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Friday, December 21, 2007
In the Beginning...
This initial entry in my first blog is, perhaps, a bit daunting...
I have never been one to keep a journal religiously. (Or regularly,
for that matter.) But most of the writing magazines I've read in my time
have recommended journaling as a warm-up exercise, or as a means of
developing discipline in one's writing.
This may be so. I've yet to see it demonstrated, though... Most of the
people who journal regularly get really good at writing journal entries.
Does it help other forms of writing? Unclear.
-*-
Mostly what I plan to write about here is my experience writing, making
films, searching for a paying job, and other administrivia of daily
life. I will try not to be profane, sacreligious, blasphemous, rude,
crude, vulgar, or offensive - within reason. (Moderation in all things,
including moderation.)
As we pass my 51st birthday (the 16th, five days agone) and approach
Christmas, it's time to assess where the past year has taken us, and
where the new year may go.
Hopefully, not to hell in a handbasket.
Cheers!
Al B.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
End-of-the-year Critical Mass
At the end of December, as the eligibility window for Academy Award®
consideration draws to a close, critics both far and wide (yes, I'm
talking about Roger Ebert... so?) draw up their "Ten Best" lists for the
year almost done.
Almost always, they omit movies that came out in the first three months
of the year... as though their memories don't go back any further than
Labor Day when Christmas approaches. This slights many films that are
award-caliber, and performances that are more memorable than several in
films out now.
I can't make any recommendations, since I don't go to theatres any
longer... I've developed sensitivities to the chemicals they use to
clean them. A neighbor of mine, who used to work at a local multiplex
cinema now owned by AMC Theatres, told Megan and I about the stuff they
use to clean the auditorium before the day starts and after it's done,
and how it induced a severe asthma attack in him. (He's not a smoker,
nor is he particularly unhealthy.)
If it did that to him, it could almost certainly induce it in either
myself or in Megan, since neither one of our respiratory systems is
working at full strength.
So, we watch DVD's, catch snippets of film on the net or on broadcast TV
- we don't get cable, since it's too bloody expensive - and content
ourselves in keeping somewhat out of the mainstream, but still sort of
knowledgeable.
I
can say that the local film scene here in Detroit seems to be
burgeoning... Mike Hartman of
Silver
Bullet Pictures is bullish on the Detroit scene; having finished up
Heavy
Mental, the feature he finished filming at the end of September,
he's in pre-production planning on his next film, which he may end up
starting after his beautiful wife, Sherrie, has their next child
sometime in early 2008.
And I, too, am working on a few projects, none of which are far enough
along to mention any further, I think. {Call that superstitious, if you
like; I shan't argue.}
In any event, I look forward to a peaceful, prosperous, and productive
year in 2008, and wish the same to all of you.
We'll see if I'm right...
Cheers!
Al B.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Countdown to Changes{?}
The calendar on the wall informs me that there is one full day before
Christmas, and eight until the digit ticks over for the year. One more
year gone, never to return, and time for maudlin sentimentality, if I
allow it.
Clue: I don't.
I am in full swing, preparing my audio podcast (soon to arrive on both
this site and at Alexander Film Works), brainspinning more film ideas,
checking to see if I can obtain paying work to support all these
expensive habits, and trying not to spin too far out of control.
This is not as easy as you might think.
As the estimable Philip C. McGraw, Ph.D., is heard to say, "The best
predictor of future behavior is past behavior." My own past behavior has
been, shall we say, spotty at best.
But change is not only possible, change is inevitable.
I'll say that again. Change is inevitable.
One change I've made in this past year is I finally quit smoking for
good.
I just gave it up.
I still want it, but I don't want the COPD or mild emphysema it's
brought me, so I will not smoke again.
I hope.
I try.
And that's the best I can do.
I continue to write. I write screenplays, I write essays, I write posts
for this blog, I write nasty letters... I write because I don't know how
not to write.
I make movies. I enjoy telling stories.
And I'll see you next entry.
Cheers!
Al B.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
And so, the season ends...
Christmas Day is almost over, as I write this; it's been quiet, which I
enjoy.
I've got my first podcast finished, at the Podcast
Page of this site. Audio now, but video will be coming soon.
I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but I'm finding some peace
in the quiet... gives me a little more time to work on the plotting of
my next screenplay.
Tomorrow, Boxing Day in our neighbor to the south (look it up on a map
sometime... Windsor, Ontario is almost due south of Detroit),
will be back to business as usual... screaming hucksters blithering
about their end-of-year sales. Aside from consumables and food, I don't
need a bloody thing, so I am about as Anti-American as they think.
We watched That's Entertainment and That's Entertainment Part 2
on DVD the other day... I have to agree with Megan, My Dearly Beloved,
who said that we don't have movie stars like those any more, nor are we
likely to have any in the near future, the way the system is. 'Tis true,
'tis pity, and pity 'tis, 'tis true.
I'll be going to bed in a while, and I hope I sleep well and dream of
bombproof plotting, that is absolutely tight, exciting, and filmable.
Cheers (and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Solstice, Blessed
Yule, or whatever)!
Al B.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Some year-end ideas on creativity...
Last night, my wife and I watched the Kennedy Center honors for 2007. Of
the five honorees, three of them were (in my mind) worthy of being
honored, one not quite so worthy, and the fifth was a head-scratcher...
like, "Whythehell is she there?"
Of course, the "she" in question is Diana Ross. She is not a songwriter,
nor is she a teacher, nor exemplary in anything except looking "good".
Martin Scorsese, on the other hand, is one of the "of course" moments.
He is acknowledged as a genius in the field of motion picture direction;
the Oscar® he received for Best Director was just a somewhat belated
validation of that view.
Steve Martin, we have found out over the past year, was a "normal"
child, with an abusive, emotionally distant father, who found his style
of comedy in the unlikely realm of philosophy. Love him or hate him, and
some do both, he is a seminal presence in the realm of comedy since the
late '60's.
Leon Fleisher, pianist and teacher, whom I am ashamed to say I was not
aware of, and who teaches at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in
Baltimore (a place I know well; Baltimore, that is, not necessarily the
Peabody), was shown to be both a superlative pianist and an inspiring
teacher and conductor.
These three - Scorsese, Martin, and Fleisher (Mmmm... sounds a little
like a law firm, doesn't it?) are undoubtedly deserving.
The fifth honoree, Brian Wilson, formerly of The Beach Boys, was a
doubtful choice to me at first, but when put into context, as
formulating the signature sound of California Music in the 1960's, made
sense. He was trying to put the dense, multi-layered sound he heard in
his head onto vinyl. For the most part, he succeeded.
It's a minor quibble, I suppose, because I personally approve of 80% of
the choices of the Kennedy Center this year. But it's still irksome...
Well, until the next iteration, I remain.
Cheers!
Al B.