October Newsletter

     It’s October. Fall has fallen, the nights get a slight chill to them, hopefully you’ve paid your rent. The leaves will be changing soon and then things will really start to cool down. This is the time when filmmakers are running around from location to location trying to finish their exteriors so everything will still match.

     I feel like movies are my topic of the month. I’m currently involved with a production that has an opportunity to pitch the project to The Duplass Brothers. If you’re not familiar with their work, check out Baghead or Safety Not Guaranteed, they work a lot in the indy comedy genre. How would you like to bask in that warm glow of being a supporter of the arts? What if I told you that it would not cost you a cent? That’s right, send no money, that’s not what I’m here for. What I need from you is the click of a button. Part of the contest is to generate followers. If we can get people to follow the project then they take us seriously. The favor I have to ask of you is to go to www.seedandspark.com/fund/thewayitgoes and click on the “Follow” button. That’s it. It takes about 85 seconds out of your life. It’ll make you feel good and you’ll have some thankful people singing your praises.

     When I haven’t been working on The Way It Goes, I’ve been editing Order 86. I’m feeling good about the work we’ve put in on it. It’s been an intermittent project for a while but we’ve been really taking care of business the last couple of weeks. We still have some sound work to do but the rest is shaping up nicely. With a bit of luck, it could be in a theater near you by next year. And then we can focus on the next project…

     A quick plug for the live stage- if you haven’t made it out yet to see Antigone of Men In Boats, make that happen soon, they’ll be closing and you’ll miss out.

     Looking for a good book? I’ve found a few that you might want to check out-

Worth Dying For by Lee Child- Picking up after 61 Hours, Jack Reacher is passing through a small town in Nebraska where he winds up on the bad side of the local power structure after responding to a plea for help. With half of the county hunting for him and the other half too scared to help him, Reacher finds himself stuck in the middle with only himself to rely on. Sometimes those aren’t such bad odds. If you enjoyed 61 Hours then check this one out.

The Affair by Lee Child- Child went back on the timeline for this one. It’s 1997 and Jack Reacher is a major again. There has been a murder committed in Alabama that may involve a secret Ranger detachment stationed there. The locals can’t investigate base personnel so the army sends down a special investigator. Just to cover the bases, Reacher gets sent down undercover to follow the civilian investigation. If you’ve never read any of Child’s books before, this might be a good place to start. If you have, this is still a fun read that doesn’t feel like you’re being pandered to.

A Wanted Man by Lee Child- Spoiler Alert-Jack Reacher lives at the end of Worth Dying For. Okay, now that the cat’s out of the bag, I can tell you about the book. At the end of Worth Dying For, he gets a ride to a crossroads where he sticks out his thumb and ends up getting a ride in a stolen car with two guys who are wanted by the F.B.I. Remember when your mother told you not to accept rides from strangers? Read this and find out what can happen when you don’t listen to good advice.

Never Go Back by Lee Child- Reacher finally gets to Virginia and he finally gets to put a face to the voice on the phone. Unfortunately, things are never as easy as they seem in Reacher’s life. He’s been recalled into the army as he’s facing a 16 year old murder charge and a 14 year old paternity suit and the voice on the phone, Susan Turner, she’s in jail with him on a bribery charge. Things only go downhill from there. For the most part, Child writes these books in an episodic fashion but, obviously, he’s had a running plot device since 61 Hours so, if you’ve enjoyed the last three books, you might as well complete the quartet. The book is really good and after reading it I can understand why people didn’t like the movie.

Deliverance by James Dickey- It feels like I’m just reading series lately so, just to take a break, I finally picked up this American classic of four friends who start out taking a canoe trip down a river about to be dammed up and find themselves paddling through the heart of darkness. It gets a little heavy in places but still worth your time. If you’re in the mood to look behind the curtain, Burt Reynolds was in the movie adaptation and he has some choice recollections of Dickey on location in his book, But Enough About Me.

The Removers by Donald Hamilton- Matt Helm tries to take a vacation to Reno, Nevada to visit his kids. There’s no such thing as a vacation when you’re in a secret government organization. This is the third book in the series and I will say that if you didn’t quite enjoy The Wrecking Crew as much as you thought you would, give this one a look. Hamilton seems to have his mojo working again in this story.

Created, The Destroyer by Richard Sapir & Warren Murphy- I’ve been looking for this book since 1985 and I finally found it! The best part- I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not ground breaking literature or anything like that but , considering that it’s an adventure series from 1971, I found it to be pretty fun. If you can track it down, definitely give it a look. The storyline deals with a man who gets recruited into a secret government agency to become the ultimate assassin. Like I said, it’s fun.

     I’ve been busy with making movies so I haven’t been watching too many of them but, here are a few recommendations-

Death Note- If the title sounds familiar, it’s because this movie is a live action remake of a Japanimation series. The story deals with a death demon who gets bored and releases a notebook on Earth. Whoever possesses the notebook has the power of death, all you have to do is write somebody’s name in it and how they die and it comes true. A high school boy finds the notebook and problems soon find him. I liked the movie, if I were in high school I would’ve probably loved the movie. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the series  but I’m not that into Japanimation to find out. Both are currently playing on Netflix, watch for yourself and be the judge.

The Devil’s Candy- I’m not usually a fan of possession films but this one is kind of cool. If you can overlook the last five minutes, it’s really cool. The visuals are amazing and the story holds your interest for the hour and nineteen minute run time but by the end you just feel like you’ve coasted to a stop with no real payoff. Without giving anything away, I’m going to make a suggestion to help you enjoy the movie. There Is a scene where the staircase is on fire-stop the movie when you reach this point. Whatever your imagination fills in will be amazing and you will enjoy the movie more.

The Double- Richard Gere stars in this spy vs. spy thriller about a retired C.I.A. operative who’s being brought out of retirement to help find an assassin that everybody thought was dead. It’s a lot different from Invasion U.S.A. than I make it sound, it’s just hard to say too much without giving a lot away. It’s not great but it is worth a look.

Dressed To Kill- The title has been recycled a few times but this movie is from 1941 and stars Lloyd Noland as Michael Shayne. Surprisingly, it’s not based off of a Bret Halliday novel but a Richard Burke novel instead. I guess Shayne had a bigger following than Quinny Hite. It’s okay. It’s only an hour and thirteen minutes long so by the time you get bored with it, the credits are rolling. If you want some good Mike Shayne, read the Halliday novels.

Everly- This movie stars Selma Hayek, is very good and currently on Netflix. That’s all I’m going to tell you about it. Watch it now!

Repo Man- Alex Cox’s 1984 sci-fi/comedy opus was played on the big screen at a local theater. It was already on the calendar before we lost Harry Dean Stanton but, fittingly, it turned into the tribute showing and there were interview clips played and a moment of silence before the feature. Seeing it on the big screen is always a great time but having the memorial beforehand really completed the experience. If you haven’t seen it in a while, go check it out, it’ll be an intense experience.

     Finally, for the t.v. watchers, I have a couple of things I’ve been watching during mealtime-

The Andy Griffith Show season 3- It’s hard to believe that so much happens in a small town where the sidewalks roll up at 8 and the jail closes on Sunday. This season we meet the pump jockey at Wally’s Filling Station, Gomer Pyle, and then there’s everybody’s favorite musical mountain family, The Darlings. This was also the introduction to Ernest T. Bass as he protests Charlene Darlings wedding. If you enjoyed the first two seasons, you’ll like this one.

The Andy Griffith Show season 4- The Darlings are back, Ernest T. Bass is back and Gomer leaves, giving up his job to his cousin Goober. It kind of feels like they originally intended to spin-off Ernest T. but then went with Gomer instead. Another season of small town shenanigans that ends with Gomer joining the Marines. A spin-off from a spin-off is born and Danny Thomas has another hot property on his hands. It’s still fun so if you enjoy season 3, keep going.

Doctor Who series 9- Peter Capaldi enjoys his second season at the helm of the T.A.R.D.I.S. but this may be the end of The Impossible Girl. Want to know more? You’ll just have to watch the show.

     That’s all I have for this month. Tune in next time to see how far along I am on the movies and maybe I’ll watch a few more. With the holiday season coming up, it’s time to dust off my slasher collection and maybe find some other new classics to pass along.