This Savage Art

Thursday morning. Around 1:30 a.m. Touching down at JFK. I’m not a big fan of flying and at this point in time neither was my girlfriend Linda. I’m sure when we were landing at Kennedy Airport on Wednesday night she would have rather been in the comfort of our apartment. That way she could have vomited in peace. You see, she was suffering from a very serious case of food poisoning right there and then and all through the night when we arrived home.

Thanksgiving Day. Depending on how Linda was feeling I would see if we were going to go ahead with plans to see our families. Her diagnosis hadn’t changed. Her mom did stop by to see if she was doing alright though. Not alright. Totally dehydrated. I was staying with her so Linda’s mom decided to go back home but not until she got a thoughtful turkey package for me to eat. Can’t not have turkey on Thanksgiving. Linda’s father was waiting downstairs with the turkey, Linda’s mom went to get it. As Linda walked toward me from another room she bounced off the walls from being dizzy then collapsed in my arms almost smashing her head on the floor. I got her. Her “Knight in Shining Sweatpants” I have been dubbed. This was serious. I called 911 and they arrived promptly. We took a trip to New York Downtown Hospital and I have to say it was one of the more pleasant trips to the ER I have been to. There were a couple of dipsomaniacs with injuries drying out, an asian man being told he was to be opened up in three hours for an appendectomy but probably couldn’t understand a word of it and us. Linda’s mom and dad, Linda and I. Blood work: everything normal. Diagnosis from the doctor: toxoplasmosis. Linda would be fine with a little hydration, fill up the tank with a couple of bags of sodium chloride. We went home, thankful. I was thankful I could be there for her. I can see if I wasn’t it could have been a lot worse than it was. I was also thankful Linda was there for me over that last couple of weeks. I was a basket case with my back injury (which has improved considerably with acupuncture) and all. She took care of me. Despite the drama, it was a day of many thanks.

Oh yeah, Vegas was a good time, won $200.

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There’s a lot I want to write about on [this savage art...] in the coming week but I will be in the City of Sin. No, not D.C., Las Vegas. As soon as I get back I will be hanging with la famiglia for Thanksgiving. So what’s on my mind? Hopefully next weekend I will check out The Fountain and be looking to give something similar to a review or maybe just an observation. I would also like to do a profile of the whole DIY production and distribution thing that has been going on. I recently purchased Lance Weiler‘s Head Trauma on DVD and it’s the first of its kind that I am excited to check out. I bought it instead of renting for two reasons. The first is a selfish one, I like the filmmaker friendly extras on the DVD. The other, I wanted to support this kind of filmmaking. Head Trauma looks creepy as hell and well directed from the clips I’ve seen. I’m saving that DVD for next weekend. There’s a lot to learn here for others looking to do the same so support it! Here is more info on the new self-distribution model and Weiler’s self-distribution project.

Until next week, let’s all bid a collective fond adieu to the VHS. Enjoy all!

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I’ve been out of commission for the past week with a back “problem”. I was “diagnosed” with a “herniated disc” about two years ago. Why the quotes? Mainly because everyone who has an opinion has a different diagnosis of what is wrong with my back. Let me begin at the beginning… Continue Reading →

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Apple Soho hosts The Fountain‘s director Darren Aronofsky who pleads for us to show up at the film’s Thanksgiving weekend open. I’ll be there. The Reeler has more.

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Director David Fincher’s new all digital feature Zodiac gets the podcast treatment from fxguide.com. [Via HD4NDs]

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D.W. Leitner gives us the breakdown of an affordable system via Filmmaker.

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7.1.3 for Final Draft is out and John August comments on the newest in new.

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I found this easy to use photo editor. If you blog and want to resize or alter your images quickly and easily check out Pixer.

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Originally posted 5.18.05 as What Is Your Character’s Status?

If you’ve read enough books on screenwriting (and there are a lot out there) we always hear terms like conflict, arc and stakes. A term we don’t hear all that often is status. It refers to those who possess the most control in a given scene. The person who dominates a scene physically, sexually, professionally, intellectually or in some other way is in a position of high status. He or she controls the action. Those people he or she dominates are in, you guessed it, low status. Status is based on power and control, not necessarily on expected social rank or class structure.

More about status and other helpful information can be found in Screenwriting for Dummies. Don’t let the title fool you. It’s got some solid information for the beginner and veteran alike and serves as a good point of reference.

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I saw this while scanning Gothamist. Thought it was appropriate. Thanks specmotors.

Originally uploaded by specmotors.

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