Archive for the 'Asides' Category

• e  5 WGA membership approves credit proposals

  The WGA announced this afternoon that all three proposed revisions to the Screen Credits Manual passed handily, ranging from 83 to 90 percent yes votes.

• e  6 Stupid MySQL server. Be less crash-y.

  And suddenly, we’re up. Honestly, we could have probably been up earlier if I hadn’t mucked around with some things. If the site goes down again over the weekend, don’t despair. Why not see WALL-E?

• e  6 A look back at Go

  This Distracted Globe has a new look back and review of my first movie, Go.

• e  7 Me sick

  Having a cold in the age of the internet gives you none of the TV-watching, bed-resting benefits. You’re typing and clicking just a little more slowly than usual.

• e  Comments Off Judging begins

  I’ve closed comments on the Derivative Challenge to begin judging the 84 entries. Should have a winner this afternoon.

• e  7 The Nines on iTunes

  Just noticed that The Nines is now available for rental on iTunes.

• e  5 HBO

  My agent leaves me to head HBO. Yeah Sue!

• e  4 Maine

  I’m headed east for a very long weekend, so updates are unlikely until Thursday.

• e  2 Condition: Marginal

  Update: My cold is getting worse, so I’m going to sit out picketing this afternoon in hopes of rallying for another WGA commitment tonight.

• e  1 Thursday picketing

  I’ll be picketing at NBC this afternoon, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. I’m fighting a cold, so if I don’t shake your hand, please take no offense.

• e  1 Picketing tomorrow

  Picketing at Paramount has new hours, with three overlapping shifts: 7-10 a.m., 9-12 noon, 11-2 p.m. Members can see all the schedules here.

• e  7 Shucks

  “Every now and then it’s nice to encounter a movie that just cracks open your skull and has rough intercourse with your brain.” — Jason Adams on The Nines, via JoBlo.

• e  2 Charlie on ABC

  In the U.S., ABC will be “network television premiering” Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Saturday, Feb. 9th. Theatrical movies aren’t showing up on free television much anymore, but Charlie should work well. It falls into TV act breaks fairly naturally.

• e  2 MLK Day

  Tomorrow is a U.S. holiday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), so there’s no picketing. Tuesday is a big event at Paramount. Details forthcoming.

• e  2 Day 74, revised

  I had to cancel my Arizona trip, so I’ll be doing van loading tonight, from 5-8 p.m. (Note that you have to be WGA to sign up, since it’s at the headquarters.)

• e  3 I’m not there

  I woke up with a cold, so I won’t be at Paramount this morning.

• e  5 Early show

  I’ll be continuing my early shift at Paramount (5:45 a.m. to 9 a.m.) today and tomorrow.

• e  Comments Off LA Times Dust-Up

  The point-counterpoint debate going on over at LA Times.com makes for good reading, with Craig Mazin and Matt Edelman discussing the strike.

• e  2 Indie Gate

  Reminder: I’ll be at Paramount’s main gate for a gathering of indie film writers from 11-2 today.

• e  1 Tuesday picketing

  I’ll be back at Paramount’s Van Ness gate Tuesday morning, beginning at 5:30 a.m.

• e  1 Stay-at-home

  I won’t be picketing Monday. I went in Friday night to load vans instead.

• e  3 Tomorrow at WB

  Reminder: I’ll be at Warner Bros. tomorrow (gates 2/3) from 8-11 a.m.

• e  Comments Off Back at Paramount

  I’ll be back at Paramount’s Van Ness gate Monday at 5:30 a.m. I suspect I’ll be moving to other studios on other days.

• e  4 Updates and changes

  I’m moving a few things around at the site, so there may be some broken links and other navigational hiccups for the next day or two.

• e  5 Flu shot

  The new flu shot is painless. It’s like the needle is made of whispers and daydreams.

• e  5 Back on the line

  If any readers care to visit, I’ll be starting a three-hour shift on the picket line at Paramount tomorrow morning at 5:30 am.

• e  11 Hollywood rally

  Just a reminder: I won’t be at the event on Hollywood Blvd. today. I’m looking forward to readers’ comments and links.

• e  1 Tomorrow at Universal

  Change of venue: I’ll be joining John Gatins’ crew at Universal tomorrow from 9 – 1. Readers always welcome.

• e  2 Worm-catching time

  I’m on the early shift this week, with strike duty from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Paramount. (The Van Ness gate, most likely.)

• e  9 Where I’m picketing

  I’ve been assigned Paramount Studios for picketing, so look for me there Monday afternoon.

• e  5 Words is words

  November 1st is the date the WGA contract runs out. It’s also the first day of National Novel Writing Month. Coincidence?

• e  3 Puppies and air vents

  Ever since I called “Hack!” on characters crawling through air vents, readers have delighted in sending me stories of real-life duct-sliders. Here’s the latest installment, courtesy of Derek Haas.

• e  5 The trees are a metaphor, incidentally

  “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.â€? — Greek proverb (via Jamie Lee Curtis)

• e  7 Defeat keeps on going

  “My Glorious Defeat,” the article I wrote for Men’s Health, is now up at MSN.com. (No, I don’t get residuals.)

• e  11 Michael Clayton

  Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton is fantastic. Move it to the top of your must-see list.

• e  4 The Nines in the U.K.

  The U.K. release date for The Nines is apparently November 30th. More info when I have it.

• e  14 The Kingdom opening titles

  The opening title sequence for The Kingdom is spectacular, presenting a heroic amount of backstory.

• e  5 Remembering the Alamo

  The Alamo Drafthouse is what you wish every movie theater could be: laid-back, but on its game, and run by people who genuinely give a shit about movies. Plus beer! My thanks to them for hosting The Nines last night. (And every night onward, as long as people keep coming to see it.)

• e  1 Upwardly mobile in Africa

  The importance of mobile phones in Africa is the subject of a good story in the new BusinessWeek. In Malawi, I got four bars in villages without electricity, roads, or running water. Mobile phones are pricey, but without them, it would be hard for the 10 orphan centers of FOMO to coordinate efforts. The next [...]

• e  Comments Off On fantacism

  Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim. – George Santayana

• e  19 Time to steal back

  Why are TV dramas so good these days? Because they’ve borrowed the look, style and ambition of features. They’re mini-movies that are better than movies. It’s time to steal back.

• e  1 Other controversial advice

  “No banging your head on the display case, please. It contains a very rare Mary Worth in which she has advised a friend to commit suicide.” – Comic Book Guy, The Simpsons

• e  17 MTV, an intervention

  MTV, please, have a seat. We wanted to have this meeting because we love you, and we can’t sit back and watch you destroy yourself. Last night’s Video Music Awards program was an embarrassment. Sure, the headlines are about Britney, but if you took her away all you’d have was a bunch of bored [...]

• e  8 Sheep lice

  We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason why they write so little. — Anne Lamott