Archives for category: Misc.
Newer Entries »

Local film scene

November 10, 08 //
0

I’m new to the Northwest, but there seems to be a vibrant local film scene.

The Northwest Film and Video festival is currently ongoing at the NW Film Center. I attended a couple events this weekend in Portland, and there’s that definite upstart energy you’d hope to find in that sort of venue. I’ll definitely be checking out more events and workshops up there. Gus Van Sant is perhaps their most noted alum.

At the NW I met the guys who made Cthulhu. Haven’t seen the film, but the trailer has a big film look. Tying into the Lovecraft mythos was a smart move and may make this film have a long-tail resonance like Bladerunner. Having heard their story, I’m sure these guys will be putting together new projects in the future. This film recently landed distribution, a major accomplishment for an indy film. It was shot in Oregon.

Reel Film Snobs is a local film program out of Salem. It’s a fun and refreshing alternative to the standard film review model.

Change

November 4, 08 //
0

INT. CLASSROOM

Mr. SMITH walks into the room and lays his briefcase on the desk. He sighs.

SMITH

Okay class. Today we’re going to talk about the Reagan Revolution.

The students yawn. He writes the words on the board.

SMITH

Have any of you ever heard of this?

The students look around. They’re bored.

SMITH

It was a very dark time in our country when a small-minded ideology and a room full of conservative blowholes (in both parties) basically controlled our government for  thirty years. It was a period characterized by greed, xenophobia, corporate handouts and generally screwing minorities, the working class and the occasional intern. Anyway, we’ll breeze through this lesson quickly so that we can move on to a brighter period in our nation’s history.

Here’s to hOpe. Go out and vote.

The hearth is your friend

July 17, 08 //
0

This is the only truth. As much as writers might be in love with the romance in Dylan Thomas’s notion of the hearth killing the writer, a working stiff life can be your greatest ally.

A full-time job requires punctuality. It requires a schedule. And when you start to wedge moments into that schedule for writing, and you repeat the process daily, you start to build momentum. Road trips, drunken jags, backpacking trips along the spine of the Andes…all of these things might fuel stories. But to produce, you need routine. A mind-numbing, automatic routine that you don’t have to think about. This will give you the requisite pockets of space, to live within your own head.

If you write a little every day. At the same times. You build momentum. Writing begets more writing. I’m finally settling in after our cross-country move, and I’m starting to find this routine. A few minutes in the morning. A half hour at lunch. A couple hours at night.

Newer Entries »