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my ideas are already taken.

By • On • In movies, scott, trailer park • 1 min read

I really need to get finished with writing a book, because if not my ideas will all be used before I can get anything written. Remember that moment in Mad Men‘s first season, when Pete Campbell mentioned arriving at the idea of Direct Marketing independently before realizing it already existed? Well, I need to get some ideas out in the world in some official capacity before everyone else arrives at them independently.

So far, the book I am working on slowly at the moment has had some troubling similarities to a few movies on the way. One of those movies is called The Seventh Son. They just released the first concept art for the film yesterday.

The synopsis is:

“In a time long past, an evil is about to be unleashed that will reignite the war between the forces of the supernatural and humankind once more. Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) is a knight who had imprisoned the malevolently powerful witch, Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), centuries ago. But now she has escaped and is seeking vengeance. Summoning her followers of every incarnation, Mother Malkin is preparing to unleash her terrible wrath on an unsuspecting world. Only one thing stands in her way: Master Gregory.

“In a deadly reunion, Gregory comes face to face with the evil he always feared would someday return. Now he has only until the next full moon to do what usually takes years: train his new apprentice, Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) to fight a dark magic unlike any other. Man’s only hope lies in the seventh son of a seventh son.”

Also, my book is called The Last Guardian. Here is a trailer for a Dreamworks film that is on its way, The Rise of the Guardians. It’s based on a series of books, and it seems like it contains a combination of elements from what I am working on now, in some ways, and an idea I had ten years ago about a cool idea to make Mickey Mouse more relevant for Disney again. In a lot of ways, it is a much more detailed, meaty treatment of Fantasmic!, having Mickey team up with a cynical artist on the verge of giving up believing, as they fight to protect childhood hope and imagination from a great evil trying to take over the world.

I have to admit, I actually kind of want to see this.

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two more things.

By • On • In books, five things, movies, scott, television, things i'm thankful for. • 1 min read

Over the last few days, I’ve been able to join five of my favorite human beings in watching the following:

1. The Hunger Games

Right up until this film came out, I was worried it wouldn’t be good. I felt like so many of the previews and such I saw for the film was underwhelming. I was actually pleasantly surprised when the critical response to the film was so strong. Either way, no amount of poor marketing was going to keep me from seeing it, because I loved the books. Also, it must have just been me who didn’t like the marketing, because people are going to see it in droves.

Anyway. In my opinion, the movie was absolutely wonderful. It was a much, much higher level of film-making than I was expecting. It was smart, understated, literate, and coherent from beginning to end. I have my gripes, which will be the case any time a beloved book is turned into a film, but all in all I was so happy with the film. I was completely engaged from beginning to end. Great storytelling/filmmaking.

2. Mad Men, Season Five Premiere

I’ve seen conflicting responses to the most watched episode in Mad Men history. My response is that it was a really engaging episode. I thought it was funnier than the show has been in some time, as well as skillful in setting up the coming season without giving us a boring ‘set-up’ episode, as shows are often wont to do, especially after such a long time away.

Things are pretty good in the world of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, which can’t last. We’ve got three seasons to go, so sooner rather than later, shit’s going to get real.

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five previously neglected things.

By • On • In books, fictionista, five things, gaming, movies, nerd candy, scott • 1 min read

Five things I should have blogged about much, much earlier, but haven’t yet.

1. Assassin’s Creed III

Early reports are that they are finally reinventing the game, instead of just releasing the same game three times with different names. It’s odd that this trailer sort of gives the impression that the Colonies are the good guys and the British are the bad guys, but an interview I saw with a developer said that a big reason they went with a Native American Assassin is because it’s not a game about Brits vs. Americans, it always has to be a game about Assassins vs. Templars.

I really hope this game is good.

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2. Borderlands 2

Secondofly, another game. This one’s for Josué. This game is undoubtedly going to be lots of fun. Undoubtedly.

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3. 21 Jump Street

I wanted one thing, and one thing only, when we went to this movie: to laugh loudly and often. Wish granted.

 

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4. Being Elmo

As inspiring as it gets. A wonderful film.

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5. Lilith by George MacDonald

One of the best “fairy stories” I’ve ever read. It’s certainly dense at times, but each page crackles with wisdom and insight. The book is a spiritual treasure trove.

 

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of gods and men.

By • On • In movies, scott, trailer park, Uncategorized • 1 min read

This movie is staggeringly beautiful. I literally had no words after it was over. It got inside my skin, it seeped into my soul and helped me to realize that I’ve forgotten myself and the world far too much over the last few years.

Based on a true story, the French film centers on a Trappist monastery, where the monks served a Muslim community in peace in Algeria, until conflict between extremist forces and the Algerian government changes everything. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2010.

It’s a quiet film of tremendous power. A story of courage, faith, charity, friendship, tragedy, and humanity. It humbled me, and made me want to be a better person.

I’ve shared the trailer before, but here it is again.

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full 2.5 minute ‘prometheus’ trailer.

By • On • In movies, movies in space, nerd candy, scott, trailer park • 1 min read

Just up today. Ho. Ly. Shit. This film is flying up the list of movies I’m most excited about this year.

In other Ridley Scott news that’s getting me excited, I read this on Dark Horizons today: “Then comes word that Brad Pitt is said to be circling the small but crucial role of business associate ‘Westray’ in Ridley Scott’s upcoming feature “The Counselor”. Cormac McCarthy penned the script for the film which stars Michael Fassbender. Jeremy Renner and Javier Bardem remain front runners for the role of the main villain.”

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mass effect 3. [things i’m thankful for #30]

By • On • In gaming, invasion/visitation movies, nerd candy, scott, things i'm thankful for. • 2 min read

This makes ME3 something I’m doubly thankful for, in that I previously posted that I was thankful there were only 17 days left until the release. As long as things continue to go well, there will be a third ME3 post on its way in the future. There have been some complaints out in the world of ‘gamers’ about the game, which I am willfully choosing not to look into, so that I can experience the game fresh. For the most part, I don’t take gamer complaints very seriously anyway. Gamers are infamous for being remarkably abusive, over tiny details, toward the people who pour their lives into making the things that gamers love… games. However, that is best left for another post. Suffice it to say that, for now, I’m not taking the complaints too seriously.

I’m not as far into the game as I would like to be. That’s a good thing. I have been good about keeping myself away from turning it on, knowing that it will suck me in once I do. The game had its slow, awkward moments getting started, but once things got rolling it got really good, really fast. While strong sales will probably be enough to bring forth a Mass Effect 4, this was designed as a trilogy, making ME3 the end of the story arch.

The end could be woefully terrible, but so far it has been genuinely satisfying as a closing chapter in the story. For those who know nothing about the series, the game forces the player to make decisions throughout the game, and those decisions not only have repercussions later in the same game, but your save data carries over from previous games so that Mass Effect 3 begins somewhat differently for everyone who played the first two games. The decisions I made in ME1 and 2 are coming home to roost in ways that I never could have predicted. At times, having done the right thing in the earlier games is making for really tough decisions in this game. I already saw the eradication of an entire species because of a call my Commander Shepherd had to make.

As a video game, there will still always be parts of the story that are overly simplistic, and the romance is really unsatisfying and silly. However, with that being said, so far, the story has been smart, coherent, and engaging on a character level. As would be expected in a story about the impending doom of the entire Milky Way, not everyone is going to make it out alive. No matter what decisions you make, some characters are still going to die. I’m not going to lie, even though it is just a video game, I’ve had a hard time making some of the decisions I’ve had to make so far, wondering what the implications might be for my favorite characters as a result.

Not only is Mass Effect 3 worth a playthrough, but the first two games hold up fairly well, so it would even be worth checking out the first two if you haven’t. At least play Mass Effect 2. Good times.

I’ll report back once I beat the game to let you all know what I think after all is said and done. As always, without spoilers, unless otherwise noted.

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american born chinese. [graphic content.]

By • On • In books, fictionista, graphic content, kung fu, scott • 1 min read

Easily the best graphic novel I’ve read in a very long time. Gene Luen Yang’s tale of a young boy who moves from San Francisco’s Chinatown to the suburbs is nothing short of a masterpiece in the medium.

It weaves between three strands: the story of Jin Wang (mentioned above), the tale of the Monkey King, and a fake sitcom about a character named Chin-kee, who embodies the many hurtful stereotypes Chinese Americans are subjected to.

Yang’s novel offers heartfelt messages about racism, faith, identity, and the pain of being rejected as the other, and thus trying to change oneself to match the dominant paradigm and blend in.

Moving and engaging from beginning to end, Yang tells a story as beautiful as it is important. There should be more books like this one.

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‘bitterblue’, and early copies of books. [things i’m thankful for #28]

By • On • In fictionista, scott, things i'm thankful for. • 2 min read

Streeeeaaam of consciousness…. and…. go:

There are a number of benefits that go along with the fact that Emily and I hope to live in the literary world for the rest of our lives. The benefit I am most excited about, behind getting paid to do something I love (if that ever actually comes to pass), is getting advanced copies of books. This is especially true when a book is the newest installment in a series I’ve loved, as was the case when Emily got her hands on an advanced copy of Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. The newest book in the Seven Kingdoms series, it is a direct sequel to Graceling, and a companion to Fire. 

If you haven’t read either of those books, I highly recommend them. They’re certainly not for everyone, but Emily and I really enjoy them. I find them to be immensely readable, with engaging characters who are never overly simple emotionally. All three books are centered on unique heroines who Cashore allows to be a complex mix of traits that never fall into easy masculine and feminine categories.

Cashore’s characters are engaging to me because they get at something of what it means to be struggling to understand who we are, and where we fit into the world. Her characters are always wrestling with their own light and darkness. Each story is driven by the journeys of young women attempting to take control of their lives, of their sexuality, of their power, and of their agency in a broken world.

I won’t go into much detail about Bitterblue, because it isn’t out yet and I don’t want to get into trouble. I only really sat down with it 3 or 4 times to read the entire 550 page book, so clearly I enjoyed my reading experience. As is the case with the first two novels in the series, Cashore’s villains are capable of remarkably evil things, much like we see in the real world. Cashore doesn’t pull punches, which is one of the reasons these books probably aren’t for everyone. When imagining what a psychopath might do with absolute power over the will of another person, her psychopaths go as far as a psychopath would go. Yet, it is the darkness that Cashore doesn’t hide from that makes the light in her novels believable and meaningful to me. When someone writes of hope by pretending everything usually works out okay for everyone, then it’s too false to be worth my time. There has never been a world where things work out okay for everyone, quite the opposite. In the end, everyone dies, we just need to live in a way that squeezes as much joy and beauty and love out of our experiences as we can get. As Tolkien and Lewis have taught in the past, fantasy is at its best when it doesn’t function as an escape from the world, but instead functions as metaphor that helps us see the world more deeply. I think Cashore’s strong metaphors of story, violence, sexuality, and power make her work an example of exactly that. Her work can help us look at our own stories more carefully and graciously, so we can offer something to those around us that makes our painful lives a bit more beautiful, while also facing the pain of our lives with our eyes wide open.

All three books are worth your time.

 

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