Wednesday 22 July 2009
Tuesday 24 March 2009
Of Coffee's For Closers (Location Scouting, Part II)
It's been quite a while since I last made a post on here, the reason being due to my slipping stability in regards to everything, all brought on by the catalyst that is a lack of response in regards to my locations. It seems that people are incapable of sending back even a courtesy rejection e-mail. A rejection is a rejection, for sure, but at least I would have had a firm answer, instead of being left in constant hope. Naive hope.
I've also been neck deep in Liberty City. Man, GTA IV is a fucking big game. Old news to a lot of you, I know, but I'm only just getting into it (when I say 'just', I mean like last week) and went through some interesting phases. At first I loved it, I was in awe of pretty much everything - Rockstar have successfully created a living breathing world, awesome. But once that novelty wears off all that's left is driving. Fucking driving. And the driving controls aren't even that sound! The amount of Libertonians (Libertines? Libertinians?) I've accidentally mowed down...man, a moment is needed.
*respectful silence*
Okay, enough of that. The story is pretty damn good, if not too damn long. I'm about 2/3 of the way through now, I believe, and I've been playing for a good 20+ hours. The missions themselves consist of a lot of fucking driving. Some require you to get a vehicle, so you can drive, and if you're not careful you'll be seen by a cop, which means you then have to drive off and lose their attention BEFORE driving to the location to get into the mission, probably something to do with driving, before having to fight your way out and then drive away. Hm. I can see why this game polarizes people, I went from loving it to getting kind've bored pretty quick. It could do with being, like, half the length it is.
ANYWAY, this isn't a review about GTA IV (I haven't done a review for a while...I think I should. I was going to do one about the first Resident Evil game, but that obviously didn't happen) this is supposed to be about the other days spent attempting to secure a location. My good friend Tim and I went out all around our area going in and bugging numerous coffee shop/cafe owners with incessant questions and intimidating looks (the whole persuasive, puppy dog eyes thing). Here's a few of the places we scoped, just cause, y'know.
It almost seems pointless putting up a whole bunch of new photos of these potentials considering the good news I got yesterday, the Costa Coffee in Sidcup are willing to let me shoot there! I've got to send them some details regarding budget, and shooting info, etc and we should be on. It's as good as confirmed, it seems. Who knew sending a few e-mails and phoning up a couple of times (ie: harassing, sort of. Maybe.) would yield such positive results?!
So, there you have it - I pretty much have a location. Fooled you with my little bait and switch, huh. The start of this had you feeling all 'Aw, poor Steve. He's having a hard time' and then BAM! The old fork in the eye. Or...y'know...my awesome reveal. I couldn't be more stoked about being able to shoot in this Costa Coffee, from the moment I went inside it I knew I wanted this more than any other. It's funny, this situation kind've mirrors my experiences when I was applying for Universities.
Anyway, now the next part/s start - I've got to cast the thing, sort out equipment, schedule and then shoot the thing! So, not too much to handle all by myself. Right?
Right?
At least a part of this is taken care of now. Incidentally, I was so down about the lack of response that I had actually started planning a new idea for another short. So once this thing gets done, edited and sent out, I've got another project I can actually jump straight into! Awesomeness to the max, kiddo!
This is me stoked. Pretty damn fucking stoked. Now I've gotta keep on top of this and make this shit happen! Time to get this thing rolling!
Here's some random shit that's caught my eye over the past couple of days:
- Monkey Island kicks? Are you fucking kidding me?! These are just way beyond awesome, I would love a pair. Not that I'd ever wear them, I would never want to desecrate something so beautiful in both reference and execution. JUMP!
- Relient K are awesome. Deathbed has got to be one of my favorite songs I've head in a long, long time. I'm listening to their 2004 album, 'Mmhmm'. Apparently they're a 'Christian' Pop Punk/Punk Rock band. Yeah, they sing about a few things relating to Christianity, but I never considered that. Frankly, it's a non issue.
- I hate playing pool in GTA IV. That thing takes forever and I suck at it. Fuck you, Roman. Fuck you, Kate. I never wanted to win anyway.
- Wrestlemania 25's card so far really doesn't blow me away. Compared to previous cards, it does in fact equal the suck. Kind've like me playing pool in GTA IV.
- I've been working hard on a few songs during this time down from 'Coffee's For Closers'. They sound great. Definitely an awesome mix, some will have you dancing, others will have you rocking, some may even have you shed a tear.
- For the more observant amongst you, you may have noticed I started a twitter account. You can find it here (JUMP!). If you're reading this blog, and have a twitter, please go on over and add me so you can be completely up to date with all the inane shit I do during my day. No, not really - I can promise you I will never, NEVER, make a post as dull as 'waiting for coffee' or anything in that vein. Hence the title, 'Random Musings', which I think utilizes Twitter a bit better.
And finally:
This:
And This:
UPDATE: I just saw this and, seriously, what the fuck? A new BBC One Drama called 'All The Small Things' What the hell is this show going to be about?
Just did a quick Google search. Apparently it's about this (JUMP!) which sounds like an interesting idea. Who knows, maybe they'll pull it off.
UPDATE II: Watched Episode 1 (which features blink 182's 'All The Small Things') and Episode 2 (which features The All American Rejects 'Swing, Swing'). Did they pull it off? No. No, they didn't.
Tuesday 10 March 2009
Of My Country Journey Day Seven (20/2/09)
This isn’t going to be that long an entry as I’m watching The X-Files as I type this, so if anything seems nonsensical, or if sentences are constructed in an even poorer manner than usual, that’s the reason why. I’m near the end of Season 5 of the X-Files right now (Episode 15 ‘Travelers’) and have been enjoying it again since I took a little break after Season 4. I don’t know what it is exactly about this show, but I find that the quality, and continuity, of the show really fluctuates. The episodes that pertain to the over arching theme (alien invasion/occupation, government conspiracies, the smoking man, etc, etc) are always interesting and can be easily identified as they are always 2 or 3 parters. Every other episode however is pretty stand alone, adding little to the story that’s existed over every season. For example, in Season 5, you had the episode 12 ‘Bad Blood’ where Mulder believes in vampires and is convinced the town is being preyed upon by one. Then the very next episode, the first of a 2 parter, ‘Patient X’ has Mulder not really believing in aliens, convinced that it was all government manipulation (which to a degree is true in regards to him and his sister – this may change by the end of the series though!). How does the continuity of a series work when in one episode he believes whole heartedly and in the next he’s lost his way, his very faith, in the supernatural?
Oh well, I’m still enjoying it and will probably watch through to the end of Season 9. I’ve invested enough time into this series and these characters that I should see it through.
I’m officially staying in the country for an extra day now. I was supposed to be leaving tomorrow, but Eleanor’s parents are having a dinner party that they wanted me to stay for, so I am. It should be good; mainly because it’s all the awesome food I’ve been having all week in one day. With desert. Gnarly! Once I get home on the Sunday I’ll be locking my script before going location scouting on Tuesday with Gina. Hopefully something good will come out of that, I need to secure a location sooner rather than later and once I get the location, I can get the equipment and then the actors. Then, finally, the project will come together.
I bought Resident Evil 3: Nemesis today from Close Encounters (the comic book store/retro video game store in Bedford) for £4.99. I saw they also had Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, all for the same price. I was pretty pissed off to see the first Resident Evil there as Eleanor ordered it (the Value series one no less) off of Amazon for about £7/8. If we’d known about the store before we could’ve bought it there and then for less and with slightly better cover art. Not that I’m anal for these things, of course. Eleanor’s brother, Duncan, let us borrow his PsOne (the dinky one) and I play tested it for about a half hour. I’m looking forward to getting back and playing this series properly for the first time. I remember when the game first came out, I could’ve easily picked it up for very cheap (being in Hong Kong and all) but, despite my love of zombies (which came from an unexpected screening of Night of The Living Dead with my mum), I have always had too much of an overactive imagination to play them at that age, despite how much I wanted to. I feel that 13 years later, with the graphics now horribly dated, I may finally be able to! Go me and my conquering of past fears!
On the video game front, a quick note, does anyone else think it’s total bullshit that Ubisoft are releasing Prince of Persia: Epilogue? They’re essentially confirming that they sold an unfinished game, with an unfinished ending. I didn’t really like the game, which is a shame as I loved the other three, but I did kind of like the ending. A lot of other people, however, did not – hence this new ending and additional missions. I find it pretty questionable to ask fans to pay even more for a more conclusive ending which, arguably, should have been included in the first place.
On topic about my country vacation, there’s nothing really to report for today. Eleanor and I went for a walk this morning and then waited around before going back into Bedford where we had a bad experience in a crazy busy CEX (filled with country folk/chavs who talked like chavvy Londoners), I bought her Carmaggedon on the PS for 0.80p, but couldn’t find Resident Evil 3, despite the fact their website claims they have between 1 and 3 in stock. I was super stoked then to find a copy in Close Encounters. That’s pretty much about it today.
Short country blog done, I’m going to concentrate on X-Files now.
Monday 9 March 2009
Of My Country Journey Day Six (19/2/09)
I know I’ve been lax in the writing of these things since I got here, but in fairness it’s been because I’ve been so busy! What I thought would be a lazy, slow and, ultimately, boring journey into the country has turned out to be anything but. Hell, it’s 11pm right now and I’ve only really been able to get enough time to myself to start jotting down all the things that’s happened in the past 5 days since my last entry. First off, and most importantly, I’ve been having a good time. A better time than I thought I would have had. Again, I figured it’d be a lot of doing nothing really, allowing me a chance to read a bit and finally lock my script, which I haven’t done due to the sheer amount of things I’ve been doing. In the past few days I have visited Milton Keynes (which I talked about in my first entry), Bedford, Nothampton and today I went to Cambridge. I really need to stress that Bedford, out of all the places I’ve visited, has impressed the hell out of me by appealing directly to the gamer in me. This place has a Gamestation, Game and CEX, all within one stretch of a shopping centre.
Their CEX was particularly impressive. Whereas most CEX’s I’ve been to (the London, Harrow, Bromley and Northampton ones) have all been small (some would say cramped), dingy places, the one in Bedford is a huge, shiny supermarket of a video game store that deals not only in the usual supply of old video games (namely, PS2/Xbox, etc) but ALSO PSX games!
They also, ALSO (!), have a two floor comic book store with a kick ass Batman statue outside. I mean, the closest comic book store to me is Forbidden Planet in London, and I’ve got to spend about £5.70 (?) just for a travel card into London! Here I am, assuming I’m in the middle of no where, whereas in actuality I’m in a place that has more shops within a small period of space that appeal to me than I do at both Bexleyheath AND Bluewater.
I’ve been fantastically well looked after at Eleanor’s house. We’ve had home made food everyday and it’s been delicious Every. Single. Time. Not to say I don’t get home cooking at home, of course I do, and my ma makes some of the best food I’ve eaten. She’s also experimented now and then and made some rather questionable food too, but over the 22 years I’ve been eating her stuff I can say my opinion on her culinary skills is awesomeness. That being said, because she’s Filipina I tend to get a relatively Easternized version of Western cooking. It’ll be a Western dish, recognizable as a Western dish from taste and appearance, but sometimes there’ll be just something about it that highlights the fact an English person didn’t make this, sometimes it’s a blessing to be fair. The point being, on the first Sunday here I got, what could quite possibly be, my first proper, all-English Roast. I’m talking Roast Beef with all the trimmings. It was awesome! I’ve had stuff like that before at like pub/restaurants and roasts when my ma makes it (though it tends to be lamb) but eating at a pub/restaurant just can’t beat the goodness of a home cooked meal. It just can’t.
I don’t really know what else to write about right now. I’m pretty tired after wandering around Cambridge all day, including a period of time by myself after Eleanor stormed off all pissy. She didn’t really want to go to Cambridge at all today, I just go where I’m taken and today it happened to be Cambridge, so I wanted to make the most of it and enjoy my time there. To say that Eleanor freaking out and having a 5 year old hissy fit slightly dampened it would be pretty apt. It wasn’t the impression I wanted to leave this place with because, as we all know, we only get one, and I’ll most probably associate Cambridge with Eleanor acting like a bratty kid for a really long time now.
Cutting back for a moment, I picked up Yakuza for the PS2 from the Northampton CEX for £4. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Yakuza series and, after seeing just how fucking good looking the latest entry is looking, I decided I should pick it up and play it. If I pussy out of playing Resident Evil, I’ll always have Yakuza. I think the thing that’s always bugged me about playing Resident Evil more than anything else is the limited saving process. That and the limited ammo supplies. Limited saving = limited play time to me because I don’t want to have to play for ages, risking dying in the process, because I can’t afford to use a precious Ink Ribbon to save when I actually want to. I know it amps up the tension of the survivor/horror aspect of the game, but come on – that kind of game design does more to reject a potential audience than embrace them. Then again, here we are on the cusp of the release of Resident Evil 5, so there are obviously millions of people who think otherwise.
I’ll be leaving the Country for home this Saturday and, honestly, I wish I could stay longer. I love seeing Eleanor, obviously, even when she does act like a brat. But I need to sort out my own shit, I need to lock this script (which I haven’t even thought about since getting here, again because I’ve been constantly busy), shoot the movie, find a job, etc, etc, etc. Fun. It sucks too having Eleanor working to a school schedule as it means that the next time I’ll be seeing her won’t be until fucking Easter! So anyone who only lives 20/30 minutes, if not less, from your girlfriend/boyfriend and feel the need to bitch about not seeing them – fuck you. Fuck you and your little dog too.
When I get some downtime, I may write something actually focused on something other than what I’ve been up to (at least I managed to avoid that whole ‘woke up-had breakfast-yada-yada’ snorefest) – I saw an interesting topic on nodq.com asking whether predictability is really such a bad thing in wrestling. I thought that there was quite a varied range of topics you could talk about and it’s something I’d be interested in doing, especially with the whole Christian/Matt Hardy switch still so fresh.
Anyway, some quick thoughts again:
- I finished reading Batman: The Long Halloween. It’s amazing how good Jeph Loeb is and how much of this story is lifted by The Dark Knight.
- Lost was getting awesome again when it was finally definable (as a sci-fi shown no less) but this weeks episode didn’t blow me away the way I wanted it to.
- I’m slowly collecting the Resident Evil games with the full intention to one day play them. I’ve always been too much of a pussy to play them in the past (despite being a massive zombie movie/comic fan) and since Chazz got me Resident Evil 2 for Christmas I don’t feel there’s that much of an excuse to not play it. Eleanor got me Resident Evil for Valentine’s Day and I’m looking to pick up Resident Evil 3 from the Bedford CEX for £3. When I get back, after doing script stuff, I’ll start playing it proper. If I don’t pussy out.
- I really, really want a new Macbook Pro.
- I listened to Enema of the State on the way back from Cambridge and am currently listening to Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Yeah, I’m pretty excited for their new album.
- My heel really fucking hurts. It’s been killing me all day. I really don’t know how much affect this physio is having on it.
- I want new Macbeth shoes. I also wish they still did shoes in the style of trainers instead of the straight up dress trainer/shoes they’ve been doing. I miss the London II’s.
- Was I the only one shocked at finding out The Simpsons is now in HD and screening in 16:9?! I hadn’t read anything about it and so when I saw it, it was completely out of the blue. The HD animation shows, it looks like the animation quality of the movie, but, as the episode progressed, it proved that switching over to HD doesn’t necessarily make your show any better.
Sunday 8 March 2009
Of My Country Journey Day One (14/2/09)
My first full day in the countryside and, to be honest, it’s not been that eventful. I had a pretty disrupted nights sleep, constantly waking up and falling asleep again, the kind of sleep where you get up in the morning thinking you had no sleep at all. I figure it has something to do with sleeping in new surroundings, I always find it hard to sleep in a place that’s entirely new to me.
Eleanor’s parents went away to Exeter today and left pretty early, I woke up and heard them leave before falling asleep again; I think it was like 5 am at the time. Eleanor came in and opened the curtains letting the sun, literally, pour into the room at about 8:30. No matter how I tried to get the sun out of my eyes, I just couldn’t, so I figured it was time to get up and have a shower. For a house in the middle of nowhere it’s actually a pretty decent place, with a better shower system than the one I have back home in the London ‘burbs.
The room I’m staying in reminds me of staying at my Gran’s house before I lived in England. I don’t know what it is about it, but it just has a smell and vibe to it that reminds me of being 10 and vacationing here. It’s nice. It also looks like a real B+B bedroom, which is pretty cool. It gives the whole trip a ‘Steve’s Country Getaway” kind’ve feel.
We went to Milton Keynes today, supposedly the longest shopping mall in Europe (or the world, I can’t remember). To be fair, it was pretty long! Definitely a different mall than the triforce shaped Bluewater. I always find it really weird being out of my comfort zone, and this is pretty much the furthest away I could be from it. I had no idea where I was, with no sense of direction or anything. Eleanor thought I was mopey and grumpy while we were walking around, I wasn’t, I was just feeling really out of place due to my lack of comfort zoneness. Milton Keynes is a pretty impressive place, especially the insides of the Snow Dome where there was a wealth of awesome skating/surf/snowboarding shops. Literally brand name shops dedicated to nothing but that product. Billabong? Yep. Hurley? Sure. Roxy? You betcha. Atticus? Um, no, actually. Quiksilver? Yes. It was pretty cool, but some of the prices these places were asking for were fucking insane, it seems the recession has not been affecting Milton Keynes. £78 for an awesome black and grey striped Quiksilver hoodie (with a random, but cool, purple stripe along the middle), my reaction was a fair, justified; “Fuck you, I’m not paying that much.”
I went to the American Import store that they have, it’s very much like the two ‘Sweets From Heaven’ stores in Bluewater, but that much better. For one thing, like how they roll in the USA, it’s bigger. There’s also a much wider variety of stuff, including an American brand Macaroni and Cheese that I grew up with (Kraft!), I was pretty excited over finding it as I can’t get that from the ones near me and I haven’t had it since I was a kid.
I didn’t pick any up in the end, but if we go back I may. I also picked up a can of Moutain Dew: Code Red, which I’ve had before in Bluewater. It’s good. I picked up another drink though, one I haven’t seen, or heard of, before. An energy drink that is ridiculously large (695ml!), like ‘If I were to drink that in one sitting my heart would stop’ large. It’s called Jolt and I got the grape flavour because grape soda is awesome and it’s something we’re all missing out on in this country. That and Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops and Fruity Pebbles, all of which we could get, but only at a high price, a price I’m not willing to pay after being able to buy them for next to nothing for like 13 years of my life. Jolt is a pretty tasty drink that’s a deep, unnatural purple colour and contains not only the ingredient Red #40 but ALSO Blue #1. Additive awesomeness!
This place also sold food; I’m talking American sized cupcakes. I wasn’t sure if they would taste like the cupcakes and muffins I had when I was last in the States in 2004, but considering I didn’t have that much in the way of funds after buying a £1.20 can of Mountain Dew and £2.65 can of Jolt, I didn’t pick anything up. I wanted to though. I saw they sold savoury food too, but I didn’t really have a look as Eleanor and her brother, Duncan, seemed to want to get out of there. It was only in the car ride on the way back to their house (a trip that takes approx. 20-25 minutes) that I wondered whether they did Corn Dogs in there. If I ever go back I’ll be sure to look, because Corn Dogs are little deep fried pieces of heaven on sticks. If I could clog my heart with one thing, it would be Corn Dogs.
Anyway, that’s about it in regards to Milton Keynes. Nice place overall. The inner mall is a strange mish mash of old and new, you can see the original mall walls, etc (looking as though they were circa 1980. Quick Wiki search shows they were initially built in 1973 and the mall opened in 1989) but also the new wave of technology throughout, like the electronic store finders/maps, which were pretty neat.
So, we got back from Milton Keynes and just kind’ve relaxed. We made lunch, from scratch; a pasta with white cheese and bacon sauce, which was pretty awesome. I’m not so good with remembering to take photos of things, else there’d be one here. I’ll try and take more photos in the next days to come.
Eleanor has since gone to work for the night, which sucks. I won’t lie, it fucking sucks. Not only because it’s Valentine’s Day, but also because I came all the way up here to see her, to not get to see her. See? Kind’ve very lame. As far as today goes, in a Valentine’s Day sense, not so eventful. Eleanor is the kind’ve girl that doesn’t really do gifts, something I guess that stems from her childhood and lack of gifts growing up. That being said, I would’ve thought she would be consistently stoked whenever I get her anything, which I did/do. I had to ask her if I was getting a gift, kind’ve lame to ask, I know. But it was out of curiosity and the fact that I, unlike her, like getting gifts, and that on commercial days such as these, sometimes it’s fun to just lose the inhibitions and easy judgements about the Hallmark-holidays and just go with the flow. Sometimes it’s okay to get the lame cards and the sweet gifts. Unfortunately my girlfriend doesn’t share this opinion, so it wasn’t til about 3:30/4pm that I actually got a “Happy Valentines Day” from her. The same ideology applies to birthdays, Christmas and pretty much every major holiday; she just doesn’t do gifts, and again, as somebody who does, it kind of sucks. Not in a ‘I love material goods’ way, just in a general ‘presents = fun’/‘presents = thoughtful’ sort of way. Buying a present, or receiving a present demonstrates, to me, that someone has taken the time out to think about what you would like, find it, and then exchange cash for it – all to make you happy. And I believe that’s not something to just brush off.
Anyway, long story short I got her one of the Dexter books, as we’re both fans of the show. I also picked her up City of Angels today cause she wanted it. In turn she ordered me the original Playstation version of Resident Evil. Awesome. It arrived on the day I was leaving to come up here, not awesome. I was originally concerned with the disc, it looks pretty scratched up, thankfully it seems to play fine, super bad acting and all!
OH! Also, before I sign off; I bought a 12 pack of Budweiser’s from the Sainsbury’s here. They’re American style cans! Like, beer in the size of Coca-Cola cans, which I couldn’t believe! I see them all the time on TV and movies and such, but I’ve only ever drunk the huge pintish can equivalents. Anyway, I’m going to go back to reading Batman: ‘The Long Halloween’. I don’t think I’ll be updating everyday because, just looking at this post and the way it’s ballooned, I just don’t think it’ll be that interesting. If I do anything that deserves talking about, I will. I’ll start carrying around my camera with me too.
OH! (again) One more, final, thing. I had dinner with Eleanor and her family yesterday. That was pretty awkward. I find her dad really weird, not intimidating in any way, he just has the potential to be pretty odd. Eleanor said I looked unimpressed through out again. Again, I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t know how to react to the stuff he was saying with out bluntly saying ‘that’s not funny, be quiet.’ The first thing I noticed about country folk is, like I mentioned in my Prologue, they all very knowledgeable about one another’s business. Not only that, but also the fact these people love bitching about each other. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like, they have nothing better to do than judge the other people around them; some of them, you have to assume, being their friends. They also always, ALWAYS, refer to the person they’re bitching about by their full name. So, if it was about me, a sentence may be structured as such; “Did you see Stephen Russell today?” or “Stephen Russell pushed over Mrs.Thompson today!”
Weird.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Of Coffee's For Closers (Location Scouting)
Before I get to posting my Country Getaway blogs (of which there are only three, though they are, as Mike lovingly refers to them, essays. Well, one is.) I felt I should update this thing with the news that I have actually tried to move my project forward since coming back from Eleanor's. Yesterday, I went location scouting for a coffee shop for the flick.
It didn't go as well as I would have liked, a lot of places said no outright, which is something I know I should have been prepared for (both through reading about it and actual experience), but it still sucked every time. Here's another thing that took me a little bit by surprise, the smaller 'family run' businesses and cafes/coffee shops weren't really willing to commit to a project like mine, however Starbucks and Costa Coffee both seemed to be interested in the project. I couldn't believe it! Starbucks was the first place I went, certain it would be a flat out no, but on the contrary - the manager I spoke with, Rudy, was really friendly about the whole thing, saying he'd call head office and give me a call back and let me know. He seemed like a nice guy, and I'd like to believe he will, but I haven't received a call yet, here's hoping I will tomorrow.
Costa Coffee however was a whole different story, we were taken to the back and interviewed over a desk by a guy called Jason, nice guy, who seemed very intrigued by the project. I have to give him a call back tomorrow, and I hope it goes well. Out of all the locations we went to (around 10 or so, I believe) 4 gave us solid maybe's. Which is slightly better than a no, but not as good as a yes. Also, out of all the places we visited, it was this specific Costa that really impressed me. Frankly, I want to shoot this short in this Costa Coffee. It's perfect. The feel of it, the look of it, everything. I'm hoping I'll be getting some good news tomorrow and that I can then start prepping a casting call and sorting out equipment. The sooner I get this done, the happier I'll be. I never realized it would be so difficult to do this all on my own, I knew it would be hard, you'd be an idiot to not think that, but not having a team or anyone to really tag team with you just makes it all that much harder. Mike has been helping me out with script stuff and a few pre-pro things, but nothing super solid yet. It doesn't help that he lives quite far away, so even if he wanted to help the project by going location scouting, he couldn't.
I hope for good news tomorrow, and I hope that this thing starts falling into place. If not, then this project is going to get a massive rewrite for a location that we can actually secure, be it a house or whatever. If a coffee house is unattainable, then I'm going to really have to rethink this script.
Anyway, here are some photos from a few of the locations we went to. I'll post them in order of preference, ending with the Costa that I want to use.
Also, before I forget - thank you to Gina, who came out with me location scouting yesterday. I always work better doing stuff like that with a partner, it makes the whole process a lot easier, makes us look more professional, and gives the whole approach an air of professionalism. So, thanks. I'd like to think she learned alot and will use it as a positive learning experience. I'm sure she'll get a lot more out of it when it comes to drawing up and getting the contracts signed.
3. Espresso Bar
2. Starbucks Coffee
Costa Coffee
I hope that you guys like all of these, just in case I have to use any one of these. But it's the Costa I've got my heart set on right now. The guys at the Parade Cafe seemed really cool, but didn't seem to really grasp that we'd need to have control of the cafe for the day/night in order to have a controlled environment, something that's obviously important for a shoot - you can't have people constantly walking in, ordering whatever, messing up your shot and audio. It just can't work that way.
Anyway, I'm really tired now so I'm going to go listen to the new MC Lars album, 'This Gigantic Robot Kills' (just heard a track that had MC Bat Commander on it, I thought that was pretty awesome) then I'll be going to sleep. Expect an update about the locations tomorrow at some point, as well as my blogs/pictures about my Country Getaway.
UPDATE:
Finally back from an awesome session of Smackdown vs Raw at Glenn's house. That was a lot of fun, despite the fact that, no matter how hard I tired, I just couldn't win with my guy, Chris Jericho. That pissed me off lol. I also fucked up my finger a little bit by trying to mash/rub the buttons for kicking out, etc.
I also finished the first Resident Evil game that Eleanor got me for Valentine's Day. I'm about 13 years late to this party, but I had a good time with it for sure.
Anyway, on topic about the location scouting: I went to the Espresso Bar (the one I didn't have any photos for) and got bad news. Of course. I also called up the Costa Coffee that I've got my heart set on, the guy Jason picked up and said that they weren't completely sold on it, so I've got to e-mail his director/head office. Great. He gave me a generic e-mail address, so hopefully it'll actually get through to someone who'll be able to help me out, because I would love to use this location. A lot.
I really don't get why so many people have been so opposed to the idea of allowing us to film. I'm talking about one day's worth of shooting. A night shoot, so we don't effect their business during their day. Paying them for the privilege of shooting there, as well as the wage of whoever is staying behind to essentially chaperone us. As well as the fact that we'd be tidying up everything after ourselves when we leave. I don't see the problem, I really don't! I mean, what is the problem with that above situation? You're getting paid, we're not affecting your business AND we're of course going to tidy up once we're done, and we're only talking about one day's worth (two at a push, considering how short the script is) of shooting.
I just don't get and it's really bugging me.
Like, really bugging me.
It shouldn't be as hard as this.
That's what she said.
Thursday 12 February 2009
Of 'My Country Journey' Prologues.
Let me just open this by saying I joined the library last week. I have been a member since the 6th of February, which (for those of who are NOT mathematicians) means I have been a member for 6 days. In those six days I have read 3 books. This after not having read a book, as in novel, as in not a comic book/graphic novel or magazine, in a very long time. That's fucking insane! This is what not having a job does to you, people! I like reading, but come on! 3 books, and not short/picture books(!), in six days! SIX! I really need to get on finding a new job. Which I will do once I get back from Eleanor's, which acts as a nice segue into the main topic of this blog; I am leaving to go visit my girlfriends house in the *shudder* country for the first time since we started dating over two years ago. I know, you may think it's bad, but remember; I'm a city boy, born and raised. I come from Hong Kong and live 20/30 minutes away from Central London. Nothing could sound more unappealing to me than the country. The, 'life-going-by-very-slowly'/'everybody-knows-each-other-and-their-business'/'everyone-is-actually-fucking-crazy/their immediate family' country!
Chew on that for a second. Let it digest, and realize why I haven't been there in the 730+ days I have known Eleanor. If you want to challenge any of these, especially the last one, go and watch Hot Fuzz again and tell me that it's not a fairly accurate portrayal of country life! You KNOW everyone is not only crazy, but packing heat to boot! I can't wait to be surrounded by a bunch of disillusioned youth; white kids embracing hip hop and black urban culture. As if I didn't get that enough in Welling, now I've got to deal with it out in the boondocks too?! Now, I get the concept of embracing a different culture because you can't relate to the one you've been pre-conditioned with, but come on! Hip hopper's in the 'middle-of-nowhere' countryside?!
This is basically a blog prefacing the fact I'm going away for a while, the 23rd in fact. I may try and blog whilst out there, if the internet connection holds. Assuming they know what the internet is, of course. If I can't, I may write it all up in Word, journaling every day as it goes ala Doogie Howser MD. I don't expect you Brits to know who that is, as you were denied quite a lot of the awesome programming that I grew up with. If I do it this way I'll be posting them once I get back with any photos I may have taken.
In all seriousness, me going to Eleanor's hometown is long overdue. She has every right to be slightly pissed at me that it's taken this long. Until now, circumstance has always seen to have Eleanor come down to my house. It's always just worked out that way. However, now with her volunteering at a school as well as pulling bargirl (urgh) duty again, and me being all jobless - it just made sense for me to go up and see her during the half term that's coming up. Soon enough, we may not be able to have even that luxury when I get a job. I hope that that won't be the case though and that we'll continue to make time for each other. I know I'm prepared to do so.
That's it in regards to my trip! Just a few other quick things, in no particular coherent order:
- PLEASE, look over the 'Of Virtual Yard Sale' post again and if you see anything you like, or that you think someone else would like (in which case tell them and direct them to the page!) make an offer. Any donation would help me fund 'Coffee's For Closers'. I'm talking "I'll give you £2 for the Borat poster" kind've donating, friends!
- I would be worried about my post offending those who live in the country, or any sort of village. But I'm pretty certain I don't have any stable readers, let alone any 'fans' to push away. So, I don't think I'll sweat it just yet.
- Mick Foley actually managed to write a pretty enjoyable novel in Tietam Brown. I'm somewhat impressed.
- Y2J isn't at fault. Plus, that chick was wearing a Cena shirt. Fucking marks.
- My ma makes fucking gnarly burritos. Dinner was rad. AND I had blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Awesome!
- Could the WWE have brought Christian (Cage) back with any less fanfare. I mean, seriously. This is a guy who went to TNA and PROVED he could be a main eventer, even holding the TNA Heavyweight Championship for a time. Now he's back, and on ECW. The third show. The runt of the litter. I didn't think it was possible, but the WWE have managed to fuck up this come back (when they could have written him into a number of roles on Smackdown! with the Edge/Hardy storyline, as obvious as it may seem. And made serious money in the process.) WORSE than the Chris Jericho return. If this is their idea of trying to boost ECW's ratings, then I feel for them. I feel even more for poor Christian.
- Mega64 just seem to get better and better.
- As I write this blink-182 are in Mark and Travis' LA Studio working on a new record. How fucking exciting?! Incidentally, I have friends who never got to see blink-182 perform first time 'round who are excited about seeing them when they commence their '09 world tour. Here's a quick newsflash though: you will never see the blink-182 I saw back in 2003/04. They'll be a completely new band. And if they're not, they'll probably lose major credibility for trying to recreate something that just doesn't exist anymore, and you can't force that kind of thing. I for one am looking forward to the new sound, the new direction. I, for one, am looking forward to the new blink-182.
Also , a photo was taken of Mark Hoppus in the studio (again, happening right now) holding a Fender Telecaster. The kind of guitar that I play, although mine is left handed. I thought it was pretty neat.
Sunday 8 February 2009
Of 182.
I know I posted a new, somewhat lengthy, blog yesterday, but all of this news is too exciting for me to not talk about. blink 182 may be returning, and a lot sooner than anyone thought they would. I didn't think it would happen, even after they started talking again. Now, I'm a huge blink 182 fan. They are my favorite band and they have made some of my favorite music, and some of my favorite albums. Hell, I love all their albums. If you can't dig on that, then fuck you. I hate cats that hate on people because of what they listen to. I don't like Coldplay, but I'm not going to insult you because you might like them. Grow the fuck up, okay.
Anyway, this blink 182 stuff; when it first broke they were all talking again most people clamored for a new tour. Essentially, those who had never seen them wanted to and I can't blame them, they always put on an awesome show. They were the only band I would follow on tour, and I did in 2004 when I saw them at Wembley Arena with one of my friends, Clare, and the very next day we got up and travelled all the way to Manchester just to see them again. I was at the barrier for both gigs and it was totally worth it.
However, whereas most people wanted a new tour, I was more interested in a new album. I wanted to hear the evolution of their sound now that they had their falling out, went and did two very different things and were now, seemingly, going to get back together and record a new album. When I read this this other day, I was excited. I didn't want to get my hopes up just to have them dashed, but fuck it, I was excited. (jump!) David Kennedy, the second guitarist from Angels and Airwaves, supposedly confirming a new blink 182 record was going to happen.
Now, I'm an Angels and Airwaves fan, I'll admit it. I also like +44, but I always liked AVA that little bit more. Maybe it was because of what Tom chose to make it represent. I remember when the blink 182 break up, or 'indefinite hiatus', first happened and everyone was bitching and pointing fingers and everyone had an opinion on something that, ultimately, wasn't their business. I always felt for Tom during this time because, as he kept saying, he just needed to grow as a musician and felt that blink 182 wasn't right for him anymore. Essentially, he had matured and grown up and people couldn't accept that. People change over time, and the fans had to learn to accept it. Which is why, although I'd love to hear a new album from them, I think Tom has got himself into a corner of sorts: on the one hand he's looking like a total hypocrite. After leaving his band to pursue a more serious musical career, he has now gone back on all of that and is potentially reforming blink 182? Okay, so AVA was basically an exercise in futility and doesn't actually represent that people can change like Tom originally intended. On the other hand, Tom embraces his blink 182 heritage and begins to play blink songs at an AVA gig (which, admittedly did start to happen in little medleys he'd play. +44 also started playing blink songs at their shows) or AVA songs at a blink gig, which just won't work. AVA really pushed away a lot of blink 182 fans with their different sound, something that +44 didn't really do, and, in the end, Tom still ends up looking like a hypocrite. Hm.
Anyway, I felt like talking about all of this because today in the States, this years Grammy awards are happening. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. Today is going to be the first day that all the members of blink 182 will share a stage since their final shows in December 2004 (click here for the jump) and it's something I'm fucking excited to see. Will it look weird? (Mark and Travis wearing what they always wear, Tom in his AVA leather get up. Short answer, if this is the case, is yes.) Will they get on? Will they perform? It's announced they are just performing hosting duties, but who knows, maybe they'll surprise us. Maybe it's time for an official announcement about the return of blink 182.
I hope so.
UPDATE:
I was right. Then again, it was pretty clear that something was happening, and this was pretty much the only obvious answer. That being said, it doesn't stop me from being any less stoked. Even having a little argument with my girlfriend didn't stop me from being totally stoked by the awesomeness that is the simple fact that my favorite band has officially reformed. Check out their new website (jump!) declaring big things will be poppin' in '09! I, personally, can't wait til the new album and would love to see them on tour again. Let's hope that this lasts, for all we know they could have another falling out in the recording studio or whatever, but I'm pretty sure we all hope that that's not the case. Incidentally, while U2 were performing I just had this image in my head of Tom standing awkwardly by Mark and Travis (seeing as he tried so hard to get AVA to be somewhat like U2), maybe whispering to himself; "Awwwwkwaaaaard."
Also, I totally called it, in regards to what they were wearing. Mark and Travis wore what they usually wore and Tom wore the AVA get up he's been sporting for the past few years, it was kind of weird. As was the fact that Tom was always that little bit further away from Mark and Travis at all times, as you can see in the video below.
Saturday 7 February 2009
Of 'My First Meeting'
So, I had a 'meeting' today in regards to Coffee's For Closers. I felt the need to talk about it because of just how good I felt after it. The meeting was with one of my friends from Uni who's going to be helping me put this project together. We had a Skype meeting and it felt all official. Well, not really. Not in the sense of dressing up in a presentable fashion, going out to a production company meeting room and talking to a bunch of execs, or whoever, but it did feel as though something positive was going to come out of it and, I feel, that that's exactly what happened. The script is only 6 pages so what we did, after talking about a few random things that included (but wasn't exclusive to): the Resident Evil 5 demo, the Matt Hardy heel turn, the fact I joined the library yesterday and got a bunch of books out, Chris Jericho's autobiography, microphones and headsets, and a bunch of other things, was talk about the script in great depth.
The meeting was scheduled (I refer to it as scheduled in order to make it sound that much more official, awesome!) for 1pm. Mike had ordered a headset, in part, for this meeting, but it didn't work. So after discussing a bunch of random topics, including a few in the list I mentioned above, we decided it would be best if he went out to buy another headset that would work so that the conversation wasn't limited to me being able to talk, and him having to type a reply. Obviously that was never going to really work, despite the fact I feel it was one of the best conversations I've ever had with him. Anyway, he went to go a headset (a feat that takes a couple of hours for him, as he's got to travel into Dover in order to reach anything resembling a functioning society it seems - I tend to forget that not everybody lives 10 minutes away from a shopping mall/centre like I do.) and I went and watched this weeks Smackdown.
An hour and a half (and one mediocre wrestling show) later I got a txt from Mike saying he was nearly ready to go online. I was half way through a section in the book I'm currently reading, World War Z, and met him online after I was done. Incidentally, that book is really weird. At numerous points I've found myself wondering 'Why am I reading about a fictional zombie war that has never (will never?) happen'.
Anyway, the actual meeting has totally re-instilled my confidence with this script. Seriously. There was a short while there, when it was losing momentum, that I felt my faith in the script and the project slipping, but after this Skype meeting my confidence about this thing has sky rocketed again. The script IS good. It's a GOOD idea and it's a GOOD short story. It's a, well, it's not really sweet, but it's a good story that's funny, in an observational kind of way. No walking into walls in this one! And, most importantly to me, it's got somebody else interested enough in it to want to invest their time (possibly money, Mike???) into helping me create it. Now, I know I can write. Without coming off as brash, or egotistical, I know I can write. But I also need quite a bit of positive reinforcement when it comes to my writing. I'm sure a lot of writers feel this way, because they tend to put a lot of themselves into the story or their characters, and they worry about people judging their writing, the story's substance, or tone, hell, there's a whole wealth of things that could be criticized, in some cases without being at all constructive. Because of this I think a lot of writer's can be quite fragile in regards to their scripts. So to know that somebody likes your writing style and the story you've put together means a lot, frankly.
MEANWHILE, back on topic; Going through the thing word by word, page by page with Mike really helped me to get perspective on the story as a whole, as well as helping him to fully understand where the characters were coming from, etc. The meeting lasted for a total of about 2 hours and we managed to get through the script, again 6 pages, no problem, highlighting the elements that we weren't sure about. Thankfully that's restricted to, literally, about two lines and it's something that I should be able to sort out without a problem. There was one part to the story that I wasn't so hot on changing up, but I'm definitely going to have a look at it due to our discussion. However, and Mike is one of the people who also believe this, the scripts (or stories in general) that you write, ultimately, have to fulfill you as a writer. You shouldn't write something, or change something, because somebody told you to if you honestly don't feel it would work. Of course, there are occasions where a convincing argument is made and you suddenly have a moment of clarity and understand where they were coming from, but these tend to be few and far between. I've always believed that as long as the criticism is constructive, then it should be heard. Yeah, you can choose to just ignore it, but at least hear it out.
So, yeah. The meeting went well, everything is pretty much in place for the script. One more redraft and I'm happy to lock it. Next step is sorting out a location and equipment. Seeing as I'm unemployed at the moment (one of many, of course) I'll most probably try and do some location scouting some time next week if I can.
As a final note; I'd like to say thanks to Jack Goddard for, hopefully, getting the ball rolling on this Cash Drive for 'CFC' by picking up Solaris for £10! That's £10 that is going straight into helping this short film happen. Thank you, dude!
Saturday 31 January 2009
Of Virtual Yard Sales
I've finally gotten round to compiling that list of things I mentioned in my previous post. Bear in mind, the following list is comprised of things I've accumulated over many years, so no cracks on things that may seem out of place, junior!
Again, this is a bunch of stuff I'm selling in order to make room and get some money together in order to support my short, Coffee's For Closers. So, please, if you see something you like, or something you think somebody you know would like, let me know and we'll work something out. Again, everything is pretty much negotiable, but by giving a little more (like the generous, kind people I know you all are) it will be greatly helping me in actually moving forward and shooting my first short movie. Something you may be credited for. So dig deep, friends!
As a side bar, I've got to stress that I'm one of those dudes that tends to keep his shit in pristine condition. Any discs, etc, are all in near enough mint condition. So you don't have to worry about the physical quality of these things!
Now, onto the virtual yard sale! (I've not gone through ALL of my stuff yet, so this may well be updated in the future)
Books
There And Back Again: An Actor's Tale (Sean Astin)
I Heart Huckabees: The Shooting Script
Big Fish: The Shooting Script
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind: The Shooting Script
blink 182 'Take Off Your Pants and Jacket' Tab Book
Sum 41 'All Killer No Filler' Tab Book
Video Games
New Super Mario Bros (DS)
Elite Beat Agents (DS)
Final Fantasy III (DS)
Super Mario 64 DS (DS)
Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 (PC)
The Movies (PC)
Music Maker 2004 Deluxe (PC)
Deus Ex (PC)
Hitman: Codename 47 (PC)
Peter Jackson's King Kong (PS2)
Super Monkey Ball (Wii)
Red Steel (Wii) - Mint, still wrapped
GT Pro Series (Wii) - Mint, still wrapped
Call of Duty 3 (Wii) - Mint, still wrapped
The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers (GBA)
Justice League of America (GBA)
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 (GBA)
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets (GBA)
Pokemon Silver (GBC)
DVDs
Brotherhood
Fear Dot Com
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury
Spirited Away
My Little Eye
Final Fantasy: Spirits Within Special Edition
Blade II
blink 182 Rock N Roll Video Magazine
blink 182 Punk Poets
The Majestic
The Driller Killer
Mystery Men
X-Men
The Eye
Versus
The Returner
Family Guy Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
Saw
Night Watch
Day Watch
King of The Hill Season 1
Six Feet Under Season 1
American Dad Season 1
South Park Season 3
Misc.
Quantum of Solace Mouse Mat
Large Borat/Spider-Man 3 Double Sided Poster
Like with real world yard sales, this is intended for peeps who live more in my area, and so is targeted mostly at my friends and their extended friends, etc, on and on. If I need to mail out any of this stuff to you, I'm going to have to work on the overly complicated P+P system. Meet ups or pick ups would be best, kind've like Gumtree or Craigslist, only minus the whole uncertainty of whether or not going down that dark alley with this stranger was a good idea. And the subsequent surprise sex. Not so much with the fun.
So, there it is. If there's anything you're interested in feel free to e-mail me or Facebook message me. I look forward to hearing from you guys and would like to thank anyone who picks up any of this stuff in the knowledge that, once again, it's helping me shoot something that I think is a great little short.
Saturday 24 January 2009
Of TNA Tonight.
Hello! So, I ordered some new shirts and they came through. Didn't get around to trying them on til now, and fuck it, they're too small! Granted, I'm somewhat on the bigger/chunkier/love handly side of things, but the problem is the inconsistencies in the Atticus range. I've got a few of their shirts that are Medium, and they fit me fine. These two, however, don't. It seems that they're moving their entire range over into the more 'skinny fit' area, which I obviously don't really adhere to. So, either I have to find shirts of theirs that fit, or they've just lost a customer by refusing to cater to my (larger Medium) needs. Fuck those skinny emo kids, those who wear their sister's jeans and have no muscle at all (yeah, I've got tub. But I've also got a killer upper body!). Doesn't make sense to me, but whatever.
Been doing the gym thing for two weeks now, I need to double up the exercise routine with something at home though else I really won't feel the benefits of it. My eating habits are so fucking bad that come two days later I've negated all the work I've done at the gym. I'm trying to curb the eating habits, but I also know I need to up the amount of exercise I'm doing.
ANYWAY, I've got to wrap this up as I'm on my way out to the TNA (Total Non Stop Action) Wrestling event that's happening at Wembley arena tonight. Should be good. The show has lost a lot of the momentum that helped to define it as an interesting product circa 2004/5, but on a pure wrestling basis (minus their stupid storylines as of late) their shows are still pretty good. At least I'll get to see The Motor City Machine Guns (my favorite tag team right now).
I'll make a quick note now and say that I'm having a massive clean out of stuff from my room, I'll compile a full list and post it up on here and probably Facebook in the future. If you see anything you're interested in, let me know and we can work something out. Prices are going to be negotiable, all on the side of 'that's a good deal' however. Most of it will probably be DVDs, probably a few games here and there, etc. We'll see once I get around to making the list. But, if you see anything you or anyone else you know may like, let me know! I may even be selling my rare collection of high school love letters that I received from a few different girls. Of differing levels of hotness. But, I'll usually keep anything that strokes my ego in the slightest. (note: I won't be selling these.) But I need the space/money. Which, incidentally, segues nicely into the fact that ANY money I make through this stuff will be going into the Coffee's For Closers budget, so you will be directly helping me in financing this movie! Yeah! AWESOME? Hells yeah, it is!
So that's it, the quick update. I'm looking forward to seeing Kurt Angle again tonight, maybe he'll say hi. Probably not though. If I wave enough...maybe....
I wonder if AJ Styles will remember me from when I spoke to him a few years ago. If he doesn't he'll owe me! It's not totally unreasonable to expect somebody to remember a fan, who never introduced himself, at a meet and greet from a few years ago, is it? I mean, I remember him!
I asked for a photo and he said I'd have to pay £10-15, so I stood near him and when he wasn't looking and took his photo anyway. Take that!
Saturday 10 January 2009
Of New Year Promises
SO! It's the new year now. Officially 2009. Kind've has been for 10 days already. A few things have happened in that time for me, namely my project moving steadily forward (will be redrafting tomorrow) and the fact I am, once again, unemployed. For now, at least. My Christmas Temp contract ended today which I'm, honestly, quite sad about, even though the long hours fucked me up (due to my heel problems which I've suffered through since I was 8. 8, people! Fuck, that's a lot of kid sports I missed out on. I could've been pumped by now and had girls swooning over my awesome physique if it weren't for my heels! I could've also had loads of 8 year old girls all over me every time I kicked ass at everything! But, alas...) and the customers tended to be on the stupid (read: retarded) side of things, I really enjoyed my time working at Game. I liked the fact I got cheap(er) games, and that the people there were all pretty much awesome. Few exceptions, like with all things, but on the most part I made quite a few friends (major shout outs to: Jamie (who will probably read this, but probably not). Rebecca (you're welcome for Dexter). Eddie (for his silly face/s). Steve (for his funny accent and laid back sensibility) and everyone who majorly helped me while I was still learning the ropes that, now I've learnt, I have no use for, as I no longer work there! Fantastic!
So, now I'm unemployed I guess the next step is to find a new job. I've been told there's a possibility of me getting a call next week and coming back, which would be cool. I could definitely work there for a few more months whilst getting my shit together, movie wise.
The festival route is something I desperately want to do, hence 'Coffee's For Closers' and my (seemingly sporadic) determination to get the baby made. I need to lock it. Once it's locked, I can get the hell on with everything else! I've already promised loads of people cameo's and extra spots, all I need are my two leads. Casting probably won't happen til a little later in the day though. Funding first. Shot list/practicality and logistics planning. Location scouting. Casting+shooting schedule. All by myself! ANY producers want to help? Anyone? Please.../tangent
BUT! Before I get all depressed by the amount of work I'm facing, a quick explanation as to why this blog is calling 'Of New Year Promises'. Quite simply, I'm fed up of my love handles. Once, they were cute. Little sides of pudge, haha, cute. Now? Major muffin top, I'm spilling the fuck out of everything! I hate it. It's not even like my stomach is huge (though it's not exactly..toned.), but DAYUMN, my love handles suck. Literally, put anything in there and they'd suck it into the fat folds and you'll never see it again! HOWEVER! I do have a plan. And it's not some half hearted, 'Oh, I'm going to diet and that'll sort me out.' thing, a promise that we all break the next day/week/whenever. It's always a ticking clock as we are all, ultimately, creatures of habit, and I am no different of course, my habit being watching movies/playing video games/doing nothing all whilst eating copious amounts of the worst, yet most delicious, food/s you can think of. BUT, with the assistance of my friend Owen Davies (he of the team formerly known as The Magic Circle, [on the left]) who, incidentally, is training to be a wrestler/is a wrestler, I am hoping to finally say good bye to those handles of love of mine. He's kindly agreed to help me out with a regime that he'll sort out for me in order to get rid of them. It's apparently going to be a 3-5 month thing, and I may be busy here or there as life catches up with me, but I'm going to try and stick this thing through. I may as well document my progress on here as well as my film progressions. Here's hoping that in 5 months I'll not only have a finished film (or at the very least a nearly finished edit) but also be a trimmer, sexier version of myself. Because my totally sexy ego could totally use it! My gym regime starts on Tuesday, I'm sure I'll post (if I have the energy) after it. Let's bear in mind however, that I am the kind of guy that can't even have a gentle jog for 5 minutes before his left arm begins to tingle, so this should be interesting. If I die, blame Owen.
Tuesday 6 January 2009
Of '2008'
Here it is, finally. My list of favorite things that happened in 2008. There isn't really that much that will differ from the majority of 2008 Top lists across the internet, but hell, this one's mine! There won't be any real order to them, it's not literally a top 5/10 with 1 being the best/10 the worst. So, here we go...
Favorite Albums
Folie A Deux - Fall Out Boy
mc chris is dead - mc chris
Rotation - Cute Is What We Aim For
Life Is Not A Waiting Room - Senses Fail
The Red Album - Weezer
Favorite Movies
The Dark Knight (obviously)
The Wrestler
Lars and The Real Girl
Cloverfield
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
General 2008 Awesomeness
Mark, Tom and Travis are talking again. Fuck the reunion rumors, at least they're talking. That being said, it took 3 friends (and 2 pilots) dying to get to that point.
Loads more that I can't instantly recall right now...
That's about it, really. There was a definite improvement with some TV shows as well as some real disappointments (looking at you, AGAIN, Heroes). I was also introduced to a lot of great shows this year, such as How I Met Your Mother and Dexter, both awesome shows that I was surprised I didn't get around to watching until now! Here's hoping 2009 has more awesome movies, TV shows and albums to come out!
As far as my own projects are going, I've finally got a name for my 6 page script: 'Coffee's For Closers'. It's taken from a track from the new Fall Out Boy album and, I feel, it really befits the tone and themes of my 6 page script. I'm hoping to move forward with this project really soon; casting, location scouting, the whole shebang! The script is almost there, a few more redrafts and it'll be ready to be locked. Once that's done, I'll be able to try and get some funding, secure some filming equipment, find a location, do the casting, schedule the shooting dates and, finally, shoot the fucking thing! Yeah! Awesome! I really want to try and keep the ball rolling with this, I don't really want to be one of those guys that constantly talk about a project but never does anything with it. I've been getting good feedback from everyone who has read it, so I honestly believe it's very nearly there.
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