Thursday, February 16, 2012

Random Thoughts: Blogception

Three blogs in two weeks? By Thor's hammer, what's gotten into me? I've no idea either, but I think you should read what I have offered, lest our friendship be in doubt! Just kidding, I really write this for me, and I'm flattered if anyone reads it. So flattered, in fact, I'm blushing right now. You should see me, all red-cheeked and meek-eyed (whatever that means). Enough rambling, Joey, on with the blog!

—It feels like there's a mention of George Lucas or Star Wars at least once per blog. Unfortunately, it's usually negative. In this case, it's because of George and his delusions:
The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.
This lovely snippet, not taken out of context to make George Lucas seem like he's willfully denying how things actually played out when Star Wars was released in 1977, is from an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. George, we get it, you own Star Wars. But it wasn't a solo endeavor. It wasn't just your story that made it to the big screen. Film, as they say, is collaborative. Until you're writer, producer, and director. You've either lost your mind and believe your own lies, or you've grown so powerful you feel like you can actually rewrite cinematic history. In 1977, ONE shot rang out between Han and Greedo. There was no "shooting first." It was A shot. No confusion existed. Han shot Greedo. Why isn't that good enough? Why aren't these movies, pieces of film history, good enough for you?

—Creatively, the end of the world intrigues me. Especially if it's impending and everyone on the planet knows their doom is looming. I wrote a story about it years ago (was college really years ago at this point?), which I think is my very best piece of writing. People are tricky things, and when you remove societal restraints, any real reason to maintain order, what sort of chaos would things devolve into? Seeking a Friend for the End of the World explores that with Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley at the forefront. This trailer is good, people. Genuinely funny moments, tinged with an underlying melancholy. If this is the tone throughout the film, it'll be great. So enjoy:



—Since basically everyone I've ever been best friends with (omg besties!) was born within the last week and a half, I'd like to take this time to say happy 25th birthdays to Zac, Lauren, Chad, Jessie, Richard, and Melissa. Even though I may not be in great contact with some (read: most) of you right now, I love you all in a great many ways! As your elder by a month, I can tell you that 25 isn't much different from 24, but definitely better than 22 and 23. Happy birthday, comrades!

—And a happy birthday to both President Abraham Lincoln (Vampire Hunter) and Charles Darwin, that dastardly fellow who introduced us to the theory of evolution. Remember, fair readers, though it may be called a theory, there's a distinct difference between a scientific theory, like evolution, which has been questioned and tested, tried and tested, and tested some more, and a regular theory, like George Lucas was murdered by Terminators back in the early '90s and replaced by a T-1000-like replacement, which is just a whole lot of conjecture.

—Dan Aykroyd has seemingly lost his mind when it comes to Ghostbusters 3. For example, he wants to coax Rick Moranis, who played Louis Tully, out of acting retirement for the film, saying, "None of us would want to do the movie without him as a participant." But in the next sentence, we're told Mr. Aykroyd said that Peter Venkman, embodied by Bill Murray perfectly in Ghostbusters and horribly exaggerated in Ghostbusters 2, could just be played by another actor. I get what Aykroyd was saying: He really wants Louis Tully back. Not that they'd stop making the movie if Moranis said no. But to follow that up with saying whoever's playing Venkman can be subject to change? Mayhaps Dan should reevaluate this whole enterprise.

—Unfortunately for me, I've been missing a lot of The Daily Show. In fact, I can't remember the last time I watched a full episode. That sucks for me. Luckily, though, I have friends who sometimes post videos of Jon Stewart and the writers of the show doing work. Here's such a case, for your boring Thursday at work:

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