In 2009's Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer), Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, remarks that "you want to know the best thing about [Zombieland]? No Facebook status updates. 'Rob Curtis is gearing up for Friday.' Who cares?"
It may seem funny that Eisenberg would go from complaining about Facebook in film to playing its co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg in film. It's safe to say that every Facebook user (or boycotter) has a fairly complicated relationship with the world's youngest billionaire. Not least Facebook's other co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
A recent E! Online article said that The Social Network, David Fincher's take on the history of the world's biggest social networking site, may be one way to rebel against the site's "iffy privacy policy or personalized ad bars...without having to delete your account."
The film, an adaptation of Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook; A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, is the story of Mark Zuckerberg, a socially awkward Computer Science major from Harvard and his friend Eduardo Saverin, also socially awkward and a Business major. The two boys are united by their common goal of social acceptance and, well, getting laid.
Mark is obssessed with getting in to a prestigious and incredibly exclusice Final Club and Eduardo is on his way to being accepted by one, The Phoenix. After a disastrous date with his now-ex-girlfriend Erica, Mark, angry and upset, creates Facemash.com - a site where users are given two pictures side-by-side of girls on campus and asked to vote which one is more attractive. Not only does this understandably upset the female population of Harvard, it gets attention from the Administrative Board for breaches of privacy (Zuckerberg downloads photos from each dormitory's online Facebook, which is simply a profile of all students living in halls of residence), internet security (to download the photos, Mark hacks into secure servers), and no doubt improper use of Harvard's internet service. Not to mention the womens groups on campus and the offence it has caused them. Interestingly, the most damning piece of evidence comes from Mark himself - a true practitioner of problem-based enquiry, he blogs his process as he goes.
This event is the catalyst for everything that will follow. His stunt garners the attention of two seniors, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who approach him to write code for their social networking site, The Harvard Connection. He feigns mild interest and goes on to create something better using Saverin's business sense Phoenix connection - TheFacebook.com.
Now, if you're yawning by now or wondering why the founding of a website is worthy of book and film treatment, then you're exactly where I was a few months back when I first heard the news. A movie about Facebook? Starring Justin Timberlake? And Jesse Eisenberg? What the hell is he doing there? He's better than a movie about a website people use to keep their friends and acquaintances posted on their every move, including probably their bowel movements?
Now, as someone who is on Facebook a lot (it's currently open on my laptop in another window as I type these words), I didn't know the story of it's inception. All I knew was that it started out as a social networking website similar to MySpace or Friendster or Xanga or Bebo made exclusively for US college students. By the time I'd created a profile, history had already been made. It had spread from US colleges to the rest of the world.
When I saw the trailer and the film's tagline ("You don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies."), I was hooked. Suddenly the story of some website was interesting. Had created rifts in friendships, kids suing each other, and music by Trent Reznor. And of course there was Jesse Eisenberg, who I've had a crush on since Adventureland.
The power of this story comes ultimately from watching the breakdown of a friendship, and watching two people discover they don't know each other as well as they thought. The tragedy isn't that Saverin got screwed over by his best friend, it's that Saverin and Zuckerberg aren't best friends any more.
While the story of the founding is Facebook is compelling, it might seem hard for other people to find it such an important story, especially people who don't use it. It is in this regard that the film bears resemblance to another film called Shattered Glass, released in 2003 and directed by Billy Ray.
Shattered Glass is the story of journalist Stephen Glass, whose meteoric rise as a journalist ends abruptly when many of his articles are exposed as fraudulent. This is a story that is instantly compelling for the people involved, journalists and media commentators. However, I read a review of the film's release on DVD that concluded the film's power came from the director's ability to tell a compelling story about an issue that isn't all that compelling for the wider public.
I can see that the same argument can be made about The Social Network - a business deal that sees a co-founder screwed out of a deal that, if you believe the story, he lost control over must happen all the time in Silicon Valley, Hollywood and even the independent film industry. It is Sorkin's script and director David Fincher's ability to bring the relationships among the major characters to the foreground that makes The Social Network such a strong film.
In the same E! Online article, scriptwriter Sorkin is quoted as saying that Facebook wanted no involvement in the film unless Zuckerberg was portrayed in a positive light, the clearcut hero. Because the filmmakers aimed for historical accuracy and Mezrich's book as its source material, that would never really be possible, not necessarily because of Zuckerberg's actions but because of his silence. As such, neither Zuckerberg nor Facebook has any involvement in the film.
While Mezrich has relied on court documents, interviews and media during the time, his narrative style leaves him open to criticism of the validity and credibility of his tale. Given that, after reading the book his impartiality is clear, with his prose regarding character motivation delicate. Much like the book, The Social Network remains largely speculative when it comes to Zuckerberg's character and motivation. However, this is precisely what makes him such a compelling character.
Director David Fincher is now a veteran of this kind of film. Whether it's a family trapped in their own home, or a man fighting his own sense of self-worth, Fincher is a master of the exploration of technology and its impact on the dynamics of human relationships. That his attention has turned to social networking now seems obvious. He excels once more, taking Mezrich's narrative structure and improving on it, using the 'kids suing each other' as the frame for his exploration. Enlisting Sorkin's assistance was also a master stroke, as Sorkin's experience is primarily in providing engaging analyses of what goes on behind the scenes of things the public is either not privy to or not interested in. The great feat of the two men is that while the narrative might reflect a clear hero and villain, the characterisation and unfolding of the story means that by the end we are questioning that very idea.
However if anyone can be said to be the hero of the film, it is Saverin, which is because Saverin, the main consultant to Mezrich during the writing of the book, has had the most involvement with the project. His side of the story is more accessible, much like the Winklevosses (or Winklevi, as Zuckerberg calls them in the film).
Despite the material appearing to favour Saverin as the victim, the film goes some way to humanising Zuckerberg and revealing him as a complicated, flawed human being (aren't we all?). It also leaves the viewer with so many questions; did Mark intentionally remove Eduardo from the deal or was he brainwashed into doing it by Sean Parker? Is he truly an arsehole or just incredibly socially awkward? Did he invent Facebook just to have friends? Did he really steal the Winklevosses idea and prevent them from competing with him or was he unable to get up the courage to tell them he didn't want to work on their project after all?
Playing real people can be difficult, which is not to say it isn't more difficult than playing a fictional character. It's difficult first of all because the person is alive and capable of criticising your performance and second of all because you have to choose whether or not to absolutely immerse yourself in becoming that exact person or bringing to the screen your own experiences and using that to identify with the character and become that character. Eisenberg's performance is understated and as a result it is brilliant. To play a real life person who remains elusive in the media and criticised by the people who would appear to know him best must have been a challenge but like many actors before him who take on the challenge of playing a real life character villified in public, Eisenberg is able to reveal another side to Zuckerberg; not just faithful to the picture painted by Mezrich but so much more. The final scene, as he continually refreshing the facebook page as he patiently waits to be added as a friend by his ex-girlfriend is touching and may as well have the title 'Oscar Clip' flashing at the bottom of the screen.
Newcomer Andrew Garfield also puts in an incredible performance as Saverin. He is playing the hero, for all intents and purposes. He perfectly captures Saverin's shyness and vulnerability, and makes his journey from Zuckerberg's friend to foe engaging. It's very easy for us to side with Saverin; he's attractive, extends a hand of friendship to someone in a similar position to him and to watch him being bitten by the hand he has fed (both socially and financially) is gut-wrenching. Not only that, the shifting dynamics between the two actors make it obvious that both actors have worked hard at establishing the complicated relationship between the two men. It's easy to see why he's slated to play Spider-Man in the re-energising (reboot is such a stupid term to me when applied to cinema) of the franchise. He's got the vulnerable hero role nailed down. Have I already mentioned how attractive he is?
The rest of the cast is also strong, and yes, that includes Justin Timberlake as Napster founder and dubious mentor Sean Parker. Sean Parker sees himself as a rockstar, a role Timberlake is no stranger to. Don't be fooled, Timberlake's comic turns with The Lonely Island gang and Saturday Night Live hosting duties have in some ways allowed him to become something of a, dare I say it, character actor. He may just be another successful popstar-turned-actor. Rooney Mara is also strong as Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend Erica. It's a small role but Erica becomes the driving force for a lot of Zuckerberg's actions and if she was an unsypathetic character, or simply a lost love interest, it might be harder to understand why Mark would want to repair his relationship with her. Possibly the best of the supporting cast is Armie Hammer, who plays both Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and had me fooled - I thought the role was played by real-life twins.
The work by Trent Reznor cannot be discounted and is a superb contribution to the film's compelling story. His dark electronic score provides an ominous edge to the computer-based action sequences. Most people won't understand the power of writing computer code and algorithms, but his score allows us to feel the impact of these codes and logarithms, and allows us to feel more fully the consequences they bring.
Mark Zuckerberg, 2010's Time Magazine Person of the Year might denounce the film as fiction, but that's not the insult he might think, because The Social Network is the best kind of fiction.
I first saw the film in New Jersey in October, and a week or so before it's official Australian release one of my Facebook friends had the following status update:
"just saw the social network and now I love facebook even more :) great movie!"
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Delicious treat
So I done a script...and that. I think people should read it? Yeah? Read? Yah? Good. Great. Glad we covered...that...
Christmas Dinner
Christmas Dinner
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Another story of Americans Abroad
The Tourist
Rated: M
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmark
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany.
Plot: Alexander Pearce has just stolen billions of dollars from a gangster. He now has the gangster's Russian henchmen and Scotland Yard following him. Only problem is that he's had plastic surgery and no one knows what he now looks like. The only way to get to him is to follow his mistress, Elise Ward. But rather than leading them to Pearce she leads them to Frank Tupelo, an American math teacher. Tupelo is now the wrong man, chasing Elise and running from the Russians. Who will get to who first?
I watched this film thinking that instead of Jolie and Depp, Elise and Frank should have been played by Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. Mostly because this film would have been superbly executed 60 years ago. But it was made in 2010 and unfortunately lacks the Hollywood touch.
Not that they haven't tried. The film has some beautiful visuals, not least the two leads. It's an impressive cast and a stunning location, but neither the plot nor the story seem to do any of them justice.
When Elise sits down across from Frank, you can't help but think of other great swindle thrillers like North By Northwest or Charade. But where those thrillers are exciting, covering potential plotholes with more twist and turns and rapid location changes, The Tourist is a little flat, covering plotholes with 'twists and turns' and costume changes for Jolie. The costumes are amazing, by the way. But they sadly can't detract from the fact that this is a little boring. And neither can beautiful Venice. Or Paris. Or Johnny Depp.
The film is based on a french film made in 2005 called Anthony Zimmer, written and directed by Jerome Salle and starring Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal (looked him up on IMDB and he is a babe). While I haven't seen the original, I suspect that in the tradition of remakes of French films, The Tourist loses the substance of Anthony Zimmer and just barely replaces it with style.
Those costumes really are amazing.
Rated: M
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmark
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany.
Plot: Alexander Pearce has just stolen billions of dollars from a gangster. He now has the gangster's Russian henchmen and Scotland Yard following him. Only problem is that he's had plastic surgery and no one knows what he now looks like. The only way to get to him is to follow his mistress, Elise Ward. But rather than leading them to Pearce she leads them to Frank Tupelo, an American math teacher. Tupelo is now the wrong man, chasing Elise and running from the Russians. Who will get to who first?
I watched this film thinking that instead of Jolie and Depp, Elise and Frank should have been played by Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. Mostly because this film would have been superbly executed 60 years ago. But it was made in 2010 and unfortunately lacks the Hollywood touch.
Not that they haven't tried. The film has some beautiful visuals, not least the two leads. It's an impressive cast and a stunning location, but neither the plot nor the story seem to do any of them justice.
When Elise sits down across from Frank, you can't help but think of other great swindle thrillers like North By Northwest or Charade. But where those thrillers are exciting, covering potential plotholes with more twist and turns and rapid location changes, The Tourist is a little flat, covering plotholes with 'twists and turns' and costume changes for Jolie. The costumes are amazing, by the way. But they sadly can't detract from the fact that this is a little boring. And neither can beautiful Venice. Or Paris. Or Johnny Depp.
The film is based on a french film made in 2005 called Anthony Zimmer, written and directed by Jerome Salle and starring Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal (looked him up on IMDB and he is a babe). While I haven't seen the original, I suspect that in the tradition of remakes of French films, The Tourist loses the substance of Anthony Zimmer and just barely replaces it with style.
Those costumes really are amazing.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
How I learned to stop worrying and love publishing
Hello.
So along with writing on this here blog, and writing scripts about Christmas dinners, I've been writing DVD reviews for a local street press, Reverb.
Here are my two latest pieces. If you'd like to see them in their full glory (and c'mon - who wouldn't?), click here:
The versions of my pieces that appear on this blog are my personal opinion only.
Please to enjoy!
Article 1: DVD review of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Rating: 4/5
They say every Hollywood film is a romantic comedy. No matter the genre, at the end of the day it's about the union of two people.
Director Edgar Wright has taken this idea to heart. Shaun of the Dead is a Zombie Romantic Comedy, or Zom-Rom-Com, Hot Fuzz is a Buddy Cop Romantic Comedy (Bud-Co-Rom-Com?) and now he brings us Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, a Video Game Comic Book Slacker Romantic Comedy (suggestions welcome on how to shorten that one).
Scott Pilgrim's precious little life is turned upside when he meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers. Literally. She rollerskates through people's minds, or the subspace highway for those in the know. But she also has a rather interesting dating history. And now Scott will have to face it in a series of battles to the death if he wants to win Ramona's heart forever.
From the awesomeness ratings of the main characters to the video game references to the fight scenes, it's obvious that Wright has captured the essence of the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O' Malley. It's very much grounded in the slacker genre, perfectly made for a generation who grew up on Super Mario Brothers. It also has the Edgar Wright touches – comic dialogue, visual gags, television references, and the hip hop montage that has become his stylistic trademark. And the 8-bit version of the Universal logo.
That's not to say there aren't flaws; is Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim or George Michael Bluth again? And why does someone as boring as Ramona have so many exes obsessed with her? And it has also become a trademark of Wright's films that you can see where the finish line should have been, which is usually ten minutes before the actual finish line. But that's not to say you should let these flaws stop you from enjoying the film, because it's a whole lot of fun. And some of the music was written by resident cool guy Beck. It's no Hot Fuzz, but it's one of the best movies of 2010.
Extras: outtakes, feature commentary and technical commentary. Unpreviewed.
Article 2: The best comic book movies of 2010
Graphic Action
Film and comic books represent a world of possibilities for telling stories visually and it's little wonder they inspire one another regularly. 2010 was another interesting year for the comic book movie and these are some of the year's biggest ordered from most to least awesome.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (dir. Edgar Wright)
That a story of a no-hoper obsessed with video games forced to battle his girlfriend's exes appeared unadaptable now seems silly since Wright made it seem so easy. Get indie royalty to write some music, add video game sound effects and an RPG structure, get Michael Cera to grow his hair and it's done. Not Edgar Wright's Finest Hour, but certainly Scott Pilgrim's.
Kick-Ass (dir. Matthew Vaughn)
A bunch of vigilantes fighting crime may not be an original idea, but Vaughn's take on this dark anti-Superhero graphic novel is deceptively brilliant. Costumes tailor-made for wearing at Halloween parties, references to the comic book world, car-dancing to Gnarls Barkley, and a 13 year old girl calling a scary bunch of drug dealers the C-word. This film really does have it all!
Red (dir. Robert Schwentke)
Warren Ellis's tale of former black-ops agents targeted by their old organisation for a more permanent retirement is brilliantly brought to the screen by some of the best actors of the last 30 years. And with Dame Mirren shooting the heck out of FBI agents in a white gown and combat boots, how can it go wrong?
Iron Man 2 (dir. Jon Favreau)
Tony Stark has no super powers other than his intellect, resourcefulness and utter disdain for being ordered around. This is his second outing and while it's not a patch on the first one, it's a fascinating insight into the high visibility of national security – something the US military deals with daily. It also has Robert Downey, Jr. No further explanation of its awesomeness required.
Jonah Hex (dir. Jimmy Hayward)
Exploding steam trains? Check. Prostitute girlfriend with sass aplenty? Check. Grumpy antihero who shoots first and asks questions later? Check. Some weapon far advanced for its time? Check. We all know how well the technology thing worked for Wild, Wild West. But maybe the director didn't. Shame on you, Josh Brolin. You're better than this. You're not, Megan Fox.
So along with writing on this here blog, and writing scripts about Christmas dinners, I've been writing DVD reviews for a local street press, Reverb.
Here are my two latest pieces. If you'd like to see them in their full glory (and c'mon - who wouldn't?), click here:
The versions of my pieces that appear on this blog are my personal opinion only.
Please to enjoy!
Article 1: DVD review of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Rating: 4/5
They say every Hollywood film is a romantic comedy. No matter the genre, at the end of the day it's about the union of two people.
Director Edgar Wright has taken this idea to heart. Shaun of the Dead is a Zombie Romantic Comedy, or Zom-Rom-Com, Hot Fuzz is a Buddy Cop Romantic Comedy (Bud-Co-Rom-Com?) and now he brings us Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, a Video Game Comic Book Slacker Romantic Comedy (suggestions welcome on how to shorten that one).
Scott Pilgrim's precious little life is turned upside when he meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers. Literally. She rollerskates through people's minds, or the subspace highway for those in the know. But she also has a rather interesting dating history. And now Scott will have to face it in a series of battles to the death if he wants to win Ramona's heart forever.
From the awesomeness ratings of the main characters to the video game references to the fight scenes, it's obvious that Wright has captured the essence of the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O' Malley. It's very much grounded in the slacker genre, perfectly made for a generation who grew up on Super Mario Brothers. It also has the Edgar Wright touches – comic dialogue, visual gags, television references, and the hip hop montage that has become his stylistic trademark. And the 8-bit version of the Universal logo.
That's not to say there aren't flaws; is Michael Cera playing Scott Pilgrim or George Michael Bluth again? And why does someone as boring as Ramona have so many exes obsessed with her? And it has also become a trademark of Wright's films that you can see where the finish line should have been, which is usually ten minutes before the actual finish line. But that's not to say you should let these flaws stop you from enjoying the film, because it's a whole lot of fun. And some of the music was written by resident cool guy Beck. It's no Hot Fuzz, but it's one of the best movies of 2010.
Extras: outtakes, feature commentary and technical commentary. Unpreviewed.
Article 2: The best comic book movies of 2010
Graphic Action
Film and comic books represent a world of possibilities for telling stories visually and it's little wonder they inspire one another regularly. 2010 was another interesting year for the comic book movie and these are some of the year's biggest ordered from most to least awesome.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (dir. Edgar Wright)
That a story of a no-hoper obsessed with video games forced to battle his girlfriend's exes appeared unadaptable now seems silly since Wright made it seem so easy. Get indie royalty to write some music, add video game sound effects and an RPG structure, get Michael Cera to grow his hair and it's done. Not Edgar Wright's Finest Hour, but certainly Scott Pilgrim's.
Kick-Ass (dir. Matthew Vaughn)
A bunch of vigilantes fighting crime may not be an original idea, but Vaughn's take on this dark anti-Superhero graphic novel is deceptively brilliant. Costumes tailor-made for wearing at Halloween parties, references to the comic book world, car-dancing to Gnarls Barkley, and a 13 year old girl calling a scary bunch of drug dealers the C-word. This film really does have it all!
Red (dir. Robert Schwentke)
Warren Ellis's tale of former black-ops agents targeted by their old organisation for a more permanent retirement is brilliantly brought to the screen by some of the best actors of the last 30 years. And with Dame Mirren shooting the heck out of FBI agents in a white gown and combat boots, how can it go wrong?
Iron Man 2 (dir. Jon Favreau)
Tony Stark has no super powers other than his intellect, resourcefulness and utter disdain for being ordered around. This is his second outing and while it's not a patch on the first one, it's a fascinating insight into the high visibility of national security – something the US military deals with daily. It also has Robert Downey, Jr. No further explanation of its awesomeness required.
Jonah Hex (dir. Jimmy Hayward)
Exploding steam trains? Check. Prostitute girlfriend with sass aplenty? Check. Grumpy antihero who shoots first and asks questions later? Check. Some weapon far advanced for its time? Check. We all know how well the technology thing worked for Wild, Wild West. But maybe the director didn't. Shame on you, Josh Brolin. You're better than this. You're not, Megan Fox.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Magic and Myth
Happy Christmas? Got an Oscar Wilde action figure. You? Plans for New Years? 80s-themed night at the local with my bro and sis. You?
Awkward small talk regarding the holidays sorted. Good.
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (or my last blog post), I wrote a scene about a crazy girl in a bar and didn't really know what to do with it. Well.
I've been thinking about a story for a while that's sort of a martial arts/samurai version of this story from ancient Greek myth. Well, I've had the idea since I watched Kill Bill and wanted to imitate Tarantino probably (keep you posted on my superhero idea clearly only inspired by Scott Pilgrim Vs The World). Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said 'good writers borrow, great writers steal?' Or was it Pablo Picasso who said 'good artists borrow, great artists steal?' Or was it T.S. Eliot who said 'immature poets borrow, mature poets steal?' No matter. They were awesome and condoned creative theft. Hmmm. Seems wrong somehow.
I digress. So the myth goes something like this; Daedalus, master craftsman and constructor of the labyrinth, is pretty sure he's the business at crafting shit. Until his sister's kid comes along. His name is Perdix and Perdix is super good at building stuff and this makes Daedalus well jealous. So one day while they're walking along some cliffs, hanging and chilling, Daedalus decides to push Perdix off one. A cliff, that is. In the myth I read the kid just plain died and Daedalus was banished, which is how he wound up building the labyrinth. But in the one I just looked up (cough, on Wikipedia, cough), the goddess Athena turned the kid into a bird before he hit the ground. This is supposedly the origin of the Partridge. The bird, not the family of musicians from the 70s.
How are these things related, you might ask? Well. I think the girl has the makings of being a Perdix character, looking for her Daedalus. I wanted to do a story about an assassin who kills one of his students because she's clearly going to be better than him. She survives and begins picking off the members of his organisation before killing him. The cliff stuff is genius, because the scene I've written already has that. In the myth, Daedalus is branded with the image of Perdix as punishment and I thought maybe this could be her mark? He pushes her off a cliff, she somehow survives, and exacts her revenge. There's a definite fight/flight motif running through this story (thank you, friend who talked about the fight or flight urge and how you can have one more than the other), and it can be seen in the original scene I wrote. And it's explicit in the one I'm about to share with you.
So this story is shaping up first of all to be about art, how we validate ourselves through our work and what it means when someone does better what we thought was ours alone, but also about our instincts; that constant tension between fight and flight that we live through every day and how others force us to enact those struggles every day. Please to enjoy the next scene I haves written!
An explanatory note (well, another one): I haven't written it as a scene in a film. I've written it as a monologue, then added directions. It's more notes on how to write the scene more than anything. Please to enjoy! Again!
It's the flight or fight complex. That survival instinct that kicks in when you know that if you walk into this territory you'll end up with a gun to your head or a knife to your throat.
What I've figured out is that no one has both. Oh, they'll try to tell you it's a constant struggle between the two, but that's bullshit. BULLSHIT.
See, to me, the real struggle comes from the realisation that in the moment flight or fight comes upon you, you're not who you thought you were.
When I was a kid, I had the drunken arsehole of a father who would start shit when he got home from the pub. I would stand up to him while my brother went and hid in his closet. That's how I learned that while my brother's instinct was flight, mine was to fight.
And that's why I'm so good at what we do. I know who is flight, and who is fight. And I know when someone realises that when they thought they'd be fight, they're actually flight. And you my dear, I'm afraid I know exactly what you are. You're flight.
This is dialogue, delivered direct address-style to the camera. It's our opening scene, our opening shot. In CU we see a middle-aged man. He looks tough. Battle-weary. Street-smart.
We pull back to an MCU and we see the landscape for the first time. It has large rocky mountaintops and cliffs filled with sharp points like raised daggers covering its surface. It is beautiful but treacherous. We CUT TO the person he has been talking to.
It's the girl from the bar with the wild red hair. Blue eyes like a cold flame. Now, though, she looks as though every inch of her is vibrating with fear.
He pushes her off the cliff.
And now I need to know where to go from here. Yay!
Awkward small talk regarding the holidays sorted. Good.
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (or my last blog post), I wrote a scene about a crazy girl in a bar and didn't really know what to do with it. Well.
I've been thinking about a story for a while that's sort of a martial arts/samurai version of this story from ancient Greek myth. Well, I've had the idea since I watched Kill Bill and wanted to imitate Tarantino probably (keep you posted on my superhero idea clearly only inspired by Scott Pilgrim Vs The World). Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said 'good writers borrow, great writers steal?' Or was it Pablo Picasso who said 'good artists borrow, great artists steal?' Or was it T.S. Eliot who said 'immature poets borrow, mature poets steal?' No matter. They were awesome and condoned creative theft. Hmmm. Seems wrong somehow.
I digress. So the myth goes something like this; Daedalus, master craftsman and constructor of the labyrinth, is pretty sure he's the business at crafting shit. Until his sister's kid comes along. His name is Perdix and Perdix is super good at building stuff and this makes Daedalus well jealous. So one day while they're walking along some cliffs, hanging and chilling, Daedalus decides to push Perdix off one. A cliff, that is. In the myth I read the kid just plain died and Daedalus was banished, which is how he wound up building the labyrinth. But in the one I just looked up (cough, on Wikipedia, cough), the goddess Athena turned the kid into a bird before he hit the ground. This is supposedly the origin of the Partridge. The bird, not the family of musicians from the 70s.
How are these things related, you might ask? Well. I think the girl has the makings of being a Perdix character, looking for her Daedalus. I wanted to do a story about an assassin who kills one of his students because she's clearly going to be better than him. She survives and begins picking off the members of his organisation before killing him. The cliff stuff is genius, because the scene I've written already has that. In the myth, Daedalus is branded with the image of Perdix as punishment and I thought maybe this could be her mark? He pushes her off a cliff, she somehow survives, and exacts her revenge. There's a definite fight/flight motif running through this story (thank you, friend who talked about the fight or flight urge and how you can have one more than the other), and it can be seen in the original scene I wrote. And it's explicit in the one I'm about to share with you.
So this story is shaping up first of all to be about art, how we validate ourselves through our work and what it means when someone does better what we thought was ours alone, but also about our instincts; that constant tension between fight and flight that we live through every day and how others force us to enact those struggles every day. Please to enjoy the next scene I haves written!
An explanatory note (well, another one): I haven't written it as a scene in a film. I've written it as a monologue, then added directions. It's more notes on how to write the scene more than anything. Please to enjoy! Again!
It's the flight or fight complex. That survival instinct that kicks in when you know that if you walk into this territory you'll end up with a gun to your head or a knife to your throat.
What I've figured out is that no one has both. Oh, they'll try to tell you it's a constant struggle between the two, but that's bullshit. BULLSHIT.
See, to me, the real struggle comes from the realisation that in the moment flight or fight comes upon you, you're not who you thought you were.
When I was a kid, I had the drunken arsehole of a father who would start shit when he got home from the pub. I would stand up to him while my brother went and hid in his closet. That's how I learned that while my brother's instinct was flight, mine was to fight.
And that's why I'm so good at what we do. I know who is flight, and who is fight. And I know when someone realises that when they thought they'd be fight, they're actually flight. And you my dear, I'm afraid I know exactly what you are. You're flight.
This is dialogue, delivered direct address-style to the camera. It's our opening scene, our opening shot. In CU we see a middle-aged man. He looks tough. Battle-weary. Street-smart.
We pull back to an MCU and we see the landscape for the first time. It has large rocky mountaintops and cliffs filled with sharp points like raised daggers covering its surface. It is beautiful but treacherous. We CUT TO the person he has been talking to.
It's the girl from the bar with the wild red hair. Blue eyes like a cold flame. Now, though, she looks as though every inch of her is vibrating with fear.
He pushes her off the cliff.
And now I need to know where to go from here. Yay!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
One of these days I'm gonna get organizized
So I made a tentative hair schedule for 2011 (it's not lame...is it? No. Couldn't be. It's not like I have celeb hair pics stored in my phone...anymore...), and I do believe it brings me that much closer to organising the rest of my life. No New Years Resolutions, because they suck, and no one ever keeps them.
So because they're not quite formed thoughts, yet, here is a list/notes to myself:
1. Enrol in WEA Spanish for Beginners course (just need funds in back account).
2. Research: Critical analysis at UNSW (contact postgrad coordinator and hope she forgets she taught me in Honours and I wrote a really crap essay for her seminar)
3. Research: practice-led research at Macquarie?
4. Ideas: study of morality and pursuit of pleasure in film with particular reference to a story set in Sydney; study of relationship between screen and spectator - practice-based or critical analysis; study of genre and masculinity - script about human vs zombies team.
5. Work my way back to directing this year? Maybe even ask to direct Christmas Dinner?
6. Ask about comps or funding or stuff to get scripts some recognition or money or something?
Ok, good. Now I can lelaxxxxx.
So because they're not quite formed thoughts, yet, here is a list/notes to myself:
1. Enrol in WEA Spanish for Beginners course (just need funds in back account).
2. Research: Critical analysis at UNSW (contact postgrad coordinator and hope she forgets she taught me in Honours and I wrote a really crap essay for her seminar)
3. Research: practice-led research at Macquarie?
4. Ideas: study of morality and pursuit of pleasure in film with particular reference to a story set in Sydney; study of relationship between screen and spectator - practice-based or critical analysis; study of genre and masculinity - script about human vs zombies team.
5. Work my way back to directing this year? Maybe even ask to direct Christmas Dinner?
6. Ask about comps or funding or stuff to get scripts some recognition or money or something?
Ok, good. Now I can lelaxxxxx.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wild in the Streets, Barely Alive
So I often have ideas swimming around in my head for ages and get really lazy about getting them down on paper. But recently I had some time to kill for writing, and because I was trying to work on one piece, I had a brief lightning strike moment in which I wrote a scene for...well, I'm not sure.
I have a few ideas for it, but I'm not sure where to take it. So I figure getting it out into the internetz might lead to some sort of inspiration.
So here tis:
As she walked through the doors she had everyone in the bar's attention. Hardly surprising, really. It was full of bikers, middle-aged bearded men in leather. In age she beat them all by about 20 years.
The women in the bar, scarce as they were, resembled the men more than they resembled her. She wasn't giving anyone in the bar the satisfaction of a first glance, let alone a second.
She sat down at the bar and waited. To the bar patrons, and probably the rest of the world, the girl was worthy of more than a cursory once-over. She was wearing a long black t-shirt that was supposed to qualify as a dress, accompanied by ripped tights and scuffed motorcycle boots. Her long, bright red hair was what could only be described as a mess. The ghost of an up-do remained, making it look as though she had pulled her hair out in a rage.
Her make-up was similarly messy, with mascara that looked like it was running down her face and her lipstick smudged. It reminded some of the Joker. The dark smudges around her blue eyes made them blaze out of her face. All in all, this girl looked like she'd been in a big scrap. The entire bar wondered who had won the fight. All bets were on her.
But one patron found her absurd. He leaned against the bar, standing near to where she was sitting. He took his time before speaking. "You know, Halloween's over, Honey." His female companion cackled, the sound slicing through the atmosphere.
She swiftly turned to face him, and her blue eyes burned into his. The shitkicking grin on his face faltered, flickered, went out. The bartender came over soon after.
"You got ID?" he asked, knowing the answer. She stared at him for what seemed like a long time. The bar collectively held ther breath.
She got up and stormed out. The bar followed her with their eyes. Soon conversation returned to normal, except for the guy who had to stare into her eyes. He didn't say a word for the rest of the night.
I have a couple of stories this could fit into. Is there a mystical element? Is she just some punk kid trying to forge her identity? Is she some assassin in the making, waiting to be brought under some more experienced person's wing? Is she a time-traveller having a rough time of it? These are the contexts I've previously created that this heroine could fall into. Is she even a heroine? Not sure yet, but any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
I have a few ideas for it, but I'm not sure where to take it. So I figure getting it out into the internetz might lead to some sort of inspiration.
So here tis:
As she walked through the doors she had everyone in the bar's attention. Hardly surprising, really. It was full of bikers, middle-aged bearded men in leather. In age she beat them all by about 20 years.
The women in the bar, scarce as they were, resembled the men more than they resembled her. She wasn't giving anyone in the bar the satisfaction of a first glance, let alone a second.
She sat down at the bar and waited. To the bar patrons, and probably the rest of the world, the girl was worthy of more than a cursory once-over. She was wearing a long black t-shirt that was supposed to qualify as a dress, accompanied by ripped tights and scuffed motorcycle boots. Her long, bright red hair was what could only be described as a mess. The ghost of an up-do remained, making it look as though she had pulled her hair out in a rage.
Her make-up was similarly messy, with mascara that looked like it was running down her face and her lipstick smudged. It reminded some of the Joker. The dark smudges around her blue eyes made them blaze out of her face. All in all, this girl looked like she'd been in a big scrap. The entire bar wondered who had won the fight. All bets were on her.
But one patron found her absurd. He leaned against the bar, standing near to where she was sitting. He took his time before speaking. "You know, Halloween's over, Honey." His female companion cackled, the sound slicing through the atmosphere.
She swiftly turned to face him, and her blue eyes burned into his. The shitkicking grin on his face faltered, flickered, went out. The bartender came over soon after.
"You got ID?" he asked, knowing the answer. She stared at him for what seemed like a long time. The bar collectively held ther breath.
She got up and stormed out. The bar followed her with their eyes. Soon conversation returned to normal, except for the guy who had to stare into her eyes. He didn't say a word for the rest of the night.
I have a couple of stories this could fit into. Is there a mystical element? Is she just some punk kid trying to forge her identity? Is she some assassin in the making, waiting to be brought under some more experienced person's wing? Is she a time-traveller having a rough time of it? These are the contexts I've previously created that this heroine could fall into. Is she even a heroine? Not sure yet, but any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
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