Random rolling along
So, updates go by the wayside... The Lo-Tech Cinema fest wrapped up at work, I didn't place in the competition (top 3), but I got 'Best Fight Coreography" for my tale of rivalry and retribution between 2 newspaper delivery ninjas. Fun stuff, I'll post it to YouTube once I re-edit and fix some technical hiccups. Also planning on submitting it to other 3-minute film fests... Then I'm also getting a new project underway with Tom, Garth, Stacz. This is one I was originally thinking of doing for the Lo-Tech, but Tom had some great ideas for expanding it. We're moving ahead with the larger but still modest new production!
Went to the Wondercon (NorCal's extension of the San Diego Con). Nothing too fantastic - panels for 300, Ratatouille, The Reaping (with Hillary Swank attending, so props to her for getting out there), Resident Evil 3.2 (I read that some guy was heckling Ali Larter about her bad character on 'Heroes', poor her). The Spider-Man3 started AFTER Sony's half-hour blather about their penguin surfing movie (so we left), and the presentation was some Sony marketing guy, not even any crew or talent. Got the 'Marvel Zombies' collection, and a few random back issues, that was about it. My old college associate, Geoff Johns, wasn't there for the DC booth, there was no Marvel presence whatsoever, nobody I cared much to hear speak. One of the more interesting rooms was the Comics Art Foundation, with some very scholastic presentations on the literature of comics. One we went to was about the female protagonist and issues of gender power dynamics; one was about NYC and the 'skyscraper' as a device of modernity in Marvel comics. Sad that there were only 10-15 people there to check it out...
The big Game Developers Conference was going on in SanFran, got invites for a few parties that friends' companies were putting on. Foundation 9 at Fluid, with my friend Jody, who just had a son. This is a friend I grew up with, just a few houses down. Then Linden Labs ('Second Life'), at 111 Minna, met up with my friend Jeska who I hadn't seen in years, even. Great catching up, along with free booze :).
Still lurching along with that ogre movie, working Saturdays for the next few weeks. Commute is still soul-eroding. It'll be interesting to see how May shapes up at the Box Office - Spidey 3, Shrek 3rd, then Pirates 3 come out within a few weeks of each other. It was encouraging to see "300" score a huge opening weeekend - a March record $70, 3rd highest R-rated opening.
Bonnie took me out for a nice birthday dinner at Tavola. We're planning on renting a studio in Berkeley, and putting on a rock show. Ostensibly for my birthday, but not till next weekend now (to avoid St. Patricks Day). Should be fun, we as a band seem to respond well to deadlines and goals, as is understandable. Need to make the push to get it going for real.
Hit the cinemas some recently. Saw 'Black Snake Moan' (from the director of 'Hustle & Flow'), which was great. Well - strange, and a lot of delightfully trashy, exploitative moments. I could go on for a while about how each scene was almost a different kind of movie, each one executed superbly, but not a cohesive whole, but that in itself is a brilliant accomplishment. Also saw 'The Astronaut Farmer', from the creators of 'Northfork' which I totally loved. Another weird one - kind of absurd premise, but the character moments that came through were genuine and heartfelt to an amazing degree. Without being overly sentimental. Both movies were similar in that were about so much more than their surface plot and characters, twisted cliches and conventions to make audiences think (or simply not get it), and were quite strange when taken as a whole package. Inspirational, to me, that movies like this get made.
That's about it for now.
Went to the Wondercon (NorCal's extension of the San Diego Con). Nothing too fantastic - panels for 300, Ratatouille, The Reaping (with Hillary Swank attending, so props to her for getting out there), Resident Evil 3.2 (I read that some guy was heckling Ali Larter about her bad character on 'Heroes', poor her). The Spider-Man3 started AFTER Sony's half-hour blather about their penguin surfing movie (so we left), and the presentation was some Sony marketing guy, not even any crew or talent. Got the 'Marvel Zombies' collection, and a few random back issues, that was about it. My old college associate, Geoff Johns, wasn't there for the DC booth, there was no Marvel presence whatsoever, nobody I cared much to hear speak. One of the more interesting rooms was the Comics Art Foundation, with some very scholastic presentations on the literature of comics. One we went to was about the female protagonist and issues of gender power dynamics; one was about NYC and the 'skyscraper' as a device of modernity in Marvel comics. Sad that there were only 10-15 people there to check it out...
The big Game Developers Conference was going on in SanFran, got invites for a few parties that friends' companies were putting on. Foundation 9 at Fluid, with my friend Jody, who just had a son. This is a friend I grew up with, just a few houses down. Then Linden Labs ('Second Life'), at 111 Minna, met up with my friend Jeska who I hadn't seen in years, even. Great catching up, along with free booze :).
Still lurching along with that ogre movie, working Saturdays for the next few weeks. Commute is still soul-eroding. It'll be interesting to see how May shapes up at the Box Office - Spidey 3, Shrek 3rd, then Pirates 3 come out within a few weeks of each other. It was encouraging to see "300" score a huge opening weeekend - a March record $70, 3rd highest R-rated opening.
Bonnie took me out for a nice birthday dinner at Tavola. We're planning on renting a studio in Berkeley, and putting on a rock show. Ostensibly for my birthday, but not till next weekend now (to avoid St. Patricks Day). Should be fun, we as a band seem to respond well to deadlines and goals, as is understandable. Need to make the push to get it going for real.
Hit the cinemas some recently. Saw 'Black Snake Moan' (from the director of 'Hustle & Flow'), which was great. Well - strange, and a lot of delightfully trashy, exploitative moments. I could go on for a while about how each scene was almost a different kind of movie, each one executed superbly, but not a cohesive whole, but that in itself is a brilliant accomplishment. Also saw 'The Astronaut Farmer', from the creators of 'Northfork' which I totally loved. Another weird one - kind of absurd premise, but the character moments that came through were genuine and heartfelt to an amazing degree. Without being overly sentimental. Both movies were similar in that were about so much more than their surface plot and characters, twisted cliches and conventions to make audiences think (or simply not get it), and were quite strange when taken as a whole package. Inspirational, to me, that movies like this get made.
That's about it for now.
posted by pegasusgiraffe at 3:51 PM
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