"Shame on every stupid-ass, morally ignorant fan out there who has expressed even the slightest opinion that this course of legal action in any way reflects an agenda of greed on the part of people not directly involved in the act of creation, or worse, has articulated as their primary concern the potential interruption of their monthly four-color fantasy intake. Part of me wishes we lived in the might makes right moral universe that supports such a piggish outlook, because then I could quit my job and drive around on a motorcycle punching people in the face until they penned a formal apology to the Siegel family."
Tom Spurgeon of ComicReporter.com, responding to comments by wrong-headed Superman "fans" re: Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel's heirs finally (if potentially temporarily) gaining a share of the copyright to the character Siegel created after nearly a decade of legal stonewalling by TimeWarner.
***
Figured out how to make the Big Fix in Spec Screenplay 1. As predicted, making it is going to be a huge pain in the backside.
A
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Foley Updata: March 30 2008
Final touches are being made to THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE PRINT EDITION #1. And it is, if I do say so myself, Thoroughly Awesome.
***
EXCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKYPE
It took an expensive headset/microphone combination, but Skype now works. I've had all of two conversations on it and can already see this thing is going to waste a LOT of my time.
***
MAYBE NOT MORE ACCURATE, BUT A DAMN SITE MORE SATISFYING THAN THE 6:00 NEWS WEATHER FORECAST
Anyone can talk about the weather, but it took the coming Olympic Games to prompt the Chinese government to do something about it. Specifically, shoot it and blow it up.
At least it provides an opportunity for 30+k farmers to get out of the fields and behind some heavy artillery. Because, obviously, completely arbitrary physical contests are MUCH more important than food.
I can see the situation now:
WANG: Colonel Li!
LI: Report, Sergeant Wang.
WANG: Radar's spotted a potential rain cloud forming to the east of the city!
LI: Ah, yes. The rain cloud. One of nature's wonders, a gift from the gods, showering us with the very essence of life...We must DESTROY it. Wang!
WANG: Sir!
LI: Summon The Farmers.
WANG (shuddering): The Farmers, sir? Are you...are you sure?
LI: Do it, Wang! I won't have a bunch of foreigners trying to run from an arbitrary point to another arbitrary point as fast as they can getting wet on my watch...
(via CanadianGeek.org)
***
WORKS IN PROGRESS
GONE outlines for The Pack. - This is taking longer than it should. Much, much longer.
THE LITTLE BROTHER outline and script for the artist - New comic project conceived of last week for the artist. Have the beginning scripted, the end figured out. The middle, however...
Spec Movie Script #1 revisions for the manager - Still going to be a hassle to "fix", but I think I see how it can work. Maybe. To say I'm approaching it with trepidation is to use about five syllables more than are absolutely necessary.
Spec Movie Script #2 for manager - Taking too long, and going to take longer now that I'm back working on Spec #1.
THE HOLIDAY MEN...#1 - Obviously. But not for much longer...
Spec animated pilot script for the sake of having it - Primarily to show some hypothetical mentally challenged producer-types who aren't going to get it otherwise. (Theoretical) Morons.
THE HOLIDAY MEN Episode 3, for Nick - It's a good thing Nick's got all of Ep2 to get through first, because this is not flowing as well as I'd like. At all.
It also feels like an idea that's been rattling around my brain for a month is finally making a decent effort to get out of it. Feels like another pilot spec, and why not?--I like bashing my head against brick walls as much as the next guy. More, if one's to judge by my career choices...
***
PROJECTS THAT ARE OUT OF MY HANDS FOR THE MOMENT
First 18 or so comic pages of VANQUISHED are with the artist - This is going to be interesting. Or disastrous. Which could still be interesting.
First 22 comic pages of MASTER OF THE HOUSE are with the artist - And it's going to make us both incredibly wealthy when she's done them.
Skype conference call with Senior Editor and Creative Director for the company I'm going to be editing for on Wednesday. Got a pretty good idea what the project's going to be, and hopefully of the artist. This should be fun.
***
ANDREW READS (BRIEFLY)
A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY, ONE FINE DAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, and THE SACRED ART OF STEALING, by Christopher Brookmyre. All perfectly entertaining romps, the first two featuring would-be tough guy terrorists getting their asses handed to them, generally by plucky Everymen assisted by someone who's actually good at killing. "Stealing", which brings the DI de Xavia character intro'd in Big Boy back as the main protag, was shaping up to be my favourite of the bunch due to the theft-as-art angle. Unfortunately, it ended on a disappointing note--basically, nothing ever really went wrong for one of the two leads, and while I suppose that speaks to the nature of the character, it kind of bugged me. Also, by the end if was way too close, in principle if not execution, to Elmore Leonard's "Out of Sight", or at least to the George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez film based on it.
THE STEEP ROAD TO GARBADALE, by Iain Banks. About a dysfunctional but wealthy family that built its fortune on the back of a boardgamme called Empire!, and more specifically the one son who broke ranks with the family and his neuroses, this is one of Bank's more touching books of recent years. For about 2/3's of it I thought I was looking at another CROW ROAD (which I really should read again). However, as interesting as Alban McGill's unrequited love for his cousin and strange family life are, Banks' attraction to the perverse is becoming a bit old hat. I predicted what I think was supposed to be the Big Reveal about halfway into the book, which made the finish a bit of a hollow experience.
CANDY GIRL: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN UNLIKELY STRIPPER, by Cody Diablo. Reminds me of articles I read in DETAILS magazine fifteen years ago. Took about as long to get through, too. Entertaining enough, I suppose, and even if it wasn't I finished it in all of a day, so not a lot of time lost. But I guess all the hype about this and "Juno" had me expecting a bit more from Hollywood's latest It Girl.
BAMBI VS. GODZILLA: ON THE NATURE, PURPOSE, AND PRACTICE OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS, by David Mamet. "On Directing Film" is probably the more valuable book of Mamet's in terms of actual craft, but, judging by the first half of this book, which is all I've read, this one is a lot more fun. This guy does not have a lot of respect for...well, pretty much anyone in Hollywood. And that's always good for a laugh, at least for me.
A
***
EXCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THE SKYPE
It took an expensive headset/microphone combination, but Skype now works. I've had all of two conversations on it and can already see this thing is going to waste a LOT of my time.
***
MAYBE NOT MORE ACCURATE, BUT A DAMN SITE MORE SATISFYING THAN THE 6:00 NEWS WEATHER FORECAST
Anyone can talk about the weather, but it took the coming Olympic Games to prompt the Chinese government to do something about it. Specifically, shoot it and blow it up.
At least it provides an opportunity for 30+k farmers to get out of the fields and behind some heavy artillery. Because, obviously, completely arbitrary physical contests are MUCH more important than food.
I can see the situation now:
WANG: Colonel Li!
LI: Report, Sergeant Wang.
WANG: Radar's spotted a potential rain cloud forming to the east of the city!
LI: Ah, yes. The rain cloud. One of nature's wonders, a gift from the gods, showering us with the very essence of life...We must DESTROY it. Wang!
WANG: Sir!
LI: Summon The Farmers.
WANG (shuddering): The Farmers, sir? Are you...are you sure?
LI: Do it, Wang! I won't have a bunch of foreigners trying to run from an arbitrary point to another arbitrary point as fast as they can getting wet on my watch...
(via CanadianGeek.org)
***
WORKS IN PROGRESS
GONE outlines for The Pack. - This is taking longer than it should. Much, much longer.
THE LITTLE BROTHER outline and script for the artist - New comic project conceived of last week for the artist. Have the beginning scripted, the end figured out. The middle, however...
Spec Movie Script #1 revisions for the manager - Still going to be a hassle to "fix", but I think I see how it can work. Maybe. To say I'm approaching it with trepidation is to use about five syllables more than are absolutely necessary.
Spec Movie Script #2 for manager - Taking too long, and going to take longer now that I'm back working on Spec #1.
THE HOLIDAY MEN...#1 - Obviously. But not for much longer...
Spec animated pilot script for the sake of having it - Primarily to show some hypothetical mentally challenged producer-types who aren't going to get it otherwise. (Theoretical) Morons.
THE HOLIDAY MEN Episode 3, for Nick - It's a good thing Nick's got all of Ep2 to get through first, because this is not flowing as well as I'd like. At all.
It also feels like an idea that's been rattling around my brain for a month is finally making a decent effort to get out of it. Feels like another pilot spec, and why not?--I like bashing my head against brick walls as much as the next guy. More, if one's to judge by my career choices...
***
PROJECTS THAT ARE OUT OF MY HANDS FOR THE MOMENT
First 18 or so comic pages of VANQUISHED are with the artist - This is going to be interesting. Or disastrous. Which could still be interesting.
First 22 comic pages of MASTER OF THE HOUSE are with the artist - And it's going to make us both incredibly wealthy when she's done them.
Skype conference call with Senior Editor and Creative Director for the company I'm going to be editing for on Wednesday. Got a pretty good idea what the project's going to be, and hopefully of the artist. This should be fun.
***
ANDREW READS (BRIEFLY)
A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY, ONE FINE DAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, and THE SACRED ART OF STEALING, by Christopher Brookmyre. All perfectly entertaining romps, the first two featuring would-be tough guy terrorists getting their asses handed to them, generally by plucky Everymen assisted by someone who's actually good at killing. "Stealing", which brings the DI de Xavia character intro'd in Big Boy back as the main protag, was shaping up to be my favourite of the bunch due to the theft-as-art angle. Unfortunately, it ended on a disappointing note--basically, nothing ever really went wrong for one of the two leads, and while I suppose that speaks to the nature of the character, it kind of bugged me. Also, by the end if was way too close, in principle if not execution, to Elmore Leonard's "Out of Sight", or at least to the George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez film based on it.
THE STEEP ROAD TO GARBADALE, by Iain Banks. About a dysfunctional but wealthy family that built its fortune on the back of a boardgamme called Empire!, and more specifically the one son who broke ranks with the family and his neuroses, this is one of Bank's more touching books of recent years. For about 2/3's of it I thought I was looking at another CROW ROAD (which I really should read again). However, as interesting as Alban McGill's unrequited love for his cousin and strange family life are, Banks' attraction to the perverse is becoming a bit old hat. I predicted what I think was supposed to be the Big Reveal about halfway into the book, which made the finish a bit of a hollow experience.
CANDY GIRL: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF AN UNLIKELY STRIPPER, by Cody Diablo. Reminds me of articles I read in DETAILS magazine fifteen years ago. Took about as long to get through, too. Entertaining enough, I suppose, and even if it wasn't I finished it in all of a day, so not a lot of time lost. But I guess all the hype about this and "Juno" had me expecting a bit more from Hollywood's latest It Girl.
BAMBI VS. GODZILLA: ON THE NATURE, PURPOSE, AND PRACTICE OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS, by David Mamet. "On Directing Film" is probably the more valuable book of Mamet's in terms of actual craft, but, judging by the first half of this book, which is all I've read, this one is a lot more fun. This guy does not have a lot of respect for...well, pretty much anyone in Hollywood. And that's always good for a laugh, at least for me.
A
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Good News and Bad News
Good: I actually managed to download and install Skype all on my lonesome. This is no small feat for a Natural-Born Luddite.
Bad (but not unexpected): It doesn't work.
Good: I'm attending this year's Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and will have a spot of my own, something that was very much in doubt up until a few days ago.
Bad: Still not attending this year's New York Comic Con the week before. My so-called career wants to know if the hole is deep enough yet or whether it should keep digging its own grave.
Good: THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 is almost ready to go to the printer! Which means the first online adventure is nearly finished also!
Bad: Getting THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 done--just getting the first storyline done for the ChemSet--has been an incredible slog. The script for the first adventure was something like six thousand words long; the new text stuff for the print version come in at around 2500. I wish I was just a hack, as opposed to a hack with pretensions of having something more to offer the world of entertainment than a hack. Life would be much easier that way.
Good: I'll almost certainly have copies of THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 at this year's Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.
Bad: I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to pay for my copies of THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1.
Good: All the management folk "feel really good" about THE HOLIDAY MEN, and feel even better about having a print version to show people.
Bad: After paying for my copies of the H-Men print version, I'm going to have to give more of them away for free than I'm going to want to, in the hopes that someone with money will like it enough to give me and Nick some.
Good: Hollywood Manager says the office is "feeling really good" about my second spec television pilot script.
Bad: Hollywood Manager says the office finally figured out what was making them hold off on going out aggressively with my first spec film script.
Bad: Fixing the problem with the FSFS is going to be a royal pain.
Good: I don't need to fix the problem if I don't want to. They'll still go out with it as is if I don't want to deal with the note.
Bad: If they go out with it and it doesn't sell, I'll always wonder if it would've sold if I'd addressed the problem.
Good: If I fix the problem and they go out with it and it doesn't sell, they'll go to additional lengths, seeking funding to get the film made independently.
Bad: Fixing that story problem (if one accepts that it is a problem--it's a Hollywood thing, don't ask) is going to be a REAL pain the behind.
Good: Hollywood Manager says the San Diego Comic Con is now too chaotic an environment to get anything substantial accomplished, so I don't have to feel bad about not going ever again (till next time I end up going.) Yay!
Bad: The Hollywood Manager thinks the only thing I could possibly do to speed things up on that end would be to go to LA for a few days and do lots of meetings.
Bad: Before the end of April.
Bad: If I can't get down there for some meetings before then, the earliest going down would do any good would be September.
Good: T and I have enough Airmiles to get a return flight to Los Angeles!
Bad: At the moment, T and I don't have enough actual money for food, never mind living and transport expenses for me in LA for three days. Flying Spaghetti Monster bless overdrafts.
Good: I'll be signing the contract for an editing assignment next week.
Good: An editing assignment I got independently on my own merits (as opposed to knowing someone who knows someone.)
Good: An actual paid editing assignment.
Bad: The assignment doesn't pay enough that I can "safely" go to LA.
Bad: Most successful major bank heists don't pay enough that I can go safely to LA. I'm beginning to realize that 2007 was no more tangibly successful than 2006. Which is awful.
Good: Taking the wide view, I didn't get ripped off as much in 2007 as I did in 2006.
Bad: I still got ripped off in 2007. By a Christian publisher, no less.
Sigh.
Overall, the good news this week outweighs the bad, and that's unusual. However, there's been so much stuff going on--this is just what I can comfortably talk about--that there's more bad than usual to try and weather. And as anyone who reads this blog regularly is well-aware, I'm predisposed to dwell on the negative.
Everyone seems confident that great things (or at least self-sustaining things) await if I just hang in there. Everyone but me. But the only option other than hanging in is letting go. And even if the people who've been supporting me in this foolish endeavour could forgive me for quitting at this point, I don't think I could.
Upward, ever upward.
A
Bad (but not unexpected): It doesn't work.
Good: I'm attending this year's Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo and will have a spot of my own, something that was very much in doubt up until a few days ago.
Bad: Still not attending this year's New York Comic Con the week before. My so-called career wants to know if the hole is deep enough yet or whether it should keep digging its own grave.
Good: THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 is almost ready to go to the printer! Which means the first online adventure is nearly finished also!
Bad: Getting THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 done--just getting the first storyline done for the ChemSet--has been an incredible slog. The script for the first adventure was something like six thousand words long; the new text stuff for the print version come in at around 2500. I wish I was just a hack, as opposed to a hack with pretensions of having something more to offer the world of entertainment than a hack. Life would be much easier that way.
Good: I'll almost certainly have copies of THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1 at this year's Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.
Bad: I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to pay for my copies of THE HOLIDAY MEN in THE MASSACRE MEMORIAL DAY SALE MASSACRE EXTRA-SPECIAL COLLECTIBLE BLACK AND WHITE VARIANT PRINT EDITION #1.
Good: All the management folk "feel really good" about THE HOLIDAY MEN, and feel even better about having a print version to show people.
Bad: After paying for my copies of the H-Men print version, I'm going to have to give more of them away for free than I'm going to want to, in the hopes that someone with money will like it enough to give me and Nick some.
Good: Hollywood Manager says the office is "feeling really good" about my second spec television pilot script.
Bad: Hollywood Manager says the office finally figured out what was making them hold off on going out aggressively with my first spec film script.
Bad: Fixing the problem with the FSFS is going to be a royal pain.
Good: I don't need to fix the problem if I don't want to. They'll still go out with it as is if I don't want to deal with the note.
Bad: If they go out with it and it doesn't sell, I'll always wonder if it would've sold if I'd addressed the problem.
Good: If I fix the problem and they go out with it and it doesn't sell, they'll go to additional lengths, seeking funding to get the film made independently.
Bad: Fixing that story problem (if one accepts that it is a problem--it's a Hollywood thing, don't ask) is going to be a REAL pain the behind.
Good: Hollywood Manager says the San Diego Comic Con is now too chaotic an environment to get anything substantial accomplished, so I don't have to feel bad about not going ever again (till next time I end up going.) Yay!
Bad: The Hollywood Manager thinks the only thing I could possibly do to speed things up on that end would be to go to LA for a few days and do lots of meetings.
Bad: Before the end of April.
Bad: If I can't get down there for some meetings before then, the earliest going down would do any good would be September.
Good: T and I have enough Airmiles to get a return flight to Los Angeles!
Bad: At the moment, T and I don't have enough actual money for food, never mind living and transport expenses for me in LA for three days. Flying Spaghetti Monster bless overdrafts.
Good: I'll be signing the contract for an editing assignment next week.
Good: An editing assignment I got independently on my own merits (as opposed to knowing someone who knows someone.)
Good: An actual paid editing assignment.
Bad: The assignment doesn't pay enough that I can "safely" go to LA.
Bad: Most successful major bank heists don't pay enough that I can go safely to LA. I'm beginning to realize that 2007 was no more tangibly successful than 2006. Which is awful.
Good: Taking the wide view, I didn't get ripped off as much in 2007 as I did in 2006.
Bad: I still got ripped off in 2007. By a Christian publisher, no less.
Sigh.
Overall, the good news this week outweighs the bad, and that's unusual. However, there's been so much stuff going on--this is just what I can comfortably talk about--that there's more bad than usual to try and weather. And as anyone who reads this blog regularly is well-aware, I'm predisposed to dwell on the negative.
Everyone seems confident that great things (or at least self-sustaining things) await if I just hang in there. Everyone but me. But the only option other than hanging in is letting go. And even if the people who've been supporting me in this foolish endeavour could forgive me for quitting at this point, I don't think I could.
Upward, ever upward.
A
A Friendly Reminder
The Future of Comics (I) Fiona Staples-illustrated THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AUTHORITY: JACK HAWKSMOOR #1 hit comic store shelves today. Buy several copies and give them to all your friends. You'll be glad you did. Even if you aren't, I'll be glad you did, and that's what really matters, isn't it?
A
A
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Jesus is Dead; Let's Party!
Hope everyone who's into Jesus is having a good Easter. If you're into Raptor Jesus, you might want to think twice about eating any colourful eggs, though.
A
A
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
