Crafting An Action Scene

As a kid, my favorite movies were the ones that had so much going on at once, I was impossible to look away. When I first saw the Star Wars Trilogy, all the phaser cannons and light sabers glued my eyes to the screen. I didn't even want to look down to grab my soda. My hand would wander around the cup holder until I felt the cold cardboard. This resulted in a lot of spilled drinks. I am the reason that three theaters in Wyoming always had sticky floors.

But the point is that I want to do that to people. I want to craft a scene so distracting that people ignore everything else around them to watch it move, duck, and dive in every direction.

The scene involves the three main characters being chased down a violent river on little floating rafts meant to sunbathe on.. not meant for roaring rapids. The characters pursuing them are quick and motivated, but not that bright. The best part is that the good guys aren't that bright either: they're just some college-aged kids trying to save their own lives.

Google Steps Off It's Throne Long Enough To Adapt Picasa For The Mac

Google announced that Picasa for the Mac is now available in public beta form through Google Labs. Picasa is a free desktop application for fucking with, and passing around your digital photos. It's great for organizing your obscene webcam snapshots and doctored images of celebrities.

The Mac version is supposed to be relatively seamless. So whenever you get tired of iPhoto, maybe you should take a looksy.

So why did it take so damn long for Google to move it over to the Mac? The company is claiming that the wait was timed to coincide with The Macworld Expo (which happened today). They know how to keep the acne-ridden, pocket-protector-wearin' brace-faced people drooling with anticipation.

[Source]

How Important Is A Love Story In A Movie?

So I've been bouncing ideas off of my co-workers relating to my script. The story involves 3 college friends who meet up for a little bit of a wild weekend and run into some trouble with some dangerous people.

Initially, I had one of these guys being in a relationship, only acknowledging the girlfriend character through shot stints of him talking to her on the phone - since she wasn't a part of the story. She was meant to be a sign that this character is a reliable, mostly responsible guy who can maintain a relationship like that. But it didn't really come through like I'd hoped and seemed to be a detriment to the narrative.

I had another idea about one of the other characters trying to get the attention of a girl from his church (he's the responsible force in the movie now, and likes good girls). But, after writing some ideas and some dialogue to develop that part of the story, it seems like a complete waste of time.

I want to pull at people's heart strings with this story (action/comedy), but I fear I may be trying too hard. Maybe I'll just axe the love story idea. To hell with it.

Excuses

A few months have gone by since I've made a post, and for this I apologize sincerely. We all have issues and distractions that take us away from our favorite hobbies. This blog is one of mine. So here's what I've been up to:

* I tried to join a branch of the armed forces, and was rejected due to some poor past decisions and some health issues.
* I got a new job working in a bakery (I know, sounds uneventful. But it's been surprisingly fun and rewarding).
* I've been writing a screenplay for some weeks now.

The latter is probably what this blog will focus on for the next couple of months at least. The story has been in my head since 2 summers ago and at the very least I can promise that it will be very funny. I'm determined to make it so.

Other than that, I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and I'm stoked to start this new year. It's gonna be big.

7 Minute Sneek Peak Of "Wanted"

Apparently Warner Brothers put up one for "Get Smart" too, but it's only available on iTunes... plus I'm nowhere near as stoked about that flick as I am about the car-flipping and bullet-curving glory that "Wanted" has to offer. Enjoy.

(Update)...
I'm sorry, but the video source has pulled the "Wanted" preview, I'm going to investigate and see if I can find another copy. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Kevin Spacey Will Mold Young Minds At Oxford

Kevin Spacey was asked to take a year-long position as a theater professor at Oxford University. He's such a nice guy, he couldn't say no.

"It really is an honor for me to have been invited to follow such illustrious names and take up this role at Oxford," Spacey said in a statement. "The university is steeped in tradition and has a great heritage in the arts, and I look forward to working with the students and staff."

Professor Roger Ainsworth, the college's master called Spacey "a truly international star" who "will bring an enormous wealth of talent and experience in both film and theater to bear on the role."

None of my professors played Lex Luther :(

[Reuters]

3D Speed-Bump DecalsTo Make Philidephia Safer... Kinda

A new program of pavement trickery called "Drive CarePhilly" is being put into practice in... well, Philly. Around 100 intersections will be stuck with 3D decals that they think will fool drivers into thinking there's chalky-looking speed-bumps in the road.

They probably already realize that people are going to get used to this and in a year, the only purpose it'll have will be to play pranks on your extended family when they're in town. That means there's probably something on the way that'll be even better!

Wait, what? There's nothing else on the way? Well at least you still have brotherly love.

[KYW]

Stone Temple Pilots' Label Sues Them - How Do You Like Them Apples?

Retro Pic, Right? /\/\/\

Atlantic Records filed the lawsuit in Manhattan yesterday against STP singer Scott Weiland and drummer Eric Kretz, saying that they're trying to get out of their record contract with Warner Music Group prematurely.

It seems the catalyst for this mess was when Weiland and Kretz sounded off that they'd refuse to play and terminate their contract unless the label made some big changes. In the suit, Atlantic says that despite STP recording six LP's, it has the right to a seventh, and two more, which could be live or greatest hits compilations.

The band issued a statement today, and sounds pissed:

"Stone Temple Pilots were deeply disappointed to see that Atlantic filed a surprise lawsuit against two members of the legendary band ... when they were in the middle of what were believed to be cordial and positive discussions about STP returning to the studio to make a new album after 5 years... Despite the allegations in the complaint, the band never threatened anything more than remaining away from the studio until equitable terms could be arranged. The precipitous filing of this action is yet another example of the difficulties facing artists in the new music environment, as relationships between artists and their labels fall further and further apart.

"Eric and Scott have not yet been served and hope that Atlantic will allow cooler heads to prevail and have the courtesy of shelving this action to permit negotiations to continue in a positive spirit rather than under a dark cloud of hostility," the statement continued. "Should everyone operate in good faith, STP are certain that a new album from the band will be available soon. Should Atlantic instead pursue this scorched-earth policy towards the band, the ultimate victims will be STP's fans, who will never be able to enjoy a new album from the group."

I really like these guys, and I think I want to continue working with them. Let's sue 'em!

[MTV.com]

Is This Sh!t For Real? - Water Powered Vehicles

I ran across this web page that claims to be able to teach you how to turn your car into a water powered vehicle or a water/gasoline hybrid. Can anyone give me any insight into this? If it's the real deal, this could change so many things. God, even the idea of filling my tank from the tap just made my day!

This Fox News report looks pretty convincing, too!



[Daves Daily]

Portable Solar Cookers For Tibet - Lucky!

In Tibet, there are two ways to cook your food: an open fire fueled by yak dung or wood (which isn't exactly easy to obtain); or solar cookers, which consist of two-inch-thick concrete covered with tiny glass mirrors.

Fire produces lots of smoke that leads to lung disease in people who do most of their cooking indoors. Solar cookers are much cleaner, but are so heavy that they need 4 people just to move one. Plus their focus isn't always dead-on, which can damage food, cooking equipment and even start fires.

Scot Frank, a student at MIT, and Catlin Powers of Wellesley College took a trip to Tibet in 2006. One thing they heard regularly from the villagers is that life would be so much easier if there was a light mobile version of their solar cookers. This way they could go take care of their flocks or fields and still eat. But it need to be strong enough to handle the fierce winds that whip across the plateau.

Ask and you shall receive.

Some MIT students and some students from Qinghai Normal University in Tibet's Amdo region cooked up exactly what they were looking for. The cooker they made, which was inspired by the nomadic tents in the region, is made from yak-wool canvas panels, the supports are bamboo, and the dish is covered with a reflective mylar. It can be assembled and disassembled easily and one person can carry it. Plus it can be anchored to hold against the wind. The students will begin testing a prototype of the cooker this fall, and make it available for mass production in local factories.

The students called themselves SolSource Tibet, and entered MIT's yearly IDEAS comp., winning one of two Yunus Innovation Challenge awards and $3k to put towards the project.

The solar cooker cost about $17 to make and, for an additional $26, can be fitted with an extra attachment and used to heat homes.

[MIT News]