Cuteness Break
Okay, I had a weightier post planned for today, but I just needed a break. So enjoy a whimsical village constructed for mice.
Various and Sundry
Raves Various and Sundry
My 50 Favorite Films: Prep for the 2018 Edition
The holiday season is upon us and, since it’s an even year, it’s almost time for the biennial ranking of my 50 Favorite Films. For those of you obsessed with processes or those of you waiting for an appointment and have exhausted old magazines in a waiting room, read on! I’m a lifelong movie buff and have watched literally thousands of movies. Not all of them are good. Some of the good films are, nonetheless,…
Writing
Being a “Useful Writer’
Perhaps it’s the human predilection for pattern recognition, but because of the recent passing of William Goldman, I’ve been thinking a good deal about writing as it relates to getting one’s writing produced in Hollywood… and how random the process can sometimes be. In Mark Evanier’s latest intallment of his “Rejection” series (which is worth checking out if you haven’t already, he notes that elusive, yet absolutely real writer quality of being “useful.” You absolutely…
Various and Sundry
Space: Above and Beyond the Myths
Astronaut Chris Hadfield debunks some myths about space in a wonderfully wonky first-hand way that only he can do. If you’re worried about cooking tomorrow’s turkey just right, remember, you can’t do as bad as exposing it to the hard vacuum of space. I’ll let him explain:
Acting
Ann Dowd and Acting Success Later in Life
For whatever reason, back when I was in school busy with acting training, many instructors felt the need to let me know that I’m not a “leading man” type of actor. My guess is they dealt with many acting students who would feel that was beneath them or represented failure. Little did they know that, having grown up with my Dad giving us Turner Classic Movies before TCM existed, I already enjoyed the work of…
Various and Sundry Writing
Inconceivable! William Goldman Dies at 87
I’m still reflecting on all I got out of the characters created and championed by Stan Lee and now another epic storyteller, novelist and screenwriter William Goldman, has died at the age of 87. Goldman was, and will continue to be, enormously influential for writers and his book, Adventures in the Screen Trade, is one I’ve given as a gift to several fellow writers, not only for its insights about writing and the writing process,…
Raves Various and Sundry Writing
Stan Lee: The Once and Future Pop Culture King
Stan Lee has died at the age of 95. Tributes, remembrances, and obituaries have come from the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, NPR (and a longer piece here), Variety, a nice one from Marvel, and even one from The Onion. Like countless others, my connection to “The Man” now best known for cameos in the films of a billions-dollar film franchise came early on. He represented my “ur-fandom.” Before Star Trek or Doctor Who,…
Various and Sundry
Introvert Trigger Warning
The other day, I was feeling my introvert tendencies pretty darn hard the same time I needed to interact with people. So what if you “leaned in” to that whole “interact with people” thing and talked to strangers?
Various and Sundry
Summarizing Shakespeare: Lightning Edition
If you’re a Shakespeare fan who hasn’t enjoyed the simple, stick figure pleasures of Good Tickle Brain, you should definitely avail yourself of it. If you’ve been kicking yourself because you know you’re not as familiar with all the Bard’s work, Mya Gosling, the brain behind Good Tickle Brain has your back. Watch as she summarizes all of Shakespeare’s plays in five minutes.
Various and Sundry
The Many Years Needed for Overnight Success
Two of the podcasts I regularly listen to, Scriptnotes and Maltin on Movies, both note how a given actor or other creative artist regularly takes 10-20 years to become an “overnight success.” They note this, in part, because the whole idea of the precocious talent, the creative who does genius work just out of the womb, seems so engrained in our culture, you kind want to stop and say, “Wait? Is that really normal?” Nope.…