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• C'est le printemps!

  2009-03-21 6:48AM / 標準BLOG

  
  
  And the spring chicks are hatching all sorts of plans and tomfoolery...
  
  Happy first day of spring,
  Ana.
  

  2個評論–  我來說兩句

• A Simple Plan

  2009-02-19 11:00AM / 標準BLOG

  Pre-Spidey Sam Raimi directed a brill movie called A Simple Plan, which is another one of my underrated rental picks.  I saw this film in theaters when it first came out and recently saw it again on the telly.  Billy Bob Thornton's performance slays me.  Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda are also good in it. The film is a carefully constructed, taut thriller that poses a moral question that would apply to most, if not all, of us. What would you do if you found four million buckaroos in a downed plane? And if it's dirty money to begin with, could you possibly purify it by putting it to what you deem to be good use? Is that ample justification? Or does it become an albatross to bear for the rest of your life?
  
  I've always wondered what cops and DEA agents actually do to confiscated drugs and money once they're no longer needed as evidence. Let them fester in the evidence locker? Flush them down the commode? Auction 'em off for charity or the policemen's ball? Probably best not to know. "Ignorance is bliss" would apply.
  
  Yeah, so go rent A Simple Plan. It's a real gem of a movie.
  
  Off to make some pasta,
  Ana.
  
  
  Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn81aL59Bjg
  

  
  

  4個評論–  我來說兩句

• Jeff Buckley

  2009-02-10 3:52PM / 標準BLOG

  
  Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ_HgeGy3B8
  

  
  One of my favorite musicians is Jeff Buckley, who met an untimely demise. Why do our greatest artists leave us too soon?
  
  Anyway, at least they've bequeathed us bits of their soul through their art. Since the AnD community celebrated Chinese New Year not too long ago, I'd like to post "New Year's Prayer" by Jeff Buckley as a belated Happy New Year's gift.  Better late than never!
  
  I wish you all a pleasant and prosperous 2009,
  Ana.
  
  
  
  
  

  1個評論–  我來說兩句

• Strike!

  2007-11-18 4:57PM / 標準BLOG

  I knew I should have become a playwright. At least playwrights get their names above the title on Broadway marquees, whereas screenwriters often have to fight for the privilege to visit the set of the film based on their story and scrīpt. Go figure. Actually, I have already written one theatrical play to my twenty-six feature screenplays, so, in this case, quantity takes precedence. That, coupled with the fact that I went to a great school to study my present metier, keep me firmly entrenched in this business.  But, I digress.   The strike. Yes, in my microcosm, it's the topic du jour, and with good reason. For years, we writers have gotten short shrift in this industry. I still don't fully comprehend why that's the case. Perhaps it has something to do with the historical trade of screenwriters from the golden age of Hollywood. Back then, writers like Billy Wilder (yes, that Billy Wilder) were on staff at a studio and were given a mandate to churn out something like 10 pages a week. I sometimes wonder if I would thrive in that kind of environment. I imagine I would, because I typically write 10 to 30 pages a day when I'm working on a feature. To some degree, the pace is akin to what some TV staff writers experience nowadays. This strike affects more than just writers. It has a salient effect on everyone else who works in this industry, from caterers and drivers to writers' assistants and agents. I remember having picked up a friend from LAX on day one of the strike. We were on the 101 en route to his place, and we remarked how uncharacteristically clear the freeway was. I told him it probably has to do with the strike. Yes, the effect is that noticeable. LA traffic still exists in its glorious form (alas, we'll never be free from it), but in certain areas of town, anyone will tell you that there is a marked difference not just in street traffic, but also in patronage at certain restaurants close to writers' hotspots.  Since talks will apparently resume shortly, a glimmer of hope remains. Most of us don't want a protracted strike. Stockpiled product will soon be depleted, and while American audiences continue to love their reality TV (much to my chagrin), they will quickly tire of it. Maybe that's one good upshot from this strike. See, I'm a perpetual optimist. The last time writers went on strike, I was still in grade school. The next time writers go on strike, I'll probably have kids in grade school. But these events need to transpire to effect necessary change, to underscore the importance of writers in this very collaborative industry of film and television, and to show the audience why it is we still go to the movies and watch TV even in this Information Age, where we can freely entertain ourselves by watching amateurs on YouTube. We all want a good story.  Nothing can ever replace the experience of watching a movie in a theater and be moved by a film you think about long after you've left your seat. It's only fair that the folks on the other side of this conflict remember that and acknowledge the importance of the scribes who make such priceless experiences a reality. 

  7個評論–  我來說兩句