Almost literally...nothing to speak of. Lots of writing but I can't talk about that. I have a stage audition coming up but I won't talk about that. Can't jinx it.

I'm just stopping in to say I just watched AvP:R and wtf, mate? Argh! Why do movies want to hurt me so? It wasn't awful. It certainly wasn't great. It was nothing more than a good popcorn movie, meant to watch for eye candy alone and nothing like plot or character really matter. That's fine. I don't care that you're bastardizing the Alien franchise. Only some of my favorite movies ever. (Poll: Alien or Aliens? I know what I'd vote.)

But don't...ever...try to alter the plotline or infringe in any way on the original movies. And that's what those bastards did in the last line of the movie. I was willing to forgive everything else, but not this.

Random: Just watched Heat with Michael Mann's commentary. Amazing. This beautiful movie and he almost never mentions anything other than character and the choices made by the actors. The flipside is John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness. He describes lighting and lenses til your head hurts. Both are interesting. Heat for writing and acting, ItMoM for techie stuff.

Go watch Dexter.

Two things

Of all the shows I addict myself to, Dexter has filled me with the most joy. Check it out.

I'm sorry folks. I've watched as much as I can. I don't like Dario Argento movies. If a purple and orange light is all he's got, I'm out.

Ok, ok, I didn't forget about you...

...I just haven't been thinking about you. I've been doing so much other thinking that some days the idea of typing events of my life into this blog is just daunting. So I haven't done it.

The unfortunate side of effect of lazy blogging is all the interesting things I've done since my last substantial entry is no longer fresh in my mind, so you don't really get much in the way of witty or entertaining. I'll do my best...

Wait, first, coffee...

...okay. (Aaahhhh.) First, that last short I did for Emerson was an absolute one sided blast. Picture this, if you will. We're doing a film about dealing with the devil. The Friday night after Halloween. In the (I shit you not) Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The next night we're shooting in the back alley of a haunted theater. You don't need to conjure up anything as an actor when you've got mood you can hang a hat on. The other actors were great, and great to work with. The crew that I knew were really excited to see me, and I them. These students were shooting two movies this weekend. They'd shoot ours all night then the other one all day. Their energy is just so...infectious. I always find myself wrapped at three in the morning still wanting to be there.

The director for this short was nothing short of awesome. I'm sure most of us have worked with all kinds of directors, from tyrants to mice. Some we've liked, others we haven't. Hopefully we've learned something from every one. This one, I say without doubt, is a truly wonderful director already. That's right Tina Densmore, I'm calling you out! Barely past the drinking age and she's got the right mix of confidence in herself and ability to let the actors (and crew) add to the project. When I originally got the script I had some thoughts about my character, certain ways I wanted to play it that would make it more original. Within boundaries, she left me free to explore different things. She let actors determine what worked best for them and would shoot to capture those moments we would find. At the same time, she was very clear on when to reign things in, and did so without being overly authoritative. Her crew was awesome, and you could tell they loved working for her. She was a mother hen to everyone. I never saw a crew member just walk away because they were frustrated, something I thought was pretty much a given on every student shoot I've done (and more than a few non-student films). If this business pays any attention to talent and ability, she will have a long career ahead of her.

There she is, busted finger and all. This is inside the theater, which has been mostly torn down inside.

I love getting these director-doing-directory-things pictures. I don't know where the pictures are, but I posed her with her crew pointing at something a couple times. All the good director candids they're pointing at something. In this case, it was too cold for bare flesh, hence the hands in pockets.

Other than that, not a ton happening lately in the outside world. I've been working on a script collaboration so I'm trying to kick that out as soon as I can. Those of you who might have gone over to Triggerstreet and read the short story I posted might be pleased to know that it still sits on the Daily Top Ten, which is pretty cool considering I didn't proof read it for plot holes at all. I was so nervous I finished it and fired it off without thinking. The reviews were good for finding out where I went wrong, and now I have the bug to write more prose.

I've been kind of itching to get on a stage again, but that's always such an iffy process for me. Rules I've learned about doing theater:

1) Only do shows you know. Or with a director you like to work with or a cast you like. Nothing is worse than accepting a part in a show you ultimately hate. South Pacific taught me that the hard way.

2) Don't do shows with people you've burned bridges with. Unfortunately, I have this habit sometimes. The more I watch Gordon Ramsey I realize he's a prick because he's a perfectionist, and he can't stand non-perfectionists. While I know I'm nowhere near his league of prickishness or perfectionism, I come across this way. I need to shut my mouth more often than not.

3) Schedule. This is the huge thing for me. My work doesn't allow me everyone else's Monday to Friday business hours. I've learned (the hard way) to be very upfront and specific at auditions. It's not enough to say, "Well, I have a weird schedule." Now on audition sheets I put up all my specific days from audition to wrap. This has cost me parts in the past year. In fact, it's kept me from doing any theater at all since The Crucible. But that show taught me more than any to leave nothing to chance there, which leads me to the final...

4) Reward/Effort ratio. It's gotta be pretty close nowadays. If it's something I believe in, something I want I'll move my schedule, call in favors, lose sleep and work my ass off to get it done. In the beginning I need to have the feeling that by the end I'll have no regrets.

Later.