3/27/18

How do you prep for Marvel May?

I usually do a Marvel March prep run for Marvel May. I'm only through the first Iron Man, so I'm looking forward to continuing my re-watch.

I must admit, I'm a little worried about Infinity War. I'm the weirdo who preferred Whedon's tone to the Russo Brothers. I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron seven times in the theater and loved it.

I also prefer the tone of Ant Man, Spiderman: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok to the more serious Captain America sequels. I go to the movies to have fun and forget my troubles for a little while. Some writer/directors think that raising the stakes means making things as miserable as possible. And I know the comic version of Infinity War pretty well. It's not gonna be fun watching the heroes I love die in a bloodbath. So...yeah. Not as excited as usual this spring.

Here's the other reason I love my annual Marvel marathon. I get to revisit each movie and boil them down to a takeaway or two.

This time, Iron Man felt like a poignant reminder that sometimes a sickness, and what we have to do to care for ourselves in the face of one, can create a super power. I live with a chronic illness. I'm looking into every avenue I can in the hopes of a cure. I use every treatment available to me. (I'm currently looking into stem cell therapy.)

In his first couple appearances, Iron Man is isolated. His scattered focus means he's not spending too much time feeling sorry for himself. He just does whatever he needs to do to stay alive. He even drinks anti-inflammatory green juice. He goes through ups and downs, overmedicates from time to time.

But Tony Stark is spurred on to live as much life as he can because he knows death set up camp on his doorstep.



Tomb Raider Reaction - Respect Your Action Heroine Elders and Let People Have Their Feelings

I held back on publishing this for days. Mostly because it's a topic I've written about repeatedly. I promise this is the last post I wax poetic about the action heroine's cinematic past.

As a writer, sometimes you have to ask yourself who you're trying to persuade. When I feel compelled to defend what I love, I think I'm writing to old bullies. Old boyfriends. It's time to move on to my own characters and scripts

But one last time for the people in the back. This is why Tomb Raider matters.

3/9/18

A Reel Pitch Fest: Borgin and Burkes - The first Harry Potter TV Series!

Hey! Here I am in this thing:



Here's the TV show I accidentally stole the idea from:



And here is the charismatic and criminally under-used Louise Robey who starred in the series. She has a very His Girl Friday, Rosalind Russell, ocassional Rita Hayworth vibe. If I ever get a proper film or TV series up and running, I'll look for her!


I've said it before and I'll say it again, while I work up the gumption to go through official channels (I'm redrafting for a handful of contests right now and I have some comedy shorts ready to enter too.) if you find this and you're a cool executive type looking for writers, hire me! I'm prolific, hard working, and irritatingly optimistic.

3 Things I Still Love: The Film Documentary Edition

I watched 21 Years: Richard Linklater on Hulu last night. His identity never congealed for me until then, though I loved his movies without knowing they were "his". Once, I named a turtle I kept seeing at Epcot "Richard Linklater" for no justifiable reason. (It just felt like the right thing to do at the time.)

Anyway, now that I've seen the doc, I'm in full geek obsession mode. Here are 3 film documentaries to watch ASAP.

1. "Ricky Ticki Linklater"


Related Thing: Blank on Blank and a list with which you may disagree.

2. "Richard Stanley climbed into a tree today and wouldn't come down." Anyone who has ever directed anything at all will understand that quote at a quantum level. I'm not using "quantum" correctly, am I?


Related Thing: H.G. Wells was right about a bunch of stuff & so was Star Trek.

3. "Does everyone have brown gloves?"


Related Thing: Burden of Dreams & Werner Herzog on Parks and Rec

Bonus: I was captivated by Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond but/and I think this guy is at least partially correct about Jim Carrey. Actually, that was politeness talking. I think he's entirely correct. Nobody gets a free pass on a set to be a jerk in the name of artistic expression. That's egomaniacal and unprofessional. The studio was right to withhold that footage and I hope Jim sends apology gifts to the people he troubled.

3/1/18

Happy March

Last night, I dreamed I was making a movie titled Motorcycle Jane and Danny Trejo loved the script so much he took a lead role for free and donated all the motorcycles. That's gotta be a good sign, right?