As I look towards the future, I've decided it might be a good time to take a step forwards and take the opportunity to look back at the previous projects I have begun, both to get an indication of the work I've done so far, and to see if there are any works that may be worth salvaging and updating for future use. Or to put it simply, in order to move forward I've looked backwards and taken the past to use in the future, and find to think forwards, one must in truth, think backwards, but only in a back to front forward thinking way.
Allow me to elaborate.
Or at least, to stop talking nonsense.
I've about ten years worth of various projects on my computer, not all of them finished. Sadly I don't seem to have anything from before this, as I appear to have deleted it all (or at least, not backed up my files when we changed computers). It was probably terrible, as it was all from 16 years and under, but I'd have liked the opportunity to have said that myself.
As my current main goal is to get something published in a sci-fi/fantasy magazine within (hopefully) the next six months, I've been going through my old files to see if there was anything that could be polished up and submitted as is. the outlook so far, is not good. Out of all the files I've been through, they have all broadly fallen into one of the following categories:
1. Too Short - The magazines I have found have a minimum word count of 2000 words, quite a few of my short stories fall around the 1600 mark.
2. Too Long - Most of the other stories I have exceed the maximum length (8000 words)
3. Wrong Genre - Many of those that are neither too long or too short are in fact too 'not science fiction or fantasy', making them difficult to submit to a sci-fi/fantasy magazine.
4. Wrong Format - Written for radio, film, television, or theatre. Could possibly be rewritten, but most of them fall into category 1, 2, or 3 anyway.
5. Atrocities - Awful work, kept because I no longer wish to throw any stories out, but deserving to be burnt in a fire(wall).
After you throw out all of those, you're not really left with anything, except for a couple of recent projects that fit the bill perfectly, except they fall into category 6: Not finished yet.
However, while looking through the pieces I discoverd a bunch of longer stories I had begun but never conituned beyond about the 10th chapter (or in one case, the 2nd page). As it turns out there's a reason for this which is probably deserves its own blog, but looking through them I was actually rather pleased with what I'd written so far. So I've dug them out and am editing them between calls at work in an attempt to bring them up to spec, and then can look at either finishing them, or adapting them into shorter works that would be suitable for submission.
So is there anything I can submit now? No. But there are plenty of things I will be able to submit, once they're done.
Assuming I don't change computers anytime soon.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
To Sleep, Perchance To Oh Crap It's Half Past Six!
There have been many strategies over the years as to the best way to get out of bed in the morning, with limited scucess. I have been told to try putting the alarm clock on the other side of the room, to keep slippers by the bed, and on one rather bizarre occassion, to tie a peice of string to my toe and through some mechanical genius enable it to be tugged sharpy in the morning, thus waking me up (and hoping there's not a power surge, causing the machine to overload and leaving me toeless). However, I have discovered that nothing wakes you up more effectively than not getting up.
Allow me to elaborate.
I currently work in a position that for the first half of the week requires me to begin work at eight. To follow this backwards in a logical progression, that means I need to be at the office at 7:40 (as when my public transport is late, it's VERY late...), which means I need to catch a 7:00 train, which means I need to leave the house at 6:40, wich means I need to be up at 5:40, which means I need to set my first alarm at 5:30.
This is not by way of complaining, but rather to point out the timing involved. There are plenty of people for whom 5:30 would seem like a luxurious sleep in (or indeed for those unfortunate overnight workers, time for lunch). And there are definite advantages to starting work early, namely that you finish work early, particularly if you're a slack part time worker like myself. So all in all I'm actually rather glad to be working so early.
But my body clock still hasn't quite adjusted. Previously I worked until 11:30 at night, so I used to rise at about 9 or 10 in the morning and could enjoy a leisurely afternoon until it was time to leave. Now I need to be out of the house in an hour, which includes showering, shaving, dressing, eating breakfast, and remembering hat scarf, ipod, wallet, keys, and so forth. I say an hour because it allows me to not rush and instead be able to enjoy breakfast and a coffee before I go (as work for all it's free coffeeness frequently fails to comprehend that some wild crazy people enjoy non-off milk in their coffee on a Monday morning), but it can certainly done in a shorter time.
As I discovered this morning.
I use my mobile phone as an alarm clock as I generally leave it on anyway in case somebody needs anything, and also because it has the handy ability to set multiple alarms, so I generally set one alarm for 5:30 and the next for 5:40 as the first will generally wake me up, and the 2nd will wake me up just as I'm starting to fall back to sleep. This morning I cleverly managed, while turning off the first alarm, to reset my 2nd alarm for 4:40. So I awoke, (feeling sleepy but curiously refreshed), expecting it to be a couple of minutes before 5:40 to find it was, in fact, 6:27.
I have never woken up faster.
On the plus side, I have discovered that if the house were about to be sucked into a black hole in fourteen minutes time I don't need to worry as I can still shower, dress and pack a few things and be out of there in thirteen minutes, but on the downside I appear to have used up all the energy my body had allotted for today in about, oh, thirteen minutes as it happens. The first thing I did when I got to the office was to make a coffee, and was very glad to see that for once the fridge wasn't full of expired milk.
It was, however, full of no milk whatsoever, but mustn't grumble.
Allow me to elaborate.
I currently work in a position that for the first half of the week requires me to begin work at eight. To follow this backwards in a logical progression, that means I need to be at the office at 7:40 (as when my public transport is late, it's VERY late...), which means I need to catch a 7:00 train, which means I need to leave the house at 6:40, wich means I need to be up at 5:40, which means I need to set my first alarm at 5:30.
This is not by way of complaining, but rather to point out the timing involved. There are plenty of people for whom 5:30 would seem like a luxurious sleep in (or indeed for those unfortunate overnight workers, time for lunch). And there are definite advantages to starting work early, namely that you finish work early, particularly if you're a slack part time worker like myself. So all in all I'm actually rather glad to be working so early.
But my body clock still hasn't quite adjusted. Previously I worked until 11:30 at night, so I used to rise at about 9 or 10 in the morning and could enjoy a leisurely afternoon until it was time to leave. Now I need to be out of the house in an hour, which includes showering, shaving, dressing, eating breakfast, and remembering hat scarf, ipod, wallet, keys, and so forth. I say an hour because it allows me to not rush and instead be able to enjoy breakfast and a coffee before I go (as work for all it's free coffeeness frequently fails to comprehend that some wild crazy people enjoy non-off milk in their coffee on a Monday morning), but it can certainly done in a shorter time.
As I discovered this morning.
I use my mobile phone as an alarm clock as I generally leave it on anyway in case somebody needs anything, and also because it has the handy ability to set multiple alarms, so I generally set one alarm for 5:30 and the next for 5:40 as the first will generally wake me up, and the 2nd will wake me up just as I'm starting to fall back to sleep. This morning I cleverly managed, while turning off the first alarm, to reset my 2nd alarm for 4:40. So I awoke, (feeling sleepy but curiously refreshed), expecting it to be a couple of minutes before 5:40 to find it was, in fact, 6:27.
I have never woken up faster.
On the plus side, I have discovered that if the house were about to be sucked into a black hole in fourteen minutes time I don't need to worry as I can still shower, dress and pack a few things and be out of there in thirteen minutes, but on the downside I appear to have used up all the energy my body had allotted for today in about, oh, thirteen minutes as it happens. The first thing I did when I got to the office was to make a coffee, and was very glad to see that for once the fridge wasn't full of expired milk.
It was, however, full of no milk whatsoever, but mustn't grumble.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Diary Of A Mad Writer #7 - Project Updates
I seem to have story ideas coming out of my ears at the moment, although possibly it's just wax. Either way I have a lot of ideas to write and I'm having a little trouble deciding which to write first, and indeed what style to write them in. Largely it comes down to what I can do with them once they are done.
Allow me to elaborate.
Current project ideas:
1. - "Mistake In Identity." Short comedy film about someone who is convinced a deceased celebrity is hiding out in their local supermarket, despite the fact that the person in question doesn't resemble the celebrity.
Neat idea, low budget requirements and high chance of being turned into a finished project with film group.
2. - "Midas." Long form fantasy adventure featuring dreams, princesses, robot demons and changing worlds when you sleep.
Pet project for the last year or so, still struggling with style and of course the difficulty of publishing once complete.
3. - "MI8" Long form crime/fantasty thriller about secret magic government organisations.
Style downpat and 12 chapters complete, again the issue of getting published.
4. - "The Last Chicken In The Shop" Short Story. Have had the plot worked out for some years about a machine that can make anything out of anything, and gets quite abstract when you ask it to make people you don't like no longer exist...
Working on finding the best tone. Until recently unable to think of what to do with it once it's done (apart from publish online), but recently hit upon the idea of submitting to fantasty/sci-fi magazines.
5. - "The War of The Bear." Teddy Bear story about two brands of bears in a toy shop (the Russel bears and the Jonathan bears) and the xenophobia and fighting that ensues when the new bears arrive in the shop. Eventually everyone is destroyed and put back together from all the different parts.
Told as a creation myth (and therefore very hard to write). Useful as a spring board to other stories.
6. - "A Sword In The Hand, A Pick In The Lock" Fantasy Comedy Adventure story about two treasure hunters, their priest treasure hunting wannabe groupie, and their plan to break into an evacuated underground city and steal all their gold.
A chance to use fast paced dialogue and one liners without it getting too much in the way of the story, but heavy editing required to make sure it doesn't go overboard. Emphasis on action sequences. Planning to submit to magazines or journals once done.
I've started doing some reasearch into fantasy and science fiction journals which will hopefully assist in getting an increase in published work. I figure since I'm at the point where I'm attempting to pursue this, I need to get as much work submitted as possible, so I'll be working to submit as much as I can for the rest of the year. Stay tuned.
Allow me to elaborate.
Current project ideas:
1. - "Mistake In Identity." Short comedy film about someone who is convinced a deceased celebrity is hiding out in their local supermarket, despite the fact that the person in question doesn't resemble the celebrity.
Neat idea, low budget requirements and high chance of being turned into a finished project with film group.
2. - "Midas." Long form fantasy adventure featuring dreams, princesses, robot demons and changing worlds when you sleep.
Pet project for the last year or so, still struggling with style and of course the difficulty of publishing once complete.
3. - "MI8" Long form crime/fantasty thriller about secret magic government organisations.
Style downpat and 12 chapters complete, again the issue of getting published.
4. - "The Last Chicken In The Shop" Short Story. Have had the plot worked out for some years about a machine that can make anything out of anything, and gets quite abstract when you ask it to make people you don't like no longer exist...
Working on finding the best tone. Until recently unable to think of what to do with it once it's done (apart from publish online), but recently hit upon the idea of submitting to fantasty/sci-fi magazines.
5. - "The War of The Bear." Teddy Bear story about two brands of bears in a toy shop (the Russel bears and the Jonathan bears) and the xenophobia and fighting that ensues when the new bears arrive in the shop. Eventually everyone is destroyed and put back together from all the different parts.
Told as a creation myth (and therefore very hard to write). Useful as a spring board to other stories.
6. - "A Sword In The Hand, A Pick In The Lock" Fantasy Comedy Adventure story about two treasure hunters, their priest treasure hunting wannabe groupie, and their plan to break into an evacuated underground city and steal all their gold.
A chance to use fast paced dialogue and one liners without it getting too much in the way of the story, but heavy editing required to make sure it doesn't go overboard. Emphasis on action sequences. Planning to submit to magazines or journals once done.
I've started doing some reasearch into fantasy and science fiction journals which will hopefully assist in getting an increase in published work. I figure since I'm at the point where I'm attempting to pursue this, I need to get as much work submitted as possible, so I'll be working to submit as much as I can for the rest of the year. Stay tuned.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Welcome To Your Mid Year Review, Please Sit Down
Well, the first half of the year is over (or if you're financially minded, the first half of the year has only just begun, so well done on catching up to the rest of us). Summer has been and gone (and good riddance), winter has properly arrived (Hello Winter), tax returns are now submittable (yet despite the offer of free money, many won't bother to do them until the night before the deadline, proving once and for all that this is NOT just a student thing), and christmas is now only 180 days away. Not that we're counting. It's also six months since I took my first steps towards pursuing a future in writing, rather than just writing as much as I could around full time work ("as much as I could" = "not a lot"). So it's time for a review.
Allow me to elaborate.
Six months ago (not to scale) I begun looking for part time work, with the interest of pursuing side projects such as theatre, film, and video games (the making, not the attending, watching, and playing of, respectively). By the end of January I had moved into a new position away from my previous employer and begun my new part time work. At roughly the same time I began work on my writing projects. This was very much a test to see if a) I could get by on a part time income, and b) whether I could productive enough to continue to produce material on an expanded basis.
So here is a comparison and review for 2010 compared to 2009, to swell my ego with the helium of success and puncture it with the thumb tacks of failure.
2010 so far: A review and comparison. (Titles by Warren Zevon)
Lawyers, Guns and Money: The financial stuff.
Savings mid 2009: $5000.00
Expensive holidays to the UK: 1
Savings mid 2010: $0
Unfulfilling Full Time Jobs 2009: 1
Unfulfilling Part Time Jobs 2009: 0
Unfulfilling Full Time Jobs 2010: 0
Unfulfilling Part Time Jobs 2010: 1
Number of credit cards mid 2009: 2
Number of credit cards mid 2010: 0!
Expensive medical tests 2009: 0
Number of chronic back injuries: 1
Expensive medical tests 2010: 2
Number of congenitive heart diseases: 0!
Number of chronic back injuries: 1
Personal Loans 2009: 1
Personal Loans 2010: 1
Lottery wins: 0
Lottery entries: 0
Results: Inconclusive.
Non-essential purchases: Too many.
Comments: Great improvement in debt reduction, but poor saving results.
Goal for rest of 2010: Save some cash up for visiting Dad in Perth, laptop. Less debt = good.
Johnny Strikes Up The Band: The creative stuff.
Number of plays produced 2009: 0
Number of plays produced 2010: 1
Number of short films written 2009: 0
Number of short films written 2010: 1
Number of novels written 2009: 0
Number of novels written 2010: 0.1
Knowledge of computer prorgramming and level design 2009: None.
Knowledge of computer prorgramming and level design 2010: a bit.
Number of sword fights won with pens: 0
Number of sword fights lost with pens: 0
Results: Inconclusive.
Number of Fish in Black cartoons 2009: 0
Number of Fish in Black cartoons 2010: 0
Sighs: Many.
World Hunger ended through power of written word: Still none.
Comments: Undeniably a great improvement, but more could still have been done in the time available. Procrastination is a harsh mistress.
Goal for rest of 2010: Finish level design course, write additional films. Resume Fish In Black. Release website.
Excitable Boy: The Misc stuff.
New Years Eve spent 2009: Brunswick
New Years Eve spent 2010: York
Love of Beatles mid 2009: 0
Love of Beatles mid 2010: 9000
Xbox 360 Gamerscore end of 2009: 19850
Xbox 360 Gamescore mid 2010 30071.
Conclusions: Worrying.
Favourite Band: Barenaked Ladies
Favourite Game: Mass Effect 2
Favourite Film: Toy Story 3.
Favourite Pretzel: Don't really eat pretzels.
Outlook: Positive.
Allow me to elaborate.
Six months ago (not to scale) I begun looking for part time work, with the interest of pursuing side projects such as theatre, film, and video games (the making, not the attending, watching, and playing of, respectively). By the end of January I had moved into a new position away from my previous employer and begun my new part time work. At roughly the same time I began work on my writing projects. This was very much a test to see if a) I could get by on a part time income, and b) whether I could productive enough to continue to produce material on an expanded basis.
So here is a comparison and review for 2010 compared to 2009, to swell my ego with the helium of success and puncture it with the thumb tacks of failure.
2010 so far: A review and comparison. (Titles by Warren Zevon)
Lawyers, Guns and Money: The financial stuff.
Savings mid 2009: $5000.00
Expensive holidays to the UK: 1
Savings mid 2010: $0
Unfulfilling Full Time Jobs 2009: 1
Unfulfilling Part Time Jobs 2009: 0
Unfulfilling Full Time Jobs 2010: 0
Unfulfilling Part Time Jobs 2010: 1
Number of credit cards mid 2009: 2
Number of credit cards mid 2010: 0!
Expensive medical tests 2009: 0
Number of chronic back injuries: 1
Expensive medical tests 2010: 2
Number of congenitive heart diseases: 0!
Number of chronic back injuries: 1
Personal Loans 2009: 1
Personal Loans 2010: 1
Lottery wins: 0
Lottery entries: 0
Results: Inconclusive.
Non-essential purchases: Too many.
Comments: Great improvement in debt reduction, but poor saving results.
Goal for rest of 2010: Save some cash up for visiting Dad in Perth, laptop. Less debt = good.
Johnny Strikes Up The Band: The creative stuff.
Number of plays produced 2009: 0
Number of plays produced 2010: 1
Number of short films written 2009: 0
Number of short films written 2010: 1
Number of novels written 2009: 0
Number of novels written 2010: 0.1
Knowledge of computer prorgramming and level design 2009: None.
Knowledge of computer prorgramming and level design 2010: a bit.
Number of sword fights won with pens: 0
Number of sword fights lost with pens: 0
Results: Inconclusive.
Number of Fish in Black cartoons 2009: 0
Number of Fish in Black cartoons 2010: 0
Sighs: Many.
World Hunger ended through power of written word: Still none.
Comments: Undeniably a great improvement, but more could still have been done in the time available. Procrastination is a harsh mistress.
Goal for rest of 2010: Finish level design course, write additional films. Resume Fish In Black. Release website.
Excitable Boy: The Misc stuff.
New Years Eve spent 2009: Brunswick
New Years Eve spent 2010: York
Love of Beatles mid 2009: 0
Love of Beatles mid 2010: 9000
Xbox 360 Gamerscore end of 2009: 19850
Xbox 360 Gamescore mid 2010 30071.
Conclusions: Worrying.
Favourite Band: Barenaked Ladies
Favourite Game: Mass Effect 2
Favourite Film: Toy Story 3.
Favourite Pretzel: Don't really eat pretzels.
Outlook: Positive.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Movie Review Smorgasbord Round-up Extravaganza - The Complete Collection Part 9: Toy Story 3
It has previously been established that I am somewhat of a Pixar fan. Indeed, while there are other films that I consider a must see at the cinema (Tim Burton still manages to get me interested in his movies, though with decreasing optimism as the years go by, and I'll be first in line for the Sherlock Holmes sequel), Pixar movies are really the only movies that I would feel genuinely disappointed if I missed.
Allow me to elaborate.
Toy Story 3 is of some significance as far as Pixar goes since it is a) the sequel to the film that shot them to stardom and b) 11 years since Toy Story 2. It's quite the trend to do sequels or 'reboots' of decades old movies these days, (TMNT, Indiana Jones, and Predator, I'm looking squarely at you) which I assume means kicking something while it's down, and the quality of most reboots would seem to bear this theory out. I can't help but feel pity for the marketing executive who puts his hand up in the meeting and says "You know, I think the world is ready for another Friday the 13th..." I suppose it's only a matter of time before we see Rebel Without A Cause: The Next Generation starring the son of James Dean's character going through an surprisingly similiar situation (but with better hair), and Gone With The Wind II: The Quickening, but in the mean time I hope they're a long way off.
Nonetheless I was very excited to hear that Pixar had taken over the development of Toy Story 3 from Disney. Let me summarise in this one act play: (for a less abysmal rendition, check out the excellent "Pixar Story" documentary on the Wall-E special edition dvd)
John Lasseter: Yo Disney!(1) this whole 3d animation thing is pretty cool. We should try it.
The CEO of Disney: Is it faster?
John: No.
Disney: Is it cheaper?
John: No.
Disney: Then you're fired.
John: Oh no! What will I do now?
Steve Jobs: Hey John, I'm interested in new technologies, want to come work for me?
John: Do I have use a mac?
Steve: ...maybe.
John: Well, I guess so. Hey while you're there, I've got this great idea for a portable music device that you can carry around with you, but doesn't require any tapes. (2)
Steve: Now that's just crazy talk John.
YEARS GO BY.
Disney: Hey John! That Toy Story thing you're working on looks pretty sweet. We always knew this 3d animation thing was going to be huge. Want us to market it?
John: Sure! All is forgiven. But hey, you seem to be churning out all of these sequels lately, and we're really proud of our characters. Would you mind if we handled the sequels for our characters?
Disney: Johnny. Would I do a thing like that? Of course you can do the sequels! To show you how genuine I am, lets not worry about contracts or anything like that. We'll call it... a gentleman's agreement. Would I break a gentleman's agreement Johnny?
John: Well, no, I guess you wouldn't. Ok, let's shake on it.
Disney: Johnny, buddy! Business partners don't shake.
John: Oh.
YEARS GO BY.
Disney: Hey John? It's Disney! Those movies are doing great. Toy Story 2 was great! You're great! That's why we're so proud that Toy Story 3 is being made.
John: Thanks! But, um... we're not making Toy Story 3...
Disney: I didn't say you were.
John: Oh. But you said...
Disney: Is there a contract?
John: No, but you said...
Disney: Did we shake on it?
John: No, but there was a gentleman's agreement...
Disney: That doesn't sound like something I'd say.
John: Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but we probably need to find someone else to market our films then.
Disney: That's fine, we're better off without you anyway. Oh, and we're shutting down our 2d animation unit and focussing on 3d from now on.
John: ...WHAT?
YEARS GO BY.
New Disney CEO: Hey, um, John, it's the new CEO of Disney. Yeah we fired the old one for being stupid. Listen, we're kind of in a bind here, all of our 3d films have done really badly, people are going to see Pixar films. They seem to prefer smart, clever, well written movies instead of, you know, bad ones. And I was wondering, you know, if I took you out to dinner, maybe go see a show, if, well, maybe we could patch things up again.
John: Of course, lets see what we can do. But can we have Toy Story 3 back?
Disney: Done.
John: And, sorry, but you gotta open up the 2d animation unit again. That was really stupid.
Disney: ...ok, done.
John: Come on, lets go to dinner. Oh, and Disney?
Disney: Yeah?
John: Bring your cheque book.
Anyway, Toy Story 3 was released last week. The family are getting around to go and see it, but I decided that I would go and see it myself in the meantime and hoped that it'd be good enough to see again with the family. Fortunately my hopes were not in vain.
When you do a sequel 11 years later you have two options. You can pretend that no time has passed at all and just explain away the quaver in the actor's voices as a bad cough, and the lines under their eyes as battle scars. Or you can take the "Cystal Skull" approach and just pretend that everyone took desk jobs for the last ten years and only now has something interesting happened. With animation it's tempting to do the former as you can draw the characters the same way you always have but Pixar rather interestingly chosen the latter, with the toy's owner Andy now 17 and heading to college and the toy's locked away in a toy chest fearing their future. Themes of fear, abandonment, and being outgrown have always run rife through the Toy Story franchise (and is responsible for some of it's darker moments) so the new time period works wonderfully. There is a certain sadness to hear the toys talk about those who are no longer with them, and their plans for the future.
The film maintains the charm of the previous films with the same antics and silly humour just as prevalent. What was more surprising was the genuinely dark moments that enter the story. Partially is due to the story itself, with the sense of lonliness and loss that drives the action. All the toys really want is to be played with one more time. There are moments of horror when seeming wonderlands reveal their darker undersides, and a surprising moment near the end when for once everything genuinely seems lost, and you forget for a moment you're watching a bunch of toys.
It's not quite perfect, the opening sequence is rifed with "mystical" line repititions (Pirates of the Carribean I am blaming you. "Why is the rym gone?" was an amusing line in the first film. The end. You did not need to ensure it was repeated in every single sequel with a kind of mystical significance. The same goes for those sea turtles.) that are a bit of a detraction from immersion, and there is one (but only one is pretty good by most films standards) solution to a problem that feels a bit cheap, but these are small concerns compared to an excellent story, great humour, and superb visuals.
What was almost as interesting as the film itself was the audience. I caught a 4:30 afternoon session in the school holidays, and the adults out numbered the kids by about ten to one. There were people ranging from parents to older citizens, from businessmen to cool and hip teenagers in hoods and far, far too low pants. Most of these people went on their own, or with a few friends of the same age. Most didn't bring children to this arguably kids film. They all clapped, they all laughed. On the way out of the cinema I passed a line of five people on their mobiles calling their friends and family to tell them how great it was and how they had to go see it.
I ruminated as I walked home, rugged up against the cold and rain in jacket, scarf and hat (and enjoying this immensely) that evidently the films had had a much larger impact that I had imagined. I love the Pixar films, but I had always assumed that they were widely regarded as kids films.
Evidently I was (happily) wrong.
Rating 5 out of 6.
(1) As far as I'm aware, John Lasseter has never in his life said "Yo."
(2) Also never happened.
Allow me to elaborate.
Toy Story 3 is of some significance as far as Pixar goes since it is a) the sequel to the film that shot them to stardom and b) 11 years since Toy Story 2. It's quite the trend to do sequels or 'reboots' of decades old movies these days, (TMNT, Indiana Jones, and Predator, I'm looking squarely at you) which I assume means kicking something while it's down, and the quality of most reboots would seem to bear this theory out. I can't help but feel pity for the marketing executive who puts his hand up in the meeting and says "You know, I think the world is ready for another Friday the 13th..." I suppose it's only a matter of time before we see Rebel Without A Cause: The Next Generation starring the son of James Dean's character going through an surprisingly similiar situation (but with better hair), and Gone With The Wind II: The Quickening, but in the mean time I hope they're a long way off.
Nonetheless I was very excited to hear that Pixar had taken over the development of Toy Story 3 from Disney. Let me summarise in this one act play: (for a less abysmal rendition, check out the excellent "Pixar Story" documentary on the Wall-E special edition dvd)
John Lasseter: Yo Disney!(1) this whole 3d animation thing is pretty cool. We should try it.
The CEO of Disney: Is it faster?
John: No.
Disney: Is it cheaper?
John: No.
Disney: Then you're fired.
John: Oh no! What will I do now?
Steve Jobs: Hey John, I'm interested in new technologies, want to come work for me?
John: Do I have use a mac?
Steve: ...maybe.
John: Well, I guess so. Hey while you're there, I've got this great idea for a portable music device that you can carry around with you, but doesn't require any tapes. (2)
Steve: Now that's just crazy talk John.
YEARS GO BY.
Disney: Hey John! That Toy Story thing you're working on looks pretty sweet. We always knew this 3d animation thing was going to be huge. Want us to market it?
John: Sure! All is forgiven. But hey, you seem to be churning out all of these sequels lately, and we're really proud of our characters. Would you mind if we handled the sequels for our characters?
Disney: Johnny. Would I do a thing like that? Of course you can do the sequels! To show you how genuine I am, lets not worry about contracts or anything like that. We'll call it... a gentleman's agreement. Would I break a gentleman's agreement Johnny?
John: Well, no, I guess you wouldn't. Ok, let's shake on it.
Disney: Johnny, buddy! Business partners don't shake.
John: Oh.
YEARS GO BY.
Disney: Hey John? It's Disney! Those movies are doing great. Toy Story 2 was great! You're great! That's why we're so proud that Toy Story 3 is being made.
John: Thanks! But, um... we're not making Toy Story 3...
Disney: I didn't say you were.
John: Oh. But you said...
Disney: Is there a contract?
John: No, but you said...
Disney: Did we shake on it?
John: No, but there was a gentleman's agreement...
Disney: That doesn't sound like something I'd say.
John: Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but we probably need to find someone else to market our films then.
Disney: That's fine, we're better off without you anyway. Oh, and we're shutting down our 2d animation unit and focussing on 3d from now on.
John: ...WHAT?
YEARS GO BY.
New Disney CEO: Hey, um, John, it's the new CEO of Disney. Yeah we fired the old one for being stupid. Listen, we're kind of in a bind here, all of our 3d films have done really badly, people are going to see Pixar films. They seem to prefer smart, clever, well written movies instead of, you know, bad ones. And I was wondering, you know, if I took you out to dinner, maybe go see a show, if, well, maybe we could patch things up again.
John: Of course, lets see what we can do. But can we have Toy Story 3 back?
Disney: Done.
John: And, sorry, but you gotta open up the 2d animation unit again. That was really stupid.
Disney: ...ok, done.
John: Come on, lets go to dinner. Oh, and Disney?
Disney: Yeah?
John: Bring your cheque book.
Anyway, Toy Story 3 was released last week. The family are getting around to go and see it, but I decided that I would go and see it myself in the meantime and hoped that it'd be good enough to see again with the family. Fortunately my hopes were not in vain.
When you do a sequel 11 years later you have two options. You can pretend that no time has passed at all and just explain away the quaver in the actor's voices as a bad cough, and the lines under their eyes as battle scars. Or you can take the "Cystal Skull" approach and just pretend that everyone took desk jobs for the last ten years and only now has something interesting happened. With animation it's tempting to do the former as you can draw the characters the same way you always have but Pixar rather interestingly chosen the latter, with the toy's owner Andy now 17 and heading to college and the toy's locked away in a toy chest fearing their future. Themes of fear, abandonment, and being outgrown have always run rife through the Toy Story franchise (and is responsible for some of it's darker moments) so the new time period works wonderfully. There is a certain sadness to hear the toys talk about those who are no longer with them, and their plans for the future.
The film maintains the charm of the previous films with the same antics and silly humour just as prevalent. What was more surprising was the genuinely dark moments that enter the story. Partially is due to the story itself, with the sense of lonliness and loss that drives the action. All the toys really want is to be played with one more time. There are moments of horror when seeming wonderlands reveal their darker undersides, and a surprising moment near the end when for once everything genuinely seems lost, and you forget for a moment you're watching a bunch of toys.
It's not quite perfect, the opening sequence is rifed with "mystical" line repititions (Pirates of the Carribean I am blaming you. "Why is the rym gone?" was an amusing line in the first film. The end. You did not need to ensure it was repeated in every single sequel with a kind of mystical significance. The same goes for those sea turtles.) that are a bit of a detraction from immersion, and there is one (but only one is pretty good by most films standards) solution to a problem that feels a bit cheap, but these are small concerns compared to an excellent story, great humour, and superb visuals.
What was almost as interesting as the film itself was the audience. I caught a 4:30 afternoon session in the school holidays, and the adults out numbered the kids by about ten to one. There were people ranging from parents to older citizens, from businessmen to cool and hip teenagers in hoods and far, far too low pants. Most of these people went on their own, or with a few friends of the same age. Most didn't bring children to this arguably kids film. They all clapped, they all laughed. On the way out of the cinema I passed a line of five people on their mobiles calling their friends and family to tell them how great it was and how they had to go see it.
I ruminated as I walked home, rugged up against the cold and rain in jacket, scarf and hat (and enjoying this immensely) that evidently the films had had a much larger impact that I had imagined. I love the Pixar films, but I had always assumed that they were widely regarded as kids films.
Evidently I was (happily) wrong.
Rating 5 out of 6.
(1) As far as I'm aware, John Lasseter has never in his life said "Yo."
(2) Also never happened.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Movie Review Smorgasbord Round-up Extravaganza - The Complete Collection Part 8: Alice In Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is one of those books that I've always read. Most books I can remember a time when I had not read it, and remember encountering it for the first time. for Alice in Wonderland, I can't. Presumably this means I read it at a very young age, or I have selectively blanked the memory, possibly due to some kind of traumatic experience (I dunno, maybe it gave me a papercut or something), or maybe it just is not remembered with no greater significance or sense, a fact that sits rather well with the nature of the text itself.
Allow me to elaborate.
I do remember not reading 'real' books until quite late, instead focussing on younger texts and stories. My teachers were concerned that this showed a lack of intelligence or learning and eagerly tried to press older texts upon me, and felt sadly their suspicions confirmed when I showed little interest in them. What they failed to work out is that I was not reading the books for 'young readers' they offered me not because I was unable to understand them, but because they were poorly written, with plots that simply didn't interest me. Why would I want to read about a 10 year old girl going snowboarding when I could read about giants and dragons? Now that I'm older, I still ask myself the same question.
But I eventually stumbled accross a Terry Pratchett book (thanks to my stepmother) and read it in about two days. After that, I always had a book with me, and that's never changed. It was an englightening experience to discover that there were fantastic stories outside of the childrens books, and that I didn't have to read texts that bored me simply because people my age group were meant to read them.
In any case, at some point, I read Alice in Wonderland. Overall it amused me, and featured many inconic moments and characters that have entered into popular culture and usage. Everyone knows the Mad Hatter, and everyone knows about rabbits in waistcoats being late for things (It is unsure at this point whether the waistcoat contributed to its lateness). Which begs the question, if a text is so memorable and so well known, why on Earth would you mess with it?
Which brings me to the recent Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton.
I have a soft spot for Tim Burton films (or at least, up until 5 years ago I did) as he frequently includes for want of a better word a type of pleasant surrealism in his films that I find quite appealing. Many times throughout each of his films the strange, the fantastic, the peculiar will occur, not to unsettle or frighten but rather to add a sense of awe or wonder to the proceedings. Or at least, that used to be the case, but the more recent of Burtons films have moved from the charmingly bizarre, to the ocassionally amusing but mostly just kind of strange. In some ways, rather than a story with weird visuals in it, the films now seem to be weird visuals with a story in it.
Alice in Wonderland is no exception. Rather than a straight up film adaptation of the novel, it is instead set as a sequel, except due to a rather unfortunate desire to create a sequel but still include all the iconic moments from the book, it manages to feel rather familiar. The visual effects are a treat to behold, but I'd recommend not watching the film in 3d as even at the short running length my eyes were left quite sore at the end (Avatar on the other hand ran for about three hours and my eyes were fine throughout. The headache I got from THAT film was in no way due to the 3d technology.)
Similiar to other recent adaptations like the Lord of the Rings and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the film features a cast of excellent performers, and also similiar to those films their behaviour in no way resembles the original characters. Some the minor characters sound ok but Stephen Fry as the Chesire Cat loses the manic joy and replaces it with a solemn (or perhaps bored) air, a surprise as he's more than capable of insanity, and Johnny Depp perhaps misdefined 'Mad' and thought rather than crazy it meant angry, as he spends a lot of the film wandering around in what appears to be a barely controlled rage, before ocassionally remembering he's meant to be crazy.
All in all it results in a film that manages to feel both entirely too familiar and yet wildly different, culminated in an out of left field final battle that feels thrown in because they felt they needed some kind of big finish.
If you want pretty visuals, go right ahead and see Alice in Wonderland. But beyond that, I can find little to recommend. If you're after a proper sequel to Alice in Wonderland, read the actual sequel, and then play American McGee's Alice, which takes Wonderland to some dark places and actually manages to make it feel new.
Rating 2 out of 6. (1 out of 6 in 3D)
Allow me to elaborate.
I do remember not reading 'real' books until quite late, instead focussing on younger texts and stories. My teachers were concerned that this showed a lack of intelligence or learning and eagerly tried to press older texts upon me, and felt sadly their suspicions confirmed when I showed little interest in them. What they failed to work out is that I was not reading the books for 'young readers' they offered me not because I was unable to understand them, but because they were poorly written, with plots that simply didn't interest me. Why would I want to read about a 10 year old girl going snowboarding when I could read about giants and dragons? Now that I'm older, I still ask myself the same question.
But I eventually stumbled accross a Terry Pratchett book (thanks to my stepmother) and read it in about two days. After that, I always had a book with me, and that's never changed. It was an englightening experience to discover that there were fantastic stories outside of the childrens books, and that I didn't have to read texts that bored me simply because people my age group were meant to read them.
In any case, at some point, I read Alice in Wonderland. Overall it amused me, and featured many inconic moments and characters that have entered into popular culture and usage. Everyone knows the Mad Hatter, and everyone knows about rabbits in waistcoats being late for things (It is unsure at this point whether the waistcoat contributed to its lateness). Which begs the question, if a text is so memorable and so well known, why on Earth would you mess with it?
Which brings me to the recent Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton.
I have a soft spot for Tim Burton films (or at least, up until 5 years ago I did) as he frequently includes for want of a better word a type of pleasant surrealism in his films that I find quite appealing. Many times throughout each of his films the strange, the fantastic, the peculiar will occur, not to unsettle or frighten but rather to add a sense of awe or wonder to the proceedings. Or at least, that used to be the case, but the more recent of Burtons films have moved from the charmingly bizarre, to the ocassionally amusing but mostly just kind of strange. In some ways, rather than a story with weird visuals in it, the films now seem to be weird visuals with a story in it.
Alice in Wonderland is no exception. Rather than a straight up film adaptation of the novel, it is instead set as a sequel, except due to a rather unfortunate desire to create a sequel but still include all the iconic moments from the book, it manages to feel rather familiar. The visual effects are a treat to behold, but I'd recommend not watching the film in 3d as even at the short running length my eyes were left quite sore at the end (Avatar on the other hand ran for about three hours and my eyes were fine throughout. The headache I got from THAT film was in no way due to the 3d technology.)
Similiar to other recent adaptations like the Lord of the Rings and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the film features a cast of excellent performers, and also similiar to those films their behaviour in no way resembles the original characters. Some the minor characters sound ok but Stephen Fry as the Chesire Cat loses the manic joy and replaces it with a solemn (or perhaps bored) air, a surprise as he's more than capable of insanity, and Johnny Depp perhaps misdefined 'Mad' and thought rather than crazy it meant angry, as he spends a lot of the film wandering around in what appears to be a barely controlled rage, before ocassionally remembering he's meant to be crazy.
All in all it results in a film that manages to feel both entirely too familiar and yet wildly different, culminated in an out of left field final battle that feels thrown in because they felt they needed some kind of big finish.
If you want pretty visuals, go right ahead and see Alice in Wonderland. But beyond that, I can find little to recommend. If you're after a proper sequel to Alice in Wonderland, read the actual sequel, and then play American McGee's Alice, which takes Wonderland to some dark places and actually manages to make it feel new.
Rating 2 out of 6. (1 out of 6 in 3D)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Attack Of The Mini-Blog
From time to time I have ideas for a blog that can't be spun out to a full length blog, or feel bloated and swollen like they've eaten slightly too many chips (no such thing, but I digress). So this in attempt to use up some of those shorter blog ideas without needlessly extending them. Sort of a spring cleaning, but for blogs.
We'll ignore the fact that it's winter.
Diary Of A Mad Writer #7 - Trying To Find Time At Work To Do My Work
I recently made a rather odd discovery, which is that my most productive time for writing and planning creative work is when I'm at my day job.
Allow me to elaborate.
I started working for a new company earlier this year with the idea of working part time to pay the bills, and allow me more free time to rest and so I could focus more time on my writing work. And in all aspects I appear to have succeeded, but not in the way I expected. The plan was, work during the morning, creative stuff in the afternoon, evenings off, with a full day of creative work on Fridays. Unfortunately however, my afternoons and evenings have mostly ended being spent playing games, resting, and otherwise taking it easy, which has had the nice benefit of ensuring that for the first time in years I am not walking around in a general state of exhaustion. But it means I haven't spent my afternoons writing as planned.
But that's ok, because since moving to the new job I have written two blogs a week, a play, a short film, done planning for some tv episodes, and done a chunk of work on a novel.
Perhaps it's the structure, or the ready supply of tea, but it has been very easy to write between calls or on breaks at work, and after some tests, I appear to write much faster and produce more work in between other stuff than if I sit down and just power through it.
So say what you like about my job, at least it's helping me write!
I am your new leader! I'll be behind you all the way! Wait...
My friends facebook updates have been a blaze since late last night with the news, and show no sign of slowing nearly 24 hours later. There has been movement at the station, and the word has very much gotten around. Kevin Rudd, the PM who managed to oust the previous PM after 12 years, has stepped down, as an alternative to being dismissed. The news is full of debates on both side, those who signal this as the beginning of the end for the Labour leadership and those who are uncertain but hopeful for the future.
I'm honestly finding it hard to work up any enthusiasm.
Allow me to elaborate.
I have a rather unique (some would say naieve) view of politics. I vote, I pay a vague attention to who the candidates are, and I ensure I'm always up to date with the Australian Electoral Comission. Other than that, I have an agreement with them, being that I'll stay out of their way if they stay out of mine.
Back when the previous PM was starting his fourth term, I remember one of my parents saying that it would be near impossible for for the other party to win now, and they weren't sure how they were going to manage. Out of politeness I refrained from pointing out that we seemed to have survived ok for nine years so far, and that the past nine years didn't feel all that different from the six years before that.
In the end, will the new PM change anything? Probably not much. My coffee will still taste the same, my job will still be the same, the homeless will still be homeless. Labour lowered unemployment? They've previously raised it too. PMs come and go, but in the end life goes on, and I suppose it stops politicians from being... I don't know... serial killers. Hey, it could happen.
That Costello chap always struck me as suspicious...
A Short And Insightful Blog About Milo, By Sam.
I like Milo.
You have been reading A Short And Insightful Blog about Milo, By Sam.
We'll ignore the fact that it's winter.
Diary Of A Mad Writer #7 - Trying To Find Time At Work To Do My Work
I recently made a rather odd discovery, which is that my most productive time for writing and planning creative work is when I'm at my day job.
Allow me to elaborate.
I started working for a new company earlier this year with the idea of working part time to pay the bills, and allow me more free time to rest and so I could focus more time on my writing work. And in all aspects I appear to have succeeded, but not in the way I expected. The plan was, work during the morning, creative stuff in the afternoon, evenings off, with a full day of creative work on Fridays. Unfortunately however, my afternoons and evenings have mostly ended being spent playing games, resting, and otherwise taking it easy, which has had the nice benefit of ensuring that for the first time in years I am not walking around in a general state of exhaustion. But it means I haven't spent my afternoons writing as planned.
But that's ok, because since moving to the new job I have written two blogs a week, a play, a short film, done planning for some tv episodes, and done a chunk of work on a novel.
Perhaps it's the structure, or the ready supply of tea, but it has been very easy to write between calls or on breaks at work, and after some tests, I appear to write much faster and produce more work in between other stuff than if I sit down and just power through it.
So say what you like about my job, at least it's helping me write!
I am your new leader! I'll be behind you all the way! Wait...
My friends facebook updates have been a blaze since late last night with the news, and show no sign of slowing nearly 24 hours later. There has been movement at the station, and the word has very much gotten around. Kevin Rudd, the PM who managed to oust the previous PM after 12 years, has stepped down, as an alternative to being dismissed. The news is full of debates on both side, those who signal this as the beginning of the end for the Labour leadership and those who are uncertain but hopeful for the future.
I'm honestly finding it hard to work up any enthusiasm.
Allow me to elaborate.
I have a rather unique (some would say naieve) view of politics. I vote, I pay a vague attention to who the candidates are, and I ensure I'm always up to date with the Australian Electoral Comission. Other than that, I have an agreement with them, being that I'll stay out of their way if they stay out of mine.
Back when the previous PM was starting his fourth term, I remember one of my parents saying that it would be near impossible for for the other party to win now, and they weren't sure how they were going to manage. Out of politeness I refrained from pointing out that we seemed to have survived ok for nine years so far, and that the past nine years didn't feel all that different from the six years before that.
In the end, will the new PM change anything? Probably not much. My coffee will still taste the same, my job will still be the same, the homeless will still be homeless. Labour lowered unemployment? They've previously raised it too. PMs come and go, but in the end life goes on, and I suppose it stops politicians from being... I don't know... serial killers. Hey, it could happen.
That Costello chap always struck me as suspicious...
A Short And Insightful Blog About Milo, By Sam.
I like Milo.
You have been reading A Short And Insightful Blog about Milo, By Sam.
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