Sometimes It’s the Truth

September 27, 2010 Format Lines Blurred?

The one thing is sad to know is that filmed entertainment as we know is doomed to extinction… in the coming years, too.

Yet in the present day we will still have our distinct lines of film, TV and video games for visual entertainment in the digital age. The hip call the commingling of these forms of visual entertainment. Transmedia offers a more immersive form of storytelling that allows the audience to engage in the intellectual property in a variety of ways that can satisfy lots of different appetites.

And while it’s been around for a while (done expertly with disappointing THE MATRIX trilogy, remember all the stuff that went along with it? the Animatrix animated tales – arguably better than the movies, and the website “What Is The Matrix?“), we’re about to be treated to a new version of transmedia storytelling.

The creative culprit is Stephen King and his cherished work known as The Dark Tower saga, a magnum opus if there ever was one (spanning seven books and a Marvel Comics’ series). It turns out the Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have teamed-up with their favorite scribe Akiva Goldsman to adapt King’s story of Roland the Gunslinger series in a feature film trilogy and tv series, how it’ll work is that the TV series will interlink the three films and provide all the mammoth backstory that King created to tell the tale.

This is perhaps one of the ultimate transmedia experiences that’s ever been attempted. As the film trilogy will be based on the seven novels King wrote, and dip into the Marvel Comics graphic novels that King supervised the writing on. What’s more is, I suspect that there will be other access points and information repositories that will emerge as the project gets underway. King did an exception motion comic about a year ago called The N; it was drawn by artist extraordinaire Alex Maleev (of Daredevil fame, if any cares).

It’s hard to say if Howard, who will be directing the movie and part of all the TV series, will shoot in 3D. Perhaps he should, perhaps he shouldn’t, but it would elevate the “event” nature of the project. And surely it is an event, as nothing like this has ever been tried. Although, I’ve been talking about doing something like this for close to decade (Snow Crash, anyone)… but no one likes to listen to my wild, format-bending/blending ideas (but it and other things are coming, best believe that… and you heard it hear first).

The interesting thing about transmedia projects is that find ways to capitalize on all aspects of entertainment, now if we see a Dark Tower video game for Xbox 720 and PS4 by the time the final film installment comes out, then we’ll be in the halcyon days of transmedia entertainment. As film becomes more and more banal (due to the broadcast nature that all the marketing people want), it’s less enjoyable and interesting, while TV and the Internet and video games allow for more robust storytelling and audience engagement.

The big question is whether or not King, Howard, Grazer and Goldsman really spend the creative time and energy in the non-TV & film aspects of this project to set a new benchmark.

TINSELTOWN TIP:

We’re taking a break on this TT this week, super busy putting the finishing touches on a graphic novel proposal, a sitcom pilot script and a cop drama pilot (and you thought you were busy).

September 12, 2010 Beyond Superheroes

I’m about to see Scott Pilgrim later on this week, but it made me think about superhero movies in general, and why they usually aren’t that good — even Iron Man franchise failed to impress with round two — and I think it has to do with what the genre does in the printed form and what the so-called show business executives believe the audience can handle in the multiplexes.

I ran across a few cool YouTube videos from people who believe the superhero team movies can be most exciting, below is “Premake” version of The Avengers (the Marvel superhero team that they’re building up the movies to actually make maybe for release in 2014 or something).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fCTokuOU_E]

Very cool, right? And I SERIOUSLY have to applaud the guys who cut this together and did all the retro titling and visual effects, kudus guys, serious kudos. The fact the the Skrulls are the arch-nemesis in this “possible” film is fantastic… although studio brass probably wouldn’t have the Skrulls be the villains… at least not a conventional studio; Marvel — with its own money and control of the properties — could get all cosmic with the audience and really do something impressive. We will see.

However, comic books aren’t the only place where creative concepts can be pillaged and turned into Hollywood big-budget money makers for the marketing and merchandising arms of various companies. Hasbro, the toy company, is going balls-out to make its treasure trove of games and toys more relevant to the modern audience. They had some hits and misses (hits being the Transformers franchise, misses being that awful G.I. Joe movie, which apparently they’re doing a sequel to… WTF? get a new director at least).

When I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s, I used to love watching Thundercats… this odd-ball cartoon of humanoid cats on a jungle planet fighting against extinction. So I was tickled pink when I saw that some like-minded fans put together this fictional trailer of a Thundercats Movie!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb50GMmY5nk&hd=1]

Far out! Lion-o, Panthro, they’re all there! This would be super-cool, if anyone had the balls to make

The late 70s and early 80s was the last fertile period in creating original programming for the preteen and teen audience (I dare you to challenge me on this), and there were tons of cartoons and non-superhero comics and toys that can be revived in the day and age of “we don’t want anything that doesn’t have built in marketing potential” projects for Hollywood.

The Hughes Brothers, fresh off the success of the Denzel Washingtonvehicle, BOOK OF ELI are tackling the japanese manga comic that kick-started to appeal of anime into the stratosphere in America – AKRIA; originally done as a huge, series of comic/manga’s by the legendary master Otomo, Akira was produced as a movie in the late 80s/early 90s… in some truncated form that robbed the richness of the story. Manga/Anime was growing by the year with the underground success of such Japanese imports as Battle of the Planets, Voltron, Starblazers and the mega-Robotech saga… all these properties, and then some, are also ripe for conversion into live action movies or maybe even TV shows… Smallville, Battlestar Galactica and some other projects have shown that projects perform better in the long format of TV.

In fact, since HBO is an arm of Time-Warner, which also owns DC Comics… the fact that there are no Vertigo books transformed in to TV series is criminal. I know they tried with Preacher and Fables, but since they’re not going ahead with those projects, I’m just scratching my head – Preacher IS a TV series that could easily rival “True Blood”… although the religious tones and lampooning of the Catholic Church could easily make some sphincters clench too tight… that’s probably the case, but it’s HBO… not TV! And NBC was responsible for ordering a script for Fables… and we all know how much NBC likes to take programming risks, particularly over the last three or four seasons!

Ah… to consider the possibilities.

TINSELTOWN TIPS:

#3 - Know It Cold… Everyone who comes to Hollywood to make a movie or a TV show probably has ONE good idea, the heavy-hitters have at least four million dollar ideas, but they also have the ability to select greatness from the detritus. Odd thing is, most people who have a GREAT idea, don’t have it fashioned into a great story that everyone else can latch on to.

Besides learning the technique of what Hollywood-style storytelling is all about (read Robert McKee’s books if you want, but I feel that Lajos Ergi’s book is more interesting and perhaps Blake Snyder’s entry into the field of screenwriting manuals is the most pertinent), you have to know exactly how the structure of your particular genre works, how to properly arc your character and to make the theme work seamlessly and without hitting one over the head with that message. Even with being super-proficient with these requirements, you still need to have story credibility.

As filmmakers and TV show creators, we are in the business of lying… but lying for a good cause! Entertainment is a necessity, and in order to effectively lie, i.e. be entertaining, you want to have the goods and that means doing the right research or talking with other people who can provide that right piece of insight that will illuminate your story so that you easily suspend disbelief and engage the viewer with aplomb. An exceptionally good like is 90% truth… “Fringe” is a success, because the creative team makes damn well sure that the outrageous happenings on that show appear to be based on true fact (or actually are based on cutting edge science and research. “The Wire” was so palpable, because David Simon and Ed Burns LIVED the details of those cops v. robbers stories that breath life (a hard-bitten life) into that show.

Research is perhaps the easiest thing to do, but is maybe the most neglected, which is funny because it only adds to your story’s authenticity immeasurably… how you use that research is part of what makes you good a spinning a yarn that is quickly woven into a deep and expressive tapestry that has everyone marveling over it.

Actors, let me rephrase that, quality actors do a lot of research — they study people or activities. Best believe that Maggie Q and did Lyndsy Fonesca weapons and fighting research/training prior to and continuing throughout the production of the new “Nikita“… and it pays off, chicks with guns kicking ass never looked so good!

As entertainers we actually owe it to our employers — the audience — not to spit upon their collective intelligence. David Mamet has a mantra, the audience is always head of you (something like that)… so therefore you want to be entertaining and smart to even hope to catch up with them…

August 30, 2010 A Question of Aesthetics…

I just saw the movie CAIRO TIME the other night at the Sunset 5 (haven’t been there in years, and it’s sad to not have the Virgin Megastore there to occupy my time before or after the movie). CAIRO TIME is the film starring luminous actress Patricia Clarkson.

What kept bugging me in this film was the cinematography; it was drab in its rendition of the vibrant colors of Cairo… and that was too bad, because I can’t recall the last time American audiences even saw Cairo on-screen… at least not a modern Cairo, and the city looked pretty damn modern to me with these fantastic bridges that spanned across the Nile River… yeah, the fuq’ing Nile! And it looked huge, but then again its the second largest river on the planet and it must be at least mile (maybe more) across as it cuts through the middle of Egypt’s capital. It was stunning, and yet it didn’t seem any more impressive than say the Ohio River because it wasn’t photographed to impress.

As emotionally powerful as CAIRO TIME was, the film is hampered by the uninspired photography… it tells me nothing ADDITIONAL about the story. Fellini once said that when the cinematography is wrong, it’s like writing a sentence with the adjectives out of order. That quote has stuck with me for YEARS… and it irks me when I have to use it in a sentence describing something I would have already liked.

Essentially the film was aesthetically imbalanced, and how does work for an enjoyable cinematic experience? It doesn’t… but go see the film anyway, support indie film in the theaters (and quit downloading with BitTorrents and what not!).

There’s a DoP Malik Sayeed, who rarely works in feature films, but he did do Spike Lee’s CLOCKERS and Hype Williams’ BELLY, and Sayeed has this super-rich, densely saturated color palette that he facilely works with, which imbues all his projects with a sheer radiance of a new world… if Sayeed had shot CAIRO TIME, the movie could be having award talk already… Sayeed’s composition and style and understanding of how light in integral in telling a visual story would have made a more memorable impression. Sayeed has a specific and identifiable aesthetic (I mean, if you’ve seen BELLY then you know what I’m talking about) that is unequivocal in its execution and emotionally delivery. A true artisan, artist and master of his craft.

Aesthetics are important to communicating your idea and your distinctive voice. I recently got a call from TV producer/showrunner Glen Mazzara regarding a pilot script that my brother and I just finished (if you’ve been reading this blog, then you know I met Glen at a WGA function and cajoled him into reading my spec pilot). Glen had nothing but great feedback about the script, pointing out that, “[your] style is slick, fast-paced and energetic” and that those showrunners coming from features will no doubt respond to the writing. He went on to say that Frank Darabont (showrunner of the upcoming AMC drama “The Walking Dead” based on the comic book series), Craig Silverstein, who revamped “La Femme Nikita” and Kurt Sutter (creator of “Sons of Anarchy“) are going to like the aesthetics of our writing, because of the emotional, visceral style that we’ve developed over the years.

I can give you a handle of feature scripts that after reading them, I wanted our writing to have the same type of visual & emotional impact… not that I was copying those scripts style, but we thoroughly understood what the did as technique and it expanded the way in which we approached our work.

We developed a writing aesthetic, but it’s important in creating a “brand”, and while the term was used this way back when Francois Truffaut was writing for Cahiers du Cinema, when he and Godard and the others coined the “auteur theory” of filmmaking they were talking about a film director’s specific brand, that aesthetic style he or she was distinctively known for. As consumers of cinema, even connoisseurs, we respond to and remember the “brand” of a certain filmmaker’s style and that’s why we avidly go see certain filmmakers, reader certain novelists, or watch certain TV shows… the brand aesthetic was affecting.

How are you developing your own aesthetic, your own brand as a commodity in the entertainment industry?

TINSELTOWN TIP #2

Act Like Pro… or Die Trying… Why is this important? It should be obvious, but this is matter of using your discerning eye to get a feeling for what is expected in this most visual of company towns. Reputation is nearly everything (what trumps it? I’m hoping you’ll tell me)… so you have to orchestrate your reputation at every possible turn, encounter and whisper.

You also need to cultivate and design your image, your visual presentation to the creative community. Why is this important? Because you MUST project an image of success, cultivation, strength, confidence, professionalism, and well-manicured… and you also gotta hang around with people who share the same care of the proper aesthetic.

Part of this is having a mailing address in one of the key communities in the City (we all know which one these are). Even in today’s age, where most people don’t get things back snail mail any more (except for scripts and books to read for consideration, plus I want people to read my scripts on printed 96 lbs paper, not on their computer screen F– that noise, read my script and don’t get distracted by email or some YouTube video… do that on your free time, not the time you’re affording me, ’cause you’re cheating both of us, aren’t you?).

And I hate to subscribe to the notion of having a “fashionable” car, but yeah, it’s important… a Prius (or an upcoming Volt) says a lot, more than a Mercedes or BMW. The Town is too conscious of “what do you drive?” for you not to at least take it seriously… and that might just mean keeping your Mini Cooper or your Honda Accord in the best shape — aesthetically as possible.

Creative types should wear at least ONE piece of expensive as sh*t article of clothing or accessory (something super-hip also works) to any meeting with Suits… it shows that you’re successful at doing something to avoid.

Lastly, while all of this is artifice, it is absolutely NOT a substitute for having The Goods, the talent need to break through the mediocrity that is in over-abundance in the entertainment industry.

Now, you gotta ask yourself, do all these aesthetic trifles mean a lot post-Recession? Of course they do, because a lot of people are STILL working… I don’t see any less programming on TV, in fact there’s more now that AMC is ramping up its development slate in the wake of the success of Mad Men (which is a show where sartorial aesthetics are paramount).

So that’s it for this week, more next week when I discuss The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and other bouts of startling creativity.

Click Here to read Tip #1.

August 25, 2010 Lessons from the Trenches

I was at Writers Guild panel called “Writing Your Best TV Spec”, hosted by NAACP Image Award-winning writer Anthony Sparks (writer on J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Undercovers) and the panelists included sci-fi/fantasy star Jane Epsenson (fan-favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse), rough-n-tumble writer Glen Mazzara (of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Life – great show that is missed and The Shield), Carol Flint (of The Unit and Royal Pains), Luvh Rakhe (Life as We Know It and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and Ron Rappaport (Date My Mom and I’m In The Band).

All these writers imparted excellent wisdom regarding how to “up your game” and engage readers, executives and showrunners — those who can give you a job in the TV game. The idea being that you have to “write your way into the business” and that you can’t rely on the various programs, which handicap you to some extent (at least that’s the vibe that I got from these writers).

Jane and Carol were keen to point out that you must have your own voice as a writer, in that you gotta be able to do something on the page that is specifically you and you have to tell stories are an extension of you and your beliefs… not necessary what you “know”, but what you “can do” — big difference in my book.

Jane told an anecdote that Joss Whedon used to always say on Buffy; in the midsts of putting all the great stuff up on the Story Board and the permutations of show and how exciting it was gonna be, Joss would say, “why are we telling this story, guys? What is this episode about?” As if to say, what are we TRYING to say about the human condition as writers with these characters, so are fans are more than entertained, they are engaged… that’s why Buffy was such a strong show and why the fans dug is so tough. These questions help you focus your writing so it has more emotional resonance.

Glen had some great advice (he actually came with talking points, which was super cool) on what Shows you should be spec’ing and why! Glen also said that we needed to knock out at least two specs by January 2011 for the upcoming staffing season. The two specs can be used to get you new reps, but also to extend your reputation as a writer — because if you were to write a spec Glee (which is ENTIRELY possible), it might get you working on Modern Family, but not Hawaii 5-0. So you better have a a Mad Men for that…

Writing two specs over the next four months might seem like a huge undertaking, but if you were writing on a show — past the staff writer level, you’d probably have to write at that pace, so that workload was Glen challenging us to be better writers, to become more proficient writers and to test our mettle as writers. Right now we’re working on a Sons of Anarchy and Tangent, an original pilot (it seems that a lot of people — agents, execs and showrunners — want to see what you can do with original material) and another spec pilot… a comedy.

At the end of the panel, I got to press the flesh with the panelists, which is part of the reason of going to these intimate panels (something like 20 people were there) and I was able to get a meeting with Anthony Sparks and asked Glen Mazzara if he would read one of our pilots (he said “I can’t say yes, send it to me, and if I read it and like I’ll get back to you”). I wanted to talk with Jane and Carol, as they wrote on some of my favorite shows (Buffy, The Unit and BSG), but they had disappeared in the aftermath.

The meeting with Anthony (a few days later) went well, and he had an interesting story to tell about how he got into the business. He was acting in New York and writing plays, and was able to get an agent and then landed a job on The District shortly afterwards. His advice was to make the writing work for you, and obtain the best possible representation as he had to change agents after he failed to staff on a show after The District.

We sent Glen our script, hoping that he would read it and get back, but we knew that he was in the middle of gearing up for Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and that it was a long-shot that he’d read the spec pilot. Yet he called today, and said that he really enjoyed in… the writing was in a slick style that had its own voice (which was good to hear) and he provided some ideas of showrunners who he knew would respond to the writing (so we’re addressing those submissions now).

Perseverance is key… as the luck will happen, if you make it a point to be better than good at what you do.

TINSELTOWN TIPS:

#1 — Control The Phone Call… here’s something that most people don’t think about, but it is highly important to utilize this tip. We all know how important it is to stay in contact with people (phone and/or email), and when you are actually talking on the phone with someone of note, you need to make sure that you are the one who ends the phone call first.

Ok, so you’re asking why is this important? Because it subtly indicates that you have a lot on your plate that you need to take care of, and when you’re busy it’s because you’re successful (or steadily working on being successful). Second, you have the power if you control how longer you’re on the phone, and power is a perceived thing in the entertainment industry. Also, you don’t want to blow your wad in one phone call, you want to leave them wanting more, so that’s another reason why you gotta end the phone call first.

The trick is learning how to expertly do this, so you don’t sound rude or come across like a prick/asshole. ’Cause if it seems like you’re blowing someone off, or even if they perceive that you are… then you’ve fuq’d up and no one wants that. You might have to develop some canned responses for getting off the phone in a way that makes you look busy, but humble… or maybe you genuinely have some truly important stuff to handle, either way do it with class, but with no panache. Be grateful for the phone call (as you should be), and get on to doing what you need to do. Even if you don’t have something to do, find something to do that will advance your career.

June 30, 2010 TV Panel Recap

The Wednesday Night – Breaking In To TV Panel was a smashing success. Moderator Dan Abrams deftly directed the discussion between comic writer extraordinaire Alessia Costantini (Scrubs), Fox21 executive Brad Holcman, Agent Dennis Kim, executive producer Bill Prady (Big Bang Theory) and executive producer Scott Rosenbaum (The Shield, Chuck and V).

As someone who is getting his feet wet in TV these days (movies are so “safe” they’re in a straightjacket), this Panel was exciting, invigorating and inspirational. Abrams started the discuss with an incisive question about what you can learn from a book or a class about writing for TV… This became an interesting part of the discussion, and as it turned out there are no books that can help you become a better writer (or a better artist in any field for that matter), but this is a given. Studying the work that is successful, carefully studying that work, turned out to be the consensus means of cultivating whatever talent you may or may not have.

Bill Prady and Scott Rosenbaum, two lauded and esteemed showrunners, has tremendous advice and information to layout. Brad Holcman made some interesting observations about how he can’t watch TV with his

wife, and made a great statement about what makes great writing — great writings is effortless to read. Think about that… great writing IS effortless to read.

I’ll take a look at some of the books on my shelf and make a quick judgement:

Salman Rushdie’s THE GROUND BENEATH HER FEET, amazingly easy to read, and

Johannes von Goethe’s FAUST, maybe a little challenging, but it’s an 18th century play, and it is informative and enriching, and eye-opening about humanity’s fate and quest for ever-more elusive knowledge.

One of the most intriguing moments of the evening was a kernel of work knowledge that Scott Rosenbaum shared from his time as writer and producer on the critically-acclaimed and dramatically ruthless “The Shield”; he talked about how Shawn Ryan had a method for breaking stories. The stories didn’t get birthed from a cool concept, but from what the emotional arc of the character(s) was going to be for that episode, and then shape the story around that emotional and psychological journey… which is the core of successful TV anyway — get your audience invested in the characters and they’ll come back week after week, month after month, year after year.

Being an exceptional TV writer is about recognizing what exceptional storytelling is, and being about to contribute effectively and HELP the showrunner and/or creator bring the show to life week-to-week with vibrant ideas and

A true collaborator adds input when it’s need and looks to revise someone else’s work — in the room — when they have a solution. It doesn’t do anybody any good to just shoot down ideas without having a substitution… that demonstrates that you understand the intention and have a new twist that can be better…. the politics of a writers room is very unique to each situation, but knowing the hierarchy is critical and knowing how to contribute effectively (not stepping on anyone’s toes or looking to show off or upstage anyone) is how you’ll build a reputation of a great person to have on the staff. All this needs to be underscored by having exceedingly good, high quality writing ability and storytelling sense. Recognizing cliches, the easy joke, the easy dramatic twist and KNOWING why it’s the easy choice is what will make you a great writer and storyteller.

HOLLYWOOD MAXIM #12 – Read Everything

What’s necessary to succeed in Hollywood, on the creative side of things, is to have a great, razor-sharp recognition of good storytelling. Scott Rosenbaum stated that every year the New York Times lists its 50 greatest books for that year, and he makes it a point to read all those books. Now that’s dedication to understanding what is good writing, because if you have any talent at all, you’ll increase your talent by osmosis. The thing about incessant reading of quality material is that you’ll being to learn what is good storytelling and what is slop; and if you’re good, you’ll learn it quickly so you can become a better storyteller. See, storytelling – whether it’s the joke, the long con, the dramatic piece, the prestige… is all about getting your point of view conveyed in a unique way that everyone can easily understand, but still recognize as fresh and exciting.

One of the things about reading everything is reading the Trades (The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Nikki Finke’s Deadline blog), which is a given, but you should also find a friend at an agency and get them to send you copies of the scripts that are selling or that people are talking about, because you’ll get to see the ideas that other creatives are generating and you’ll should immediately recognize why people’s panties are in a bunch over the work.

I could give you a list of informative, revealing and inspiring screenplays, send me an email at cinemaalchemist@hotmail.com, and I’ll get back to you with a list of my personal favorites.

June 9, 2010 Get It Right

by Christopher Derrick

I can’t wait to see Iron Man 2, and only because Iron Man was one of the top five comic book/action films of all-time. Sure, that might not be saying much considering that most comic book-inspired films are bad, barely watchable and rip to shreds to the mythology (can you imagine the producers taking wholesale liberties with the Harry Potter books?

Now Kick-Ass is supposed to be a.. well, kick-ass comic book movie, but it’s kind of easy to see why — skip the fact that Mark Millar is one of the best comic writers over the last decade — because Kick-Ass doesn’t have the “this has franchise potential” scribbled all over it. Which is the case with Batman, Superman, Spiderman, The X-Men, Hulk, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, Fantastic Four and Green Lantern… conveniently controlled by the major Hollywood studios (with slight exceptions).

The most obvious mistake any producer can make when getting a screenwriter with perhaps a decade of monthly stories to draw from is for a superhero action film is doing the “origin story” as the initial story of the first film in what may or may not be a franchise. When I, and probably 10 million other kids, picked up my first Batman comic book, I didn’t learn how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Maybe after reading 10 or 12 issues and digging in the white boxes at my local comic store to get some back issues, I was able to piece together that the murder of Wayne’s parents put him on a path of revenge that ended up with him becoming The Batman.

What would arguably be the better “starting off point” of comic book film is to start in the middle of some action, where the hero is already the hero and he’s battling a menace. And then have a new powerful villain rise up and

Origins are unimportant. Let me say that again, origins are unimportant, and mainly because they reveal the secret motivation of the character. ANY actor worth his or her salt will tell you that having a secret gives you so much power as a actor, it increases your ability to surprise yourself, your fellow actors and the audience (which includes the director and the writer)… and you cannot under any uncertain terms tell anyone that secret until maybe the end of the film or maybe never.

See, getting it right is all about expertly serving the core concept, and using that great idea that sparked everything as the primary guidepost when ever you might think that you’re getting lost in the overwhelming details (and there are overwhelming details on every project… don’t kid yourself). I mean, think about why you got excited about the idea in the first place? (besides the financial reasons, and if that was the primary reason, then you’ll never get it right… just not possible). Everyone has a story that they love, and

Recent examples of NOT getting it right – the 4th Indiana Jones film, the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy (all the wonder of the first trilogy mythology and the rich universe was sent to a septic tank), Superman Returns, Wolverine, and Fox TV’s The Human Target..

Recent examples of getting it right – J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek; now you might not like the take the creative team had on rebooting the creaky, nearly 40 year old franchise, Another example of getting it right? Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig. Bond was showing its age when Pierce Bronson took over the early 90s, but he was well past his expiration date by the time Craig took up the 007 moniker (and the Bourne franchise did pimp slap Ian Fleming’s super spy). With Craig in the titular role, it became more of a testosterone charged spy thriller with the sex, physicality and impeccable stunt work that were the hallmarks of the Bond under Sean Connery.

Getting it right, perhaps is just a matter of subjective opinion, but (and this is a HUGE “but”), filmed entertainment is our new religion. We battle and judge and rejoice and bond with people over film and TV the way the Lutherans and the Catholics tussled over subjective interpretation of the (flawed) Gospels! And it’s particularly true in Hollywood creative circles…

INSTRUCTIONS:

POP ART:
If you’re at all into comic books, graphic novels, stories told with pictures then you need to pick up Joshua Dysart‘s re-imagining of The Unknown Soldier, currently being published by DC/Vertigo.

Set in 2002 in war torn Uganda, this version of The Unknown Soldier is a gripping indictment of the African Wars and the way the West has abused the Motherland since “discovering” it back in the days of exploration and exploitation.

The Unknown Soldier comes to life in the form of Ugandan-born/American-raised Dr. Moses, who returns to his homeland of Uganda after 25 years to help heal the pain, and he is caught up in the bloody conflict that still divides the nation.

I started reading the first trade paperback last night, and had to read the whole thing before turning out the lights. It’s compelling, unflinching and dramatically poignant in the way it handles real world politics and history in way that a film like BLOOD DIAMOND could only dream of being.

One of the things I did about Unknown Soldier is the politico-economic story that is told could NOT be as effectively told in any other medium. TV and Film wouldn’t be so unflinching, the producers would cave, and it would have to be at most rated R for distribution purposes… and a prose novel, might not put the images of the slaughter in your face so nearly as well and a photojournalistic essay might have same a similar visual visceral impact as the graphic novel, but the narrative drive and the smart way that Dysart weaves in the history and politics of the region would surely be absent. So the only place to “get it right” is in the comic book/graphic novel format.
Check it out.

BOOKS:
In this day and age of teen vampires and teen werewolves, I try to keep an eye out for the next hot horror aspect aimed at teens and young adults. And I found in Ehrich Van Lowe’s Never Slow Dance With A Zombie.

Van Lowe’s always raised my eyebrow with the variety of writing projects that he’s done and was currently involved with, so when there was a book reading by the author at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip, I had to go book hits the shelves last Fall I put it on my “read this now” list… unfortunately, that’s a long list and I only recently go to it (after the phenomenal Games People Play). It was worth the wait. Van Lowe establishes a new paradigm of horror creature in the teen genre; there’s something that reminds me of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” in the way the characters accept the arrival of zombies to their high school.

The zombie genre, only a scant 40 years old, is shopworn and exhausted… unless you Get It Right and find a fresh take on it. Van Lowe does that; the high school setting (a staple for horror since the mid 80s, yet not always explored with zombies) gives the characters a level of additional angst and insecurity that is delightful.

FILM & TV:
I’m writing a script for a director right now (it’s poised to go into production in the Fall) that deals with Pacific Islander culture, and I was looking at some the Australian films from the late 70s that introduced the aborigines to world cinema audiences, and I always remember hearing and reading about Peter Weir’s THE LAST WAVE.

So I decided to check it out… well worth the time invested (which is more and more precious these days). Richard Chamberlain gives a powerful and impressive performance in this spiritual supernatural disaster film, and the aborigine culture is handle deftly. Peter Weir has always been a favorite director – Witness, A Year Of Living Dangerously, Master and Commander – so this early effort is worth the inspection.

March 28, 2010 Hodgepodge, Installment One

Sometimes my mind races all over the place I can’t focus enough on one subject to get much of anything completed… like today, I have to write some freelance fitness articles for a website, and I have to finish up a sci-fi pilot that I’m working on, and then think about website design for my new site, and I have this feature I want to write, and I came across these cool pictures on Flickr.com where the photograph broke down what her lighting set-up was to achieve the sublime lighting in her photographs (great tidbits of knowledge)… and yet there’s not enough time in the day to handle these things… or maybe I’m not designing my day correctly!!!

I don’t know where to begin, so I’m writing this blog entry to help me straighten my head out. So I turn on my iTunes and try to find some music to get me in the mood. I need some new music though. Confoundingly, I wasn’t at South By Southwest this year (nor have I ever gone, but I plan to ONE DAY)… anyway, NPR was gracious enough to provide me with an 11-Song Sampler of some of the most-touted new music that was going debut there… on the sampler was a track from the new Danger Mouse project BROKEN BELLS, a collaboration with the lead singer of The Shins. The CD is stellar… go buy it now (there’s an Amazon link below, so please buy it that way, don’t steal it… who are you ultimately hurting by stealing the music via torrents? you, yourself the aspiring artist, that’ who!)

So Broken Bells starts me off, and I can begin… at least begin writing this entry.

I watched the first installment of HBO’s The Pacific last night… I was engaged and the seeming star James Badge Dale, who I first saw a few seasons ago on Fox’s 24 , did a compelling job to bring into the head of the G.I.Joes headed to Tokyo. And while I’ve heard some people criticize the project for not being as action-packed as Band of Brothers, I feel those statements are victim of “selective memory syndrome”, because the first part of Band of Brothers was just Easy Company training, preparing to go to Normandy for the D-Day Invasion — it wasn’t Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan-lite. In fact, the first two episodes of Band of Brothers had us growing to hate the David Schwimmer character, the asshole training officer, not injecting us deep in the thick of the shit! Whereas The Pacific put us on Guadalcanal and had a stark night battle with the Japanese at its core… what the show does a marvelous job at doing, is showing how American soldiers had NO idea about the ideological warriors and warfare that they were going to face over the next three years.

The one thing that irked me about watching The Pacific on TimeWarnef OnDemand is that while I have an HD screen with HD channels for my premium cable, the OnDemand wasn’t full HD!!! The image didn’t fill up the big 46 inch screen that dominates my living room! What gives TimeWarner? That’s piss poor! Now you’re making me record the show on my DVR and take up precious space, when I was hoping to watch the OnDemand versions of the show… such a serious problem. I wonder if DirecTv has similar non-HD OnDemand issues?

All those ads championing TimeWarner HD over satellite are perhaps premature and/or downright misleading. Especially when HD shows gobble up space on the DVR like the Cookie Monster in a Mrs. Fields store just before closing time.

RECOMMENDATION

I can’t recommend any movies of late… although I hear The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is stellar… obviously the impending Hollywood remake will be a compromised piece of pop corn… and mainly because the Four Quadrant dictum prevents such challenging projects from coming out the Dream Factory anymore…

March 28, 2010 Everyplace At Once

Scarlet Johanson at The Black Widow
So I was trying to find some production stills from Iron Man 2, as I wanted to write something about what’s up with Marvel now that Disney owns them… and I came across some images of Scarlet Johansson juxtaposed with comic images of The Black Window, the female super-spy that she’s playing in the movie, and I was wondering how she’s going to make the accent work. Also, I wondering why Jon Favereau and the producers didn’t select an Eastern European actress (of which there are many who might fit the part better).

Coincidentally, the same day, a friend was playing the Pete Yorn & Scarlet Johansson CD (The Break Up), which has subsequently been getting heavy rotation on my stereo. Yes, I still have a stereo, because I ardently care about how music sounds… not just that I’m listening to it… and mp3s and the mini-speakers that most computers use don’t have the dynamic range that I grew accustomed to after spending months selecting the perfect speakers (for my price range, at the time circa 1994)… I have these speakers by Cambridge SoundWorks that are small, stand-alone tweeters with separate left and right channel bass units that really do music justice.

Anyway, I was thinking about Johansson and Yorn’s project, and it made me think about all those other oddball actor-turn-signer projects… the most hilarious that comes to mind is the William Shatner stuff from the late 60s, but while there is something a little un-nuanced (if that’s a turn of phrase that I can use) about Johansson’s acting voice… what the engineers did for the record is really good. The concept behind the record is an updating (of sorts) of the Serge Gainsbourg and Bridgette Bardot recordings from the late 60s, during the Nouvelle Vague period of French cultural export (all we have now is Audrey Tatou and her shilling for Chanel… that’s a cool ass ad, btw, at least the full two-minute version is).

I wonder how much more will see of Johansson in the coming months as the world counts down the unveiling of IRON MAN 2?

February 25, 2010 Fox’s Animation… Subversive At Its Best

Have you been watching F/X’s “Archer“?

If you haven’t you need to, as Fox has successfully done subversive adult animation again. Whether you believe it or not, what mass communication content creators can get away with in terms of racy content as it is somehow more palatable when it’s done as animation that with live-action. Fox’s “The Simpsons” has been proving that point for over 20 years, and you see it with “Family Guy”, “King of the Hill” and now with “Archer.”

Although, Archer takes things to a new level (hence the reason why it’s on F/X, not Fox during its animation block on Sunday nights). “Archer” is a spy satire/raunchy office comedy of the highest order, where the razor-sharp and pitch perfect barbs, quips and banter is quintessential early 21st century comedy.

The vocal talent on Archer is amazing, it perfectly matches the racy, raunchy and ribald script’s by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson. Archer, the lead agent at I.S.I.S. is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, who portrayed Ben on the amazing squiggle-vision Comedy Central animated series “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist” that is a seriously under-the-radar bit of sitcom-esque comedy that will make you laugh over and over again. Benjamin/Archer captures the blue comedy and outrageous worldview/tone that the whole series takes in every episode with such adroitness and aplomb that you almost feel that he was born to play this role (as some actors are, just ask Nancy Cartwright about Bart Simpson). Aisha Tyler inhabits the role of sexually aggressive, yet frustrated Lana like its her second skin.

Archer is so blatanly political incorrect that it hurts; such ribald office antics as “bang or kill”, in which the two young women who work in I.S.I.S. HQ decide who they would have sex with or kill ranks right up there with the most insidious antics of Michael Scott (Steve Carrel) on “The Office”, but much of boorish and rude. It’s the type of in-your-face/unapologetic humor that taps into the … that everyone doesn’t want to admit to, but secretly chuckles at. The waaaay outside the coloring lines off-color nature of this series is what makes it fun to watch.

Check it out – DVR or better yet when it airs!

RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK

So this week I watched the second season of the TNT drama “Saving Grace”, which is one of the most impressive shows that I’m catching late in the game. Saving Grace is about a Oklahoma City Homicide Detective Grace Anna-Darko, who is saddled with a “Last Chance Angel” Earl in the pilot. Earl looks to change Grace’s flight into the abyss trajectory, but with an indirect hand. I charged through the first season of this Holly Hunter starrer (and she’s never been better) over a weekend when I was sick back in December (isn’t that what DVD is for?). And while the subject matter seems like it would be religious (i.e. boring and preachy), showrunner/Executive Prodcuer Nancy Miller, who was recently profiled in the WGA magazine Written By, has compiled a diverse writing staff to create a show about redemption that is as layered and intricately plotted as the best TV dramas — without making ANY kind of religious statements.

As a late night TNT show, Saving Grace pulls no punches with its frank depiction of sexuality and human fraility, and Holly Hunter’s Grace Anna-Darko is one of the best written characters I’ve seen (male or female). In the season 2 finale, Bokeem Woodbine displays acting talent that I’ve never seen from him, and it’s most compelling and heart-breaking.

I don’t know if they’re coming back with this show (as its supposed to be too expensive for a 10pm show), and it would be sad not see where Miller and her crack team of writers plan on taking Grace. Order up the DVDs on Netflix and enjoy something that’s much more than a “cop show.”

Also, I have to plug the musical group QUADRON… I started hearing their music late last year on KCRW, . Check out their MySpace page, and give them a listen. I received a free CD from them (as the CD isn’t available in the US yet, but you can buy the album on iTunes… either way, support them.

February 7, 2010 I Was A Teenage Zombie…?

I talked a lot about getting it right (in fact that’s going to be an upcoming column), and while I from time-to-time look to plug creator’s work that I find interesting, and think that you will, too, I usually reserve those discussions to movies.

However, in light of the spate of teenage vampire movies, books, TV shows and comic books that never seem to cease production (is Twilight really this generations Star Wars?), I’m wondering has someone have something else to say to that same audience that wants humor and teen angst?

Luck would have it, Ehrich Van Lowe does have something to say in his book Never Slow Dance With a Zombie. Last fall, I was at the Van Lowe’s reading of Never Slow Dance at Book Soup on The Sunset Strip. And I was sucked in by the tone, characters and comedy, and while all the books for the reading (and signing afterwards) were sold, I picked up a copy on Amazon and meant to read it. But it sat on my stack of “to read soon” books, until after the holidays…

Never Slow Dance brings us into the life of Margot Jean Johnson and her best friend Sybil Mulcahy, two nobodies at their school. But they’re not just nobodies, they’re the object of ridicule by the likes of Amanda Culpepper and the Twigettes (her Mean Girls-esque mindless followers) and they are the bane of Margot and Sybil’s existence.

Margot is one of those teenage girls with big ideas, in fact she actually has a manifesto…. and that is to become more popular that Amanda Culpepper, have a boyfriend (natch!), be invited to parties (so she can turn some down), and like eight other things that she doesn’t have but desperately wants.

Now things take a radical turn for Margot when all of her classmates turn into zombies after the school carnival, except for Sybil (gotta have a best friend in times of need). Beleaguered Principal Taft convinces Margot and Sybil to pretend that everything is “A-OK” and that they can coexist peacefully with the zombies.

But the question burning up Margot’s brain is, “Who is behind the outbreak?” And the Margot wonders should she try to figure out what’s going on or bask in her newfound popularity?

Never Slow Dance is a fun, breezy read, think of it as a blend of MEAN GIRLS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Van Lowe has the teenage girl voice down to a science, and this is impressive because not many men really know (or care to know) how girls interact with each other. What Van Lowe does is pull back the veil on the verbal icy daggers that teenage girls throw at each other with impunity. Also Van Lowe explores the weird social dynamic between friends, both when they get along and when they don’t.

The popular crowd is full of false relationships (which we’ve seen before, and yet it’s always a joy to see people’s duplicity), and that’s surprising is how Margot takes on this trait — after she becomes popular — with Sybil. It’s takes skill and talent to have your main character do reprehensible things, but understand why and accept it.

Never Slow Dance is filled with laugh-out loud moments, like when you discover that one of the defenses against The Undead was to pop them upside the nose with a rolled up newspaper. The dynamic between Margot and her zombie boyfriend Dirk is creepy and funny. Just the fact that Principal Taft resorts to begging to get Margot and Sybil to co-sign his plan and they actually go along with it is pretty amusing.

To save the day, Margot and Sybil have to break out of the cliques and do the right thing, so that’s the book’s ultimate message — do what’s right for you and ignore what’s so-called “cool.” And this makes Never Slow Dance With A Zombie is different than many books of this genre (teen horror), because it DOES have sometime to say.

Pick it up, and have good time.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pop Culture: TNT’s “SouthLAnd”, I can’t get enough of this show. I love cop shows, but this entry by John Wells (at least by his production company) is stellar, and first rate. Maybe the best cop show since THE WIRE, in terms of complexity of story, pathos and exploration of thanatos among cops ‘n robbers — not to mention its shot really well with a bleach-bypass palette (bravo for doing that!). NBC should never have let this get away, as TNT does these so very good.

Written Word: “Games People Play” this psychology book, written as an research manual for psychotherapist students breaks down the 36 “games” that people play with each other time and time again, the world over — regardless of class, color, genre, creed, faith, wealth level, country of origin! Dr. Berne, the author, outlines and gives detailed explanation of the reasons why people play games… and it comes down to intimacy issues and insecurity issues. So many of our self-sabotaging problems are rooted in these two theme, and we create all these machinations to avoid getting close to someone or revealing who we really are or confront issues that hit us in the core. Most recommended… but a bitch to read, hey it’s a scholarly book from the 60s, when people were expected to read, be well read and understand the value of information.

Filmed Entertainment: so I came across of VHS tape of Christopher Nolan’s first feature, the B&W gem FOLLOWING. Have you seen this film? I figure most people haven’t, as Nolan broke out of the box with MEMENTO and never looked back — his career is most impressive, his last four films have been knock-outs (THE PRESTIGE so super-underrated by people, yet perhaps is his most brilliant work). This is another altered perception movie… much like this summer’s hotly anticipated INCEPTION (god, July is such a long time from now). But check this little piece of stellar filmmaking.

September 27, 2010 Format Lines Blurred?

TINSELTOWN TIP:

September 12, 2010 Beyond Superheroes

TINSELTOWN TIPS:

August 30, 2010 A Question of Aesthetics…

TINSELTOWN TIP #2

August 25, 2010 Lessons from the Trenches

TINSELTOWN TIPS:

June 30, 2010 TV Panel Recap

June 9, 2010 Get It Right

March 28, 2010 Hodgepodge, Installment One

March 28, 2010 Everyplace At Once

February 25, 2010 Fox’s Animation… Subversive At Its Best

February 7, 2010 I Was A Teenage Zombie…?

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