My New Season

I've always been a sucker for the TV series Scrubs. Whenever I'm asked the question (and believe me, I'm asked a lot), "What's your favorite TV show?", I proudly respond, smiling, "Scrubs!". My answer used to be greeted with a warm smile and a hearty laugh: "Yeah, Scrubs is hilarious!" My interrogator and I would then share a few laughs as we reminisced over some of Scrubs' funnier moments.

However, whenever I admitted that in the last couple of years, my answer was met with a frown and a roll of the eyes: "I don't know man, that show used to be good. It's just not funny anymore". But I didn't let up. I didn't name my other favorites when I was asked that frequent question. I didn't replace J.D. with Jack Bauer, Dexter, or the ever-growing cast of Lost. I stayed true to the show. I believed in it's writers. I trusted the cast.

The cast of Scrubs.

But my mockers were not entirely in the wrong when they said that Scrubs used to be funny. It's first season was classic. Establishing the characters and unique style that creator Bill Lawrence envisioned. Seasons two through five were it's golden years, providing us with quintessential episodes like the sitcom episode, also known as My Life In Four Cameras, and the Wizard of Oz episode, also known as My Way Home. They gave us memorable moments like J.D. sabotaging his relationship with Elliott for good, Turk repeatedly asking Carla to marry him, Dr. Cox losing three patients at once, and Dr. Kelso once again taking on the responsibilities of a normal doctor.

These were all important moments in the show's history. They established bonds between the characters and the audience. They were the back bone of the show. After the fifth season, the show's future was put in jeopardy. Thinking that the sixth season would be its last, the writers killed off a lovable character. They were worn out, and you could tell. There was an episode that consisted entirely of clips from previous seasons. They started writing slapstick gags that made no sense whatsoever. When they were given the green light for a seventh season, they ended on a cliffhanger consisting of the same relationship that was sabotaged three seasons earlier.

One of Scrubs' wackier moments.

Season seven was not much better. The network officially announced that this would be Scrubs' final season. They were getting the axe. However, this being the year of Hollywood's infamous writers' strike, the show (once again) was screwed by the network and their series finale was a nothing. A dud. An episode that would have otherwise been a fantastic story.

Although these seasons may not have been as funny as the first five seasons were, they were still Scrubs. The reality and truth that the show was built on was still there. The humanity, the realness of the characters, was still present. And it kept me watching. These were the seasons where we saw the cast sing for twenty minutes in a fantastic episode entitled My Musical. We saw J.D. give birth to his first son and take most of the cast on a road trip in an RV. Maybe these episodes were not as funny, they still never lacked the realism on which the show was built.

After its "series finale", the writers struggled to find a way to end the show properly. NBC wasn't giving them many options or funding. They simply decided to quit on a show that they had backed for seven years. But then something happened that no one expected. ABC, a rival network, showed interest in Scrubs and picked it up for an eighth, and final, season. Once again, Scrubs persevered. Once again, it was getting a final season. And what a final season it was. The eighth season of the show was Scrubs in it's prime again. And the series finale? It was exactly how the series should have ended. Flawless. Picture perfect. We all said goodbye to Scrubs, again.

J.D. and Turk share a goodbye in the series finale of Scrubs.

But ABC was not ready to let it die. They just purchased this show with a strong fan base. They wanted a ninth season. There were problems: the cast wanted to move on. Judy Reyes, Sarah Chalke, and Zach Braff were all ready to put Scrubs behind them and move on to other things. So Mr. Lawrence came up with an alternate idea: a whole new show. Still a medical comedy/drama, Scrubs would now take place in a med school where all of our returning characters (Turk, Cox, and Kelso) would be teaching. It was marketed as a whole new show. Like Frasier was to Cheers.

Braff decided he would come back for six episodes to ease the transition from Scrubs to Scrubs: Med School Edition and the writers began their very difficult task of keeping old fans watching as well as recruiting new ones. The first two episodes aired last week.

I was interested to see how different this new season would be from the old Scrubs. With new cast members in Michael Mosley, Dave Franco, and Kerry Bishe, all as med students, the premise is that the old Sacred Heart was torn down and rebuilt on the med school campus. The old doctors are now professors. Turk is still silly. Cox is still a hard-ass. Kelso still doesn't give a crap. The show feels complete, but we've still got J.D. running around doing his old thing. What about once he's gone? Will the show be able to survive without its leading man?

Scrubs' three new med students (from left to right): Kerry Bishe, Dave Franco, and Michael Mosley.

I liked the first two episodes. They set a tone for the rest of the season which has worked for Scrubs before and it maintained its unique style. My only complaint is with the show's new leading lady: Kerry Bishe, who plays Lucy, or "The new J.D." The problem is that J.D. is a character who is so unique and goofy that he's hard to duplicate. You can't replace J.D. with someone who is exactly like him. The voiceover and the fantasies were just so character-specific that it doesn't work when you try to introduce a new character who is exactly the same. My favorite new character is Drew. Played by Michael Mosley, Drew is a thirty year old med school drop out who is back now to finish his degree. He's pessimistic and doesn't want anything to do with anyone - he just wants to finish school.

The first two episodes were good. I laughed. It was like the old Scrubs despite everyone insisting that it's a new show. I'm going to keep watching because it's essentially the same show it was nine years ago. It has the power to make me laugh and it has the power to make me cry. And the next time someone asks me, "Hey Nick, what's your favorite TV show?". I'll proudly say, "Scrubs".

Writer's Block Un-Blocked

I sometimes feel like I'm not writing material. Sure, I could tell a story, but can I write it well enough?

I currently have two projects on the go:

1) A spec script for Dexter.

2) The first act of an original feature film.

I am pretty confident in my Dexter episode, but then again, it's easy to take characters and relationships that someone else thought up and put them in different situations. Especially in Dexter's case where I have seen almost four seasons of it and am well acquainted with the characters and their habits and behaviors.

Dexter, now a baby daddy, is in his fourth season of television on Showtime.

No, I have no problem writing for Dexter. What gives me that uncomfortable feeling that I am perhaps not good enough for what I want to do is when I settle into something that was born in my own head. An idea. It always starts with an idea. The idea is not the problem, it's the development of that idea that I have trouble with.

So, in an eleventh hour plea for inspiration, I popped in The Devil's Advocate, since my story has to do with the Devil.

Problem: this did not cure my writer's block.

My main issue here is how to draw inspiration from other films but not plagiarize them. I feel that all of the ideas that came after watching The Devil's Advocate were a direct consequence of me watching the film. I felt that even though the ideas were unique to my own premise, they were still too much like the film.

Al Pacino is one terrifying Devil.

And this put questions in my head:

Are the two ideas actually similar or does it just seem like it to me because I just watched the film?

How do I draw inspiration from a film, novel, or television show without using their ideas?

In the end, I decided not to drastically change my story idea therefore making my watching of The Devil's Advocate was rendered useless*.

I found the best cure of writer's block to be talking to someone else about my ideas. Scratch that, not talking to someone, talking at someone. Once I talked through my ideas with a friend, my story practically wrote itself!

How do you handle writer's block? Can you give me advice on better ways to handle it?

*When I say useless, I only mean useless to my own writing. I had never seen the movie and I'm really glad I did because it was a different take on the Devil and how he works. Plus, it was a great film!

United States of Zombieland

Do you ever want to do a thousand things but you never get around to doing them? I find that that problem haunts me more than any other problem I have. I have 4-5 personal project ideas that I really want to develop but for some reason, I just never get around to doing it.

Could it be the heavy work load brought on by my seemingly endless education and time consuming job? Could be, now that I think about it, collectively I've got about one hundred written pages due, a thousand pages in readings, and five major events to run... all in the remaining two weeks of November!

My head in 3...2...1

On top of that, I'm keeping up with my favorite Television shows and trying to stay fresh with what's new out of Hollywood.

Surely, with all of this on my plate, something has to be pushed back.

Unfortunately, that something was my TV shows and Movies. I have a back-up of episodes to watch from V, Fringe, Flashforward, Dexter, and Californication. Also, season 9 of Scrubs starts up on December 1st and a slew of good movies has hit theaters. The one I let slip the most, and I regret this deeply, was Zombieland.

Despite being released on October 2nd, I didn't get to see Zombieland until two nights ago.

What. A. Movie. Not only was it action packed and gory, it was hilarious! Woody Harrelson stole the show with his badass, zombie-killing character Tallahassee. I suddenly have a new found respect for Woody Harrelson and a burning desire to see every movie he's ever made (including all of his episodes on Cheers).

The film follows Columbus, a college student, as he tries to make his way home from his dorm room in Texas in the deserted United States of America--err, scratch that--United States of Zombieland. The lonely Columbus seems to be dying for company which is probably why he so gladly brings the audience along for his adventure, explaining on the way, his seemingly endless list of rules on how to survive the zombie apocalypse. Once he finds friends in Tallahassee and a team of untrustworthy sisters, Wichita and Little Rock, Columbus discovers that his home town is a ghost town, and this unlikely foursome travel the country together.

The team of survivors in Zombieland (from left to right): Columbus, Wichita, Little Rock, and Tallahassee.

This movie had me laughing so hard I was in tears. And each character had their story which was nice and helped the audience connect with each character individually and understand how they came to be where they are.

Seeing this film inspired me. Remember those 4-5 personal projects I mentioned earlier? One of them has to do with zombies. It's just been an idea that's been boiling over in my head for weeks and weeks. After seeing this film, I'm eager to explore this idea more. But first, I need to do research.

Since I was never bit by the zombie craze (get it? bit?), I don't know much about them except that every film or novel has a different interpretation.

Can you suggest any zombie material that you know of to help me with my research?

I'm a Nick who Won a Computer!

I don't know if you guys remember me posting about this but a few months ago I entered a YouTube contest put on by HP that was called "You On You". Basically, the objective was to describe who you are in sixty seconds without showing your face.

So I threw a little something together, uploaded it, and started a massive facebook campaign to get votes so I could win something. Well.. guess what? I won something! I am blogging now from my brand new HP Pavilion Artist's Edition Notebook!

My entry in the HP You on You contest. It's titled I'm a Nick.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who voted. I didn't win any of the huge prizes but I got into the Top 100. The Top 100 entries were the entries that got the most votes. So thank you everyone who voted for me to get me into the Top 100. I really, really appreciate it!

I received the laptop yesterday in this packaging:

I opened it up...

and lifted the lid...

This is a limited edition laptop by HP and it came loaded with free video, photo, and sound editing software. At first I wasn't crazy about the designs that came along with it but they're starting to grow on me. I don't mind them as much anymore.

The designs on either side of the keyboard for the HP Artist's Edition Notebook.

It's a pretty powerful computer. It came with a 500GB hard drive and 4.00GB of RAM (Sorry to bore you all with technical specifications but that's REALLY GOOD). It also has a graphics card that, unlike my old computer, will actually let me play games.

FINALLY.

I've got a slew of games lined up starting with LOST: Via Domus and followed by Left For Dead and then Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

This computer will not only be good for games. With more memory, I will have an easier time running video editing software meaning I could edit videos with more ease and comfort.

Stay tuned for some more of my projects!

V is for Visitors

Amidst the candy eating, constant school work, and late night/early morning fire alarms, I seem to have once again neglected to blog. But I am back, and what has brought me back is ironically the thing that eats up most of my time: TV.

I just watched the pilot episode for ABC's new...ish series about visitors from another planet, V.



Now I say new-ish because the show is actually a remake of a 1984 TV series of the same name. I haven't seen the original - yet - so I can't make a comparison with its remake - yet.

The show is about an alien population, who call themselves the Visitors or Vs, coming to Earth and asking humans for water and food in exchange for technological information that they say will benefit the human population. They have several ships hovering over all of the world's major cities (think District 9 but not just in Johannesburg) and their leader, who goes by the name of Anna, comes down to Earth to meet with the world's leaders.

As the episode progresses, we learn that these aliens are not what they seem to be and that they cannot be trusted. A determined FBI Agent, Erica Evans, is tracking a terrorist cell when she finds intel about a secret meeting. She goes to the meeting location and discovers that it is not a terrorist cell at all: it is a group of civilians teaming up to begin a resistance against the aliens. Erica learns that there are Visitors living amongst humans, in disguise. Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by a group of the Visitors, one of them being Erica's partner at the FBI.

A Visitor's spaceship hovering over one of the world's major cities.

So far, the show has made an impression on me. A good one. Despite it being slow in the beginning, it really gained momentum near the end. The last half hour had me glued to the TV. That being said, it could have definitely used a two hour season premiere as opposed to just one. It would have hooked the audience more and made more of a first impression on them.

I say this because the pilot episode did not give the audience enough character development to make them care. In order to tune in to a show every week, an audience needs to care about the characters and what happens to them. I found Erica to be very bland. She reminds me of a less aggressive Olivia Dunham. Although I do have to say that Elizabeth Mitchell plays a much better Erica than she does Juliette. Logan Huffman plays Erica's son Tyler, an angsty teen who lashes out at his mother because of her absence in his life. He decides it's a smart idea to become a "Peace Ambassador" for the Visitors, mostly because his mother is not comfortable with them.

Erica Evas > Juliet Burke

Joel Gretsch plays a cynical priest who is only trying to do the right thing. The writers did well creating conflict in this character who, in the beginning is doubting the existence of God because of this extraterrestrial life. Soon enough, he is dragged into the resistance, kicks some Visitor ass, and decides that he will fight to defeat the Visitors.

We then have Georgie and Ryan, played by David Richmond-Peck and Morris Chestnut respectively, two old friends who seem to have lived through something similar before. Ryan is engaged and working a decent job, and wants nothing to do with Georgie. However, this is complicated by the fact that Ryan is in fact a Visitor who is helping the humans.

Finally, we have Chad Decker, an ambitious reporter played by Scott Wolf. Chad is handpicked by Anna to do a one-on-one interview with her so she could communicate with people all around the world. However, right before the interview starts, in a scene that is arguably the best scene in the entire episode, Anna tells him that he cannot ask her any questions that would portray the visitors in a negative light. He tries to resist but she threatens to cancel the interview. Chad had two options here: accept this rule and be seen by billions of people worldwide or stay true to his own beliefs and turn down the exposure. He chooses the exposure.

Chad Decker, ambitious reporter

Chad is, in my opinion, the most interesting character in the show so far and I'm hoping that as the season progresses, we get to see that all of the characters are like Chad is, conflicted and pushing for more. I'm just not getting my hopes up because network television has let me down on so many levels. V is certainly better than ABC's other new drama, FlashForward. I will tune back in next week to see just how many of these Visitors are already on Earth.

I'm still trying to decide whether I watch the old series now or if I should wait until this one ends. What do you guys think?

"We come in peace" - Anna

Dream of Californication

David Duchovny has come a long way since his days as the timid Fox Mulder on the 90s scariest television show. In his current role, Duchovny plays the obnoxious Hank Moody: a writer who despises Hollywood despite having sold out to it, drinks his weight in whiskey, hides weed in his typewriter, and constantly chases after his ex-girlfriend. Duchovny is the star of Showtime's hit show Californication.

Season 3, now on Showtime.

In the first two seasons of the vulgar show, Moody:

1) Struggled to write a new novel after a Hollywood adaptation ruined his last one. While doing this he is trying to win his girlfriend back before she ties the knot with another man and be a good father to his pre-teen daughter.

2) Met a rock star and wrote his autobiography. After winning back his girlfriend, he struggles to keep her and he's still trying to be a good role model for his daughter.

You see, Hank has a hard time being a role model because he constantly drinks, smokes, and has sex with women he just met. He is shameless and is no good at hiding it from his daughter. The third season, which just started, is the first that has (so far) been without Natascha McElhone, who plays Moody's longtime love interest Karen. The premise is that she is gone to New York for a new job. Left behind in California are Hank and his daughter Becca, played by the very convincing Madeleine Martin.

Madeleine Martin and Natascha McEhlhone on Californication.

This is the first time that we've seen Hank trying to raise his daughter by himself and so far he's doing a miserable job. In the first episode he caught her smoking pot with a friend and the second episode ended with him throwing her cell phone against the wall and yelling "I hate you too!" while she runs to her room.

The first episode was, in a word, hilarious. The irony of Hank throwing a lit cigarette at the man whose house he would be eating at that evening was great! And then he re-awakes an alcohol addiction in a high-class college professor. When it is established that this professor will have to go back to rehab, the teaching job is then offered to Hank.

Professor Richard Bates unveils his "mangina" at a dinner party after rekindling
his love for whiskey in the season premiere of Californication.

The second episode gives us a glimpse of Hank's first days on the job. In this little while, Hank manages to hit on one of his sexier students, drink during his office hours, smoke up before a meeting with the Dean, and push a student to the brink of suicide. I believe it is a blend of his brutal honesty and obnoxiousness that bring about these situations in his life.

Even though this all seems a little ridiculous and unbelievable, it just works so well because the writing is just fantastic! Hank Moody is a sex addict, alcoholic, and pot head yet we're drawn to him and we want him to succeed in all of his endeavors. How can this be!? The writers have just created a character that is so complex. Despite the horrible side to Hank Moody, there is a certain humanity that appeals to us that we just can't ignore. We see the father who is desperately trying to connect with his daughter. We see the man who regrets decisions from his past and just wants his girlfriend back. It is these simple things that the audience can relate to and therefore take Hank's side.

David Duchovny as the complex Hank Moody in Californication.

On top of the character, each season has one overarching story line (much like Dexter, post on that coming soon). The overarching story progresses a little further with each episode and there are smaller sub plots that begin and end in the same episode. This keeps us interested in the larger story of the season and it keeps the show fresh with new content and characters.

I love this show. I think it gets better and better with each season. The writing is witty and the acting is authentic. It's vulgar, disgusting, and hilarious. Kudos, Showtime, for bringing us yet another great show. If you do not watch this show, I suggest you start because you're missing out on what great television really is.

Goodbye Summer... Hello TV!

In the past two weeks I have:
a) Eaten all the food in my place.
b) Spent all the money I had in my bank account.
c) Watched The Godfather Part 1, 2, and 3.
d) Watched the complete 3rd season of Dexter.

Okay, the 3rd season of Dexter was watched in the last three days, not two weeks. But can you imagine watching twelve hours of mind-blowing television with no junk food to munch on at all!? I vowed to never do such a thing again.

Today I spent about an hour and a half at the grocery store, stocking up for the next few weeks of season premiers, movie nights, and old school cartoon marathons. So as soon as I came home, with a room full of food, I put on the first two episodes of the second season of Fringe.

Peter, Olivia, and Walter are back!

Fringe's season finale last year left me with wide eyes and a jaw hung open. It answered questions that were brought forth all season and, despite its cliff-hanger ending, left me satisfied...more so than the ending of the first season of Lost anyways. So I had high hopes for this new season and its capability to push the laws of science even further and see how much the audience would believe. And I have to say...

I'm disappointed. The last season ended on such a high note (SPOILER ALERT): Olivia Dunham meeting with William Bell on the top floor of the World Trade Center in an alternate universe. It left me in wonder. It left me in awe. It left me craving more. So I was really looking forward to at least partial answers to some of these questions:

• How do people travel back and forth between all the alternate universes?
• WHAT THE EFF happened to the Peter Bishop from the universe we're in that Walter had to bring the other Peter Bishop over?
• What is going on in the alternate universe that Olivia and William Bell were in? What kind of world is it? What are some of its current events?

To be honest with you, I was expecting this season to take place mostly in the alternate universe answering those questions. And yes, I knew they wouldn't all come in the first two episodes but to not even mention it? That's just cold.

The first episode was effective enough. It established that Olivia didn't remember anything and was being tracked down by a shape-shifter being who would take the form of the last human he hooked his thinger-ma-jigger up to. The FBI was threatening to close down the Fringe division (similar to what happens in every other season of the X-Files). The episode ended on a cliff-hanger. I was okay with it. I didn't think the first episode was that bad.

The shape-shifting device used in Episode One of Fringe's second season.

Now for the second episode. I found this one to be long and boring. It told the story of a man who had genetically mutated his unborn son so that the kid would survive the childbirth (the mother had lupus therefore she couldn't give birth). The mother died while giving birth and, it was assumed, so did the child. Now, seventeen years later, people are disappearing in a small county in Pennsylvania. This half-human half-scorpion is living underground beneath his father's house and feasting on humans there. Peter and Olivia decide to go down and check it out. My biggest problem with this episode was that it felt as if I had seen it before. And I sort of have.

In the eighth season of the X-Files, there was an episode titled Patience that took place in Idaho about a genetically mutated human living underground, killing the people of a small community. This mutant was half-human half-bat but the resemblance is still too close for me. Everyone's comparing Fringe and the X-Files and now the writers of Fringe are giving us more and more reasons to do so. Not only was this episode boring, it had nothing to do with any of the Fringe mythology. No references to the pattern, the Fringe division being almost shut down, Massive Dynamic, William Bell, etc. We got to see more of the shape-shifters actions and Nina Sharp giving Olivia the name of a man who can help her overcome her symptoms of traveling between dimensions which include super-hearing powers. That was the extent of the mythology in the episode.

Other observations of the new season? Walter is a little more ridiculous in some of his dialogue but I like it still. He's always been funny and they're just pushing that a bit further.

And did anyone catch the X-Files shout out in the first episode?

Mulder and Scully on TV in Fringe!

STORY - Substance, Structure, Style, and The Principles of Screenwriting

So this year I am throwing myself into the world of screenwriting as I have at least two classes at all times until the end of the academic year.

Last week, I had a reading assigned to me from Robert McKee's very popular screenwriting book STORY - Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Now when I say very popular screenwriting book, I mean very popular screenwriting book. It is the winner of the International Moving Image Book Award and has giant advertisements in every screenwriting magazine I've read.


So I open this book and start reading. The introduction hooked me right away. In it were eight statements about Story:

Story is about principles, not rules.

Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.

Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.

Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.

Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.

Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.

Story is about originality, not duplication.


Now, one could argue that these statements are made about McKee's book, since it is titled "Story" but I like to think that he's talking about actual stories. Everyone of these statements made me think of all of the current scripts I have in progress right now to see if they apply. Some of them do, some of them don't.

And it can be very hard to follow these "guidelines". Especially in today's world where there are so many stories circulating via film, novels, video games, music, and many more mediums, it is hard to come up with a story that is original. And then respect for the audience. As a storyteller, I get so caught up in my own world and the world of my story that I forget about the audience and just think about how I would like my story to go. Don't get me wrong, I will not write my story based on what an audience would want, but it's very important to keep them in mind while you're writing.

So thank you Robert McKee for opening my eyes a little more to the world of the storyteller. I very much enjoyed the introduction to your book.

Moving on the first chapter, this was a different story. The first chapter, titled The Story Problem, is McKee rambling bitterly about how writers these days are just not the same and how the "craft has been lost". Overall, it was a negative view on the screenwriting industry today. Since it's an industry I plan on entering, a negative insight on it isn't what I'm looking for. Where's the good!?

I haven't read any further than that yet though but I sure hope it turns around to something more positive.

Have you read any of Robert McKee's Story? What do you think?

My Return to Blogging!

So for the past month or so I've been feeling like part of me is missing. I realized, it was blogging. I have had a CRAZY month full of ups and downs and side to sides that I just couldn't fit blogging into my schedule. However, I am back. Fear not, dear followers. This post marks my return to blogging and I promise right now to never take a leave of absence like that again! Here are a couple of things that happened in the past week:

- I moved into my Don suite in residence! This is a giant room that I am living in for the year while I am a Don (or R.A.) in my residence!

- Blink 182 live. That's right. I got tickets to see the comeback concert of one of my favorite bands! It. Was. Awesome! They got on stage and acted like they were 18 again. It was fantastic. There was no mention of their "hiatus", they just got on stage and played.. or as Tom put it, they "impregnated us with their music". And for the Encore, we got to see this:

That's right, I got to see Travis Barker's floating drum solo! They ended the show on "Dammit" and "Carousel" and left me in awe, patiently waiting for new material.

- Don Training was about 12+ hours of intense training for 8 days. They trained us to deal with all sorts of crises and situations. It was nuts.

- Move in / Frosh Week: A fantastic time that I have experienced from almost every angle now (as a first year, a frosh boss, and a Don). I had a blast.

- Classes started up which meant a return to hardcore school-going. I'm in a lot of writing classes this year so I'm pretty excited to post some samples of my work.

So stay tuned! I've been watching a lot of movies and have a lot to comment on! I missed you interwebz. I'm glad we've been reunited!

HP You on You: I'm a Nick

Hello all! I recently discovered this YouTube contest being put on by Hewlett-Packard. I made a video and entered the contest. Basically I had to describe who I am in sixty seconds without showing my face. This made me question myself: Who am I? The result is here:




I put a lot of time into the video and I am very proud of it. But I need your help, dear reader.

If you like my video, it would be greatly appreciated if you went to YouTube and rated my video 5 stars. You see, the finalists and winners are in large part decided by the community votes. So please, if you like my video, head on down and rate it here!

Thank you so much!

First Sample of my Work

So i've been blogging for quite a while now and I feel it's about the right time to post some samples of my writing. I've been taking a Screenwriting class over at scriptforsale.com called BizofScreenwriting. The samples I am posting are the first three assignments that we were given. I posted three scenes from the same script. I am posting them in chronological order, but they were not written that way. There is some vulgar language so if you're offended by bad words, I suggest probably not reading.

FADE IN--

EXT. GAS STATION - DAY - A FEW WEEKS LATER

A small station wagon is parked outside of a gas station. The
engine is running.

INT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Three men sit in the car. BILL is sitting in the drivers seat. He is
fiddling with the radio. He will listen to one station for a
few seconds while looking around the parking lot, and then
change it. He does this over and over again.

In the passenger seat, CURLY (mid-40s, messy hair, casually
dressed) rolls his eyes.

CURLY
Jesus Christ man shut that fuckin'
thing off!

Bill turns off the radio.

BILL
(Quietly.)
Sorry.

CURLY
Okay, are we ready?

Bill starts to pace in his seat nervously. His hands begin to
tap the steering wheel impatiently.

BILL
(Keeping his lips sealed.)
Mhmm.

Curly notices his nervous twitches.

CURLY
Oh you're not gonna get cold feet
on me are you? Look man, if you
fuckin' bolt while I'm in there--

BILL
I'm fine.

CURLY
You don't look fine. You're
sweatin' like a pig.

Bill takes a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wipes
the sweat off of his forehead.

BILL
It's hot, that's all.

CURLY
You've got the fuckin' air
conditioning on full blast!

BILL
Look I'm fine.

CURLY
You said you needed this.

BILL
I do.

CURLY
Okay, so let's go over it again.

In the backseat, SCAR (50s, short hair, long scar down the
side of his face, big build) sits calmly looking out the
window at the gas station.

BILL
(Impatiently.)
You go in...(he swallows with
difficulty) do your thing... you
get back in the car and I drive
away.

CURLY
Right.

Curly goes to open the door.

BILL
But what's this guy here for?

Bill motions to the back of the car.

CURLY
Scar here's got some talents that
might come in handy.

Curly smiles and leaves the vehicle. When the door closes, a
tense silence sets in. Bill wipes the sweat off of his
forehead again and goes back to tapping on the steering
wheel. Scar continues to look out the window calmly.

Bill looks at Scar in the rearview mirror.

BILL
So what's this special talent that
you've got?

Silence.

BILL
Not a talker huh?

Silence. Bill rolls his eyes. He reaches to turn on the
radio.

SCAR
Don't.

Bill stops and takes his hand away.

BILL
Sorry.

Silence. Bill is so restless that he can't stop moving. His
nerves are getting worse.

BILL
I'm not actually a thief.

He checks both of his side mirrors and then looks again in
the rearview.

BILL
I just lost my job and--you know-
gotta pay those bills!

He laughs nervously. No reaction from Scar.

Suddenly Curly is urgently knocking on the passenger side's
window. Bill unlocks the door and Curly jumps in.

CURLY
DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!

Bill can't move. He is panick-stricken.

BILL
Why!? What's wrong!?

CURLY
THE SONOFABITCH HAS A SHOTGUN!
DRIVE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!

A LOUD BANG is heard and the backseat window SHATTERS as a
bullet goes through it. The two men in the front seat put
their heads between their knees.

BILL
SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!

In the backseat, Scar reaches for the door handle.

EXT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Scar exits the vehicle and pulls a handgun out of his jacket.
He points it over the car at the GAS STATION EMPLOYEE and
fires once. The bullet goes right through the man's forehead
and he falls to the ground.

INT. CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS

Scar re-enters the car and closes the door. There is a
silence. Bill is afraid to move.

SCAR
Drive!

Bill puts the car in "Drive" and pulls out of the gas
station.


FADE OUT.



EDIT: I realized that my post was TOO long, so I edited it to just include one of the scenes.

Rewatch: "The Sixth Sense"

I recently watched The Sixth Sense again, longing for the days when M. Night Shyamalan wrote good movies. And I must say, what a good movie he wrote!

I hadn't seen the movie in almost ten years (since it first came out) and all I remembered from it was its infamous twist ending so I was in dire need of this rewatch.

The script was amazing. The subtle signs and foreshadowing that are given to the viewer leave one in awe. Structurally, the script is perfect. He gives the right pieces of information at the right time and strings the viewer along this way. Just when the last interesting thing was over, BAM! You're hit with something new. For example, we know something's wrong with Cole right from the start. He's a strange, strange kid and we see this through many events (his episode in the class room: "Stuttering Stanley!", the birthday party, etc.). But just as we are getting tired of seeing all of his weird antics, we're hit with the problem ("I see dead people"). Some writers string the viewer along for too long, losing their interest; and others don't do it for long enough, failing to grasp the interest of the viewer. But Shyamalan gives us just the right dose to keep us in it.

Secondly, the movie could almost be split into 2 separate films. The first half of the film is a character piece about both Cole and Malcolm. We find out Cole's secret, Malcolm abandons him, and the film could have ended right there. Not too satisfying of an ending but I've seen much worse. The second half of the film is Cole dealing with his problem. He starts to help the ghosts that come to him. Notice that from the beginning to the end, the story, and the goal of the protagonist, has changed. This is how you keep an audience's attention. If you spend an hour and a half on one thing (in this case it would be Cole's secret), the audience gets bored. By changing the direction in which the film is going, and throwing unexpected twists at the audience (Malcolm deciding to help Cole, Cole taking Malcom's advice), the writer was able to keep their attention the whole time.

Now let's move on to the twist ending. What amazes me most is that there are signs throughout the whole film that indicate Malcom's fate and the viewer just never catches on. Look closely: whenever there is a ghost around, the color red is present. Everytime Malcolm is onscreen (and I watched for this), something red is in the area. The doorknob to his basement office is red for christ sakes. Once we find out Cole's secret, it is almost obvious Malcolm is dead...if you know what to look for. The only person who looks at Malcolm is Cole. In his many encounters with his wife, never once does she look at him. Sitting in the living room with Cole's mom, they were not speaking and she wasn't looking at him. If you look closely after the shooting, Malcolm doesn't wear his wedding ring. There are many shots of his naked left hand, which is an indication that he is no longer with his wife. The brilliance in the script is that Shyamalan was able to cover this all up with the rest of the film. It's deception. He had the audience's attention on Cole the whole time when the really interesting bit was Malcolm. When you don't know where to look, you wouldn't believe how much you miss.

The acting in this film was excellent. Genuine, to say the least. Little Haley Joel Osment was terrifying and is probably the reason why quiet little kids scare me these days. Bruce Willis delivered probably the best dramatic performance of his career. And even the supporting cast did a great job (Toni Collette as Lynn Sear, Cole's mother, and Olivia Williams as Anna Crowe, Malcolm's wife). One of the cast members said they didn't know the film was a horror until they saw the final product so during shooting, they treated it as a drama. Perhaps that's one of the reasons the performances felt so real. Generally, acting for horror films is very over-the-top and cheesy (see any Horror flick of the 21st century).

The Sixth Sense got six well-deserved Oscar nominations in 1999 including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Writing - Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It is one of only four horror films to get a nomination for best picture. It didn't win any Oscars, but that could be because it was up against American Beauty that year. No other film had any chance.

And as for you M. Night Shyamalan, you're trying too hard now. I believe after the Sixth Sense, his next attempt at a horror with a twist was The Village and I think the world would be better off if that film hadn't been made. Since then it's just been one bad movie after another. My suggestion? Take a break and stop trying so hard. I find that even with my writing, if I'm trying to write something a certain way, I fail every time. You just have to write what comes out of you and stop trying to tell yourself to write a certain way.

What drives me nuts about this guy is that it feels like he's making movies just for the sake of making them now. There is no meaning to them and they're boring. Make something meaningful to you, who cares if it's not a horror or doesn't have a twist ending. Movies aren't (or shouldn't be..who am I kidding we all know they totally are) about money. And audiences can tell when it's meaningless.

Anywho, great movie. Watch it again if you haven't seen it in ten years and appreciate the writing! I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.

Alive in Joburg: A Short Film by Neill Blomkamp

Just as a follow up to my District 9 review, I thought I'd post the short film on which it is based. Blomkamp made this in 2005. It is called "Alive in Joburg". Enjoy!

Film Review: District 9

Just when you thought sci-fi has run its course, a film like District 9 hits theaters. Sci-fi thrillers about aliens have been done. And then they were done again. And again. And again. And we've had some real gems through them all (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, Independance Day, etc.) but for the most part, and especially recently, alien flicks have become cheesy and repetitive.

Up and coming filmmakers must think to themselves: "How can I break this pattern? What can I do that will set my film apart from the rest?"

Neil Blomkamp has answered those questions and the result is a fantastically written, captivating story called District 9.

In the film, a massive alien ship enters Earths atmosphere and hovers calmly over the city of Johannesburg. It sits there for three months before humans decide that something must be done and they force their way in. Inside, they find rotting extraterrestrials. So the humans set up a ghetto-like camp in the city of Johannesburg where these aliens reside for a little over twenty years. Throughout this time, tension rises in the city as the extraterrestrials and humans clash. Riots break out. People die (alien and human). The human population decides that the aliens must be moved outside of the city. MNU (Multi-National United), a private international company, was contracted with the eviction of the aliens to a location outside of the city.

Wikus Van De Merwe, our protagonist, is put in charge of the operation. He is soon thrust into an incredible situation where (without giving too much away) he has to help the aliens escape as MNU is performing terrible experiments on them.

Blomkamp created an amazing universe here. And the most amazing thing about it is that it's so much like our own. Born in South Africa, his inspiration for the film was drawn from his experience growing up through the end of apartheid and the toll it took on the country.

Newcomer Sharlto Coply played the part of Wikus flawlessly. From the comedy to the dramatic, he didn't miss a beat. The confused Wikus often doesn't know which side he's on or who to relate to. Before, he believed what he was told to believe and you really feel the indecision in the character right to the final battle.

The film was told documentary style and just the right amount of information was given to the audience at just the right times. There's some forshadowing to pick up on and there's also a lot of irony which gave the script a lot of depth.

The aliens themselves are completely CGI but Blomkamp does such a great job personifying them that you don't even notice. Through the documentary footage at the beginning of the film, the aliens are portrayed as wild, evil creatures. The humans called them "prawns", a derogatory term that was picked up because of their shellfish look. However, as the film progresses, we see a race much like our own, just trying to get by on what they can. They are confused as to why they are being moved. We become familiar with a father who is looking after his son. He treats his son much like a human father would: with compassion. He is trying to keep him safe at all costs. I've read some reviews where the reviewer says that it is hard to relate to these aliens because of their tentacles and overall disgusting body. This is not true. They have big eyes that portray a lot of emotion. All you have to do is look in there and you can relate.

You will find yourself rooting for the alien species. The film does not portray the humans in a good light, but a true one. Because of their difference, we isolate these beings and take what we can from them. We steal their powerful weapons (which can only be operated by one with the alien DNA), we experiment on their bodies and their technology, and we cage them off from the rest of the world. Sure, one could call it a defense mechanism but I see it as more taking advantage of a weaker species. Selfish, I suppose, would be the best way to describe it.

I told my friend on the way home that if you took out the aliens and replaced them with humans, the film would make just as much sense. It is about accepting difference no matter colour or race. It's about equality and compassion. This movie is packed full of meaning that there is no way it could be analyzed after one viewing. I look forward to seeing it again. And keep an eye out for that Neil Blomkamp. I guarantee that he will make a huge impact on the film industry.

If you haven't seen this movie, I urge you to go to the theatre and see it! It is a unique experience (one that I'm sure won't be recognised by the Academy) and you won't regret it. By far, the best film this summer.

10 out of 10.

Les Paul dies at 94

Les Paul, guitar legend and inventor, died yesterday at the age of 94 from problems with pneumonia. Paul was famous for inventing the solid body electric guitar, a famous guitar which was used by many famous guitar heroes such as Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and Pete Townshend of the Who. He also had a hand in developing multi-track recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording (source).






Pictured here is the Gibson Les Paul. The sound is just amazing from this guitar. No wonder the rock stars took a liking to it. It is no cheap piece of equipment either, selling at about $3,500US. After his death, I would not be surprised if Gibson boosted that price another thousand dollars or so.


Paul was also a pioneer of guitar amplification. So all of you parents who are kicking yourselves for buying your kid that amp for his electric guitar because he keeps making that extremely loud fuzzy noise which doesn't sound like music at all, you can thank Les Paul for inventing both of those pieces of equipment.

In 2005, at the age of 90, Les Paul released a new album titled Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played, which was his first album with original material since 1977 and his first official rock CD. The album featured great guitarists such as Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton. The album won a couple Grammys. Now hold on a minute, he put out a grammy-winning rock album at the age of 90!?! That, my friends, is an accomplishment. To top it off too, he was crippled by arthritis in his left hand many years ago so he can't play the crazy fast riffs that he used to but still - HE PUT OUT A ROCK ALBUM AT THE AGE OF 90!

All of his inventions contributed to the rise of rock n' roll starting in the 50s. So for that, Mr. Paul, I thank you. Thank you for giving Jimmy Page the tools he needed to create Stairway to Heaven. Thank you for giving musicians a new way to express themselves. Thank you for sharing your love and passion for music. You will be missed. Rest in Peace.

But since when does a guitar legend live to be 94!? Shouldn't he have died from a heroine overdose like 50 years ago!?

'Scar Tissue' to become HBO Mini Series

Hi readers!

Sorry I've been gone for so long - been super busy (preparing a massive post about my four day vacation to NYC!)

I just came across this on the interwebz:

"Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is developing a series for HBO based on his unconventional, rock 'n' roll childhood.

Kiedis has partnered with Catapult 360 partners Marc Abrams and Michael Benson to create the series, tentatively titled 'Scar Tissue.'

Abrams and Benson are scouting for a writer to pen the script, which will center on Kiedis' relationship with his father, Spider, who sold drugs and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into showbiz.

The show will begin with young Kiedis moving from Grand Rapids, Mich., to West Hollywood to live with his dad. But Kiedis' father, having been raised in a tyrannical household, decided to go to the other extreme." (source)

This is exciting (and apparently old) news! One thing not included in this article is that they did find a writer in John Sayles who penned scripts such as "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and "Sunshine State".

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been one of my favorite bands since I read Kiedis' autobiography 'Scar Tissue':

This book was captivating. Not only did it let us peek into the life of a recovering drug addict, it also gave us a breakdown of what it's like coming up in the rock n' roll world. It spent time as #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List and let's us into Keidis' life. And not just the bad boy rocker, but the man himself, who struggled with heroine for many years and shared friendships with some of the great icons of the 90s (such as Kurt Cobaine and Cher).

This miniseries sounds like it's going to be fantastic! Thank God it's on HBO where they censor less and give us a more realistic portrayal of Keidis' childhood. It will concentrate more on Keidis' years growing up with his father and less on his rock n' roll adulthood. I'm totally cool with that. Considering his father dealt drugs to The Who and Led Zeppelin, this should make for some pretty good TV!

If you haven't read the book, read it! It's just fantastic!

-------------------------------------

EDIT: I just read on Ultimate Guitar that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are ending their two year hiatus! They plan to reconvene in October and begin work on a new album. What a great day for Chili Pepper news! Whatta yall think?

Album Review: Our Lady Peace's "Burn, Burn"

Recently, Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace released their seventh studio album titled "Burn, Burn":



So I bought the album a couple of weeks ago and I've held off writing a review because I wanted to listen to it through several times and get a real feel for the album before judging it.

Our Lady Peace has always been one of my favorite bands. So it was really tough for me seeing their last studio album ("Healthy in Paranoid Times") take such a toll on them. Without going into too much detail on why that album was so bad, let's just say that "Burn, Burn" is a step up.

In the months leading up to the album release, the band kept insisting that this album was their return to the "Clumsy" and "Naveed" days:

"We've come full circle and the music is just stripped down, full of raw energy. It feels like a proper rock record again" -Raine Maida (source)

...Ah, those were the days. The album, however, is no "Clumsy". When the band compares it to their previous albums, I feel like they are making reference to the way it was made: just five guys in a room playing music. It was self produced (Producing credits went to "Raine Maida and Our Lady Peace") and was completely recorded and mixed in Raine's personal studio in his home. Their last two albums, the most mainstream and shallow of all seven, were produced by rock producer Bob Rock who helped OLP reach mainstream status with their hit "Somewhere Out There" off of their album "Gravity". I have to say, ditching the big time producer was a good move on the band's part.

The album kicks off with the first single and the somewhat poppy "All You Did Was Save My Life". This song is not a song that would have found itself on "Clumsy". It reminds me more of their later days stuff. But even though it seems like a simple song about a relationship, something tells me there is more to it than that. It's packed full of symbolism and is actually pretty catchy. To be honest, the whole album is packed full of symbolism.

The profound "Dreamland" and the paranoid "Monkey Brains" are heavier and more OLP-ish than their last album ever was. The bass line and lyrics in "Money Brains" give the listener a tingle down their spine as the song creates an uncomfortable atmosphere. "The End is Where We Begin" and "White Flags" are upbeat, catchy, and seemingly more optimistic.

The anchor of the album, however, is the final song "Paper Moon". This is the song that reminds me the most of the "Clumsy" days. It is without a doubt my favourite song on the album, with a simple guitar riff (but complex solo), heavy drumbeat, captivating lyrics, and Raine's amazing vocals.

Overall, I like the album. I've been reading a lot of bad reviews and people calling it "mediocre". It will not be in the mainstream but when was Our Lady Peace ever in the mainstream? Especially in the new millenium? Their golden era was in the 90s when "Superman's Dead" and "Clumsy" were circulating on the airwaves.

I give it 3 out of 4 stars. The band has changed since "Clumsy". The music has changed with them. There are still hints of the old Our Lady Peace in the new music which is nice to see but I don't think we'll ever have another album out of them like "Clumsy". I'm satisfied with this though, as long as we don't get another "Healthy in Paranoid Times"!

The Trilogy Post Part Three: The Food

At last, the finale to my Trilogy Post!

I apologize for the tardiness of it, I have had quite a busy week.

So last Friday Aleks and I enjoyed the Summerlicious Menus downtown Toronto at the Royal York's branch of Benihana. It was great!

For those of you who don't know, Benihana is a Japanese restaurant where the cooking of your food is done right in front of you! Normally a very expensive restaurant, a three course meal only cost us 45$ a person. The summerlicious menu was as follows:

California Roll
Crab Stick, Masago, Avocado, Cucumber
or
Vegetable Tempura
Asparagus, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Potato, Red and Green Peppers, Broccoli, House Made Tempura Sauce
or
Spicy Avocado Roll
Pineapple, Cucumber, Chili-Lime Mayo



Main course is prepared at your table and served with Japanese Onion Soup, Benihana Salad, Shrimp Appetizers, Hibachi Vegetables, and Rice:

Teriyaki Chicken
or
Vegetarian Saishoku
or
Hibachi Steak
or
Teriyaki Steak



Mandarin Orange Cheesecake
Grand Marnier Anglaise
or
Mango Pot de Crème
or
Green Tea Ice Cream

(source)

This is probably one of the coolest restaurants I've ever been to. The chefs basically put on a show for you with the way they cook. The way it works is that they sit you at a table that holds 7 people, like this:


They then serve you your starters. When you've eaten your starters, the chef makes his way to your table and begins cooking the entree meal for all seven people. The center of the table (see the metal part in the picture) heats up and turns into their grill. They cut everything up, throw some of it in the air, play with their knives. It's quite the show!

If I were a food critic, I would give the food at this joint 4 out of 4! It was fantastic! I had the Avocado Rolls as a starter (some of the best sushi I've ever had) and ordered Steak Teryaki as my entree. The steak was amazing! I loved it! Aleks had the Vegetable Tempura as her starter and opted to go with the Chicken Teryaki which she enjoyed as much as I enjoyed my steak! The amount of food they give you is unreal! It was hard to eat all of the meat and veggies that came on your plate!

The food, as well as awesome tablemates made this night extremely enjoyable! If anyone's looking for a classy place to eat, I would recommend this a thousand times!

The Trilogy Post Part Two: The Music

Check this out:




If you can read, then you know by now that that is a ticket to see 19 year old YouTube sensation Bo Burnham. The show was Friday night at The Second City in Toronto.

If you don't know who he is, here's a clip of what made him so popular:



He. Was. Hilarious! He played a nice mix of new songs and some of his YouTube hits. He's racist. He's sexist. He's rude. He's vulgar. And most of all, he's daring. At such a young age, he has skyrocketed to the top (almost) of the comedy train since he's been recruited by Just For Laughs for their tour.

What worried me a little bit was how much stand-up he did compared to music. He's making a slow transition from music to stand-up: he would stop in the middle of some songs to tell jokes and he finished maybe one song all night.

However, this does not turn me away from Bo Burnham. He takes what's popular in politics and entertainment and puts a funny and ironic spin on it. Listen to the song I posted: it's so smart! Regardless of the path he chooses, be it music or stand-up, I will remain an avid fan.

He's also a great example of someone who sat in their bedroom and just did what they loved and got rich off of it. YouTube is in. It's the new way to get your shit out there. It connects billions of people worldwide and it's what makes you popular today.

Good job Bo, and good luck in the future!