Title? Meh.

Cinema. Finally got round to watching ‘Star Trek’. Enjoyed it immensely. For some reason I didn’t think I would. I was expecting some kind of, dunno, The Star Trek O.C. or something. It was good fun. Another good one was ‘Looking For Eric’. A very very good film. Don’t get caught up with the whole ‘Eric Cantona is in it’. It’s well worth a watch.

Had a couple of festivals come and go. First there was the British Film Festival in LA. I was nominated for best film noir. Didn’t win but that’s okay. I haven’t seen the film that did but it sounds the business. There was also the Swansea Bay Festival. The video I did for the Threatmantics was shown on the opening day. Didn’t have a chance to get down there this year for one reason or another. Hopefully it all went okay.

Finished the second draft of my feature film script. It’s a lot tidier than the first and the dots connect a little better. Reading the first draft again made me realise that there were a load of plot holes or things that don’t pay off. I think I’ve tried to put that right. I’ve taken out an entire scene too because I wasn’t convinced it was necessary. Clocks in at 85 pages which for the type of film it would be, is okay.

Also completed the first draft of a ghost story I’ve been working on for a while. Been through a few changes. At first it was film with no dialogue. I’ve changed that. Got some talking in there now. Added an element of twisted Christianity to the mix. As a short it’s okay. I’ll read it again in a couple of weeks to see if it is. A couple of other stories that I wrote have to be reread soon too. There’s the follow up to the Don Williams thing which is called Dai Ninja. There’s also my first attempt at a comic series / graphic novel which is just called ‘Kavan’ at the mo. It’s about a grumpy detective in a world of wizards where everyone has at least one magical power.

If anybody is interested in reading any of these, give me an email address and I’ll send them through. The only condition is you give me impartial feedback. I don’t mind being called shit as long as you tell me why.

Couple of things have happened this week. First thing. Some unwanted visitors in the house. Mice. A few years ago we caught a mouse in the house. We decided to give him a home. Fed him, watered him. He died a fortnight ago. I gave him a half Viking send off. And now, we got more. Not one, not even two. Current count is SIX. Well, least we caught the buggers. I sent them off to a better place.

Took them down the river. They’ll live nice down there.

Second thing. Ages I ago I applied for Deal Or No Deal. The other day I had a phone interview for it. Hopefully I’ll hear back from them in a few weeks about the face to face interview. That would be cool.

In sad news, I’m thinking of selling my comics. Why? Dunno. Get some cash in I suppose but it’s more about space I think. I’ve bought a lot of stuff over the years. Some of it far better than others but I think it’s time. Not sure how to do it though. Whether to try to get rid of them in one go via a market stall or something. The other alternative is eBay but I can I really be bothered to enter every single damn comic on there? I’m talking thousands here. It is an effort.

LA nomination

Busy couple of days.

Found out the other day that 'Don Williams' has been nominated for 'Best Film Noir' at the British Film Festival Los Angeles. That's pretty cool. And totally unexpected.

The Legend Of Don Williams was my final film as part of a post-grad degree course. My first proper attempt at filmmaking. For all it's faults and issues I'm still quite proud of it I suppose. I made it for very little money and pulled in a load of favours. To be honest I'm amazed that it gets nominated for anything.

The fact that it's getting a screening is awesome. The film is damn Welsh. It will be interesting to see what an American audience would make of it. Hopefully it's quirkyness would appeal. It's probably the last time the full 28 minute version will be screened too. I've enlisted an editor to get in down to 20 mins to make it more fest friendly. My concern is that it'll lose it's 'Welshness'. Ah well, life is all about compromise. Isn't it?

It's a real shame I can't make it over there though. I simply cannot afford it. Nothing to do with a credit crunch, that really hasn't affected me, more to do with not having any money. I tried to get a bit of funding or sponsorship. Nothing. Ah well. I have some mates who live in LA maybe I can convince them to go and accept the award if I win. Heh. No chance of winning but fun to be nominated.

Don Williams from Pontypridd makes it to Los Angeles. My Gransh would love that!

Got a screening of Lonely Heart by Threatmantics playing in the Swansea Bay Film Festival in a month or two too.

My current project is gradually nearing the end. First drafts are always rubbish and for me are the hardest of all drafts. Sticking with it. I still have a bit of confidence in it though. I feel that it could be made cheaply and as long as the script holds up, I think it could also be kinda good.

Also got something else in the pipeline. A potential stage play. I've pitched the idea so we'll see what happens.

A kinda scary thing.

Wow. The last few days. Where to start? I guess I should start with the MURDER in the street!!

It's all a bit strange to be honest. As idiotic as some of my fellow villagers are, killers were not high on the list. Gluesniffers, paedo's, mongs, yeah. Killers, less so. It's all kinda scary too because it all seems to be completely random. Could have happened to anyone. What if me or my wife were walking the dog? Makes you think. Granted, I probably would have disarmed him and put him in a 'million dollar dream' but that's not the point. Seriously though, it makes you wonder.

Yeah, so got home the other night to find the roads closed. Thought nothing of it. The first person I saw when I left the house that following morning for a four pinter of milk over the shop was BBC news reporter Nick Palit. I then saw the BBC news van, and finally I saw the mass posse of cops and their vans. Like a keen detective I knew something was up. A quick jaunt into the post office relayed the jist. Turns out this poor old woman got herself stabbed because she just happened to be standing on the street. My village is just lovely.

Oh, I was actually posting a dvd to Thailand so I has business to attend to in said post office. I wasn't in there for the gossip. The 'Don Williams' film is getting shown in a festival in Thailand and they needed a screening copy. Thailand. Wonder what they'll make of 'Dollhead'.

So my house was on the news. That was strange too. The reporter is talking about a suspect in custody and it shows my house.

It is kinda true what they say on the new about these 'close knit communities' all suffering shock together when things kick off. There defo was an atmosphere in the village. It was quiet. Even the chavy kids that hang around the square were more respectful, for while at least.

That changed when the live news cameras went on. You could just see the lads walking very slowly towards the cameras. My wife called it. We switched on the tv and sure enough there they were in the background. Some with their dogs, others with their cans but all ready with a friendly wave for everyone at home.

Yeah, so that's that. Violent times.

Other stuff... Writing going okay. Managed to get a few more pages out of it. As Mr Cummins alluded to I can see something in this murder thing that I can use in the story. We'll see. Might be a bit forced but also might fit into a character trait I wanted to exploit.

Went to see Richard Herring on Wednesday night too. You remember, from Lee and Herring. Fist Of Fun. No? Remember that fake Rod Hull that liked green jelly? “I AM HIM!!” That’s the show. It was enjoyable enough.

New writings and stupid do-gooder me.

I've started writing again. Yay. Hopefully I can keep this blog going as some kind of progress report.

So why did I stop writing? More than one reason. The most conveniant excuse is work. I work a stupid amount of hours (58 this week) and don't get an opportunity to write there. I can, and have, written a few notes on plot and characters etc but not actual writing. To be fair though I shouldn't. Anything I write there is a bonus.

Working so much takes it's toll. By the time I get home it's closer to midnight than not and writing anything at that time is just not gonna happen. I usually need a good few days to write anything remotely decent. A day of struggle, a day to get a bit of momentum and a third to get right into it. I haven't had a few days off to myself for a while.

But, like I said, I'm writing again. I have decided to go against all the obstucles and crack on anyway. I'm gonna give up a few hours sleep a night most probably but it'll be worth it. It's already starting to work.

When I don't write I get highly irritable ("...like a crack Hitler" - Faith No More). Luckily I only take my frustrations out on myself. But, now I'm writing I'm a bit happier. When I'm writing I do change. I get quieter, unusually quiet. I zone out, go into my own little world, I'm contantly thinking about the story. I also cluck my tongue. A bit like the mental guy that used to go in Cruci's when I was a kid. Dunno his name but rest assured, he was a mentalist.

The story itself is about relationships in the face of an impending death. The death is secondary. Very character driven and all very 'indie' I suppose. The reason for that is so that it is easier to shoot. The idea is simple enough for me to shoot myself with very limited funded. However, as with most projects, the more money (usually) the better chance the project has of success. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I see the script being about 90 odd pages meaning that it shous equate to about the same in screen minutes. That seems about right for this type of film. I'm not far into it at all. Maybe twenty pages.

Yeah, so this isn't exactly a funny blog. If you want a funny blog check out my good mate Darren Avery's blog. You can get that here... http://www.nerdles.com/author/darren-avery/

Oh, and while it's in my head. I have stopped being nice to strangers. Performing an act of kindness is more trouble than it's worth. Why? What happened? Well it was a Staurday morning. I was on my way to work. I found a phone on the train. Rather than hand it in to the less than trustworthy train staff I decided to do something myself. Of the train I scanned through the contacts. Found a number for home. Dialled it. Spoke to someone there telling them that I've just found a phone of someone who lives there. They say that it belongs to their 12 year old son. Cool. Come down and get it. I'm in work.

Sorted. No. No it wasn't.

Got to work. Having second thoughts about the rightful owner of the phone. Bit too expensive for a 12 year old. Had a look through the phone. The photo's looked as if it belonged to someone older. A teenage girl I reckon. About 19 or so. I reckoned that I watch too much Columbo. Looked through the contact list again and there are numbers there that a 12 year old wouldn't have. I also saw the name of someone I knew. Idea. Phone her up. Ask her who's phone this is. Did that. She sounded confused. Said she'd phone back. Cool.

By this time the guy I phoned earlier is outside wanting the phone. After a twenty minute discussion with one of my work colleagues I refuse to give the phone to him. He is unable to confirm any of the phone numbers on the phone. After a while he seemed to realise that this wasn't his kids phone. Turns out the kid lost it 4 months ago. Yeah, not his phone. As he walked away I fought the Columbo in me to say "Oh, there is just one more thing." No, I allowed the pikey bastard to leave.

I tried texting and calling the last person the rightful owner phoned. No luck. by this time I think the owner had the phone blocked or something. Also by this time I had had enough.

Anyway, this girl that I knew didn't call back and the whole thing was a pain in the ass so on my way home I gave the phone to the train conducter like I should have in the first place. He actually said, quote, "If it's a nice phone I might keep it." I have no doubts mate. That's what started this whole thing. I have a feeling it's not over either. Whatever. It is for me.

Never again.

A cinema rant.

I'm in a bit of a mood so forgive me a rant...

Over the last few weeks, actually, I think it’s more like years, I have gradually growing more and more tired of going to the cinema.

I love film and sitting in front of a massive screen with sound hitting you from almost every angle used to be one of my favourite things. I don’t think there is any one reason; I think its a few little things that when put together spoils it all for me.

The most annoying thing is obviously other people. For a number of different reasons. Some talk every now and again, I can take that but some people don’t shut up. At least whisper. If you are going for a kid’s film you can forgive the noise, you expect it, but when you are going in for a 12A or a 15 fogetaboutit. I could talk about the eating noises (sweet wrappers), the slurping of drinks, the smell of their food (I’ve seen people eating all sorts of crazy shit), kicking the back of your chair and mobile phone use. I hate watching the film and having my attention drawn to little bright screen I can see out of the corner of my eye because someone can’t go a couple of hours without checking their phone but don’t get me started on mobile phones. Hate them. Hate them hate them hate them.

Dammit. Okay, the single most thing I hate about mobile phones is this. I can’t understand how someone’s life stops because they don’t have their phone. How they fret and panic if they leave the house without it for example. For most people any message or phone call they get isn’t that important. It’s not a medical emergency, it’s not a business thing, those are decent important reasons, it’s usually just a mate saying ‘what are you doing?’ Is your life so empty and boring that you can’t go an hour without your phone. Jesus...

The teens will fuck it up for you too. This might sound like old fella talk but when I was a kid I didn’t play up. I suppose I may have been with people who did from time to time but most of the time we were there for the film. Nobody does anything about it either. Where are the staff? Too many screens not enough staff? Who knows. I used to work in a cinema for a couple of years and I was the head usher for half of that. I used to love throwing kids out. It was one of the best parts of the jobs because you would get genuine thanks off the customers after the screening. Maybe this a reason as to why I get so annoyed, I see ushers not doing their jobs properly. These kids, you’ve paid a fair whack for the film you may as well watch it. Which brings me to my next reason…

The price. It can cost a fortune to go to the cinema these days. I’m not talking about food and drink because that goes without saying. I’m talking about ticket prices here. If it wasn’t for Orange Wednesday (which is frickin’ awesome) or the cheap day Tuesdays in Vue and Cineworld I would never go. At the time of writing to watch a film in the Odeon is £7. £7! Double that because I’m with my wife and I may as well buy the DVD when it comes out and keep it for life.

I’ve been quite a lot this year. I think only a handful were incident free. Let’s list a few…

Dark Knight – If you know me at all you will know how much I busted for this. I had annoying people behind talking thoughout. People next to me eating pizza (which smelt lovely). A proper noisy bastard heckling the damn screen elsewhere in the cinema. Oh, and paying £20 for a couple of tickets.
Simpsons (was that this year?) – Teens everywhere. Swearing, shouting, chucking stuff.
Zohan (nothing else on) – A lad making noises with a empty can of coke.
Burn After Reading – Kids fucking about with their phones.

I’ve seen ‘W’ and ‘Quantum Of Solace’ this week and to be honest they were fine. I think time has a lot to do with it. Afternoon screenings are usually fine. Obviously depends on the film too. You are not gonna get too many kids going in for ‘W’.

I get really angry in the cinema now and it’s a real shame. I remember one time, I was so angry with the people around us that my wife made us move before I proper snapped (which was coming). All the reasons I’ve listed contribute to unenjoyable cinema experiences for me.

So is it gonna stop me going? No, I don’t think so. Why? Because I do genuinely love cinema and film in general. Sometimes you go to a screening and the audience are likeminded and when that happens it’s a joy again. Watching ‘W’ was a breath of fresh air. Alright, the film wasn’t that good but the atmosphere really was. There were 200 people all to genuinely watch a movie. I even commented to my wife that “I wish trips to cinema were always like this”. It was fun again. As it should be.

'W' was good. Especially the end when he starts shooting people.

So what's up?

What's up is writing. Lots of writing.

I have three projects that I'm working on at the moment. The first is a follow up to the 'Legend Of Don Williams' film. I don't expect to shoot it though. It's too big. Too expensive. I would love to do it as a comic. In theory, it's written and good to go. I might need to re-read it though just to make sure.

The second project is one that I don't talk about very much. I'll give the vaguest description when people ask what I'm working on. My usual reply is "wizards ana". This usually stops people asking anything more. It is about wizards but with more to it than that. Again I reluctant to elaborate because I don't know of anything like it out there. There may be though. Who knows? I would love to see this as a comic too. It's a very visually interesting world. The one thing I can do is say that the name of the main character is 'Kaván'.

The last one is a feature length film idea. Very low budget and all fairly simple to shoot. It's another film that in theory could be shot in Ponty. It's about somebody coming back to the town that they left behind. Facing the problems, friends, family they left behind. This is the least finished of the three. I kinda know what happens but things need to be rearranged and added to blah blah blah. We'll see what happens with that.

What else? The 'Don Williams' film was shown a mini lil festival in Cardiff on Sat 30th called 'Fair Play Festival'. The festival was set over three days 29-31 Aug. Alas, I was unable to attend because I was usher at one of my best mates wedding. Good day that.

Speaking of ushering it's good to know that in my other job I can finally say goodbye to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Goodbye.

Wheezing the ja-hoose...

It's been a while but nothing much has happened. Never my intent to talk about personal type stuff on here. But... I'm an uncle now. Yay!

The main thing that has happened is the Screen Academy of Wales have awarded me a post production grant. Don't know how much for yet but it's a big help. I am now free to enter 'Don Williams' into festivals etc...

Speaking of which, I'll hear back from a decent festival later this month. Fingers crossed. I've sent an application to another decent one the other day also. That festival isn't until Feb 09 tho. The film should be shown at the Chapter again in October though as part of the Film and Animation showcase that the Int. film school Wales do. Again, we'll see.

Writing is going okay at the minute too. I'm going into my second draft of the 'Don Williams' follow up. A lot of editing needed on it. That's still gonna be an online comic. I also came up with an idea the other day that I have written down and plotted out. I think that might be a comic too.

Oh, Dark Knight was only a bit awesome.

It's all about Ledger init? He was pretty freaking good to be fair. Makes his death all the sadder. Oscar? Maybe. Hollywood is sentimental. I don't really care about the oscars but it would be nice for him to be recognised for his creation. It's a very (this might sound strange) but realistic version of what the Joker might be in a world that has a Batman. Does that make sense? The Joker character can get away with things in a comic or in an animated series that might not the plausible or acceptable on film. Can be more fantastic or eggaggerated but Ledger's Joker was based in reality. Hmm.

The guy could probably have done anything. He'll become the James Dean (maybe a Cobain) of a generation. I just hope he doesn't get the posters/t-shirts tragic death as fashion treatment.

Everybody was good in it to be fair. I'm a really big fan of Bale and Eckhardt too and they didn't disappoint. With Caine, Freeman and Oldman in the mix you know you're okay. And, as my wife will atest to, I am the biggest freaking Christopher Nolan fan. I love Memento. Insomnia is fantastic. The Prestige is one of my favourite films and the Batman films are incredible. He's a phenomenon. I'm not gonna geek out and tell you why. If you haven't seen any of his other films I urge you to check them out.