Ambitious No-Budget Labor Of Love

The Treasure of Hard Times

Hello Re-writes

Two of my screenplays recently made semi-finalists for Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope screenplay competition this year.

That's three different scripts over past couple years (another made semis in Nicholl Fellowship competition).

Nothing more than carrots really, but I love them. Keeps me moving forward.

I re-read each script immediately, convinced I have something good this time, and end up wondering how the hell it made it as far as it did!

So, another re-write to get it up to snuff.

Like I said, keeps me from looking back.

Goodbye Girdwood

My Leaving A Town posts from a few years back addressed this in passionate detail, so I'll keep it simple this time...

I returned to Girdwood. Didn't want to, for fear I'd get stuck here.

Got stuck.

House is really for sale this time, though.


Good thing I'm in not position to buy the others shares in the house, or I might.

Then I'd really be stuck. My promise to myself was to not be in Girdwood a day past August 31st, 2010.

Fuck it. I've kept enough promises during my life.

Now I've promised never to keep another promise.

Kind of win/win.

See You Again Real Soon

I realize I haven't posted since last September.

Kind of took a break, cruised off some of the older posts for a while.

Fun watching which posts keep getting attention. Not always the one's I like, or where I thought I did my best writing, but the ones you might expect would get hit by people with so many links and so little time.


Does it have a pretty picture? A how-to article? A famous (or almost famous) person?

Your chances improve.

Someone trying to emulate Kurt Vonnegut, John Steinbeck, e.e. cummings?

Yeah...no. Too many links, too little time.

I spend way more time on the internet than I ever did watching the boob-tube as a kid.

Although I am watching lots of DVDs lately. At least one a night. Sometimes two.

It's been a cold winter.



Movies I've Watched Lately:

Hard Times - Revisit this even if you've seen it before. Definitely watch it if you never have. Charles Bronson at peak of his form. If you want more proof how powerful a performance can be with few words go to IMDb page for Hard Times, under 'opinions' click on post titled 'Everything Chaney says in the movie'.

Black Swan - A woman at my nephew's hockey game couldn't believe I liked this movie. She asked if it was because of the 'lesbian stuff'. Yes...no. But I thought it one of the best pictures of the year and had lesbian and masturbation scenes. Natalie Portman amazed me in this. Definitely dark, though. Not for Adam Sandler die-hards.

True Grit - Didn't like it. I think everyone is afraid to tell the Coen brothers if anything of theirs isn't working, because they are the Coen brothers and have made many good films. Every actor (except Matt Damon and the guy who barters with Mattie over horses) talked as if they were kids playing 'cowboys and indians'. Jeff Bridges carried no weight in my opinion. He tried to act like he had some 'true grit', but it came across as theatrical. In the original, John Wayne embodied 'true grit'. I don't care if you hated his politics, blah, blah, his was the stronger performance. None of our heroes are so great if you hold them to the light anyway, so put away your Wayne hating and rent the original.

Trail Of '98 - Silent black & white about Alaskan Gold Rush. Wow. Holds up very well, and (I think) hits many bullet-points of that story in history. Better film than many today. The effects during the avalanche scene are very cool. Old-school layering of film. Visually more effective and powerful than many modern computer effects. This is listed in my 'history of film in Alaska' post, where I mentioned the budget was two million. Seems quite a bit for the time, but it is a very ambitious project. Get it at your local library (along with many other classics)!

Stone - With Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich. I really enjoyed this film. I couldn't tell if it was good writing, solid acting, or great direction and editing - maybe all the above - but this film was solid and consistent.

Goodbye Solo - Love films that draw me in through character and pacing without having any idea where it's going. Not the type of script I imagine gets taught in 'so you wanna sell a screenplay' courses. Interestingly, the role of 'Crackhead taxi passenger' is played by Angus MacLachlan, who is the writer of 'Stone'.

Outland - Older Sean Connery outer-space flick. Bit of an 'Alien' feel in atmosphere (no space monster though). Not bad. They went to great detail to create the, well, details of life as a space-miner. Actually reminded me of life at McMurdo station in Antarctica. Climax was a bit generic.


The Passenger - With the recent death of Maria Schneider we decided to check out this film by Michelangelo Antonioni. I had never seen it despite my early years as an art-house film nerd. Enjoyed it. Another example of a story slowly unfolding through character and pacing, but gained my interest with every new moment. My favorite part is the final shot. Must have ran an entire can of film for one shot, but lots of detail in it. Oh yeah, Jack Nicholson stars as well.

The Tourist - Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie. Why was this released?

Social Network - You've all seen it, and most likely enjoyed it. If you haven't, it starts off very strong and keeps going for a good while, but by the end I no longer cared. Bong hits, naked chicks, Justin Timberlake, young people making tons of money, friends getting screwed over. Makings of a good film, right? Well, it is technically solid all the way round. Thing is, I can watch 'Hard Times' and look forward to seeing it again down the line. With Social Network I don't think I could sit through it again.

Treasure Of The Sierra Madre - I bought it and don't regret a penny of it. Bogart.

Jonah Hex - The 'Hell hounds coming for you in death' was a cool, scary idea. Other than that the movie was boring. No tension.

Red - Older movie stars playing older CIA agents. We enjoyed this. Some fun moments. Nothing special, but good rental with pizza and wine. Type of film that feels shallow when it's over, but if you've had enough wine and pizza you just fall asleep and forget about it.

Misty Isle Out - Yes, after almost five years of avoiding it, I popped in a DVD copy of my own film. I actually thought I might never watch it again, but recently it was suggested by a friend that it would be nice to see it get some kind of distribution. 'Misty' was made before the digital age was really in full swing, and I realize now there are places it might find a home online. I'm sure anyone who read my take on the Coen brothers 'True Grit' will happily let me know how much my movie sucks. As for my personal take, jury's still out.

Probably impossible to critique your own work, so I will call it an 'Ambitious no-budget labor of love.'

Which is sometimes how life begins.