Another Christmas classic...

Now classic "TV Funhouse" bit from SNL.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

IDIOCRACY is a documentary...

... how else to explain this?

Irony and Satire - died an agonizing death: 21st Century.



Brawndo.com

Winter's Discontent

Winter has officially arrived, with the ice and snow currently blanketing the NE Kansas landscape.

Mentally, I've been primed for winter since early Fall - mainly due to things beyond my control (the work hiatus when cold weather hits; family members dying suddenly). I'm keeping busy with a couple of things of my own that I'm working on, but even that isn't quite as satisfying as it has been before. There's no real reason to complain, though -- I end up going through these spells every so often (not quite as often when I was younger, thankfully), and I have to say that although life isn't perfect - like it ever was perfect, at some point - I'm in much better shape than I thought I ever would be. I've had friends who have gone, and are currently going through, horrendous things in their own lives - compared to what they're going through, my life is a cakewalk in comparison. It's not always going to be that way, so I should save any complaining until things REALLY get bad.

I've finally gone ahead and posted some older stuff on YouTube - the link to that is to your right, if you're interested in seeing some of my video work.

Have killed a lot of time via the usual ways - reading/watching stuff... enough to regularly comment on, if I were more disciplined on updating this blog. Some recent observations:

Was motivated enough to actually go to a theater a few weeks ago to see THE MIST, Frank Darabont's continuing affair with Stephen King... mainly because he's a great adapter of King (even with no prisons apparent in the story - well, I guess the prison metaphor can apply as well, now that I really think about it), and because I was a huge fan of the story when I read it some 25 years ago. More than likely, you didn't see it in the theaters, if it's even still playing in theaters now.

It pretty much faded away at the boxoffice, but I think a lot of people will catch up with it when it goes to DVD in a few months... it's easily one of the top King adaptations to film, even though some won't appreciate some of the allegorical elements, and a LOT of people will have problems with the ending. To which I say that the ending makes perfect sense if you've been watching the film - PAY ATTENTION!!

Two other films I've had the chance to see, though they've not hit any theaters in my neck of the woods as of yet: Larry Fessenden's THE LAST WINTER and Richard Kelly's SOUTHLAND TALES. Two movies which barely got released this fall, and certainly not in 'flyover country' - both will get their due via DVD release in 2008, although if you're curious enough to want to see them sooner than that, there are ways... just ask your kid when they're back from school this holiday ;\ or ask your friendly neighborhood computer geek.

LAST WINTER continues Fessenden's above-average work in 'horror', though the horror involved here is more of the variety established by Val Lewton - think of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH crossed with THE THING and THE SHINING. Recommended highly - this will be worthbuying once it's available with the director's commentary and extras... and it's worthwhile to check out Fessenden's earlier works to either get you in the mood to watch LAST WINTER, or to sample more if you've already seen it.

SOUTHLAND TALES comes with a lot more baggage - it's safe to say that this was roasted by the critics during its limited release, after hearing rumors fly since it's screening at Cannes over a year and a half ago... I can say, after watching it last night, that it's one of the few films where EVERYONE is right -- it's a flawed, messy, sprawling spectacle that takes itself so seriously it's laughable AND it may possibly be a work of demented genius that will only get its due in the future (which may be more futuristic than predicted), when we look back at this period of time.

I liked DONNIE DARKO (the theatrical cut - haven't seen the 'Director's Cut' which "explains" everything), but I'm not part of the Cult of Darko, so it's been amusing looking over the reviews of SOUTHLAND - I think that there were quite a few lying in wait for Kelly (who hasn't made things any easier on himself by believing some of his own press in the wake of DARKO; and also for writing DOMINO), and SOUTHLAND does suffer a bit from "Sophomore Jinx Syndrome; but in his defense, there are damn few people who would even take a risk such as this, for as much as the film is irritating - if you're one of those people who like coherent stories, you're better off staying away from this - there are things that are absolutely dead on that keep you watching - the movie FEELS right, in terms of capturing the emotion of the times.

There's a lot of stuff referenced - the works of Philip K. Dick, David Lynch, the cult of celebrity, the blending of entertainment and news and how it's impossible to tell the difference, KISS ME DEADLY, REPO MAN, SNL has-beens, WILD PALMS, Thomas Pynchon, STRANGE DAYS - actually the movie plays like a version of STRANGE DAYS with the script written on mushrooms and minus Juliette Lewis' channeling of Patti Smith via P.J. Harvey - yet there's a case to be made for this mad collage... a more experienced director probably could've melded the visuals to a more disciplined story, but I wonder if the fever dream quality would've remained as strong, because that's the main thing that hangs with one after watching it - that, or a headache. You get the feeling that there's several films going on at once, and that the director didn't tell any of the cast members.

Some critic remarked that SOUTHLAND TALES might be this generation's SKIDOO; after watching it, I declare SOUTHLAND TALES to be the BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS for the Millennium Generation.

Worth checking out when the DVD hits shelves; and expect even more critical realignment when the Cannes cut (20 more minutes and much more of Janene Garafalo) eventually gets released too.

If you haven't discovered the work of Joe Hill yet, now's the time -- I finally picked up HEART SHAPED BOX and became a fan - before I discovered who he actually was. Then I got to read his short story collection 20th CENTURY GHOSTS, and am jonesing for the next work to come down the line - considering his lineage, there's plenty good stuff to come.

Adventures in the Film World - THRILL

Inspired by a recent post on Jim Emerson's SCANNERS blog, here's some artifacts from my 5 seconds of Network Exposure...

Whenever I post about working in movies, it's always been from behind the camera - I've never felt the need to be in front of it, an odd position coming from an ex-theater major who used to act regularly on stage. My last acting role was for a friend's film shot over in Scotland about a decade ago, and that project went bust, and will probably never see the light of day... if I'm lucky. It was fun, but I just cannot watch myself onscreen, and I'm certain that a paying audience would agree. But in my younger, vain days, it was a different story...

One of my last jobs before leaving SF back in 1996 was a two-day gig as an extra on a TV movie called THRILL, with Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Stephanie Kramer (of HUNTER fame). It was a staple of cable-tv for the past few years, and I actually stumbled across a DVD of it back in 2004 (which is now out-of-print, and not even available on Netflix anymore - go figure). It was shot mainly on the Santa Cruz boardwalk; the story concerns roller coaster sabotage at a amusement park, so I was part of a large group of background extras.

The first day was pretty uneventful - we didn't even get to see most of the stars, except for a small bit with Antonio and Stephanie walking along the boardwalk. But before they come into frame, someone brazenly walks through:







Should you ever catch this on broadcast, or god forbid, find the DVD, this turns out to be my last appearance in the film... I show up within the first 22 minutes. And the foreground actor turns out to be a very important plot point, as I learned when I first watched it.

The other part of the day was spent filming pick-ups of crowd reactions to another act of sabotage on the log flumes. They paraded several people in front of the camera to react, so I was shocked to see who made the final cut.



Since I was also working as an AC (camera assistant), of course, I hung as close as I could to the camera guys, who were great - the DP, Alan Caso, has gone on to a pretty good career. I remember talking with one of the AC's (whose name I cannot remember) because he was wearing a THE FANTASTICKS jacket - he had worked on the film adaptation, and I struck up a conversation with him about that (the film was shelved for a time and didn't get a release until the late 90's, in a truncated form). Oh - and the woman who was doing craft service was the mother or stepmother of Meeno Peluce.

The second day consisted of mainly standing in line - they were shooting the sequences in the building which housed the rollercoaster. Not anything with Antonio crawling around on the coaster - mainly shots of the coaster with terrified passengers coming and going (since the brakes have been sabotaged and it's unable to stop), and a couple of shots before Antonio does his hero bit. I was in the line of anxious patrons waiting to get on the coaster... and yes, shooting it was as tedious as it sounds. That was done for a good part of the day - then after lunch, I caught a break.

Bill Cobbs had the role of the grizzled old mechanical hand, and it was great getting to see him up close. For this sequence (which opens the film, as it turned out), he needed to turn to someone to get some help in stopping the roller-coaster - so I was pulled out of line, and given a blue windbreaker. He barks out a line to me, and I give a nod right as the scene cuts.




Not bad for a beginner, eh?

I had one last bit - at the end of the day, they held me over briefly as a hand double for Mr. Cobbs. Most of the closeups of him typing the computer keyboard... if they're isolated shots, they're my hands.



So that was it... as I recall, the production was a quick one. It was shot in March of '96 and was broadcast over the Memorial Day weekend - I remember because I was back in MO and saw a promo for it, shocked that it was ready so quickly; but then, most of the projects I was working on had long post times and wouldn't be seen until the late 90's.

And, as far as I know, this is the only movie in circulation that I appear in - I did extra in GETTING EVEN WITH DAD, but I'm fairly sure I'm not in that - never have seen the film. The only other thing that's close is that I get a mention in the commentary for John Michael McCarthy's SUPERSTARLET A.D.

I have no plans to get back in front of the camera - although I wouldn't rule out another appearance, if it was cheesy enough, I guess.


A more recent photo of me with "Heavy Metal Parking Lot"
co-creator, Jeff Krulik.

Two Asians + Mathematics = Success


That's the name of this short by one Franco Leng - I met Franco while working on "The Only Good Indian"... he was in charge of video assist. He's also a pretty talented filmmaker, as you can see.

Link courtesy of the guys at ThroughAGlass.

Heading West on the Hellhound

My new name for Greyhound bus lines...

My trip to CA was pretty decent, except for the mode of transportation, which I had qualms about, but it was an issue of going, or not going - and of course, I had to go.

Leaving Topeka and KS was pretty uneventful, except for driving through the mass of storms. The problems started when we got of Oklahoma City. The bus was packed, due to people who had been waiting since 3pm that afternoon - it was about 9pm when we got on the road to Texas... about 45 minutes passed before we had to turn back to O.C., due to a faulty alternator.
There was talk of a bus coming up from Dallas, but that was at least a 5 hour wait!

Finally, we did get on an Eastbound bus at around 2am - early! - and got to Amarillo, then on to Albuquerque, NM, which we got to at around noon on Thursday. The next bus wasn't due out for about 5 hours, so I decided to hit Downtown, and get some decent food.








Albuquerque looked like a pretty decent place - we didn't leave until close to 7pm, and I was threatened with being thrown out of the station after I strongly expressed my displeasure at the level of service. The station people stressed that "they only sell tickets - they're not employees of Greyhound", therefore, they had no responsibility. One ticket girl told me point blank that if I had any expectation of getting to my destination in a timely fashion, I should have flown.

Had they put that sentiment in their advertising, I would've looked harder for a cheap fare.




I do make it to Oakland, at 6pm Friday - a good 9 hours after my originally scheduled arrival time. I was totally burnt by the time I got to my motel. I had hoped to maybe see a couple of pepple while I was out there, but I had pretty much thrown out any grand plans by Thursday night.





The wake was very nice - my uncle in Topeka and his family did fly out and had gotten to CA that morning. People who he'd known over his 35 years in CA came to share their memories of him.

I did get the chance to go into SF on Sunday - it was very weird, comparing my memories of a decade ago with the present.





The saying is very true - You Can't Go Home Again.

Got back on Hellhound Monday afternoon, to head back to KS. Like before, the first part of the trip was pretty uneventful - we changed buses in Salt Lake City and was on the road for about 4 hours when the engine started to smoke, and we pulled off to the side in the middle of Nowhere, Wyoming.







The driver got us to a truck stop which was fortunately nearby - it took 5 hours to get a replacement bus to us. Even more excitement, when the State Troopers showed up to cart off a girl who was on the bus - turns out she was part of a car theft ring and had stolen a van from the same truck stop earlier... someone there had recognized and called the police!

We got to Denver where most of us did get onto a bus that had been held - but about 7 of us didn't get on, due to the bus filling up.

You can probably guess which group I ended up in...

Overnight in a Hellhound station isn't very relaxing - most of the stations have been refurbished, or at least have flatscreen t.v.'s to entertain the sheep now. But the seats are not designed for long term sitting and certainly not for sleeping (the better to keep the homeless moving on). The Denver station locks their doors after midnight, and NO ONE gets in... if you happen to be outside and have a ticket, the steroid thug whose job is Security will not let you in... which happened to one poor bastard in our party - he had to overnight in a hotel.

I knew that ridin' the Hellhound wasn't going to be fun, but I'm truly amazed that a company whose business is transporting people over distances has seemingly adapted their business plan to the German model of the early 40's - all that was missing was someone to tattoo numbers on our arms.