When Degrees Don't Mean Shit

i feel like as i get older -- today being my 26th birthday -- that i should, in some way, remind myself that i'm an adult. this isn't usually difficult. most of the time i'm happy with how i react and how i deal with outside stimulus, whether it's good or bad news. i don't act irrational. i don't burst into temper tantrums or feel the need for attention eating away at me like some same-aged people i know.

but a strange friend visited me last night and i felt kinda weird. at once petty like a child. but to be honest, i felt kind of heartbroken. for the first time in a long time, i was jealous. and it felt fucking numbing. and i felt so stupid and ashamed for falling into it.

because the truth is, what led me to jealousy was none of my business. it came up in conversation. it should have been expected. i don't know what perfect world fantasy i had created that the possibility never entered my mind. but when i was told certain details, it hit me like a palette of bricks. i never saw it coming.

and i thought i had complete control.

long story short, it dug in and stayed with me for the rest of the night. it's not til today that i'm letting it go after clunking around in my mind and going through all the whys and what fors.

i guess that's a lesson in not hyping things. i guess i should stop lying to myself. perfect romantic ideals are really just misconceptions.

and it wouldn't have happened if we talked about it sooner.

agh *shrug*

- greggles

Fernando asked me, along with several other friends, to contribute to a blog on arts and entertainment. He's a fan of Alan Sepinwall, a well known TV critic. So I figure the site's going to be review and criticism oriented. Check it out below and subscribe.

Tell your friends and suggest topics also.

http://dentedcans.wordpress.com

- greggles

first, i wanna say i miss Dan up on here. his blog was a good diversion to whatever bullshit was going on in my life. i liked his rants and his wit.

with most people, they show their different sides in their writing, hobbies, interests, or actions. few let free with a personality they're comfortable with EVERYONE seeing. i'm a certain way with my high school/Bowie friends, as i am another way with my college and work friends, sisters and parents. i am me in all those cases but, of course, i don't open up to things in person as well as i do through my writing, hobbies, etc.

the point being to read a friend's thoughts, personality, and humor on their blog is usually an amusing and odd little experience; a different side you don't get from him/her hanging out in person. and THAT i liked about dan's blog.

r.i.p. dan's livejournal(?)

second up, i just got a sweet-ass 32" LCD 1080p HD television. i just hooked it up 15 minutes ago. the 360 looks amazing. the DVD player looks awesome, even in 480p.

why am i not watching the fuckle out of it? exactly...what the hell am i doing on here?

in about 5 days, i'm going to be moved out of my apartment in cockeysville. it's bittersweet but necessary. and my decision showed some reluctance at first but i knew WHY it had to happen. people either know the first reason or the second; but the main one being i hate the hour commute to and from work. it's aging my ambition.

to think back on 5 years living here, i realize how positive it turned out for me. i met some good fucking people. i got to see the good and bad of baltimore's film scene. i got an education and i got an ego -- not necessarily the "fuck you, i'm better" one, but the "i'm proud of the shit i do" kind. pretentious. that being said, i've become more of a critic, especially about crappy student films and mediocre independent projects. on top of that, i guess i'm becoming more of an old man: i hate most of the music this generation listens to, i go to bed at 8pm half the week, i shit in my diapers.

there are more weird people up here than down in bowie. and that's a good thing. yuppies and soccer moms, gangstas and wiggers, morons and jocks all tend to get a bit boring.

moving out sucks. the process has been a little stressful, but i got a storage container delivered so it isn't that difficult as i slowly fill it up with furniture and accoutrements. moving though has been a cleansing experience, as i sell off or trash the bleeding albatross on my back that is excess DVDs, books, papers, half-written ideas, and dust bunny-covered boxes i have no interest in or use for anymore. it's been alot about wiping the slate clean, keeping only the stuff i love. like dildos and butt plugs.

we have neighbors i'm mostly indifferent about and they usually react the same. the family above us, however, has been the kindest, coolest group of people i've ever lived next to. the mother, who i blogged about a long time ago blowing up on some outgoing punk kid, is really just one of the most empowered and solid people i've met. the son and the father are good, funny people too. and as we move out, they are moving as well, sometime this summer, to PA. definitely a good memory to keep.



anyway, as i end up in bowie again, with my family and high school friends, i have some fears creeping back on me. i don't know if i'm going to be happy that close to a father i have issues with and living with a group of friends i really don't identify with anymore. i'm not that person i was in high school, and they have made it clear even up to recent events like a night out to "Indiana Jones 4" that none of them have matured past the "glory days." i'm just gonna become an isolated mess, i guess, is the fear. i hate going backwards. the truth is that i won't hang out with them anymore than i did when i lived up here.

who knows...



and now, a list.

Top 11 Reasons I Hated "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"


1. Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas are all too far removed from what made the originals good. And David Koepp seems to be phoning it in again.

2. Everyone's old as fuck. ("Never Say Never Again" anyone?)

3. George Lucas' producing/story duties have once again demonstrated that his creative hand sours anything he's done since 1980; Indy 4 being the worst offender to date.

4. Speaking of story, the movie is apparently culled from 3 or 4 rejected scripts, giving the final product an unfocused, everything-and-the-watered-down-kitchen-sink quality.

5. The way they handle the return of Marion is senseless, brief, and unnatural. Followed by her really having no reason to be there and Karen Allen having no noticeable chemistry with Harrison Ford.

6. Shia LeBeouf playing a character that takes half the runtime to grow on you, just before he becomes an obnoxious and arbitrary offspring of Indy and Marion. It seems the makers said to themselves, "we've seen Indy and his dad, how bout we see Indy finally become THAT dad?" He even calls Mutt "junior" by the end of the movie. And, again, the way they handle this profound plot point is with the same empty disinterest they did with Marion's return.

7. CGI has replaced most practical stunts and backgrounds. It seems Lucas has convinced Spielberg that shooting nowhere but a green screen stage is a sound investment in awe-inspiring filmmaking.

8. The supporting characters, including great actors Ray Winstone and John Hurt, all have nothing interesting to do but expectedly talk about the plot and chew up the scenery. Winstone's flip-flopping of being a good guy cum bad guy cum good guy cum bad guy is ridiculous and uninspired by the end. John Hurt is a comatose statue, playing a background character only slightly more watchable than the actual backgrounds.

9. Speaking of exposition, Indy spends over 50% of the film talking about the plot and leading the viewer around by the hand on what clues mean what, and where cryptic writings are directing us to travel to. And, we're not talking difficult to extrapolate here, people; these puzzles are just a step above a piano riddle in "Resident Evil." Sure, the series has always had a bunch of this, especially the Grail quest of "Last Crusade," but it's never been as insulting as watching someone pace around in a room and have realizations to himself for 2 hours, like "National Treasure" and its sequel. It was made fun and SHOWN in the original Indys, not just talked about.

10. Communists in this interpretation are not nearly as threatening as the Nazis or even the Thuggee Cult of "Temple of Doom." Although Cate Blanchett proves she is a shining diamond in this mess, the rest are stock characters; muscular, evil bad guys. And, their motivation for chasing these goddamn alien skulls seems set in motion by nothing more than an obsessive impulse. Plus, why does the alien kill Blanchett? Because she is truly evil? Because she wants to know everything? Who cares? (she burns up like someone who just looked at the Ark. another recapture of the old days?) Back on the topic of Communists, why didn't they borrow some from the James Bond series? He's been fighting scary Commies for decades. And, this enemy seems like nothing more than to re-establish Indiana Jones' American patriotism and shoehorn in his service to his country during WWII. It's like those Sherlock Holmes movies where he fights Nazis...and we saw how excellent those installments were.

11. and of course, UFOs, Tarzan swinging with monkeys, and a Lame Marriage ending (see that lack of chemistry above).

so things are starting to slow down at work again. every summer we go through a lull, where there's exactly 2 hours worth of REAL work to do in a given day.

the rest of the time i spend maybe degaussing tape stock for a half hour, then surfing the internet for film/TV stuff, and, of course, shopping for purses.

but my real desire is to get back to writing and directing. i feel like i'm starting all over because it's been so long since i've done it, actively. all the while, i've been witness to friends working on several projects of their own, most in school, some legitimate gigs.

i want to be creative again...cause Discovery, let's be honest, ain't fulfilling that.

the question burning for me is feature or short.

i've done enough shorts to feel like i need to do something new. whether that's a feature though is debateable. maybe i just want to do a music video (which i do), or another experimental (which i do).

i feel like i need to get started on the next thing without waiting for "Love, Alice" to wrap up. basically, it's ready for output to my composer, Corey, to lay in the score. he said he's going to need 2 weeks to recomp and re-time anything that's off. hopefully it is done by the third week of may because i'm trying to enter it in several festivals whose due dates run through mid-July.

i guess i constantly feel like i need closure on something before i move on to the next thing. but that's bullshit, as "Love, Alice" demonstrates -- a project that has been seriously plagued with schedule and personality conflicts since we wrapped principal photography in May of last year.

basically, the overlap has to happen. i'd be happier to be working on the NEXT thing. i've always been that way, never really resting on my laurels, wanting to get to the next idea.

i hope with the return of Barroga later this month, some project is going to start festering its way out of my head to start working on. and this time, it's utmost important to me that it look the BEST i've ever done; i mean HD, i mean REAL actors, etc.

i guess the undertaking of writing and directing, as well as producing and editing all my own stuff is the only way i can wield creative control that i'll be happy with.

i want to work in any of those capacities on OTHER PEOPLE's projects, on friend's or whoever's projects. i want to help people achieve their visions but i also realize, to me, i need to distinguish myself more now than ever before.

i feel like i found my niche of topics, style, and crew members i liked to work with throughout college and afterwards.

but now, i want to really get noticed. i want some minor interest and fame, i guess all filmmakers and artists want that, if not in a life-altering way.

so i feel that's the goal i'm going to be striving for from now on. getting well-made projects ON THE RADAR.

and i think that really rests in the look, sound, and feel of my future projects. until now, working with 24p DV was a convenience, but now i realize how much of a hinderance it was.

people don't take your projects SERIOUSLY if they're heavily compressed, YouTube quality, no matter how good your project's writing or directing is.

so it's with some embarrassment that i finish up "Love, Alice" now more than a year and a half later, when everyone and their gay grandmother is doing HD, because, visually, the project just doesn't hold up.

i'm hoping audiences can see past that and judge it on content, composition, and storytelling. the technical drawbacks to "Love, Alice" might be a nail in its coffin, but i'm still going to whore it out. i'm proud of the accomplishment. it's pretty much the Film 3 project i never got to make on my own.

and i think it's a strong art house movie. (read: pretentious shitbucket)

nonetheless...

to the future. salut!

- greggles

so there are little things i've wanted to think on, mull over, and reevaluate on here. however, with an increasing sense of ADD and interest in not writing the encyclopedia of mind-emptying rants i've already expressed on these topics, i feel it can be nothing short of disappointing.

over the last couple months, i've become a hardcore fan of both "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" - the former a show i always avoided because of the hype and just to annoy my friend Fernando, the latter a show i avoided because of the serious consequences of liking a show called "Battlestar Galactica", along with its corny, campy 1980 sci-fi baggage planted deeply in what i'd like to call...the Nerdcore.

but clearly, i have been wrong. in the quest to replace the emptiness and sorrow in my soul that "The Wire" filled for the better part of the last 3 years (6 if you're being technical), i was searching for anything well written, well shot, and well, not broken. it's so easy to jump aboard a show when it first starts. you get in at the lobby level and ride it to the top...if it's good. coming in on anything at Season Four, as i did with both Lost and BSG, is not only risky but downright guaranteed to prove the JUMP THE SHARK theory. i caught up quickly, season by season, on each show, like i've done in the past with shows like "24".

problem is, by the time i caught up and invested my time, commitment, and interest in 24's first five seasons, i got dropped into a kiddy pool of vomit, stupidity, and liquid poo we call Season Six. for those not initiated, Season 6 of 24 is probably the most unoriginal, rehashed, badly plotted example of a show resting on its laurels since Season 3 of "Ghostwriter".

or "Extreme Ghostbusters" for that matter. yeah! i said it! (what is it with ghost programs blowing?)

so, nonetheless, that's why i was skeptical to catch up to Season 4 of both respective programs. there's no way this can be good, both have to have betrayed something intrinsic to the spirit of their rep. long story short, both are fucking amazing. while i was an immediate convert to Lost fandom, BSG's first season, i felt, was spotty. i told myself i would give it the benefit of the doubt, shrugging obvious filler episodes as a "show finding itself". by the last 6 or 7 episodes of season 1, i was hooked. and after much consideration, i think the turning point rested in 2 aspects: the music and a little man named Gaius FRAKKIN' Baltar!

music in Lost and BSG is indelible.

where Lost's composer, Michael Giacchino, injects a brand of mystery score (Twin Peaks, X-Files mainstays), classic overture (Jaws, the Medal of Honor & Mercenaries video games), and delicate piano work, Lost keeps becoming deeper and more intertwined in classic adventure score and contemporary experimental movements (further down the rabbit hole, if you will). if you listen carefully, you can draw connections to so many hallmark movie scores, especially those of John Williams. the exploration theme of Lost (i.e. when any number of characters are going on a quest of getting their asses kicked) is modeled almost exactly on that cat-and-mouse piece in "Jaws" when Quint, Brody, and Hooper are in the middle of nowhere on the bobber that is Quint's boat.

and i think making those certain connex helps a viewer appreciate Lost for not only what it's trying to do with the genre but how it's placing one's emotional commitment in a familiar place, with a definite musical frame of reference to "Jaws", "Indiana Jones", "Psycho" and any Bernard Herrmann/Hitchcock combination (Kate's theme). and that's just the tip of the iceberg. in terms of source music, connecting any character to familiar pop music (like Charlie and his Oasis-like flashbacks) makes them instantly accessible without unnecessary further explanation.

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GTA 4 looks amazing. i read an early review on IGN that is declaring it the best video game in 10 years, since the excellent "Ocarina of Time". they might be right, we'll find out next tuesday.

here--> http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html

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jason henley, curtis thompson, and i are judging the Towson Media Arts Festival all next week. i'm excited to see student films - 99.9% blow chode, but i'll say there's nothing more inspiring to actually do YOUR OWN movie than watching a lot of missteps, unfulfilled potential and hope, and squirrelly technical knowledge. plus, there's always 2 or 3 gems that i really become a groupie whore about. mmmm, should be a nice experiment.


Greggles from Alcatraz. Out!

i got some glasses yesterday. first time i've ever had glasses. it's weird being able to see things so crystal clear. i wasn't legally blind or anything, but after being told i have astigmatism about 4 or 5 years ago, the presence of The Ol' Fuzziness has become more prevalent with each passing year. the small digital read out on my decks at work roped me closer and closer just to make out weird blobs of blue pixels representing hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. i felt old. i felt ill. and to be honest, i put it off for so long because i was scared some eye doctor was gonna say i had something worse. i always think the worst is going to happen. like eye cancer, or detached retina, or the always suicide-inducing "googily eyes".

anyway, they're awesome. i like 'em. the general concensus so far is that i look astute and more knowledgeable with them on. or at the very least, a smart-looking Nazi (a cracker with a library card, if you will).

oh, and they're Phat Farm. aaaamazing.

- greggles

it happens in bursts. i remember i have a LiveJournal account, decide to post something...or not. then another long stretch occurs until i remember AGAIN that i do, in fact, have a blog to, at the very least, entertain, analyze, and give the old shot of psychotherapy to my life. i would say "entertain my friends" or write "for my audience". but let's be honest, i'm probably the only person reading this shit. others might find this site by accident, skim my bullshit, pick up on one CAPITALIZED word or phrase, and leave a jerky quip like "that's all very clever, greg. too bad you wasted it on empty, meaningless blogging. imagine if you put all that commitment into your REAL life..."

so, really, the point of this changes every time i get on here. i'll usually open the post, fill in my mood and music, and start writing, whether i have an idea or not. i guess that's why most of my posts recently begin with re-establishing setting, where and how i am, and connection to my previous posts. an apology for being gone -- apologize to who? -- or random thought always suffices. then, i really DO find something to talk about. i finish what usually equates to a short encyclopedic dissertation, then i change my mood and music, and fill in the subject line. hmm, genius.



but, the reason i did jump on here today is important to me. it isn't to update you (me) about my short film, "Love, Alice" (now over 3 years -- december 2006 to march 2008 -- in production), or make excuses for the speed bumps and downright walls in my creative life. nor is it about venting. nor is about some random stupid insights or some observations that i figure are just downright fucking nuggets of o holy truth. no, no.

i wanted to write something about "The Wire", a series my two close friends and i have admired for a long time. there are no qualifications i'm going to list for why the series is amazing or how big of fans we are. simply put, the show's great -- the best thing on television ever, only bested by "Alias": Season Four -- and we're some of the most committed admirers of its greatness.

"The Wire" ended with a 94-minute series finale last sunday. it was arguably the best show of the series, and with it went something at once very depressing to let go and yet very satisfying for one to realize they witnessed.

never before has a series engaged social, political, institutional, and psychological issues in such an unapologetic way without eventually betraying its structure, campaign, and higher meaning.

that's a big thing to say, and most would start searching for a rebuttal to an outrageous claim. but i present this argument:

- most programs tailor their subjects and characters to an audience, a network, and to ratings. "The Wire" put blacks and whites on screen depicting every facet of American life, good and bad, rich and poor, cop and criminal, gay and straight. and even though Season 2 faked you out with more white faces, in no way did "The Wire" ever become the white suburban housewife's perception of blue collar inner city life.
- it didn't let viewership influence WHO and WHAT found its way into each season, each story. proof is in the fact that from season 3 until most of its recent episodes, it suffered some of the lowest cable viewer numbers across the board; a fraction of what heavyweight, "The Sopranos", used to carry on an average week. and while those numbers would call for automatic cancellation -- "Deadwood" anyone? -- for the very fact that it turned off HBO's bread and butter, the bohemian artiste crowd and the rather superficial couch potatoes just wanting 30 minutes of raunchy comedy or Real Sex exposé, "The Wire" had something that can never be denied: critical praise. that along with fervent hardcore fans made "The Wire" an anomaly of art & commentary being allowed to roam free with very little corporate interference.
- the show's themes continued unabated throughout its five seasons, infused with a liberal, borderline socialist compassion. and like a Russian novel (or manifesto), something it is often compared to, the breadth of the show's depiction and investigation into self-destructive character and socio-political prisons of American life was ever-widening. although it spit unpopular subjects in the faces of viewers, such as inner city education, political corruption, and despicable poverty, it never reevaluated or sugarcoated its stance to make for an easily ignored, passive viewing experience. if you didn't agree with the politics, so what?
- like films of the 1970s, "The Wire" FORCES you to engage it. fuck it, you do not get to fold your laundry or balance your checkbook while it's on in the background (the gods will not save you). you do not get anything out of "The Wire", a seemingly familiar crime drama, that you do not put into it. if you don't actively become obsessed, the show just becomes another variable in your misunderstood quest for guffaw-inducing succubus stupidity; another trite, fleeting place holder of your time. like the saying goes, great art doesn't give you the answers, it poses more questions. and that's what "Wire" fans stuck with the series for: debate, discussion, and, in the case of me and my friends, endless quotables.

and while most shows have to change their formula in sake of better ratings, better writing, and to at least stay viable for future debate (see "24"), "The Wire" is perfect -- an infinitely relevant, intelligent, and tragic thesis on what we'll NEVER do to improve our ignored shadows, those hopelessly lost urban landscapes.

"The Wire" was written for film buffs and crime fiction fans. so they would know what's going on in the world around them.

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/finaleletter/index.html

- greggles

1. i have been thinking recently about the state of classics vs. remakes. don't get your hopes up, this isn't a dissertation. for one, i can't think of more than 3 or 4 examples right now. second, i'm not nearly organized enough to spew forth scalding hot education for your wacky, pedophilic eyes. but i don't think remakes are necessarily a bad thing.

where once i was reluctant to view Gus Van Sant's "Psycho" and give it any cred compared to the original, i can now see virtues in the re-staging, the updating of events (more obviously Norman's masturbation while watching his prey), and the contemporary approach to characters the actors brought; the notable ones being well...notable.

James Bond, the same. where i was rather wrapped up in "Connery is God" like my family and most critics spouted off, as an adult, i now appreciate Timothy Dalton's version of the character (even if the stories of his two entries were pretty hammy). Dalton as Bond was dark and reluctant, a killer on shaky ground. Much like how Daniel Craig plays him, with a dash of Connery debonaire ass-fuckery thrown in. that's why Craig might be the best to date.

for another example, "Insomnia". two versions, two excellent spins to the story. even if the Hollywood one is straightforward, at least it's executed with intelligence and not stupid slapdash plotting.

i think there's a point to re-imagining a character or story for a new audience or time period. to just make money, it's frivolous and empty. but if an update has bearing on a new concept or feel, it could be more important and MORE REFINED than the original.

a) Philip Marlowe re-imagined from wise-cracking badass Bogart in "The Big Sleep" to wise-cracking clown with a gun Gould in "The Long Goodbye". the stories reflected their times. "Sleep" was about the seediness of 1940s Los Angeles gangster/porno culture. "Goodbye" much more about the alterna-lifestyle, post-hippie phase of the Western cityscape, with all its mind freeing, health conscious, psycho babble spin.



b) "Bob Le Flambeur" and "The Good Thief". not much to say. this might be a subjective thing. but "The Good Thief" is, overall, better paced, characterized, and focused the way the original was not. (except for the annoying freeze frames. fuckholes.) and i love me some Jean-Pierre Melville, so it's taken me awhile to come to this change of heart. whereas most 1950s pre-Wave & 1960s New Wave suffers from time and place, most of Melville's films are solidly structured and directed. but even Jules Dassin's "Rififi" isn't the top shelf of caper movies anymore. therefore, neither can "Bob" or "Le Cercle Rouge" for that matter. updating is important. if the "Rififi" remake with Pacino coming out is anything like "Good Thief", it'll be an enjoyable time.



2. i think the mediocrity with which most movies and shorts are put together is fairly amusing. it might start with an idea someone gets excited about but it quickly turns into a fiasco. hence, "Date Movie".

3. The Wire's back. best shit on television. nuff said.

it's been awhile since i updated. i really had nothing to say, to vent, to spew into wordful meaning. i almost considered closing this account and just moving on. i wonder if i'm getting anything out of blogging anymore. i rarely get angry. i rarely have things to bitch and complain about anymore. my life, as far as events are concerned, is pretty boring right now. between playing video games, seeing movies, and working, there's pretty much nothing worth blogging about.

the main thing going on is that we're finally finishing up the last little bits of "Love, Alice"...a short film we started shooting in January of this year. a fucking year later and it's almost done. it's not a feature, wtf. schedule conflicts have been so bad between actors, crew, and i during this whole process, it's almost made me fear how doing a real FEATURE would be. during production, it was difficult but manageable every now and then to get 4 people together and our actors and shoot some scenes. in fact, when we DID get together, we got alot of work done, alot of "film in the can."

during post, things slowed down. work schedules conflicted more and more between chris and i. in fact, let's be honest, laziness became less of a choice and more of an excuse. there just wasn't drive to finish what slowly became a bigger and bigger albatross. the project lost focus and had to constantly be re-analyzed on return to it, several times. when things drag on too long, interest starts to wane. i had to constantly reconnect and get excited about my own project. it wasn't until i started seeing it work on several levels -- character, story, editing -- that i thought it was imperative to get this done to show people.

we were supposed to finish everything by august 30. around october, both chris and i got serious about it again, at least that's when it seemed to materialize. a final cut was done. sound started being worked on, and about early-november, the cut was given to our composer, corey nolet.

that's pretty much up to this point. the final touches are being done. sound is being polished. we were going to premiere december 16th at fernando's little screening night but an auditorium could not be secured. now, we're looking to premiere the first week of january, once everyone returns from christmas vacation.

i'm proud of the project. i want it to be over and done with, but it might be the best thing i've ever done, so i can't be too "sick" of it.

there's really no one to fault in how the project stalled. i feel like the situation was always an obstacle. and with low to no budget indie movies, schedules are ALWAYS going to be a problem. at least we didn't have a slew of problems with actors or equipment, like my previous projects had.

in short, like people say of hard times and ventures, it was a learning experience. and it's not even like i'm ashamed or disappointed with the final product.

we "took our time" (haha) but it really did get done. and the score and sound are really filling it out and making the short that much better.

i think what's going to make the next short or my jump into features manageable is self-reliance. i need to be editing and producing on my own. not to say either fernando or chris did a bad job. they knocked it out of the park and did everything i asked of them, and for nothing more than a "thank you" in return. and i'm grateful. i want to work more with them, and any ensemble-crewed movie we work on next, i'm excited for.

but to schedule and edit on my own is going to compact the completion of my films and make them work better. i won't lose interest. i won't fall into the traps of reevaluating work before it's all done. i need to get that editing suite together, start getting more experience and reconnect to/relearn that craft...so hopefully i can get some work in addition to my own films.

nonetheless, it's almost finished for good. and then we can have fun showing it and taking it to some festivals.

i also realized what my drive was to do this short in the first place. the seeds were planted to do a project for my friend, josh's Halfway There festival. but i really wanted to do a legit, kinda "epic", dramatic piece. i wanted to do a Film 3 movie, a final thesis film...because, after all, i PRODUCED my final film at towson, i didn't direct it or have any creative input really. i wanted to have that experience. and i think as a learning tool, this project taught me more about story and directing actors than "Harry Lutz" or other projects did.

anyway
i'll post soon.
"Love, Alice" - copyright 2007?

i have a lot of habits. oddly they have no course of action or schedule, so not so much "habit" as in a definite chance of such things happening. also, the ones that come to mind the most occur seasonally. for instance, my need to view "The Office" UK, in a marathon day, has happened every fall since 2003.



it helps that i've been on a kick of watching the U.S. version alot whenever i've been back home. whenever i have free time, i pop in a DVD and watch a couple episodes.

both series have their strengths and weaknesses, and both are excellent for separate reasons.

but it hits me every time i get to the end of the The Office UK Specials that the tim/dawn love story is probably the most beautiful and romantic depiction of falling in love that i've seen in contemporary film & tv.



i get to that warm-hearted, tears-in-the-eyes place every time without fail. the way the show teases with false ends and unrequited interactions between the two simply builds more and more expectation. and, in all honesty, it just delivers on everything promised in the end.

i think it helps that we're talking about two series, 6 episodes each, and 2 specials that add up to a 90-minute epilogue. that's a heavily condensed series. but it works because it is only following David, Gareth, Tim, and Dawn really. while there are featured side characters, they don't delve into the characterizations that The Office U.S. does. the extras on there are nearly as rounded as the main characters, mainly to fill 22-30 episodes a season, which the UK traditionally doesn't do with comedy series.

and the U.S. version has been doing a good job developing the Jim/Pam romance. it's going places but it hasn't reached the climax of the British series', so it feels underdeveloped in comparison. i have no doubt it will either go in a completely fresh direction, as was hinted in Season 3, or it's going to deliver in the same way the UK's did.

anyway, i was feeling touched. so i wanted to say how much i admire The Office's writing and love story.

- greggles

1) i want to get another tattoo. chalk it up to watching too much "LA Ink" & "Miami Ink" at work, but i'm very serious about it now. it was always something i wanted to do ever since i got my original in 2002. they say the most important tattoos happen at crossroads in a person's life; that mental change beckons physical change and vice versa. and, really, i feel like i've taken another turn in my life. finally, i feel like i've put so much distance between me and my college years that i'm an ADULT adult now. i feel like i'm taking the first step down that road to legitimate filmmaking with "Love, Alice" almost being done. i feel like i've got financial independence and stability. i love my living situation. i love my career and its future promises. and i feel like my friends and co-workers are all people i want to keep for the rest of my life, there isn't that feeling of "searching" for a group to be accepted in and enjoy the company of, it's already there.

so, now, i just gotta find a design, picture, or something i wanna put on my arm. submissions appreciated. i think i definitely want something that is film-oriented. (no, not "Triumph of the Will", Dan. no matter how much it compliments my swastika.)

2) i recently watched "Inland Empire". i'm a big David Lynch fan. i even went out of my way to take a winter class at Towson on his work. but, for the first time, i downright despised the experience of watching one of his films. furthermore, i've never been so sorely disappointed by a director i'm a fan of. i'm a big auteurist whore; generally meaning, i love even the worst films of a director i like. the mediocre, the fiascos, the failures, the aging, visionless, sterile remnants of once great directors...i can get down with all of them usually. cause there's at least a glimpse of the original genius in its author. for instance, "Dreams"...an atypical Kurosawa film that splits hardcores from casual "greatest hits/best of" viewers...i liked it okay the first time i saw it, but i love it now. it splits these groups because it isn't as vibrant as his action-y samurai movies nor is it as cohesive as his most artsy masterpieces. told in separate vignettes and photographed in lavish color (both un-Kurosawa-like), it's like a Hollywood Technicolor movie out of the 1930s painted by Van Gogh.

so, "Inland Empire". it's so fucking devoid of the genius Lynch was once known for. i guess it's at least something that it got a reaction out of me, maybe that's enough. goal fulfilled. i've been reading reviews all over the web and i gotta say, begrudgingly, that i agree with the critics. since Lynch financed this movie himself, he is unleashed, without the limits of budgets and studios to get in the way. and while this is a godsend for some directors (i think Terry Gilliam would benefit from such a situation, though "Lost in La Mancha" and "The Brothers Grimm" might make you think differently), it certainly is not for Lynch. "Inland Empire" is such a meaningless mess. it attacks all the hallmarks of Lynch's styles and interests, it recreates every story and character Lynch has put on screen before, without the restrictions that usually breed genius storytelling. without those financial strings attached, Lynch is roaming in the forest, blindly stabbing for a connection. and while the 3-hour movie has a couple moments of fright and uneasy, tense comedy, it's a murky dysplasia-infected mess. taking Lynch to such an extreme results in what feels like the biggest waste of time a movie had ever made one experience.

but, maybe, that's what he wanted to get out of me. godspeed, Davey.

3) i figure if i ever lost my arms in some major accident, i'd outfit myself with fully functional wolverine claws. better than having it out like Jax from Mortal Kombat II; bionic arms and shit. imagine: someone needs a letter opened, snikt! done. carving up pumpkins with your nephews and nieces, done and done. scoring meat for barbeques and grilling, slicey dicey. the needs are endless. and i think if i got that hooked up, i'd be pretty happy i lost my arms.

4) sean penn needs to die. i'm sick of politically subversive -->ACTORS<--

just cause you're in the spotlight doesn't mean people want your opinion on worldly matters. if you're bored with being an actor, be something else. but stop jawing off like it's your DUTY.

5) Halo 3 in 10 days (!!!). got my 360 replacement #2 back. can't wait.

"Bioshock"

simply an amazing game. great story, genius level design, fun gameplay. a sci-fi first-person shooter in the 1930s-50s production vein. all the music, technology, and enemies are based in that bygone era of World War II. you are stranded in an underwater city to explore (like Myst) a mystery (like Resident Evil) that unveils itself in unique ways video games never have. with its basis in Super Man ideals (Nietzsche) and the literature of Ayn Rand, it's hard to agree with Roger Ebert's assessment that video games are not art.

A+

"Love, Alice"

we're almost a lock picture. a few more trims this weekend and it'll be done...cept for audio work. all the audio work. yet, it will be done this month, including foley, ADR, score, source music, and voice over.

can't wait to post a trailer. really waiting for it to be locked to start thinking about that, but it is definitely shaping up to be a lot of what i hoped it would be. it has become a different animal. the main characters' motivations have changed: Yuri is now less of a perfect killer, Alice is coming across more damaged instead of hurt.

nonetheless, i'm proud of it and hopefully it will finally be done so i can start showing it.


other than that, work. same ol', same ol'. didn't get that technical adviser job i interviewed for. the girl who got it will kick ass, but their reason for letting me down is because i want to go into editing and the creative dept. at Discovery, which, if you're in management, is kind of a step backwards. they fully knew what i wanted my future to be with the company so i think that led them to passing me over for the job. as you can tell, not too devastated.


- QC Tech, Suite 49

so, more bad news to go along with the death of bergman. now i find out that the very same day, michelangelo antonioni passed away as well.

to me, he was my favorite of the italian neo-realist directors, reinvigorating cinema with some of the best uses of documentary style shooting and making the long duration shot popular. his works tread the line of the ultra-real and disarmingly surreal, much like buñuel. his mastery of the POV shot, his patience with character observation, and his style of jump cut editing are second to none.

if you haven't seen L'Avventura or L'Eclise or Blow Up or The Passenger...get on that shit. he's mesmerizing to behold.

(who's next? scorsese?)
- greg

so bergman died yesterday. didn't have a chance to talk about it, but i gotta draw attention to it cause the man should definitely be revered.

i always thought it was a shame i wasn't aware of kurosawa before he died, to mourn and respect the passing of a true genius. we can respect the work of galileo, or monet, or dumas...none of us lived during their times so we were introduced to their work posthumously as legendary and quite perfect art.

that's how many of us were introduced to kurosawa and welles and griffith and leone. and even though kurosawa passed in 1993, how many 10 year olds know and understand the man's work.

but to be an adult and be familiar with bergman, one can truly appreciate how visionary this man's films were. how ahead of their time they were, in the handling and exploration of death, marital relationships, being a child, and the mysticism of the spiritual and intangible.

i'll always be a kurosawa-ite. most filmmakers as students make a connection to a film legend they feel represents their tastes in storytelling or stylistic choices in terms of art (visual, auditory, written, etc.). a filmmaking legend is a true auteur, in my opinion. someone whose films are as complex in their execution that one has no choice but to stand in awe of such work, but whose films are simple, and relateable in characterization and story. what makes a film like seventh seal or wild strawberries great is its simple premise that is just layered upon as the film unfolds. what is immediately understood is a deeper perspective on the human condition or the implications of subplots, social commentary, etc.

bergman is in a class with very few other peers. imagine what our grandchildren are going to say about a wong kar wai or an alexander payne or a richard linklater. will they be considered in the same breath as kurosawa, bergman, wilder, and welles? let's hope so, one day.

and while i'll always appreciate kurosawa's breadth of work, at least i was old enough to maturely share the experience of bergman with the world before he died.

to me, the art world and, in particular, the film community have lost one of their last great fathers.

- greg

so i had a wonderful day.

not that i didn't lose all my money playing a poker game with my co-workers from Discovery. (relax, it was $10)
not that i'm pretty sure i got sunburned and close to heat stroked (ha) hanging out in the baking sun, eating crabs.
not even that i feel pretty embarrassed that i folded my cards 3 or 4 times when i was checked to and could have seen the next flipped card for free. what can i say, i'm a dumbass...who doesn't pay attention when he should.

yes, folks. it was the first time that my closest co-workers (first shift y'all, represent) and i finally got to organize a poker night without someone cancelling for one reason or another. this has been over a year in the making, over two if you consider Dustin's attempts. and, oooo sweeee, was it worth it.

we went out to "Big" Jon Roth's house in Demascus, a wonderful suburban house on a plot of farm land. amazing view. corn fields for as far as your eye can see.

between the 6 of us, we spent $195 on a bushel of crabs. others brought snacks, sodas, and what have you. and, bottom line, some of the best crabs i've had since that two weeks last May. so supple and meaty.

around 4:30, we finally got around to playing poker. i stumbled the first 3 or 4 hands. it's been over a year and a half since i last played, over two since i played a tournament regularly.

after that, jon's brother was out first. then we played a long stretch until jon himself was out. between henley and i, we had some crazy WWIII type action -- think a "who's dick is bigger?" contest with chips. needless to say the motherfucker pulled out four 5's (!!!) and devastated me, down at least 8 or 10 dollars. the final hand i beat him with was a two pair (???). he went out, then it was joel, dustin and i.

now, i spent most of my cocky middle third of the game bullying dustin with big bets and bluffs, winning back a lot of what i had lost in the first half. i got really cocky, then henley scared me with his four 5's, so i backed off. but with dustin, i wanted to see his tells, i wanted to see how big a pot he would not act on. and 7 out of 10 times he folded me the pile.

but

the last half of the show was me being cautious, too cautious. the last 2 or 3 hands, dustin just frightened me off. i didn't know if he learned my schtick of trying to figure him out. he finally calls here, folds there, and i got all paranoid.

joel wasn't much better. to be honest, he's damn good at poker. and has had a lot of experience with it. playing him was intimidating. i didn't know my stepping with him, and i couldn't figure out his tells.

long story shorter, i was out next by dusty's hand, one of those ones i played too cocky instead of cautiously. fuckin' all-in, i hate it.

joel beat dustin in the next two hands.


needless to say, it was a really fun time. we all had a blast and it's been a long time coming.

well deserved.


we're looking at making it a late month thing, each at someone else's house...hence, poker TOUR.

can't wait.

i'll have all my crisp $10 bills set to place right in joel's hand. fucking texans.


y'awnt to?
- 3rd place

1. i want my livejournal to be more like CreedThoughts, but i realize i'm not nearly as cool or mental as that guy.
2. i just spent most of the morning checking aspect ratios on tapes going to DVD replication. for this, my reward: one DVD of any show going to market...well, whatever's available in this box under this DVD coordinator's desk. what did i get? "Little People, Big World"
3. why is it important we all dress up for job interviews? especially if you're a technician or blue-collar slave?
4. there is a desire that i'm reminded of every once in awhile to become a history professor. unfortunately, i don't want to go back to college for another 4 years.
5. there's also a desire to become a cinematographer more than ever. like above, however, i don't want to go back to college for 4 more years, then spend 2 decades honing my craft. fuckin' kaminski.
6. i have been keeping count since may 1st of the number of awkward conversations and moments i have with my bosses and coworkers. the average is 5 a day.
7. i don't like film as a format as much as i used to. that being said, i'm falling in love with video and David Lynch's newfound belief in its flexibility is inspiring.
8. i get more enjoyment from HBO than i do 90% of movies released into theaters in a particular year. mainly within the last 3 years.
9. i'm very sure i'd get back together with my ex if i wanted to devote energy to the chase again. she just recently became single again.
10. i FUCKING hate "your travel guide" on the Travel Channel. bad hosts, boring adventures, lame music and editing.

i got a couple minutes before i leave for work.

it hasn't been bothering me much, but i have this sneaking suspicion that love might be out of my grasp.

lemme think on that one. i'll update.

so call me crazy, but i'm awake. i've been so for over 30 hours.

now, wait wait. i know what you're thinking. "hey greg, you do those crazy 48 hour film festivals right?"..."you're one of those hardcore artistes, sacrificing everything, including sleep, to better your craft"..."you're probably working hard on another fantastically witty, yet utterly disgusting Sunshine Boyz production"...

nope.
nope.
nope.

though i'd like to re-attach that 48 hour film fest badge of courage to my shirt pocket, no, i've been up cause i know no fucking better.

call it karma but i didn't want to cancel on fernando again. apparently i've gotten a reputation for committing then bitching out on people. and it's become more prevalent with the discovery job. so it was a good step in the right direction to attend fernando's organized, cult-like exodus to a 1950s drive-in last night to see a double feature of an actual triple feature.

they played "Shrek the Third", "Transformers", and "Disturbia".

we begrudgingly sat through Shrek. agh.

transformers was boss, but it didn't start until 11:10, meaning it didn't end until 1:30am.

needless to say, i thought hey i'm awake. suck it up, go right into work, take the hit.

for which i definitely am as i type this up.

i feel old when i'm this tired. in fact, i've only cherished sleep more since i got out of college. now i know why people who work 9-to-5's bitch so much about lack of sleep, obstacles to their sleeping, their inability to wake up, and their ongoing lists of sleep-related illnesses. work...is...actual work!

i can't remember the last time i had 3 days much less a week of good rest. even on vacation, i'm an insomnia or out with friends, maybe a little of both.

needless to say, i dunno if i can do this anymore. i might have to cap off my adventures in defying my body's natural processes at holding in sneezing. this putting off sleep is just unhealthy.

-----

i haven't written an update about the short film, now called "Love, Alice" thanks to some whimsical little fairy with a muse on its shoulder that i like to call daniel.

the rough cut's almost done. hanyok and i are geling...like a felon. fuck.

hanyok and i are working very well together. his suggestions are on the money in the 90th percentile. he's been very open to my changes and input. it's a perfect director/editor relationship, an experience i've never really had. i always edited my own work, well, until my episode of film school.

but given hanyok having both the system setup and desire to stretch his editing muscles, he seemed like a perfect fit. and minus some trivial scuffles, he really is.

my thelma schoonmaker...cause i like applying female projections to hanyok. boom.

but nonetheless, the status update is...

the rough cut is looking great. we're getting into sound this week or next. i'm about 90% settled on the title without a desire to change it again. and well, all is good.

i'm going to get the tapes from him tomorrow to cut 2 trailers, so i'll post those soon hopefully.

-----

quick input on writing. i'm finishing something with barroga. that's my goal this summer. we started a screenplay and i'm going to drudge through the hiccups and doubts and actually finish it. cause i think it's an awesome, fertile idea. i'll deem it the "Bobby Wiseman manifesto".

but evenmoreso, i've finally got a solid story and outline for this detective/interrogation script i've been writing since last summer. it too has had some hiccups, because mainly the person i want to star in it is hesitant about carrying a whole movie, though his acting has promise and with a little direction could be marvelous. i mean the man has talent. with all the schedule conflicts we endured on "Ridges/Alice", i really think i got scared off finishing it. but now i'm more focused and feel that if it's done, then i will tackle the other what-ifs.

i just want to have two features written, which these both are. and both are from seriously opposite poles of the cinematic undertaking we call scriptwriting.

-----

fuck friends who annoy you when you invite them somewhere. always looking on the bright side and trying to forget how truly creepy they can be...well, it's not a good thing to forget. talk about dodging a bullet.

-----

and now. a thought.

mmm

that was a good one.

- greg

so chalk it up to low expectations or sudden day-of excitement but "Live Free or Die Hard" was immensely entertaining. i don't know how i'd rate it in the pantheon of the Die Hard series, but it delivered on everything it should have...minus some crass language and violence, which i noticeably missed.

mcclane was muted and kind of unrecognizable as the action anti-hero i know and love, until about 30-45 mins in. you could see hints of the wise-ass, fully capable NYPD "Senior Detective" (which i get a chuckle out of...he's old, people!) but nothing fully delivered, and he didn't push into overdrive until he killed one of the major bad guys, Mai, played by Maggie Q. her end is also a source of several McClane-isms as the film unfolds.

the action felt kinda rehashed in the first half, given the action landscape in film and television since Die Hard 3 came out...growing to epic, over-the-top proportions by the final act, almost in a nod to Die Hard 2.

to be honest, it seemed more like "24: the Movie starring John McClane" than a Die Hard installment. the technobabble, set pieces, cinematography, even the pacing felt VERY 24-esque.

nonetheless, i found it very enjoyable.

it might take awhile to wear off, but right now, i can say i'm on cloud 9. it totally defied expectation promised by the dreadful trailers. it will stand as a shining example of how NOT to market a sequel, in my mind. (taking a lived-in character and giving him lame dialogue and a cookie-cutter plot overview...with Spider-Man CGI and truck carnage out of Heat...bad juju)

B+

- greggles