1. The Post-Tragedy Pull-Away Primal Scream
2. The Montage
3. Second Post-Tragedy Pull-Away Primal Scream
4. Matrix-Style Slo-Mo Fighting
5. The Non-Chalant Slo-Mo Walk-Away Explosion
“Newton’s Cradle” Script
•April 23, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Just finished reading a script called Newton’s Cradle, written by Bryan Tranel (story by Bryan Tranel, Steve Barr, and Marshall McAuley). It’s in pre-production right now, and I can’t wait for it to be made into a film, because it’s going to kick some serious ass.
Curbing My Enthusiasm
•April 13, 2009 • 2 Comments
Larry David
For me, one of the coolest things about living in L.A. is seeing the occasional celebrity. I’ve been a pop culture addict my entire life, so even a fleeting glimpse of someone “famous” tends to get me excited. Now that I live about twenty miles out, it rarely happens, but when I used to actually live in Los Angeles, it was quite frequent, and I ran into people such as Peter Boyle crossing the street in front of my car, Maya Angelou sitting at the next table at Cheesecake Factory, and Randy Jackson (the American Idol one, not the Jackson Five one) at the dry cleaners.
But my first real experience (as an adult anyway) being in close proximity to a celebrity was during a trip to California ten years ago. I was staying at a hotel in Santa Monica for a screenwriting conference, waiting in line to use the ATM in the lobby, and the next thing I knew, Larry David was right behind me, having a conversation with a couple of others. I was a huge fan of Seinfeld from the beginning (unlike all those late-comers out there), and knew early on that George was based on Jerry’s real-life comedian friend who co-created, produced, and wrote for the show, so it was a big thrill for me. I wanted to say something, but his conversation with the other people was obviously going to take a while and I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I walked away. Flash forward about four years: I’m living in West L.A. and going to get my haircut at my usual place in Santa Monica (where my wife had known the hair stylist for years), and suddenly I see Larry David coming straight toward me on the sidewalk. By this time, Curb Your Enthusiasm is out and another one of my favorite shows, so I’m about to tell him, “Hi, Mr. David, I’m a big fan,” when a young woman (probably his assistant) ran up to him and told him something important and he turned around and went back into the building he had just walked out of. I thought, “Well, that’s probably the last chance I’ll ever have to talk to him. What are the chances I’d run into him by chance more than twice?” What did I know?
So I’m leaving my gastro-endo-whatever (stomach) doctor’s office this morning, and I get to the elevators, and who’s standing there, but Larry David. If you read my earlier blog entry about PETER David, you know I like to give celebrities their space, but I’m thinking: “Okay, it must be fate for me to talk to him. This time, I’ve gotta say something…” But he’s on the phone, telling them he’s going to be there in six or seven minutes, so I know he’s in a hurry (I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, I swear, I just happened to hear him). A few more people walk up, the elevator arrives, and we’re riding down. He’s standing at the front with his face to the door and his head down, so I decide maybe he wants to be left alone. Then someone gets off at the lobby and he moves out of the way for them, and as he turns, he looks directly at me. I smile and nod and start to open my mouth, and instead of a smile or nod back, I get an “Uh oh, here it comes…” look from him and he immediately turns around. “Okay, so maybe it’s not fate,” I think. We get off the elevator at the parking garage and turn in opposite directions, and there goes my chance. Again.
‘Star Trek’ Review at TrekMovie.com
•April 13, 2009 • Leave a CommentAnthony Pascale, founder of one of my favorite sites, TrekMovie.com, was lucky enough to get a private showing of the new Star Trek film, and now has a (mostly) spoiler-free review up at the site here. If you’re interested in reading what to expect with the new movie, this is for you.
Trek Yourself Widget
•April 9, 2009 • 1 CommentThis is really cool, but also a little creepy…
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Review: Smallville (8.17) – “Hex”
•April 6, 2009 • Leave a CommentMy review of the Smallivlle episode “Hex” is up at Pop Syndicate. Click HERE to read it in all its glory.
The Rehabilitation of Jar-Jar Binks?
•April 6, 2009 • 4 Comments
See? Much cooler without Jar-Jar...
Is George Lucas a glutton for punishment? Or is he just trying to show us that he’s so rich he can do whatever the hell he wants to regardless of what his fans think?
I watched the first couple of episodes of the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars when it first came out a few months ago and thought it was okay, but I wasn’t overly impressed. Part of it was the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of the animation style, and part of it was that I didn’t like the first two prequels at all. But my son decided he was now a Star Wars fan, and I ended up watching a few more episodes at his insistence.
The show grew on me, as did the animation style, to the point where I’m now getting caught up on the episodes I missed. But I still have one major complaint: It seems like about every third or fourth episode, Jar-Jar Binks plays a major role in the story. WHY? Why do they insist on continuing to feature a character whom they know is almost universally despised?
The only thing I can think of is that George Lucas imagines he can somehow rehabilitate the character using this show. He must think that if only we see MORE of this lame-ass character, we will eventually grow to love him.
You know what? He’s WRONG. Jar-Jar is one of the biggest mistakes in cinematic history, and nothing will ever change that. He’s the worst idea in the long list of bad ideas that made up Episode One: The Phantom Menace. One of the best things they ever did was to minimize his role in the other two prequels, and it looked like they had learned their lesson. I have literally (and when I use the word literally, I mean literally) never met a single person who liked this character.
If they have any sense whatsoever, Jar-Jar will disappear from the show and Lucas will finally own up to his mistake.
Review of Smallville (8.16) – “Turbulence”
•April 3, 2009 • Leave a CommentForgot to mention my review of the Smallville episode “Turbulence” is up at Pop Syndicate right HERE.
Review of Battlestar Galactica (4.22-23)-“Daybreak” (Parts 2-3)
•March 24, 2009 • Leave a CommentMy review of the series finale of Battlestar Galactica is up at Pop Syndicate. You can read it HERE!
It Ends Tonight!
•March 20, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Say goodbye to these folks
The final episode of the best show on TV, Battlestar Galactica, airs tonight on the Sci Fi Channel. Don’t miss it! I’ll post a link to my review as soon as they have it up at Pop Syndicate.
Author Christopher J. Valin 