film

Randomness for 11/9

Standard

1) I haven’t even seen this movie, just the trailer, and I already have my two word review: “Hot mess.” Video.

2) An insider’s take on AFM and the “shadow film industry.”

3) Meritocracy: it doesn’t work the way you expect. via James Nicoll

4) An 8-month old baby’s reaction to his cochlear implant. Video.

5) Teaching equality via the Socratic Method. Video. Gotta tell you, I love this one.

6) The Big List of RPG Plots.

7) This. Is. Hilarious. Our Valued Customers. (NSFW Language). No kidding, I keep going page after page through those comics and I can’t stop laughing. via Seattle Geekly.

Special bonus 8th thing! Watch this high school football play. Video. Jeez, there’s a whole self-help book in that somewhere, and it’s freaking hilarious.

Two things make a pretty awesome post

Standard

First, anyone who’s ever stood within earshot of me for more than 30 seconds has heard me say that Child of Fire was named to Publishers Weekly’s Best 100 Books of 2009 (hmm, the formatting for that page looks to have been borked at some point, possibly by a change in themes).

Well, Game of Cages didn’t make this years list, but Genreville editor Rose Fox did give it an honorable mention in the fantasy category.

A close but no cigar! Hey, I’m happy to make Miss Congeniality for a book where the protagonist lays into a crowd of people with a length of pipe. Thank you, Rose!

Second, the Twenty Palaces book trailer begins shooting in less than two weeks, and I have permission to link to the photo of the actor who’s been cast as Ray Lilly. Here he is.

What do you think? Does he look like your vision of the character?

Quote of the day: AFM report

Standard

“One of the strange things I noticed at one of the places upstairs were two different movies in different genres with the exact same cast, and seemingly the exact same basic location. At first I thought this might be a company trying to sell the same movie twice (not everyone at AFM is honest… actually, few are) but then I realized this was a cost cutting method by the producer. They hired the same cast – including stars – and crew and shot in the same locations for two different movies. They could light one room, shoot all of the scenes for *both* films at the same time, and not waste any time taking down and setting up lights. When the middle dropped out of the business leaving only low budget and big budget films, the medium budget people had to become creative.

In the lobby I bumped into a director I know, Rolfe, who was working on the film from hell… actually, the *films* from hell. He just shot 7 different movies for the same company at the same time. The scripts were written to use the same sets and same actors, so that if 4 of the films had scenes at a police station they could all be shot at the same time. Different actors in the ensemble might play the detective in differently films, and other actors might be suspects in different films, but he had to shoot all of the police station scenes at once… and all of the other locations that each of the films shared at the same time. An actor playing the cop in one film might play the killer in another and a witness in a third film and the District Attorney in a fourth. That actor would be doing costume changes all day, and doing lines from different films all day. I think the idea behind this was for the company to make a whole slate of films at the same time, and be able to sell all of the films *now*, instead of making 7 individual films and having for each to be made before they can sell it. Whatever the reason, Rolfe had to write over 600 pages of screenplays that all used the same locations – and that’s not an easy task. These are the things that we might have to do in the indie world as screenwriters – that kind of assignment may become more common.”

— Bill Martell

In which I delight myself by sending an email.

Standard

Yesterday, in the midst of all the usual family stuff, like washing the boy’s bedsheets to get the cracker crumbs out, sweeping the kitchen floor, cleaning the bathroom, and introducing my son to BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, I submitted a short story for the first time in three years.

First I polished it, then I checked the guidelines, then boom, out goes the email.

I don’t read as much short fiction as I used to, therefore I rarely write it. But it’s nice to have the time to focus on a side project once in a while.

Now back the the Auntie Mame Files.

Freedom report, day one

Standard

I’m very mildly hung over from the two 22-oz beers I drank last night. Lindsey and Noelle, if you’re reading this, thank you again for those excellent going away gifts. They were complex, rich, and delicious, even if they did give me a bit of a headache today. I don’t want to think about how I’d feel if I hadn’t spread them out over four hours. At least I still have an area of my life where I can legitimately call myself a “lightweight.”

The whole family sat down to watch THE SECRET OF KELLS last night. My wife and son had no idea what to expect, but they were just as blown away as I’d expected them to be. Gorgeous movie. Highly recommended.

Also last night, I talked with the filmmakers making the book trailer. They received my drawing of the ghost knife sigil just fine, and I’ll post a link to imdb page for the actor playing Ray Lilly when they give me permission.

This morning I slept in until the late, late hour of 6:30 am. Luxury! I mailed off the last copies of GAME OF CAGES that I owed folks, and sent one each of my books to Pat Rothfuss for his charity auction. If you have something to donate, please consider doing so. It’s a good cause.

Then I did a bit of writing… but not much, because I’m enjoying this weekend. Next, I’m going to check out my library books and head out to meet a college buddy I barely ever see for a late lunch.

Hope you guys are having a day that’s just as nice.

Randomness for 11/5

Standard

1) Tired of arguing about science on Twitter? Let a computer program do it for you. via Jay Lake

2) “It was just a wasp, Dad.”

3) Popping corn in super slow-motion. Video.

4) Least popular monsters.

5) The many types of author panels.

6) This is one awesome mom.

7) Wasteland the movie trailer. Video, but it doesn’t auto-start. This is a documentary I’ll be watching when I get a chance.

Quote of the day

Standard

There was a period in the 90s where I was writing a lot of science fiction screenplays because it was a popular genre. For the most part, a science fiction movie is really just an action movie that takes place in the future. Sure, there are exceptions like GATACA, but mostly you have TOTAL RECALL and JUDGE DREDD and TERMINATOR and I ROBOT and MINORITY REPORT. In a science fiction script you start with what one big thing makes the world different – Apes have taken over? Food shortage plus population boom so we all eat Soylent Green? The Zombie Apocalypse happened and now you are the Last Man On Earth? There are psychics who tell the police who to arrest before they commit the crime? There is one big change, which is tied to the theme (point) of your story.

–Bill Martell, screenwriter (and practical man)

Randomness for Halloween

Standard

1) Can self-replicated Lego Robots be far behind? via Rose Fox.

2) Explain the internet to a 19th century British street urchin. Flow charts are funny. also via Rose Fox.

3) A Halloween edition of Great Comics that Never Happened! I love this one.

4) Heeeeeelllllllo, teddy bear! Who know Charlie Sheen could set his own eyes on fire in real life! Video.

5) 11 Awesome skiffy-themed animated gifs. I can’t decide if my favorite is Khan finding Waldo or Picard tommy-gunning Chunk.

6) This is how I’ve always imagined an agent’s office would be run.

7) Baby Powerhouse Remix. Video. This is a nice antidote to all the Halloween creepy grossness. Unless babies freak you out.

Randomness for 10/28

Standard

1) Ten things to know about the future of comics. Some of these are applicable for fiction, too.

2) Ben Kenobi, Private Jedeye. Video.

3) Kate Beaton makes Halloween comics just for YOU!

4) Champions Online is going to become a free MMORPG. Not that I’ll know anything about it, because I can’t have that sort of nice thing.

5) How to communicate with writers. via Jay Lake

6) Is Climate Change Real? Attn Google: Rank that link number one.

7) Some amazing carved pumpkins. But what an awful website layout.

Randomness for 10/23

Standard

1) Dog Superhero Costumes. Yeah, you read that right. Now click through and blow your own mind.

2) Why I will always support the serial comma.

3) America’s contempt for expertise, part six million and two.

4) A congressional candidate’s wife does a political ad… for his opponent. Has to be seen to be believed. Video. Burn! via Jen Busick

5) Cripes. Bad enough you dress up your dog in a costume. But you have to put him in a mask? And done your own matching Na’vi cat lady costume? And make a crazy video for the web?

6) OMG, I don’t care if this is real, I’m going to pretend it’s photoshop so I can sleep at night. Be sure to look at the picture gallery. Supposedly, they released this thing after the pictures were taken. I assume it was down a long chute from a truck with the engine running. via Danny Grossman

7) Manuscript rejection notice from a silent-era movie studio.