So, did you all think I'd forgotten about you? Things have been busy over here on my side of the screen. To start at the end of March, I had a birthday. Nothing landmarkish, just another trip around the sun. I celebrated in the usual way, worked all day and then filmed most of the night. IX Productions has a new project in the works, a web series called That Space Show. Look for it online, the promo trailer is currently on youtube. They go into production later this month.
That was Thursday so that means I spent Friday working and packing. Saturday, the 1st, I moved most of the day and then had a derby game that night. The home teams are in the home stretch before The Rink of Fire in May. It looks like The Dreadnought Dorothys will be taking on The Black Eye Susans for The Tim Warder Cup and The Victory Vixens and The Knock-Outs are fighting it out for third. After the game, more moving.
Sunday, a little cleaning before going to Wichita for The Junior Warriors pre-season game against ICT. They held their own for a while but started to lose control in the second period and ended up losing. They have a decent team, just need some more practice. Next season will probably be a building season since most of the veterans are about to age out. After the game, I was able to have dinner with my dad. That was nice. Back home to more last minute moving and a deep cleaning of an empty apartment. I probably got enough sleep over three days to count on two hands but it was worth it to be done with that place and get my security deposit back.
Somewhere in that blur of a week, I managed to start the unpacking process, do the write up for Saturdays game, have a second birthday dinner and get to work.
Friday, the 7th, as part of the Kansas City Film Festival, IX Productions had the premier of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was cool to see it on the big screen and hear my hard work coming through theater speakers. The audience laughed in the right places and had questions during the q&a. Look for it at a film festival near you because it has been submitted to several. Hit the after party, go home, pass out, resurrect thy self at the alarm and move on to Saturday.
Worked until 7 and managed to make the 7:30 performance of Tennessee Playboy. The story line is a little disjointed but the performances were good. Hit a KCFF after party with some of the cast and networked until my eyes glazed over. Lather, rinse, repeat and we're now into Sunday.
I went to see Return To Forbidden Planet in Independence. It's a musical. The story line wandered around and characters seemed to go through the motions just because the script said they had to. I was there to support a friend who had choreographed his first fight scene. Given the circumstances, it turned out well. Everybody involved was inexperienced, one of the actresses had a costume that limited her range of motion and it was set to music and done on the fly since he was brought in as a last minute replacement. Everybody walked away and was able to complete the show so I chalk that one up as a win. All those years of Richard and I killing him and kicking his ass had paid off.
The rest of the week is filled with waking up and going to work but there is a derby tournament this weekend between KCRW, Omaha and Tulsa. Tickets are available now, get yours today! If you're not in KC then tune in to The Wheel Press' facebook page for coverage. This will be the first time I've tried to do a running commentary in real time so tune in, it'll either be cool or a shit show.
What's a newsletter without a few book and movie suggestions? Without any further ado-
In A Deadly Vein by Brett Halliday- Mike Shane and his wife are on vacation in a small Colorado mining town that is playing host to a theatrical festival (I had no idea how coincidental this story line was when I picked it up). While waiting for the opening night festivities to begin, they run across an actress they know from New York. While they are talking, she sees her long lost father through a window. She goes after him and turns a corner just in time to see him murdered and the killer run away. Later that night, she ends up dead as well. The local police are baffled and it's up to Shane to get to the bottom of things before more people wind up dead. It's worth your time to read this.
Loitering With Intent: The Child by Peter O'Toole- If you're expecting a book filled with great stories like the ones you've always heard Mr. O'Toole tell over the years, this will disappoint you a little. This is narrative prose. The stories are interesting, once you learn the language. When he talks about his early childhood, he uses a lot of cockney slang that's difficult for those of us from the colonies to follow at times but over time, as he grows up and moves around and begins school, the language gets a little clearer. There is a parallel with Adolph Hitler that runs throughout the book. He became obsessed with Hitler because he was terrified as a child during the war. It's worth your time if you're a fan but it may not be everybody's cup of tea.
Face The Music: A Life Exposed by Paul Stanley- This book is amazing. If you get the chance, listen to the audio book, it's read by Paul and it's unabridged. His story and struggles are really interesting. I related to a lot of what he was talking about and that always fascinates me when I hear about the struggles of people that I admire. When I was a kid I always thought it would be cool to be Paul Stanley or Arnold Schwarzenegger, After hearing their stories, it turns out I wasn't that far off. We just took different career paths. Even i you're not a KISS fan, I think you'll enjoy the book. It's more about the musician than the music. Of course, if you are a fan, then you will have a lot of questions answered as he just lays it out there, warts and all. Check it out, I think you'll like it.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain parts 2 and 3 by Mark Twain- True to form, Mr. Clemens delivers the goods, even 100 years later. His approach of moving from subject to subject at the speed of thought really keeps things interesting. If you like part one, then keep going, you won't be disappointed.
Adventures In Babysitting-I hadn't seen this movie in years but I ran across it at the library so I decided to take it home. It still holds up. I found myself laughing at the parts I'd forgotten about and even the jokes I did remember were still funny. Say what you will about The Karate Kid or Call To Glory, this was definitely the movie where I became a mouth breathing, moist handed fan boy for Elisabeth Shue. Check it out.
Blazing Saddles- I was definitely strolling down memory lane last month. What can I say about this movie that you don't already know? Check out the dvd, Mel Brooks has a "select scene commentary" which is a fancy way of saying his commentary runs through most of the movie but not all of it. Once he's done, that's it. He tells some really interesting stories about the making of the film so it's definitely worth your time.
Brutal Beauty: Tales Of The Rose City Rollers- I'm watching a documentary about a roller derby team? That's so unusual. This was made a couple of years ago and it chronicles The Rose City Rollers as they make their way to The Championships. It's pretty interesting, managing to spend just enough time on each player tat it doesn't just get overwhelming. I've always considered doing a documentary on The Roller Warriors but we had a tv series so anything else just seems kind of pale in comparison. Check it out if you enjoy sports documentaries. You don't have to be a derby fan to appreciate this, but it doesn't hurt.
The Cannonball Run- Sometimes you just want to watch a movie for the sheer fun of it and that's what this movie is, just a lot of fun. It has an all-star cast and it's directed by Hal Needham. If you get the dvd, you'll also get to hear his commentary track with the producer. Well worth your time. It ties with The Villain as my third favorite Needham movie.
Conan The Barbarian- After reading Schwarzenegger's book and learning about everything that went on behind the scenes with this, I had to watch it again. I love this movie. If you haven't seen it in a while, check it out. if you've never seen it, run, don't walk, to your local library or video store and get it now!
Inspector Bellamy- This was Claude Chabrol's last film. Gerard Depardieu is great in the title role as a retiring detective who has his time divided between an estranged brother and a murder case. The performances are incredible but the story just fades out. Not one of favorite Chabrol films but worth a look for the curious.
The Narrow Margin- Charles McGraw is a police detective who is on the longest rain ride of his life as he tries to get a mobsters widow, Marie Windsor, from Chicago to Los Angeles to testify. Check it out, I think you'll enjoy it. William Friedkin does a commentary track which is interesting but, you keep asking yourself, why is Friedkin doing the commentary? Check it out.
William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream- It's hard to be objective considering how close i am to the material and the resources that went into this but, I can say without prejudice that one of the things that drew me into this project was the fact that it's unabridged. Even on set, there was always some body on book and if an actor put a "the" or "thou" in the wrong place or omitted it all together, we were going for another take. If you're a fan of ambitious independent projects then, by all means, check this out. If you're a big Shakespeare nerd, you'll love it.
All In The Family seasons 7, 8, 9- I'm glad that i finally made it through all of the seasons. I had not seen many of these since I was a kid and the stuff from the later seasons I didn't remember at all. If you start watching the series, stick with it. It doesn't fall apart like most shows that last past season five. I'm not saying it was perfect, but it remained consistently good.
That's all I have for this month. Tune in next month to see what I've had a chance to watch. My schedule has been so chaotic that I don't even have time to watch tv. Sometimes I think this is a good thing, other times it feels exhausting. I'm trying to reconnect to people again so maybe it's not so bad. Until next month.
