And these lyrics to Ambling Alp just feel so good to hear:
Now, the world can be an unfair place at times But your lows will have their complement of highs And if anyone should cheat you, take advantage of, or beat you Raise your head and wear your wounds with pride
You must stick up for yourself, son Never mind what anybody else done
The track has a joyous 80s feel, and is so positive, uplifting, and fun.
If you really want to take off to another level, have yourself some Feel Flows
I was also really excited to see this video from a fellow classmate in my film program:
The dialogue is really awesome and smart! There's a lot of talent among my classmates, but it made me especially excited to know I'm in the company of someone who wants to make great comedies too.
Musical ones. I don't really know how to play them. I tried guitar when I was 15, and sang and read sheet music and all that. But I've never absorbed an instrument successfully.
It's crazy how you have to learn something with patience, diligence, and precision, in order to burst it apart and make hysterical noise.
I think musical instruments are artificial appendages that must be learned to be used. Sad that one must be calmed down for the learning process.
Mostly I'm just sad, I'd really love to get inside Dave Grohl's brain like in the Malkovich movie, and feel what it's like to drum Lithium, and I'd really like to feel that RIGHT NOW!
I've started up classes again and have lots of things to do, which is fueling me with energy at the moment. All kinds of energies - positive and negative.
There's certain things you need to know. One is that The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is an excellent and sophisticated film in spite of its title. It tells a story from a female perspective that is honest, not black and white, but true. There are many very subtle, delightful jokes in the film, everything from a funny framing to a wardrobe choice. The acting and directing are also superb. I hope Robin Wright gets an Oscar nom. I think Rebecca Miller, writer/director, could get an adapted screenplay award too.
I met Harvey Weinstein recently. He's a hilarious and friendly man. Which shocked and awed me.
And I saw the film NINE, and got to meet the cast. I'm not into musicals, but this was really well executed, and FULL of sexual energy. Penelope Cruz is going to make an impression on a lot of people's pulses. The finest moments to me were the opening with Daniel Day Lewis, and a scene during the screening of dailies with Marion Cottilard and DDL.
I've also seen the Wild Things movie when it opened. If you'd like diversity in this blog post - I did not like this film. Monsters should be monsters, not melodramatic turdburglers. I thought a story was forced out of the subject material that lost the original appeal of the book. Also, my favorite moment was missing - where the boy's room transforms into the forest. So sad, I do love Spike Jones. So I blame Eggers.
OTHER THUMBS UP FOR A CLASSIC THAT I FINALLY SAW - Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing: full of vibrant energy and life. A critical look from the inside of brooklyn culture.
SO NOW In school, for the next 4 weeks, we edit our 4 minute B/W film, we start pre-production for our upcoming 5 minute observational documentary, and we start reading the short stories we will adapt for our last project of 1st year - an adaptation. Busy month!
I saw a screening of the new film "The Messenger" followed by a Q and A with director/writer Oren Moverman and stars Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster - and I couldn't have loved it more. I've been seeing so many movies lately by all of the masters in film school - and this film really impressed me.
It's about the soldiers who have to tell families that their son/daughter/husband/wife has been killed in combat. It takes place in the present, with the war going on right now.
It's largely about the working relationship/friendship between Harrelson and Foster - and their acting couldn't have been any more natural, real, both funny and moving. I've always loved Woody Harrelson for his balance of humor and sincerity on screen. Foster got to me as the irritating Russel in my favorite tv show, Six Feet Under. Foster totally blew me away in this role.
Samantha Morton and Steve Buschemi also played so movingly and realistically in the film.
A lot of small choices added to the reality of the film. Samantha Morton gained some weight, so she looked a lot more authentic. She has a half black kid, which speaks to the fact that hey - there's also a lot of black men in the military too, though they weren't the main characters. I was surprised by the use of sex and nudity in the top of the movie. If you like Jena Malone's butt, you're going to love seeing her in a very realistic sex scene. I think the reason for this is it sets an emotional tone, and heightens the level of intensity of the charactor's experience.
There is an intimate scene between Ben Foster and Samantha Morton that seems so real, such a balance of pushing toward and pulling away - and I've really felt that in different circumstances. Moverman explained that he got it all in one long take, placing the camera through a window outside of the room, and actually used one long rehearsal take because he thought it was perfect. Smart thinking, and a pretty clever way to get around producers messing with your edit.
The story is well rounded and offers a thought provoking exploration of the soldier's reality.
I hate war. I think if the world was run by women, we'd have UN meetings and verbal battles instead of combat. It's primitive, unnecessary, and not progressive. BUT it's reality. And it's a part of the world we live in. Many young men and women live this reality, and Oren Moverman helped me understand a lot more about their experience.
I'm sorry for the soldiers that this is the way the world is. I wish the politicians and angry terrorists would stop sending them to die.
--- They will have a screening this Friday and cast and directors will be there as well. Go!
"Why are songs like three or four minutes, and why are records 40 minutes long? They're based on the record, vinyl, the CD, and these forms are antiquated now. So can't an album be eternity, or can't it be five minutes? ... I no longer really have faith in the album anymore. I no longer have faith in the song." - Sufjan Stevens http://pitchfork.com/news/37026-sufjan-stevens-calls-the-50-states-album-project-such-a-joke/
Way for Sufjan to try opening my gosh darned mind. I will say that something feels natural and right about these times. The same thing bothers me about movie and tv show lengths and how arbitrary they can be. Then again something seems to feel right experientially about them. Uh. Go Yankees.
ALSO
Finally a new Bright Eyes song that's good ... cause I didn't really like the last album/solo stuff as much :(
Currently, I'm getting my MFA in Film at NYU with a writer/director concentration. This takes a lot of time so I can't perform as much - but comedy filmmaking is the reason I got into comedy in the first place.
I like it when people pay me money to do freelance work for them.
- Pay me to Write or Direct.
- Pay me to be a Sound Mixer on your film shoot.
- Pay me to produce original content for your corporate needs.
I am a comedian: standup, improv, sketch. You may contact me at theheatherfink@yahoo.com if you would like to book me to perform in or host your thing.
