film

Randomness for 5/18

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1) Producer Linda Obst on Why movies suck so much right now. Don’t miss the comics fanboy outrage in the comments.

2) 2010 Best illusion of the year. For best effect, watch the video before reading the article.

3) Robbing from the poor (writer)–how NOTTINGHAM, a script that featured the Sheriff of Nottingham using CSI techniques to track a wanted terrorist and which was the hottest script at auction in Hollywood for a while, became the completely tedious ROBIN HOOD. Aka why modern movies suck part 2

4) You know how neat-freaks have germ pron? This is vertigo pron. Gah! Heights!

5) Why I don’t get Archie comics for my son anymore.

6) via madrobins: A real-life Miss Marple for the internet age. International access to chat sites, fake online identities and suicide pacts. Jesus, this would make a great book (and I’m sure someone is already writing it).

7) Inappropriate Golden Books.

Again, this is brilliant

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Facebook users, this is embedded video. Click through to the blog entry to watch it.

Sorry Gary.

Not online much

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I’m just dropping a quick note before going back to today’s pages.

Reminder for Seattle-area folks! The low-budget horror movie I wrote, THE DEAD FEED, about a group of friends who receive video feeds showing one of their number being murdered before it happens, will have its world premiere this Thursday night 5/20, 7pm, at NW Film Forum.

I’ll be there with camera in hand so I’ll have photos of the event. Maybe video, too. If you can be there, be sure to say hello.

Kolchak and Minuteman, together at last!

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I just got a call from home saying my package finally arrived. Inside are the two Kolchak TV movies, along with the entire Kolchak the Night Stalker TV series.

I should also have received the disc for Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich.

Weekend, you are planned.

But I’ll tell you, I’m bored with my own blog! I have a crap load of work to do on my website (reorganizing, mostly) but I’m tired of the things I’ve been talking about and I’m generally feeling uninspired.

So, I’m going to give the Kolchak videos a watch (I also have the complete season of The Dresden Files) and write a little bit about every episode. Why not? I will love them and laugh at them and make disappointed faces, too. Hopefully, that will satisfy whatever has been making me restless lately.

Via MightyGodKing

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This is crazy fun.

Facebook users, that’s embedded video. Click through to see it. Sorry you can’t watch it at work, Gary.

And now it’s on Publishers Weekly

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The PW blog Genreville just posted that reader-created book trailer. Awesome.

They’re also asking for favorite book trailers. If you have one, post a link; if you want to see some, check out the comments. I certainly will later on, for trailer research.

In honor of the day

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Happy Mother’s Day.

It’s amazing!

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I mention that I want to make a book trailer, and a reader made one for me!

The folks at Random House are going to be so excited!

Five Things for a Friday

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1. After weeks of trying to figure out how to fit exercise into my schedule (“What do I give up?” and “When would I have the energy?” being the most important considerations) I suddenly realized that I could squeeze a long walk into my schedule after I finish my shift at my day job, but before I come home. This week I’ve been walking the bus route toward home for 30-40 minutes, and it’s working well. Soon I’ll bump that up to an hour. It means giving up some reading time at the bus stop, but it’s worth it.

2. My feet and leg pain is back. See number one above. I haven’t told my wife about it because it freaks her out, but it’ll soon be obvious because…

3. Our Mothers Day jaunt will be a trip to the park. Lots of walking. Lots of greenery. She loves long walks outside and considers them an essential part of her spiritual self-care. Unfortunately, our son only ventures outdoors after an hour of whining and misery. But we’re doing it, for her. I expect to be in a lot of pain, and to be stuck in the middle.

4. Also this weekend, a very good, very old friend will be in a nearby town. Will he be able to visit? Will I be able to go visit him? No clue.

5. I’m pretty much committed to making a book trailer for book three. Nothing much is going to happen to it at least until the fall, after Game of Cages (aka book 2) comes out. No rush. I will, however, be watching a ton of trailers in the meantime to see what I like and don’t like.

Surprising 6th item: The pre-writing for The Buried King is at the absolute worst part–I have all the characters set and what they want. I know how they’re going to try to get what they want. What I don’t have is a clear idea of how all the conflicts are going to play out.

Truthfully, I don’t need to know this exactly, but I have to have enough information to be sure that the protagonist is going to have conflict with each of the antagonists, and I need to know that each conflict is going to be different. I’m not there yet, which means I’m ready to start writing chapter one but I’m also not ready. Frustrating.

There was supposed to be a surprising seventh thing, too, but I can’t remember what.

Let me follow up that long post with this short one?

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What’s your favorite book trailer? Links are appreciated.