John August
Weekly Roundup 4.19.24
I know. You don’t have to say anything. It’s been way more than a week since my last post here. I feel bad but I can’t really do much about it now except move forward.
Also, this will be the last time I apologize for not posting more. Yes, I should post more. I want to post more. But shit happens, right?
I am going to try harder, but I can’t promise anything. Because, you know, that whole “shit happens” thing? But I will try. Okay? Okay.
So, with that in mind, let’s get going . . . Here’s some of the things I’m watching, reading or, dare I say it, consuming these days.
Watching
Dune Part 2 - Heck yeah. What a great way to continue the story and wrap things up (almost). Loved it. I’ve already watched it several times and I expect I’ll watch it many more. Can’t wait to see what Denis Villeneuve does with Dune Messiah. That’s gonna be interesting, to say the least.
Shogun - I watched almost of of this but now I’m waiting for all the episodes to drop so I can watch them as one complete story. Yeah, I used to wait a week between episodes too. Maybe we should go back to that exclusively? Might help shows that come out all at once, people talk about them for a few minutes, then it’s done. Which brings me to . . .
3 Body Problem - I liked the book so I thought I’d give the show a try. For the most part, I enjoyed it . . . especially the Game of Thrones mini-reunion. But sadly, the show hasn’t really stuck with me now that it’s been a few weeks. Not sure why, exactly. It wasn’t all that memorable, I guess. It’s not bad. It’s good. It’s just not great. Alas.
Highlander - I know, I’m waiting for the Henry Cavill remake too. Until then, I decided to go back and watch the Christopher Lambert original. Still fun. Still so many great things about it. Sure, some of it is a bit dated at this point, but the movie still rocks and even though I’ve seen it many times, I’m never bored watching it again. Can’t say that about a lot of stuff these days.
Plus, terrific actors like Sean Connery and one of the nicest guys still working in the business, Clancy Brown. He’s one of the good ones and deserves all of his success. Remind me to tell you my Clancy Brown story sometime.
Reading
Dune Messiah - After watching Dune part 1 and 2, naturally I was curious about what comes next. I haven’t read the sequel to Dune since College so it seemed a good time to get back into it. So far, I’m really enjoying it. Frank Herbert really wants you to know Paul is not the good guy. Like really. He’s not. Still, great book.
Children of Dune - I’m basically almost done with the second book so it’s onto the the third. So far, so good. At least some other main characters that seemed kinda important have shown up after being absent from book 2, which is nice.
Listening To
Dune Messiah Audio Book - I get a lot out of reading but I also get a lot out of being read to. I also have a lot of Audible credits, so there’s that.
Lots of Radiohead - I never get tired of this band. One of my all-time favorites and I listen to their music frequently.
Scriptnotes Podcast - If you want to know anything about being a screenwriter in Hollywood, John August and Craig Mazin have you covered. Great podcast with two wonderfully informative hosts
The Recipe podcast with Kenji and Deb - I’ve been a big fan of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (aka Kenji) for a long time. Love his YouTube Channel and his books. Naturally, I really enjoy this podcast too. And Deb is great as well. They really seem to like each other and their styles complement.
Finally, just for fun, here’s the trailers for both Dune and Dune Part 2. Amazing stuff, especially for a sci-fi nerd like me from way back.
Weekly Roundup 11.3.23
I’m starting/restarting a thing here on the blog. What is this thing, you may ask? Well, glad you asked. I’m calling it the ‘Weekly Roundup’ and will be items of interest and/or links I found interesting during the week or continue to find interesting or useful on a regular or semi-regular basis.
I won’t be talking much about or linking to anything to do with the current situation in the middle East or what’s going on in the world or politics or anything too serious. This is more of a distraction exercise that hopefully will help you find something to occupy your time and suppress the existential dread (at least for a few minutes).
Damn, that was a lot of words. Confused? Just go with it.
Here’s some of those links or interesting bits now:
I continue to be interested in, learn from and enjoy the Scriptnotes podcast with John August and Craig Mazin.
I’m also a fan of Marc Maron and his WTF podcast. He gets some great guests and is an excellent interviewer.
I’m reading a book about Python by Al Sweigert called Automate the Boring Stuff With Python. I’m learning a lot.
I’m also reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Loved the show on HBO (Remember HBO? Good times) and now I’m loving the book. I intend to read all her novels after this one.
Next on my reading list, though, is Black River Orchard, the latest from author Chuck Wendig.
I recently picked up an Apple Watch Ultra2. It’s chunky and a love it. No, I didn’t really need a chunky Apple watch. I just wanted a new watch and it seemed like the coolest one. Also, it’s an early combo birthday/Xmas present from H. She’s very generous. I’m very lucky.
And yes, I know I’m always talking about how much I love and still use analog things. That’s still true. Don’t believe me? Check out my Instagram.
I’m also a nerd and this Ultra2 is pretty damn nerdy. So, there you go. Did I mention it’s chunky? It’s also made of titanium. That’s pretty cool.
Until next time. Be kind to each other.
Image: Vincent Chong / Subterranean Press
Still More Useful and Interesting Things
As life returns to normal (or at least my version of it) I realize it’s been several days since I last put some useful and interesting things up here.
So, with that in mind, here’s some more for you:
• Have trouble getting people to do what you want? Maybe this technique can help.
• For the screenwriting nerds out there, John August and his team have come up with a new version of the venerable Courier font, called Courier Prime, to use when writing your scripts. I’ve switched to it and it’s quite nice.
• If you have a girlfriend who would love this as a gift, marry her. If you already did, kudos to you and it makes a nice Valentine’s Day gift too.
• Here’s a complete collection of Mac OS X install disks. I think I still have all of mine too. Yep, Mac nerd right here.
• Have and iPad? Want to use said iPad in the kitchen or other place where it might get wet? You want one of these.
• I like talented people doing cool things, so I like this. Granted, I know Brian so I may be a bit biased. But still, it’s pretty cool. BTW, you should also read his book
• Last, but not least, Tom Witkin’s Poster app for iOS is for posting to a Wordpress site and is very awesome. It’s become my new favorite and I now use it pretty much every day. Check it out.
No Good Trailers Today, Some Writing Tips Instead
Yep, that’s right. No good movie trailers were released today. Or, at least not for movies I’m interested in. So there.
On the other hand, I did get a lot of writing done, so today wasn’t a total loss. In fact, I think I’ve finally figured out some problems with a script I’m working on, which is always a good feeling. Of course, fixing some problems can often lead to finding others . . . And so it goes.
Speaking of writing, screenwriter (among his movies is Big Fish, one of my personal favs) and snazzy iOS app developer John August has a great podcast (co-hosted by Craig Mazin) for all you aspiring screenwriters out there. I’m sure I’m late to the party on this and you’ve all been into the podcast from the beginning, but I’ve listened to almost all of the episodes now and I’ve learned a great deal.
Yes, I can still learn. So can you. Come on, you can do it.
Mr. August offers a lot of other advice at his website as well as several examples of his writing work for your reading pleasure. It’s a great resource and one I recommend highly.
I’m not alone in this, of course, but I’ve always believed one of the best ways to learn to write something like a screenplay is to read a lot of scripts. It helps to read good ones, too, as Mr. August’s are. No, that’s not brown nosing. They’re just very good and I don’t mind saying it.
In truth, I’m a big fan of reading in general. I guess if you’re reading this, you probably are too.