un poco de todo
So it's in the mail and out of my hands, by the way. And I've spent my first weekend in what feels like a while (longer than in fact it has been) doing almost nothing. I planned, last-minute and loosely (the only way I ever plan things; I hate trying to throw myself a party) to celebrate both my completion of the script and my completion of my thirtieth year on the planet with the kids from Writing Group over drinks, but it didn't quite work out the way I'd hoped. In the end it was just my roommates and Jon and Brie and I going to Casa del Matador, which was cool but we all got dumped at the bar and couldn't even really talk as a group. Then Jon, Brie and I hoofed it over to La Calaca something-something. Then Brie and I went over to Chopsticks, got drunk, karaoke'd (she: "Cum On Feel The Noize," totally rockin the pants off that song; me: "It's the End of the World As We Know It," nailing 2 of the 3 verses and feeling pretty okay about it), then came back to my place for more drinks and involved chatting (couldn't even tell you what we talked about!) over the entirety of Cronenberg's The Fly. Anyway, it wasn't quite a party but it was fun. Then, hungover to acting class, then: drifting, untethered, for the rest of the weekend.
I slept most of Saturday, going back to bed after class until about 7pm, and I watched a handful of films to get my film-geek on (it'd been a while). I watched David Cronenberg's Spider, then The Hit with its cool commentary track on, then The Third Man with its Soderbergh-and-Tony-Gilroy commentary track on. Today I was going to do more of the same, all in trying to get a sort of crime-world/road-movie groove going so I can get back into Mexico. I had a few false starts (stopping both versions of The Getaway at about 30 minutes in, then not mustering any passion to put on and watch Y Tu Mama Tambien, a road movie) but I never did find that groove.
So, restless, tense, unfocused, I walked downtown and messed up the times, missing District 9 and instead well-whatevering my way into G.I. Joe. I hate to just repeat myself, but the succinct review I already put on both Twitter and Facebook says everything I can say about that film: "What can I tell you? It's a perfectly null movie: hilariously bad acting, atrocious dialogue, really bad CG, and yet: not unpleasant at all."
I do feel on the verge of more productive writing. I stumbled into a method with TWOMP that really worked for me and I think I can bring it to Mexico. It involves intense bullet-form outlining, then dropping-prose-into-the-script summarizing, then filling in those blanks scene by scene as the mood hits. I think I can do it, and if so I can push this one out before it stagnates into crap. I'm also still trying to train myself to push past the literal and let the story express itself more abstractly, more interestingly, and I'm curious to see how I can manifest that in a linear, everything-falls-apart story like Mexico.
I know, right? Pretty exciting stuff. Well, what do you want? You're reading my blog.
Tonight, I'm going to try to watch Songs from the Second Floor, a random pick from my long-overdue-to-watch stack. Actually I'm keen on seeing something outside my genre right this second, and something so firmly nonliteral. I thought about Lynch, but what Lynch haven't I seen a million times (the answer is: The Elephant Man, and that's not right for right now). So Roy Andersson it'll have to be.
Anyway, that's it for me tonight. Tomorrow I work early, and it sounds like I'll have some real work to do, with a Reel to rush out in the morning and some Character stuff coming through midday and you never know when something needs to ship, and -- yep. Work. Now my blog's gone off the deep end into Criminally Boring Territory. The point is: I'd like to spend some downtime revving my motors on my script, but tomorrow may not provide much downtime. And so it goes.
This rambly everything blog doesn't touch on other crazy projects I need to kick into gear (Open, my friends' wedding video from THREE YEARS AGO that I was just contacted about eek!, even the last-minute touches on ERIE -- all three of which are sitting on a hard drive which may or may not have a problem I've been avoiding). Nor does it touch on just how down to the wire and make-or-break-it Andy's project is right now. Three days! He is in a tight spot and I'd give anything to be able to help him out of it, but it's simply out of my hands. If anybody has money to spare and wants to invest in the only feature film being made that I think is a sureshot for festivals and independent distribution (that is to say, it's a great project AND you'd make your money back), please contact me, but I won't hold my breath on that. And then there's my non-creative "life": my finances are low; I need to get back into gym-going; I haven't played board games in forever; I haven't seen my friends in forever; I ought to be out there meeting people so I can one day find a girlyfriend or something (far from desperate, but it's been a long time since I had a real girlfriend after all); my room needs cleaning, bad; and: I'd still like to buy some pantry shelves for the kitchen, but only if I decide what the hell I'm going to do about my suddenly departing roommates, like am I going to stay or go? -- blah blah blah pretend I'm not a little worried... Oh right, and I need to schedule some dentist and doctor appointments. And open a bank account for Open. And maybe (seriously) consider visiting a psychiatrist, at least once. And learn how to pilot a hot-air balloon. Just in case.
Well anyway.
I barfed enough ramble for this blog entry. That sentence didn't even make sense, and I refuse to go back and change it. It's time to get off the internet, relax. I might take a bath before I try this movie, even though it's getting late.
Yep.