5.30.2006

The IMF

Really, after having seen MI3, if you are a member of the Impossible Missions Force, wouldn't you either be quitting or asking for some kind of tougher background searches on these people you keep hiring? This is the third time they have had a traitor from within. I am thinking if I belong to the IMF I say screw it, since it seems my own people are more dangerous than the bad guys. In fact, my own people are the bad guys.

5.29.2006

Just a freaking t-shirt

I know we had a major hurricane devastate the city last year. And, I know most people in this city and country could care less. But damn, can't someone carry at least a few bloody US Soccer t-shirts in prep for the World Cup? I went to about a half dozen sports and shoe stores and the closest I could find were a couple of Adidas soccer t-shirts.

Anyway, if you look down and to the right you will see I have added a bunch of soccer links. You can find some t-shirts through most of those sites.

5.27.2006

Hal Needham

I meet Hal Needham yesterday. Probably the coolest meeting I have had as far as who the person is since starting in this business. Cooler to me than even Tarantino who was super nice and took time out of his visit to Man of the House to talk to us PA's.

The man basically left an imprint on a certain group of boys who grew up in the south and are now in their early to mid thirties. Mom told me last night she was about ready to put me up for adoption when I was little I wanted to watch Smokey and the Bandit so much. I don't think there has been a road trip I have been on when I didn't at some point sing "Eastbound and Down."

Anyway, I think I am still freaking giddy and stoked from meeting him.

5.26.2006

Um yeah

So I have no idea what is up with my blogger posting.

By the way, in case anyone out there wonders what New Orleans is like right now: IT IS FREAKING HOT!

Trailer for Once in a Lifetime

Trailer for Once in a Lifetime

This is a documentary about the New York Cosmos from the North American Soccer League. I have to say it looks pretty cool. Nice to see some light shined on the last major attempt to bring a professional soccer league to the US.

5.25.2006

So freaking wrong

An e-mail from Bubba:

So, I'm sitting in the concierge lounge at the Hyatt
last night having a beer and talking to the two gay
attendants that work up there. They were (of course)
watching American Idol and fussing with each other
over who should win ('ooh, that tyler is tho hot').
They started discussing ex-Idol contestants and
started discussing Fantasia. Being WAAAAAY out of my
depth in this conversation, I mentioned the ONLY thing
I know about any of it - that I have a friend working
on the Lifetime Fantasia movie.
You should've seen how they lit up. Then Simeon asks,
"is your friend single?"
Man, it's hard to tell you the satisfaction I received
from finding out that two confirmed gays automatically
assume that anyone working for Lifetime on a movie
about Fantasia is also a gay. Very fulfilling!

Project I am On - TP

Bookmark: The Lot

New reality show from Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett. Might take the palce of Project Greenlight for me.

And I know there have been a lot of bookmarks lately, but that is what I have time for right now.

5.24.2006

Bookmark: BMW Audio Books

I have yet to listen to them, but here they are for later.

5.23.2006

Bookmark: Lucy's Retired Surfers

5.22.2006

The Coast

So Sunday we headed over to The Coast to go to the beach and be in the water and let Sippy play in the sand. But, the drive once we got to 90 was just shocking as it always is to see the damage from Katrina up front. To see all those homes just gone and the churches just destroyed, it breaks your heart all over again (as does having to drive through New Orleans east to get there which looks like the Apocalypse has occurred).

The other thing that struck me the most on the beach in Gulfport was the amount of Spanish being spoken on the beach. I had to check myself and make sure I was still in Mississippi. And it is not that it is a bad thing, it is just that it is striking to be on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and hear and see so many Spanish speakers.

But seeing the lack of a beach front community just kills you and makes me even more eager to get to work on On Water.

Volvo Ocean Race

Bookmark: America's Cup

Sippy Singing

Poor kid never really had a chance. As we headed to the beach this weekend we wereplaying Buffett. And out of nowhere Sippy starts to sing along:

"Son of a, son of a, son of a sailor."

Yes, my two year old is officially a Parrothead. God help us all.

5.20.2006

Stingray Opening Credits

Yes, I have spent part of my work time looking for the opening credits to Stephen J. Cannell's Stingray. And this is why I am now in love with You Tube.

I fany show need to be re-made as a series it is Stingray. One day when I have enough clout in Hollywood this is one of those projects I am bringing back along with Buckaroo Banzai. Yes, I am going to resurrect my childhood. Only unlike the current group I am not going to crap all over it.

Aquaman Trailer

Not sure how this would have done as a series, but I could see an Aquaman series of films. Check out the trailer on You Tube.

I think with a series of movies you could explore the character going from learning who and what he is into bcoming a full fledged hero. You wouldn't have to force it all in one movie. You develop it over s series of movies. And for me they wouldn't even have to be theatrical releases. Really, a series of movies on Sci-fi I think would have been better for this property than trying to do pop super hero soap opera on the CW.

The Wait Continues

Well after today's sad state of affairs we once again have to wait for the new Triple Crown Champion. I have yet to watch the race, but from what mom said on the phone it was damn heartbreaking to watch.

ESPN World Cup Commercials

Well, I have to give it to ESPN for their commercials for the World Cup since they are damn good and really get the point across about how this is a world event and not just a one country event. If you don't get a little choked up or a grin from at least one of those spots then you are a hard bastard.

The NBC spots for the Olympics were completely about how the Americans were going to go to Italy and dominate everything. And of course we didn't. And of course that wasn't the point of the games. But these spots for ESPN show how the World Cup is about everyone coming together to watch and cheer and be a part of this event even if your team is not playing or even if your team gets knocked out. It is about the sport and the communtiy of the sport coming together.

You can check out the spots here.

How appropriate

Trying to work things out

I am trying to get the links up and running and get all this figured out. Damn this is frustrating.

Hackers Must Die

So apparently the atack on Movable Type has killed casey.moore.name.

Hackers must die.

If I wasn't working today, I would go cry.

Bookmark: Laptop Bag

The Skooba Satchel. Possible new laptop bag for me. Maybe.

5.19.2006

Working

So working on a Lifetime Movie of the Week about Fantasia from American Idol. Pretty sure I can say that out loud since it is all over the place here and everyone knows (except apparently IMDB, so I cannot update that page yet). I am once again the Office PA. In case you are wondering, this means I am a grunt; a worker bee; or feel free to use any other adjective you like in that vein.

Who knows what will be next since right now it seems productions are doing everything they can to avoid coming here during the peak of the Hurricane Season. Rumor is that they are finding it hard to impossible to get bonded if they want to film here during those peak months.

So, I am not sure what I am going to do after this? I am of course looking at other places where filming is taking place such as Atlanta and Austin.


Alright, I am rambling while I sit here at work waiting for the call sheet so I can do sides for tomorrow.

Jimmy Buffett Interview from the T-P

From today's Lagniappe in the Times Picayune:

CHANGES IN ATTITUDE

Despite some initial misgivings, Jimmy Buffett is glad he was one of the first to say he'd return for this year's Jazzfest


Friday, May 19, 2006
By Keith Spera
Music writer


The sun always shines on Jimmy Buffett.

A severe thunderstorm threatened his May 6 performance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. At the last minute, the storm parted, allowing Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band to deliver yet another memorable set at a Jazzfest full of them.

A week later, on a break before the launch of his summer tour, Buffett called from Palm Beach, Fla., to reminisce about the Jazz-fest that nearly wasn't. Excerpts from the conversation follow:

How did you first hear that Jazzfest was on?

The first time I talked about it with (Jazzfest producer) Quint Davis was at the "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy" benefit in New York in September. It came out of the emotions stirred up by that concert. Little things like going to rehearse with Allen Toussaint's band and the guitar player didn't have a guitar, because it got washed away.

That first scratched the surface of how deep this thing really was. I'd seen the pictures on TV, but that brought it home. Out of that came discussions, probably fueled by a couple of cocktails, about, "Yeah, we're going to do Jazzfest this year!"

Then we all went away and, after the emotions and the alcohol were gone, the serious business of whether we actually could do it came about. By that point, I'd gone down to Pascagoula (Miss.) first and then New Orleans. When you see it, you're so overwhelmed: "How could we possibly do this? Is it too early to try?"

Those kinds of conversations happened for several months. I wasn't one of the big believers in "hell or high water, here we come." The emotional level was, "Of course I'll do it." (The hesitation) was more on a practical level of someone who does shows for a living.

I had to be convinced, and Quint was the guy that did it. Quint said, "Whether it works or not, we need to step up here. Everybody is looking for something that's the first step back." When he told me that, I understood what he was talking about, and that's when I said, "I'm coming."

Then other people followed. I think Dave Matthews and I were the first ones that committed, which gave them a basis to say we've got a real festival this year. After now having pulled it off, I think it's wonderful that we all made those decisions.

During Jazzfest, I gave a writer from the Miami Herald the "disaster tour" and she was shocked. People don't realize the extent of the devastation.

(Coming to Jazzfest) I flew into the Lakefront Airport in my little plane. I told the people with me, "What you've got to understand is that, leaving Lakefront Airport until we get to Canal Street, this was underwater." Going through Gentilly and St. Bernard Parish . . . all my New Orleans family lived in that area. The normal drive to the expressway to get into town . . . people in my band were stunned. Nobody really understands it until they see it.

On the other side, knowing the coast and having come out of New Orleans, I also understand that in the middle of hopelessness, the one thing we have to cling to is that music.

Some performers played Jazzfest for a reduced rate. Were you one of those guys?

Of course I was. (laughs) It was about half.

Do you normally get your full fee at Jazzfest?

No. I've always played Jazzfest for much less than I get anywhere else.

Because of your relationship with Quint and the city?

I think so. I was about to charge 'em what I normally get to come back down (this year), because I thought we were worth it. (laughs) Then the hurricane hit. That's my personal irony with New Orleans. It's kind of amusing. But you play for the heart.

Your Decatur Street restaurant, Margaritaville, reopened relatively soon after Katrina.

I thought it was our contribution to the city to come back and get that restaurant open. People that work at other Margaritavilles did an incredible job of helping out their fellow workers in New Orleans. They put together a rescue and support system that I had very little to do with, other than endorsing it and saying how proud I was of them. We paid everybody, and took a big loss. But we're in for the long haul. We do very well everywhere else, and it was the least we could do.

So there's all this emotion leading up to Jazzfest. The day of your show, you're looking at the weather forecast . . .

It didn't look good. We play in all conditions because of the loyalty of our fans. If our fans stay in the rain and adverse conditions, then we should be able to play to them in those conditions. We carry a truck that is a full-blown generator that can run the entire show. If the facility gets a blackout, we can switch to it in 30 seconds.

That being said, we didn't have our full production at the Fair Grounds -- it's a festival. So we were out there putting scenarios together with thunderstorms . . . if we lose power, what do we do?

I looked at the weather map and this thing called the lifting index. It measures the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and intensity. I said, "I think this (storm) is going to break in half in the middle, and may go north and south of the lake." And I'll be damned if it didn't.

In the meantime, as I was going to work, in the parking lot (of the Fair Grounds) I saw Sister Jane Remson, who runs New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, and Sister Blaise Fernando. They're really good people. I got whacked by a lot of bad nuns in my day; I'm sure glad to meet a couple good ones. (laughs) They told me we were going to be OK. So between the nuns telling me and the weather forecast, I went to work pretty positive.

(The storm) broke in two. Not only that, but the sun came out. You start like that, you don't have to go far with emotions. And I was already emotionally amped.

Describe your emotions as you stepped onto the Acura Stage.

Well, I believe a lot of it is still magic. It certainly exhibited itself to me that day.

I had decided to open with "City of New Orleans" because it was the song I closed with at Wrigley Field (on Sept. 5), when I was thinking about New Orleans but still having to do one of the biggest shows of my life (Buffett gave the first concert at the historic Chicago ballfield). I was going through a lot of emotions; I dedicated it to New Orleans.

Being a full-circle believer . . . I consulted with my daughter and we talked about the set list (for Jazzfest), and we went with "City of New Orleans." That song fit my sense of connection, and how do you musically get to people about something that devastating and still not preach to 'em? Some people choose to preach. I choose not to.

I got very emotional just starting the song. As a performer, if you're worth your salt, that's your job to somehow get through that stuff, and the emotional stuff comes later. But I got very choked up in that first verse, looking at that crowd. It's a beat, then you go on. But I enjoyed it. I just let it happen for a minute.

You reveled in the emotion.

I did. But you can't revel long. (laughs) Because you've got to get back on track.

Did you make any other specific alterations to your set for Jazzfest?

I tried to gear it for New Orleans and do some things that would mean a little something there. I tried to pick songs that would make the crowd feel good. I also had to be the realist. It wasn't a place to go down an energy level. I wanted to go there and keep 'em up. I could have gone down, but I chose not to.

Did you hear about Bruce Springsteen's set the weekend before yours?

I knew he was doing the Pete Seeger show, which I thought was interesting. That was a pretty risky call. I thought that he would probably go with the (E Street) band and do Bruce.

He did "My City of Ruins" and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Then he closed with an acoustic, prayer-like version of "When the Saints Go Marching In." In my review of your show, I wrote, "If Bruce Springsteen was the preacher who delivered the eulogy, Jimmy Buffett was the grinning uncle cracking open the whiskey after the wake." Fair assessment?

I thought that was pretty accurate. I kinda smiled and thought of my crazy uncles. I'll take that as a compliment. (laughs)

It was meant to be. It was two different approaches. Springsteen hit on one emotional level. You touched on it with "City of New Orleans," but also let people forget about it and have a good time.

That's all a part of it. We've been lucky enough to have this amazing, successful run, to still be on top turning 60. Hell, I'd have never thought that -- I should've been dead a long time ago, much less popular. One of the things I attribute to that success, along with the hard work of a lot of people, is the fact that what we bring is a little bit of the Mardi Gras culture when we come to town. There's really no other explanation of why people dress up in Cincinnati or Pittsburgh.

It's in human nature, the ability to revel. I never made very good grades in school, but I was great at float decoration. Having grown up in that culture, I naturally gravitated toward being a performer. Somehow it got infectious with other people.

I know what I do best. I went down there, in the middle of a lot of tragedy and questions, to catch our breath and have a little fun. Everybody needs a couple days off. If you think of what people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas had gone through, they deserved a couple of days off.

That's as much a part of recovery as anything financially. People came out of (Jazzfest) going, "Wow, that was nice. Now let's go back to work." A little sense of renewal -- I felt that, for sure.

Were you there on the final Sunday when Fats Domino bailed and Lionel Richie filled his slot?

I had to leave town that night. I'd had lunch with Paul Simon and was going to see his set. I got all the way to the entrance of the Fair Grounds and it was pouring rain. I went, "It's not going to let up. Let's just go to the airport." So we flew out.

What did Jazzfest as a whole mean for the city?

People that I've talked to (from out of town) were so glad that they made the effort to go. They were angry at what they saw in terms of the devastation and lack of what's being done about it, but glad they went to experience the fun that still is there.

I'm too much of an optimist to think all hope is gone for New Orleans and the coast. It's a terrible tragedy, but all you've got to do is read history -- there's been terrible tragedies forever. I think saving the musical culture and the soul of America is a very worthwhile endeavor.

5.15.2006

Wired article on Trimarans

Steve McQueen's Dream Movie

Found this through BoingBoing:

Steve McQueen's Dream Movie Wakes Up With a Vrooom!

WHEN Steve McQueen died 25 years ago in Juarez, Mexico, he left behind two children, some 30 movies and a legacy as "The King of Cool" (the title of a documentary about him). He also left behind two custom-made trunks containing 16 leather-bound notebooks full of drawings, photographs from period magazines, and a detailed script continuity — a screenplay without dialogue — written in a kind of hyper-stylized poetry. These materials were his plans for "Yucatan," the vanity project he yearned, but failed, to make.

A heist film and adventure epic, it would have married the sprawling canvas of films like "The Great Escape" and "Papillon" with the chase-scene histrionics of "Bullitt" (transferred to motorcycles, McQueen's lifelong passion) along with some ancient history and visionary science thrown in for good measure.

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Chud piece on Film Criticism

One of the best books I read last year was a collection of film criticism by James Agee: Agee on Film. Anyway, Devin Faraci at Chud.com has an interview with Philip Lopate, a film critic who has put together a history of film criticism from the silent era to now. The interview is good in looking at two critics talking seriously about the form of film criticism and is one of the better and more serious film interviews I have seen lately.

Current reading: The Mind of the Modern Moviemaker

I am currently reading The Mind of the Modern Moviemaker: 20 Conversations with the New Generation of Filmmakers. This is the first film book I have read in awhile and pretty much the best advice I have gleamed from it so far is to just go for it and make a film and write your ass off. So, I am going to try and take this advce to heart and see what I can get done this year.

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Alright then

Well, looks like I am getting the hang of setting up this blog. I hope to hell this one doesn't crash on me as well. Too damn depressing to even begin thinking of all I lost with the last blog being down.

Apparently Movable Type had a denial-of-service attack. I see they have blogs up and running, but for some reason my old blog is not one of the ones they have up yet, and trying to get through to technical support is just not working. Glad I already had this set up, just wish I had been backing things up on here already.

Oh well, you live and you learn.
Well I guess this will have to take the place until I figure out what the hell happened to my blog through Movable Type. I hope to have links and everything else up and running soon.