February 2005 Archives
Oscar producer Gil Cates has caused some controversy with his decision to save time by handing out some of the more minor awards right there in the audience, instead of letting the winners come up to the podium. He has caused further controversy by defining the minor awards as "those most likely to be won by somebody ugly." Overlooked in the furor is the fact that Cates will use the extra time to hand out several new and much-needed awards. Here is a brief look at the new trophies, as well as my predictions for the likely winners.
Best Supporting Performance by a Lead Actor: Jamie Foxx, who somehow managed to be classified as a supporting actor for Collateral, despite being onscreen for every single minute of the film. Next year, he will be following up his success with another supporting role in a film called Othello, starring Brad Pitt in the lead role of Iago, with Foxx playing his Moorish sidekick.
I debated whether I should announce this, since a tragedy of this order might spark rioting in the streets, but I have decided that my obligations to factual reportage outweight my duties to public order. It is therefore with much regret, and no little trepidation, that I hereby inform the world: I won't be watching the Oscars live this year.
This is the first time in my adult memory that I've missed this important religious ceremony. Catching it has been trickier since I moved to Greenwich Mean Time, which is eight hours later than Pacific time, meaning that a broadcast which goes out over the airwaves at 5 PM in LA arrives in London at 1AM. We've therefore had a hard time getting Londoners to stay up with us--only our friend Courtney has been adventurous enough to camp out on our floor with us--but we've created virtual Oscar parties by connecting with our US-based friends via Internet chat, in a stirring union of film geekery and computer geekery.
That was back in the glorious multi-year period when the Oscars were broadcast on the publically-funded BBC. This year, they were outbid by pay-cable broadcaster Sky Movies--a channel we don't receive.
At 1AM this monday, if there is rioting in the streets of London (or, at least, the hallways of our flat), you will know why.
Here at Yankee Fog, our goal is to provide you with up-to-date coverage of the entire world. That's why, at great personal expense, we have sent correspondant Eric Peng to China for a first hand account of life there. (Note: for purposes of this article, "sending a correspondant to China" means "republishing an e-mail sent by my old college roommate who happens to be visiting Shanghai.") Here is what he has to say:
I've been here two weeks now and it's my first extended visit to China in ten years. The pace of change here is almost incomprehensible. Almost the entire side of the river where I'm staying was farmland the last time I was here, and now it's like the Manhattan skyline. The street I'm on doesn't even appear on maps dated 1999. Everywhere you look, there are new high-rises or skyscrapers going up (and old neighborhoods being bulldozed). If you think there's a property bubble in the US, try Shanghai ... typical occupancy seems to be around 40% so all the empties (and to some degree the rentals) are pure speculation.
I was recently discussing the question of whether it makes sense to buy specialized screenwriting software like Final Draft. Most working writers will tell you that, at some point, you need to bite the bullet and buy Final Draft--but when you're starting out, there's no need to buy expensive scriptwriting software, and a good template for your word processor will do you just as well.
For anybody who is interested, here is the screenplay template I use. I downloaded it from somewhere years ago, and have modified it a bit since then. I'm embarrassed to admit that I no longer remember where I got it from in the first place, but I believe that distribution was encouraged, so help yourself.
I have a short piece over at McSweeney's today.
(Potentially Not Safe For Work Warning: Linked article contains swear words (which is rather bizarre, given that the subject matter is Hello Kitty.))
Apparently, the US government has decided that, in addition to updating their photographs and addresses, immigrants must also update their fingerprints regularly. Um. Isn't the whole point of fingerprints that they don't change? Or, as Matthew puts it:
"Karl held up his hands to me and asked, 'What expire? Fingerprints don't expire!'"
You tell a producer about a script you've got. They absolutely love the idea, and want to see it immediately. You send it to them--and weeks go by with no response. Then months. Do they love it? Hate it? Not have time to look at it? You have no way of knowing.
It's an experience every screenwriter has had. But very few writers end up getting an apology like the following:
I have your letter of July 22 and after due investigation hasten my apologies for the discourteous treatment you received at the hands of two of our presumably responsible persons. Words cannot express how deeply I feel the great wrong committed against you... The two parties who committed this deplorable breech of courtesy have been dealt with in a manner commensurate with their acts.
One of the reasons I'm switching to shorter entries here is that, for the past few months, I've suddenly had a lot of writing projects on my plate. I sold a book, for one thing--I'll post more about that later.
Another thing I've been working on is the libretto for The Whitechapel Whirlwind, a new opera composed by Howard Fredrics. It's about the legendary British boxer Jack "Kid" Berg, who was an international superstar in the 1930s. One of the pleasures of the project has been going wild with the 1930's slang. I get to write lines like "It don't make Kiki happy when you flag them bindle broads"--and then I get to hear them set to music. (In case you're wondering, Kiki is the girlfriend of gangster Legs Diamond; her flirtation with "Kid" Berg leads to some very dangerous consequences for him.)
We're premiering scenes from this work-in-progress in London on 29 March. You can find more information at the Bloomsbury Theatre's website, or you can see the poster for the event here.
Important news on the status of Osama Bin Laden.
Imagine you are an anti-American group in Iraq that doesn't have it together enough to actually take a hostage. What do you do?
Apparently, you kidnap a toy action figure and threaten to execute him.
(via Slumbering Lungfish)
Yankee Fog has been online for almost exactly a year now. When I started, my plan was to treat it more like a weekly column than a blog; instead of a series of short entries, I'd post one long entry, one day a week. I also attempted to remain fairly focused; just like a newspaper columnist, I aimed to write in a consistent voice about a fairly focused topic--to whit, the life of an American screenwriter in London.
In the year I've been online, I've developed a small but loyal (and, based on the comments, intelligent and articulate) readership. Still, I've gradually found myself chafing at the self-imposed restrictions. I even created a separate website for humor pieces that didn't fit in with the voice I had created for Yankee Fog. I've also found that my readership has plateaued at a fairly low number.
