Stand ye not alone...

For uni, I recently had to read a bunch of shiny extracts from some poets. This is one of the good things that come studying English - sometimes you happen across some gold. I couldn't not write these quotes down. They're referring to the French Revolution and are pretty impressive. So here we go:

RICHARD PRICE

[...] the dominion of kings changed for the dominion of laws, and the dominion of priests giving way to the dominion of reason and conscience.

Be encouraged, all ye friends of freedom, and writers in its defence! The times are auspicious. Your labours have not been in vain. Behold kingdoms admonished by you, starting from sleep, breaking their fetters, and claiming justice from their oppressors!

Tremble all ye oppressors of the world! Take warning all ye supporters of slavish governments and slavish hierarchies [...] You cannot now hold the world in darkness. Struggle no longer against increasing light and liberality. Restore to mankind their rights, and consent to the correction of abuses, before they and you are destroyed together.

EDMUND BURKE

[...] this persecuted woman had but just time to fly almost naked and, through ways unknown to the murderers, had escaped to seek refuge at the feet of a King and husband not secure of his own life for a moment.

[...] were then forced to abandon the sanctuary of the most splendid palace in the world, which they left swimming in blood, polluted by massacre and strewed with scattered limbs and mutilated carcasses.

I will write

I was thinking the other day about the films I'd like to make. I often watch a movie and think "shit, wish I'd have written that". Now there is such a thing as stealing an idea. If you've been up to date on my blogging of late you'll have noticed my fascination with the shiny WATCHMEN, so if I were to write a film about a time when superheros are outlawed, then one is killed and there's a blue naked guy and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a funny mask and a BLOODY TIGER.....erm.....where was I? Ah yes - so if I were to write a film like that, a few people may notice something wrong.

So rule 1 - never blog about the film you're going to rip off. "What, you mean there's already a film about a time travelling cybernetic organism (not robot) who is trying to kill the future saviour of mankind before he's even born? THERE'S THREE?! No, I swear to god I've never heard of that Arnold Sch...what's his name again?"

That's a joke by the way. No laughs? Getting bored? Ok, on with the bloginess.

So here's a list of films - or types of films - I would one day like to make:

• A Western - I have a small idea but nothing original. One day my friends, one day.
• A space adventure - in the works, but hasn't been touched in months.
• A zombie film - got a TV show in the early stages and I did have a film idea, but it's died.
• A superhero movie - now as much as I'd like to write a full-on geek fest, I won't. It's going to be a film that will (hopefully) make THE PUNISHER and WATCHMEN look like Saturday morning cartoons.
• A "I'm an ex-military guy, don't fuck with me" movie - there are lots around, one of the best being TAKEN. Fuck with a guy's family, bring the thunder!
• A whodunit mystery - Gruff cop, witty sidekick.
• A martial arts action epic - pull no punches (pun intended), all-out, unrealistic taekwondo, kung fu, ninjitsu, tai chi action.
• A high adventure - stick me in a mythical, magical world with orcs, wizards, unicorns and possibly a Conan-esque character - film writes itself.
• A great kids' animation - something fun but with unpatronising action. For the kids, but a guilty pleasure for the tall folk.
• A tragedy - I have a very private idea in mind. Basically, I'll take aspects of my life and turn them into a full blown tragedy.
• A classical piece - I know a lot about the ancient world (Greeks and Romans) as well as the Vikings. Might as well put it to good use.
• Ancient gods, modern world - need I say more?
  

So.....not much there then. Delusions of grandeur I hear you say? Nonsense. If you don't try, you'll never know. If any of those are still not ticked off when I die, consider me an "unfinished business" ghost.

Shiny writing.

Poll results - Oscar winners

A while ago I asked people to vote on a few polls, saying what their shiniest Oscar-winning films were. I also asked what people's favourite comic book movie was (pre-WATCHMEN). So here are the results...

Favourite Oscar winning film of the 1990s:
The winner was FORREST GUMP with 37% of the votes, followed by SCHINDLER'S LIST and TITANIC, both with 25%. Next was AMERICAN BEAUTY with 12%. No other film received any votes.

Favourite Oscar winning film of the 2000s (so far):
Joint winners were LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING and A BEAUTIFUL MIND with 33% each, then CRASH and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN each with 11%. Nothing else got a vote, not even GLADIATOR!

Favourite comic book movie / saga:
Top of the list was the X-MEN saga with a massive 60%, followed by BATMAN/THE DARK KNIGHT and THE PUNISHER with 20% each. I was shocked that SPIDER-MAN received no votes, but the way comic book movies are mutating, it seems no-one wants that sort of geek fest anymore. I've no doubt that if WATCHMEN had been on the poll, it would have grabbed most of the votes.

Thanks to all those who voted but there is now another poll up for grabs. It's a simple question: will you go and see a TERMINATOR SALVATION, even though there's no Arnie?

WATCHMEN review

DIRECTED BY: Zack Snyder.

SCREENPLAY BY: David Hayter and Alex Tse.

STARRING: Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson.

PLOT: Based on Alan Moore's graphic novel, WATCHMEN is set in an alternate 1980s, where Nixon is still in power and America won the Vietnam war. The Watchmen - a band of masked vigilantes are outlawed, but when team member The Comedian (Morgan) is assassinated, the Watchmen reband to seek revenge before they are all killed.


They said it couldn't be done - turning Alan Moore's graphic novel into a film. I can see why. The source material is rich and visually overwhelming. But they were wrong. The film produces on more than one level.

We open with the ageing Comedian (Morgan) in his place. Suddenly the door is smashed down and the style is set. Instantly we see Zack Snyder's stamp on the film, with trademark slow down then speed up action and brutality. In a short but powerful confrontation, The Comedian is killed. Obviously we sympathise with the brutally murdered hero, but in a series of flashbacks we begin to realise he is all not all he appeared. The effect of this is that you don't know what to think. Should I feel sad about this? Should I be glad that bastard's dead? It's a great trick that echoes throughout the film - are the Watchmen good guys or bad guys? The answer - they're human.....well.....apart from the big naked blue guy.

Speaking of - in this alternate decade, the world's first superhero has been discovered - Dr. Manhattan (Crudup) and he is essentially a god. With the world under threat of nuclear attack from Soviet Russia, Dr. Manhattan is America's best defence (and weapon). Crudup doesn't have much chance to display great acting talent, but what he does is fine.

The real great acting comes from Haley - anti-hero Rorschach and Patrick Wilson - Nite Owl II. To say Haley is covered in a mask for 90% of the film, an incredible amount of emotion is revealed, even when smashing a butcher's knife into someone's skull. And when he is de-masked about half way through, you instantly believe that the weak-looking man is the hard-as-nails vigilante. Wilson provides a fair bit of light comedic relief but also delivers great emotional moments. He's really a character we can relate to.

But for me the Oscar goes to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Maybe I'm biased because I loved him in SUPERNATURAL, but he's on top form. He does a great job of portraying the Comedian as a bad ass, gun totting warrior with no care for human life. And just when you think you've got him figured out, he starts crying! An excellent performance and I have no doubt that Morgan's phone will be ringing non stop over the next few years.

The script is ambitious to say the least. I'm unsure as to how much is from the original comic (I suspect most of it), but nevertheless, it's a grand story. I was never bored. Probably because I had no idea what was going to happen next. This was done mainly by the fact that we're in an alternate timeline. Anything can happen (including President Nixon's nose growing larger!)

Direction-wise, Snyder has done what's expected - created a visual masterpiece. Tense action, grand landscapes, CGI camera work - it's all there. In 300 (Snyder's other big film, if you've been asleep), this got a little repetitive, but here I was thrilled throughout. None of the sheer brutal action (and believe me - there's some majorly brutal violence) is unjustified. Knees shatter, bones crunch, elbows burst through flesh - you name it, it's there. All justified, all amazingly realistic.
Dialogue-wise, it's smart, witty and insightful. With talk of saving humanity from themselves by killing them and corruption of the system, it's very political. The best line of the movie however, comes from Rorschach (straight from the comic) - "All the whores and politicians will look up and shout 'save us'. And I'll whisper...'no'"

All in all, WATCHMEN is the most ambitious comic book adaptation to date and it delivers on all levels. If I had one problem with the film, it's that bloody tiger! I'm assuming it's from the novel and you'll see what I mean when you watch the movie (which you have to do). There's no reason for that tiger to be there. Fortunately, it's only on screen for about a minute.

It's a must-see for comic book fans and 'normal' folk alike. If you thought THE DARK KNIGHT was a good, powerful movie, you ain't seen nothing yet! Also see if you enjoy looking at a giant blue penis.

VERDICT: X X X X X X X X X X

Check out the trailer here.

WATCHMEN and projects

I'm going to see WATCHMEN on Saturday. There's been a lot of hype about it and I couldn't decide if it was for me. I've never read the comic but I know a bit about it. No doubt the film will be visually stunning and the source material is very political, so should make for shiny viewing. Hopefully it won't disappoint. I'll be posting a review (on the right hand side) after I've seen it.

In other news, MICHAEL'S RESIGNATION has had some more publicity, most notably on the Sky News website. You can read about it here. More and more ideas have been shooting around for publicity and production. We're looking for anyone who has any contacts who could get us cheap equipment (cameras etc) and such. If you have any way of helping us poor Indie film makers, fire me a message at neil.baker@michaelsresignation.com.

I've also been sending a fair few messages to Michelle. A while back, we decided to create a web show. We came up with a great idea, but it got too big for its boots and mutated into a full blown TV show. So this morning I sent a message to Michelle with another idea. It's staying under wraps for the time being, but let's just say it has a better chance of being made than anything we've done before. It's also very, very basic in terms of production and premise. It's in the writing when we see if it will work.

I was surfing TED.com the other day and came across this little gem. It's a talk from J.J. Abrams. He talks about LOST, STAR WARS, JAWS, DIE HARD, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE III, special effects, what comes next in media, anyone can make a movie, creative democracy, the creative process - mystery, it's not what you see, it's what you don't see (been said many times before) and characters. Check it out here.

Also on TED, I was linked to another talk by Stephen Petranek. It's rather funny and very informative. Basically, it's the top 10 ways the world could end. While you may think it's nonsense, it's really, really not. Did you know you have as much chance of dying in a plane crash as you do dying in a meteor crash? I didn't! I love this so much because it provides a great source for screenwriting. Bashing out an apocalyptic film? This is for you! It's all here.

Anyway, there's some interesting stuff for you to get through.

Happy writing!

TERMINATOR SALVATION

So Christian Bale may have been (reported as) a royal tit on the set of TERMINATOR SALVATION, but that doesn't stop him being one hell of an actor. And here we have the latest trailer for the new TERMINATOR film about the future war against the machines. It looks awesome and my only hope is that the special effects don't ruin it. There seems to be a lot in there, but hopefully not too much.

Enjoy the shiny trailer:

Good procrastination

So what do you do when you've got a killer migraine and no energy for university work? Well this is what I seem to do:

• Lie on the bed and not be able to get to sleep.
• Watch the last episode of season 1 of BEING HUMAN on iplayer. It rocks and has the green light for season 2.
• Pull up random writing documents - might as well do something.
• Decide to work on that treatment and scene breakdown for my zombie TV show for uni. Yes, my creative writing piece this semester is a TV pilot about zombies.
• Attack the always enjoyable TV DRAMA document I have flying back and forth with Michelle. Read lots of ideas, send lots back - the usual stuff.
• Attack the secret document from Michelle and send ideas back....
• Wait for the latest episode of WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN to appear on iplayer so I can watch that. Yes, I watch cartoons. Deal with it. If you're thinking what most people are thinking, stop being a writer. Just because something's a cartoon, doesn't mean it can't be shiny and it is!
• Eat, drink, sigh.
• Blog about what to do when you have a migraine.
• Consider writing something about some poor soul with a migraine that develops into insanely cool powers.
• Wander away to see if WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN is up yet.