So - over a year later...

Hi there! If there's anyone still checking.

If so, Welcome Back and I applaud and appreciate your tenacity/stubbornness in reading this site. Enjoy it while it lasts - I've made promises to keep churning out content before, only to have huge gaps in the timeline. Which is better than just leaving an abandoned site with the last entry in the early 2010s, I guess.

It's been quite a year, for everyone. Since my last entry, my grandmother died from complications related to Covid and my mother died two months ago in her sleep from a hemorrhage, in addition to other friends who didn't make it out of 2020. A year later, after declaring that 'We Won Covid, Now Get Back To Work™', and 'Back To Normal®', news of the Delta Variant (more contagious) becoming the main strain this Fall/Winter comes along in tandem with the Slow Death of American Democracy ramping up for Act 1.

Those are really good reasons for not providing content, but there were/are plenty others around before 2020 got underway, as we all can guess from the figurative digital wreckage on the lamented 'Information Superhighway'.  As the saying goes, "Ass, Gas or Grass - Nobody Rides For Free" and it's as true in the digital realm as it is in the Real World - Personal Data is the coin of the realm, and it's even better when people give up their data without any coercion involved.

It was pretty charming, at first, sharing your life and finding other like-minded people out there - there are still online friendships  that I maintain & cherish that, frankly, would not have happened otherwise. And that's the one thing that keeps that hesitation in cutting the cord/plug still alive, despite the increasing evidence that it would be a Good Thing in the long run.

At this point - over 50, aged/aging out of hipster entertainments & eateries and misanthropic in my best moods - isolating from Everything will merely hasten the pace of the slow death path I can say that I'm officially on. Not overstating for effect - having helped take care of aging relatives for the last 25 years, you recognize the landmarks and signs; and I've seen time & time again how it ends when you insist on ignoring them. So... hey. There It Is.

Facebook also kinda killed the need - why spend time attempting to write (hopefully) coherent  and/or entertaining things when guerrilla hit-and-run entries get the job done too? Fortunately, never got into the Twitter mindset  and as for TikTok/Vine/Whatever Else - "OK, Grandpa." Proudly.

So - wanting to stretch those longer-form writing muscles with the Specter of Death hovering around.  Easy to understand.  And coming to terms that it's not going to probably change things at this point, except in improving my mental health - I've written off and on over the past 25 - 30? years now, but not made any sort of living from it. Not having that burning drive to pursue it like my life depended on it and not really understanding how the game is played... not that it matters now.

But the well isn't quite dry yet. So, I'll try my best to wring out what's left; a good portion of stuff was for publications that no longer exist or are extremely hard to find except for the dedicated reader of physical media - some of that will be dredged up to see light again (unless it's judged to be completely horrible).  There'll also be newer things - the film reviews I do can be found over at 366 WeirdMovies from time to time, but there'll be some spillover for things that don't quite fit there; the sister blog on music, Music Snob, is getting a workover and refocus, so the music stuff will end up over there.

And I guess we'll all see how this goes.

Everything I Like/Love Is Fucking Horrible

By that, I'm NOT talking about something like THE ROOM (I hate that shit)... or things like action movies, 'charmingly bad' media or anything along those lines.

I was gifted with a Blu-ray set of JOHNNY QUEST for Christmastime, a show I loved watching on Saturday mornings growing up; a true Boy's Show with adventure & action in foreign lands, lots of cool science stuff and a body count. Also noticeable watching it as a somewhat aware adult is the casual racism/sexism, which made for a darkly amusing drinking game and a LOT of alcohol.

I'm a genre fan, and I'm Black (or P.O.C. if you like a mouthful of terms), and what becomes very apparent after a short amount of time is that, just as in Real Life, a good majority of things that are produced are NOT produced with any thought that someone like me might actually enjoy or find any worth in it. So, any criticism is met with quite a bit of mob-swarm and butt-hurt, and any variation that doesn't immediately pander to that core (White, Male) audience will be seen as an abject failure if it doesn't perform at the boxoffice or in ratings.

You find quite a bit of this in fandom - science-fiction (rather ironic, in a way), horror, fantasy; even in some rather niche strata like film music fans. And yes, NOT EVERYBODY, of course, but even if it is a minority, it's a pretty fucking loud one.

I wasn't looking for a Grand Metaphor here, but as recent events have taken place and watching how it all unfolds - again, and reporters & pundits trying to make sense of it all - again, it appears that it sums up Our Particular Problem in a graspable manner:

Everything I Like/Love Is Fucking Horrible.

How do I reconcile that? Can you even do so? A lot of that stuff is baked-in, so as much as some can attempt to mitigate it (like recent adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs "Tarzan" and the Lovecraft Cultural Explosion), there's always a certain core remnant that's there and it can't be excised.

You can, however, use it to comment on how things were and how certain behavior and beliefs are no longer appropriate/in vogue from a contemporary viewpoint. But that original is always around in some form. You can hide it, ignore it, pretend it has no effect or value - but the forbidden has its allure, especially when it goes underground.

You can also put it out for all to see, in all its ugliness - and also the context for it. "Yes, it was Wrong, but for quite a while, Most didn't think so."

You can also attempt to just get rid of it all, Start from Zero. That's a bit drastic and makes a lot of assumptions and has no guarantee at all of success, unless you take seriously the concept of ZERO.

There are no pat answers... I don't have any. But I can say this - whenever we get to these moments of Wrestling With The Soul, we always choose the Lazy Way, the Path of Least Resistance, and you're seeing the result of what happens when things get kicked down the road and aren't confronted.

The Idiot(s) In The Room

Before I get to the Official Kickoff, I think it's best that we get certain things out of the way while we can. As this is written, (5/13), we're near the end of Phase I of this pandemic and already people are behaving like this has already been Worst Staycation Ever, or at least that's how most of the major media is presenting it. Here in Topeka, although Covid-19 has reached the city & county, there's not a sense of approaching dread - although there's a certain number of people out & about without masks, there's a substantial amount that are wearing masks... fortunately, there's not a lot of overt racism on display - yet. Then again, I'm not out everyday trying to assess that.

We're seeing System Failure In Real Time, and it appears to be too much for most to handle. It's not the slow erosion that allowed people to adjust over the last three years, this is immediate 'shock and awe' as the adage that most Americans were a paycheck or two away from disaster gets proven large scale.

I'm a 'glass half-full' person in the best of times and the one consistent conclusion to be gleaned from the past couple of months to the present, what I've seen is this:

NOBODY KNOWS SHIT.

True, there is info available, which if one is a person who's able to do some critical thinking and able to weigh the merits/concerns of fact vs. fiction, you can tentatively navigate your way through. Judging from what one sees however, there's not even half of the country's population who seems to be capable of that. Which is not that surprising - when you demonize & politicize factual science and expertise because it helps in convincing people that climate change doesn't exist, then it's even harder to convince people that there is a pandemic, until the hospitals fill up and bodies start stacking.

The response to this has been a complete clusterfuck, with the current Federal Government not taking the lead on this, since the President is doing anything he can to try to avoid any responsibility (and thus, any blame). But not just him - across the board, very few are really wanting to confront the Cold, Hard Facts of what needs to be done to get the country through this. Mainly due to the ever increasing realization that the whole perception of  'Normal' is really not going to work as before - not that it worked all that well, but it made people money and that seems to be the Main Concern over everything.

To me, this is the natural end of the path we started down, eyes wide open, three years ago when the schizophrenic patient U.S.A. decided that it was okay, really... and stopped taking its meds.

There's really only one way out of this, and no one's gonna like it, since it means letting politics/ideology duke it out against science/nature, and I suspect that most of you who'll be reading this blog know who ends up the winner of these battles.

So, I'm not gonna get all up in arms about a lot of this type of stuff here - more than likely, that'll end up on FB, although there's only so much outrage that remains, after so much - and we're nowhere near Rock Bottom yet, though it feels that way. There's always a sub-basement to find...

Instead, I'm gonna hunker down and try to get through this - and make no mistake, I'm completely scared shitless. It's not so much a question of "if we get it" - considering the circumstances, a better mindset for me is "when we get it". That enables me, at this point, to be able to make decisions and function on a daily basis. Maybe by late Summer/early Fall, I'll be able to get into a "if we get it" frame of mind, since by then, things will have played out to an extent where there'll be some reliable information to be able to make that assumption, and prepare for the second wave.

What I'm NOT scared of are idiots who decide to take the Ultimate Lottery/I.Q. Test, because as science consistently shows, THEY LOSE. And I'm quite OK with that.

All of this 'Corona Concern' from corporations & businesses that didn't give a fuck about you unless you had a dollar or two in your pocket that they could get from you, all this 'Get back to work, you lazy MF'ers', all this desperate dancing hoping that things Will Go Back Like They Were - all of that will get shredded when the actual reality comes to people's homes, which is how most have handled Empathy in the U.S.A. - "We don't have to give a Fuck about Anything or Anyone - until it directly affects me in a way that's inescapable".

Let All These Motherfuckers Die.

If you have a problem with that, then I suggest that this blog may not be for you - because, there WILL be Things Said.

"Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here."  You Are Warned.

Now, that's out of the way - on to what's spurred this Sense of Purpose...

Next Time - "Everything I Like Is Fucking Horrible"

Up to speed...

So... what's new with YOU?

Yeah.

So the blogging thing sort of became not so much of a thing, which is understandable - so much has gone the way of the buffalo within the past 10 years - well, even 5 as people get older, lives change and the burning obsession to share minutia of one's life has migrated towards creating a persona on FB &/or Twitter. In my particular case, it was a combination of various things - helping to take care of my grandmother until we were able to get her into a facility that could handle her needs and take the immediate burden off of us so we could go on with our lives... brutal, yes, but true. I'm the youngest in my immediate family and I'm in my mid-50's as of this writing. The film work - PAID work, that is - started getting less & less every year, and even though I've been through long stretches before, this may well be it (although I've said THAT before several times also) as far as trying to aggressively pursue it further - it never got close to a point where I could solely survive on it in any case. And underlying all of that is my intrinsic laziness - to not want to do ANYTHING after taking care of other pressing things.

So, 2019 - my mother came to live w/us, which was not unexpected, due to medical reasons. What was not expected was that we would lose her sister later in the year, due to cancer, which she'd been fighting since 2005; November 2019 - January 2020 was spent with handling that situation, which within a month she went from home to being in the hospital for surgery to hospice to her death right before Christmas... then setting up a sale of their belongings, clearing out the apartment and having to deal with her idiot son who denied the entire situation for the last few years and his bullshit.

Finally ready to get back into the job market, then Covid-19 started its American Tour.

Personally, there's no big change in Daily Life B/A (Before/After) Covid-19 - most of whom I'd term as close friends I keep in touch with mainly online and that's been the case for quite awhile; there's no longer the burning need to travel an hour for some 'exciting' thing, since there's quite enough in a personal collection to keep me occupied (it helps saves on gas, too). And as far as going outside, we're fortunate enough to have enough yardspace to be able to go outside when we need to (well, when I need to; I do the yardwork), so overall, we're pretty fortunate. All of us in the home are high-risk, but since I'm the one most likely to bring it into the home, due to the occasional grocery errand, I'm very careful as to venturing out into CovidLand.

So, I have a lot of time on my hands - again - but in this instance, there's not quite the ticking time bomb of needing to 'go back to normal'. That ended in March and nobody - repeat, NOBODY - knows exactly what's ahead.

Slowly, the urge to write again kept getting stronger, but there was always something to push it into "I'll get to that later," territory. Well, it seems that Now is Indeed The Time to Get To It. So - Hi! It's been awhile, I know... I'm honest enough to say that this may not be a Daily thing - there's still so much else to do. But some of that 'else' will go into fueling more content, so it will be more regular than it has been for sometime. As to what led me back to it... that's on its way. First, a reintroduction for those who followed & might be interested in following again - considering the current situation, it seemed the thing to do.

There's one more thing to get out of the way before things get running again - Next Time...

In Memorium: Clay McBride

photo courtesy of Sam Park

   I was planning on returning to 'business as usual' posting; some oblique references to my experiences this past month, mixed in with some reviews of what I've seen - but I was informed by a mutual friend that the aforementioned Clay McBride had left this world on Sunday, much too soon - and at the very least, I owe a few words towards his memory.

   I knew his younger brother better - Ian was a classmate of mine who also left this planet way ahead of time; that these siblings have this in common is a bitter pill to choke on. Clay was a few years older, and had left Cape Girardeau for better things in Hollywood by the time I started to get to know Ian better. But his influence was certainly around the house, and Ian had picked up on a few things... and on his occasional visits to town, he'd have plenty of stories to tell - one favorite memory of one of his visits was when he came to a class that Ian & I were both in, bringing with him storyboards he'd done for THE BEASTMASTER. At the time, I wasn't aware that he had a small circle of friends also interested in films and filmmaking (which included Larry Aeschlimann [son of one of the high school teachers, and makeup artist who'd work on things like ROBOCOP, among others], Sam Park, and Jim Uhls [future adaptor of FIGHT CLUB to the screen]). Looking back at that listing, that's a pretty solid group of friends.

   High school ends, college starts and bonds start to slowly slip away... I knew that Clay was writing scripts in L.A.; Ian was in Texas and I end up in San Francisco, trying to get my foot in the door. I did end up in L.A. for a short time, working on a feature film in the early 90's, and did reach Clay by phone, but never had the time to meet up with him. 

   Lost track of Clay when I came back to the Midwest; the Internet helps me find him again; first through a conversation with Sam Park on the Classic Horror Film Board Forum, whereupon I discover Clay to be his writing partner, and several projects in the fire - none which came to bear fruit, unfortunately - no LUKE CAGE movie for us! - and through Facebook, which put me back in touch with Clay directly. 

I find myself in the same bitter mindset as before, with Ian's passing... back then, I wrote a small piece about Ian, that I wouldn't have chosen the path that I've been on, if someone hadn't told me way back when about some other kid who had the same interests that I did. I can say the same of Clay - who, thankfully, wasn't an older brother dick to his younger brother's friends... well, at least not to me... and did show me that it was possible to actually do this wretched, wonderful thing called making movies. Would've been nice for both of them to know. Would've been even nicer to have actually gotten to the point of possibly working with them both at some time... but that wasn't to be in this lifetime, and I made my peace with that long ago.

R.I.P. Clay. 

Condolences to your family and friends; and say 'Hi' to Ian when you see him.

 

Back in the Merry Month of May...

So much has happened, so much to share... and yet, what to start with?

Well, a beloved family pet died on Friday. Luci had a long life - almost 20 years, if not exactly 20... the date when she was actually born is sort of not exactly known, but it's around there. I had fully expected her to not make it last Christmas, but she did, and then some; so I look at it as extra time we got with her.

She'll be missed.

I took a break from updating due to a project that shot in January, THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL, the debut feature from Blake Robbins (of whom you'll recognize from RUBBER, 'the sock guy' in a Hanes commercial, and other appearances). The project is currently in post-production, but will pass along news as I hear it.

From there, straight into work for the AMC Theatres 2012 Kansas City FilmFest - bumped up from a 'screener' to 'programmer' this year, specifically for the Narrative Feature selections, and doing some blogging for the FilmFest site... and now, on the cusp of starting another film shoot later in the month, more of which to come much later...

NAILBITER has been getting great reviews and awards at festivals and there may be some good news to share shortly... Kevin McKinney's CORPORATE FM made its premiere at FilmFest - both will be screening in Lawrence at the Free State Film Festival next weekend, along with other local work.

So... I changed the look of the blog. It was long overdue - older posts are more easy to find now, plus I like the template... it fits more with the blog's namesake.

And, of course, lots of material watched and waiting to be commented upon these past few months - but it'll have to wait just a tad longer... until the next post, at least.

It's FilmFest Time!!

Happy New Year, everyone! Yes, I know that it's just a tad late, but you know how these things are.  Personal turmoil and all that comes along with it -- The Good News is that everyone made it through surgery and they're recuperating nicely. The Christmas Miracle of December transmorgrified into January's Fresh Hell, as Christmas Miracles sometimes do.

With Spring, comes FilmFest to Kansas City - excuse me - The AMC Kansas City FilmFest, as the official titling goes. That kicks off this Wednesday, April 6 through April 10.

Here's a two-part interview with founder Fred Andrews, who provides some history, from when it started as The Kansas City Filmmaker's Jubilee to its current incarnation as FilmFest. This was intended for an article last year about the festival, but the publication it was intended for no longer exists... so, not one to waste material, it became the latest from Cheap Bastard Filmworks.







My personal picks are:


WED.
Togetherness Supreme
Rainbow Town
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
Anatomy of Vince Gauaraldi

THURS.
Andy Anderson Shorts/Detention
Seminar: Art Direction for the Indie Filmmaker

FRI.
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
Brotherhood

SAT.
Au Pair, Kansas
Homecoming
Pruitt-Igoe Myth
Seminars: The Big Idea


And I recommend any and all of the shorts programs.

You can find trailers for some films, as well as information about tickets and a link to a downloadable program on the FilmFest site.

Disclosure: I did work on AU PAIR, KS, and the FilmFest is the place where it will be making its world premiere, then on to festivals in Minnesota and Oklahoma.

In Which We Do Some Coastal Log-Rolling, And Make More Promises That We Probably Won't Keep...



First things first, I wanna remind those of you in the L.A. and NYC areas that there are several films screening that were shot here in the Midwest. Those of you in the NYC area can attend the Hoboken International Film Festival, which kicks off this weekend - THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN screens on Saturday, June 5th, if you'd like to see it on the big screen (instead of, say, on your t.v. via Starz VOD; or on your computer screen via Netflix streaming).

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN




Monday, June 7th is the date for THE BATTLE FOR BUNKER HILL, Kevin Willmott's new film (though, actually it was shot before INDIAN). It previously screened at the Atlanta Film Festival in April - here's a podcast featuring an interview with Kevin about the film, and Dan Hoyt's review on the Helium website.

THE BATTLE FOR BUNKER HILL



Those in the L.A. area planning on attending the Dances With Films festival may want to reserve some tickets for the screening of LAST BREATH on Tuesday, June 8; Ty Jones' thriller/drama that's starting to hit the festival circuit after winning the Audience Favorite award at the Omaha Film Festival.


I slacked on the blog a bit mainly due to so many other things; mainly looking for work... paying work. I've also been working on a couple of feature scripts and other things, but those are ventures that may potentially pay off Some Bright Day - Way.... WAY Off In The Future, where things can look pretty bright or dark, depending on how good the coffee is in the morning. In The Right Now, it's pretty fucking Hard -- but then, it usually has been.

I've also been watching a wide variety of films at home, since it's way cheaper than going out and the selection is much better than what's in the theaters. So, I turn to what the unemployed and obnoxiously vocal do in Tough Times -- blog about movies. Yes, I know -- how original. You're lucky that it's not about music... now that I've reached the plateau of Bitter Old Man, I no longer recognize what or who the Hell is playing in the clubs that the kids are listening to.

It's pretty fun no longer trying to be Cool...

So for the few of you following my rantings (THANK YOU every last one of you!), I should repay your kindness by providing more content a bit more often -- Facebook has largely been the recipient of the quick hit & run snark, illustrated by link - maybe a little of that will still get here, but I have to try harder - especially when I demand it from others.

Winter Viewing + GUILTY... Of Being WHITE!! Film Series

With Winter actually being... Winter, as witness to the recent snow and bone-chilling cold, it stands to reason that a lot of time is being spent in a prone position, with covers pulled up and cats at either end warming extremities.

Writing goes very slowly for me - at least in writing something that isn't an article or a review - I'm scheduled to finally have that article on Kansas filmmakers seeing print sometime later this year - I haven't pushed to really finish it yet, since everytime I think it's finished, more time and more news pops up. Taking another whack at a feature-length script is quite something else -- what was a quick n' dirty idea turned into something that I'm actually having some fun with... and that more than likely will never end up in front of a camera lens, at least in this initial version.


Have been passing the time by watching the old THRILLER series with Boris Karloff - which is scheduled to make its debut on legitimate DVD later this year in a tricked-out-with-extras complete run release. That doesn't mean that I should just instantly throw out my 'gift' set, which landed in my lap last year, which were taken from broadcasts on the Scream Channel.

Vintage tv like this probably has a hard time finding an audience now - most of the market for it would be the over 40 crowd, people who have heard of the show, but were born after its run; and the over 60 crowd, people who actually saw the show during broadcast. It's not quickly paced and it's in black and white, and it mainly features people who are nearly dead now - not great reasons for the under 30 set to sit down and watch it...

It's not as well known as TWILIGHT ZONE; THRILLER started out as an anthology mystery show, adapting pulp novels of the time, and it gradually drifted into straight horror... I've only delved into the first 10 episodes so far, and only one sort of had a whiff of the supernatural - an episode featuring Rip Torn, who has nefarious relatives attempting to scare him out of an inheritance.

Part of the fun of watching shows like this, is seeing established stars in the beginning of their careers, like Leslie Nielson, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore; and actors in their waning years, like Mary Astor and Charles McGraw. Plus, it's a window into a whole other world and culture, almost -- one that I'll be doling out over the next couple of months.




A quicker fix is CASINO ROYALE, the notorious James Bond parody of the 60's -- which is almost being pushed from memory, due to the more faithful 2006 rendition/franchise reboot with Daniel Craig. The 60's version is a mess - a glorious mess, in my opinion, but it's usually remembered as an artifact of what NOT to do in making a movie (although a successful one - it was one of the highest grossing films for 1967). It was previously released on disc a few years ago, with some decent extras, but the 40th Anniversary disc actually delves a little deeper into the film and its making, featuring a commentary by a couple of Bond scholars (which is pretty good - it was a lot more substantial than I thought it would be), and a 5 part featurette on the history of the film, and how things got out of control...

I've always wanted to run a film series for February, since it's "Black History Month", taking on the more 'in your face' films -- "GUILTY... Of Being WHITE!!"


Exhibit #1 - MANDINGO

this notorious, button-pushing film, that has had some critical rethinking over the last few years, thanks to bloggers like Dennis Cozzalio (Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule) and Greg Bunche, whose MANDINGO PROJECT posting will suffice as an introduction, to those who dare take the plunge and rent this baby. He goes into detail regarding the novel, and in the changes from novel to screen, and does the same for its follow-up, DRUM, another 'Exhibit', but one that's very hard to find as of late.

Book of the month for the "GUILTY... Of Being WHITE!!" series is the recently published MONDO MANDINGO, which goes into obsessive detail into Kyle Onstott's series and what they wrought.

Goodbye 2009 - "Run Bitch, Run"

Of course I was going to do an end of year posting... after being busy w/other things the past couple of weeks, too busy to comment upon.

Rather than bitch about how the past year went down -- EVERY year seems to have its share of good and bad, though some years are definitely better than others - the thing to do is hope that the coming year is better, and put some thought into what I need to do to make it better.

But isn't that what we ALL say - then reality and sloth sets in, and we head down the same paths?

Expect a bit more posting and content here in the coming year... and a bit more focused effort in some endevours, which will hopefully pay off in some fashion.

2010, in addition to being 'the year we make contact' - will start out much like the title of this upcoming film:

Run! Bitch Run! Trailer from Robert Hayes on Vimeo.

Consider us all duly warned.

Dog Days of August


Back from the blur of a busy summer...

Another feature down - well, mostly. There's still some more work to be done involving floor (physical) effects that's about another 2 weeks of shooting, but 80 - 85% is 'in the can'. And it was one of the best production experiences that I've had as of late. Now that it's over, it's time to troll around again for more of the same. In this economic climate... oh, to be an Iowan, or at least have some contacts there -- Iowa as of late is practically crawling with film work, with companies taking advantage of those tax breaks. Some friends are currently at work on the first of 4 horror films shooting up in Iowa... the movie is called HUSK. I wonder if there's a sequel to be called SHUCK.

I have taken up a form of the 'work from home' type of job -- since I do like to type things of this nature, I should find some way for it to make some coin. So, as of this week, I am a writer for Examiner.com; specifically, the 'Topeka DVD Examiner', where I'll be doing DVD reviews, with some emphasis on things that have been shot in the area... and as much film related area news that I can get away with -- which may mean I'll become the Topeka Film Examiner at some point. The more people come to the site, the more money I make, as these things go. I do promise to make it worth the effort.

I suppose I should be all excited about the new Tarantino film and the AVATAR trailer -- I don't give a shit about either -- Tarantino, I gave up on some time ago, and as to AVATAR, nothing that's been revealed is anything to go nuts about. And having learned that Disney is getting ready to remake YELLOW SUBMARINE in that same shitty motion capture that Bob Zemekis (sic, I know) has been fooling around with for the past decade or so -- there's very little reason to get excited about anything coming out of the studios. If it's not a remake, or based on a toy of some kind, no one apparently knows how to sell that type of a film anymore. It either sits on a shelf for years, or it gets released on home video with little to no fanfare.
If you're lucky, it may even play in a theater near you for a week.

I love what I do, but from all evidence, there's no money to be made in making quality films.
That's just a lesson I'm having a big problem learning, I guess.

Enough whining... here's some on-set hijinks for you to enjoy!

Tornado!

Coming back from the screening of LAST BREATH in KC, MO I encountered this -- now THIS is scary!

Well, into April, and that *meh* feeling is still around...

Nothing much to say of any topical interest - KC Filmfest is soon, and with 3 projects getting their area premiere, there'll be much to say about those - but that's in about 2-3 weeks.

My overall mood is pretty much captured by Jon Wayne (not the actor - but the singer):

Texas Funeral




Mr. Egyptian

Into the third month of 2009, and so far it's been... *meh*.

Last weekend was The Oscars, and that was completely *meh* - no surprises there, except for Sean Penn winning the award over favorited Comeback Kid, Mickey Rourke...
I don't hate The Oscars, but I don't get as worked up about them as I used to -- going through the collection of movies that I keep (and you can do this as well - this is the Home Game), I find a lot of good movies, a few Great ones, and stuff that doesn't bore me...

What I DON'T find is a lot of Oscar winners... Oscar sort of loses it's glamor when attached to names such as Marisa Tomei, Helen Hunt, Danny Boyle... well, you get the idea.

That doesn't prevent me from adding this, however...





Another *meh* event is the opening of WATCHMEN this weekend, which is sort of like the Second Coming for Geeks if you've been following the hype for the past year or so.
It'll make a ton of money in the first weekend, then taper off -- then will make another pile of money when the DVDs are released, "Director's Cut(s)", Special Edition(s), and THE COMPLEAT WATCHMEN by Christmastime, including THE BLACK FREIGHTER, all deleted scenes and outtakes.
My bet - it'll hopefully be no worse than V FOR VENDETTA was, which also bent over backwards to duplicate the look of the comic, and took liberties with adapting the material.
I still don't think that it qualifies Zack Snyder as a "visionary".
Personally, I would think that an HBO show would've been preferable, but no way was HBO going to shell out $150 million + to do that -- I think that it would've been a decent way to handle the adaptation, but who really cares about THAT?

Happy 2009!

OK, so I'm a couple of weeks late... oh well.

The first thing was finishing up the work on AU PAIR, KS -- on my end, that's mainly paperwork to go to the editor/director. Coming back, there was also my grandmother undergoing open heart surgery in late December... she's doing well, currently undergoing rehab therapy to build her strength back up. She should be back at home soon.

Then there's the prospect of finding more work. No idea when the next film job will come up -- in the meantime, there's polishing up some work for the next MICRO-FILM issue, to be published in March or April; and trying to drum something up using my prodigious assets.

This week will be the premiere of THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN at Sundance; so look for some links to show up about its reception. I have had a chance to see the film, but I'll wait until there's a local screening before writing about it.

And I think I'll be posting a bit more DVD stuff - there's a huge backlog of stuff to watch, so I may start working through that when time allows.

Hope your year is starting off well - though, to judge from my previous two postings, things aren't looking up in the near future.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Well, the inevitable finally occurred -- my agency called me on Veteran's Day, telling me that my services "would no longer be required" at the Thieves' Den... they didn't go into detail, 'but I guess my best wasn't good enough', to quote an old 80's ballad. So I can pretty much write off any thoughts of a career answering the phone calls of dumbfucks and deadbeats, AKA 'Our Customers'.

I'm so devastated...

... or at least I MIGHT be, had I not detested the position in the first place. And had I not just been hired onto a feature film that starts shooting at the beginning of December. It's lo-budget, and not going to be a cakewalk, esp. shooting in Kansas Wintertime...

"... but I like it," to quote an even older song.

Of course, come the New Year, the inevitable question of survival will again rear its head... but that's always been the case, even through the last recession of the early 90's... and that was when I was working at a 'regular' job and the big concern then was if the company was going to survive by restructuring, or would it be bought out?

Neither of those things happened - the company's future was determined by a crazy guy with a grudge and cheap Uzi's... and by that time, I was well into this career path, lucky for me.

So, we'll see what comes and attempt to ride it out, as usual.

Another thing to make my day: From the Creators of THE AMERICAN ASTRONAUT comes STINGRAY SAM.

Not Fucking Funny At All.

No humorous tales to spin now... and no Halloween listing - again.
I just haven't been in the mood recently.

Not with this kind of shit going on...




and:



and even more of that good stuff:



As I mentioned on Facebook earlier - every passing year, I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of idiocy.

From Matt Taibbi's ROLLING STONE article, "Mad Dog Palin":

Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she's a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation.


So my mood may be a bit dour for the next few weeks, until I get proof that this country is finally tired of letting shitbrains and moral retards lead the way.

Catching up

I posted the RHUBARB PIE photos... so time for what's been going on recently, if anyone's interested. As I've remarked earlier, I tend to have to go back into the 'real' world to make a living. The last few years, since 2004 have been pretty good - usually, if there's one feature a year, that's a good year of work - two is practically a windfall. Last year looked really promising, with 4 possible films on the table -- but of those 4, only LAST BREATH and THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN actually got off the ground. The infamous NEVER SUBMIT bit the dust, and left a lot of bad feelings, and NAILBITER continues in a holding pattern.

So, no surprise that when the well starts running dry, you have to fall back on what you know... in this case, temp work - customer service, actually. And a chance to be able to finish a few projects in addition to keeping the bills paid. So, that's pretty much where the last month went - most of August spent in training, then unleashed onto the public before Labor Day.
As far as who I work for, that is to be hidden - I personally don't have a problem with saying who, but there are things as nondisclosure agreements; not to mention the fact that Eyes Are Everywhere.

Hey! Here's a mind puzzle -- Who REALLY hates thieves? EVEN BIGGER THIEVES.

Chew over that for a bit... of course nothing should be inferred by that interesting puzzle... heaven forbid.

Anyway...

all of that 9-5 drastically cut into time spent editing, creating subtitles, and generally watching stuff. So, did some time restructuring, and that always (at least for me) takes a few weeks to really kick into feeling comfortable.

Slogged through several sets of TV DVD -- last I left off, I was in the midst of the mega-set of LAND OF THE GIANTS, which I finally finished off. I find that there's not very much to add to my previous comments, other than it probably may be Irwin Allen's most consistent series (hight praise indeed, for IA shows). Towards the end, it starts to veer into more fantastical subject matter, with dimensional businessmen (Jonathan Harris, being relatively restrained), lost underground civilizations, time travellers (one pair being Bruce Dern and Yvonne Craig!), but it does avoid the silliness that usually befell later seasons of IA's shows, so watching the series wasn't quite as cringe inducing as watching LOST IN SPACE can be.

Another fun set was THE EQUALIZER S1, the 80's chestnut of ex-C.I.A. agent Edward Woodward 'equalizing the odds' for regular people terrorized by criminal elements in and around the New York area. The writing was very good for the show (holding up really well some 20 years later), as well as the acting -- a fun bit of watching old shows is spotting present day stars who were starting out at the time -- you'll see glimpses of Luis Guzman, Bradley Whitford (as a rural tough), Jasmine Guy (as a hooker); lots of 80's fashions & hairstyles.

But the main character is NYC B.G. (Before Guiliani) - THIS is the New York I grew up on, a place of awe and terror, where you could be eaten alive as well as drawn into the welcoming bosum... maybe both.

I also found ELEVENTH HOUR at the local library... you may have seen ads for the show on your televison over the past few weeks. You won't be surprised to learn that, yes, it's based on a show originally broadcast in Britain (as is more and more of our programming - LIFE IN MARS is another, and just wait for another attempt at an American DR. WHO. NBC is bucking this trend by basing one of its new sitcoms on an AUSTRALIAN series). The original British show starred Patrick Stewart, as government scientist Ian Hood who's called in to investigate cases that usually involve some perversion of science. The show is more of a thriller than science-fiction (with roots in a British show from the early 70's called DOOMWATCH), and it is good, albeit a bit dry... drier than you'd think with a show created by a writer for DR. WHO and with Stewart. Trekkers beware - if you're looking for a variation of his Picard character, look elsewhere. It was good to see what the original show was like - I think I have a pretty good idea what changes will be made for the American version (more contemporary music and a definite lack of ambiguity, I suspect.)

Currently checking out JOHN FROM CINCINNATI, David Milch's departure from DEADWOOD. I'm a 1/3rd into the series, and I suspect that this will become known as one of the most notorious missed opportunities that the public and critics had to support a show. It's definitely one of the most surreal shows created for American television... maybe a little more about this later, when I've finished it, but if you haven't seen this, rent a copy and check it out. Yeah, it ain't DEADWOOD, but it's not supposed to be. It's surfing and spirituality and Southern California.

... and that pretty much brings us to The Present.

Not Dead, Not Sleeping...

... but very busy at the new job that I just started in August, which is the main reason I haven't been updating. I also got a short film to work on, Rhubarb Pie, directed by KC screenwriter Mitch Brian (who I last worked with on the James Ellroy adaptation, STAY CLEAN way back when). So a lot of things got shoved aside or postponed.

I'm settling into the routine, so I'll post later in the week about the DVD's I was able to finish before getting back into the 9-5, and I'll put some RP production photos up too.

Dispatches from The Fortress of Ennui

Not a lot going on as we enter the Dog Days of Summer... sorry.

As far as film work is concerned, I have a few days on a short that a friend is shooting in August - another project I was on is currently in limbo after shooting for two days... and it looks like I won''t be landing any feature this summer. But that's how it goes in this line of work - the last cycle was at the end of the 90's where I had a lot of work from '97-'00 and didn't do any features until 2004.

I head back into the world of 'real jobs' in August -- answering phones, 'business casual' - yeah, I know, but money needs to be saved up for various things, and benefits need to be taken advantage of while they're there.

So... I'm back to living in the '90's. I usually don't go for the retro thing.

(thanx to Jon for the title; it actually should be the heading for this blog.)

In honor of ComicCon (which I've never gone to), and to provide the pop/geek culture links that I occasionally indulge, here's a postcard design for SERENITY ROSE, a comic that I've been enjoying for a bit.




Being allergic to BatHype, I haven't seen THE DARK KNIGHT yet, though I will at some point when BatHysteria has subsided - and will catch up with some other summer fare (HELLBOY 2, WALL E) also.