The last swords-and-sandals epic I saw was Gladiator. Since then, Troy, Alexander, Rome and 300 have come and gone with nary a flicker of interest on my part. But The Incomparable’s review of Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi’s Spartacus has sparked a guilty, pulpy, what-the-heck kind of interest:
…Spartacus won’t win any awards for the originality of its premise. Hunktacular warrior dude loves his superhot wife, but is reluctantly called away to battle for the good of his people. Hunktacular warrior dude is betrayed by sleaze-weasel Roman general and branded a deserter. Hunktacular warrior dude escapes and is reunited with his superhot wife just in time for them to be captured (notably, while in the altogether) by sleaze-weasel Roman general. Sleaze-weasel Roman general sells hunktacular warrior dude into the employ of agreeably amoral gladiator owner. Hunktacular warrior dude must wage a muscly, well-oiled, tiny-pantsed struggle up the ranks of the gladiator circuit to find his beloved wife and gain his whoa that guy just took a giant axe to the face!
The always excellent xkcd webcomic has this heads-up for those writers out there putting the final touches on their denouement:
And go here – now – for the rest of this brilliant bat-take on Memento:
James Henry has written a most agreeable post about how “the actual writing thing [is] a bit tedious, but the feeling of having written is a very special and glowy feeling indeed”.
Spotted in an Auckland “community entertainment magazine”:
WANTED
Wanted somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before. Ph 021 xxx yyyy
Phill Barron has an excellent parable about being a writer for hire. (And if you’re reading this in… wherever Mr Barron lives in the UK, he has a car for sale.)
And having shed a tear or few over the season three finale of Mad Men, these articles from Vanity Fair and American Cinematographer make tremendously fascinating reading.
(Fedora-tips: The Goddess and Gareth James, respectively.)
I’m a Joss Whedon fan from his Buffy days (Dollhouse has yet to reach these shores) but this Cracked list of 5 Reasons It Sucks Being a Joss Whedon Fan is both funny and spot on, with my fave being:
… There is only one real lesson in Whedonland, and it’s that loving cool people is dangerous because someone’s probably gonna shove a flaming rock into their skull.
Local producer Matthew Horrocks has some cogent articles on the state of New Zild film at his Reservoir Films. Go – go read them now.
The IncomparableChristopher Rywalt reviews Sex Decoy: Love Stings, a reality show about… about…. I can’t. But here’s an extract:
… when a ridiculously gorgeous woman — or even a skanky stripper — comes on to you out of nowhere, your choices explaining what’s going on are a) you’ve inexplicably, suddenly, and surprisingly become vastly more attractive to the opposite sex or b) she’s an alien/vampire/killer robot who’s going to eat you before you come.
Screenwriter Josh Olson (A History of Violence) explains why he will not read your fucking script. ‘S nothing personal. And totally understandable.
There’s an interesting article over the ditch about the journey of multihyphenate Serhat Caradee who, despite having a developed script and a few short films, found he had to shoot ‘pilot scenes’ to attract funding. (Fedora-tip: Lynden Barber.)
The National Post has a cautionary tale about the four acts of a television series’ life. (Fedora-tip: Ben Boychuk.)
After a looong period of radio silence (hey, he was busy), Josh Friedman has lately thrown up two posts in as many months.
An excellent New York Timesarticle explores the seduction and corruption of Graham Greene by the silver screen. (Try here if that NY Times link doesn’t work.)
And English playwright David Edgar has a brill’ extract from his book, How Plays Work, in The Guardian. (Fedora-tip: WGGB Blog.)
I’ve been a fan of Dylan Horrocks since Hicksville (a phase of forcing myself to try some homegrown comics fare). He’s got a blog. With serials and stories, too! Recommended for civilians and comic aficionados alike.
PhD student Gareth James is very generously sharing some of the fruits of his research into the history of HBO original programming, 1997-2007 at Gareth On…. (Fedora-tip: Lynden Barber.)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – A new spin on the single most tired premise in RomCom history — hire a leading man who is an enemy of comedy. Stars Matthew McConaughey and the lovely but not-exactly-hilarious Jennifer Garner.
Whatever Works – Woody Allen’s 285th movie, the 247th with the same theme: older neurotic Jew in a relationship with hot young girl who could be his granddaughter. Larry David as Woody Allen. Reviews are mixed. Middle-aged Jews love it, young girls are appalled.
The Time Traveler’s Wife – “Where were you last night and don’t tell me the Middle Ages, you bastard!?”
Forget Robert Rodriguez and his Ten-Minute Film School. I give you Mark L Lester’s Commando is the Best Film Ever (with parts 2 and 3).
[This] film wasn’t an accident, just like Jesus wasn’t an accident. It took real vision to pull off, starting with the theme of a parent’s love for his child, and the lengths he will go to to get her back from a wily South American dictator. Also, it has explosions, and a rockin’ saxophone-driven soundtrack that really gets the people moving in their seats.
Thanks, I suspect, to Nick Grant of Onfilm, I have discovered The A.V. Club’s excellent The New Cult Canon series, in particular this article about the commentary between The Limey’s writer Lem Dobbs and director Steven Soderbergh.
Another Kiwi screenwriting blog! Lyse Beck gives us Birds With Nuts. There’s a nice thread about Watchmenhere.
And speaking of the Minutemen, after all my build-up, The Goddess and I went to see Watchmen a week or so ago. She enjoyed it; I hankered for some interpretation rather than faithful replication. Thanks to Mr Slevin I’ve read people who can say what I’m thinking much better than I could here, here and here. (And no one’s mentioned it’s been two whole decades since Tim Burton gave us Michael Keaton as Batman – didn’t that kickstart the mainstreaming of comic-book adaptations?)
Kiwi scribe (and fellow guild board member) Mike Riddell joins the scribosphere with The Interminable Moon, about the journey his novel, The Insatiable Moon, takes on its way to the silver screen.
My favourites of multi-hyphenate Edward Zwick’s ten filmmaking rules are -
3. No plan survives contact with the enemy.
10. Where there is no solution there is no problem. At some point in every production, the director loses faith in the movie and the crew loses faith in the director. Somehow it all works out.
The mighty Joss Whedon has ten writing tips, my picks being -
4. Everybody has a reason to live. Everybody in your scene, including the thug flanking your bad guy, has a reason.
7. Track the audience mood. Think in terms of what [your audience is thinking]. They go to the theatre, and they either notice that their butts are numb, or they don’t. If you’re doing your job right, they don’t.
John Rogers‘ episode-by-episode online commentary and Q&A his Leverage series is a must-read for television junkies. Favourite moment so far: an epthat [seemed] so simple. It begins with us in the writers’ room cheering “They’re on an airplane, and have to pull off the con before they land! It’s practically a bottle show!” and ends with a 70-foot replica fuselage on the soundstage. Oh, and we had to build an airplane bathroom with wild walls, because you just can’t get a camera in there.
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