Writing
Next Stop Macworld Expo in San Francisco
I'll be going up to San Francisco on Sunday to cover the big Macworld Expo gathering of the faithful all week for TUAW (thank you TUAW parent company AOL for sending me). Consequently, I'll be posting here less next week.
However, if you just can't get enough of me, check out the multiple ways in which you can keep up with my adventures, and those of my TUAW colleges, at Macworld as we bring you all the exciting news and info this year.
Here's some of the best ways:
The Unofficial Apple Weblog Website
Posts Tagged with the Macworld Tag at the TUAW Website
Our TUAW Twitter Feed (you do Twitter, don't you?)
My TUAW Articles - Stuff just from me (the best part, of course)
And, my Twitter feed is right there to the right so I will be posting to it as much as I can.
That a pretty good start. If you can't get enough Macworld info using these various methods, you're not trying hard enough. Also, be sure to check out our predictions of what Steve Jobs will announce at this year's keynote. There's some good ones there and if even half of them come true, it should make for an exciting keynote not to be missed.
And, if you are attending Macworld this year, be sure to say hello. We'll be the ones running around shooting video, taking photos, interviewing celebs and booth babes and loving every minute of the Macworld experience.
See you in San Francisco.
I’m Back
Man, what a week. Going to the Comic-Con is like running a marathon. I'm pretty beat (and beat-up) but I did manage to get quite a bit of stuff written while at the Con, meet some great people and have a good time during those rare moments when I wasn't running around or pushing my way into this panel or that one. If you've got some time on your hands, head on over to Cinematical or Comic Book Resources and check out the Comic-Con coverage. There's a crap load of it.
One of the best things about the Con for me was getting to spend more time with people that I only talk to on the phone or via email. I also get to meet a couple people in person that I've never met before. That was very cool and may lead to other opportunities for me, which is always a good thing. Another major highlight for me was getting the chance to meet and interview one of the head honchos of one of my favorite TV shows of all time: <em>Battlestar Galactica</em>.
I spent some time speaking to Mr. Mark Verheiden, Co-Exec. Producer of <em>Battlestar</em>, about the show, his movie projects and a bunch of other stuff. He was a very nice guy and talked as openly as he could about things. All and all a pleasant experience and one that I would like to repeat again sometime. It was that fun. That interview is up over at CBR now. Right <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=11462">here</a>.
<img src="http://cullrich.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/200708021550.jpg" alt="200708021550.jpg">
Other than that, there were the obligatory celebrity sightings like Jessica Alba, Robert Downey, Jr. and Ali Larter from the TV show <em>Heroes</em> (who looked smashing, btw). Although, as I live and work in LA and see celebs pretty regularly at my local Starbucks, walking their dogs in the park or eating at local restaurants, that part was less interesting to me than some other things.
If I lived in Minnesota or somewhere like that I would probably be much more excited. Although, seeing Ali Larter and shaking Stan Lee's hand <em>was</em> pretty darn cool. I'll come back later with some more info, but in the meantime go to the other sites cause we need the hits. Thanks.
Taking a Quick Photo Break
While I was looking for something else I found this picture. That’s all. You can go about your business now. Happy Sunday.
<img src="http://cullrich.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/jolene-blalock-more-pic-5-big.jpg" alt="jolene-blalock-more-pic-5-big.jpg">
I'm Very Important
Sure, I'm joking with the title of this post. My ego isn't <em>quite</em> that big. However, I do have some rather good news to share. Well, good for me at least. For the rest of you, it won't really mean all that much except for the fact that I'm sure you all want to see me happy and doing well. I really appreciate that, btw. So, what is this great bit of news then?
Well, starting this week I'm bringing all of my exhaustive Macintosh and Apple love and knowledge to a new venue: <a href="http://www.tuaw.com">The Unofficial Apple Weblog</a> (aka TUAW). Some of you may already have seen me at this new website as I already started writing there yesterday. But if not, head on over and check out some of my posts -- mostly about the iPhone at the moment -- but as things progress, I'll be branching out into all-things Apple.
I've secretly (and not so secretly) wanted to write for TUAW for quite some time and as I already work for <a href="http://www.cinematical.com">Cinematical</a> (which is owned by the same company: Weblogs, Inc. / AOL) it was only a matter of time before I managed to work my way into writing for TUAW. And now, all that hard work has paid off and I got what I wanted. So, if you get a minute, head on over and take a look.
The site is good (better now that I'm there of course) and can fulfill your every wish where Apple and Apple-related news, reviews and more are concerned. This is one of the things I was talking about recently that I couldn't talk about. The other is still hush-hush but should be ready for public consumption sometime soon.
In other news, I'm now back from my travels to Portland and am pretty happy to be back in LA. Although, as I mentioned earlier, i really like Portland and at one time or another, entertained thoughts about moving there. After all, I really love comic books and there are a bunch of people there doing just that so it seems a natural place to go.
In truth, I might make the move if it was just me. But as its not, I need to consider other people's thoughts and feelings about the situation. Given that, I feel pretty strongly I won't be leaving LA any time soon. However, you never really know, do you? Life is funny sometimes and once in awhile you actually do get what you want. The trick, of course, is knowing what that is.
Land o’ Ports and Coffee, Beer and Creative Juices
As some of you may know, I'm currently up in the Pacific Northwest in <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/">Portland</a>, Oregon. It's a great city with many of the things I enjoy most about life: coffee, beer and free wi-fi. There's also an abundance of great food and people who are very friendly and don't act like the world owes them something.
Sure, Portland also has its less favorable elements too but in my experience (rather limited, I grant you), these negatives don't really detract from the positive experience as a whole. In other words, I like it here. So, now that I've professed my love for the city, why am I up here in Stumptown?
Well, my fantastic, talented, intelligent and extremely manly editor at <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com">Comic Book Resources</a>, Jonah Weiland, has me up here doing a story about the Portland comic book scene. Yes, among its many virtues, Portland is also home to a very big comic book community of artists, writers, publishers and others who work in and around the comic book world.
Dark Horse, Oni and Top Shelf are some of the main publishers here and many super-talented folks like Brian Bendis, Greg Rucka and Rick Remender live and work in Portland as well. To be honest, I am beginning to understand the attraction to living here. The town seems geared to fostering the creative forces necessary to make something: be it a comic book, a song or something else.
At the moment, I'm sitting in a coffee house on SE Belmont Ave. ( I would name it specifically but that would mean rising from the couch that has sucked me almost entirely inside itself) taking full advantage of the great iced coffee and free wi-fi. In addition, there's some great music playing (The Cure, btw) which is not so loud that I can't hear myself think but instead is volumed just right (volumed? look, i make up words. no extra charge!). Some other coffee houses could take a lesson from the correct song volume demonstrated here (yes Starbucks, I'm talking about you).
Another nice thing about this place is that people are leaving me alone. Not once has someone come over to ask me to borrow my paper or ask for change or to buy their rap cd with "clean" lyrics or to tell me that the table I'm sitting at is usually reserved for people eating lunch. Instead, I'm sitting, Powerbook in my lap, enjoying my iced coffee and writing this post without a care in the world and with no annoying distractions that are counter to the creative process.
Thank you Portland for allowing me to rest comfortably and spend a little time creating something. See you again soon.
300: Made on a Mac + The Screaming Death Monkey
Over at <a href="http://www.ballergoods.com/home/2007/3/12/300-creating-the-visual-effects.html" target="_blank">this site</a> they have an interesting bit of info on the film <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0416449/" target="_blank"><em>300</em></a> and how the Macintosh was a very big part of getting the film done. Some of the Apple tech that was used to make the film possible include Final Cut Pro, Shake and Quicktime. Even though the film was primarily edited on an AVID system, the filmmakers said they prefer to use Macs running Final Cut instead of AVID. Interesting bit of info. And, if you want even more, head on over to the <a href="http://www.fxguide.com/article405.html" target="_blank">FX Guide</a> site. Even more bits of interesting info there including the above mentioned 'Death Monkey.'
While we are on the subject of <em>300</em>, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the film. As I usually do these days, I went in with almost no expectations and as open a mind as I could possibly muster. Fortuntely, the film more than lived up to the hype and I was rewarded with a great experience. Sure, the film isn't perfect but its a visual treat that should not be missed. Obviously, I'm not alone here because the film made over $70 milion in the first weekend -- the third biggest opening weekend for an R-rated film of all time, btw. So, get a babysitter and go out and see the movie if you haven't already.
Also, got some new stuff up over at Cinematical -- including details on <a href="http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/13/frank-miller-from-now-on-i-direct-my-own-stuff/" target="_blank">Frank Miller's career aspirations</a>, Michael Eisner's <a href="http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/13/michael-eisner-takes-us-one-step-closer-to-movies-via-internet/" target="_blank">new venture</a> and the <a href="http://www.cinematical.com/2007/03/10/hollywood-and-youtubes-relationship-on-the-rocks/" target="_blank">YouTube saga</a> -- as well as a brand new '<a href="http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/13/ask_the_macist_getting_gmail_with_apple_mail.php" target="_blank">Ask the MACist</a>' over at LAist. Plus, I should have a couple things coming out at <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com" target="_blank">CBR</a> in a few days as well. And, possibly something new and cool I'm not at liberty to discuss just yet too. You'll just have to chcck back to find out, sorry.
Trying Something New
As people who know me well can attest, I'm pretty much the kind of person who likes to do the same things pretty much all of the time. I like to eat at the same restaurants, go to the same bars, drink the same beverages, see similar kinds of movies, read similar kinds of books and comic books, etc. You get the idea.
Another thing I usually do has to do with my writing. When I leave the house to write out in the world I almost always go to my particular Starbucks to do it. The reasons for this are simple. I know the place, I know the people and I know what I'm getting when I go there. That can pretty much be applied to the other things I do pretty much all the time. I've been around long enough to know what I like and like what I know. No harm in doing what you want to do, is there?
Even though I'm what you would call a "creature of habit" every once in awhile I like to mix things up. So today, instead of going to my usual Starbucks to write some stuff for Cinematical and work on the pilot that can't yet be discussed, I decided to try something new today. I threw caution to the wind and went not to Starbucks but instead, to a place called LuLu's Beehive in Sherman Oaks. That was a couple hours ago and so far, so good.
When I first got here I was privy to an interesting argument between what could best be described as a few "disgruntled" writers. There were three middle-aged dudes arguing about how various studios around town don't know what they are doing, that executives and development people are "idiots" and how the hole business of show i basically a blight on society. Of course, in the next minute they bragged about their upcoming projects and the stuff they had in development and their upcoming deals so they can't hate the business too much as they are still hip-deep in it. Its funny to hear these kinds of conversations because that's what showbiz does to people.
I like to think of showbiz as being like chocolate cake. Its one of those things you know is bad for you but its also so good you just can't help yourself. And really, as I've probably said before, the worst day on a movie set is still so much better than the best day working at a bank or some other "real" job type job. Yes, showbiz and I have had our share of issues. But like any dysfunctional relationship we have also had our very good days as well so I can't say its all bad. Plus, as anyone who knows me will tell you: I love cake.
<em>photo "borrowed" from my former boss at LAist <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterjt/415321412/" target="_blank">jason toney</a> </em>
Walking When You Shouldn't Be
well, i got some interesting news the other day. it seems i have what the doctors call “walking pneumonia.” and no, it does not come with the “boogie woogie flu” as much as i was hoping it did. really, all it comes with is chest pain when breathing, coughing, headache and a general feeling of crappiness that makes you just wanna sleep until its over. don't worry, i'm going to live and got some good drugs.
so, that's what i have been doing a lot of for the last few days -- sleeping. that also means i haven't been doing much of anything else like writing for LAist, Cinematical or any other sites. plus, haven't been working on my scripts either. at least i have a good excuse this time and not the usual one i use -- procrastination.
i'm going to keep this short but i had a moment or two of lucidity and felt like at least writing something. gotta keep the machine working if you can -- at least at extremely low capacity. one other bit of news before i go, i have changed phones yet again (yes, its true) and gone back to the blackberry 8700g. the treo 680 is history and although a fine piece of tech, is just not for me. blackberry is where its at and i count the days until the blackberry 8800 comes out for t-mobile. soon my friends, soon.
also, i have decided to try an experiment and only use one mac instead of two. normally, i have a desktop mac (at the moment a 20“ intel iMac) and i also used a laptop -- my trusty 12” g4 powerbook. i have decided to try and use only one mac and make things simpler for me. to that end, i am now the proud owner of a shiny new 15“ macbook pro. yes, i know i said 15” was too big and i would never get one, etc. well, i'm using it to write this and i gotta say, its pretty nice.
i was going to attach an external monitor (a 23“ apple cinema display or a 24” dell ultrasharp) but this screen is almost big enough not to need another monitor. plus, i'm kinda in a quandary regarding my loyalty to apple and paying a thousand bucks for a monitor when i can get a potentially better one for only about six hundred bucks from dell. everything i've read about the dell leads me to believe that its a great monitor and every bit as good as the apple. or, i could just use the macbok pro without another monitor. its only five inches smaller than my iMac so i almost don't notice the difference. plus, as its a laptop you tend to sit closer to it than you do a bigger monitor and that, at least for me, makes things easier to read and see.
the other major reason i decided to try this was to avoid the “oh, that file is on my other computer” problem that seems to crop up often. if you have two computers it stands to reason you will work on one of them sometime and the other sometimes. unfortunately, that probably means you will run into the same problem i often did. an article draft or a file i need is on my desktop and i'm on my laptop at another location and can't get to it. sure, i could vpn and ftp the stuff to me wherever i am but why bother and why open up any holes in my firewall if i don't have to? it seems much easier to me to just have one computer, an external monitor and external drives and go from there.
i'm sure this new paradigm will also present its own problems but for the moment, it seems to make sense. besides, it was a good excuse to get a new mac and who doesn't love that! i know i do. ok, that's it. time to go back to bed. see you on the other side.
The Simple Pleasures of a Good Bar and Good Conversation
Last night was the latest LAist meeting where the writers and editors get together to share some beverages and talk about writing, sex, drugs, being attacked by raccoons and whatever else happens to come up. Its a good time made especially good for me because I got to go back to one of my favorite places in Los Angeles: Ye Rustic Inn in Los Feliz. If you don't know it its one of those dive places that are great fun, have giant leather booths, pitchers of beer, cute servers and is plenty dark so everyone looks a lot better. It's definitely one of those places that feel like home to me. Obviously, I've spent way to much time in bars. I'm not an alcoholic but I do like my drinks now and again. Although, more and more its again and not now.
Putting that aside for a moment, its also across the street from another great place to go called the Drawing Room. The Drawing Room has one thing in particular going for it besides its similar characteristics to the Rustic: it opens way early in the morning for your drinking pleasure. Consequently, when I used to toil all night on set and then be fully awake at 7AM at wrap, it was nice to go over The Drawing Room and get a cocktail at 8 in the morning. Yes, those are the things you sometimes do after shooting all night on a Friday and finishing up early Saturday morning.
Of course, we went during the week many times too so it wasn't always confined to the weekends. I gotta say, it sure was nice being young enough and in many ways, dumb enough, to be able to go out and do things like that. Now, as many of my friends will attest, its a pretty rare situation that gets me out of the house at all, let alone out to a bar. I just don't go out as much as I used to.
Really, I didn't want to go last night either. Well, that's not really fair. I did want to go. Its always nice to see LAist people, including one of my favorite people I've met in LA the last few years: Tony Pierce. Over at his infamous blog, I read that he feels similarly to me in that he doesn't like to go places as much as he used to and especially doesn't like to have to be somewhere according to a schedule. I'm very much the same way. I don't like deadlines and I don't really like having to do much of anything I don't want to do. Unfortunately, it turns out that most of life doesn't really give a crap about what I want to do or don't want to do. So, sometimes you gotta be somewhere at a certain time and that's just how it goes. Yes, deadlines are a bitch.
Anyway, a good time was had by all last night at the LAist meet and many pitchers of Stella were consumed so thanks for that Jake. Also, I met some new LAist people who were very cool and talented and will be a pleasure getting to know further. It's really great that I keep meeting quality people after living so long in LA and being sorta out of the business. I used to meet a lot of great people on set but now, as my being on set time is far less, it was getting harder to meet people. Although, I have met a few at the “office” so I shouldn't forget about that.
Something about this town, whatever its other faults, sure seems to attract some of the best people. I guess its probably the lure of Hollywood and fame/fourtune. Or, maybe its the weather? Who knows? Whatever it is, I'm glad it happens. Sure, the traffic sucks and trying to find parking in Santa Monica at 3P on a Thursday makes you want to kill someone but still, this city is home to some great people and some great bars. So, go out and find the place that makes you feel at home. You'll be glad you did.
Merry (insert appropriate holiday here)
hello all. just a quick not to say i wish you the best for this holiday season and an even better 2007. its been a pretty good 2006 for me and mine and except for a few minor setbacks it all went pretty smoothly. i hope it was the same for you and yours. so, if its so great what could i possibly wish for in the new year? well, couple things at least. i would like to do more writing work, see more movies, have more fun and travel more. that last one is something i vow to do every year and don't seem to have time for. so this year, i'm going to devote more energy to it.
on other fronts, at LAist we are doing LA-centric end of the year top-ten lists so please head on over and check them out. so far, mine was the top ten tv shows of the year but i hope to get one more in there before the end of the year. maybe i'll do one about the top ten reasons i prefer the valley to the west side. that might be good. got any suggestions for me? (keep it clean)
at cinematical, most everyone is making their lists of the top things (movies, trailers, posters, etc.) of the year and i'm no exception. some of the comments about my choices are pretty interesting. apparently, i don't care about international cinema at all and only like american movies. plus, someone suggested we are all just tools of our aol masters at cinematical. we sure have an interesting group of readers over there.
lastly, at comic book resources, we've thrown down the year-end roundup of trends in the industry. its a good read, especially if you're a fan of comic books or are just interested in how things work in the biz. look for more parts of this series coming soon.
again, all the best for the new year.
Writing As a Job -- The Update
So, here I sit at my usual spot. No, not that spot, I moved away from there a few weeks ago because it was getting too loud and too crowded. No, I'm at at a new spot now. Anyway, this spot has even more comfy chairs and they keep the music down to a comfortable, non ear-threatening, level. I didn't mind making the change because change is ok sometimes. Especially if it prevents injury or loss of life.
Or, just allows me a slightly quieter place from which to write all of my amazing articles and whatnot for Cinematical and Comic Book Resources. Yes, its true. I've been at Cinematical for a little over two weeks now and haven't been fired yet. Kudos to me. It's interesting working for a big company like Weblogs, Inc. (part of AOL, don't cha know). Being a member of the “family” I am on several internal email lists where I get lots of stuff that I can't talk about. I even get occasional emails from Weblogs honcho Jason Calcanis.
Well, not directly to me but to everyone in the company. But still, its kinda fun. Jason is one of those people who was smart enough to see a need for something (blogs) about a great deal of different subjects and then had the tenacity to see it through. It worked out great for him too because now that AOL is the owner of his company, I think he's worth about a billion dollars or something. Not bad.
I'm not worth a billion dollars but I am worth a million in prizes. Or maybe that was a song I heard on the radio today? Sometimes its hard to tell. Oh, just to be clear and to justify the title of this post -- I am enjoying the daily writing even if many of my posts at Cinematical are of the news variety. I did do a couple of longer pieces which I will link to below for your reading pleasure. I also did a few more longer ones at Comic Book Resources.
At Cinematical I have to do these news posts when starting out to hopefully prove that I am reliable and then be allowed to move on to other more in-depth type of articles. But you do have to learn to walk before you can run and its only been a couple weeks so I will stick with it and hopefully transition into bigger stuff at a later date. It's not really a problem because I actually like doing the news posts and the more I do the more I get paid -- so that's nice too.
A recent CBR story:
Interview with Javier-Grillo Marxuach
And here are the links to my two bigger pieces at Cinematical:
Seven Tips for the Indie Filmmaker
Seven Sci-Fi Films You Should Be Watching
If you do that sort of thing, please feel free to Digg them at Digg or Scape them at Netscape. They are already submitted so your support would be much appreciated. Not that I get any kick backs or anything. it's just nice to help bring traffic to the site you work for. That's all.
Making Money Doing What You Like To Do
Something interesting happened to me while I was writing here. I discovered that what I really want to do is not direct or produce or anything like that, it’s write. As in, writing has become my number one favorite thing to do. It’s odd because when I think about my life it makes perfect sense that writing has taken its place at number one.
Someone pointed out to me the other day that all through my life I didn’t make films just because I wanted to but I was always writing since I was a young. I did it because I liked doing it and not because I had to do it.
It started way back in history when I was in Junior High I think. i wrote a story and when I got it back the teacher had written some comments on it. She said that I had a great imagination and that my story was really very well done, especially for someone my age. She also said that I should seriously think about getting my stories published. Thinking about it now I should have taken those comments more seriously. I might be farther ahead.
In truth, things are going pretty well for me in the writing game. I get to write quite a bit. It’s actually pretty cool. And now I will be doing even more of it and getting paid for it too. What a deal.
Yes, its true. I can now let you in on a little secret. I have been hired to write for Weblogs, Inc. as a contributor to their site Cinematical. It’s a site devoted to movies so I think I should be ok and not run out of things to say. After all, I did make movies for several years. Some of that must have stuck with me. Plus, I am still writing for Comic Book Resources and LAist so I can’t complain. getting paid to do something you like to do is pretty nice.
I know what you’re thinking. Now that I have yet another site I am writing for this site is going to suffer even more from neglect. I can say for certain that won’t be the case. How can I say that? Well, now that I am actually making decent money as a writer I am going to spend more time writing and less time doing anything else. I expect that this will allow me to not only do my work for Cinematical, CBR and LAist but also give me some time to write here.
I will also link to my posts around the web here for all of you (yes you and you) to enjoy. But I really want to try to keep writing here as well. this is the only place where I can do it just for fun without an editor breathing down my neck. Although at Weblogs we have a virtual office so I can’t actually feel anyone breathing but you get the point.
So, to start us off, click here, here and here to see some of my most recent work. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the event I was at last week was a press preview for the new game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (the pic in this post might have given it away). Great game that looks really good on the Xbox 360. I also got to play around with the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii. Very interesting indeed but I think I’ll stick with my Xbox 360.
Ok, that’s it for now but stay tuned because I’ll be right back. You’ll get sick of me yet, promise.
Uwe Boll, EA, XBox 360 and NDA's
Some of you may have noticed that I have changed the look of the site again. Yes, I had some time on my hands recently so I decided to mess around with it. I like the results now and will probably leave it this way for the time being. Really, its not the look of the site that matters all that much. It’s the content. But as I don’t have content that is all that stunning I thought it should at least try to make it look pretty.
In other news, I spent some time today at a certain video game company checking out and playing various video games that I can’t talk about yet. Yes, I had to sign one or two of those NDA things that prevent me from talking about the great (and not so great) stuff I saw today. That’s the way it works. You sign a piece of paper that says you will not talk about things until a certain date. In other words you are “embargoed” from talking about said things. I like that word “embargo”. It sounds interesting.
Suffice to say that the games were really cool (most of them anyway) and as soon as I can talk about them I will. It won’t really be that long so don’t worry. I think the embargo on most of them ends this weekend. See, not that long at all. What I can say about the games is that they were each very interesting in their own ways and some really stood out above the rest. I was particularly excited to see and play one game in particular that I know will be in my game console of choice as soon as it’s available.
Anyway, I won’t keep blathering on about things I can’t talk about. It’s really sort of rude. I’m sorry for getting all your hopes up and then not being able to deliver. So, let’s move on.
In other news of a video game sort that I can talk about:
Uwe Boll is apparently going to be allowed another opportunity to direct a movie. Lucky us.
Duke Nukem on Xbox Live Arcade has been discussed. Cool. I really like playing Galaga on XBLA so this could be fun too.
Over at EA Sports they are perfecting mediocrity, apparently. I like some of EA’s games but some others really kinda suck.
You can run Half Life 2 on a Mac without Windows. Or, you could run it on a Mac using Bootcamp in Windows. Which is what I do. Try it, it’s fun.
And, the kids of “Southpark” get a chance to play a little World of Warcraft. Oh Matt and Trey, you guys kill me. That reminds me, I need to write a review of the “Southpark” Season 8 DVD Box Set.
Oh, and if you are interested in comic books or comic book creators, my latest article is up over at comic book resources. It’s an interview with the guys who do “The Cross Bronx” comic book. The comic is really good. The interview is pretty ok too.
I’ll try not to pull something while patting myself on the back.
Fall TV Wrapup
In the interest of full disclosure I actually wrote this piece for LAist but I think it’s kinda funny so I’m going to put it here as well. Plus, a little comedy after that last post is probably a good idea. Enjoy.
Now that the majority of the new TV season has been paraded out in front of our collective eyeballs, we can make a few somewhat informed predictions as to how these new shows, and returning ones, will fare. Some of the new ones will, of course, do better than others. In the mix there are always one or two that breakout and become hits.
Mostly, however, there are far more that die a quick death on the alter of sacrifice to the TV gods. Plus, there are several returning shows this season that may have true staying power and many others that should know when to quit while they still have a shred of dignity left.
Here then are some of our predictions for the Fall TV season:
New shows that are going to die sooner rather than later:
Happy Hour - Even drunk this show still sucks. Trying to be funny isn’t the same as actually being funny.
‘til Death - Marriage isn’t pretty and this comedy isn’t funny. Time for a divorce.
20 Good Years - John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor don’t want to grow up. We sympathize and understand but still, who cares?
Justice - Another legal show from the brain trust that is the Fox Network. Loud, obnoxious and destined for the chair.
New shows that are going to die (most likely this season) but will hang around awhile just to spite us:
Vanished - Bad writing, bad direction, bad acting. Just bad, bad, bad. Vanish already.
Heroes - Really wanted to like it because it tries to do something different. But even Ali Larter’s fantastic and prominently-featured ass won’t be able to save this show from itself. And besides, we already saw this before when it was called “Unbreakable.”
Six Degrees - Not interested in the characters or their problems. Even the photographer who hasn’t worked in years still looks liked he stepped out of a fashion magazine. Whatever.
Smith - When the main character is the least interesting of the bunch you have a problem. Make the show about Mrs. Smith and her torrid affair with Amy Smart’s character while they do crimes and you might have something. Until then, no thanks.
Jericho - How can a show with Skeet Ulrich and Major Dad be bad? Trust us, it can. The only thing that might have saved this show was the super hot Ashley Scott and she’s headed out of town at the end of the pilot. Too bad. Did we mention that she’s super hot? Just wanted to make that clear.
Returning shows that have outlived their usefulness already and/or “jumped the shark” this season and should be put out of their misery:
Bones - Not even Dr. Brennan’s brains and beauty can save this show from turning into a rotting corpse. The cast is fun to look at but they need to do something else to keep the show going. Something interesting instead of doing basically the same show every week. Find the corpse, identify the corpse, reconstruct the corpse’s face, flirt with the FBI agent but never consummate then solve the case with a touch of righteous indignation. It started out promising last season but has clearly lost it’s way.
ER - Is there anyone who understands why this show is still on the air? Seriously, we’re really asking? Should have been put out of its misery long, long ago. Right around the time George Clooney left to do movies.
Desperate Housewives - We love a good soap opera but seriously, how much bad shit can happen in one neighborhood before people start to move? Rent the u-haul its time to get the hell out. There’s a sign on the front lawn and that sign says “crap”.
Grey’s Anatomy - The problem with an ensemble show where the cast is all getting famous is that they all need screen time and they all need some big crisis every week. That’s just too many crises to deal with. Plus, in the season premiere they use the old “patient has the plague so the two doctors who are both in love with the same woman are stuck together in quarantine so they have to explore their feelings about each other” plot. Come on, ER did that in season five and it was lame then. And really, why they’re fighting over Dr. Grey is beyond us. She’s a drunken slut. Move on.
Crossing Jordan - Someone who works on this show must have photos of Jeff Zucker with farm animals or something. That’s the only thing that explains this show still being around. Cross Jordan off the list, we beg you.
How I Met Your Mother - See above about trying to be funny not being the same thing as being funny. And trust us, having a laugh track doesn’t really help. Mother, meet the door. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out.
Ghost Whisperer - Jennifer Love Hewitt’s cleavage talks to ghosts. No wonder they keep coming back. We would. And who deosn’t love a girl that eats at Taco Bell and Sizzler in real life (its true, we’ve seen her)? We love Love but this show has to go. Give her something else to do and we might watch. Until then, this show is a ghost to us.
And last but not least, new or returning shows that will stick around and entertain us at least until they start to suck and/or annoy:
The Office - Still funny this year without trying to be. What a comedy should be.
My Name is Earl - Much like “The Office” in quality and disarming charm. Comedy from situations and characters. Not a situation comedy. There is a difference.
Men in Trees - Funny, cute and with a heart in the right place. We love that blonde, crazy, ex-lesbian. She has spunk and spunk is good.
Numb3rs - Like the smart kid in class that you wanted to beat up only this time, what he’s saying is so interesting you actually pay attention. And who knew you would really use math in the future like your teacher said you would? We though they were full of crap for sure.
The Unit - David Mamet meets “The Shield.” Sign us up for another tour. Plus, President Palmer kicks serious ass. The rest of the cast is good too, especially Robert Patrick as the unit’s boss and Abby Brammell as the wife of a unit member he’s having an affair with.
Plus, the show is called “The Unit”. Get it? “The Unit”. Nevermind. Testosterone-fueled men with machine guns who blow shit up is good fun. Embrace it and learn to love it.
Shark - Even though it’s clearly “House” with lawyers (we can hear the pitch meeting now) we like James Woods. Can’t help it. Plus, having Jeri Ryan in the show is not a bad idea either. Although it didn’t help “Boston Public” much. But really, nothing could have helped that steaming pile of “art” so we can’t really blame Jeri now can we?
We might be a little biased about Jeri, though, due to spending some time with her back in the day when she was a struggling actress working on a small movie. She’s a hoot and a pretty good pool player too. Where’s that five bucks you owe us Jeri?
The Nine - Interesting premise. Interesting characters and a cliffhanger that makes us want to come back to see what happens. All you can hope for from a new show. At least all the “Party of Five” alumni seem to be getting work now. Maybe Lacey Chabert will show up on “Lost” this season and get into a mud-soaked tussle with Evangiline Lilly’s character over Jack just to make things interesting? It could happen.
America’s Next Top Model - Don’t say a word. This show manages to be funny, poignant and highly entertaining all without really trying. Call this our one guilty pleasure. Plus, hello, hot models.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Even though Aaron Sorkin is clearly “influenced” by many other great writers of the past, he is still one of the most consistently intelligent and interesting creative forces working in TV today. He may be preachy and self-righteous sometimes but whatever he has to say, we’re listening. Plus, we love that Sarah Paulson and Amanda Peet.
Some of the male cast members are ok too. We like that Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford. They’re just fine. Also, kudos to Timothy Busfield and Evan Handler for staying on and getting on the Arron Sorkin express, respectively. They’re good and they deserve the work. Sadly, some of the other cast members aren’t quite up to the job just yet. Yes Hughley, we’re talking about you.
Finally, let’s keep in mind two of the very best shows on TV that have not had their official premieres yet this season but will most certainly still be on the air for years and years to come. If you are not watching these shows, you don’t know what you are missing. Get with it. We’re talking about, of course, these:
Veronica Mars - Funny, intelligent, scary and many other positive adjectives that don’t really do it justice. This show manages to walk the line between teen drama and noir thriller with equal facility for both genres. Kristen Bell is great as is the rest of the cast, particularly her father, played by Enrico Colotoni. We guess Exec. Producer Joel Silver isn’t such a dumbass after all, inspite of the “Matrix” sequels and a little movie called “Fair Game.”
Battlestar Galactica - This is the best show on TV that you’re not watching (unless you are in which case, kudos). We know, its sci-fi and that scares you. We know that the original ‘Battlestar“ left something to be desired in the quality department (but we loved it anyway). We also know that if you watch the show you’ll be hooked. Time Magazine can’t be wrong (at least about this) so give it a try and follow Exec. Producer Ron Moore’s plan. He won’t let us down.
That’s it for now. If LAist were one to bet we’d put our money down that our predictions are spot on. Anyone wanna take that action? Not that we advocate gambling. But if we did, we’d break the bank for sure.
Looking Inward and Some Cool Comic News
First, a little business. As some of you may know I have started writing more for other people at other sites. And, not only that, I have started writing a weekly Mac column at LAist called “Ask the MACist”. Plus, various other articles for various other places. Consequently, this particular blog has suffered from lack of attention. I have no excuse other than writing every day when people actually expect you to deliver on a deadline or they won't pay you is harder than I thought. Not harder because I can't do it but harder because of the expectations of others.
It's been some time since I had to write in more of a journalistic style or do more feature-type articles. Normally, I just ramble on here for a few paragraphs and call it a day. Writing here and in the first person seems somehow easier or something. Or, its probably more that writing here, while very important to me, doesn't carry with it the added pressure of readership or pay. When you throw readership and money into the mix, people expect results.
They expect you to be really good and for people to not only read what you write but to actually like it or at least, in some way, react to it. If your work brings new readers and keeps them coming back because they, for some reason, like what you say and how you say it, that is a huge added bonus (for them but not necessarily for you as then you have to try to be even better next time to continue the trend).
At this site, I am my own boss and basically write here because I have a compulsion to do so, not because I expect anyone to read, understand or care. Writing is really some kind of sickness that drives people to do it all the time or they will explode. I have to write because I have to get this stuff out of me. So, in that way and by writing here, I am less burdened by the pressure to be entertaining or even good. That is not to say that I don't care. I do. But there is a certain thing that happens to people, at least to me, when someone is expecting you to perform in order to get paid. For me, it becomes more work and I tend to be far more critical of what I write in those circumstances than I am for things here.
I want things to be good here and I want people to read this and like it or hate it or ion some way react, but don't expect them to. But I can't say for sure if anyone is even reading this stuff. So, there is less pressure to be good or entertaining. Perhaps I'm just lazy at heart and only care if I'm getting paid to care. In some ways that might make me a whore except that in most cases, if not all, the whore is only pretending to care and doesn't actually, really, give a crap. That's the difference, I guess. In this case, I'm the whore with a heart of gold and I care. Really. Now give me fifty bucks. Don't look at me, I earned it!
You have to love a place where the author refers to themselves as a whore. But really, when I think about it more, I have been a whore many times in my life. For example, almost every time I ever did a movie or a music video or a commercial that I didn't believe in. I only did it for the money in those cases but also in those cases I did care about how it all turned out. I wanted the results to be good and worked very hard to make sure that they were. it didn't always work out but it wasn't because I didn't care or didn't try, there were other factors that influenced the outcome. It wasn't me. I was in there swinging for the fences but the fences kept getting moved farther and farther away.
What does any of this mean to you? Well friends (yes you, you and you) here's where I pull it all together. In your life, it's ok to not be great sometimes and its even ok to fail once in awhile. As long as you can go home knowing that you tried to do your best, you're still a winner. And, its ok to be a whore too sometimes. We are all like that once in awhile. You haven't sold out as long as you keep fighting for quality. If you ever stop fighting to make things better, even when nobody else gives a crap, then its over and you are just a whore who's faking it. And faking it is not good. Unless you're the President of the United States. In that case, its all good.
On another front, somebody put together a list of the best comic book covers of 2006.I think that's kinda cool. I know the year isn't over yet but what the hell. Check it out here. Plus, I thought the picture was somewhat appropriate to the above diatribe. That's it. Stay classy San Diego (or LA or New York or London or wherever you are).
Ask the MACist
My latest column is here. So much writing to do so little time. I’m gonna have to link here occasionally but i will try to update as well. But for now . . .
Soon I will relate the story of why I decided to go back to my 12“ Powerbook and not keep using my 13” Intel MacBook. Until then.
Writing is hard (aka the excuses)
as you may have seen (if anyone actually noticed) there has been larger and larger gaps between posts on this here blog. some of you may be wondering why. yes, i’m talking to you in the back row there. wake up. well, the answer is simple and no, its not burnout. although, that can happen. it’s just that i’m a busy person and more to the point: writing is hard.
ok, there, i said it. writing is hard. anyone who actually gets paid to write or anyone who just sits down and writes something will tell you. writing is work. hard work. you have to actually think about something and write it. it doesn’t just magically appear on the page. the old adage, which i have used many times to torment writers that i know, that something “writes itself” just isn’t true. you actually have to come up with it yourself and put it together. the writing keebler elf is just a myth. although, the cookies can be quite good.
sure, you can come up with a few ideas or something and jot them down (or in this case, type them in). however, getting those ideas into a somewhat coherent form is where the actual work comes in. plus, and this is a real problem for me when writing for this site and for other sites as well, i don’t always have something i want to write about. i guess i’m not angry enough. i’ll try harder.
that brings me to the other problem (yes, another one). subject matter. just writing some random words in some sort of order could be called writing, and often is. just read usa today or watch fox news. it isn’t always compelling or even interesting writing though. sometimes its really quite bad. that’s the rub. and that’s the challenge.
not to say that every word i write is golden, but i have been known to turn a phrase or two from time to time. on one of the sites i write for, LAist.com, i actually like a few of the pieces i have done for them. some relatively solid work there. but believe me, whatever you may think of my work and whatever comments you may make about it, i am a far worse critic of myself than you will ever be. its just the nature of it. most of the time i think that everything i write sucks.
but, if you feel compelled to comment or make critical observations (or even tell me something really blows) i’m ok with that. that’s part of the deal when you put something out there for people to read. you have to expect some reaction. and believe me brother, the reaction is never all good. if it were, you are probably doing something wrong. of course, a negative reaction is better than no reaction at all. as in, if a writer writes in the forest and no one reads is, is he really a writer? actually, it doesn’t really have to be in a forest. although, forests can be quite nice.
well written articles or books or essays should cause people to think and question and explore. sometimes, they even cause people to revolt or take significant steps to make sweeping changes in their lives or the lives of others. i think that’s a good thing and something to strive for. change often is inspired by someone brave enough or dumb enough to write something and put it out there and make people think. thinking is good. try it some time. it can be fun.
and if thinking causes a little conflict or makes others feel uncomfortable or exposes them to new ideas, that means the writing was effective. we shouldn’t worry so much about status quo or political correctness. this country was founded by people who rejected what was politically correct and what was status quo and we turned out pretty well. we shouldn’t forget that now that most people have 2 cars, 2.5 kids, 3.5 bedrooms, HD tv, microwave ovens, cell phones, computers, xboxes and all those other gadgets and luxuries that make life more enjoyable.
of course, if i read this now i could make an observation that this post has gotten off message and has started to meander a bit and i would be right about that. the point here is that writing is hard. and good writing is really hard. but that’s what makes it worth it. if it wasn’t difficult, it probably wouldn’t be worth doing.
i’ll try to remember that the next time i am looking at a blank page and a blinking cursor and i have nothing to say. i guess i can always ramble on about writing or how lame the president is or how much i dislike local news or people who make sweeping generalizations, every last one of them. maybe a point will come of it eventually. then again, maybe not.
i wonder what’s on tv.
Going down?
Sorry, but I am really busy again and only had time to write for one site at the moment. However, here’s my latest bit for LAist for your reading pleasure.
There is something missing at the movies this year. Butts. No, not on screen, although perhaps you didn’t notice. No, we’re talking about in the theaters. As in, theaters have more empty seats. People are not going to see movies as much as they did last year and the year before that.
Perhaps many people didn’t realize that the summer movie season has started? Or, they are just not very excited about medicore remakes of classic horror films, like House of Wax. Even if they do have Paris Hilton in them. Or, they don’t realy care about big-budget movies with stars that perhaps are not ready to carry a big movie on their slim shoulders, like Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever their motivation, audiences are finding other things to do than go to the movies.
If you look at ticket sales, movie studios threw a party but not very many people decided to attend. Maybe they don’t like who was invited? According to industry watch group Exibitor Relations, which tracks these things, ticket sales declined 22 percent this year versus last year at the same time. That’s a big drop which represents quite a few dollars, and for that matter, butts. And, overall box office is down about 11 percent for the year compared to last year.
Also, movie studios are releasing at least a dozen fewer films this year than last year and the time it takes for a film to hit DVD is getting shorter and shorter. All of these factors contribute to the less than stellar business for the movies and for the people that make the movies.
With so many people in Los Angeles having their livelood tied one way or another to entertainment, how long will it be before this box office slump, if it continues, becomes a problem for them? If the trend continues, many of those people may be forced to look elsewhere to make a buck and that buck may be smaller than they are used to. In that case, they may be forced to spend less and buy less.
That reduction in spending could potentially have a negative effect on the entire economy of Los Angeles. With less money out there, other services and businesses could be effected. So, help save Los Angeles. Go out and see a movie this weekend.
I blog, therefore I'm dumb.
I was wondering what my problem was. (besides the obvious). Apparently, if you check your email too often your IQ begins to drop. More so than if you smoke weed (aka pot, gonja, mary jane . . . you get the idea).
Here’s the info about that. Although, this study was apparently done in England so who knows. Really, what do the English know about good weed? Oh well, I don’t smoke and I have tried to curtail my constant checking of email. I’m trying not to get stupid.
At least I went to an interesting party last night. Some details. The party was at the home of my managers (yes, i have managers. and an agent and a lawyer too. fun.). They invited a bunch of people, mostly actors, to come over and have drinks, snacks and good conversation. I went with Mr. Tony Mark as the wife and his girl were not interested in “networking”. So, we went, had a few drinks, walked around, talked to people, etc.
The interesting thing about the evening to me was how many of the actresses that were there were 19 years old. I spoke to at least four and they were all 19. And, all of them were from somewhere else (Seattle, Oregon, Texas, wherever) and they had all moved to LA in the last few months. Plus, they all seemed really interested in what I had to say. Which is, of course, a good boost to my already healthy ego. You need that now and again, even if deep down you know it can’t be real.
Now, I know I’m interesting and all and what I say is really interesting and important but come on, I’m not that cool. Only 19, just here off the bus (or whatever) and they already know how to play the game. You gotta love LA.