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I know the law of averages says that occassionally patterns will randomly occur that look like more than chance. But you never know. So when, in the course of about ten minutes, I accidentally surfed into these three seperate sites, I figured somebody somewhere was trying to tell me to post the links:
The snowstorm here in NJ has blocked the satellite tonight, so we resorted to viewing shows that had piled up on the TiVo, which included the first two episodes of the third series of Project Greenlight, relocated to Bravo from HBO.
Having partnered with Miramax for the last two seasons to create worthy, sensitive, independent movies with a heart that, it turns out, very few cinema goers actually wanted to see, this year's tone has changed dramatically. Now we have Dimension Films, the studio behind Scream, insisting on a low budget monster flick for the college crowd, picking a script that Wes Craven, one of the masters of the genre and advisor to the project, deems unworthy. And that's just the beginning.
Because the "star" of the series will be John Gulager, the man chosen to direct the movie. A wedding videographer by trade, John is a man of few words, and most of them one syllable. While we are assured by the program that his film submission for judging was one of the best they saw, after two episodes, Gulager has yet to communicate to his production team any real vision of what he wants the movie to look or feel like, except maybe "funny and scary" and "like Jurassic Park".
What's more, the second episode slowly and methodically churns the stomach as, after extensive casting sessions to pick the perfect actors for the roles in the film, Gulager announces that his choices for the four lead characters in the film are unknowns. That is, unknown to the world. But not to him, for they are all members of his immediate family, including his brother, girlfriend and, I think, his dad. Meanwhile, the professional team around him are so stunned at his refusal to even understand "The Game", let alone play it, that their awkward silences are golden.
Can we say, compulsive viewing? The worst that can happen is that it'll all sort itself out, because either of the other two alternatives - that choosing him is a massive error of judgement, or he is one of those rare things, a true eccentric genius - will make this series unmissable.
Me? I'm hoping John pulls it out of the bag. By refusing to play the 'film school graduate", and instead acting like the set is his home movie made big, he stands an outside chance of maybe, just maybe, catching scent of the Spielberg pixie dust.
Project Greenlight airs on Bravo. Must see TV.
MoCCA (the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) has a great exhibit showcasing artists and their work today as well as an example of their work from when they were kids. Participating artists include Charles Burns, Tony Millionaire, Gary Baseman and more.
This is not a scene from the Daredevil comic I wrote about in my recommended comic post.
This one is pretty funny as well:
via Progressive Ruin
How bout some fun with flash, a pervert at a desk, and the difference between the sexes.
Modern Living, via Cool Hunting.
The Mighty Desk Wobbler.
...and On-line Orgasmic Simulation, via CityRag.
Kiddie Records Weekly has an ongoing project of converting Golden Age Children Records from the 40s and 50s into mp3 format. Each week it posts a new one for you to download and enjoy.
Good for the kids and good for the kitsch.
There's a new trend in non-fiction called Micro-Histories where an author picks a relatively small subject, like salt, and looks at it from a grand, historical perspective or examines it in as much detail as one would typically put into a larger subject.
Today's reommended comic is Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev.
Change and character development is not generally something you get with mainstream superhero comics, especially ones centered around decades old trademarked characters like Daredevil. With Bendis and Maleev's run on this book the last few years though, they have focused not Daredevil, but his alter ego, Matt Murdock. And there have been some major changes to this character's life since they began. First they had Daredevil's identity publicly outed by a New York tabloid. Then, Murdock, fed up with the status quo in his crime-ridden neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, soundly defeated the Kingpin and announced to the denizens of the criminal underground that he was now the new Kingpin.
Now, with issue #71 which comes out today, and continuing through #75, the creators explore what this really means for Murdock to take the place of his enemy. "Decalogue", the new storyline, is inspired by the 10 part film series by Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski. Ten stories, each representing one of the Ten Commandments, will show how Daredevil, as the new Kingpin, affects the lives of the citizens of Hell's Kitchen.
Bendis and Maleev's run, thus far, has been nearly equal to Frank Miller's great run on the series in the 80s. Their strength is in making Matt Murdock the most interesting character in the Marvel Universe. Surrounding him with an entourage of friends and bodyguards and bathing him in shadows that are like scenes out of "The Godfather" the creators have been setting him up for this rise to power for some time now.
The covers for this 5 issue run are graphically striking and a bold departure from the standard layout of most Marvel comics. It makes sense for pretty much the only book in their stable that takes any chances anymore.
Check out your local comic shop today. If you don't know where your local comic shop is, find it here: http://www.the-master-list.com/
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