Last night, a group of us went to see National Treasure as presented for free by The Warren Report. I shan't spoil the delicious badness because Faye is going to write it up as a special Bad Movie Monday review. Check back for that because I'm sure it will be well worth your time (much more so than seeing the actual film). But that's not important now. What I wanted to talk about it was the preview that came before the movie. We don't usually get previews with Warren Report films. Therefore, I was very surprised when I realised I was in the midst of the teaser for the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film. I've blogged about this film before and how excited I am because I really think there's a good chance it's going to be pretty damned good. I've also seen the teaser before on the very very small screen that is a Quicktime window on my computer. In that capacity, it seemed “cute”. On the big screen, however, when the Earth explodes in a great big ball of blue and bits of planet come flying toward you, it is a-effing-mazing! Seriously. I got chills and everything. So that made me pretty happy. Waiting till May will be tough.
This morning, I was reading The Salmon of Doubt which is a posthumously published collection of essays by and interviews with Douglas Adams. In it, there is an interview he did with the Onion in 1998. He was talking about how the rights to the film had just been purchased by Disney and how glad he was that it was finally being made. At that time, various parties had been trying to make this film for 15 years (by now it's 21 years). Adams said that the whole process had been rather frustrating for him because the project was something that meant a lot to him. I won't go into all the details. I'll just mention who has tried to make the film: Ivan Reitman, Michael Nesmith(!) and Jay Roach with Disney (I'm glad that last one didn't pan out. The guy who did Meet the Parents has no business directing this film). I don't know the whole story about what happened to the film after this interview and why Jay Roach isn't directing. (Instead it's Hammer and Tongs, who are best known, by me, as the guys who made Blur's “Coffee and TV” video). I do know that when Douglas Adams died in 2001, the only visual realization of his story that he witnessed was the fairly silly BBC version, which he admits was disappointing. In the interview, he sounded so excited that he would FINALLY see his work on film. He said that he was confident it would be something he could be proud of because special effects have come a long way since the film was first pitched. I'm sure that when he died, he was happy about a lot of things besides movies. But he never will get to see bits of Earth hurling toward him in a dark theatre. I'm sad that he didn't have the opportunity to get chills. Sure, many authors never get a chance to see their characters on film. (And for many of them, that's a good thing). Adams, however, was always “close” to seeing it get made and it just didn't happen in time.
Don’t Panic
Team America: Fuck Yeah!
Last night I finally saw Team America. (I know it's been out for less than a week, but there was a time when I would have insisted on seeing it on opening night. That was impossible this time).
The review in The Stranger had this criticism of the film:
“It's far too one-sided for its own good. The film is so busy skewering the pomposity of liberals that it almost lets conservatives off the hook, as though the filmmakers took a dare to try to make the most outrageous political satire possible without mentioning a certain name. It's telling that the right's biggest puppet, dear old Dubya, is basically given a pass.”
Reading that before seeing Team America, I was a little worried. I've seen less than perfect South Park episodes. Then again, I've also seen sheer genius. (The Great Expectations episode and the Radiohead episode come to mind).
Well, the movie started and I was laughing from the get-go, whatwith the exploding opening credits followed by another explosion. The songs are, as usual, a strong point (I especially like the ballad “Pearl Harbor Sucks (And I Miss You)”). And then there is the “criticism” of liberal Hollywood. It was then that I realised that some liberals just can't take a goddamned joke. And that's all it was. It IS silly that these celebrities take themselves so seriously. They're fucking actors for christsake! They have the same ideas as any other liberal, yet somehow they feel that just because they are famous, it is up to them to “save the world”. It's true that money talks. But it often feels like it's more of a publicity thing for them than it is social work. Bono is a good example of this.
As for Bushy's absence in the film, I didn't miss him. For one thing, the man practically makes fun of himself. If I need it pointed out to me, Jon Stewart already has that market cornered. It seems to me that Trey and Matt set out to have a good time. They've mentioned before that they only want to make each other laugh. It is clear in interviews that most of the motivation for the jokes are just that “it's funny to see puppets do stuff”. And it is. Especially when puppets fight and explode and die horrible, gruesome deaths. That IS funny. And it's just as funny to see Susan Sarandon splat on the sidewalk as it would be to see Bushy die in a similar fashion.
In short, Team America is a comedy. These are heavy times, so it's nice to see smart that's also light on the social. For the most part, they just wanted to make fun of actors and the silliness of action movies. And I don't mind. I think people expected too much because Bigger, Longer and Uncut was so political. But I honestly don't think they were going for that so much this time. If I want to laugh about politics, I will watch The Daily Show. If I want to laugh about Ben Afleck, I will watch South Park (“You almost make me forget about tacos!”) or Team America. And I'm fine with that order of things.
U R Stupid Dumbass If U Pay Retail Pri-cee For Softwares understand miserable goodbye
A word of warning. I'm going to geek out here today.
A while ago, I caught wind that they were making a Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy movie. This prompted me to re-read the books so that I could enjoy the story once more before it was visually tainted by Hollywood. However, the more I read about this production, the more I think it might actually be pretty good! I've seen small bits of the set and it looks pretty cool. Then there's the issue of casting. All the characters are so great that one bad casting decision could ruin the whole thing. So far, I'm pretty happy with who they've chosen. Especially the choice of Martin Freeman (Tim from The Office) as Arthur Dent. He already displayed his “everyman” qualities in The Office and did so very well. Put him in a bathrobe and he already IS Arthur Dent. I'm also very excited about Sam Rockwell as Zaphod. I was extremely impressed at his charisma in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (and Stella! :P) and I think he could pull off Zaphod pretty well. Of course, there is the question of how they are going to give him 2 heads without it looking ridiculous. Well, as horrid as Men In Black 2 was, I remember being fairly impressed with the realism of Johnny Knoxville's second head. So it might work out just fine. Then there's the question of Mos Def as Ford Prefect. I don't doubt Mos Def's acting ability. My only concern with this decision is that it is unclear whether or not they are going to make him do an English accent. If they don't, the whole joke about Ford pretending to be from Guilford will be lost. If they DO and it's terrible, the whole character will be lost. I have yet to hear a decision on the accent.
The script doesn't worry me either as MOST of it is actually from Douglas Adam's original adaptation. (Well, it doesn't worry me unless I think about Nick Hornby's original screenplay for Fever Pitch. But let's not revisit that one…ever.)
One thing that DOES annoy me already (just in the sense that it's a rude thing to do) is their decision to use Warwick Davis as the BODY for Marvin, the Paranoid Android, but not the voice. What the shit is that? You hire a professional and well known actor to, essentially, act as a double? Why not just save money and hire Mr. Cheapo Small Person to do the body? What's wrong with Warwick Davis's voice? If he can be a scary Leprechaun, he can bloody well play a manic depressive robot.
I began watching the BBC series of the books last night. It was made in 1981 and it is pretty dated. I don't know whether or not I want to keep watching because it's pretty embarrassing at times. Especially the part where Zaphod has a mullet and Trillian, who's supposed to be brilliant, talks like Chrissy Snow from Three's Company.
So that's what I have to say about the matter so far. I'm excited to see what's going to happen and I'm feeling fairly optimistic about it at this point. It helps assuage my fears (and horrors) about the film of Confederacy of Dunces that they're making. Thanks for bearing with me through my little Aint It Cool News moment.
synchronism tickle
This weekend I saw THREE really bad movies. There are SO MANY bad movies out there and more getting made all the time. While it's a lot of fun to watch movies like Cherry Falls and make fun of them, it also makes me wonder why it's so hard for us to get our movie made. Or maybe it wouldn't be if we just sent our script off to Hollywood and relinquished all creative control. I don't know. Regardless, there are a lot of good laughs in Cherry Falls. Not so many in Below which was incredibly painful and discombobulated. As for Ju-On, while small children with big eyes will always be frightening on some level, a movie with that many disconnected characters and plot holes cannot be scary because you're too busy trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
In non-movie news, I had a GREAT yoga class yesterday. My balance was much improved and I felt much stronger. Of course, I'm a lot more sore than usual today, but, as always, it's a good kind of sore, because it means I really accomplished something. Pat pat pat on the back.
It's Monday. That's not so nice.
policy of truth
I hate people being mad at me. I really do. And I hate looking/feeling like an asshole. Therefore, I shall no longer talk about movies that I dislike/find fault with unless I know we all agree. (So I can still talk shit about Baz Lurhman, right?) This is for the same reason I do not talk about politics with my Republican boss (who is very nice).
I had looked into at Woking. The earth all round it had splashed under that
Another eventful weekend which is nice. Meep and I worked on her short Friday night and much of Saturday. Hopefully we will get it done in time for a festival deadline. I think it's looking really good. I just feel bad because I am not a good sound editor and Meep needs that. I'm trying really hard though.
Saturday Meep and I finally saw the much touted Napoleon Dynamite and were less than impressed. At first we weren't sure why but then we got drunk and discussed it (with Sherwood and Gene who were also not impressed) and realized several things. Even though it was a movie about nerds, we couldn't feel sorry for any of them because they didn't seem to be at all bothered by being nerds. Also, things happened to them that would never REALLY happen in this situation (like the internet girlfriend actually being hot and still wanting to date that guy). People might say it was meant to be absurdest but I really don't think the filmmaker is capable of being that high concept. Also, what was the point of making it “retro” looking, other than for added laughs because “dude, look how funny a side pony tail and a fanny pack is”. This lead us to a discussion about how there are no movies about being alienated in high school that are realistic. They're either really hot actors playing nerds who get their comeuppance, (a la “She's all that”) or it's a cartoon. A caricature. Like Revenge of the Nerds or this movie. Or there's a third genre like Heathers where the protagonist is in the middle between cool and popular and they have to make a choice. No one ever makes a movie about the fat girl in Heathers. Unless it's Tod Solondz and Welcome to the Dollhouse. But that doesn't count because Tod Solondz is a sick fuck.
The only thing that comes close is Freaks and Geeks. That was an amazing TV show that definitely captured certain painful high school moments on the nose. But it was a TV show. And it got canceled. So again we are left with nothing. What up with that? But then again, I might just actually be a huge, joyless, film snob. I hope not.
ANYWHO…after the movie, we played 50 songs on the juke box at Wok and Grill and once again made the nice lady stay late. But we tipped her well. So hopefully she doesn't hate us. Because I HEART Wok and Grill.
Then Meep, Sherwood, Gene and I went back to my place and played music (probably too loudly. Sorry neighbors) and talked passionately about things I don't remember. Next thing we know, it's 5 in the morning. I haven't done anything like that in a long time and I really enjoyed it. Even though I spend most of Sunday recovering. I'm really grateful for long-lasting friendships and developing new ones. I love my friends. I really do. Thanks, guys.
i feel great!-improves sleep
Recap of last night!!!
Meep and I were both pretty nervous and trying to abide by the “whatever happens, happens” philosophy. But we had done so much work so we knew we HAD to get our letter/treatment into the hands of Wright and Pegg. They came out at the beginning of the movie and introduced it and I thought “Oh no! Are they leaving right after this?” but they said they would be back at the end for the Q & A so I relaxed and sat back to enjoy the movie. And enjoy I did! It is so rare that a film I've been hyping up so long in my head meets all of my expectations, let alone EXCEEDS them. This one did. It was hilarious and sad and poignient and gory. All the things a zombie movie SHOULD be (or any movie for that matter). Afterwards, they had a short Q & A wherein people asked the usual questions (including one stupid question from Fan Boy, my new nemesis. More on that later) and then they were finished and I knew is was showtime. They were heading for the exit! I leaped over Dom and accosted Simon with our envelope. He turned it over in his hands and said “Oh, wow. What's this?” “It's for you and Edgar!” I said. “It's from me and that girl over there”. I pointed to Meep making her way over towards us. “Edgar, we got a present”, said Simon. That was when Meep (thankfully) stepped in and explained that we have been writing a zombie comedy for that last two years and that we're big fans of Spaced and wanted them to read our treatment. “So that's sort of a fan letter, slash, treatment”. I redundantly explained. Simon began to open it. “You don't have to read it now” I said. “Oh, would that embarass you?” he asked. “Yeah. Plus it's kind of long” I said. (I think. I can't really remember exactly what was said. I was pretty damned nervous). Meanwhile, other people are handing him DVD's to sign which he's doing but talking to us! Anyway, eventually, I asked for a picture and Dom whipped out the camera and we got in line. Poor Edgar, who we hadn't really been talking to, simply because Simon was the one who reached me first, stepped out of the way of the camera! “We want you in it as well!” I said. And he got back in. Poor Edgar! I bet everywhere they go people ask to speak to Simon and ignore him. The tragedy of life behind the camera! But anyway, we got the picture which can be seen “HERE!”
Then we said thank you and left. It was very exciting! I don't think we made TOTAL asses of ourselves and we did what we had set out to do! They didn't ask us out for drinks, sadly. (But Meep thinks that if WE'D asked, or if we'd accosted them at the end instead of the beginning, it might have happened). But still, even if they never email us or hate our treatment or whatever, we had a mission and the mission is accomplished. I'm quite proud of us!
And now for the tail of Fan Boy: Fan Boy is a sad wanker who works at the Metro theatre. I would bet money that he still lives with his parents. I got to the theatre at 4:30 and was most certainly the first person in line for the movie. While I waited there, I had to listen to Fan Boy talk loudly about all the cool insider information he has about movies. And then more people started to show up for the movie and his true evil nature showed through. Some poor guy who has better things to do that read Aint It Cool News every day came up and said “I'm here for the screening. Is this the line?” “What screening?” Said Fan Boy snidely. “Something of the Dead? I can't remember the name. It's some guy's name and then Of The Dead”. “Well, if you could remember the whole title, perhaps then I could tell you if we are showing it tonight,” said Fan Boy in a tone not unlike that of Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. That was enough for me. I looked up from my book and said “Yes, this is the line for Shaun of the Dead”. After that, whenever someone came up and asked if that was the line he would try and make them answer a “Trivia” question before they could stand in line. I could tell that somehow this kid had managed to go his whole life without a severe beating and it was about time for him to receive one.
I knew he was truly my nemesis when his dumb friends showed up and started hanging around where he was at his podium at the front of the line. Nearer to show time, I heard what I suspected was coming. His friends asked “so do we have to go get in that line?” “As far as I'm concerned, you guys are in the front of the line” said Fan Boy. “I mean, if you think about it, I've been waiting here all day”. No, you asshole! You've been at WORK all day. As have I. “Actually, if you think about it, I've been waiting for this movie since last Tuesday,” he declared finally. He then repeated these declarations in the SAME wording to drive his “point” home. Fan Boy, you are on my list. One day you will be standing next to Baz Lurhman and you won't know why until it's too late.
Regardless, not even Fan Boy could spoil a lovely evening. Meep and I rewarded our achievement with beer and toasted “to dreams”. I'm beginning to think that Ron Jeremy is our fairy godfather!
Effed by the Wind 