West Hollywood Book Fair... and Cookies?

The Ginger Cookie madness is never ending. Mostly because I will not let it end. Delicious, delicious madness.

I was meeting a friend for dinner at Real Food Daily Sunday after the book fair and as I was a little early, I decided to grab a beer at the counter while I waited for him. On display they have a variety of tasty looking baked things under protective, pretty glass covers. What happened to be right in front of me? Giant Ginger Cookies. It was fate. Or destiny. Or some such thing. It was also an incredibly tasty way to finish a very satisfying dinner.

At least this time I included a picture.

Book Fair was great! I knew there was a reason I linked to it ten billion times. I forgot about the triathlon or whatever it was going on Sunday morning which unfortunately meant I was stuck trying to make my way up from the westside in the most oblique manner ever. But after two hours of back tracking and driving in circles and getting vaguely lost (why have I been getting lost so much lately? Thomas Guide, where did I put you???) I finally arrived to find free parking and the Border Grill truck. And my roommate who was very confused as to how she managed to beat me there.

We wandered around, caught a few panels, got things signed, I bought more books as I figured I would. We took a break at one point to grab some water from the grocery across the street. That ended in an almost awkward disaster as I saw a former co-worker I had no desire to ever make casual chat with again. Luckily I was able to escape before being noticed.

Panels! I didn't make it to all of the ones I wanted to check out (like the one about Zombie stuff with Amber Benson) but I really enjoyed the few I saw.

Bryan Lee O'Malley and Joshua Dysart talk Scott Pilgrim

Josh Dysart (Unknown Soldier) had a great panel chatting with Bryan Lee O'Malley about Scott Pilgrim and the process of adapting that comic into a film. I'm such a nerd for things like this. I love hearing about the different experiences people have from various angles of getting into Hollywood. It's always a challenge regardless of whether your experience is good or bad. I also found interesting how the movie and comic evolved sort of together and yet end up in different directions. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all compares.

Josh also did a a great job as a fan and fellow comic person leading the discussion. It was fun to watch them both talk.

Gerry Conway, Asterios Kokkinos, John Rogers, Laura Valdivia, Kevin Seccia

The Comics on Comics panel was hilarious. Good points were also addressed and the super enthusiastic kid in the audience made for some additional entertainment. He was really into his Venom.

D.J. Kirkbride, Darren Clavadetscher, Ed Laroche, Kiyoshi Nakazawa, Joe Matt

(Jordan Crane eventually showed up too!)

The last panel I caught was the Indie Creators panel. I think it was actually one of the more interesting panels I've seen. The guys up there had quite diverging opinions on various comic type things, from the practical side of marketing to the more esoteric question of "what is the perfect comic?" They got feisty!

And if you've been following my comments section, you'll be happy to know that I did manage to say "hi" to D.J. Kirkbride after the panel. I also bought Jordan Crane's comic which I'm very excited to read. I would have grabbed more (including Popgun which is just a bit out of my financial grasp at the moment, sorry D.J.!) but I'm still broke. Oh the glamorous life of the freelance filmmaker...

I really did enjoy the book fair and I can't recommend attending next year's enough. My afternoon focused pretty heavily on the comics but that's by no means all that's there. They had a variety of panels on all sorts of genres, poetry, theater, etc. I talked to various booth people about indie publishing, writing classes at UCLA, some cool sounding theater stuff, more comics, books, and lots of writing.

There are also a number of things going on for kids and families. Kids should be encouraged to read and love books! This is a great thing! I would totally bring kids if I had any! Maybe next year I can borrow few. Parents won't mind if I just pull a few off the street, right? I'll return them after the book fair...

What I did manage to buy:
Uptight #3 by Jordan Crane
Unknown Soldier by Joshua Dysart
Death's Daughter by Amber Benson
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

Completely unrelated, I've been listening to a lot of Neko Case, Regina Spektor, and David Byrne lately. In case you were wondering. I don't know, it seemed pertinent that I share this information with you... um... yes...

Go read stuff!

Paramount Ruined My Morning

Okay, maybe it was more the cop on Venice with the radar gun, but Paramount isn't helping! Remember that hilariously wonderful clip I posted of Alan the Marmot and the Not So Scary Sharks from BBC's Walk on The Wild Side show? Yeah, we're not allowed to watch it in the US anymore. The sharks singing the Jaws music is apparently copyright violation or some such nonsense. BOO Paramount. Boo!

Whatever Paramount, I'm just going to watch the Nighttime, Daytime bird instead. So there!



In other news... I had three ginger cookies for breakfast...

Hey LA, what are you doing this weekend? Nothing you say? Well, you should be going here! The West Hollywood Book Fair is this Sunday from 10 AM - 6 PM in the West Hollywood Park.

I'm excited to check out some of the panels, attend a workshop, say hi to people, spend too much money on more books... you know, the usual Nerd things that typically excite me.

In tasty food news, Eco-Vegan Gal put together a great list of Vegan bakeries in LA. I know this isn't necessarily of interest for everyone, but there are some really great places on that list! Even if you're not vegan! It's worth looking at by anyone who enjoys tasty baked goods. Extra points for tasty AND responsible eating.

Other things that are making my morning happy beyond eating too many cookies include my pizza that I picked up from Pizza Port in Carlsbad last night. Sooo good. I love that place. Sort of the opposite of vegan with all of the cheese covering everything... ah well. I went with onion, tomato, and PINEAPPLE. A pizza guaranteed to put me in a brilliant mood. Well, a brilliant mood as long as I'm not sitting in a parking lot on the 405 or getting a speeding ticket on Venice... Um.

Okay, ignoring the bad, focusing on the good.

I think it might be time for another cookie.

It's Monday. Happy Monday!

It's Monday. I guess you've probably noticed that by now. Personally, I think I'm still a little sleep deprived this wonderful Monday evening. It was a good weekend that was mostly relaxing but still not enough sleep was to be had. There was Mom time and Dog time and bike time, football time, laundry time, and dinner having time. Followed by more bike time. One of these Sundays I'll figure out that riding my bike to my friend's apartment for dinner is not a great plan. Seems wonderful at 5 PM, exhausting at 10 PM.

One of the things my mom and I did this weekend was attend a fundraiser dinner and silent auction. Something I've never experienced before and I must say it was certainly interesting. I'll spare you the details but rest assured the food was tasty and the drinks did not disappoint.

While not well mixed, I did try what I think may be a version of my new favorite cocktail. A Strawberry Basil Gin drink that sent a lovely combination of flavors dancing across my tongue with every sip. Well, that might be an exaggeration. But it was really good! So good in fact that I'm attempting my own Strawberry Basil cocktail this evening. I'll let you know how it goes and will certainly share the recipe and pictures if it's a success. For the moment I think it's going to be some version of this Berry Gimlet.

I do have more to talk about beyond alcohol! Keep reading!

Actually, I have questions.

First off, what are people's thoughts on this whole lawsuit thing by the Kirby Estate against Marvel and Disney? Basically Jack Kirby's kids are seeking to reclaim the copyrights for the comic book characters he created for Marvel (Jack Kirby himself died in 1994).

Personally I find it to be an interesting albeit very complicated story. As someone involved even remotely in creative endeavors, I tend to fall on the side of the creator, or in this case the creator's estate. Even more so when you consider how much intellectual property is improperly acquired or how often creators are cheated out of compensation they should fairly receive for their work. Against that you could argue that the creator's work was work-for-hire and therefore belongs to Marvel. An argument I don't find particularly convincing but I have to concede that this case is more complicated because of how copyright laws have changed over the years.

Coming on the heals of the recent Superman case, it seems like the Kirby's do have a pretty good shot here (Jerry Siegel's Estate won back the his share of the rights to Superman back in August. Kirby's estate is not surprisingly using the same legal representation.)

/Film's article does give a little more background though as well as a partial list of some of the characters he's responsible for.

Oh, also, there's this about copyright law from the LA Times:

Under copyright law, creators and co-creators can seek to regain copyrights they previously assigned to a company 56 years after first publication and can give notice of their intentions to do so up to 10 years before that.

Taking that into consideration, does that mean the work-for-hire bit is irrelevant anyway? I believe so. 

So what do you think? Are his heirs wrong in trying to reclaim the copyright for work he created? Should the rights to these characters remain with Marvel (and now Disney)? The films that could potentially be affected would be ones like the upcoming Avengers movies Marvel has planned although most of those should be completed before the date that the Kirby Estate is trying to reclaim the copyrights by. Even if they get back the copyrights, Disney and Marvel would still own the trademarks. Or something like that?

Some other sites with various thoughts. Film School Rejects seems to fall on the side of being bummed that the Kirby Estate may put a halt to superhero movies. Paul Constant is coming in on the other side.

I was going to ask more questions but after that I think I should probably split this up into several posts. Different topics deserve their own discussions, don't you think? Okay, I'm convinced. More questions will come later. Specifically I want to talk about women in the workplace. Or rather, women working with other women in the workplace. I've noticed a few things through my own experiences and listening to the experiences of others and I'd like throw some of that out there. Just not right this second. I shall compose my thoughts and come back at you maybe tomorrow. How's that sound? I like it!

Comic-Con in Pictures

As many folks who like comics, video games, sci-fi, Twilight, movies, and all other things nerdy and geeky all ready know this past weekend was the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. I guess folks who live in San Diego probably noticed as well.

It was my first year going to SDCC. In fact, it was my first time going to ANY kind of Con. (How does a self-described nerd get away with never attending a convention? Um. Nerdfail?) It was also completely unplanned. I literally found out I’d be able to go a half hour before leaving. A friend and coworker type person had an extra pass and when he realized I wasn’t going… He’s a really, really good friend!

I drove down Thursday night with another friend for Wil Wheaton’s reading at Stone and then made my way to downtown Friday morning. There were many nerdy adventures to be had, a lot of food and beverages, and rather than try and recount it all I’ve decided to just be lazy and share the pictures.

Thursday Night:



Steve and I with Wil Wheaton.

By the time we made it through traffic from LA we had unfortunately missed his reading. But we did get to say hi, drink beer, and watch part of the RiffTrax movie playing in Stone’s garden. All in all a successful evening and a solid start for Nerd Adventures.

Friday & Saturday:



Check out my Comic-Con set on Flickr. It pretty much sums up the weekend. Since I didn’t know I was going until the very last minute I really never made much of a plan of my own. I mostly just tagged along with my friend. Which worked out quite well I think.

If I go again next year (when I go again next year) I will definitely make more of a plan. For the most part I’m not sad I didn’t really go to many panels, the lines were absurd, but there are a few I wish I had tried to check out. And staying Sunday may not have totally sucked.

At the end of the day though it was lovely. The hotel was perfectly situated, the food was tasty, and, most importantly, the company was fantastic. For a first time Comic Con adventure, this was a great way to go.

I’m excited for the possibilities of next year.

****

People should also really share pictures with me. I want to see evidence of other experiences! Send me links! Email me! Whatever. Share! Please? Pretty please double chocolate fudge ice cream sundae with a cherry on top?

Review: Watchmen

Alan Moore’s Watchmen is an interesting creature; critically acclaimed, held in high esteem by a small but hardcore group of fans, until it’s feature film debut this month it was virtually unknown by the mainstream. Not just a long form comic, it justifies the phrase “Graphic Novel.” And until now it was believed to be unfilmable.

Which begs the question; does Zach Snyder’s adaptation prove Watchmen is filmable? Obviously, it’s been filmed. How successfully is up for debate.

For those not familiar with the film or the comic, Watchmen takes place in an alternate version of 1985. We’ve won in Vietnam, Nixon has been reelected for a third term, and the Cold War is still going strong. Russia is moving into Afghanistan, the doomsday clock is set permanently to five minutes to midnight. Oh yeah, and Superheroes are real. Ozymandias, Rorschach, Comedian, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, all ordinary citizens who happen to like fighting crime and wearing a mask. The only one amongst them all who has any real super power is Dr. Manhattan.

Watchmen is a history study of the evolution of these heroes; from the gimmicky Minutemen of the days following WWII to the Watchmen themselves. The story goes from their early glory, to the public backlash that leads to masks being outlawed, and finally to the present day and their redemption. These “Superheroes” are human and flawed. Watchmen is as much satire as it is case study. Where is the line between good and evil? Where does morality lie? What makes a hero and who is really the villain?

The complexity of Watchmen is what makes it so great. It’s not where the story goes, but how it goes about getting there. It’s this complexity that made many fans believe it could not be made into a movie. It’s also what had those same fans waiting over two decades to see if they were right while they secretly (or not so secretly) hoped they were wrong.

Early on fans heard rumors that the ending of Watchmen had been changed. “No Squid!” circled the internet. Honestly though, I think the film would have benefited from more changes. The Squid works well enough in the book (either you’ve read the book so I’m not spoiling anything or you haven’t, in which case you have no idea what I’m talking about) but I can’t imagine that working very well on screen, astronomical CGI costs aside. Losing the squid was not tragic and the ending could have potentially worked fine without it. What makes the ending of the graphic novel so effective are all of the details. It’s all the accumulation of all the small tragedies. The imagery in the film is evocative of September 11th for sure, but it doesn’t have the same human face. It’s sterilized.

I think the failure of this ending serves to highlight Zach Snyder’s failure in this film as a whole. He is able to mimic the visual style and tone from the Graphic Novel but he fails in the nuances. Snyder’s Watchmen is a high-testosterone fan boy’s wet dream. It looks great, has plenty of sex and violence, but it’s lacking the maturity to know when enough is enough. Sometimes you just need to say, “Cut!” I can agree that the action sequences look cool but really, I got the point that Comedian is losing the fight. He could have gone out the window two minutes earlier and we would have lost nothing.

Speaking of Comedian, how great is Jeffrey Dean Morgan? The casting in general is great. While I wouldn’t have minded a slightly older Laurie, Malin Ackerman surprised me. I was expecting much worse. Carla Gugino’s make-up could have been improved, Matthew Goode’s build was a little odd for Adrian, and a couple of other minor complaints but for the most part I loved everyone. Occasionally I had moments of pity for the actors, some of the scenes were just god-awful, but the actors themselves did what they could with what they were given. In some instances they were competent, in others they excelled.

The three standouts for me, and I think for most everyone, are Morgan as Comedian, Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg, and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. I don’t even know where to begin in expressing my delight with Haley. From his voice to his posture to his expressions, he’s perfect. Absolutely, spot on. He is Rorschach; it’s as simple as that. It’s a rare thing to see someone bring a character to life so completely (Dark Knight comparisons are obvious here, I think). Haley’s performance alone makes Watchmen worth it for me.

As a fan of the comic, I went into this movie expecting the worst. I’m happy to say that that’s not what we get. Watchmen, while not great, is far from horrible. It’s flawed in many ways and I think the blame for that falls completely to Zach Snyder. He’s great at preserving the visual feel of these comics, but he’s not a very good director. His character development is atrocious (a problem 300 had as well), his music selection juvenile (we’re supposed to be watching a movie, not a music video for Sound of Silence), and he just doesn’t know when, or how, to step away from the source material. The 163 minute running time is cumbersome, to say the least.

I'd just like to point out that the graphic novel is the source material, the inspiration. It's not supposed to be the storyboard. There are scenes that are almost frame for frame lifted from the comic. While cool maybe once or twice, here or there, it's just unnecessary. The direction frequently comes across as pandering to fan boy sensibilities rather than focusing on making a good film.

Despite all of this Watchmen manages to remain a decent film. The problem for fans of the comic is going to be in seeing all of the ways in which a change could have been made to make this a better Movie. For people new to the story the problem may come in trying to follow the complex narrative. However, on both sides there is plenty of room for enjoyment. In fact, I have yet to come across anyone, fan or not, who hasn’t liked the movie. Everyone has at least a small complaint but we all agree that we enjoyed it.

For all of its flaws, Watchmen is a cultural experience worth being a part of. It’s worth giving a chance.

***

One of my favorite parts of the whole damn movie is the opening credit sequence. Watch it again online.

Thoughts: My Weekend in Film 6/16

I feel like I have a lot of updating to do. I watched more movies this weekend than I have the last few weeks. I've also been so busy with work that I have a backlog of things I want to write about. I won't say exactly what though since I don't know how much time I'll have to get to it all and I don't want to disappoint anyone when something gets left out.

Before I talk about my weekend I do want to share these to interviews though. The first is an absolutely fantastic one with Andrew Stanton, the writer and director of Pixar's Wall-E. I have told you guys I'm extremely excited about this movie, haven't I? Anyway, you can find the interview here. It pretty much just reaffirms all of the reasons I love Pixar.

The second interview is with director M. Night Shyamalan. Okay, so I may be the only person ever to actually like The Happening. Really the only movie of his that I can straight up say I don't like is Signs. I'm a fan and if nothing else I have to respect his love of movie making. Say what you will about this guy, his love of film seems genuine and that right there makes him a lot more respectable than a lot of directors out there. He does what he does and leaves it up to you to decide if you like. Either way he doesn't compromise his vision, even if that vision may be highly flawed.

Anyway, I'll talk a bit more about The Happening in a minute. You can find his interview here.

Now that that stuff is out of the way let's move on to my weekend shall we?

Friday PM:

A picture from the set of my short "Tomorrow's Party"

Rather than watching other people's work, I actually made a bit of progress on my own. I spent the night working with the guy who is potentially going to be providing me with music for my short. I'm now way past my April goal of finishing but I suppose I shouldn't really be surprised. The picture editing I finished more or less when I hoped to. I just completely underestimated how much time the music was going to take me.

One thing about me: I'm a complete perfectionist. Especially when it comes to anything remotely creative. When I was younger I used to do this thing where if I didn't think I could get something as perfect as I wanted it, I just wouldn't do it. A fear of failure or some such thing. I've grown past that bit but sometimes it can take me a really, really long time to finish something.

In this case, I could have settled on a couple of music options earlier. They just weren't quite right for my film. And if I settle on less than perfect music, well, what was the point of putting all of this time and energy into something that I'm just going to give up on in the final act? Instead, the process has dragged out two months longer than I hoped it would. I think the time will be worth it though. From the progress made Friday night I feel like what I'll be getting is music that fits the story and the emotions that I'm attempting to convey. Every little detail is so important; the more details I get right the better my final film will be. This film means so much. I want it to be as close to perfection as it humanely possible to get.

It's also been a huge learning process. I can add this music experience to the list of other things I now know. It's all to make the next one that much easier to do ;)

Saturday Afternoon:

I was so incredibly lazy all weekend. Saturday started with breakfast (huevos rancheros from a little Mexican joint nearby. Delicious!), moved on to hanging out in my front yard, and finally made its way to film. That wonderful marine layer we're all so used to out of the westside maybe Saturday a bit chilly. A slightly overcast, chilly Saturday? Perfect time to go to a movie!



So here's where I'll talk more about The Happening. See, the thing is, I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's flawed. Yes, there's a lot wrong with it. The acting is stiff, the dialog can be absolutely atrocious, stylistically I don't think it's as strong as M. Night's other films. However, emotionally it hit all of the right notes for me and while I can't really argue that it's a good film I can confidently say that it is an enjoyable one. If you're a fan of his previous works then I definitely recommend you go see The Happening. If you're not? Then you may want to wait for video. I don't regret seeing it in the theater (especially since I went to a cheaper matinee show) but it's not necessarily something that absolutely has to be seen on the big screen.

I also have to mention that I really do appreciate the restraint they showed in releasing a film that runs only about an hour and half long. When there are so many films with ridiculously inflated running times, it is so incredibly nice to get a film that doesn't run too long. Hollywood just doesn't seem to know when to say "Stop, it's time to CUT now" anymore. A movie doesn't have to be over two hours long in order to be good. In fact, a too long running time has frequently been my biggest complaint about a lot of films in the recent past. Shorter can most definitely be better.

I'm really hoping to write a full review on The Happening in the next couple of days so I won't write anymore now. I think I've really said enough at this point anyway.

Saturday PM:

After going to the local park with a few people and throwing a baseball around until it was too dark to see, we came home and just kind of hung out for a while. There was a bit of channel surfing going on that I didn't pay much attention to.

Finally the channels stopped changing and we were left watching 2003's Ben Affleck vehicle Paycheck.



I never actually saw Paycheck when it came out. At the time I was working part time at a video store and even the free rental didn't convince me that watching Paycheck was a good idea. I mean, John Woo is a cool director, he's made some awesome films. However he's not exactly someone I would pick to direct an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. (Honestly the only Philip K. Dick adaptation I've ever liked is Ridley Scott's Bladerunner. Possibly a "duh" statement. And even that departs quite a bit from the story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.)

Ben Affleck? Yeah, I'm not really a fan. So Paycheck I skipped.

Finally watching it this weekend what I have to say is this: It's not a good movie. But. It's an ALMOST good movie. It has a lot going for it and it certainly keeps my interest. In the end it doesn't quite work as well as I would have liked but it's fun. I'm sticking with my original opinion of John Woo being the wrong choice for this film though. The focus is too much on making it a standard action flick rather than taking advantage of all of the cool things the story offers.

Again, I'm kind of hoping to be able to write a full review so I'm going to move on to the next one now. Don't want to blow my load to early now, do I? Er, is that I bad phrase to use? I think maybe it is...

On to Sunday!

Sunday PM:

One of my favorite animated films ever was on Sunday night. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. I've talked about my love of Miyazaki in my reviews of Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle.



Spirited Away is possibly his best film. Character design, story, writing, animation, I can not think of one thing I wish was better. I love it all. So much time and care obviously goes into his films. The results are beautifully crafted films that far surpass most of what we see America producing. His films are always kid friendly and yet challenging for the adult viewer as well. There is always a strong moral center but his themes never come across as preachy.

I love this movie so much. I highly recommend you all watch it. There's a good chance you'll fall in love as well.

After Spirited Away, K and I managed to once again leave to couch and get out of the house. We had somewhere we needed to be. After all, The Incredible Hulk opened this week.



I've gotta say, the rumors are true. Marvel managed to deliver us TWO excellent comic book movies this summer. It gives me hope for their future adaptation plans. I'm not sure I liked the Hulk more than Iron Man but I enjoyed it at least as much. It's really well done. Edward Norton continues to earn my love. He and Liv Tyler are also great together. She's not always my favorite actress but I've liked her more than I haven't. I guess I can't completely blame her for Armageddon. She's not the worst part of that movie. (I'm looking at you animal crackers! Worst. Scene. Ever.)

She's good in The Incredible Hulk though. As is the rest of the cast. And the CGI. Sure the Hulk still looks like CGI. But dude, he's a giant green guy. How realistic are we really expecting him to look? The action is one thing that I would say Hulk does better than Iron Man. Where the final fight in Iron Man leaves me wanting more, it's a bit anti-climactic, all of the action in Hulk is great. It's well paced, it's explosive, and all of the build up comes together in one kick ass finale.

And thank you Marvel. First Robert Downey Jr. and now Ed Norton in all of their male shirtless glory. I am one happy lady right now. Damn but do they both look good. I've never been one to put up pictures of celebrities on my walls. But these movies are really making me reconsider that decorating decision. There are worse things to stare at than Ed Norton in torn up jeans. Mmmm... I would tear those pants up myself, I tell you what!

Is it just me or is this post getting increasingly inappropriate?

Again. Moving on.

On the Slate:

Lifeforce - In from Netflix. Hopefully I'll have time to give it a go.

The Tripletts of Bellville - It's been a while since I've watched this one. I'm all in the mood for it so maybe I'll make that happen this week.

Mongol - I really need to see it!

Medicine For Melancholy - Playing as part of the LA Film Festival I'm planning on going to the Friday PM showing. For more info check out the LA Film Fest's website.