Wow. Just... wow.

Priorities...

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2011/03/larry-kudlow-devalues-human-life-with-japan-earthquake-freudian-slip.html

Head Scratcher

Some NPR exec at a luncheon is caught on tape by some right wing "undercover ops" saying he doesn't much like tea-party types. He clearly labels his opinion as his own, not corporate policy, and yet for some reason that's cause for both the luncheon fellow AND the head of NPR to resign.

Fox News dudes loudly proclaim they are fair and balanced, but when the head of Fox News calls NPR "Nazies," it's laughed off as business as usual.

Like I said, a head-scratcher...

Axe Cop = Great Comics!

From the fine folks at Dark Horse, "Axe Cop" tells the story of, well, Axe-Cop and his partner Dinosaur Soldier as they fight crime and aliens and mysterious planets. What makes Axe-Cop special? As the cover explains, it's written by six year old Ethan Nicolle and drawn by his thirty year old brother Malachai.

What you get is the glorious, unsullied imagination of six year old Ethan, translated by his brother. The first page of the first issue of the current mini-series ("Bad Guy Earth") sets the stage. Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier are at a diner when Axe Cop gets thirsty. He spots a cup of water on the next table and drinks it, only to be rebuked by a talking hammer. "You just drank my friend's brain!" The caption that follows explains it all:

It turned out that Mr. Hammer and Mr. Cup were having breakfast. And Axe Cop had accidentally drunk Mr. Cup's brain.

But then it's quickly off to other equally intriguing adventures. Axe Cop comes VERY highly recommended!

Sheen or Simpson?

Charlie Sheen is a popular TV star. Alan Simpson is the former Wyoming Senator who was a member of the President's deficit commission last year. Which one said this?

“This is a fakery. If they care at all about their children or grandchildren, and sometimes I doubt that – I think, you know, grandchildren now don’t write a thank-you for the Christmas presents, they’re walking on their pants with the cap on backwards listening to the enema man and Snoopy Snoopy Poop Dogg, and they don’t like them!”

If you guessed Charlie Sheen, ding, LOSER. Thank you for playing Sheen or Simpson!

This Is Fun...

I blogged a few months ago about an intriguing project I found over at Kickstarter.com. Janice Whaley decided to sing the lyrics and backing "instrumentals" of every "Smiths" song ever recorded, and was looking for backers to help her complete her project.

I'll be honest, I don't think I have a single "Smiths" CD in my library, but I heard a couple of the samples and found them mesmerizing. Now Janice has oversold the project enough to produce a super-cool six CD box set. Her note to her Kickstarter contributors is below, and hopefully the music will be made available to a wider audience as the set is finally unleashed.

The Smiths Project Box Set ends with mind-bogglingly successful funding!
By Janice Whaley

Dear friends!

The Smiths Project box set funding has officially ended and
I am simply overwhelmed by the level of support that has poured in over the
past few months. I really thought that
it would take three months to generate $3,500 but clearly I underestimated the
enthusiasm for the music, having reached that goal in the first few days and
ending more than 530% funded. I am so
excited to have the opportunity to make a really amazing box set. No more jewel case CD set for this
project! The 6 digi-pack CDs will be
housed in a beautiful custom box- everything amazingly designed by The Mystery
Parade and remastered by Ryan Coseboom of Stripmall Architecture.

I am currently proof-reading text and compiling lists of kickstarter
backers for inclusion in the liner notes.
Everything is in place for purchasing royalties, CDs, and posters. Things are about to happen!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your
generosity. I am
astounded and humbled beyond belief. I simply can not wait to send you the box sets as soon as they are made.

All of my love and gratitude!

Janice

Falling Skies - The Many Promos Of...

Tired of me talking about Falling Skies? Well, all sorts of Falling Skies trailer fun can be SEEN here at Slashfilm...

http://www.slashfilm.com/steven-spielbergs-alien-tv-series-falling-skies-trailer-2/

I saw two more mostly finished episodes last week (as in, with most of the finished FX, music, color timing, etc.) and yep, they're looking good. Only two more to go, coincidentally the two I actually wrote as opposed to "overseeing" in my co-exec producer capacity. No spoilers allowed, but one of the two is the season finale, which involves quite a bit of FX excitement. There are actually scenes from many episodes sprinkled through the trailers... it's fun for me to go, "hey, that's episode #103, and that's #109, and that's #106!" Of course, I am easily amused!

I Saw This...

I was in my standard position (in front of the TV in the front room), when I saw this puppy sail overhead and head out toward the ocean.

http://elpasoallsky.blogspot.com/2011/02/california-meteor-fireball-nw-of-los.html

Are the Meteorite Men far behind?

Falling Skies Update...

I realize that some of the folks checking out this blog are probably more interested in hearing the latest developments regarding Falling Skies than reading reviews of movies from 1975... shocking!

But the truth is, the latest developments are simply "more of the same." Very interesting to me, of course, but... in short, FX are still being created, episode cuts are being locked... all the finalizing work is "in process."

Of course I've seen all the episodes in various phases of development, and five or so that are now more or less finished (FX done, music locked and the color properly timed). As usual, I am mightily impressed with the amount of effort that goes into polishing these shows to a shine. In virtually every instance, what I am seeing is better than I imagined when I was writing/producing, so that's been really fun. And trust me, it's not always the case!

We're still on target for a Summer 2011 unveiling... as we get closer to the date hopefully I can start spilling a little more info, and when the show actually hits air I can finally talk about the shows themselves with more specificity. Right now I just want the surprises to remain surprising...

Sometimes It's Just Hopeless...

I watched most of 1975's "Capone" the other night, a baffling case of fascinating material coupled with a pretty incredible cast producing... a thoroughly uninteresting movie. The great Ben Gazzara plays Al Capone with a gruff bluster that never suggests the charisma a guy like the real Capone must have had to hold together a massive criminal operation. John Cassavetes, Susan Blakeley, John Campanella and even a very young, pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone are given little to work with. The result? Repetitive scenes of Capone yelling about some competitor, goons going to work with dynamite and machine guns, then more yelling, shooting, stabbing, etc.

Even more curious is the total contempt shown to any version of Capone's actual history. I mean, the guy was a murderous mob Kingpin. The real story of his rise and syphilitic fall aren't interesting enough? Unfortunately, the fictionalized version, despite an amazing cast, is even LESS interesting than his real life.

Also, watching this is a reminder just how ground-breaking Gordon Willis' moody photography was in "The Godfather." "Capone" is all brightly lit, gaudy color, where the blood is candy apple red and Capone plays one scene in a bathrobe that would have been gaudy in a Cirque Du Soleil show. Pixar movies look positively drab compared to this.

This one gets one and half Bronsons... the extra half because I like movies where the young Stallone gets to streak his hair with a little gray to play "older." ("F.I.S.T." rates four Bronson's on the white-stuff in young-Stallone's hair rating system!)

San Diego Con Memories...

At the link below writer/artist Evan Dorkin offers some fond memories of the San Diego ComicCon from years past, specifically 1987-ish. I was there but since I was just barely in the biz at the time (the first issue of my first comic, The American, was released right around that convention) I missed most of the parties and the excitement... or did I? I vaguely remember some hotel room antics, but *sigh*, it's all so long ago. I certainly would have remembered my pal and American artist Chris Warner picking up a chair to fend off some punk kids.

Last year around this time I posted something about how the convention had become just too big and complicated to navigate and that I probably wouldn't go. Then I went to work on a little show called "Falling Skies" and suddenly I was doing a panel and some interviews and other stuff. Between that, seeing old friends and enjoying the San Diego weather, I had a great time. And frankly, for me, it's NOT that complicated to attend the show these days. I live within driving distance, as an Inkpot Award winner I have a free pass for life, and (because of the recession?) rooms at the closest hotels are still available, albeit for a price. So I'm all booked up.

I have no idea what I'll be doing at the show this year professionally, but barring disaster I'll be there doing something... meanwhile, for a taste of the way it was, check out the link:

http://evandorkin.livejournal.com/244576.html

More Film Fun!

I've been catching up on some of the cinematic goodies (old and new) that I missed while doing the ol' 24/7 in Toronto on Falling Skies. Here are some more thoughts...

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST: TiVoed off AMC-HD, I'm sure I saw this on regular TV way back when, but this is the first time in a LONG time I've been able to revisit the entire sequel in the saga this IS poor Col. Manning. Blasted by a plutonium bomb in a scene that looks like it heavily inspired the creation of The Hulk, poor Manning grew to 60 feet (more or less) and got himself shot off Hoover Dam at the end of the first movie.

In this follow-up, Manning's devoted sister suspects the big guy is still alive because a Mexican village has been plagued by trucks disappearing without a trace. Naturally, the only possible answer is that a 60 ft man is picking them up and walking off with them. When the police find a footprint the size of a Volkswagon, the growling, badly scarred and still 60' Manning goes "rrRRRRRRrrr!" He's knocked out, tied up (badly), escapes, then havok ensues. Clocking in at under 60 minutes and making absolutely no concessions to science or biology, it's still a fun movie and the "Colossal Beast" (beast? Really? People can be so cruel!) is a great monster.

LET ME IN: The American remake of the great Swedish vampire film, and just as cool and creepy as the original. My only comment/caveat is that I preferred the handling of the infamous swimming pool scene in the Swedish version. Still, both versions have much to recommend them.

PIRANHA 3D: Maybe Alexandre Aja's 3-D remake (?) plays better when you're wearing the glasses, but I saw this in 2D blu-ray and couldn't finish it. I thought Aja's "High Tension" was a taut horror movie, and it's interesting to see Kelly Brook, who played Lex Luthor's wife back in my Smallville days. And I always liked Elizabeth Shue. But sadly a Richard Dreyfuss cameo is the highpoint of what I saw. Oh well. They can't all be "Dolph Lungren Is The Killing Machine."

Dolph Lungren IS The Killing Machine

I believe that's the real title of this direct-to-DVD epic, since there's a "behind the scenes of 'Dolph Lungren Is The Killing Machine'" feature included. I don't think this one requires much of a review... Dolph is a former KGB assassin who continues to do hits while posing as a real estate salesman in Vancouver B.C. It's never really explained, but somehow he gets under kingpin and former best-buddy Bo Svenson's skin, so Bo sends out an army of killers with tragically bad aim to take Dolph down.

Three points of interest: one, they actually let Vancouver B.C. play as Vancouver B.C. Usually filmmakers screw a few New York license plates on passing cars and to pretend Vancouver is somewhere else, but not this time. Kudos for displaying this lovely city at its best, director Lungren!

Two, I really hope that if my past as a mass-murdering Russian hitman is revealed after my ex-wife's new boyfriend is murdered in front of her eyes, my ex will be as forgiving as Dolph's. And boy, this gal is REALLY forgiving. I envision a sequel where the ghost of her dead boyfriend comes back from the grave and says "hey, I'm dead two hours and you're already getting it on with the guy responsible for my murder?! Sheesh!"

Three, would somebody please get me the number of the employment agency where Lungren's family found their nanny? Multiple choice question: When Dolph is forced to slaughter a half dozen mob assassins (including shoving one of them eye-first onto the shaft of a bar-bell) in front of his 8 year old daughter and Hispanic nanny, does the nanny

a) Run away screaming and call the police?

b) Seriously, run away screaming and call the police?

c) Meekly tell her mass murdering employer that she'll take care of his little girl, up to and including going to a safe-house run by other Russian mobsters?

If you guessed C, you win! I guess jobs really ARE hard to get these days.

"Dolph Lungren is the Killing Machine" gets three out of five Charles Bronsons from yours truly. Unlike most of these direct-to-DVD epics at least this one has plenty o' action, reasonable production values and a hardcore stoic "hero." And it's only 90 minutes...

I Spit On Your Motivation

I am impressed with good actors. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to stand in front of a crew of (more or less) strangers and finding the right emotional key.

So I am especially sympathetic to the cast in the new 2010 remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE. I mean, there are some things you probably never prepped for in acting school. Like doing a lengthy scene with a shotgun shoved up your kiester, or being the revenge seeking individual doing the shoving. It can't be easy to find your emotional center while fish-hooks are yanking back your eyelids so crows can peck out your baby-blues. And what exactly is the correct amount of consternation after some rusty garden shears get busy on your privates? Just another day in the movie trenches, I guess.

I'm not sure what I think about the movie, but actors, I doff my chapeau at your endeavors!

Howlin' For You

This fooled me for a minute... wanna see Tricia Helfer of BSG fame get medieval on some bad guys? With a soundtrack by the Black Keys?

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi695638553/

Jack Kirby For Sale...

From Antique's Roadshow, an examination of unique Jack Kirby art and artifacts. But I wonder, is Jack Kirby's grandson (they're his items) really unclear about how much this stuff is worth? I hope not!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201001A17.html

Howl Along With Huck

The internet is full of memories, like this piece on "Howl Along With Huckleberry Hound", a 33 RPM "Golden Record." My brothers and I used to spend hours listening to this record. (Note: we, and especially yours truly, were very very young.) I recently found a nice vinyl copy, as I continue to gradually restock my childhood, and I wonder when some enterprising soul will release this stuff officially. Oh well...

Records like this are what that ignited an early sense of the absurd in yours truly. As the review states, there's a character named "Orville" who repeatedly interrupts the orchestra and gets his ass chewed by Huckleberry Hound. Orville's only retort is to say "Nee-no noni nee-no." I have no idea what that means, but it was sure funny to a little kid.

All the details are at:

http://wayoutjunk.blogspot.com/2006/07/howl-along-with-huckleberry-hound-and.html

What I Learned Watching The Mechanic (2011)

I liked this updated version a lot! Jason Stathem is always great and so is Ben Foster. Okay, so they ain't Charlie Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent, but then who is?

And I learned so much -- for instance:

Rich drug lords buy fancy black bottom swimming pools at their peril.

Never trust the unctuous man who is willing to have a telephone argument with his teenage daughter in front of you.

If you are a member of a super bowl football team who then gains employment as the aforementioned unctuous man's bodyguard, you might want to leave the bejeweled ring at home. (According to Pawn Stars, those rings are actually worth quite a bit of money! Something to think about!)

Attractive woman love beat-up, scabby looking guys who can power back half a bottle of bourbon in ten minutes at a noisy bar.

Lovemaking is clearly better when it's with a thoroughly drunk stranger and consummated in an alley surrounded by garbage cans.

Incredibly attractive women like the slightly less scabby guy.

Chihuahuas are cute.

Decorating tip: if you're inviting over new friends, put away the tools, especially all your long, sharp screwdrivers.

Ditto for fireplace shovels and pokers.

Basically it's just hard to meet nice people these days.

When working for any group that calls itself "the organization" or "the agency" or "the group", there probably isn't much use discussing their long-term pension plan.

For dramatic effect, always announce yourself to your prey before initiating an assault. You won't believe the look on their faces!

The Reading List...

New additions to my overburdened bookshelves...

Johnny Rotten's Scrapbook: this massive, 14" x 14", velveteen boxed, 250+ page monster is (to quote from the website) "an exciting and intimate journey through John Lydon’s life, from inception to now, in high quality pictures and hand written text commentary." Limited to 750 signed and numbered copies and priced at a wallet-busting 450 pounds, it is quite the museum piece. Chock full of photos, personalized with individual hand-drawn sketches, with a 12" vinyl record of Public Image material glued to the back cover... who would have thought the guy who belted out "I am an anarchist!" would one day be doing a coffee table book. I'm still in the examination phase, but it's kind of overwhelming. Which I suspect was the point... (ordering info at www.concertlive.co.uk/mrrottensscrapbook).

Hammer Films, The Unsung Heroes: this hefty paperback examines "the team behind the legend" at Hammer, with chapters devoted to every craft from production design to sound recordist to wardrobe to the assistant directors. I have been endlessly fascinated with Hammer's horror films since I was a kid, so I find this behind-the-scenes stuff compelling... but those without a burning passion may get a little lost in the weeds. Lots of great backstage photos and info...



Fuzz, Acid and Flowers - A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage Progressive And Hippie-Rock 1963-1977 (Expanded Edition): "Expanded" undersells this project. Because this is a BOOK. 1400 pages (!) devoted to exactly what the cover promises. Illustrated with hundreds (thousands?) of album covers, biographical tidbits, recording info... if you have any interest in this era and would like a back-breakingly heavy encyclopedia to help you navigate the waters, this is for you. As for me, I'm currently searching for the album by the Unbeatables, "Live At Palisades Park." And I'm sure as I continue plowing through this book my want list will grow...



The Acid Archives (second edition): Similar to the above, but clocking in at a mere 400 pages, here's a pile of acid music, all reviewed and illustrated with tons of color album photos. So much music, so little time...

I Was Gone, Now I'm Back...

Been out gallivanting for awhile, but now I'm back in the saddle, tanned (as much as SPF 85 will allow), rested and... well, not that rested, but... oh never mind.

Work continues on the post-production of Falling Skies Season One... we have cuts of all the episodes and our highly capable CGI folks continue to refine and create the special effects required to make these shows sing. It's hard to believe we're still months away from the TNT debut (Summer 2011! Be there!), but I suspect the date will sneak up quickly.

I've been trying to catch up with my movie watching, to varying degrees of success. I saw parts of a silent, tiny TV version of "The Social Network" on a recent flight (I opted to listen to my i-pod in a vain attempt to fall asleep) and wow, there are sure a lot of scenes of people sitting around a conference table! Yes, it's erudite criticism like that that should land me a spot as guest reviewer on the new Roger Ebert movie show any day now. I have a stack of discs on the queue waiting to be viewed, but somehow when it's time to hit the play button I've been opting for old "Highway Patrol" episodes and whatever's easily accessible on the TiVo.

Theatrically, "The Mechanic" looks interesting... both because I enjoy Jason Stathem in just about anything, and because the Charles Bronson original is one of those rare 70's films that doesn't feel dated. I'm very curious if the remakers opted to go with the original film's rather bleak worldview...

And that's the rather unimpressive update. Hopefully there will be somewhat more impressive news soon!

Ten Resolutions for 2011 (low bar version)

1) I will finally frame my Boris Karloff "Body Snatchers" movie poster.

2) I will charge up my i-phone every evening.

3) No more than six cups of coffee for breakfast.

4) I will TiVo and not watch many movies and shows.

5) Change oil at least every 5,000 miles.

6) No more than ten computer solitaire games per hour.

7) Substitute low cal margaritas when available.

8) Write at least one page of something, anything a month. (This counts!)

9) Learn at least one word of another language.

10) Post to blog at least every six months.

That's it! Adios! (check off #9!)