A Passion for Possession
Here, Love is fierce and all consuming, the characters are beautiful and possession is 9 tenths of the fun!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Hiatus
I've decided to look on the past two weeks as a DIY Spa Cleanse. I've been alcohol-free, fat-free, meat-free and a lot of days, food free during that time. I'm certain that everything bad that was inside me is gone. I've had quite a pre-holiday slim down as well. The fevers, coughing and what not are, thankfully, over. Jon and I are almost working at a normal level. Needless to say, we are way behind in everything. I haven't been able to write in all that time. There will be a full blog over the Thanksgiving Holiday. There are great things happening despite the pestilence that visited our house. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Always Remember
I am late for the eleventh hour, but I couldn't let the day pass without asking that everyone remember on this Veterans Day/ Remembrance Day all of those who fought and died in world and regional conflicts. Hopefully, there will come a day where the list does not grow longer. For tangible action, consider donating to places like the USO that assists soldiers and their families.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Familiar Feelings and Other Whimsy
Craig has given me the Happy Gorn to protect me at the new office along w
ith a missive from Mister Ho
oves.. Alas, Jon and I seem to have re-caught the Thing Going Around the Office. I've had to postpone meetings set for Monday. I've decided answering the phone is not a good plan. Yesterday, I almost asked an investor 'Why you call me? Me need soup!' Even Ralph and some of the soundstage people are hacking up lungs. None of us think it's H1N1, but there is paranoia with each cough or sneeze. I'm just tired of the raw throat and the wet cotton in the brain. I'm finding it hard to comprehend the football games today. And the keyboard is blurry.
Strangely, other than feeling awful again, it's rather pleasant here. The weather is beautifully cool. The incredibly early Thanksgiving sales at our market prompted me to make a dry run at the turkey(that thing was 20 lbs for $7.00!), gravy and dressing. Thus, the apartment smells lovely. I'm also making some stocks from the leftover roast chicken carcass and the turkey carcass. There will be very yummy gravy and restorative soup in a few hours. Our short and long range plans are on schedule. Or they were. I can't look at the last list of resumes until I can read w
ithout my ears ringing. It's a minor delay at best. I hope.
So there are many exciting things on the horizon and much in the way of
yumminess in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I can't really focus on the ode to the Phillies I wanted to do this week. It has a fabulous diatribe against sports coverage in Los Angeles. And then there is the preview of the CSI Trilogy this week. An arc involving all three shows is in the offing. Alas, all I can think about is my very raw throat and the ringing in my ears. Meanwhile, I will share the latest safety tip at the Archive and Ralph's latest method of leaving me messages. What will he do when the offices are finished?
Stay tuned.
ith a missive from Mister Ho
oves.. Alas, Jon and I seem to have re-caught the Thing Going Around the Office. I've had to postpone meetings set for Monday. I've decided answering the phone is not a good plan. Yesterday, I almost asked an investor 'Why you call me? Me need soup!' Even Ralph and some of the soundstage people are hacking up lungs. None of us think it's H1N1, but there is paranoia with each cough or sneeze. I'm just tired of the raw throat and the wet cotton in the brain. I'm finding it hard to comprehend the football games today. And the keyboard is blurry.Strangely, other than feeling awful again, it's rather pleasant here. The weather is beautifully cool. The incredibly early Thanksgiving sales at our market prompted me to make a dry run at the turkey(that thing was 20 lbs for $7.00!), gravy and dressing. Thus, the apartment smells lovely. I'm also making some stocks from the leftover roast chicken carcass and the turkey carcass. There will be very yummy gravy and restorative soup in a few hours. Our short and long range plans are on schedule. Or they were. I can't look at the last list of resumes until I can read w
ithout my ears ringing. It's a minor delay at best. I hope.So there are many exciting things on the horizon and much in the way of
yumminess in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I can't really focus on the ode to the Phillies I wanted to do this week. It has a fabulous diatribe against sports coverage in Los Angeles. And then there is the preview of the CSI Trilogy this week. An arc involving all three shows is in the offing. Alas, all I can think about is my very raw throat and the ringing in my ears. Meanwhile, I will share the latest safety tip at the Archive and Ralph's latest method of leaving me messages. What will he do when the offices are finished?Stay tuned.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
The Gorn, The Caterers and A Cunning Plan
Craig has become obsessed with my shoes. I don't work in my shoes. I take them off and put on the kung fu slippers I purchased at the same time as the order for Rik and Vince
nt's outfits. As I've said, who can resist ordering something from kungfu4less.com? I keep my shoes under my work station. Craig noticed them this week and has become obsessed with planting a plush Gorn in one of them. I'd never heard of such a thing. I thought he might be speaking in code and was planning on doing something diabolical with them in addition to hiding them in strange place
s around my work station. He finally acted on Friday. The Archive denizens were squirrelier than usual as we were filled with donuts and Halloween candy. Craig put a Gorn on my workstation as he left. I'm hoping he meant me to keep him. He isn't exactly a happy Gorn, but he is terribly enthusiastic. I've also decided to hide my shoes to avoid temptation. Meanwhile, here is the funnies thing we've ever seen in an elevator.
The terror part is not the party. No matter the obstacles, Marguerite and I will figure out a way to through an elegant and tasty party. The terror part is the screening of Blood Oath's pilot presentation. No matter how hard a production company works and no matter h
ow good everything looks to us, we can't know for sure what we have until someone unrelated to the film evaluates it. Though I seem arrogant about my work (and I admit to being somewhat arrogant), I'm still very nervous about that first screening. And that's before we get to the network suits we've invited. Since we want them to buy the program, that makes for a lot of pressure. Still, we're confident enough in our work to throw this shindig. We'll have our actor boys in person for Q&A. That's Lance Wesley, Matty Ferraro, Aaron Blake and hopefully, Brian Avery. They are all gorgeous and charming in person. And we'll have a little nosh afterward.
A Very Cunning Plan
As I wrote in yesterday's mini-blog, we watched two films last night. I watched Scream Blacula Scream on my own as Jon was napping. Each film was a treat for vastly different reasons. The first was The Naked Monster, a loving send up of B monster films from the 50s and 60s. It makes very clever use of existing footage and casting of actors from those films (The Thing from Another World, War of the Worlds, and This Island Earth for example). In many cases, these were the last roles for those iconic actors. They all seemed to be having a great time, so we had a great time watching them. There were even a couple of bits with the wonderful Forrest J. Ackerman whom I had the pleasure of meeting more than once. We've toured his amazing home and had a long chat about Sci-fi pulp fiction. We had hoped to have him in Demon Under Glass, but the timing never worked out. At any rate, the Naked Monster does not have great acting and the special FX are really clunky around the edges, but the film works because it salutes films with many of the same issues. There is an enthusiasm for the material and a genuine sense of humor in the script that it is hard not to be charmed by it. And if you have never seen the films The Naked Monster is honoring, look them up and have a look. They are all true gems and often the inspiration to film makers we watch today.
The thing that Battlestar Galactica: the Plan did to me first and foremost was make me realize how much I miss that show. I enjoy a lot of varied TV shows, but there simply isn't anything out there right now that routinely surprises and challenge and impresses me. It was good to feel that way again if only for a couple of hours. The second thing I felt was deep satisfaction. One of my few complaints about the series finale was that Brother Cavil (Dean Stockwell died way too quickly and too easily considering the suffering he caused. However, The Plan revealed that Cavil suffered a fate that was akin to a living hell for him. Not only did his plan to destroy humanity fail. He couldn't get rid of the survivors. The other models were behaving irrationally where humans were concerned or proved to be just plain incompetent. And
worst of all for him was the realization that had he succeeded, he still would not have had what he wanted from his 'parents' (the Final Five – all the love he felt they were squandering on humanity. There would be no 'sticky hugs' for Brother John. There would be sorrow and mourning and profound dismay and disappointment from beings whom he desperately wanted approval. That, for Cavil is true suffering. Thus, I no longer feel like he should have been keelhauled under Galactica. The Plan answered a lot of unanswered questions and problems I'd had with the original run of the show. How were the Cylons finding them after they jumped away from the Colonies? Who had written Cylon on Boomer's locker mirror. Why Boomer hadn't managed to kill Adama from point blank range? None of these questions kept me from enjoying the series at the time, but it was nice to have some sort of explanation. Above all, I was impressed at the very simple but incredibly powerful motivation behind the unfathomable attack on the human colonies. Cavil orchestrated the extermination of millions of humans in a gambit to get the undivided attention and love he felt he lacked from his 'parents.' He was acting out like any child would when feeling neglected. This child happened to have control of a near limitless nuclear arsenal and and arming a robot death machines. Simple but powerful motivation was the hallmark of this BSG. All of the technology and FX pale in comparison to the power of overwhelming elemental drives. Jane Espenson's script brilliantly conveyed this without once being heavy handed, and Edward Olmos' direction brought out amazingly moving performances that never overplayed. The result was astonishing. 'This has happened before' is the cryptic utterance of all of the final five when the nukes begin to explode. And it will again when a very head strong, petulant teen with a new found philosophy and a very dangerous new form acts out in 'Caprica.' I can hardly wait.
nt's outfits. As I've said, who can resist ordering something from kungfu4less.com? I keep my shoes under my work station. Craig noticed them this week and has become obsessed with planting a plush Gorn in one of them. I'd never heard of such a thing. I thought he might be speaking in code and was planning on doing something diabolical with them in addition to hiding them in strange place
s around my work station. He finally acted on Friday. The Archive denizens were squirrelier than usual as we were filled with donuts and Halloween candy. Craig put a Gorn on my workstation as he left. I'm hoping he meant me to keep him. He isn't exactly a happy Gorn, but he is terribly enthusiastic. I've also decided to hide my shoes to avoid temptation. Meanwhile, here is the funnies thing we've ever seen in an elevator.Excitement and Terror
Since last week, our launch and holiday party plans have firmed up considerably. A caterer remains elusive, however. I had visions of visiting all these business and sampling their tasty finger foods. Instead, I'm having my blood pressure raised by very snippy people who don't DO our area of town or if they do, the prices make my head spin. I've heard a lot of 'oh, if you want tables and chairs, that will be considerably extra. I wondered how they planned to set up the buffet without tables. In the little online forms, I indicated that we didn't have our own. They all noticed the hefty head count. They must have seen that we needed something to put food on. I almost screamed when one told me that each floral centerpiece on the buffet table would be $100 or so. Do you know how many glasses of wine we could have in place of three centerpieces? Marguerite and I have been brainstorming and came up with some solutions that should still look elegant, taste good and do not involve spending a bloody fortune or have us cooking anything. Jon and I may do a few trays of Christmas cookies, but that's not hard considering how much baking we're already doing. We'll also be able to give three of the four people to whom we ship single packages of goodies heir treats in person. I'm trying to figure out a reason to fly Sarah out here to get hers as well. Perhaps her current opus can be made into a film? What do you say, Sarah Jane?
The terror part is not the party. No matter the obstacles, Marguerite and I will figure out a way to through an elegant and tasty party. The terror part is the screening of Blood Oath's pilot presentation. No matter how hard a production company works and no matter h
ow good everything looks to us, we can't know for sure what we have until someone unrelated to the film evaluates it. Though I seem arrogant about my work (and I admit to being somewhat arrogant), I'm still very nervous about that first screening. And that's before we get to the network suits we've invited. Since we want them to buy the program, that makes for a lot of pressure. Still, we're confident enough in our work to throw this shindig. We'll have our actor boys in person for Q&A. That's Lance Wesley, Matty Ferraro, Aaron Blake and hopefully, Brian Avery. They are all gorgeous and charming in person. And we'll have a little nosh afterward.So, if you are in the LA area and interested in some cutting edge, live action yaoi, email me for an invitation.
It seems that the Eagles have decided not to torture me this week. Hopefully, the Phillies will follow suit. Both games play in south Philly today. Oy! I'm glad not to be trying to get to the airport there today.
A Very Cunning Plan
Warning: There be many spoilers and strong opinions ahead.
As I wrote in yesterday's mini-blog, we watched two films last night. I watched Scream Blacula Scream on my own as Jon was napping. Each film was a treat for vastly different reasons. The first was The Naked Monster, a loving send up of B monster films from the 50s and 60s. It makes very clever use of existing footage and casting of actors from those films (The Thing from Another World, War of the Worlds, and This Island Earth for example). In many cases, these were the last roles for those iconic actors. They all seemed to be having a great time, so we had a great time watching them. There were even a couple of bits with the wonderful Forrest J. Ackerman whom I had the pleasure of meeting more than once. We've toured his amazing home and had a long chat about Sci-fi pulp fiction. We had hoped to have him in Demon Under Glass, but the timing never worked out. At any rate, the Naked Monster does not have great acting and the special FX are really clunky around the edges, but the film works because it salutes films with many of the same issues. There is an enthusiasm for the material and a genuine sense of humor in the script that it is hard not to be charmed by it. And if you have never seen the films The Naked Monster is honoring, look them up and have a look. They are all true gems and often the inspiration to film makers we watch today.
The thing that Battlestar Galactica: the Plan did to me first and foremost was make me realize how much I miss that show. I enjoy a lot of varied TV shows, but there simply isn't anything out there right now that routinely surprises and challenge and impresses me. It was good to feel that way again if only for a couple of hours. The second thing I felt was deep satisfaction. One of my few complaints about the series finale was that Brother Cavil (Dean Stockwell died way too quickly and too easily considering the suffering he caused. However, The Plan revealed that Cavil suffered a fate that was akin to a living hell for him. Not only did his plan to destroy humanity fail. He couldn't get rid of the survivors. The other models were behaving irrationally where humans were concerned or proved to be just plain incompetent. And
worst of all for him was the realization that had he succeeded, he still would not have had what he wanted from his 'parents' (the Final Five – all the love he felt they were squandering on humanity. There would be no 'sticky hugs' for Brother John. There would be sorrow and mourning and profound dismay and disappointment from beings whom he desperately wanted approval. That, for Cavil is true suffering. Thus, I no longer feel like he should have been keelhauled under Galactica. The Plan answered a lot of unanswered questions and problems I'd had with the original run of the show. How were the Cylons finding them after they jumped away from the Colonies? Who had written Cylon on Boomer's locker mirror. Why Boomer hadn't managed to kill Adama from point blank range? None of these questions kept me from enjoying the series at the time, but it was nice to have some sort of explanation. Above all, I was impressed at the very simple but incredibly powerful motivation behind the unfathomable attack on the human colonies. Cavil orchestrated the extermination of millions of humans in a gambit to get the undivided attention and love he felt he lacked from his 'parents.' He was acting out like any child would when feeling neglected. This child happened to have control of a near limitless nuclear arsenal and and arming a robot death machines. Simple but powerful motivation was the hallmark of this BSG. All of the technology and FX pale in comparison to the power of overwhelming elemental drives. Jane Espenson's script brilliantly conveyed this without once being heavy handed, and Edward Olmos' direction brought out amazingly moving performances that never overplayed. The result was astonishing. 'This has happened before' is the cryptic utterance of all of the final five when the nukes begin to explode. And it will again when a very head strong, petulant teen with a new found philosophy and a very dangerous new form acts out in 'Caprica.' I can hardly wait.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Blacula, Naked Monsters and BSG's The Plan
I used to dress up in thigh high boots and corsets and the like for Halloween. Since movi
ng to LA, I'm inclin
ed to do that on any given Tuesday, Thus, I am home watching Scream, Blacula, Scream. It has a Blacula, Pam Grier and that Black guy from Ironside. Why wouldn't I be watching that? Next, we'll likley watch The Naked Monster , a hopefully good spoof of such films as The Thing from Another World. It features a brain-dead sheriff, a stolid secret agent and a sexy scientist team with a grumpy retired monster fighter to battle a 60 foot, three-eyed cross between man and dinosaur. It also stars many actors from B movie classics often in their final roles. Who wouldn't want to see that. And after our brains are filled with cheese, we'll watch BSG: the Plan. After all, you must save the best for last. I'll be reviewing all of them (spoilers and all) in the blog tomorrow. Save for Scream Blacula Scream. I'm nearing the end and have no idea what I've been looking at.
ng to LA, I'm inclin
ed to do that on any given Tuesday, Thus, I am home watching Scream, Blacula, Scream. It has a Blacula, Pam Grier and that Black guy from Ironside. Why wouldn't I be watching that? Next, we'll likley watch The Naked Monster , a hopefully good spoof of such films as The Thing from Another World. It features a brain-dead sheriff, a stolid secret agent and a sexy scientist team with a grumpy retired monster fighter to battle a 60 foot, three-eyed cross between man and dinosaur. It also stars many actors from B movie classics often in their final roles. Who wouldn't want to see that. And after our brains are filled with cheese, we'll watch BSG: the Plan. After all, you must save the best for last. I'll be reviewing all of them (spoilers and all) in the blog tomorrow. Save for Scream Blacula Scream. I'm nearing the end and have no idea what I've been looking at.Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
More Food P0rn, Plot Twists, Updates and Unscheduled Nakedness
Of late, I've grown to really love cold rainy days, because I love to cook. Our home is very toasty and smells really yummy. Thus, last week's weather in LA should have been cooking heaven for me. Unfortunately, Jon and I were still fighting off something going around the office, so I didn't do very much cooking this past weekend. I am proud to say that I've emptied my freezer of leftovers and did not throw them directly into the trash. I whipped up many things over rice or noodles. Jon seemed to enjoy all the dishes, so I suppose it was a successful and frugal effort. All I did last week, cooking wise, was warm up re-invented leftovers. I didn't even have fixings for a lovely and decadent cup of hot cocoa. This would have been really nice on Wednesday when it was really pouring. Even with the carpool, we came home with soggy shoes and thus cold, unhappy feet. The parking lot at the new facility is vast, you see. We were all thoroughly wet before even reaching the end of the building, let alone the car itself. Alas, I could not take advantage of the gray, chilly days. By the time I had all of my ingredients, the weather had changed markedly. To quote my poetic friend, Marie, it went from cold and damp to 9,000,000,000,000 (I believe that may be a bazillion) degrees in about a day. The apartment is like a sauna (albeit a fragrant one). It's weird to be in a room so hot while watching football. Ah well.
Food P0rn Part Deux
When Anthony Bourdain did his Food P0rn (I'm using the zero instead of an o to avoid search engine problems, okay), it was an interesting excursion through what highly trained chefs and extreme foodies call a hedonistic experience. It was entertaining and informative, but not anywhere near erotic. I was a little let down by that, because Bourdain is sensual and poetic in expressing his views on foods in any given episode. I've been inspired by this way of viewing food and cooking. It certainly has crept into my prose and scripts. But last week, I was exposed to an artists in sensually describing the sights, sounds and tastes of a kitchen. Alex's Day Off is Alexandra Guarnaschelli's new show on the Food Network. The premier episode featured a very simple meal of bacon, eggs and hash browns. It was sexier than some of my most naughty fiction. The way Chef Alex ordered a 'sloppy pound' of bacon made Jon look up from his work to ask what EXACTLY was I watching. I had been enjoying her posts on the Facebook all week long. One involving a butternut squash caused me to all but run out and buy one in hopes of having a similarly intense experience. Tonight she was talking about a sandwich. It sounded like way too much fun to have with a sandwich. She is extraordinary as a chef and a lover of food. Do have a look at the show.
Project Updates
In other Blood Oath news, we've set a tentative date for the premier screening. I plan to firm it up in the next two weeks. We are toying with the notion of inviting fans of Yaoi, Manga and homoerotic sci-fi to the screening to generate some buzz. We have to decide on that soon as the screening will be the week before Christmas.
CSI: Miami – Times They are a Changing
I remain flummoxed by the tones and plots on CSI: Miami this year. I'm not displeased by any stretch. I'm just really surprised and a little suspicious. What's going on here? I mean we have a hostage situation in one episode that does not behave in anyway like any other hostage situation I've seen on most police dramas. The twists and turns in that episode really surp
rised me – and not unpleasantly (see, I was paying attention to more than half naked CSI Cardoza (Eddie Cibrian). A side note, Jon postulated during last weeks episode where CSI Cardoza was running around shirtless and shoeless in low slung shorts while on the beach that perhaps the near naked thing is the actor's MO. I did some image surfing on the interwebs and found that he does, indeed, have no problem with being in a towel or less. Delightful. But where was I? Ah, yes, fun plot twists. The hostage ep was very interesting. My only criticism is an ongoing one. I'm not sure how many times armed gunmen have overrun their law enforcement building, but I really think after the first time, there would be some sort of armed security at the entrances. Last weeks ep, Bad Seed, was truly unique for the series. It didn't have an outright bad guy for one thing. The killer was a number of elements coming together to create food contamination that was in no way intentional. And the investigation was more science and less interrogation. In other words, the issues were really complex. The solution was not ideal, yet the journey to the conclusion was satisfying. Wow. And I'm really liking the more team-like feel between the actors. Horatio Cain (David Caruso) was content to let the team run with the ground work. He came in for the key interrogations. I'm seeing more and more of this from him. It fits the Steve McGarrett paradigm. In later seasons, he also was less in the field preferring to orchestrate the actions from behind the scenes. Still, I hope we haven't seen the last of Horatio's deadly shooting.
The best thing about the heat wave two weeks ago was some late season skin baring amongst the fitness conscious hot guys in the neighborhood. Two Saturdays ago, it looked like a calendar photo shoot had erupted outside our building. It wasn't like a Diuex du Stade calendar (that link is so not work safe). It was more in the racy fireman range. One of the lovely specimens was stretching on a utility pole in front of our building. He had on some sort of white spandex bike pants rolled down low. He was built as though fashioned by a talented sculptor, and he was glistening with sweat. But what I liked most was the self-effacing smile that graced that gorgeous mug in response to my most likely maniacal grin. He was so sporting about my leer, I didn't feel it was right to ask him to wait while I fetched my calander. There were about a dozen more such specimens getting in their runs on the route to Marina del Rey. I sure as heck didn't mind the heat any more.
Speaking of changing seasons. The change to standard time is next week in the US. As a reminder in the UK, the wonderfully naughty PSA aired. Thank you, Sylvette for the pleasant heads up!
On a side note, I swear I just heard a penalty call during the New York/New Orleans for unnecessary punching. Does that mean that there can be punching during the game that's considered necessary? I'm curious. Much time has passed. I've been distracted by cooking and some other more troublesome matters. The blog is very late this week. In fact, there was no blog at all last Sunday. My apologies.
It's now Friday. Jon and I are home sick...again. No, it's not H1N1. It is something that keeps running around the Archive. This fun thing has the body aches and near debilitating fatigue. Even so, I am making a quick version of my favorite chicken stock to make some restorative soups. Jon is not so much for the old fashioned chicken soup, but he does like cream of tomato soup with crackers (Ritz, of course). I have a lovely recipe for roasted tomato and red bell pepper soup by Sunny Anderson, another Food Network diva I like. And with this recipe, he gets the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from the tomatoes, garlic and the red bell peppers. I've also made a crockpot full of mulled wine from a recipe shared by one of my French friends. The whole pace smells wonderful. That helps a lot. And I really like the idea of drinking something that is also known as Glogg. Unfortunately, I have no flagons. The soup is finished and it tastes quite yummy. All we need now are some gooey grilled cheese samiches (yes, I meant samiches).
Food P0rn Part Deux
When Anthony Bourdain did his Food P0rn (I'm using the zero instead of an o to avoid search engine problems, okay), it was an interesting excursion through what highly trained chefs and extreme foodies call a hedonistic experience. It was entertaining and informative, but not anywhere near erotic. I was a little let down by that, because Bourdain is sensual and poetic in expressing his views on foods in any given episode. I've been inspired by this way of viewing food and cooking. It certainly has crept into my prose and scripts. But last week, I was exposed to an artists in sensually describing the sights, sounds and tastes of a kitchen. Alex's Day Off is Alexandra Guarnaschelli's new show on the Food Network. The premier episode featured a very simple meal of bacon, eggs and hash browns. It was sexier than some of my most naughty fiction. The way Chef Alex ordered a 'sloppy pound' of bacon made Jon look up from his work to ask what EXACTLY was I watching. I had been enjoying her posts on the Facebook all week long. One involving a butternut squash caused me to all but run out and buy one in hopes of having a similarly intense experience. Tonight she was talking about a sandwich. It sounded like way too much fun to have with a sandwich. She is extraordinary as a chef and a lover of food. Do have a look at the show.
Editing Surprises
No I don
't mean discovering that Jon has changed my brutal mutant soldiers into ballet dancers. These surprises are about subtlety in the performances that pare very pleasing to someone looking for her characters to come to life. There was a lot I saw live and on the monitors dureing that made me happy during the Blood Oath shoots themselves, but it's hard to see everything. Throughout the fight scene I was watching to make sure that Goggles(Aaron Blake or Brian Avery) didn't lose his red scarf or that Vincent's (Matty Ferraro) ponytail didn't unravel or Rik's (Lance Wesley) military patches stayed in place. There weren't a lot of moments when I could focus on the facial expressions that happened during the fight scene. As a movie fan, I prefer action scenes that are telling me something about who the characters are. I expect the same character exposition during love scenes as well.
't mean discovering that Jon has changed my brutal mutant soldiers into ballet dancers. These surprises are about subtlety in the performances that pare very pleasing to someone looking for her characters to come to life. There was a lot I saw live and on the monitors dureing that made me happy during the Blood Oath shoots themselves, but it's hard to see everything. Throughout the fight scene I was watching to make sure that Goggles(Aaron Blake or Brian Avery) didn't lose his red scarf or that Vincent's (Matty Ferraro) ponytail didn't unravel or Rik's (Lance Wesley) military patches stayed in place. There weren't a lot of moments when I could focus on the facial expressions that happened during the fight scene. As a movie fan, I prefer action scenes that are telling me something about who the characters are. I expect the same character exposition during love scenes as well.For example, the fight scene between Hector (Eric Bana) and Achilles (Brad Pitt) in Troy was a tragic ballet of grief and anger and honor. It was as sad as it was beautiful (Yes, even with all that bare, glistening skin, I noticed the actual fight). My favorite thing about the final duel between Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during Revenge of the Sith is that the nature of their entire relationship played out during it. The fight was almost painful to watch. But my favorite example of an American film (Hong Kong action films have this down to a fine art) that uses character exposition during a fight scene and a chase scene brilliantly is Mr. &Mrs. Smith. Their first knock down drag out fight against each other is brutal, but it's also very funny and extremely sexy. It is quite clear that their being on opposites sides has not changed their feelings for each other. And then there is my favorite chase scene in film (same film). They dissect their whole relationship during a harrowing and death defying pursuit on a major highway. See the trailer HERE. It has some of the fight scene (you'll have to wade through an ad for another film). Incidentally, and completely unrelated to my point, I must commend Brad Pitt on his performance in Mr. & Mrs. Smith in that he was completely credible as being dangerous and goofy.
I'm not comparing out modest pilot to those big, expensive films. However, I was still looking carefu
lly at the fight footage as Jon edited it to find my characters. You don't need high end production values to convey a sense of the characters through their action. And I 
did see them in brief glimpses during the frenetic fight. As Jon worked on the FX one frame a
t a time, I was impressed by the facial expressions of both Lance and Matty while they were fighting. I saw Vincent's determination, his temper and even his playfulness. In Rik, I saw the intense focus, the temper and the sardonic Colonel Bastard that is in the Soldier's novels. In each of them, I saw protectiveness and sometimes panic over each others safety. I would have never have seen that on the soundstage because I was too far from the action and they were moving way too fast. However, on a regular TV screen, everything was apparent. I could clearly see Vincent and Rik without them uttering a single line of dialogue. It was very exciting.
lly at the fight footage as Jon edited it to find my characters. You don't need high end production values to convey a sense of the characters through their action. And I 
did see them in brief glimpses during the frenetic fight. As Jon worked on the FX one frame at a time, I was impressed by the facial expressions of both Lance and Matty while they were fighting. I saw Vincent's determination, his temper and even his playfulness. In Rik, I saw the intense focus, the temper and the sardonic Colonel Bastard that is in the Soldier's novels. In each of them, I saw protectiveness and sometimes panic over each others safety. I would have never have seen that on the soundstage because I was too far from the action and they were moving way too fast. However, on a regular TV screen, everything was apparent. I could clearly see Vincent and Rik without them uttering a single line of dialogue. It was very exciting.Project Updates
In other Blood Oath news, we've set a tentative date for the premier screening. I plan to firm it up in the next two weeks. We are toying with the notion of inviting fans of Yaoi, Manga and homoerotic sci-fi to the screening to generate some buzz. We have to decide on that soon as the screening will be the week before Christmas.
It's really odd, but five years ago, Dragoncor/Earthdraggon couldn't avoid shooting in November. Now, it seems that we can't avoid shoots in January and February. That's the current status of pre-production for the next film. It's not so bad though. It's not blazing hot, and a number of actors we're interested in for the horror film and the western are more available during that time (TV season is still on hiatus in January). We decided not to fight against the tide. Aside from the frequent illnesses, all of us are consumed by assisting Lucy with the soundstage launch and the new distribution arm of Dragoncor/Earthdraggon. I have to write up protocols for submissions for that. Jon had to 
drop everything to do an online, animated advertisement on Thursday for the soundstage. It's been exciting to watch all of this take shape, but it is draining at times for everyone. I can't imagine going into full-blown pre-production on top of all that. There are only so many hats that can fit on one set of heads.
drop everything to do an online, animated advertisement on Thursday for the soundstage. It's been exciting to watch all of this take shape, but it is draining at times for everyone. I can't imagine going into full-blown pre-production on top of all that. There are only so many hats that can fit on one set of heads.CSI: Miami – Times They are a Changing
I remain flummoxed by the tones and plots on CSI: Miami this year. I'm not displeased by any stretch. I'm just really surprised and a little suspicious. What's going on here? I mean we have a hostage situation in one episode that does not behave in anyway like any other hostage situation I've seen on most police dramas. The twists and turns in that episode really surp
rised me – and not unpleasantly (see, I was paying attention to more than half naked CSI Cardoza (Eddie Cibrian). A side note, Jon postulated during last weeks episode where CSI Cardoza was running around shirtless and shoeless in low slung shorts while on the beach that perhaps the near naked thing is the actor's MO. I did some image surfing on the interwebs and found that he does, indeed, have no problem with being in a towel or less. Delightful. But where was I? Ah, yes, fun plot twists. The hostage ep was very interesting. My only criticism is an ongoing one. I'm not sure how many times armed gunmen have overrun their law enforcement building, but I really think after the first time, there would be some sort of armed security at the entrances. Last weeks ep, Bad Seed, was truly unique for the series. It didn't have an outright bad guy for one thing. The killer was a number of elements coming together to create food contamination that was in no way intentional. And the investigation was more science and less interrogation. In other words, the issues were really complex. The solution was not ideal, yet the journey to the conclusion was satisfying. Wow. And I'm really liking the more team-like feel between the actors. Horatio Cain (David Caruso) was content to let the team run with the ground work. He came in for the key interrogations. I'm seeing more and more of this from him. It fits the Steve McGarrett paradigm. In later seasons, he also was less in the field preferring to orchestrate the actions from behind the scenes. Still, I hope we haven't seen the last of Horatio's deadly shooting.Unscheduled Nakedness
The best thing about the heat wave two weeks ago was some late season skin baring amongst the fitness conscious hot guys in the neighborhood. Two Saturdays ago, it looked like a calendar photo shoot had erupted outside our building. It wasn't like a Diuex du Stade calendar (that link is so not work safe). It was more in the racy fireman range. One of the lovely specimens was stretching on a utility pole in front of our building. He had on some sort of white spandex bike pants rolled down low. He was built as though fashioned by a talented sculptor, and he was glistening with sweat. But what I liked most was the self-effacing smile that graced that gorgeous mug in response to my most likely maniacal grin. He was so sporting about my leer, I didn't feel it was right to ask him to wait while I fetched my calander. There were about a dozen more such specimens getting in their runs on the route to Marina del Rey. I sure as heck didn't mind the heat any more.
Speaking of changing seasons. The change to standard time is next week in the US. As a reminder in the UK, the wonderfully naughty PSA aired. Thank you, Sylvette for the pleasant heads up!
Finally, thanks to everyone who sent notes of concern. We're on the mend. We just had to really take some time and rest.