Lions and tigers and snow...

I don't know how clear I can make this - I HATE the cold.  And with the cold, comes the snow.  I like playing in the snow, but if it means that it is cold out when it is snowing then I can live the rest of my life without ever seeing snow again.

75-85 and sunny.  Blue skies.  Clean streets.  Freshly cut lacrosse fields.  That is happiness.

Notice the beach in the background.  Heaven.

Gay Marketing

AOL ran an article today discussing the 'Valentine's Day' trailer and how it eroneously omitted the relationship between Bradley Cooper and Eric Dane's characters.  Claiming that it was wrong to do so. 

I understand the argument... which can be two-fold.  First, it is somewhat false advertising.  False advertising may be a bit harsh, it is more like half-truth advertising.  Although the article would have you believe the former... because apparently we the audience should believe Cooper and Julia Roberts are linked because they are sitting next to each other on a plane.  Secondly, and the one I'm sure they're more pissed about, the gay storyline is the one that got omitted from the trailer.  What if he wound up with some other chick, would they be writing an article about how Cooper's storyline wasn't in the trailer and this was misleading to audiences?  Clearly they believe that society is at a point where gay men and women should be accepted, and not only accepted but embraced. 

This is ridiculous on a few levels.  The reality is that they are just not as accepted across America as they would like.  I don't agree with this, as a person's sexuality is exactly that - theirs.  Who cares who someone else is sleeping with or decides to fall in love with?  Unfortunately, a lot of people do.  Acceptance has come a long way, but we're just not there yet. 

Straight men just absoultely, 100% do not care about nor want to see homosexuality portrayed onscreen in a romantic comedy.  Being accepting of homosexuality and embracing it are not the same thing.  So, of course the studio is going to downplay this aspect of the film.  It may very well be the most intriguing and interesting relationship in the film. That is all well and good, but it will not sell tickets.  It will only hurt box office. 

We make movies to make money.  When you are lucky enough to make a film, you have an obligation to that film and whoever finances it to get as many eyeballs on the film as you possibly can - and that usually means putting forth the most effective marketing campaign (or trying to at least).  Anyone that is doing this strictly for art is either fabulously wealthy or obscenely poor.  And chances are they are making movies no one will ever see.  That is not a judgement on them or their films.  It is just an honest opinion.

Big Nana... Nana Gertie... I will miss you forever.

On December 22, my nana passed away.  I don't want to write anything about how great she was or who she was or what she did - because that will only cheaper what she meant to me.

I will just say that I loved her with all of my heart and will miss her more and more everyday.  The world already seems like an emptier place.

Love you Big Nana.

Movie Review: Blindside

Not much to say about this somewhat bland, but well-done feel good movie of the year.  I can't stand Sandra Bullock, because she is always playing the same character - but I found myself a big fan of her in this movie.  And that is ultimately what made me like it.

I couldn't stand the token precocious and outgoing little kid.  I wanted to punt him.  This little rat is making his highlight reel?

Some liberties were taken with the story in terms of logic to make for a better movie, and these bothered me.  Besides the little rat, there are stacks of mail and voicemails from coaches and the husband doesn't realize this is going on?  Seems far-fetched.

He's at practice, his first day - and they are going right into play calling?  No drilling for him?  No assistant coaches offering instruction?  This kid has never played a down of football before and the head coach is yelling at him from up on a scaffolding?  He's been in school for half a year and he hasn't done a single thing related to football?

Also, what the heck happened to his boy from the first scene?  The one he's playing basketball with?  And the guy that gets him into school?  WTF?

Movie Review: Freddy vs. Jason

I wasn't going to write about this complete piece of shlock, but felt that I needed to vent.  Wasn't there a studio executive, or multiple studio executives on this?  Did they read the script?

At no point, at any second was this scary or even close to scary.  It wasn't even that gory.  It was just lame. Complete with mediocre chicks, the Jay and Silent Bob stoner clone, the fat drunk/smoker who somehow thinks he's awesome but in real life would get beat up for being this big of a douchebag.

Some kid gets killed at a house with another group of kids and they all go to school the next day.  Not only that, but they go to a rave that night.  Exactly.  Makes no sense.

Did I mention that the kid who gets killed's best friend gets killed along with his dad before the rave?

And it just keeps getting worse from there.  Throw in Robert Englund hamming it up as Freddy and you have one of the worst films I've seen in years.

Oh... did I also mention there is a scene where Freddy plays pinball with Jason's body in a warehouse?  Sound effects and all.

Wow.

Movie Review: He's Just Not That Into You

I spent a lot of time watching movies the last few days.  It's one of the best things, for me, about the holidays.  When football or lacrosse is not on, family will sit through movies.  It's better than playing charades.

So, I watched a movie I probably would never sit through in 'He's Just Not That Into You'.  And I can say it wasn't a waste of my time.  It started off well, but then became a chick flick.  And I mean that in the worst way.  Obviously written by a female and/or gay guys, it became an ugly/nerd girl's dating fantasy.  Particularly the Justin Long/Ginnifer Goodwin storyline.  Never happen.  Sorry nerds.

And I must say that Kevin Connelly was completely miscast.  How are we going to believe that he used to go out with Scarlet Johannson?  And after a date with Ginnifer Goodwin she falls for him?  He seems like a nice guy, but come on.  Seriously?  Besides that it was well-cast and well-acted.

I find myself wishing the guy who co-wrote it was more of a guy.  It would have been a much better movie, consistent with the Bradley Cooper storyline.  He was a guy who acted like a guy and had shit fall apart on him.  And kept on being a normal guy.

Special mention to film 'living'.  Connelly and Long live together in what would probably be a multi-million dollar apartment.  Straight out of American Psycho.

Movie Review: Law Abiding Citizen

I have to admit, in the trailer/commercials when they tell us that Gerard Butler has been taking people out while still inside the jail - I was intrigued.  But I have a real distaste for Jamie Foxx.  I love him in certain roles, like Any Given Sunday... but him playing Denzel Washington doesn't interest me.  And, although I'd say this was okay and kept my interest throughout, it was Foxx that ultimately lost it for me.

To be fair, he was pretty good in the movie.  It was his character that bothered me.  He's a lawyer.  A state prosecutor to be exact.  And he's chasing Gerard Butler's character.  However, Butler is only exacting revenge for the death of his family - a revenge he had to exact because of Foxx's lawyering/deal cutting.  So, I never once sided with Foxx.  And then, as all of this is going down - he almost becomes a cop/SWAT team member/homicide detective.  Why is he investigating these murders?  Why is he the first one on these murder scenes?  Why is he even at a crime scene?  He's a prosecutor.  It just didn't make sense.  And this really, really bothered me.

Harbor Moon Artwork Finished!!

We've finished the artwork (and website) for Harbor Moon.  The only thing left to do is prep the book for printing.  I am still unsure when Arcana wants to release the book, but will let everyone know through here, the website and the Harbor Moon facebook page.

http://www.harbor-moon.com/

It came out great.  Really want to thank Karol Wisniewski, who runs the studio in Poland where it got done, for holding it together the whole way and being an invaluable resource.  You are truly a saint among hookers and thieves.

Love, Death & Family

I just went through one of the more harrowing experiences of my life and thought I would share it now, while it was still fresh in my head and heart.

Last night I slept at my grandparent's house because they are at the point where they need someone there full-time.  It should really be a nurse or someone more qualified, but it's just not that simple.  My grandma was in bed when I got there and my grandpa was watching Fox News, and we blasted the Democrats for a good hour before he decided to turn in.  I was pretty wiped out from Saturday night so I fell asleep during the fourth quarter of the Giant's game.

At about 2:00am I heard some noise so I woke up.  I knew that my grandpa gets up a lot during the night to go to the bathroom, so I was ready for this.  So, he went to the bathroom and was fine. 

Just after 4:00am, I heard noises again.  It was my grandpa getting up to go to the bathroom again, so I laid back down.  Then about 10 minutes last I heard a weak female voice saying 'Help me.'  It was 4 am and no one is super sharp then, so it took me a second to get up.  As I was walking towards my grandma's room my grandpa was yelling from the bathroom.  He was coming, but he was going to the bathroom.  And I guess he was at the sink and got his pajama pants soaked (did I mention he's blind?) and was struggling in there.

I get to my grandma's door and in the darkness she's sitting on the edge of her bed... Her face pale in the moonlight and sunken in.  Her legs are so skinny they look like pipes.  Even at 83, she's managed to keep her hair through radiation, and it wasn't until this moment that I truly realized that my nana is very sick.  She's got a blank look on her face and she has no idea where she is.  She recognizes me immediately, which is good.  I ask her why she's trying to get out of bed and she has no idea.  But she weighs less than 80 lbs now and is very weak, so she can't get back in bed.  So I help swing her legs over.  And she's crying out, 'Ow' the whole time.  She has osteoporosis as well and it is mostly affecting her spine.  Her back pain has recently become unbearable for her.  It's terrifying and sad all at the same time.  She's clutching my hand and her grip is very tight for someone with zero meat on their bones.  I don't know what to do, other than gently rub her back and tell her it is going to be okay.  But I'm not sure myself that it is.

My grandpa walks in, or tries to, about then and I tell him it is okay.  My nana loosens her grip and I slowly slink out of the room and help my grandpa back to his bed. 

I make it back to the couch, but sleep doesn't come.  I am afraid to fall asleep in case I miss her calling out.  Every creak, every thump of the heater causes me to jerk up.  My grandpa gets up another 3 times throughout the night, but I'm in a trance until about 7:30 when I finally hear it again... My nana calling for 'help'.  I stagger to her room, but she's standing in the kitchen.  She looks lost and in shock to see me.  She's got her top on, but no pants and it is cold.  And her oxygen isn't on her. I lead her back to her bed and help her get pants on.  I make her tea and she tries to eat, but can't.  The pain in her back comes on strong.  She's almost in tears and she wants to know where my mom or my aunt are.  I feel completely helpless.  I talk her back into bed and rub her back gently until she's able to drift back to sleep until my grandpa wakes up around 9:00. 

And then she's up as if the last hour and a half never happened.  Ready for her morning tea and breakfast.

I appreciate and cherish every second I get to spend with her and my grandpa.  And in turn, have come to appreciate all the time I get to spend with my own parents.  I'm not the type of person who had a crappy childhood or ever rebelled against my parents. No one has supported me more or been there for me like they have. Everything I've ever accomplished on a sports field, in the classroom or in film/print - I owe to them.

Hollywood Black List - Congrats Dikran

Universal film executive Franklin Leonard released his THE BLACK LIST today. Compiled every year from the suggestions of 311 film executives, each contributes the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2009 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year. This year, scripts had to receive at least five mentions to be included.

Link to full list courtesy of Deadline Hollywood Daily

Special congratulations to Dikran Ornekian, a 2004 Peter Stark classmate of mine and co-writer of Harbor Moon with me.  His script, The Ghost and the Wolf, written with Rylend Grant, finished with 7 votes.  That was good enough to put it 53rd out of 97 scripts.  He's on his way to a huge career and this is only the beginning.

I have some reservations with this list - in that it is basically a marketing tool for your projects if you are an executive.  The idea is that you vote for the 10 best scripts you read.  But these execs are voting for and lobbying for projects they are associated with to catch the heat of being on the list.  Which makes it all the more incredible that a project that isn't set-up at a studio or with a producer - or even has an agent - makes it on (such as The Ghost and the Wolf).

Movie Review: Quarantine

I will keep this one short, as there isn't much to say about it.  I was up late last night working and happened to catch this on HBO.  Uninspiring to say the least.  It brings nothing new to the genre, isn't very exciting or terrifying and goes for the lame first person narrative through a camera technique. 

Jennifer Carpenter, who I have grown to like on Dexter, cries and wails and moans her way through this - making me question what dailies the director/producers were watching.  It just gets annoying after a while.  Minutes after the 'outbreak' in fact.  'What the fuck is going on here?' through sobs and wails a thousand times gets old.  This would have played better as a short... Then again, would anyone have cared either way?

TV: Jersey Shore

Holy Shit!  This is a complete trainwreck. 

How on earth did they not get better looking girls for this show?  They may have cast the ugliest 4 chicks in the northeast.  It makes it extremely hard to get any enjoyment out of this.  Their frumpy bodies and beat faces make this show terribly unfunny.  I almost feel bad for them. 

Almost.

It is just about exactly what it appears to be sold as.  With one caveat - only 2 of the 8 people are ACTUALLY from New Jersey.  As an Italian American, they are an ugly cancerous sore on a proud people - but if I was from New Jersey I would be angry.  Seething with venom and frothing at the mouth.  These people are the absolute lowest common denominator. 

While it amuses me that each chick thinks they are hot, it only lasts for a few minutes.  Then anger sets in.  The best part of the show are the highlights from this upcoming season - the best being when Snickers gets lit up by some guy at what looks like Surf Club. 

I mean - KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT.  I had to rewind it about 30 times to really appreciate the shot to the chops she got. 

Poor Snickers. 

And there are a few bombs dropped on the dude's faces as well.  Shit happens when you walk around like a tough guy and you have fake beach muscles.

Movie Review: Brothers

I went in thinking this was a Lifetime movie with a good cast and a theatrical release.  However, it is much better than that.  While I'm not nominating it for my best of list, it is much more than a sappy war drama.  Brothers is a sad tale about loss, and the power of love.  The trailers do a horrible job of portraying what is really going on here.  They make it seem like Jake Gyllenhal's character winds up falling in love with and sleeping with his brother Sam's (Tobey Maguire) wife Grace (Natalie Portman).

David Benioff does a good job with the script in making this darker than we expected, and thus more realistic.  And while it seems they fall for each other, it is brief and the love they feel for Sam keeps them apart.  When Sam returns from being a POW he is a bit off-kilter and slowly pulls himself inward, lashing out at his wife and brother - thinking they were sleeping together.

And where most films would move towards a ridiculous climax, Brothers hits us with a knockout punch of emotion without going completely overboard.

Even better, my buddy Paul Davis worked on the film.  He told me to go see it thinking it would be a film I'd love to hate.  Apparently I've calmed down a bit since USC.

Movie Review: Good Night, and Good Luck

A fine piece of cinema from George Clooney.  Obviously well-cast, and superbly acted.  A small slice of American journalism history, but not the most exciting or dramatic tales ever told.

Love that guy who killed Laura Palmer (Ray Wise).

My Oscar Hopes

My first feature as a producer, BATTLE FOR TERRA, is in the mix for an Oscar nomination for 'Best Animated Feature'.

The Hollywood Reporter just put out a piece on the front-runners, contenders, and long shots. 

Hollywood Reporter - "A look at the 20 animated films in contention this season"

Pretty awesome that they have us as a 'contender', and I happen to agree with their spot on commentary in regard to the film.  It is far from perfect, but I think very few people realize just  how little we made that film for.

Time and budget constraints dash even the highest hopes.  In the end, the aliens did look rather bland.  But if you look at Mala, she's well-developed.  We just didn't have the manpower for the rest of them.  So they all look the same.  And the humans are atrocious.  We would have been better going with a more cartoony look, rather than the wanna-be life-like way they were treated. 

At the end of the day, I think those animation details would have been forgiven if the script was any good.

Great Weekend

Armored tanked massively at the box office.  The Jets won Thursday night.  The Giants won yesterday.  Villanova crushed New Hampshire to move to the Semi-Finals of the I-AA Playoffs.  Anthony Brunetti became Holy Trinity's first ever Thorp Award winner as the best football player in Nassau County.  Harbor Moon has 3 pages left to color.  The website is a tweak or two away from being finished and operational.  One of the top indie producers in Hollywood is really interested in King of the Night.  A sharp up-and-coming producer with ties to money is interested in R.E.M.  My investment proposal for Spoke Lane Publishing went out to 20 new investors.  And my grandma is out of the hospital and in no pain.

All in all I'd say this is the best weekend I've had in a while.

Taylor Swift

Is there anything this girl can't do?  Granted, her skits on SNL that I saw were awful - but she's 19.  If I had a lamenated list, she'd be at the top.  By a landslide. 

Did I mention she was only 19?  Major bonus points.

Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights

This has been a much aligned season of the show... but after a slow start and some bad early fights I think it came on really strong at the end.  And I also think the best fighters wound up in the semi's and eventually the finale (on Saturday).

Kimbo got taken out early, but did anyone expect him to actually get very far?  And going against the most experienced and best all-around fighter on the show in Roy 'Big Country' Nelson he had no shot.  But he came off really well on the show and earned a lot of respect from MMA fans in the process.

For me, the person who looked like the biggest chump was James McSweeney.  The guy did nothing but run his mouth all show.  He gassed early in his first fight and got lucky when he caught Mittrione with a guillotine in their fight.  He was one shot away from being put to sleep.  Scott Junk, although he seemed like a good dude, claims that fighting was his life and he was the best hope for Team Rampage from the start - but lasted maybe 2 minutes in his first fight before completely gassing and getting owned by Matt Mittrione.

The two people who I think surprised the most were Marcus Davis and Brendan Schaub, both former NFL players.  Both were the two guys on the show that seemed that most down-to-earth and had their minds together.  Schaub seemed like a regular guy and I found myself rooting for him throughout.  It was only fitting that the semi-final bout was between these two.  And I think both impressed - but Davis is still learning (although he's much older than Schaub) - and Schaub put him out.

I know there are a lot of bad stoppages in MMA, but that fight was the exact opposite...  Davis looked out cold when he hit the mat and the ref didn't stop it so Schaub kept pounding.  Ouch.

Can't wait for the finale and there are some good fights on that card as well...

Movie Review: Ninja Assassin

This is what gets shit out when a 2nd Unit Action Director directs a movie.  And I don't want to blame McTeigue, because I thought 'V for Vendetta' was a really good first feature.  But that was based on a really strong book, and screenplay.

This, on the other hand, is a trainwreck from the script stage.  And thus, a trainwreck for us the viewers.  Complete with a completely underdeveloped love story, terrible acting (notably from Naomie Harris, who was horribly miscast), and plot holes and logic issues you could drive a truck through.  I don't even know where to begin...

Maybe with the whole premise of the movie.  Supposedly he gets betrayed by his clan.  But he is never betrayed.  In fact, he betrays them.  So, where's our sympathy for this guy?

It always bothers me in action movies when you build toward a climatic end battle, but there is the head honcho and the asshole righthand man.  And then you get two massive showdowns.  It doesn't make any sense.  If our hero has to fight both, the asshole righthand man needs to go down quickly or in an odd manner (think of Indiana Jones when he pulls out his gun and shoots the giant guy).

Speaking of asshole righthand man, they try to set up one here but it doesn't make much sense.  They have the other ninja with the eye scar.  Who the hell is this?  We never see him as he grows up.  And he kills the love interest, but only because he's told to.

Special shout out to the actor playing the Interpol Agent above Naomi.  Wow, talk about bad acting and a completely unnecessary character.  Him holding an Uzzi at the end is laughable, as is Naomi popping out of a Hummer with a gun.  In the previous scene, she goes on about how she is just a glorified librarian.  Great, so why the hell are you in this battle?

And the end battle - these ninjas who can hear a heartbeat didn't hear choppers and Hummers and all sorts of shit approaching this fort in the middle of nowhere?

And Reyso, our hero.  He struggles with his first kill, then moments later he's just so awesome that he's able to kill dozens of ninjas.  'Father' gives a speech about how he's the chosen one to take over for him - way too late, past the halfway point.  We should have had this speech early on.  And we should have seen Eye Scar Guy pissed about this.

I'm getting frustrated just writing this.

The action was sweet though.  And the ninjas moved awesome.

GoDaddy - 2 Thumbs Up

The site might be ugly and hard to navigate, but domain and web hosting service Godaddy.com gets two thumbs up from me. 

They are inexpensive, which is always what everyone looks for first.  And I know some web developers dislike them, but I'm not a web developer.  I don't know much, or anything, about web development.  But anytime I've ever had a problem or question - their customer service has been amazing.  This applies to billing and technical issues.  More than once they have pointed out services that I did not need, or where they could have charged me to upgrade said - wait, another domain has this and you're not using it so why don't we just transfer it for you.  What other company would do that?  And when you do call customer service, there is very little wait time and the reps are knowledgeable and nice. 

Scriptshadow

So, there is a new blog in town... Scriptshadow.  Apparently, this mastermind reviews movies - before they're made.  Basically, he gets his hands on scripts and reviews them.

And people think this is a novel idea?

Anyone in Hollywood would know that this is called 'coverage'.  And people, mostly young writers or development interns, actually get paid to do this.

It sounds to me like this guy or girl (they go by a pseudonym) is an idiot.  Writing up coverage, in-depth coverage at that, for free.

I've never believed in coverage myself.  You're paying development executives to read a script or book to see if it has potential as a film.  That same development executive should be reading the script to see if the writer or writers have talent, for future projects, open writing assignments, etc...  And then they pass that script to someone who you probably have never met and paying them a small sum of money to critique this script when they themselves are most likely an aspiring writer or executive with no real credentials.  Why not just fire the development executive and hire the reader at a fraction of the cost?  Or why not do the job you were hired to do?

So if you're a development executive or anyone who reads scripts, and you actually visit Scriptshadow, then you should do yourself a favor and come up with your own opinion.

Jets Still Alive

Darelle Revis played like the best corner in the NFL and the Jets got a much needed win.  Behind a punishing running attack, they moved a step closer to the wildcard play-off berth.  There are a ton of teams with a 5-6 record and the Jets need to keep it going to have a chance. 

I know the general thinking was that this team was built to win this year, but I tend to disagree.  It's next to impossible to win with a rookie quarterback.  And a first year coach.  I hope they can run the tables, but when I look ahead to 2010 it seems very bright.  Thomas Jones might be 30, but he doesn't have the wear and tear on his body that most backs do cause of his late blooming.  And Showne Green is a more than capable carrier, especially in short yardage situations.  Throw Leon Washington into that mix again when he returns from a broken fibula, with a strong offensive line and I think you have one of the leagues top running games.  Give Braylon Edwards a year to get on the same page as Mark Sanchez, who will have another year to mature and get on the same page as everyone else.  This offense could be scary.  I'd love to see them draft a DE who can get at the QB.  Or a certain dominant safety from Tennessee (who I think is the best player in college football).

Racism in NFL

Why is it that anytime there is a good white wide receiver, he immediately has to be labeled?  A broadcaster on ESPN this morning referred to Brandon Stokely of the Broncos as 'their Wes Welker'. 

This is bullshit for so many reasons.  Wes Welker currently leads the NFL in catches, as well as yards after catch.  He's one of the best receivers in the league.  Easily the best possession receiver.  There are hundreds of black receivers that wish they could do what he does.  It is bad enough that the other short white guy on New England is referred to as a Wes Welker clone. 

Stokely is an okay receiver, but without Wes Welker, the Patriots - the number 1 offense over the last few seasons - flat out suck. 

There was a great editorial at the back of Sports Illustrated this week, by a black guy, about how white running backs are immediately labeled as slow, bulky fullbacks.  They are never given their due.  There is takl about making Toby Gebhart from Stanford, currently 3rd in the nation in rushing, a linebacker.  If he was black, would this ever happen?  The short answer is - no.  The same piece discusses how far black QB's have come, and it is about time white RB's and Receivers are viewed in the same light as their black counterparts.

Movie Review: Twilight - New Moon

Yes, I am a heterosexual male and still saw this movie.  I am so on Team Jacob.  Mostly because he is going out with Taylor Swift and I'd let her ruin my life.  Also, because werewolves are cooler than vampires.  And Edward is a melodramatic puss.

No, I've never read these books.  And I never will.  I saw this out of work related curiosity.  It was fairly well-made, more so than the first one.  I think getting rid of Hardwicke was a good move, as I don't think for a second she could have handled the visual fx.  However, I think the acting in the first one was probably better.  That falls on Chris Weitz' shoulders.  There are scenes were the acting is laughably bad - mostly from Taylor Lautner.  And I don't blame him, cause there are other scenes where his acting is strong.  On the upside, it appears as if Weitz used the same company that did the creatures in Golden Compass, which is a good thing - cause the wolves look great and their transformation were amazing.

But was the movie any good?  No.  Part of the charm of the first one was the running time.  Under 90 minutes.  This was like 2.5 hours.  And for no reason.  It could have played at under 100 minutes.  Definitely under 2 hours.  The over-the-top parallels to Romeo & Juliet were nauseating.  The opening shot of the movie she wakes up and the book is next to her head.  A scene in class that same day and they are watching the movie in class, and Edward even quotes from it.  Really?

The biggest problem for me in this movie - it is supposed to be a love triangle between Bella-Jacob-Edward.  They set up that Jacob gets Bella out of her funk, and she even writes to Alice about how Jacob fills the hole in her chest/heart.  But when they're together - you never actually feel that she has fallen for Jacob.  So when Edward returns - or Jacob asks her to stay for him - it's falling on the audience's deaf ears because it never seemed like that was a choice.

Side note - Ashley Green is actually hotter in person than in the movie.  Which is saying a lot.  I'd let her ruin my life too.  In fact, would have when she was the shmoopy faced hostess at The Belmont.

Stalkers

It has come to my attention that I have a stalker.  She's been following my every move and I'm not sure how I feel about it. 

She's about 5'3" with dark hair and, unfortunately, a great smile.  She's usually carting around a 2 year old girl.  If you see this woman, run the other way.  She's liable to ignite, quite like a firecracker.

Chaz Bono

Is has been gnawing at me for a week now.  When Chaz Bono started going out with it's significant other - he was a girl.  So they were lesbians.  Now, she is a he.  And they are still together.  So, is she straight?  Cause she has a penis.  And if so, was she ever a lesbian?  Does she just hate men?  And if she does, does she hate Chaz?  If she likes penis now, then why not find a good looking dude.  Cause Chaz looks like a fat, lab geek with no facial hair.  

Or is it really all about personality with these two?

Movie Review: Precious - Based on a Novel Push by Sapphire

Monster's Ball producer Lee Daniels follows up his 2005 directorial debut, Shadowboxer, with this adaptation of author Sapphire's best-selling novel about an overweight, illiterate African-American teen from Harlem who discovers an alternate path in life after she begins attending a new school. Clareece "Precious" Jones is only a teenager, yet she's about to give birth to her second child - from her father. With a little help from a sympathetic teacher (Paula Patton) and a kindly nurse (Lenny Kravitiz), the young girl receives something that most teens never get -- a chance to start over. Mo'nique co-stars as her abusive mother.

What could have easily played out like a Lifetime movie of the week starring Judith Light was well-crafted, extremely well acted and never plodding.  Even when tugging at our heartstrings it was never overly melodramatic - and I think this is the reason I liked the film the most.  Often times sad - it was always somewhat eye-opening.  Someone asked me the day after I saw it, 'is it based on a true story?'  I realized then that it didn't matter.  Yes, in fact, it is.  It is based on many true stories.  Too many.  And that is the world we are living in. 

At the end of the day, this is an inspirational drama featuring a stunning performance by newcomer Gabourey "Gabbie" Sidibe, who will almost definitely be nominated for an Oscar.  If you think your childhood was rough, go see this movie.  If you think you had a great childhood, go see this movie.  Either way, you will realize that there are people out there every day in a struggle we can only imagine.  And they need help in one way or another.

Holy Trinity Titans Football

Wanted to say congratulations to Coach Mascia and the Holy Trinity Titans Football team.  Going 10-0 for the first time, with a huge showdown against St. Anthony's this Saturday at Mitchell Field House in Hempstead (across from Hofstra) at 7:00pm. 

Anthony Brunetti has been crushing teams this year (and last) and is the best RB on LI and probably NY state.  There is a decided bias in favor of the public schools, so he'll probably wind up losing the Thorpe Award to someone like Kevin Allen.  It is bullshit because the Catholic League is so much stronger top to bottom and each game is a challenge, whereas the public schools have a lot of cupcakes on their schedule.

This bias also shows in Newsdays large school's poll - which has Trinity at 6 behind one-loss schools from the public league that would last a quarter on the same field as most catholic teams.  Particularly Holy Trinity, St. Anthony's, Iona Prep and Chaminade.

Finish perfect.

Harbor Moon Update

It's really a non-update... only to say that the website is underway and should be ready by sometime next week.  The book was supposed to be done by the end of the month, but we have 15 pages left to color and I doubt that will happen.  The upside is that the book looks amazing.  If it is ever finished. 

Special shout out to Karol over in Poland keeping it on track and for building the website.  Without him there is no book...

Ninja Warrior

Last night I started training for full contact fighting again.  Just over two years ago I had gotten really into it in Los Angeles.  However, they moved a professional lacrosse team out to LA and I decided to dedicate my training to lacrosse.  Now that I'm back in NY and recovering from a torn achilles I thought it was time to once again turn myself into a lethal weapon.  So my brother and I went into Panza MMA to give it a test run and joined up.

I'm in pretty good shape, but not 'playing' shape.  So I was hurting this morning.  Not as bad as after a lacrosse game, but my hands are all banged up and I definitely feel my age.  I give it another month before I'm cut from stone and ready to rock. 

It is a short trip from there to actual superhero. 

The Cold

And how much I hate it.  This will be my first winter in 8 years.  I am not looking forward to it.  There are some people that say, 'Oh, don't you just love the change of seasons?'  No asshole, I don't.  Or, 'It wouldn't feel like Christmas with sunshine.'  Yeah, have you ever had a Christmas in the sun?  Feels like Jesus' birthday to me.

I can't wait until March.  Spring.  Lacrosse.  Sunshine.

Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

"The best kind of movies are the ones you go into with no expectations and you leave thinking it was really good."  Some random girl said that to me the other day, and I think that best sums up this movie for me.  I hadn't heard any raves for it - but I hadn't heard anyone say it was awful.  The trailers didn't really give away much, but they didn't titilate either. 

I definitely left the theatre glad I had chosen this over '4th Kind.' 

Ewan Mcgregor and George Clooney together is a great combo.  And Daniels is doing his best Lebowski impersonation... but lets face it - Lebowski is pretty damn good.

Honestly, i walked in thinking this would be a zany high-brow comedy type thing (aka boring), with these guys training to kill people with their minds.  It is most certainly not.  Mcgregor is a reporter who can't find a story.  His wife leaves him for a guy with a fake arm.  So he packs it up and goes to Iraq, but they won't allow him into the country so he's on the border.  This is where he runs into Clooney's character, who may or may not be a total fraud - a psychic operative.  Together they go into Iraq.
Another pleasant surprise is Kevin Spacey.  I've come to dislike his work recently.  Like Al Pacino screaming his way through every movie since 'Scent of a Woman', Spacey has phoned it in since 'American Beauty.'  Hamming it up and over-acting.  But he was awesome in this and renewed my faith in the man.

The style and tone is Coen Brothers-esque, but a good Coen Bros. movie.  More 'Lebowski' meets 'Millers Crossing' than 'Ladykillers' or 'O'Brother.'  Some of you may recall my post about 'A Serious Man' last week, where I mentioned that the Coens are masters at the top of their game.  While Heslov isn't on their level, and is helped tremendously by an amazing crew - especially DP Robert Elswit - his game is good here.
 
So, Overture, fire your marketing department.  A company who started off with some pretty crap movies, on a decent roll the last few months. 
 
That random girl is reading this right now and is so pissed.  Pissed that the gossip blogs won't link us together because I didn't name her.  Okay... okay.  Dakota Fanning, thank you for your wisdom.

Pop Pop Louie

I know I just made a post about my grandma... and now I'm following it with a post about my grandpa.  Deal with it.

Pop Pop Louie is my grandfather on my dad's side.  He died of cancer while my mom was pregnant with me.  No one ever really talks about him, so I don't know much about him.  Occasionally someone will say, oh, he used to do this.  Or that.  I know he was an extremely hard-working guy, working about 5 jobs at one time.  One of those was pool cleaner for Plainedge High School - the asbestos in the pool room eventually led to his death via cancer.

Yesterday I was playing golf with my dad and my uncle.  And I heard a Pop Pop Louie story for the first time in 31 years.  It was something that no one in my family had even known either.

My uncle was out in Riverhead (deep Suffolk County) taking pictures for a school.  Because he was there on official business, he had to wear a badge.  A man about the same age as my uncle came up to him and said, "I couldn't help but noticing your badge.  Colucci.  You related to a Louis Colucci?"

Since my grandpa died 31 years ago and this guy was about the same age as my uncle, he didn't think much of it.  But he said, "Yeah, my dad's name was Louis Colucci."

"Did he work for Plainedge High School?"

My uncle was a bit spooked.  "Yeah.  He cleaned pools."

"Well, I worked alongside him when I was much younger.  I could never forget the man.  He had a great hand in who I am today.  While I was working there, I had the opportunity to attend college.  But I couldn't afford it, and so I was going to save up and attend a year or two later.  But your father said to me 'If you don't go now, you'll never go.'  And he went even further - he actually paid my first year's tuition.  This was a great man and I will never forget him."

The man went on to graduate, become a police officer, raise a family and even paid my grandfather back.

It made me take a look at my life and I see where my father gets his generosity from and I hope to one day be as great as either of them.

Old Age...

...Ain't it a bitch?

I moved back home to NY in part because my grandmother has lung cancer.  She was diagnosed last winter.  She wasn't given much time, but it is now November and she's still going strong.

In the last two weeks, her sister (my mother's aunt) suffered a mini-stroke and was told she had a mass on her brain.  And her best friend, my mom's uncle, died of pancreatic cancer.  My great aunt has decided not to get a biopsy and let it play out.  My great uncle was diagnosed about 5 weeks ago.  Both were relatively healthy for their age - 80's.

And my nana is going to outlive them all.  I got a fighter's blood in me.

Movie Review: Hellraiser

Wow.  What a colossal piece of crap.  I thought I was being a bad film nerd by never having seen this, but I was clearly being hard on myself.  And to think they made multiple sequels to this.

It was so poor in every aspect, but what sticks out is how ugly the chicks in it were.  This isn't me being sexist - part of the plot involves this woman who lures dudes back to this house to get killed.  But she's so gross it is really hard to swallow.

And I have to say that the pinhead guy and his crew of demons were laughable.

Movie Review: A Serious Man

Walking into this movie, I only knew two things - it was by the Coen Brothers and a father who's family unravels around him was at the center. 

I saw it on Tuesday, and it being Thursday, still am not sure how I really feel about the movie.  It was expertly done - as these guys are at the top of their game right now.  A friend of mine said, I think correctly, 'these are the guys our children will be studying in film school as masters.'  Although this film is very different, it definitely holds true.  What amazes me the most about those guys is that they operate on such a high level, across an enormous range of genres.  It is astounding.  And this is nothing like I've seen from them.  One thing is certain - it is not a very uplifting movie.  That is why I'm still perplexed about my feelings on it.  But the more I think about it, the more I realize I am a huge fan. 

A few of the character actors were recognizable, but for the most part this was a cast of unknowns.  They do an amazing job of setting up this characer who is slowly unraveling.  And then they pull the rug out from our expectations.  As things continually mount against this man, we expect him to snap.  To break out of his nebbish cocoon and become a man.  But it never happens.  He has a few moments, but he still retreats to who he is.  And that is what I love the most about the film.  It felt real... but usually when you use that term to describe what is essentially an arthouse film it doubles for 'boring'.  But this film is far from boring, complete with the Coen's trademark humor throughout.  Even when they lead you to think he's going to have sex with his ridiculous hot (and extremely sultry voiced) neighbor, it goes nowhere.  Because he's a pussy. 

It is definitely a recommend, but don't go in hoping for The Big Lebowski.  Go in knowing that you might need some cheering up afterward.

Rough Week

The last few days have been pretty rough.  Last Thursday my Uncle John (actually my mom's uncle) passed away from pancreatic cancer.  He was my grandma's best friend and it was really hard watching her break down at the wake.  She herself has lung cancer and was unable to attend the funeral. 

Then, on Sunday, my grandma's sister had a seizure and they found a mass on her brain.  We're waiting on the scans to see if it is cancerous. 

They didn't give my grandma that long, but she's going to out live all of her friends who were all healthy when she got diagnosed. 

If you read this, keep my uncle, Aunt Winifred and my grandma in your prayers...

Spec Market Scorecard: 2009 to Date (October 16)

I can't take credit for this... I am copying and pasting the Scorecard and commentary by Jason Scoggins.  It is pretty sobering data if you're a young or new writer.  However, it goes to show you that studios are pretty much only buying pre-existing properties.  And if you're seen my previous posts, you know that is what I am creating with all the books I have in production.

by Jason Scoggins

October 21, 2009

 

This isn't exactly the return to form I'd been hoping for. The end of the Fall selling season fast approaches, and as you can see from the below numbers the spec market is as flat as it's been since the end of April. Which in retrospect is not that surprising given the past month's remarkable executive turnover (huge changes at the top of Disney and Universal, plus adjustment at Fox) and conflicting messages coming out of the studios. On the one hand, the majors are saying they're out of money in the short term (Sony and Universal even made public statements regarding curtailed spending on new and existing development, respectively). On the other, a bunch of high profile pitches and other projects have sold since the end of the Summer, including at least a couple in the seven figures.

It's clear from the swings in the number of new scripts on the market week-to-week over the past month (from the last week of September: 4, 17 and 5, and just half a dozen so far this week) that the town is not quite sure what to make of the fact that specs continue not to sell. One would think more than 9% of new spec scripts would get set up coming out of the Summer break, but maybe this is the new normal.

A couple of things are certain, however:

·         Producers are the new black when it comes to setting up a script. All but one or two of the specs that sold in 2009 were bought by or for a significant if not major producer (and just a handful of this year's sales had big actors or directors attached). This underscores the efficacy of the newly announced development funds secured by Bruckheimer and Parkes/MacDonald. Hopefully we'll see more of these deals in the next several months and the formal emergence of a new class of buyer.

·         The only reason to take a naked spec out wide right now is to introduce a writer to the town on a wholesale basis (that is to say, there's no good reason to take out a naked spec right now). The dismal statistic continues unabated: Just 2 of the 140 scripts that have gone out wide since May 1 have sold. That's a ridiculously low percentage: 1.4%, not far off (statistically speaking) the percentage of scripts sold during the WGA strike.

Overall Spec Numbers:

All Specs	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct*	Total
Specs	28	60	78	46	40	48	16	8	40	24	388
Sales	3	10	10	9	10	6	5	3	4	2	62
Percent	11	17	13	20	25	13	31	38	10	8	16

Wide Specs	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct*	Total
Specs	27	56	71	42	31	39	12	4	34	20	336
Sales	1	6	3	5	1	0	1	0	0	0	17
Percent	4	11	4	12	3	0	8	0	0	0	5

* - Through October 16.

Note: The above grids show the sales of scripts in the month they originally went out, adjusted from month to month as necessary. The below grids are a straight tally of each month's sales.

Spec Sales By Genre:

Genre (sales)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Total	% of Sales
Action		3	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	12	19
Comedy	1	2	4	4		3	1	3		1	19	31
Drama			1		4	1			1		7	11
Sci-Fi/Fantasy			2	1	2				1		6	10
Thriller	1	2	1	4	3	2	2		2		17	27

Spec Sales By Buyer:

Buyers (Studios)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Total
CBS Films						1			1		2
Disney				1						1	2
DreamWorks			2	1							3
Fox				1	1					1	3
Fox Atomic	1	1									2
Fox Searchlight			1								1
Lionsgate							2				2
MGM			1								1
Paramount			1			1			1		3
Screen Gems			1			1					2
Sony		1		1	1		1	1			5
Sony Animation				1							1
Universal		2	1					2			5
Warner Bros.		1		1	3						5

Buyers (Other)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Total
Appian Way			1								1
Alcon							1				1
Beloved					1						1
Chockstone						1					1
Dimension				1							1
The Film Dept.				1							1
Gold Circle									1		1
Imagine						1					1
Intrepid				1	1	1					3
Mandate									1		1
MRC				1							1
Montecito								1			1
National Lampoon			1								1
New Regency			1								1
Relativity					1	1			1		3
Reliance					1						1
Reliant	1										1
Sidney Kimmel		1									1
Starz Media Anim.					1						1
Summit		1									1

The one really remarkable spec sale in the past month was Relativity's purchase of Ric Roman Waugh & Michael Lerner's "Rubicon," which Waugh will direct and Atlas will produce. Nicole Clemens at ICM originally took this script out wide in March 2009.

Spec Sales by Seller:

Sellers (Agents)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Efficiency
Alpern Group						1					1/1 100%
APA							1	1			2/27 7%
Bohrman			1								1/9 11%
CAA		1	1	3	3	2		1	1		12/32 38%
Endeavor		2	2		1						5/7 71%
Gersh		1			1						2/9 22%
ICM			1	1		2	1		2		7/28 25%
Kohner	1										1/2 50%
Original Artists				2		1					3/7 43%
UTA		2	1		2		1	2	1	1	10/28 36%
WMA		2	2	3	1						8/17 47%
WME							1		1		2/17 12%

Sellers (Managers)	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Efficiency
3 Arts											1/3 33%
Abstract			1		1						2/6 33%
Anonymous					1						1/8 17%
Art/Work				1							1/2 50%
Benderspink		2		1	1						3/10 30%
Brillstein				1							1/7 14%
Category 5					1						1/1 100%
Circle of Confusion		1									2/13 15%
Epidemic			1								1/1 100%
Gotham Group					1						1/4 25%
H2F							1				1/8 13%
Hopscotch											1/1 100%
Hung				1							1/2 50%
Industry	1										1/5 20%
Justin Silvera Mgmt						1					1/1 100%
Kaplan/Perrone	1				1	1					4/11 36%
Luber/Roklin		1	1								2/4 50%
Madhouse Ent.							1				1/1 100%
Management 360						1					1/4 25%
Marty Shapiro Mgmt					1						1/1 100%
Mosaic		1									1/3 33%
Principal				1							1/6 17%
Principato/Young			1								2/7 29%
Radmin					1						1/2 50%
Rain Mgmt Group								1			1/1 100%
Tom Sawyer Ent.									1		1/2 50%
Underground				1		1					2/5 40%