The World Is A Toilet

During the news last night, I became misty eyed when a man described his final moments with his wife. He couldn't hold onto her any longer, and she knew this. She said her goodbyes and was engulfed by the rising tides. It was perhaps the worst thing I have heard in my life, just imagining the torture this man will endure for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, my sympathy turned to extreme rage when I witnessed the video of the looters. These people should be shot on sight. Dead. Sure, stealing some bread and water in a semi peaceful manner, okay, in these desperate times...I can accept that. Stealing televisions and jewlery, setting buildings ablaze, and shooting cops-I can only hope they are shot dead and added to this already horrific body count. And it will only get worse. Thankfully, I read some citizens are taking the law into their own hands by force. These people should be given medals.

Using a tragedy to get yourself a new pair of Adidas makes me want to kill. So hopefully, you'll dress like a target.

Ænema

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this

Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.

It's a
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cuz
I sure could use a vacation from this

Silly shit, stupid shit...

One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied-

Learn to swim.

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim.

Fuck L Ron Hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all those gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim.

Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.

Learn to swim.

Fuck smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim.

Cuz I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna watch it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.

I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend.

I wanna see it all come down.
suck it down.
flush it down.

Being Gun Shy With A Gun In Your Face

I have been talking to this guy for about 5 days now. He works for a independent producer, who we'll call Dave. He tells me they have real interest in some kick ass script ideas, and I tell him about my first script, which I always thought would be a great low budget film. He loves the idea, and I sign a non-disclosure agreement with them. Of course, my nerves being rattled at this point, I immediately second guess that decision. I look them both up multiple times on IMDB, and they are who they say they are. The guy I'm talking to is the special effects guy for 'Dave's' productions, which I see actually do exist. I google them several times with different variations, something like "**** ***** scams" or ***** and **** production scams", and nothing negative can be found. I even saved the i.m's, just in case I would need proof of our conversations.

The bottom line is, I have found nothing bad on either of them, they both have credits on IMDB in their respective fields, and my script is registered. Yet, I still am nervous about it.

I think it's time I show them my first born, and see where it goes. It's time to bite the bullet. Even if it's low, low money, if I get a writing credit, I am happy. However, if it's low low money, with no credit at all, it will be a harder decision. Then what? Well, I've decided it's still a sale, no matter how small. I am trying to live as a professional writer, and everyone has to start somewhere. How can I turn down any amount when someone wants to pay for my work?

Hopefully, they will dig the script enough, and then I can give you guys the nitty gritty.

Tom Savini, Generator SFX

Okay, maybe that title is a little bit presumptuous. But I did email him a very complimentary letter lauding his skills, which I really do think are the best out there. Of course, I intercut the praise with some requests for help on my first feature. And like the kindly gent he is, he responded almost immediately. He said

Thanks Jason, and good luck. I would love to help, but can't say when. I am really, really busy.

Probably a nice way of saying no, but hey, at least he responded to a fan, which is more than I can say for some lesser talents. And who knows, he's been known to help out on independent features for young filmmakers almost free of charge.

So I decided to send him a response to his response in which I basically said, "If you have any time in the future, and feel like getting your hands bloodier, than by all means shoot me an email." I then left my contact info., and that was that.

Anyway, that's my brush with what could have been for this very early morning on the 30th of August, as I wait for my wash to dry.

Out Of Left Field

Suddenly, my first screenplay may have some interest. Stay tuned for all the sordid, then heartbreaking details.

I'm A Tad Confused

I am currently storyboarding Generator, and have come across a problem. Do I layout each camera angle, or the overview of the shot? As it stands right now, I have 6 different camera angles/shots for the first scene. I'm wondering if I should just show the scene as I picture it, then work within that framework once I begin shooting? Or am I supposed to be this obsessive with it, and break it down from wide shot, to Cl/U, then to Medium shot...ect..? I guess that could be kept for the actual shot list. Anyone have a semi educated opinion on how in depth storyboards are supposed to be??

To The Victor... Belong The Spoils

This weeks winner for funniest search to reach my blog, which was ranked #1 in the search results, is exactly as follows-"sounds of people being constipated"

I have no idea why someone would type that into a search engine, but I'll keep my snide remarks to myself.

Dear Mr. Chuck Palahniuk

A man can share a beer with another man without it being a homosexual act. He can look after another man without it being a homosexual act. He can even be jealous of another man without it being a homosexual act.

None of the above points to homosexual tendencies. Unless, apparently, you are a homosexual.

That is all.

The Nitty Gritty

I finally entered DIRT. into FD. It came to 136 pages, almost exactly what I estimated. So the final tally is: 12 days, 105 pages. And plenty of editing/rewriting to do. Now to do my shot list and story boards for Generator. Only a few months to go!

And Now For Something Completely Differ.....Er...Um...I Mean, Exactly The Same

I really am at a loss for words at how Hollywood is remaking film after film. It gives me that hopeless feeling, like in my nightmares when I know I'm dying, and I'm resigned to that fact. That's how totally helpless I feel. I try and write fairly original stuff. I put my own unique outlook on everything I write. I play with conventions. I stay away from cliches. And this is what I have to deal with?

Rififi remake

For those that don't know, Rififi is a classic french film noir. One of the top 10, I would say. And lets hear it for Hollywood, they decide to remake yet another great movie, instead of maybe making an original. I'm so disgusted, even with Pacino starring.

Nobody Agrees On Anything Anymore

I'm window shopping for a new toy, a DV camera to shoot my feature with. I've been leaning towards the Panasonic DVX100a for awhile now. Once I mention that to people, they say "How about the Canon XL2?" Okay. But it's pricier, and yeah, it has the ability to change lenses, but the lenses are a couple of thousand each, and I highly doubt I'll buy one for this shoot. Other than that, I think the DVX has everything going for it. Until I saw the new Panasonic. Good God, is it a thing of beauty. Real native 16:9, 24p shooting. HD. And a price tag double that of the DVX. So needless to say, everyone is giving me different suggestions so that I don't even know why I wanted the DVX in the first place.

Can't we all just get along?

Now That's Entertainment!

Here is my living room. And all my toys. Much to my girlfriends chagrin. "What we own ends up owning us." Damn right!

Looking California, Feeling New Jersey

It is set in stone I'm heading back to Jersey, the place I vacated almost two years ago. I lived in Jersey all my life until that fateful day, Jan 23rd, 2004. Now, at the behest of my girlfriend, I'm off to home base in October. Good news and bad news. All my buddies are up there, and I could really use a drink. Afraid 'have a drink' will turn into too many lost weekends. Don't get me wrong, I love getting a nice buzz going, and I even love just drinking a weekend away every now and then.

But I have that gene, the one that says, "So you had 18 beers and 18 shots? Try for 24!" So do my friends. Well, the few that aren't married, that is. I believe the crew is now split 50/50 between married/not. I guess I fall on both sides, since I have a long relationship, but am not hitched up. At any rate, my main goal is to shoot my horror movie, and kick ass promoting it myself. And it appears the next half year is set up for great things. I believe the move down here has done some good. I came down here with no scripts finished, and ended up with 5. And I'm working on another 5. I think it helped me focus, which is hard to do when you're stuck in the same old habits, with the same old people, even if they're great people. We shall see how it ends up.

My Hand Is A Sore, Ugly, Stiff, Claw

I finished DIRT. tonight! Hand wrote 94 pages the last two days. My hand is a bloody mess. But anyway, I haven't updated the progress bar since it's not in FD yet, thereby preventing me from getting a final page count. But I'll go ahead and max out the bar and we can get back to that. 12 days, so many some-odd pages.

Time to play with Madden, the cat!

Contrary To The Blog Title

..this is not a place of healing for real , physical constipation problems. So, for the 13 people in the last two days who have been 'Googling' for a remedy, and been led here, I am sorry to say I have none. Although one would assume eating a shit load of McDonald's would help.

--JD

con·sti·pa·tion Audio pronunciation of "constipation" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (knst-pshn)
n.

1. Difficult, incomplete, or infrequent evacuation of dry hardened feces from the bowels.
2. Obstruction; stultification.

Mmm Bop

I decided to scrap my daily round up style in favor of my more natural- throw a few updates in the blog here and there, instead of one novel sized. Too much writing, especially when I'm writing.

In any event, I might finish my script today. Don't let the progress bar fool ya, I haven't typed all of my chicken scratch into Final Draft yet. If I do finish today, it'll be 12 overall days, which includes two days in which I did nothing.

I have been on a Nintendo kick on eBay. Right now, I'm trying for my favorite system of all time, Super Nintendo, for $20. Plus I've been playing my old NES and N64. Just a phase I go through from time to time.

I figured out a way to save money. Here's the basic idea, which can be formulated to fit any item. I bought Baldur's Gate a few months back for 99 cents. It's a 6 year old game. But it's new to me. Maybe if I stay back one full cycle of releases on electronics, I'll save a ton of cash. For instance, I haven't got a flat screen monitor. I think I can get one for under $100. If I had tried 3 years ago, we're talking $999. If I could just put new product out of my mind, I think I could be very happy. And there's your tip of the day-be content with what you have, until what you don't have costs as much as what you do have cost when originally purchased.

Time to write!

Fool For A Lifetime

I wake up at 2pm, again in the bedroom, and not in the living room which is where I fell asleep. I come out and jump on the PC. After checking up on some fantasy sports, I get a shower. I come back out, and watch a little bit of Judge Mathis, thinking about my script. The disgust from not writing the previous night runs deep. I get back on the pc and check up on blogs, then my email again. Classmates.com is having a free trial, and it peaks my interest, even though anyone I'm not friends with from high school currently, I probably don't care for. I click the free trial, and get to filling out the info. required for things such as these. Which is everything about me. I finish and confirm my account, which unbeknownst to me, cost me $59. I see I have signed up for the Gold Membership without trying to. No free trial for me! I immediately feel my stomach plunge into a sickness I can only describe as the feeling after being kicked in the balls. I send an immediate email to customer support, and sign off the the net hastily. I sit and watch Judge Milian again. This show is so entertaining, but also shows such a faulty system, it makes me really question a lot of laws, and things of that nature.

Katie walks in, sweating like a marathon runner (no air in her car), which I'm sure will make her reaction to the $59 extremely rationale. To my surprise, she seems only slightly irked, and we sit and cuddle around for a few minutes. I need WD-40 to try and 'fix' my truck, so I leave and enter Albertsons. I find the WD-40 hidden behind racks of engine cleaners, gas additives and other scams. I decide on two 2-liters of Diet cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper, seeing as it's buy one, get one free. I leave, excited that my truck will be running safely again instead of scaring other drivers and pedestrians.

I spray the acceleration cable with the wd40 liberally, which really means I saturated it, and all of it's components. I go back inside and forget about it. I check the roast I put in at 3pm, and it's not finished yet. We're both famished, though. I sit outside with her on our screened in porch and talk about moving again. And again, we fight about apartments. She walks back in the apartment after her cigarette is finished, and I follow. We then get in a ridiculous argument about which towns in South Jersey are where in relation to her store, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates. For clarification purposes, the three towns in question are Pennsauken, Blackwood and the Quaker Bridge Mall. I inform her that Blackwood is in the middle of the other two, and she laughs and says I'm incorrect rather snootily, then proceeds to show me exactly where they are. But unwittingly, she confirms I'm right, at which point I yell about the stupidity of her arguing with me about something so trivial, and she yells back I'm an asshole, or something. She heads to the room, and slams the door.

I decide it's time to buckle down and write, since it's already around 7pm. And write I do. I end up writing 45 pages in my notebook, making up for the prior nights embarrassing outcome, and then some. As I write, I listen to music through headphones. Last night was a nice shuffle of Danzig 2 & 4, Faith No More King For Day...Fool For A LifeTime, Soundgarden Superunknown, Tool Lateralus, Pink Floyd The Final Cut, A couple of Faces tunes, and a few Metallica tunes as well. I write to the soundtrack for 3 and a half hours. At 10:30, I take a ride in my truck, which runs good now. I get gas and air for my front tire. I get back about 15 minutes later, feeling good about myself. I check on Katie, who is asleep. She informs me with a perturbed for being disturbed tone, that she will not be eating the roast, or which I saved a nice portion just for her. I let sleeping dogs lie, and come back and begin typing in the now 61 hand written pages. I surf the web for an hour, checking up on the usual suspects. I then begin the hideous act of typing in those pages, so I begin. After about 20, I am spent, and it's now 130am, so I figure I may have an early night, which I feel good about considering how much work I got done.

I throw in Clerks cartoon, disc 2, and turn the commentary on. As I'm enjoying the first episode, Katie awakens and comes out into the living room. Actually, she awakens because I go in to get some blankets. Actually, she wakes up because I see her shift in the bed when I get my blankets, so I return to kiss her on her forehead, and tuck her in. Nevertheless, she is now out in the living room. She wants Cheerios, which needless to say, is not on the diet we started, yesterday. I say I'm not going out at 2am for Cheerios, and for her to go back to bed. She states she's hungry, and I say have some roast. "I can't, it's too heavy." After several minutes, maybe fifteen, she finally says fine, just drive me to Steak & Shake, or something else that has a drive through. She doesn't care for the diet at this moment, obviously. But I remind her anyway. Now I know she definitely does not care as she snaps at me. I say fine, and we're off. On the way out the door, I say we're taking my truck, proud as a man usually is when he fixes something. She says fine. We hop in the truck and I start it up. As I pull through the parking lot, I realize it's not fixed anymore. I am accelerating without hitting the gas again.

Pissed off, I turn around and park it with a screech.(ever hold the gas and the brake together? Then you get a good idea what it would be like driving). It's no 145am, and we get in her car. I drive to Steak & Shake. I don't know the menu, which sends my cranky lover into a mini fit. But I inform her, I had only dined there once, at 4am, while hammered. We get to the ordering point, and we order some hodge podge of garbage. I get a shake only, because I'm not hungry. She gets some meal deal, but replaces the soda with a coffee shake. And we're off. Or, no we're not. It takes at least 10 minutes to get to the window. Once at the window, we find out it's 12$, but we only have 9-something. I tell them to take off my shake. (FYI-The reason we didn't anticipate the price is her meal was $6.80, but upgrading it with the shake made it another $2). (FYI #2-The reason we couldn't use out debit card is because there's no money in there, I wasted it on Classmates, apparently). We finally get lost, and go inside the apartment around 215am. She eats, and doesn't really like the food, so she leaves it for me to inhale, and I do at 245am. We talk in the bedroom until 315am. She has to get up for work at 630, so I ask if the alarm is set. She says it is, and off I go to sleep while watching the Clerks Cartoon commentaries.

At 5am, I am sprung to life by her alarm blasting. I head in and tell her it's still set for the prior day, and I'll fix it. I set it for 630, and sleepily head back out. 10 minutes later, I hear it again, and incensed, head back into the room. I fiddle with it, and mistakenly hit the radio button, so that Michael Bolton is screaming at me. In a panic, I try to turn it off, but to no avail. Katie slams snooze and knocks the clock to the floor. She yells "Don't worry about it!", but I am worried. I hate that damn alarm sound. I head back out and fall asleep to Clerks at 530am.

King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime

I just finished writing 45 pages tonight. Now I have about 60 pages to enter into Final Draft. I think that will translate to approximately 35 pages, typed. I write extensively tomorrow morning as I try and adapt my blogging style to Mr. Kevin Smith's.

Day Of The Dead

I fall asleep at 5am to Seinfeld Season 3 . I awake at 1:30pm having mysteriously been transported to the bedroom at some point in the morning. I jump online while sipping my coke, and read some mail, disappointed at the Ebay 'Item not won' message awaiting me. I tried to gank a Criterion Collection DVD, Night and Fog, for $3.00. I lost it by 4 cents. Next I check my blog and read the usual gaggle of visitors comments. Feeling burnt out from the very opinionated mood I was in the day prior, I ignore all events that require typing, including blogging and entering my next 16 pages of hand written script into Final Draft.

I listen to Danzig 4 as I attempt to play Baldurs Gate for awhile. After deciding that I don't feel like geeking out on RPG's all day, I decide maybe I should get a shower. Turns out the maybe is a definitely as I stink like a homeless person. I get out of the shower, refreshed and looking forward to my day ahead, which supposedly means more writing. I instead trek outdoors for the first time since Ft. Myers, with the exception of getting the mail in hopes I have a DVD, or going food shopping. The sun hurts my eyes immediately, but I forge forward. It dawns on me I may miss Fall more than I thought as the sun beats on my back. It also comes to me that I may not miss it at all, since I'm moving back to NJ, maybe as soon as October 1st. That makes me smile a nostalgic smile for a moment before I pop the hood on my big green truck. I fiddle with the acceleration cable for a minute or ten, then go to the mail box. I get Tobe Hooper's The Funhouse in the mail, and am excited more than I should be for such a mediocre movie. Back when my parents were first divorced, when I was about eleven, my dad would pick me and my sister up for what became the semi annual visit, then annual, then never by the time I turned sixteen. We used to watch Funhouse all the time, and I have no idea why. Same with Coleco Vision Tarzan, but that's another story. Perhaps I feel all nostalgic about it, and that's why I sought it out like a crack head.

Katie gets home finding me vegging out watching The People's Court. I get mad at Judge Milian, because she's wrong. But I say hello to Katie and kiss her since she brought me home Mcdonalds. We go food shopping later (hoping to jump back on our diet) only to find the circular we have, with the great deals in it, starts tomorrow. We buy a couple of roasts and get the hell out of there as a mother tries half heartedly to contain her two jerk off sons from yelling and screaming like infants on fire, and I whole heartedly try to contain myself from ripping her a new asshole.

We get home, and I again check on my truck as she cooks. I figure out all I may need is some WD-40 to lube up the cable, and satisfied with that, I return inside to my cave. As Katie questions me on every apartment complex in South Jersey, I begin to get slightly annoyed. Not at her, really, but at my life in general. It's the usual "I need to write soon, and I'm answering questions about square footage?!". I realize it's my own fault and try to be calm as the barrage continues, only to lose my cool and end up fighting for what seems like hours, all because, frankly, I'm cranky and I know everything. Katie slams the bedroom door at 11pm saying "Maybe you should just live with Smyth, faggot!". Which I guess is my fault again since I threatened her with moving in with my buddy Smyth instead of her during the fight. Smart as a wip, I'm not.

Feeling really shitty about myself, and thinking I may just be a construction worker posing as a writer, I decide to check my mail once more, and wallow in self pity for the entire night. Those aforementioned 16 pages from last night made me very unhappy. Basically, I was reaching for something, and it never came. All that came out was shit. An here I sit, blabbing to my blog instead of buckling down and making something out of nothing.

At 11:56pm, ten and a half hours after I awoke, I finally get down to doing what I should've done immediately. I look over at my writing table in anticipation of the next several hours, and shudder to think what time I'll go to bed. I calm down as I realize I'll fall asleep at 5am to Seinfeld Season 3. I'll awaken at 1:30pm having mysteriously been transported to the bedroom at some point in the morning. I'll jump online while sipping my coke...

****I watch The Funhouse from 12:30 to 2am. I am surprised by how much better it is than I remember. I feel the urge to order all things Tobe Hooper, but stay away from eBay for the time being. I surf the web, reading a few blogs before getting caught up in a stupid top twenty movie list at YMDB.COM. While listening to Danzig 4, I try to start up Baldur's Gate again, but don't have the drive for it. I decide to surf all my sites, then update my blog. I lay down with the intent of taking in a few episodes of Curb before snoozing away with my writing schedule off track for the first time since I started this program 2 screenplays ago. I feel shitty as I realize I'm a lazy ass today. But I have a few ideas up my sleeve for tomorrow....the last time I see is 3:33am...

This Guy Gets It

Robert Rodriguez talks Sin City DVD .......

and working with Tarantino

and this guy has still got it....


Rourke Confronted by Model's Angry Boyfriend

Mickey Rourke was confronted outside a London nightclub by a jilted student in the early hours of yesterday morning, after the man's model girlfriend ditched him mid-date for the veteran actor. The Sin City star, 48, left the Boujis club in the British capital's Kensington district with young beauty Anya Iniskia. Iniskia had been on a date with her boyfriend Andreas Franzi, 22, who angrily followed the pair outside where he challenged Rourke to hand Iniskia back. While being held back by the nightclub's doormen, Franzi shouted at the actor, "Hey, I want to talk to you. That's my girl you've got there. Who do you think you are, some big movie star? I could buy you ten times over." Former boxer Rourke, throwing shadow punches, responded, "Come over here, tough guy. I'll show you who I am." Rourke and Iniskia then got into a taxi and headed to the luxury Dorchester hotel, where they reportedly stayed until 1pm yesterday afternoon. Franzi, who has been living with Iniskia for five months, says, "I thought we'd be together always."

The Calm Before...More Ramblings From The Head Of The Anti-PC League

Actually, this will be a light hearted affair.

I have a real addiction to DVD commentaries. I listen to each and every one, whether the movie sucks or not. I really feel like I learn something from them. Even in the case of my fellow Jersey-ite, Kevin Smith, who is so damn funny, but really sheds little into the actual process. So last night, I popped in Equilibrium, a film I thought was a better than average dystopian tale. I wasn't in love with it. But the commentary is very informative. He was a first time director with EQ with a relatively small budget, and he goes into how they shot some action sequences on the cheap, and some in as little as thirty minutes, because they had no time or money left. He is honest about the criticisms of the movie, and is hard on himself much of the time. Is this day and age, when people just fluff each other up on a commentary track because they made a shitty movie, it's nice to hear someone who's humble. I really recommend giving it a listen. Of course, it goes without saying you should watch the movie without it first.

So without further blah blah, here are my top five commentary tracks:
1. Tarantino on True Romance -He is a fast talker who never lets up. He gives you personal thoughts on what he was thinking as he wrote the script, as well as little stories from everything from his friends to the origin of the 'sicilian' scene to how he turned down directing it. A great, informative and funny commentary by someone who truly cares.

2. Any Kevin Smith track- You know what you're getting with this guys commentary tracks. A self depreciating, ball busting funny man who is an honest and genuine person, not too high on himself, and takes just as much abuse from his cohorts as he dishes out. I can honestly recommend any of his movies for their commentary tracks alone. Don't forget the Clerks Cartoons, which are hilarious, and offer even funnier commentary for each of the six episodes.

3. Boogie Nights-Paul Thomas Anderson starts off his BN commentary by stating: Alright, listen up, because I learned everything I know about film from these commentary tracks I used to listen to on Laser Disc. I'm paraphrasing, but what he says is true. I've learned ten times as much from commentary tracks as I did in my six months of Film school. And you know what? This guy pulls no punches, he curses like a sailor, which I love, and he is dead honest about who he thinks he ripped off in certain shots. Frankly, he's one of my favorite directors, and this commentary is chock full of stories and insights into the why's? and how's? of this great film. As an added bonus, check out the other track, with Anderson again, who basically interviews each actor individually for the track. It's an amazing look into the start of filming, to the end of the process as they look back. Plus, he asks each actor "Do you think Luis Guzman is high in this scene?", including Luis himself, I think. And what he does with Mark Wahlberg, and how he keeps him seated for the entire run is absolutely hysterical. It's a must listen.

4. Evil Dead-Bruce Campbell Or Sam Raimi/Tapert tracks- Two great commentary tracks. The track with Bruce Campbell is full of little behind the scenes stories about the production, which took many years. He is a naturally humorous man, and his personality is perfect for this medium. The Sam Raimi track is just as good. And just as many stories, and different takes on the same story. I haven't listened to them in awhile, but they're absolutely a top option.

5. The Godfather-FF Coppola- How could I not put this on the list? He gives great technical explanation and dives into the stories, like how he was pressured to fire Pacino, how he himself was on the verge of being fired, so he fired his AD in a pre-emptive strike, why Clemenza doesn't return for part 2, and about 20 more great little stories. A classic movie, and a classic commentary.

I could go on and on, and list dozens more, but I'll list 3 runners up without going into detail.

1. Goodfellas-Scorsese and a second track with an FBI agent and Henry Hill
2. The Thing-John Carpenter and Kurt Russell
3. Fight Club- Fincher, Fincher and the stars, The novel writer and the screenwriter together
--------------

I just had a Risky Business moment as I rocked out(can you guess my age?) in my living room to 'Alright now" by Free, and 'The Boy's Are Back In Town' by Thin Lizzy. It doesn't take Ingwie Malmsteen fancy shmancy guitar work to fucking rock, people. Just listen to these two songs. Simple riffs, but they just have that raw sound. Awesome!

DIRT. is going as planned, if not a tad slower than normal. I already had thirty one pages in the bank when I started up again. So the progress bar is a little inaccurate. That's my progress after page thirty one. So really, I have about seventy five pages done. The reason I started the progress bar on zero is I thought it would take another hundred pages to finish. And I think that's about right. It certainly is an epic in my mind. And there certainly will be no market for it. But screw it, I'll film it myself if need be. It's not full of special effects, it's a character/period piece. Think the epic scale and arc of Boogie Nights with the humor of Swingers. That's what I'm aiming for anyway.

0-2, My Dear Fellows.

2 contests, no wins this season. Might need a coaching change. How deeply depressing. This loss hurt more because it was strictly for horror scripts. Boy, that really makes my stomach churn just typing it. Me thinks I'm taking a night off from writing to lick my wounds. Then back at the firing post tomorrow, guns blazing.

"Opinions No Longer Required"

It saddened me today to learn that blog buddy JDC, of The Wildwoods (link to right) was targeted as a woman hating, right wing bigot by Kid Sis In Hollywood, and her patrons. To read the entire discussion, go over to JDC's blog, in which he shows the full unabridged conversation word for word, and how he goes from innocently defending a movie and it's creators, to being put on the defensive by a gaggle of politically correct automatons who I can assure you, will continue to lambast him in his absence like the elitists they are.

I like Kid Sis In Hollywood's blog. I frequent it 4-5 times a week, in fact. I linked to it. But this type of fascism does not belong on blogs in which comments are supposedly encouraged. There are so many holier than thou comments over there, it makes you wonder if the author even lives in this world anymore. I was so disappointed to read some of the responses from the blogs visitors , and the author herself, and frankly, embarrassed. If you didn't want to start a dialogue with new people checking in, why make the comments section accessible to the public?

Her blog now goes into the Cloaked Fascist link page. I'm sure she'll care little that my meager blog has such things to say. I'm sure they don't even know I exist. In fact, the blog will probably get more hits now. But I believe someone was unfairly persecuted, and I'm naming names, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Our Balls Are Tied In A 'PC' Double Not

When did it become wrong to have an opinion? Why do people continue to suck up? Please, someone break down this politically correct society before I am pushed to the limit.

Example #1:
While answering questions from the crowd at the team's Fan Appreciation Day at training camp on Friday, Gibbs said: "I know we don't have any Dallas people here - they are the ugliest people in the world."

Gibbs later stressed that he was joking, but he felt the need to address the matter again after Saturday's scrimmage against the Baltimore Ravens.

"I tried to make a joke," Gibbs said. "I was joking. It didn't come out probably like a joke or like it should've. I hope all my buddies in Dallas - because I've got a lot of buddies down there - took it the right way. I hope they thought it was a joke.

Are you kidding me? He can't even say Cowboys fans are the ugliest people in the world? Oh no! That's horrible! Please Mr. Gibbs, issue and immediate apology in case someone somewhere gets offended.

Example # 2: (This Starts with SF Giants manager Felipe aloe)

"He came to apologize to me? You have to be kidding me," Alou said Saturday, one day after the suspension. "There's no way to apologize for such a sin."

Alou said he wasn't in position to accept an apology on behalf of the "hundreds of millions" of people offended earlier this week when Krueger went on the Giants' flagship station, KNBR, and went off about the struggling club and its "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly."

"All of these people have been offended by this idiot," Alou said. "I can't speak for hundreds of millions of people. This guy offended hundreds of millions of people."

KNBR program director Bob Agnew said all comments on the subject would come from Tony Salvadore, the station's senior vice president. Salvadore did not immediately return a message left on his cell phone seeking comment. KNBR owns approximately 1.5 percent of the team.

An unhappy Felipe Alou says he will no longer do his pregame radio show. Krueger, who apologized on the air Thursday and offered to apologize to the team, will not be on the radio again until Aug. 15. In his comments after Wednesday night's game he also criticized Alou, saying "you have a manager in Felipe whose mind has turned to Cream of Wheat."

Okay, lets analyze this for a moment. The first inflammatory quote is "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly." I don't think singling out 'carribean' players is necessarily racist, simply because Caribbean is not a derogatory name for any ethnic group. It is an ethnic group. That's all. So all I can infer from the outrage is they think it means they're stupid for swinging at slop all night. So lets see-Caribbean players=stupid. If that's the formula, then I can see it's an insult. If they he said, white players swinging at slop all night, I guess I would feel a little singled out, and maybe even a little pissed. Though I doubt it. How many Olive Garden commercials showing barely literate Italians do I see , yet they don't offend me. Am I to get mad at The Simpson's for the Italian chef with the horrible accent? Or that Fat Tony D'Amico is a mobster? I don't think so. In fact, Matt Groening, creator of the simpsons has said Irish and Italians are the only ethnic groups they can make fun of with minimal complaints. I wonder why that is?

But anyway, should this guy have to issue an apology because he has an ignorant opinion? Is apologizing for a dumb off the cuff remark really going to do anything? The next quote: "you have a manager in Felipe whose mind has turned to Cream of Wheat". People are saying it's an insult because of the picture on the box of Cream Of Wheat. Now that's ridiculous. I'm sure he used it in a way of saying 'his mind is mush'. Insulting as that alone is, this is a radio jocks opinion. That's all. So he sounds like an idiot, so what? Are we this uptight as a society now, that any mention that could be stretched into an insult by any minimally creative person has to be retracted immediately? What happened to let a moron be a moron? You made your bed, now sleep in it? Now the saying is, you made your bed, now apologize, lie, and make it again until we all agree you can go to sleep. It's a really sad state of affairs right now. It has been getting progressively worse since the mid eighties and the whole Tipper Gore led PMRC started tackling the music issue.

How many of these people are there? 5? A million ? Ten Million? Whatever it is, I can assure you we out number them. And it's about time we do something about it.

Yawn

Nothing from the Eerie Horror Screenplay Comp. yet. The site reads 'winners to be announced the first week of August.' I guess they mean exactly at the frigging end of the week.

Woke up at 630am, 1130am and 230pm. Feeling nauseous each time, which forced me back to bed each time.

I have about one hundred bug bites along my legs from FT Myers, and they're not going away. In fact, I see new ones appear every day. And now they itch, whereas before they didn't. Maybe I'm dying. Maybe not...

The people next door moved out. Now, for the past three days, I hear the banging of construction workers and trucks jumping the speed bumps all damn day. I am at the point where I want to knock on the door and yell "Turn down your R fucking Kelly or I'll blow this mother to kingdom come! Got it?!". It's really really REALLY annoying. It has me very close to breaking. Maybe since I was in construction for 8 years, and loathed every second of it, that has me on edge as well. I swore I would never get near a hammer again. Oh great, now they're stapling down the carpet. Sounds great!

Time to watch a movie with the volume turned to the max. G'day all.

P.S. It's now one of the 34 Spanish stations blasting into my apartment. I'm really very happy. Ecstatic.

The Rules Are Meant To Be Broken-Except For These!

Rule #1: Do not use voice over
Reason?: Show don't tell.

This one always pissed me off. Other writers will take you out behind the woodshed for this one, even before reading it. And I quote: "So many beginners use it wrong, it's best just to forego it all together. The risk isn't worth it." To which I say, "Beginning writers do almost everything wrong. Formatting, structure and transitions are often just obliterated in the first few or even 10 screenplays. They'll learn how to do it properly through practice, like anything else". Besides, some of the greatest movies of all time use Vo extensively. Goodfellas, Citizen Kane and Taxi Driver, among countless others. You can show, and accent with voice over. Obviously, saying what's happening on the screen, well that's just stupid. But who does that, except someone who can't write, or has just begun, anyway? If a man is walking very deliberately in a downpour, without an umbrella, you know he has some sort of problem, or dilemma on his mind. Now say I comment on something else entirely? Like this:

Roslo Bogolog tenderly steps through the river of water that streams by his feet. He stops at the corner, glares at the Do Not Cross sign, and sets his gaze back to the river amongst his toes. The rain pounds his shoulders relentlessly as he studies his sloshed shoes with dismay.

Roslo(VO)
I wonder if she's with him right now? How much time can one spend with a urologist without it sending them into fits, anyway?

The light turns red, and he is allowed to cross. He kicks at a rather deep sea set in a pot hole on the street, sending a wave of water briefly into the air.

Roslo(VO)
I mean, I've met urologists, and they're boring as hell. Urinary track this, urinary track that.

He approaches the glass double doors of the law offices in which he practices. He walks in, takes his jacket off, and shakes it dry. He stands in front of the gaudy gold elevators, silently staring at the numbers as they slowly count down to ground level.

Roslo(VO)
Then again, I've met many lawyers in my day, and we're no Swiss picnic, either.

End horrible example/

So what's wrong with using VO in that situation? To me, using voice over in this way shows and tells, without being redundant. He is not telling anything of what he's doing at the present time, which is walking sheepishly to work, not caring about the rain soaking him. We see that. But the VO does give us some insight to what he is thinking, without going overboard. So, was this example incorrect? Obviously, it's not necessary for this scene, but I think it adds a layer, and doesn't hurt it. I would really like to know, because I have a hard time believing this is a detriment to the story. But if I'm wrong, tell me so.

Tune in next time when I hit on fantasy and dream sequences.

They Deserve It!

Here's my all time If the academy weren't so stuck up, these actors would have been nominated list. These are some of my favorite performances, personally speaking.

1. Jack Nicholson-The Shining
2. Al Pacino-Scarface
3. Donald Pleasance-Halloween
4. Adam Sandler-Punch Drunk Love
5. Steve Buscemi- Reservoir Dogs
6. Tom Cruise-Interview With a Vampire
7. Tim Curry-Clue
8. Jack Black-High Fidelity
9. Robert Deniro-Taxi Driver
10. Robert Deniro-Goodfellas

Any others?

Dirty Black Summer

*Time to get back in the flow. That vacation to FT. Myers was the death of me. So I'm going to re-start Dirt. tonight. It's at 31 pages, so I figure my 10 day program will be fine. Although, I do anticipate this epic being, well, epic. Which to me means over 120 pages. We shall see how it goes. I'm kind of forcing myself to do something. My cloud of depression is darkening daily, so basically I must begin a new project. *

*Over at The Moviequill, there's a blog about character names. I never realized the amount of thought that goes into things like that. Then I wondered why I haven't had those marathon sessions of "This name sucks!", tossing it for another and another. Then it occurred to me as I went over my scripts. I'm damn good at naming things. Really, this is not to brag, because I don't consider it brag-worthy. But I have always named my scripts, characters, poems and songs without much hassle.

It's really a stupid thing to say, but I have a weird ability to see into the core of what or who I'm writing, and the name just pops out at me. For instance, I was writing dialogue for a barber. I thought, I better name him before I get too far in. Banks MCgovern appears in my head. And it was perfect for that character. In my screenplay, Killer Is Me(named after a song, of course), the serial killer is Seth Panski. In fact, I've personally used that name since. Only when I'm on a murdering spree. Just kidding. I think. Yes, of course I am. I guess the moral of this self congratulatory post is, everyone has a different base skill set when they begin. I consider mine naming things and dialogue.(yippee fucking yay) Others may be description and perfect format. Timing and structure. And that's interesting to me, I guess. Nobody else gives a damn, but that's fine too, because my other skill is entertaining myself.*

*Hell's Kitchen was awesome, by the by. I don't know if anyone watched it, but I really was intrigued by the contests, and by Chef Ramsey, of course. Him and I have the same approach to the world, I think. Wouldn't mind having a pint with him at the local pub. Not that Florida knows what a pub is, mind you. This brings me to my dream actors for my yet to be written gangster movie-Russell Crow and Collin Farrell. What a time to be had by all! I would get along royally with them. And probably engage in a few fist a cuffs after drinking too long. But hey, it'll all be in good fun.*

*And now back to stifling reality. Thank you, come again.*

Time To Get ill?

I've been feeling like shit lately, and I think it's because I'm not writing. I'm told when I'm writing I'm nowhere near as hostile or depressed. Maybe it's the mark of a real writer-writing is the only undertaking that makes me whole. At any rate, whatever it is, I best embark on a new project soon. I'm thinking my grungy epic, DIRT. to be the next in line. It really deserves to be finished. A lot of people are waiting to read it. Anyway, that's the way I'm leaning.







QUICK HIT REVIEW: BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
Directed by: Bob Clark (A Christmas Story, Deathdream, Porky's)

Overall, a damn fine stalker/slasher pic. A lot of Carpenter's Halloween was ripped directly from this film. And you'll know it. There are some spine tingling scenes, especially during the last half hour that are really effective. Another film ripped this one off badly, but I won't mention which. If you saw that movie, then the main twist is easy to spot in B.C. It's really a shame. I saw this 'other' movie many years ago, but it almost ruined Black Christmas for me. At any rate, you will still be entertained, as I was, even if you know the deal.

GORE: Less is more approach. Works well. 7/10
STORY: Very well done. Too bad it's been done several times since, dampening the overall effect. 6.5/10
ACTING: Very low key, and real. No melodrama here. 8/10
MUSIC/SCORE: Also low key. Some kind of distorted piano. Works pretty well. 8/10
SCARE FACTOR: There are more freaky moments than outright scares. The end gets intense though. 7.5/10
OVERALL: Cool little horror movie ahead of its time. Worthy of any film addicts collection. 7.4/10

Long Way Back From Hell

I'm finally back, and just in time to see that I did not make the quaterfinals for Scriptapalooza. Hogwash! Actually, I knew damn well a horror script like mine wouldn't get very far in that contest. Oh well, I still have the Eerie horror contest, which I think I will do much better in. Winners will be announced this week, and I could really use a win here.

As to my previous post, no, I didn't really get a new laptop. I was trying to finish the post while Katie was getting ready, when my mind started to drift into dreamland. I thought, wouldn't it be cool if she came over and gave a new powerbook? But alas, my little story took a grisly turn when she came up behind me and notified me it was time to leave. And she was empty handed. So that's why it read like it did.

I have to start a new script this week. Being in Fort Myers for a few days cleared out all the clutter that can invade a mind that's been much too stimulated, pumping out two screenplays in 3 1/2 weeks. I thought about a lot of my ideas, and also about screenplays I have yet to finish, and a new idea seems to be taking precedent over my old unfinished stories. I hate it when that happens.

Everything is coming together for Generator, the movie. I have just about every role filled, sound guys, producers and locations. All for free. Now I have to get up there and do it. I'm thinking over the Christmas holiday. But the date is TBD. I'm just going to make my own DVDs and sell my movie the old fashioned way, through good old word of mouth. Maybe use the internet to my advantage. I'm going to kick this thing in the ass. Hollywood's not knocking down my door, so maybe I'll just kick theirs down instead.

My Mother wishes I would write short stories instead of screenplays. Like Stephen King. Everyone has an opinion, huh?

I recently purchased a Cyberhome 300 DVD player. There's an easy hack that allows it to play all region dvds. It's a little player, but has progressive scan support, and the all region hack makes it worth the $30 I spent on it. If anyone wants to know the hack, just ask, or Google it, and I'm sure there's a big community that discusses these sorts of things.

If I order a senior citizens meal because I like the platter, shouldn't I be able to get it, even though I'm not a senior? It's the same amount of food either way, so it's not like they would charge more or less. Same with the kids meal. Why can't I order it? They get the same amount of cash either way, and the platter is what I want. Bah! Anyway, that always angers me. It's not like they're cheaper. I don't want the senior discount, just the damn meal!

Picked up Black Christmas yesterday. Will watch it tonight. I can't wait.

And, to reiterate, I hate talking politics, especially on a blog, because it just turns into a debacle everytime. But can these Hollywood shmoes stop bitching and complaining about everything here in America? Just because we are able to speak our minds freely, doesn't necessarily mean we should absolutely fucking do so whenever a camera is shoved in your mug. It gets real tiresome hearing Tim Robbins, or Sean Penn, or Janeane Garafalo just spout what essentially is a company line at this point. Alright already! Everyone knows your stance! Who are you trying to impress? You sound like damn fools. You're spoiled fucking rotten, and yet you complain and whine ten times more than the single parent who is working 80 hour weeks to make ends meet for their children. Go make I Am Sam, Too and leave me be.