that one. The Aviator wasn't my cup of tea, but it seems like he's back on track with The Departed.

Jimmy Cameron - Yeah, Titanic was long, but at least it didn't take 2 hours to get onto it, you were on it from the beginning. Plus much of it is brilliant filmmaking. He's sure taking his time with his next feature film follow-up though, hopefully it'll be worth the wait.


Look, all of these guys are great filmmakers, don't get me wrong. But sometimes, they're not right, and maybe during the writing phase (like Richard Kelly or QT) someone should have torn apart their scripts instead of just nodding their heads screaming "brilliant!"

Any other examples?

Spilling Some Beans

So, who exactly am I working with to make Cricket Hill into a kick-ass TV series? You wanna know? Well, I'll tell ya.

Prospect Pictures. Yup, that's a movie they made right there, Pretty Persuasion, that played at Sundance and was released last year (now available on DVD). Good movie, pretty daring.

That film's director, Marcos Siega, is on-board to potentially direct the pilot of Cricket Hill, and I'm working very closely with him and the rest of the gang at Prospect to make this show a reality.

Marcos recently finished directing The Chaos Theory, starring Ryan Reynolds & Emily Mortimer, and has also directed several top TV shows including Veronica Mars & Cold Case, and countless music videos including several from Weezer (including Beverly Hills, Hash Pipe and Keep Fishin' (the one with the muppets)), All-American Rejects ("Swing, swing, swing!!"), 311, Blink 182 (All the Small Things, What's My Age Again?), POD, System Of A Down (Chop Suey), etc, etc, tons more.

Prospect also has Barry Munday in production, starring Luke Wilson & Zooey Deschanel, and Brian Cox.

I'm awaiting further notes on my pilot re-write. It's down to 33 pages, we're shooting to make it a half-hour. I should have the notes by the end of the week.

Working with them on Cricket Hill has been quite amazing. They know their shit, and are totally behind the project.

I got their permission to mention them as the guys behind Cricket Hill. Why? Well, mainly so you guys out there can see that it's possible to get a SMART company with many contacts within the industry to back your stuff. Many of you already knew that, sure, but it may be news to some of you beginning writers out there. They found me on winningscriptspro.com, not from some festival or contest, which just proves that websites like that one and inktip.com can make it happen for you if you can get your scripts in shape and list them.

It's been quite a ride thus far, it's cool to have an actual production company with ties all across Hollywood to believe in your work, and eager to help make it into something great.

I'll keep you all posted as things progress.

Principal Vernon

Ah, this sucks, dead from cancer (from asbestos for corn's sake). Great, great character actor, and of course he was in the classic in THE BREAKFAST CLUB, an amazing movie (one of my faves), and in the scene that gave this blog here its name.

Paul Gleason, we'll miss you.

How To Sell Part Deux

I'm back, we skipped away for the weekend to Massanutten (a resort in Virginia) for the weekend. They've basically raped the perfect forests & mountainsides of this amazing, beautiful area and dropped thousands of townhouses across the region, and invited the tourists and timeshare owners. It's quite disgusting how this once-beautiful area has been pissed on by development. Having said that, we had a blast.

I figured I would just follow up my previous post with a Part 2 to continue the discussions. Good points you've all made. I'll reply to your questions:

What do I think about Creative Screenwriting's Contest? Go for it, they seem like they know how to run it well, seem fair (no, I've never won but have placed) and it's not TOO HUGE that you'll get lost in a zillion entries.

Script Magazine - Oh, they can suck on BOTH of my balls. Honestly, they seem like pricks. I actually placed pretty decent with them a few years back with a comedy script, but I just don't like their attitude. Go and read their rules & regs, which to a point I understand, but also make them sound like assipes. They say that don't have to read past 30 pages if they don't want to---No assholes, we're sending you 45 fucking dollars, the least you can do is read it to the last fucking page. Fuck them.

I agree that if you're starting out and have no representation, contests are a great way to go and cut your teeth on the process, deadlines, rejection, etc. And if you can place in 1 or 2 decent contests, maybe you can snag a GOOD manager.

Aaron, sorry about the hot pics, I couldn't help it.

Regarding Cricket Hill, no I have no worries. I am in very good hands.

Slamdance offers feedback I believe, which is awesome. Feedback will always help, so I think they're a good bet. Plus, people KNOW about Slamdance & Sundance. Austin is a must for any screewriter, being a finalist basically gave me full access to everything when I went, but it's an amazing festival nonetheless.

Bluecat Screenplay Competition & Writer's On the Storm (Storm is new) both offer feedback and are cheap ($35) but both deadlines are past, however, catch them next year. They both seem to be run by good, smart people, and again the low fee & feedback are bonuses. If you can grab a spot in Nicholl, then go man. That's HUGE. Even quarter-finalists get plenty of script requests, just keep in mind that they usually get well over 5000 entries so don't send a half-baked script, get it ready (deadline also past).

And if you ARE placing/winning any contests, then great! But you're not done, you work is just starting.

Look, certainly take what I write with a grain of salt, I'm just discussing my experiences, yours may be 1000% different. Again, just don't reply on contests, get your work OUT THERE. Yes, copywrite it, writer's guild it, mail it to yourself, whatever, just don't be afraid to make your script known to the world.

I've had a couple of e-mails with writer's worried about getting ripped off, well, guess what, I guarantee you're not the ONLY writer that thought of whatever idea you have, and the other guys/gals that also have the same idea probably aren't afraid to take a freakin' chance and toss it out there, so GET IT OUT THERE.

Whatever you do, GET IT OUT THERE!

How to Sell A Script

Yeah, like I know.

But maybe I can help. I used to send my screenplays to just about any and every contest that came down the pike. What a waste of cash.

Are contests meaningless? Well, mostly. If you're going to enter some, pick the reputable ones, like Nicholl, BlueCat, Austin, Scriptapalooza. The Sundance Lab. They all at least have a track record and some in the industry do pay attention to who wins them (notably Nicholl).

But how many pay attention really? Here's the thing. I ALMOST won the Austin Film Festival's comedy competition in 2003 with my feature script, Cricket Hill. It came in 2nd place out of 3000 scripts. Not bad. And off of that, I didn't sell it. (had some meetings though, also my suck-ass manager at the time didn't help me situation). But the guy who won? Did he ever sell it? Not that I've heard.

One thing I do notice on some of these contests is the winners. Some of these winners have won multiple contests, I've seen quite a few winner's lists with the same names/scripts popping up on many of them. Awesome for them, I bet their script must rock.

But they haven't sold it yet. Contest cash is nice to get, but what's the point if no one is buying your shit?

I'm not against contests, hell, just a few months back I listed all the ones I had coming up and entered, etc. But I look back and see just how futile it is. You might have the best script EVER, and let's pretend it's a family drama. Well, the reader of whatever contest has just read 2 family dramas in a row and is sick to fucking death of them, so he skims it, and tosses it. And you're done. You should have wiped your ass with that $50 instead.

Not all are like this I'm sure. But I have RARELY seen even multiple winners of contests sell/option their work ever after taking top prizes, really with the exception of Nicholl and I believe Scriptapalooza had some options. But I doubt it was based soley on contest wins.

Market the shit of yourself. List them at places like Inktip.com & winningscriptspro.com. Do those work? Still a crapshoot, but it worked for me - Cricket Hill, that script that almost won Austin 2.5 years ago? Well, right now I'm adapting it into a TV series after some awesome kick-ass producers grabbed it off of winningscriptspro.com, as some of you guys know from my previous posts. And I had a close call just a few months back with another script called The Money Shot when some producers saw it on Inktip. These sites work, simple as that.

And go pitch, there are a few pitchfests each year, go and get your asses out there and pitch your shit, man! (That's how I got Manager #1 in 1998). I'm now on my 3rd (and best) manager.

Afraid somebody might steal it if you pitch it to them or list it on these websites? Well, then don't pitch it, I'm sure it'll do you a lot of good stuck on your hard drive.

So, contests are ok, but NOT THE ANSWER. If you can place in one or two, fine, but don't sit on your ass, you've gotta do more work and get your damn self out there. Also, one of the best things I can suggest is to have two scripts ready. Because if you get in the producer's office, they might like the script but not love it, and the next thing out of their mouth will be: "Well, what else do you have?"

Rip Offs At Cannes

Saw these on-line, what a travesty these movies surely are....

I Make Myself Laugh

Just thought of a funny movie title, I picture it a buddy comedy: It's called "Dildo & The Douche."

Fast Food Nation, Da Vinci, Hedge

Fast Food Nation looks terrific, check out the teaser trailer over at Youtube.com. Greg Kinnear looks great, maybe they'll give him another nomination for this one, I got a feeling.

Saw 2 movies this weekend, Over the Hedge & Da Vinci. Over the Hedge was better. Actually, it was damn funny, and the kids liked it. Bruce Willis was good as the hero, RJ, but my favorites were Garry Shandling as the turtle and Steve Carrell blew me away as the squirrel - There is a scene with the squirrel toward the end of the movie that will make you piss yourself with laughter. An all-around well done, great-looking movie.

Da Vinci was good. Not amazing, But good. MI:3 was much better. My problem wasn't the story, it's actually a great idea for a movie/book, although the "revelations" in it are nothing new to me having taken Art History classes in college. Could it be true? Sure can. Will it change the foundation of religion? Nope, Catholics are too damn thick headed to believe anything else than what they want to believe. I should know, I was raised Catholic. My point is - at least open yourself up to the possiblity that maybe the history of Christianity isn't all true. Could there be a God? Sure there could. Might there not be anything at all like God? Also possible.

Oh, the movie. Well, a lot of movies that are 2+ hours really fly by. This didn't. I really felt ever minute of it. The pacing was off which I thought hurt it the most. The acting was fine (Bettany a stand-out) but at the end of the day it's not something I'd go see again. Would I buy the DVD? Eh, maybe, on sale. But I'd never be excited to throw it in and watch it.

Saw the full Lady In The Water preview. Didn't give it much thought when I first saw the teaser & poster, but this trailer showed a lot more promise.

If You Live In Los Angeles.....

.....You'll probably see this dickbag, dragging his coked-up whore, Paris, behind him. Just caught a video of him (his name is Brandon Davis) thoroughly trashing Lindsay Lohan while the idiot-slut (that'd be Paris) giggles in the background with her ultra-cool cell phone stuck to her dopey face.

Pieces of shit, both of them. Look, you may have issues with Lohan, but hell if she ain't out there working her ass off (she's making like, 10 movies a month, 80% smaller, independent stuff), so who the hell is this bottomfeeder to go and trash her? He is nobody, a useless coke-snorting waste of oxygen.

Check out TMZ.com for the train wreck video clip.

Now, I'm not a violent guy, and I'm certainly not promoting violence, but I will say this - If you see him and Princess Asshole (that'd still be Paris) walking down the street, could you kindly fling as much dog shit at them as humanly possible? Thanks a bunch.

Supes

I like this poster, I think it works. I also dig the trailer, but I'm not sure about Spacey as Lex. I mean, I'm sure he'll be adequate and all, for all the backlash he gets he's a good actor. I've just grown used to Michael Rosenbaum's portayal on Smallville, and I like them being around the same age, as on the show, you can seen them go from friends and to eventually, enemies.

At least it also has Kate Bosworth, who is hot as freakin' hell with her multi-colored eyeballs & perfect bod.

Also, I saw the full World Trade Center trailer. I gotta say, it actually looks good.

Good ep of Lost - "Michael has been compromised." Nice.

Bad Day Film Set Memories

Yeah, I've had a lot of these. A previous post had talked about my actor playing Grandpa in my film, West River Drive (2002), deciding to bounce on a pogo stick in between scene set-ups. It wasn't pretty, but at least he was done shooting that day so the scratches on his forehead from hitting the curb & tree had time to heal.

Not sure if I mentioned in a past post about getting 2 of my main actors together (they played a girl & boy in West River Drive who liked each other and were supposed to share a kiss), problem was she GREW in the month we had seen her last and TOWERED over our boy. It looked utterly ridiculous.

Or the first time I loaded a 16mm film camera (1997), not at school, alone, in a dark closet at my house. Didn't go well. The film had come off its spool and at that moment, the anger/rage/embarrassment/etc was at a peak level. I thought I would literally explode. I eventually got it together and went out to shoot my meaningless student film (it was called The Passenger, and was about a guy who's car broke down, so he started walking.....and walking........and walking.....and walking....)

Or in 1998 when we were shooting a trailer on Super 16mm (for a script I wrote and was to direct called Driftwood) and my brother-in-law, who was carrying the sandwiches on a platter (we had a crew of 25 - yeah, way too many) dropped the platter onto the gravel parking lot. Gravel, ham & cheese, anyone?

This is a good one: In 2001. We were shooting the climax for my movie, Better Days. I was directing & operating the camera. We were filming at a retirement home - no it wasn't about old folks, but the place had an awesome chapel & reception hall and was perfect for our wedding scenes. But on that day, we were behind. A lot. Things were moving too slowly. But we had to be out of the recpetion area by lunch - the old folks had to eat. But we wouldn't be finished in time, not at all, and we simply couldn't afford another day at this place (it wasn't free).

So as I'm trying to film my lead actor run across some tables and land on the dance floor (I was in my wheelchair dolly, trying to smoothly follow him) I had my PAs trying to hold off the incoming old folks (they had wheelchairs, too) so I could get my last few shots in. And then 2nd & 3rd takes. Luckily we were shooitng MOS (no sound) but if we did have sound you'd be able to hear them grumbling around us. They were pissed, yeah, but we made our day.

Rule #1 - Be prepared, including CAST better (or more equally sized)
Rule #2 - Don't let me load your film
Rule #3 - Don't let my bro-in-law carry your food
Rule #4 - Don't piss off the old folks.
Rule #5 - Bring First Aid kit for Pogo-bouncing Grandpas.

"Let's waste time, chasing cars, around our heads"

That's from Snow Patrol's latest album, go get it. The song's called Chasing Cars.

Manager is checking out the new draft of my script Food Fight. He loved the idea & execution and had some minor notes which I worked on last week, now he's got it back. Damn I love that script. He plans to take it out as a spec and try to sell that puppy.

Now I'm polishing Smoking America, a script I first wrote back in 1999. The polish is based on notes from the one & only Scott The Reader. It's about a Nj pothead who wins the lottery & runs for President. He'll have that in a day or two.

Attached-director is reading my Cricket Hill TV pilot. The next conference call we have will discuss whether to make it a half hour or hour. I've got Season 1 almost totally mapped out. Once he OKs the pilot script they take it out to the studios.

Fave tunes

It's hard to pick your favorite music of all time. But I'll try. Scott Ze Reader inspired me to think about the music from my past, the stuff I grew up listening to, the music that was with me during good times & crappy times.

U2 - The Joshua Tree: Best. Album. Ever. - Not a bad song in the bunch, from "Where Streets Have No Name...." to "Exit" to "Mothers Of the Disappeared" to every other tune on this, amazing. "Running To Stand Still." Chills. The first album that made me realize the true power of music.

Radiohead - It's hard to pick my favoreite album, it's either The Bends or OK Computer. I lean toward The Bends because of Blackstar, Fake Plastic Trees & Street Spirit, then again OK Computer has their most amazing song ever (Let Down). Both albums are near perfect.

James - Damn us Americans for failing them every time. They were huge in the UK for their anthems like "Sit Down" but every album that came out here bombed. I'm torn between Seven & Laid as their best, leaning toward Seven because of the song, well, "Seven." Awesome stuff.

New Order - They've had so many great songs over the years. Bizarre Love Triangle is my fave from them, but Your Silent Face, Love Vigilantes, 1963, Temptation, and a slew of others are simply amazing.

Moby - Play: On one of my first trips to California, I bought this album and loved every second of it, had the disc playing as I drove around town, it was like my Los Angeles soundtrack.

Depeche Mode (also known as Depressed Mood in NJ): Music For the Masses. Wow. "Nothing" "Behind The Wheel" and my fave from them, "Never Let Me Down." Runner-up is Violator. One word - "Halo." Need more proof that this album amazes - "Clean." Need another? Go buy it.

**Fun Fact! Violator was playing back in 1991 when I got in a pretty nasty car accident. Ok, I hit a tree. But it was rainy, dark, and I was going way too fast down the mountainous road of Mount Joy, PA. "Enjoy The Silence" was playing when I made contact with the tree (then the steering wheel). Ouch!

INXS - Kick. Great album, every song, from "Guns In The Sky" to "Kick." they never matched this album, now with their new goofy lead singer, they never will. That "Vegas" song is a travesty. It ain't pretty.

Coldplay - Parachutes is a great album, but when I loaded A Rush Of Blood To The Head and the earth-shattering "Politik" began, I was blown away.

10,000 Maniacs - Our Time In Eden - "My How You've Grown" will make you weep, and "Our time In Eden" is simply a beautiful, beautiful song. The whole album is terrific.

REM - Fave album? It's tough. Green came at an important time of my life (high school). "World Leader Pretend," "Hairshirt" and "The Wrong Child" are classics. But Life's Rich Pageant is my fave album from these guys. Check out "Superman" & "Cuyahoga" & "Fall On Me." Automatic For The People is a close 2nd.

The Innocence Mission - From Lancaster, PA. Umbrella is the album to get, has one of my favorite songs EVER on it, "Now In This Hush." Their follow-up, Glow, was another great album. Check them out.

I wonder how my list would change in 10 years. Would bands I'm listening to lately (Youth Group, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Secret Machines, Interpol) make the cut?

How about you guys? What albums/songs have stuck with you?

TV Pilot - Done

Okay, it's done. It feels good, I think it flows well for a first draft, and I feel good about it. It was fun to revisit those characters and expand/deepen their stories. I e-mailed it over to the Producers, now I start to eat my nails as I stress out if they'll like it or not.

They loved the 1st 15 I sent, but now it's another 45 pages since I last sent it over to them (they said to finish it before I sent more, so in the last week that's what I did - 45 pages, now it's done).

It'll likely come in at 56 pages, now it's at 60 but I purposely went over, I know I'll be tightening it down based on their notes. Their notes on the 1st 15 were easy, minor things, so I'm praying it's more of the same.

Now I'm in the process of mapping out Season 1. I already have the Season 1 cliffhanger ready to go. It's funny because as I was writing the pilot, things were coming to me, ideas, etc, and I had to sorta put them aside, thinking, "nah, that'd be better for the 2nd season."

New Managers went through my pile of scripts (I think I sent them 15, with 3 more about to be sent) and they pulled aside my comedy called Food Fight as one of the best (I agree). They had some minor notes (polishes, tightening, etc) and I'll have that done tonight and send that over to them. The plan with Food Fight is to attach an agent, possibly an actor or 2 (Food Fight needs a combo like Jack Black/Will Ferrell or Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller/Luke Wilson (all interchangeable 'cause they'd all be perfect in either of the 2 main roles)). Anyway, the plan is basically to get it out there and sell it. I'd be okay with that.

If either of these projects gets off the ground and I do make it out to LaLa land, I'll be buying you all drinks. Hope you all are well.

Tom Cruisin'

MI:3 - It kicked ass, in my book. JJ Abrahms really jump started the series with this movie, and I loved every minute. His direction was smooth (and confident), the action was well choreographed, the script made sense (for a Mission Impossible movie, anyway), and all the actors rocked.

Yeah, even Cruise.

Much better than I & II, that much is certain.

Back to Cruise - the guy is a good actor, and it's obvious he gives 1000%. (Just watch him bolt through Shanghia as proof). I just wish he'd step back from the public eyeballs, and not toss every moment he shares with his Katie out there for us to see. And some opinions should be kept to himself.

You think ritalin, etc is over-used? You're right. Tons of parents/doctors use drugs like that much too quickly, and if he left it at that, he wouldn't have looked like a goof. But a blanket statement like he made to Matt Lauer last year that these drugs in every situation should be avoided, well, that made him look silly.

You want an ultrasound machine to watch your growing baby? Go for it, I just don't care and don't need to know.

Hopefully his new publicist can keep a lid on things, although I think he's gotten too comfortable sharing his every thought and life-changing event with the world.

It may have shown with the box office this weekend - MI:3 is a great action movie, and I just think if he hasn't mad some public bungles over the last year, he'd be seeing a lot more people turn out this weekend. The movie made 17+ million on Friday and is poised to make into the 50s (millions) this weekend (on par with The Bourne Supremacy's opening weekend gross), which is a decent opening, but I think would have been better if the dude just chilled out.

Back to the flick, great stuff in there. The Shanghai stuff, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge set piece, the Vatican, etc, all well done.

And the actors were great. Nice to see Ving Rhames again, Fishburne was good (and had some GREAT lines), Rhys-Meyers & Maggie Q were awesome, and I could watch Phiilip Seymour Hoffman like this any day - he was a creepy, sinister bastard. Loved him.

And Michelle Monoghan - Yum. What a beauty, she's like Liv tyler crossed with Ellen Pompeo (Grey's Anatomy chick). Only better than those 2. She's got a great look, and held her own quite well.

Saw previews for X3 (great trailer, hope it rocks), Superman (that's gonan be huge), Over The Hedge (looks fun), Waist Deep (meh), Nacho Libre (priceless) and the Break-Up (I think it'll be funny).

Also, finally saw the Wes Anderson/Amex commercial. Great spot, and it reminded me of his wonderul humor and ridiculous talent. More Maggie Q for ya.

Star Wars - September 12!!

Finally, Luca$ has gotten it together and will release the original (as in the original cuts) of his beloved Star Wars-Han-shoots-first trilogy. Sweet! I despise 88% of all the newer movies he's done, but the old ones, just like we saw 'em way back? That I can get into.

On A Roll

Quick, useless update. Cricket Hill is rolling along, been getting quite a few pages done of the Pilot over the last week, plan to be done the 1st draft by Thursday.

It's pretty neat to get into something I wrote as a feature, then expand it like this. I got right back into this family's story, getting back the character's voices, adding to their backstories, etc.

Once it's done I'll send it to my gang at the Prod Company. My main contact there and the Director who's attached to direct the Pilot will then check it out and we'll see what they think. I'm sure they'll have plenty of notes, etc. They loved the first set of pages I sent last week, so I hope the rest pleases them as well.

***Note - If this thing takes off, I'm California-bound, so you guys & gals already out there will have to help me move in to your fine state.

UNITED

Thank you, Paul Greengrass.