Since there isn't a whole lotta exciting or even weird and interesting stuff going on right now, I figured I'd take a moment to talk about one of my favorite television shows. Actually, there are only two shows I'm really watching regularly now, as I would rather just throw in a movie. The two shows are RESCUE ME, Denis Leary's hour drama on FX that revolves around a New York City firehouse, and ENTOURAGE.
Entourage comes from executive producer Mark Wahlberg and is supposed to be a semi-autobigraphical take on what it's like to be an up and coming star in Hollywood. In true East Coast fashion, the star (Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier) has his friends close by. The friends are level-headed Eric (Kevin Connelly) who also doubles as Vinnie's manager, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) who is Vince's brother and an actor (albeit less successful than his younger sibling) as well. My favorite character, though, is Vince's high powered agent Ari Gold (played to perfection by Jeremy Piven). This character is the best thing on the show. Sharp, sarcastic, abrasive, always funny and with more energy than a gamer hopped up on Red Bull and Mountain Dew.
There are other characters as well, but these five are the real heart of the show.
At first glance, I wasn't a big fan. I didn't need to see another show about the "industry" with a bunch of snide, cute inside jokes. The characters seemed interesting enough so I took a look. At first my favorite character was Drama as the idea of the older brother being overshadowed by his younger brother intrigued me. Not to mention it was a lot like Kevin Dillon must go through with his brother Matt. I thought Ari was funny, but seemed like a caricature of what everyone thinks an agent is.
And then it happened.
I think it was about the 3rd or 4th epsiode and Vince was being wooed by a rival agent. Vince wanted to do an indie movie called Queen's Blvd. and Ari seemed to be holding up the deal. The hot, young agent smelled a rift and tried to get in there to steal the Vince as a client. Ari gets wind of this and crashes the beach party they are meeting at and it's then that his real motivations for holding up the deal are revealed. It was an episode that really fleshed out the character and made him real. Sure, he's all about the cash and fast talkin' and all the rest that goes with the agent type...but it also showed that he's not an idiot. And beneath all the bluster and insults he just might have his client's best interests at heart. After that one episode I was hooked.
This season has been really promising with the whole "Aquaman" storyline and Eric stepping up as Vince's manager. There were some definite fears though, as it appeared Ari was going to get stuck just popping in here and there making his quips (albeit hysterical ones...I've heard that most of them are improv'ed...if so, Piven is brilliant) and that Drama and Turtle were going to just become (as my friend Rick said) the "Tweedledee/Tweedledum" of the group. But in the latest episodes Turtle has taken a more serious, matured (as much as he could be) turn in finding his own career path and Drama has shown many different layers as well.
I read an interview with creator Doug Ellin and his comments echoed my own fears about what the show might be and the reality of what it actually is.
"The show is meant to be much closer to 'Diner' than to 'The Player.' It's not supposed to be a cynical look at Hollywood, it's supposed to be a look at friendship, and Hollywood just happens to be the backdrop. To me, these guys could be real estate brokers, they could be investment bankers, they could be medical interns. It's just about four friends, and how they're all trying to make it."
I agree. And with last night's episode all of the character's stakes were raised to new heights and new layers of storylines revealed themselves. There are numerous threads for cool storylines and character interactions coming from that show alone. I can't wait to see what happens.
Last week I turned the spotlight on Alex Robinson's BOX OFFICE POISON which has quickly worked it's way into one of my favorite graphic novels of all time. As of last night, I just finished his latest graphic novel, TRICKED, and I think I like it even more.
Chris Ryall, editor of Movie Poop Shoot as well as IDW Comics, wrote a great review of it on the MPS site. As I read that review, I was in the midst of finishing BOP, so I was looking forward to picking up TRICKED when it was released.
Not only was I not disappointed, I was blown away.
Ryall called it "the best graphic novel" of the year and I would be hard pressed to argue. The story focuses on six unrelated characters (a faded rock star, a young girl, a High Fidelity-style obsessive, a counterfeiter, a waitress and a personal assistant) who are all on separate paths until one cataclysmic moment brings them all together. Like his other work, TRICKED is filled with rich, complex characters and seamlessly woven storyline threads. As I started it, I would read 30 pages a night, savoring the story...as it came to it's conclusion, I couldn't put it down and finished it off right there. Early wakeup time be damned!
There are a lot of gems on the independent comic scene that you don't even have to be a fan of comics to enjoy. Robinson's works stand chief among them. I can't recommend TRICKED or BOX OFFICE POISON enough, so if you are jonesin' for something different, engrossing and just plain GOOD, to read...pick up one of these books and support independent comic book publishing.
Wow, it's been a week since my last post. Sorry about that. I got busy and time just kind of slipped away from me.
Good week last week, what with a national BMW commercial audition and some poker. On Saturday, my friend Kyle (he of Dicks Last Resort in San Diego) had tickets for the Red Sox v. Angels game down in Anaheim. He actually had tickets for the entire series, but the only one I was able to attend with him was Saturday afternoon. He rented a convertable and we made the long trek down to the land of the Giant Mouse which isn't actually that long of a trip...it just felt that way due to the bumper to bumper traffic. Had a blast at the game (as well as some beer and dogs) even though the Sox lost. It was great seeing them live from the third base line, though. I don't think I've ever heard a noise as loud as when David Ortiz stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and the score 4-2. But alas, he whiffed...
The entire game we felt like heel (bad guy) wrestlers as we would cheer, be loud and obnoxious...basically be "Boston". I don't get why the Angels fans continue to chant "1918" though. We won last year. 1918 is irrelevant. In fact, we've won more recently than the Angels (not to mention sweeping them in last year's playoffs). So my favorite retort to one fan who screamed at me "we'll see you in the playoffs" was "I hope so...maybe you guys will take one game this time."
That night I went to my friends' Mich, Kurtis and Scott's combined b-day party. It was a superhero themed party so I went with my standby of Clark Kent/Superman comprised of an open dress shirt with Superman t-shirt underneath and wearing my glasses. Ah, the simplicity of it.
Might have some interesting and exciting news coming up regarding 60 MINUTE BROADWAY soon. I'll post it here as soon as I know anything.
I finally got a scanner so I here are two of the four planned characters for the "Terriyaki Milkshake" web comic. Right now the main character is tentatively named "John" (in a stroke of creative brilliance) but I'm open to name suggestions. "Dickweed" or any form thereof will not be accepted!! The other character who is the boss of the CS room as well as an extreme sports enthusiast is tentatively named "Chase".
Naming characters has always been a weak point of mine, so if you have any good suggestions please leave a comment below or e-mail me.
Also do yourself a favor and check out the previews of Jeff Schuetze's upcoming comic "Working Actor (in progress)"
Nothing of import to write about today, just some random nonsense.
**I saw War of the Worlds over the summer and actually liked it. But I always wondered with movies such as these...they always make it a point with alien invasions that the aliens have been "watching us for centuries". In War of the Worlds they make a big production of the ships already having been planted here. If that's the case, why do they wait until we have all sorts of weaponry at our disposal to attack? If they wanted the planet so badly, why not take it before we crawled out of the primordial soup? At the very least, attack during the Renaissance when all we had were swords and catapults. Whoever is doing recon on these missions needs to be replaced.
** I'm going to try to spotlight books, movies, comics...etc that I think are of really good quality and may slipped under the radar...like Friday's BOX OFFICE POISON post.
** I watched a really good film on Thursday called IN AMERICA. It's about this Irish family (written and directed by Jim Sheridan of MY LEFT FOOT) who moves to New York in the 80's and their struggle in the lower class tenement housing. Excellent movie and definitely worth checking out on HBO.
** Right now I'm reading TRICKED, Alex Robinson's latest so I'm looking forward to delving into that. I'm also way into ASTRO CITY by Kurt Busiek which is set in this city where super-heroes are the norm. There are the classic archetypes based on known characters but all of them have a slight twist. The story is almost always told in first person, but never usually from the heroes themselves. A person on the street, a sidekick, a villain...they are the narrators. It's a great take on superheroes and what it would be like to live in their world. I recommend the trade paperbacks CONFESSIONS and TARNISHED ANGEL if you're interested in picking them up. I believe the entire previous two runs are in trade paperbacks and currently there is a huge storyline being started in the monthly comic called ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE.
I just finished reading the enormous (600 pgs!) trade paperback of the complete run of Alex Robinson's Box Office Poison comic book. I have pretty much a one word review: Fantastic!
I met Alex at this year's Comic Con International in San Diego and he couldn't have been nicer or more generous with advice on getting creator owned projects published. Browsing through the Top Shelf booth, I came across the enormous BOP trade. I remembered back to an issue of Wizard magazine that BOP was featured in their "Secret Stash" feature that spotlights indie comics and the description of the book sounded like something I would love to read. But for one reason or another, I just never did and it slipped my mind. The trade was $30 but I remembered the glowing reviews and thought I would do my part to support a (fellow?) independant comic book creator...so I plunked down my cash. He sketched the lead character and signed the book for me and off I went.
Over the next few weeks, I kept the boook on my nightstand and every night for an hour or so I would visit with the characters. I can't say enough how much I loved this book. And to be able to sit down and read the entire run was a treat and really gave a nice overall picture of the whole story.
OK, so what's it about, right? It's a character driven story about this group of twenty-somethings that live in Manhattan. Sherman is a wishy washy wannabee writer who works in a bookstore gig he hates, yet refuses to do anything to better his situation. His girlfriend, Dorothy, is an alcoholic slob who he bonds with. Best friend Ed still lives with his parents and tries to get rid of his virginity like the proverbial hot potato. He also wants to be a comic book artist and gets a gig as an asst. to Irving Flavor, a one time great comic artist who has fallen on hard times of his own making. Steven and Jane are a young couple just trying to make it. The story is raw, has wonderful asides to the "camera" and is really beautifully drawn.
There are a bunch of smaller stories and a larger overall arc binding it all together. The characters are real. You feel like you know them or people like them and by that, you really care about how things turn out for them come the end of the story. Funny, warm, heartbreaking...all in one. If you're a fan of novels like "Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" or movies like "Garden State", "High Fidelity", "Beautiful Girls" you're going to love this book. If you're in the mood for superheroes then this might not be the book for you (although there are some, but not in the way you would be expecting them), but if you're a fan of great characters and great writing, I can't recommend it highly enough. His newest graphic novel TRICKED comes out this week and I can't wait to check it out.
Click on Alex's site and purchase a copy. Tell him I sent you :)
When I was at Comic Con with 60 MINUTE BROADWAY, Jeff and I sat in on a panel discussing the creation and marketing of web comics. One of the panel members was Scott Kurtz, creator of the fabulous and hysterical PvP. It was an inspiring panel and it really made me remember how much I used to love "gag-a-day" type newspaper comics such as Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Bailey and Garfield (before it got woefully unfunny...yes we get it, you still hate Mondays and love lasagna...hysterical), B.C....etc.
It also got me to thinking about how I haven't drawn much at all since High School. Possibly even Junior High. When I was growing up, I would spend hours at my easel, trying to mimic Brian Bolland's or Jim Aparo's versions of Batman. I would draw little books starring Popeye or Garfield. And I dreamt of being an animator for Disney. Somewhere along the way, I just stopped drawing. I don't know why as it was always something I really enjoyed.
So, after seeing that panel and discussing it in depth with Jeff (who is also in the midst of creating his own web comic ) I decided to give it a go myself. The picture in this post is pretty much what the lead character is going to look like. The setting will be a Customer Service Tech Support room and "my" character will be pretty much like me, aspiring actor/comic working a day job to pay the bills. I figure it allows for some interesting character dynamics and also storytelling possibilities, in and out of the tech support room. Oh yeah, and I hope it will also be funny.
I spent the past few days making sketches and doodling, trying to come up with a character design and man, the rust was apparent. I was ready to toss my entire sketchbook in the trash and then I stumbled upon the design above. I think it was the dots for eyes that did it for me. It came out looking the most professional and I latched onto that style for the other 3 or 4 characters in the strip.
I'm giving myself a three week deadline to get the first strip online and then hope to have new ones 2-3 times a week. I'm thinking of calling it "Terriyaki Milkshake" which means nothing to most people but has significant meaning to me. There's a restaurant up the street from my apartment and on the sign it offers "burgers, terriyaki, milkshake" with the latter two so close together in the listing it comes off as "terriyaki milkshake" at first glance. I've always wanted to use that title for something, so might as well use it here.
The weekend started off on a good note as my friends were resuming the (pretty much) weekly house poker game. I love playing poker. Not so much for winning money - although I do love that - but moreso for the ritual of it. I love sitting at the table, the felt, having a drink, the chips and trying (unsuccessfully) to shuffle them with one hand. I love the feel of playing poker and the game itself. So I was excited we were starting the games back up.
But damn if I didn't have the worst luck I've had in awhile. I did make an amazing laydown as I had pocket Aces and there was a straight possibility on the table. I made a strong bet which was called immediately by the person to my left. He had the straight. So after much thought and studying his face, I folded. I was right to do so as he DID have the straight. So I was proud of myself for playing so disciplined. But that luck of having good cards and still getting beat followed me all night. I had some strong pocket pairs (the two cards you start with in Hold Em) and they were still getting beat, no matter how strong I bet.
The final straw came when, in the cash game following the tournament, I had pocket Queens. The flop came 3, 7, 10. There was already 5 dollars or so in the pot and the guy still in with me bet 3 more. So, sick of having my pairs cracked all night, I made a big raise of ALL IN with about 18 dollars. I figured it was such a big bet that he would fold, as there was nothing that came on the flop that would beat me. And if he stayed in it was going to be costly. So, of course he called..we flip our cards and he has Jack-ten. So he has a pair of tens and two cards to go.
On the river, he gets a Jack.
And that's poker.
The weekend ended on a good note though. My friend Mike and his wife Linda had a big BBQ yesterday and that was a lot of fun. Good drink, good food and a lot of laughs. Thank God for my sake, no one brought out cards and chips.
After close to a month, I finally got around to seeing FANTASTIC FOUR yesterday. Usually, I'm all over comic book movies (Elektra and Catwoman being notable exceptions) but everything I saw and heard regarding FF left me cold and indifferent. I had a free ticket to AMC in Burbank so that, coupled with the fact that it was Wed. and that means FREE POPCORN for AMC Movie Watcher cardholders, I figured I could see it on the big screen for minimal cost and get a nice snack in the bargain.
I want my free ticket back!!
In an effort to balance my review, let me present the GOOD:
The Johnny Storm/Human Torch character was very well done and I dug the special effects. They dude who played him was also in Not Another Teen Movie (surprisingly funny flic) and he did a great job with the hotshot, cocky Storm and played a pretty funny antagonist to The Thing. Thing/Ben Grimm was also very well done by Michael Chiklis (a fellow Bostonian). The suit came off a lot better on the movie screen than it did in the trailers or on TV. It looked more rocky and not as spongy as I feared.
Um...that's about it. I guess the FF signal sky written in flames was cool. And now the BAD:
There was not story at all. None. On top of that, there was no threat to the city, save for the Fantastic Four themselves. That might have been a nice theme to explore if it had been done purposely. Heroes trying to help but instead exacerbating the problem...but I don't think this ever got that deep. From the cosmic storm that gave them their powers to the big traffic pile-up on the Brooklyn Bridge to the final battle and the property damage that ensues...it was all the FF's fault. They initiated all of the problems and then are lauded as heroes for saving the city. Huh?
And Dr. Doom was just awful. Actually, the Nip/Tuck dude did a good job at the Victor Von Doom character, but once the mask went on and he became Dr. Doom, his voice just didn't fit anymore. He's making puns and suffered from that same disembodied voice that plagued Green Goblin in Spiderman. We can call it "Power Rangers Syndrome".
And what was the deal with making him turn completely into metal? Why? Why couldn't they just cause him to be scarred and use the mask (this Iron Maiden looking death mask that was given to him for his "humanitarian efforts") to cover his scar due to his enormous vanity. Instead, they have him mutate to a completely metal state and then, in an effort to cover it up, PUTS ON A METAL MASK! Why bother? You're already metal!
You may remember the initial trailers for the movie which proclaimed that after the five of them go into space and are hit by the storm:
I'm on my way to my audition on Saturday for a short film and I notice my brakes are acting up. I step on them and for some reason, the ABS cranks and kicks in. And it keeps happening. So I go to my audition (which was a blast) and then take it over to the garage to have it checked out. Two days and $500 later, everything is fixed and back to normal.
I hate shelling out that much money just to have something that you had a few days ago. To pay that much just to get something working again. I have the cash, but I still hate parting with it. So I've taken back to online poker tournaments to replenish my cash supply. I'm already up $200 and that went to my car repair fund. Only $300 to go!
I've had this car for a bit and now I'm wondering on whether it's time to get a new one. Although, the nice thing is I own it outright. No car payments. And that's what is keeping me from making a purchase (and I really want a Mazda RX8 so if anyone knows where I can get a good deal on one, email me!). I like not being tied down to a car payment, it allows a certain amount of freedom. That and I'm just getting around to transferring my plates to CA. I guess that will make my move here officially official.
On the upside I had three theatrical auditions this week. Two for films and one for a Nicklodeon show. I actually had to miss the Nick one as I was sans transport. I didn't mind that as much though...the character was 38-45 in age and someone's dad. I may be able to pass for "young dad" but no way is anyone gonna buy me as some teen's dad. I still would've went though. Why not? Even if I'm woefully not right for the part, I'm just there to do a good job. If they like me, they'll call me in for other stuff. It's like the story about Cillian Murphy auditioning for BATMAN BEGINS. Originally, he auditioned for the part of Bruce Wayne/Batman, but he obviously wasn't right for it. Instead, they liked him so much they had him read for the part of the Scarecrow...and he booked it.
So you never know how things are going to turn out.
Since there isn't a whole lotta exciting or even weird and interesting stuff going on right now, I figured I'd take a moment to talk about one of my favorite television shows. Actually, there are only two shows I'm really watching regularly now, as I would rather just throw in a movie. The two shows are RESCUE ME, Denis Leary's hour drama on FX that revolves around a New York City firehouse, and ENTOURAGE.
