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EASTERN COLLEGE

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Note: this clip is NSFW. It includes f-bombs and poop jokes.

James Francis Flynn is a filmmaker and friend of mine who lives in Chicago. Eastern College is his first feature film—a comedy based on his experiences as a student in the soon-to-be-defunct Western College Program at Miami University, where we both went to college.

I have been bugging Flynn to post this excerpt to Youtube for a while now, as I thought it was the funniest part of the movie, and has the added benefit of standing on its own as a short. Noah Applebaum cracks me up—his was the standout performance, and I would hope that we’ll see a lot more of him in the future.

Flynn also has a blog called Thoughts on Films, where he is making his way through The Writer’s Guild of America’s 101 Greatest Screenplays List. His reviews are always well worth reading, and you should check them out.

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Category: X-MISCELLANEA

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ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

Mind map of ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM
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“It’s not just a story about numbers, it’s a story about people and about how good people go bad. Our system not only allowed it to happen, but also almost encouraged it.”—Director Alex Gibney

I’m always amazed by how a documentary film can pack so many ideas and so much human drama into 2 hours. This one has it all: compelling story, great characters, and a kick-ass soundtrack (excellent opening and closing songs by Tom Waits).

In a company drowning in such a macho culture (Lou Pai had strippers in his office, Jeff Skilling organized these ridiculous daredevil excursions on motorbikes…) I think it’s no coincidence that the whistleblowers were women (Bethany McLean reporting for Fortune Magazine, and Sherron Watkins as Vice-President of Corporate Development).

Watch the whole thing on Google Video.

ENRON: SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (DVD) ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM

My question to you: if the most relevant fable in our times isn’t “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” what is?

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

I don’t know what possessed me—I chronicle most of the stuff I’m reading / watching / looking at / listening to on my tumblelog and twitter and muxtape—but here’s a big bunch of stuff that I’ve dug in the past couple of months:

what it is by lynda barry

What It Is by Lynda Barry

What more can I say about this book?

It’s collage, it’s a writing textbook, it’s a memoir…it’s everything. It’s big. It’s hardcover. It’s awesome.
beach house devotion

Devotion music by Beach House

Quiet, soft, and beautiful. Lots of organ and reverb. Good hangover music.
and then there were none

And Then There Were None… by Agatha Christie

There was something magical about an island — the mere word suggested fantasy. You lost touch with the world — an island was a world of its own. A world, perhaps, from which you might never return.

Hmmm. A group of strangers stranded on a mysterious island, all with shady pasts that come back to haunt them…sound familiar?

My wife is an Agatha Christie nut. This was the first thing of hers I’ve ever read. 173 lightning fast pages. Fun read.
away from her

Away from Her a film by Sarah Polley

So sad, but so good. And the first time directing for Sarah Polley. She was quoted as saying the film was about

the opposite kind of love than we usually celebrate in films, which is new love without knowledge and without hardship.

It’s also a terrific example of how short stories fleshed out (as opposed to novels being compressed) make better films. (See also: In The Bedroom)

My favorite line (from the Alice Munro short story):

She said there ought to be one place you thought about and knew about and maybe longed for but never did get to see.
giant

Giant a film by George Stevens

PT Anderson was once asked to name 3 films that he loved but no one had ever heard of. He replied,

I like films that people HAVE heard of: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Giant, The Big Lebowski.

I recommend all three, too. Giant is a 3-hour epic set in West Texas. (Shot in Marfa.) James Dean. A gorgeous, young Elizabeth Taylor. What’s not to like?
knockemstiff by donald ray pollock

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

I first heard about this book last year when my parents sent me clips from their local newspapers.

This is the book I wanted to write as an undergrad: an updated Winesburg, Ohio set in the Southern part of the state. I grew up about 30 miles from the real Knockemstiff, but I never really belonged there, not the way Donald Ray Pollock belonged: he worked at the Mead paper plant in Chillicothe for 30 years before he started writing, and got his MFA at Ohio State. He knows his place and writes about it beautifully.

This is a strong first book — but it can tough to read all the dark stories (note: it’s full of sex, booze, foul language, and drug use) at once. I recommend spreading them out. Standout stories for me were “Real life” and “Discipline.”
no more heroes

No More Heroes a videogame by Suda51

This is a violent videogame for the Wii, in which you play a hipster assassin with a lightsaber. It’s basically a GTA ripoff, but the art is great, and the game is full of little side missions which really make it entertaining. A good buy for $30.
pilot g2 gel pens

PILOT G2 BOLD POINT GEL PEN

Holy crap these things are awesome. If you want to lay down a big fat line, these babies will do the trick. 1mm > .07mm.
some like it hot

Some Like It Hot A film by Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors: I especially love The Apartment, which also stars Jack Lemmon. And Marilyn Monroe is gorgeous, of course…
thoreau at walden by john porcellino

Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino

John Porcellino is definitely in my top 5 favorite cartoonists, and his simple, zen lines are perfect for adapting Thoreau into comics.
lykkeli-youthnovels

Youth Novel music by Lykke Li

I can’t really describe her music. I always play it when I’m walking to the bus…
dan in real life

Dan in Real Life a film by Peter Hedges

If Eddie Campbell says something is good, you know it’s good. This really surprised me. It’s a story about nice people who get into a genuine conflict. Probably why it didn’t get very good reviews: no explosions or incest or whatever…

Phew. That was too much work. I think I’ll save this kind of thing for the next year-end lists.

What stuff are y’all into right now?

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PUNX, PA: CUE THE MELLENCAMP

Saturday, February 11th, 2006

After watching GROUNDHOG DAY last week, I said to Meg, “Everybody talks about the religious implications of this film, but I wonder if anybody has written about the fact that this storyline could only happen inside the world of a small town?” I dug around, and sure enough, I found an essay by a film critic named Mario Sesti that beat me to the punch:

…the suspicion that behind the calm facade of small-town life hides an invisible presence or god…that may sooner or later make the place degenerate into horror has become a recurrent idea in American cinema….[Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania] is a carillon world, a universe in miniature, perfect and crazy, happy and diabolical-as if infinite repetition were the only form of eternity that our imagination knew how to represent….

Sesti goes on to describe how the character Phil Connors somehow becomes the author of his own story, as he maps the terrain of the place, gets to know his cast of characters.

A small stage, a set, a contained world in which all the characters are known, the geography is mapped, strangers come to town, and small changes are impossible not to notice: this is what the small town has to offer as a setting.

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Category: NOTES ON WRITING AND DRAWING

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