John August

Archives for 2006

On why the site looks a little different

Geek Alert, Meta

geek alertOne of my self-assigned projects for the holiday break was to rebuild the site — not so much how it looked, but the coding underneath. Inspired by the [SimpleBits](http://simplebits.com) re-do, and armed with my copy of Andy Clarke’s [Transcending CSS](http://astore.amazon.com/johnaugustcom-20/detail/0321410971/002-0355819-1894408), I envisioned sparkling new CSS, built on a clear semantic framework. No longer would the site’s undercarriage be held together with duct tape and angle brackets. It would be strong, straightforward and robust.

But that didn’t happen.

Rebuilding a working website is like changing the oil in a moving vehicle. It’s possible, but it ain’t easy. More dispiriting, I realized that all of the vintage hacks and work-arounds I was trying to avoid have simply been replaced with new hacks and work-arounds, such as the [Inman clearing method](http://www.shauninman.com/post/heap/2006/05/22/clearance_position_inline_absolute). So, for the most part, I chose to leave well enough alone.

But I did tweak a few things. The headlines are bigger, and the comments sections use significantly more whitespace. I nixed the tree border — that was always supposed to be temporary, but it lasted for more than a year. The box under the brad is gone, as are many of the less-clicked items. I’ve removed the links to other blogs, but intend to restore them at a later date.

Share This
—–

One of the most significant changes is the “Share This” link under every article. It uses [Alex King’s](http://alexking.org) AJAX-y goodness to allow readers to bookmark or email a specific entry.

“Share This” takes the place of “Permalink,” and good riddance. For readers who do want to copy the URL of any article, the headline now serves as the permanent link, which is pretty much what every other blog does. The very idea of listing a “permalink” which is not meant to be clicked, but copied, dates back to a specific time in the webosphere, and, well, we’ve moved on.

There are a few other changes on my wishlist, but they may wait until I bring on someone more qualified to implement them. In the meantime, if I’ve broken something that I haven’t noticed, please let me know. That’s one of the driving-while-changing-the-oil pitfalls.

Little Children, a little late

Awards, Film Industry, Follow Up

[for my consideration]Yesterday afternoon, I hauled my butt over to the Sunset 5 to catch [Little Children](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404203/). I’d been dying to see it ever since catching the brilliant trailer months ago. (The trailer was better than the movie, which is no slam on the film. The trailer really is that good.)

Today’s mail brought a screener copy of Little Children. Anticipating this will be a trend, I’d like to pre-announce the movies I plan to see soon, so that the studios can be ready with the DVD follow-up: Children of Men, The Good Shepherd, and the Alien Quadrilogy.Okay, that last one’s not in theaters. But I’d like a copy, all the same.

Screeners to date:

* __Little Children__
* Babel
* World Trade Center
* United 93
* Notes on a Scandal
* Flags of Our Fathers
* Little Miss Sunshine
* Thank You for Smoking

Sundance catalog is out

Sundance, The Nines

ryansThe catalog for this year’s Sundance Film Festival came this week, which was my first chance to see what everyone else’s first impression of The Nines would be. The festival organizers write the descriptions for the films, so you’re sort of at their mercy. Fortunately, John Cooper wrote up a very nice blurb for The Nines.

Three actors–Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, and Melissa McCarthy–are a delight playing different roles in the three different scenarios that comprise John August’s film The Nines. In “The Prisoner,” a troubled television star finds himself under house arrest with his chipper publicist and disillusioned neighbor providing his only link to the outside world. “Reality Television” is a Project Greenlight-style show tracing the behind-the-scenes tribulations of a half-hour sitcom. And in “Knowing,” an acclaimed video-game designer and his family have car trouble on an outing and find themselves stranded deep in the woods.

Writer/director August is firmly at the helm of this unique film. The three stories are linked to each other on a metaphysical plane, forming a stylish puzzle of coincidences that questions the underlying notions of both life and art. Does the creator have a responsibility to his or her creations? If we shape the lives we lead on any level, why not on all levels? Are we or are we not responsible for our own happy endings?

If you need tidy conclusions to these and other questions films sometimes pose, The Nines may not be for you. But if you love great writing, direction, and performances and are willing to ask questions, The Nines offers an upbeat, as well as enlightening, adventure.— John Cooper

My only correction would be in the first paragraph: Part 2 concerns a one-hour drama pilot, not a sitcom. The hijinks are more harrowing than hysterical. And for the record, he doesn’t mean that kind of “happy endings.” Shame on you.

You can see the printed version with all of the other information as a [.jpg](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/nines_catalog.jpg) or a [.pdf](http://johnaugust.com/Assets/nines_catalog.pdf). There’s an online version of the entire shebang at the [Sundance website](http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/Default.aspx).

For My Consideration

Film Industry

One of the considerable perks of being in the Writers Guild is that come awards time, the studios will do almost anything to get you to see their movies.

Yesterday, my WGA card got me two tickets to see Dreamgirls and I am telling you, the only thing that could compare with Jennifer Hudson’s big song was the thrill of signing for my free tickets just one line below [Diane English](http://imdb.com/name/nm0257606/), creator of “Murphy Brown.” It’s weird: I’m not at all star-struck; I don’t understand the appeal of collecting signatures. But coming across the accidental debris of celebrities — or better yet, quasi-celebrities — is strangely fascinating. Look! Diane English is just as cheap as me!

Since one can’t always make it to the theater, studios also send DVD screeners. Two years ago, there was a big effort to cut back on the process, on the theory that it led to piracy. By recent evidence, the studios have decided not to worry so much about it. So far I’ve received:

* Babel
* World Trade Center
* United 93
* Notes on a Scandal
* Flags of Our Fathers
* Little Miss Sunshine
* Thank You for Smoking

I’ve also been sent the scripts for all of these, along with the script for Dreamgirls. As the weeks pass and envelopes keep coming, I’ll try to update the list of movies that I now have no excuse not to have seen.