Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Dodge--exactly.

So here's my latest enthusiasm--Hero.  It's the latest film from Zhang
Yimou, due out here in August.  They're trailering it in front of Kill
Bill Vol. 2 as Jet Li's new film.  And indeed, Jet is in it, as is
Donnie Yen.  But it is not just a martial arts film.  It's a brilliant
meditation on the nature of truth and the importance of peace.  Maybe
it's the pacifist message that has Miramax holding up the release
date--it was scheduled to get a big Crouching Tiger style release last
year, but they pulled it.  The acting is absolutely out of this
world--Tony Leung Chiu Wai is amazing.  Utterly amazing.  And Maggie
Cheung?  Incredible.  And the cinematography.....3 different characters
tell the same story, or parts of a story, and each flashback is
color-coded.  It's so beautiful!  The soundtrack is Itzhak Perlman
violin solos, according to IMdb.

The HK DVD is available on the internet.  It runs 90 minutes or 120
minutes, depending. My 98 minute version is fantastic. One of the big
fears a lot of HK film fans have is that Miramax is going to cut it to
pieces.  I really hope not.  There's not a wasted frame in it now.

Anyway, look for it in the theatres later this summer, or buy the HK
version (no dubbing).  But see it.  I think it's *lots* better than
Crouching Tiger, and I loved that movie.

Mary (about to start A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett
  

    
I've been waiting for *Hero* to get an American release for over a
year.  I cannot wait.  I'm not a Tarantino fan (besides *Pulp Fiction*,
and the identity crisis that is *From Dusk Till Dawn*), but God bless
the man for getting *Hero* distributed over here.  I will put up with
everything that annoys me about him just to watch that movie.

And soundtracks... is it just me, or are the violin-driven soundtracks
*the best*?  I mean, Yo-Yo Ma's *Crouching Tiger* CD rocked the house,
and The Kronos Quartet's performing Clint Mansell's *Requiem for a
Dream* score... well, I don't like Aronofsky.  *Pi* was pretentious
crap.  I *did* like *Requiem* (as much as one can like *Requiem*; it's
just not a movie you can enjoy.  It's like getting dumped by someone
you fell in love with; it's a visceral, soul-hurting experience.  I've
seen disturbing movies, sure, but *Requiem* just *hurt*) even as hard
as it was to watch, but the score is just jaw-dropping.  And the Remix
project of the score?  Even better.  Paul Oakenfold!
(also, Paul Oakenfold's remix of DMB's "When the World Ends" for the
*Matrix: Reloaded* soundtrack; it's played at the very end, almost
after the credits, and it was worth staying in the theater to hear it
on that beautiful sound system.  I would've paid my ten bucks just for
that moment alone)
  

    
Gave my 'lend' copy (the not signed one) of Wolves in the Wall to
Emy's mom to take to her. She's almost finished Coraline. It should be
a short read for her. She loves Neil Gaiman. Even introduced her mom to
his webpage and made her read 'A Study in Emerald'. Her mom comments
on the fact her daughter comes in and volunteers without being drilled
how her reading's going with Coraline. She got mad at a part in the
book where she thought it should be thus and so and it was so and thus
instead but I think she'll like the way it works out.   Then she can
read Wolves and then I can bring her some Pratchett books.
  

    
The thought of a recording with Maddy interviewing Neil makes me very
happy.  :) (<--see?)  I love them both so.

I hadn't realized Gary Bakewell did the audiobook of _Neverwhere_.  Or
maybe I heard it back when his name meant nothing to me.  I don't buy
audiobooks because I tend to listen to them only once,* but I sure
wouldn't mind hearing Gary doing this one (and slipping in and out of
accents).  Wonder if it's just a UK publication?


*I do, however, buy them as gifts so I can borrow them.  ;)
  

    
Oh, and Dodge, that's really cool about Em.  That is exactly the kind
of magic Neil can work.  :)

BTW, anyone heard from Davey lately?
  

    
I bought the Neverwhere audio book in one of those stores that sell
remaindered books at a discount for about $7.00.  I've only listened to
a little of it with my Creative Writing class last year when we
started reading the book.  I'm not big on audio books, unless it's
Himself reading, but Bakewell does a nice job.

Will--Apparently Zhang Yimou will never work with Miramax again
because he's so angry about the distribution mess with this film.  I do
like Tarantino, and one of my favorite things about him is that he is
an advocate for movies he loves--we're watching Iron Monkey in my
classroom on lunch period because Donnie Yen is my new favorite action
star--and he deserves a lot of credit for championing this flick.  I've
wanted to see it since Premier did a piece on it while it was still
filming.  Zhang has another martial arts film in production right now
with many of the same actors.  I hope we get to see it here some day. 
More info at www.monkeypeaches.com .
  

    
Oops--Neil, have you seen this flick?
  

    
Thanks all for those great answers to my question.
It's like you're the always-full table in the back, or the babbling
brook.  Carry on!
  

    
Hee hee, every time I think Neil's off doing too many things to poke
his head in here, he stops by to make us look even sillier. For the
curious, Neil doesn't know what he's talking about. There was no murder
- It was clearly an accident! Blackmail is too old hat for me
(especially when witchcraft works so much better). And me?
Intimidating? (bats eyelashes) But I am married. He got that part
right. :)

Dodge - I know what you mean about this place kind of pushing you to
go out and DO things. It's one of the reasons I'm here! :)

And Paul Oakenfold is a nice guy. I hate his music, but he's nice and
has good taste in what he listens to (if what he bought when he stopped
in the record shop I worked at is any evidence. He's also very short.
Like, I didn't recognize him at all because I was expecting someone
taller... at least over 5'2".

Any way that's it for the squeaker.

This in from Dan Wilson (formerly "stagewalker"):

Greetings from Beyond the Well!

Dodge, thanks for the kind words... or rather lumping me in with
Squeaks 
and Martha and Tiny and the others. It's nice to know I've not been 
forgotten.

Many things happening out here.

We're well into Pre-Production with my play "411" and the talent that
is 
being gathered makes me very happy. I still am holding out hopes that
I 
won't lose my shirt on this thing....

I got a nice and totally unexpected mention in the SF Bay Guardian
(the 
major independant weekly out here) regarding my role in the Improv
scene!

I'm working on the long abandoned and now quite insistent "Wings to
Fly" 
which means that my composer just might deign to speak to me again. 
(actually, he's been very patient with me over the last few years. He 
got tired of waiting for me, though, and got married and had a baby...

just to pass the time.)

In the midst of this chaos, I'm heading off to England and Paris for
the 
month of August and getting very excited about it. When I get back, 
we'll be firmly in the middle of production and I'll get to see what 
they've done to my baby while I'm away. Then the show and then...

Fiddler's Green!

Sweet Shiva.... I'm booked until November. That's just wrong.

Oh, and as you've seen, Squeaks looked like she was going to pop for
joy 
at her wedding and it was very groovy and beautiful and if I was one
to 
cry at weddings I might have, but I didn't cause I was too busy
smiling 
until my cheeks petrified permanently.

So, I'm still poking my head in the shadows and watching over all of
you 
freaks.

I'll try to post via the mouse, or the soup, or the horsey from time
to 
time!

Dan
  

    
I have spoken to Davey recently. If she didn't contract the martian
death flu recently, she caught it's nasty cousin. Also, her laptop went
all spoggly and splooey (with a little bit of 'crashy' on the side)
recently. She is still alive, though!

wishing her beams of wellness and WELLness,
squeaks
  

    
Oh, speaking of icing--I'm awake at this unholy hour because my PDA
initiated its own hard reset a couple of hours ago while I was entering
a routine mileage entry (I'm freelance, and mileage to client sites is
deductible), so I've been coaxing it through reinstallation of all
applications and as much data as I had stored through my last backup
(not recently enough, and I'll have to reconstruct a couple of weeks'
worth of records, argh). That's on top of the Martian Death Flu during
WisCon and continuing about a week after, and having crunched my laptop
two days before the con. (The hinge is badly warped and the case a bit
cracked but the hard drive, screen, and keyboard are still functional,
so it's now an ultralight desktop, grmph, while I watch eBay for a
replacement. Neil, you may laugh if you like, you're certainly due a
little compensatory amusement for prior teasing about spilled tea and
such.)

Anywhich, I'm Davey, which is short for Deborah, and I read much more
often than I post, and this year even more so than last because I'm
also running this convention in November www.fiddlersgreencon.org which
various other folk here are also working on or planning to attend.

Martha, it's a really real PLAY? Mazel tov! I've been to a few
readings; they're a different kind of exciting, with more creative
energy. I hope the director finds all the intelligent and passionate
and cool and amazing points, including the ones you didn't know you'd
put in.

Stagewalker, all the same wishes.

Christy and Dodge and everybody--hi, I'm around, but mostly distracted
and scrambling after missed deadlines...
  

    
Well, it has actors and dialogue and goes on for 90+ pages.  I think that's
a real play....
  

    
Good to hear from you, Dan!  I was just wondering about you.  I don't
suppose there's a Web link to that _Guardian_ mention, is there?

What will you be doing in England and Paris??

Good to hear from you, too, Ms. Davey!  And remember, if you have a
cracked laptop case, "not to say anything to anybody about it at all
ever in your whole life."  ;)
  

    
Dangit, Christy, if it were a _Dell_ I could get it repaired in this
country <g>; the actual problem is that Toshiba won't provide the
necessary parts to a U.S. shop for a Japanese-import model, they want
me to ship it to Japan with no guarantees. Feh.

Picked the first strawberries of the season from our home patch just a
couple of days ago though, yum. They're late this year, same as
everything else, but quite fine. And the roses that survived the winter
are finally blooming, too. (Dodge, I lost the Golden Showers entirely,
and the Pat Austin, no surprise there, and both of the miniatures; and
all of the others are recovering from their bases but at least they're
flowering true. It was a hard winter.)
  

    
Gotta love how the cat can only be truly comfortable while sitting one
one of your arms while you try to type. :/

Any way, HI DAVEY!!! Slowly recovering then?

So, I picked up the 18 rolls of developed film at Costco, so I could
start on the scanning and scrapbooking tomorrow, only to discover 3
more undeveloped rolls of film (GRAAAARGH!), which is probably nothing
to growl about, as I can't even pick up the black and whites from the
honeymoon until tomorrow any way. feh. I was really hoping to get
started on both projects tomorrow. Now I'll just be scanning like mad.

-squeaks

Oh, and this in from Dan, in response to Christy's request:

It's http://www.sfbg.com/38/36/cover_sf_improv.html

but it's a long article, here's the actual ego inflating portion:
"Among the half dozen players are pros like Landry – whose own troupe,
Oui Be Negroes (the nationally known African American improv company
she cofounded with husband Hans Summers in Chicago in 1993), will
perform another night – as well as relative newcomers like Dan Wilson,
a local actor and director who proves such a natural that it comes as
no surprise he's got his own troupe in the festival too, a protean
grouping called Pharmarsupial."

The interesting thing is that a search on the Guardian actually
reveals about four mentions over the years... here's hoping for a fifth
this October.

Dan
  

    
Cool Beans, Dan. Congrats. And beams to you and Martha on both your
plays. 
  

    
Cool!  Thanks for the pointer, Dan!


And happy belated Father's Day to all the daddies here, although AFAIK
one won't see the wish for another week, and the other has long since
disappeared from the planet.
  

    
<The interesting thing is that a search on the Guardian actually
reveals about four mentions over the years...>

And Martha is included in two of them!
  

    
Oh, for the curious, Ben finally got his _Nine Princes of Amber_ art
up on the site for all to see:  http://www.gothamcityart.com/ (search
by title)

(I'm surprised to see the Jill Thompson art hasn't sold yet!)
  

    
Just got my first copy of Now We Are Sick. Can't give it to Emy yet. I
haven't read it. Her Mom and I read a couple of the poems and died
laughing. Now, she can't wait for me to give it to Emy. Sigh. But this
one I'll keep until I've read. 
  

    
Right now, plumbers are replacing all the water pipes in my apartment
building, and they started work on my unit yesterday.  I think they got
all the plumbing done yesterday, and now they just have to put the
drywall back into place and repaint.  As of last night, I had squares
and rectangles of drywall cut out in various places all over the
apartment.  It was kind of interesting.

Maybe it shouldn't surprise me that this led to a brief discussion,
during a conversation with my mom, about what to do with all the wolves
that had escaped.  It was decided that I would have to make sure I put
them back in before the crew sealed up the walls again.  Otherwise,
they'll get jam all over the place.  Because that's what wolves do.

"If anyone overheard this conversation," said my mom, "they wouldn't
know what we were talking about."

"They'd think we're on drugs."

"We don't need drugs.  We've got Neil Gaiman."
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
Love that. We need a T-shirt with that statement.
We don't need drugs. We've got Neil Gaiman.
I would buy it in a shot. 

Decided after reading Now We Are Sick that perhaps it would be best
not to give the book the Emy yet. There were a few ones in there that
wasn't exactly something for a girl that young. Her mom wishes to read
it and will make up her mind though.  

She's finished reading Coraline. Is starting on Wolves and I'm
bringing her an Ellery Queen and Terry Pratchett for her next lot. 
  

    
Heh.  I sense a new advertising campaign:

Got Neil?



I think this is good for a last-for-a-while post.  Taking an extended
break from the Well.  I'll be back, of course (I always am).  Just
wanted to say so-long-for-now, I'll miss everyone, good luck with new
marriages and writing and life (those last two are what I'm going to be
occupied with).
Cheers, All.
Will
  

    
Beams. Come back when you can. We'll miss you.