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May 18, 2010
. . . I wish I could somehow live in a place where no one was ever angry. I can handle upset, sad, etc, but when it comes to rage, I just feel so out of it. I resist it to the point of silence, like I can't really even talk when someone's angry. Probably seems kind of funny from an outsider perspective, watching me stare wide-eyed while someone yells. It just catches me so off guard. I guess I can't really relate to the concept of being fine one minute, stress builds up, and then BOOM! Shouting. Screaming. It's just. . . odd to me.
Maybe it's all to do with my step dad, but I think that's far too simplified. I don't honestly know if I'm the one who needs to get over it and deal with it or if I just need to find other people to spend more time with - more laid back, chilled out people. But then you lose some of the excitement I think, with people like that. I dunno. . . I love adventure quite a lot and I don't feel like an angry person. Who knows. But I do know that I want to feel safe and relaxed while simultaneously thrilled and excited. I'm sure it's out there. . .
This was a very introspective post. Hah, my bad. I don't have a diary so I guess I'm using my website as one. That's probably dumb. Who needs a diary anyway?! Bah.
In unrelated news, I'm seeing Phoenix in a few weeks, going to Scotland in a month, and probably hitting up the Wizarding World of Harry Potter by mid July. If that schedule doesn't constitute the thrill I'm looking for, I don't know what will ;)
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April 7, 2010
Well, since my last post, a lot has happened. I went to Grand Cayman with my aunt for Christmas, a new year started, and I went to about a billion concerts. Then, our Papercookie film "Passenger Pigeons", written and directed by Martha Stephens, got into SXSW!!! So we went for a week and attended a ton of film related events and screenings and just generally enjoyed the heck out of Austin, TX. I got to see a five song set by Frightened Rabbit on our second to last afternoon there, and then discovered the next morning that they were staying in the same hotel as us. Amazing.
Also, we began filming my first feature, "L'orfeo and Elysium", not too long after my last post here. We have been filming about 2-3 weekends per month since then and should be finishing up by mid-summer at the latest. It has been a lot of work, but based on the footage we've been watching, it's looking good and a lot like what I had in my mind when I wrote it, which is, after all, kind of the main goal in making a movie, right? Right.
When filming is finally done, I'll post again with a link to the film's website which I'm in the process of building. In the meantime, feel free to hit up our Papercookie site where you can see info on all of our films, some in progress, some completed.
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November 9, 2009
Well, as promised, here (finally) is that last Dragon*con post. So, during our adventure filled weekend, we also met a few other awesome people including Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick (creators of Venture Bros), Karen Allen (from Indiana Jones), Malcolm McDowell (most notably from A Clockwork Orange), Charles Fleischer (voice of Roger Rabbit), Neil Innes (from Monty Python), Doug Jones (Pale Man and Fauno from Pan's Labyrinth), and Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller's Day Off!!). Time and money certainly well spent!
Besides that absolutely joy filled weekend, I've been busy preparing my first feature length film, written and to be directed by me! I'm really excited, and also very nervous to work on it. We have had some technical problems with our camera that are just now being resolved, and there are still a few parts to cast, but the excitement of finally making my first feature is way overshadowing any insecurities I think.
So other than that, I've seen a few movies (Extract, HBP again which breaks my theatre viewing record) and a bit of BSG here and there, and I'm coming up on some exciting concerts and films to be released. I'm also VERY excited about a band I've just discovered called Phoenix. You should check them out. Their newest CD, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, is by far the best, but the one right before that one, It's Never Been Like That, is also WAY worth checking out, so get on that. In related music news, frYars has just released his first full-length album entitled Dark Young Hearts, so please PLEASE order it. Yeah, it's a bit expensive, but it's a UK import and you will be supporting a very talented guy who needs more exposure so more people can find out about his amazing music.
Well, that was an awfully long post and I hope you all got something at least vaguely interesting to you out of that. Until next time. . .
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October 13, 2009
So, finally returning to this growing list of people we met at Dragon*con, I also had the EXTREME PLEASURE of attending not one, but TWO one-hour long Q&As with Tom. Felton. ladies. and. gentlemen. Tom. Felton. It was incredible. I probably recorded about 47% of the total experience on my mom's camera. That's the only proof I have that it really happened because I definitely wake up every morning convinced that it was a dream. . . "My memory has been tampered with," I say. Then I view those tapes and realize. . . no, I really met him. That happened. To me. Wow. I also got his autograph and spoke to him about his music for about 2.8 seconds. Here's how our conversation went:
Tom: So, how's your weekend been?
Me (shaking furiously, heart pounding audibly): Oh, great. How about yours?
Tom: Really good.
Me: So are you still working on your music? Any plans for a CD?
Tom (looking up at me from the autograph he was busy signing, a slight look of pleasant shock on his face): Oh, you've heard my music?
Me: Yeah, it's really good.
Tom: Oh, thanks! I'm really surprised so many people have heard it. I'm really glad people seem to like it. Yeah, I plan to keep going with it.
Me: Awesome. Oh, by the way, you were so incredible in Half-Blood Prince, really.
Tom (genuinely flattered, looking up again): Oh, thanks! Yeah, if the fans are happy, then I'm over the moon about it really (*his favourite convention phrase, by the way). So thanks!
Me: Yeah, of course, thank you! (I take my autographs with shaking hands and walk away from the booth with a plastered on smile).
Yeah, that took place. I know! You can hardly believe it, can you!
And as if that wasn't enough excitement for that one weekend, there will be YET ANOTHER post about Dragon*con, plus some other random things that I feel like sharing with ya. So stay tuned!
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September 16, 2009
Hello, all! I thought I'd come on here today and give you guys a quick update. Things have still been rather busy around here, and the 'crossed-off' section of my to do list grows longer and longer as the 'still to do' section. . . also grows longer and longer. But, the point is, I've done a lot of stuff that I feel like sharing with you all.
First of all, I went to Dragon*con in Atlanta, GA. That was a total BLAST! I'm telling you, I couldn't have imagined a better experience than the one that was had. I met SO many people, I can't even believe it. Battlestar Galactica actors dominated the booths in the Walk of Fame ballroom, and I was able to meet, have my picture taken with, and spend gobs of money on autographs from almost all of them. Spoils of my extravagant spending spree include autographs from Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh), Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh), Alessandro Juliani (Felix Gaeta), Richard Hatch (Apollo from the original BSG series, Tom Zarek from the new one), Kandyse McClure (Anastasia "D" Dualla), and Mary McDonnell (President Laura Roslinm; also Rose Darko, Donnie's mother, in Donnie Darko).
I also had the pleasure of meeting Dean Haglund (The X-Files' Langly of the Lone Gunmen), who, as it turns out, was originally, and still is, a stand-up/improv comic. That's some interesting trivia right there. And not only was he a really nice guy in person, but he was also AS NERDY as his character from The X-Files. I mean, really. He has a podcast about conspiracies, wrote his own comic, and even invented (and won an award for) this Chill Pak thing that 'chills' your laptop when it gets too hot. It sounded pretty cool and I would have probably decided to partake by purchasing one for myself if it hadn't been for two factors: 1, my 'laptop'. . . Well, it comes with quotation marks around it as you just saw there. See, it's not a real laptop. It only thinks it is. And 2, I was out of cash. I mean SERIOUSLY out of cash. . . Like, I ate table scraps for a few days after the convention. Yeah.
Well, at the risk of making this post the longest post in post history, I'm going to leave you with that for today. To be continued with a rant about a VERY special guest. . .
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August 31, 2009
So Lollapalooza totally rocked, not that anyone was surprised. Highlights included Depeche Mode, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lou Reed, Kaiser Chiefs, and several others that we didn't get to see all of because of stupid scheduling conflicts with other bands playing on other stages at the same time (of Montreal, Dan Deacon, Peter Bjorn & John, etc). Overall, it was a very sweaty success mixed with a pinch of a freezing cold 12 hour rain standing session during which more mud was flung than ever in the history of mud flinging. Rock on.
Then there was Azkatraz, several weeks before Lollapalooza. Let me tell you something. Wizard Rock bands can ROCK. Seriously. That yatch-it didn't know what hit it. In case you were wondering about my previous sentence, yatch-it is how I now pronounce yacht, so get used to that.
Right, well I'm now up to 6 viewings of HBP, and that number will hopefully climb again before my next post here. So stay tuned to hear more about that. 7 viewings will be my highest number of theatre viewings of any movie EVER, so that's quite a record that I'm about to break in the coming weeks.
I hope everyone had an exciting summer full of adventure and minimal boredom. I'll report back after Max's b-day extravaganza complete with Frightened Rabbit and a side of we were promised jetpacks. Cheers to all my Scottish readers! Haha, like I have readers. . .
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July 15, 2009
Well, hello everyone! As it's July 15, I've just (hours ago) seen the new Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which, as you all should know, has occupied about 98-100% of my brain capacity for the past several months. 11 months more like. 11 months ago today I found out that my most anticipated movie to date (the aforementioned HBP, obviously) had been postponed, and not by a few weeks or even a month or two. No. Postponed by 8 MONTHS, people! Outraged and teary eyed, I spent the remainder of the vacation during which this news was broken to me pretending that I had not heard said news, and when I returned home, it all sank in that I'd have to stretch out my excitement for 8 additional months. And then last night, the night I've been waiting for, finally arrived. I hardly believed what was happening, and even now, I hardly believe it has already happened.
If you are looking for the best Harry Potter movie yet (read the best MOVIE yet), then look no further than your local cineplex. I daresay you won't be disappointed, though I have heard a few negative fan comments about things that were left out or altered. There are only two things that bothered me in the slightest to be honest, and I won't spoil them for those who haven't seen the movie or read the books. I'll just say that the post-climax climax and the 3 smells are the two things. I doubt even big fans of the books will be able to decode that, but oh well. All the other changes, however, went over well with me and I was fine with them. For a book that large and complex, something full of that many complicated and hard to depict emotions and obsessions, I think they did brilliantly. Would I have done a few things differently if I had been in charge of the making of the film? Yes. But that doesn't mean this work of genius isn't perfect on its own. 10/10? No, more like 1,000,000/10.
Well, I'm going to round off this post by saying that I'll be absent once again for a while because I'm going to a Harry Potter convention. Yeah, that's probably in the bottom 3 nerdiest things one could do, but I'm totally fine with that. It's going to rock my socks and anyone rolling their eyes right now will be jealous once they hear of my escapades at said convention.
Yeah, this post didn't start out as a straight up HP glorification, but that's what it turned out to be. I make no apologies.
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May 13, 2009
Well, I'm excited today because I'm going to see Tokyo! I just know it's going to blow my mind, and I'm sure it will blow yours as well. You really should check it out. Look at me, recommending a movie I haven't even seen yet. That's just how it goes when someone makes a trailer as good as the one for this film. Man.
I'd also like to throw a quick shout out to the guys who set up the lineup for Lollapalooza. Good grief, it's looking swell. Buy your tickets now! Or wait, don't! Leave some for me! I get paid in three days!
And by the way, just so you all know, I am now the proud owner of 10 Harry Potter shirts. Is that some kind of record? Doubtful. Us HP fans are NUTS, I tell you, NUTS!!
That is all for today. Thank you.
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May 1, 2009
Uh, so hey there. Did you forget about me entirely? Apparently I forgot about MYSELF entirely. It really has been quite a while since my last post, but I'll tell ya, this one is worth the wait...
NEW papercookie site! Going up today! Go there now: papercookie.net. If you aren't impressed yet, wait a while, then click that link again. We probably got lazy and didn't put the site up in time for your visit...
Neutral DVDs will be on sale ASAP, possibly already (by the time you read this). Buy one, buy ninety-seven, buy them all!
Readers, if I have any, I love you guys.
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March 17, 2009
I have two new script ideas which I feel like sharing at the moment...
Salamander - the story of a young boy, maybe 10 or so, who has a much more mature relationship than normal with a girl his own age. Their parents are strongly against their progressing relationship and try to separate them. The eventually questionable and anger induced ways that their parents attempt to do this are supposed to make you, the viewer, think the kids might just be right - if I write it well enough, which remains to be seen, you'll feel that way, and you'll side with the kids even though they are 'crazy kids'. So tell your parents to go away. That's some good horse sense.
Common (working title) - a girl moves through her day in near real time. Though she continues through time in order, her body moves from place to place around the world, unbeknownst to her, and she finds herself walking out a door in France and onto a street in China.
Right. So I'm terrible at writing these summaries. You'll just have to wait to get excited about these. . .
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December 31, 2008
So I got back from Cozumel, Mexico on Monday night. I was there for a week and spent Christmas on a beach. How strange. It was great though. That was only the second. . . well, third time that I've been out of the country. The first was to the Bahamas when I was 13 and the second was to London two summers ago.
Unfortunately for me (and you, really), my digital camera has been broken for well over a year and the price tag on the repairs is outside my usual spending limit, so I've been sitting on that. Not sitting on the camera, though I'd try it if I thought it might fix things. The point is, I didn't have a way to take gobs of pictures like I did when I was in London. My aunt made the joke that my London photos could be stacked and used as a flip book to chronicle, in real time, 100% of my time and experiences in London, which is close to accurate I think. However, I did spend $10 (about 1/15th of the price to fix the good camera) on a disposable camera which I used primarily to take pictures of the iguanas by the hotel pool, so you will get about 1/15 of the experience, which is logical considering the price I paid to give it to you.
Someday I'll get around to taking that camera to a place for developing. And someday later still I'll have my own dark room and all this will be irrelevant because if I'm rich enough to have my own dark room, not only will I probably not have the time to update this site every few days, but I imagine I'll also have the best camera equipment known to man, so good in fact that the photos will be unviewable to the naked eye.
In other unrelated news, have a good New Year's Eve/Day, as I know I will, and I'll update again in 2009.
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December 16, 2008
It's high time for me to offer something fun on this website, and high time for you all (and by "you all" I mean the 2 viewers of this website) to see the fruits of my current phase which I'll call the "mash phase."
So, my first ever mashup is making its debut right here, right now, and in a relatively completed status (still some things to be perfected once I stop using Adobe Premiere to edit audio which is not exactly what that program was intended for):
Lucid Lockdown
Kanye West vs. Franz Ferdinand
Please enjoy!
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December 5, 2008
November was a weird month. I did a lot of traveling. I'll put some pictures from my vacationing up here soon to kick off the Snaps page (photo gallery).
The highlights of my travels include Equus in New York (where I got Daniel Radcliffe's autograph!); seeing Let the Right One In (also in New York); teaming up with Max, Amanda, and Michael Rooker for a lovely trip to Orlando for a film festival and some good but expensive food; and spending some quality time with Spongebob in a hotel in Hiawassee, GA.
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November 20, 2008
So tonight I'll be taking off for good ol' South Plainfield, NJ. It's funny that I'm really going to NYC but I still start off this post by talking about South Plainfield. Oh, SP, you and me will have a lovely future together. . . soon, my dear, I promise you. . .
The purpose of the trip I'm taking, however, is to see Equus starring Harry Potter himself (Daniel Radcliffe to the layperson)! Mark me down as psyched. Oh, and while I'm there I'll be checking out two of my most anticipated movies of this year. . . Let the Right One In and Synecdoche, New York! Three cheers! Hip hip HOORAY! Hip hip HOORAY! Hip hip HOORAY!
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November 12, 2008
Launch! In honor of the grand opening of my website, I think you should all go out and listen to frYars sing a cover of Adem's "Launch Yourself".
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