I’ve back-tracked...
Last night (about 2AM) I started work again on my ‘Everybody’s Special’ script.
There are a couple reasons why I’ve gone back to this story.
Whenever I tell people about this story (and I’ve only told a couple of people) – they love it, and see the same potential I see for the project. I must have talked for about an hour to my sister about it this week, and I think that convinced me that this should be the script I’m writing.
There is another reason why I have started work on it again. Every day I’m not writing, I’m wasting my time. When I think about what I want out of life, I realise writing is the catalyst.
I couldn’t sleep last night – thinking about this. So I got up, grabbed a bunch of cards and started to write down scenes. I’ve decided that I’ve got to learn to structure my writing process. Normally I have an idea and plan, at the most, 30 pages ahead. This story has the potential to be so complex that I need to get it all clear in my head before I write another word.
End of January is now my new deadline for completing the script. When I get stuck, I’ll move onto the ‘andjuliet’ work.
Nic.
And so Pop Idol ends...
...since Susanne has been voted out - no point watching it any more.
Nic.
"Give it your best..."
It’s Friday, and as regular readers will surely know – I have to get out of the house on Fridays. This means one of two things. I either go see a movie – or go see my old work buddies.
For the fourth week in a row I descended on Edgware to get some noodle soup and see some friendly faces. Beginning to worry that people think I haven’t ‘moved’ on. Not the case – I love seeing the Argonaut guys (and noodle soup), but also there has been nothing worth seeing at the cinema in the last month.
It’s also a last chance to see my good friend Wayne before he disappears. He quit today, and is going to do some travelling (first Japan – then where ever he fancies next). Also caught up with Alice (ex-Orchid coder), which was nice. I haven’t really had the chance to talk to her since things went bad on the project. Also it was great to have someone to play ‘Dancing Stage’ with.
I think she let me win. There’s no other possible explanation for me winning.
One of the other reasons for my visit was to go check out ‘Carve’ now it’s finished. I was curious to see how the voices came out. Pretty good is the outcome. Some lines are a bit cringe worthy – but when you’re on your twenty sixth iteration of “Congratulations – you’re in the lead!” – things tend to get a little weird. The game looks great by the way. If you have X-Box ‘Live’ then there’s no excuse not to pick this game up. $19.99 – that’s nothing for such a good fun game.
Started work on a second tune for the new ‘and juliet’ album. Kinda different. Almost has a tune – shock horror. I’ve actually (finally) started to use the midi functionality in Sony’s (was Sonic Foundry’s) Acid. It’s not as bad as I first thought and I’m having a lot of fun messing around with some of the free soft synths. I think this album is going to be about 37 tracks of about 1-2 minute tunes. Andrea writes short and sweet. Sometimes I wish she’d write longer – but her words are so dense that you’d just loose the plot.
I’m out.
Nic.
Frozen in Time
The sole survivor of the recent spate of pet deaths at maison de la Nic is ‘Pesto’. Pesto is a Kakariki (a parakeet from New Zealand). Pesto’s lived with us for a long time and has free flight around the house.
This can sometimes causes a few problems. Pesto is – inquisitive shall we say.
His new trick is flying into the refrigerator while the door’s open. The bird’s crazy I tell ya. Here’s the top 3 places I’ve found him when he’s disappeared.
3: Flower Vase. Dived in headfirst and couldn’t get out. Had to tip him out of that one.
2: Bag of bird food. The other week he jumped into a bag of bird food and got stuck. He looked like he had been shrink-wrapped.
1: Kitchen unit. Somehow he managed to get stuck behind a kitchen unit. I had to rip the back off if it and try and grab him. Took a couple of hours to work out where he was. Kept hearing these scratching sounds and the odd tweet but couldn’t work out where they were coming from.
No he’s investigating the fridge – and can guess what’s going happen. Maybe he can tell me if the light goes out when you close the door!
Nic
Game news...
Did a couple of weeks work on this game doing a re-write on the script. Can't wait to hear what it turned out like!
(from GameSpot)
"Argonaut's Carve signed and dated
Take-Two Interactive Software's Global Star division will release Argonaut's watercraft racing game for the Xbox early next year. New screens inside.
Take-Two Interactive Software's Global Star publishing division has today announced that it will publish Carve in North America in January. The watercraft racing game, which is currently in development at UK-based Argonaut, will support up to four players on a single screen or eight via Xbox Live.
Carve will feature 24 courses set in Europe, North America, the Arctic, and the Pacific region, and is expected to retail for around US$19.99. "
At that price what's stopping you from picking up a copy!!
Nic.
Unbelievable...
MOAN ON:
I got a letter from the post office this morning. So here’s what they're doing now. If you order something from overseas and need to pay some import duty on it – they hold it back and send you a letter and get you to pay the money over the phone.
This is fine and all, expect they just charged me £13 on top of a £5 import tax. £19.06 (that about $32) on top of postage, and on top of a disk that cost $52 (£30). (note: I used American Express cos they have to pay more of a surcharge than other credit and debit cards :)
I’m thinking about charging the Royal Mail for every bit of unsolicited mail I open. I recon about £1 per letter should do it, and I think everybody in the country should do the same.
MOAN OFF:
Anyway – I suppose this means ‘Azumi’ will be deliver tomorrow. No doubt at about 7:30 in the morning when I’m fast asleep.
In other news. Produced a rough mix of a new 'andjuliet' track last night. Bit more work needed but I kinda like it.
Nic.
Andrea Renee Johnson...
What can I say? Her new material just plain blew me away. Moving, laugh out loud funny, intimate, and cutting. I must have looked like a crazy person, walking the streets of my hometown – grinning like a freak, then bursting out in hysterics in the middle of HMV. These new poems are so great – I’m now petrified I won’t be able to write any tunes that are even close to worthy of her words.
Nic.
Something better than Azumi just arrived...
...a CD from my partner in musical crime, Andrea Renee Johnson. I’m so excited. I’m ripping the disk and popping it onto my smart phone so I can have a listen while I’m taking a stroll around town.
May be this is exactly what I need. I’m struggling with the writing at the moment. Maybe a couple of months of doing some music is just what the (script) doctor ordered.
Nic.
I want me Azumi...
'Azumi' was dispatched by CDJapan last week, and everyday since I’ve been waiting for the postie to deliver. I worried I’m going to build this movie up so much that I’ll hate it when it finally arrives.
Wait – check list:
Cute girl with a samurai sword – tick
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura – tick
Probably got lots of decapitation – tick
Nar - this film is going to be fantastic!
Been looking at the UK videogame charts. No wonder so many studios are going bust. Prince of Persia in at number 33, Beyond Good and Evil – not even in the top 50. It’s criminal – but representative of the industry at the moment. It’s going to be an interesting couple of years to the next batch of console.
Nic.
Multiball...
It strikes me as I type this that there is probably a generation of kids out there that have never (and probably never will) sampled the delights of a game of Pinball.
I love pinball. I’m no good at it, but I love it. I’m the proud owner of an ‘Addams Family’ table (possibly the greatest pinball table ever made). I don’t play it very often, but when I do – I just plain love it.
I love the simplicity of it. Yet I’m in owe at the technical under pinnings. It’s only when you own on of these games and take a look ‘under the hood’ that you realise just how insanely complicated these beasts are.
I think my new ambition is to get the Orchid movie into production so I can then try and convince
Pat Lawlor to create a the table! My God – an orchid pinball table! I’d die a happy man!!!
Nic.
The good, the bad, and the ugly...
The Good: That new Google Bar. Best pop-up stopper I’ve used.
The Bad: I’m ill.
The Ugly: The great British weather.
Nic.
Depressing day. Had to say a final farewell to Rex (the rabbit). Don’t want to talk about it really.
Anyway – to cheer myself up I’ve added some of the funnier moments from the Orchid project. Point your browsers over to the
games design section to find out just what a FANTASTIC WRITER/DIRECTOR I AM!
Nic.
Not a great day...
Something weird happened today. To explain I need to go back a few of months.
Back then we had five pets – Dee Dee and Dexter (Birds), Rex and Piggie Smalls (Rabbit and a Guinea Pig), and Pesto (nutzoid green Parrot). All live in the house and have a room all to themselves just off of the living room that opens out into the garden. The birds fly around the house (when there are no windows open) and Rex and The Notorious P.I.G. had a free run of a large garden. Basically – they had a very good life.
Then one of the birds (Dee Dee) got ill and eventually passed away. She was always the weakest of the bunch being an albino – but it was still a shock. Then - not 12 hours later the perfectly healthy Piggie Smalls feel extremely ill and also passed away. The vet felt he had contracted a flu type virus and was too weak to fight it.
So, regular readers will know about how ill my rabbit is. He’s not been well for a while and I’ve spent the last two months administering injections and all kinds of things. Regular readers will also know that I’ve pretty much done all that I can to save him, but the decision to stop his suffering has now been made. Tomorrow is his last day with us.
So what happens today? I found Dexter (the remaining bird and Dee Dee’s partner) at the bottom of his cage, gasping to take his few last breaths. He died about 10 minutes later.
So in the space of a little over two month we’ve lost four animals – each dieing in pairs and within 24 hours of each other. It’s insane. It’s like they hit a ‘shelf life’ or something.
I’m not very happy today.
Nic.
I’m thinking about installing Linux. GASP!
I picked up a Linux mag today because it had a copy of OpenBSD on it. I have a spare laptop kicking around and I should probably refresh my Unix knowledge. I wouldn’t even consider this if I weren’t writing this hacker script – but I think it’d be useful to get my head back into ‘that’ world.
I personally don’t have a problem with Microsoft, and I like XP. I understand all this ‘open source’ stuff and that’s great and all. I just don’t see Linux (or OSX) running my most used software – Word, Final Draft (Okay – these 2 are on the Mac), Acid, and Vegas.
I also think the argument for owning a Mac is now lost on me. I like their styling – but my Sony Vaio TR-1 is way more cute than any of the current Mac laps.
But hey – in the words of Digital Underground – “use what ya like.”
I’m off to do the Humpty Dance... while installing Linux. GASP!
Nic.
ELECTRIC SENSEI...
If my script ‘
Consolidate to Devastate’ should ever get made – I think I just found the ‘J-Pop Cuties’ for the opening sequence.
Click
HERE to see if you agree.
I think these gals were on 'Adam and Joe Go Tokyo' - but I'd have to check.
Nic.
Belted, Buckled, and Booted...
I download a lot of stuff. That’s what fast Internet connections are for – right?
Sometimes it might be a TV show that doesn’t play here, sometimes it’s an old horror movie soundtrack, translated Manga, whatever.
I tend to grab a lot of curious bits and pieces – generally anything that kind of sparks my interest. I was looking through my download folder and found a track I must have tagged from an album called ‘Cranking Hollywood’. Didn’t download the whole thing – just one track. The ‘Russ Meyer’ one.
Just listened to it – and I don’t get it. Was it supposed to funny? Didn’t seem funny.
Maybe I’m biased because I class Russ Meyer as a God. I’ve been a huge fan of his work since catching a triple bill at the original ‘Scala’ in London (must have been back in the early 90s).
My first experience of Russ goes back to when I was a young child being led by the hand around the streets of Leeds. We passed a ‘grind house’ cinema that was showing ‘Vixen’. I remember it primarily because it was rated as ‘XXX’. This bugged be as a kid because back then you had to be 18 to get into see an ‘X’ rated movie. My little kiddie brain started ticking and I spent the rest of the day trying to work out how old I would have to be to see this ‘XXX’ movie. Would I really have to wait until I was 54 years old? One of the few childhood memories that has stuck with me. Read into that what you will.
I can understand why some people don’t ‘get’ Russ. I can understand why some people may be offended by Russ Meyer’s movies. Still, as he rightly says in this so-called prank, his movies will live on way beyond the vast majority of Hollywood’s output.
Back when we were doing ‘Croc’ we had a Japanese designer (Aoki Kobuta where are you!) fly over to work with us. We instantly hit it off when he saw my ‘Faster Pussycat Kill Kill’ poster. Russ crosses difficult language barriers. Russ should run the United Nations.
Russ Meyer is a true independent filmmaker. Russ Meyer is a man who knows what he likes, and has made an absolute fortune out of it.
Nic.
Rabbit update...
So I haven’t mentioned my rabbit in a couple of days. He’s still with us but still very ill. However since the operation he had last week – he has perked up a bit. He wants to eat and at the moment his favourite food is ‘Weetabix’ and milk. I have no idea of this is good for him but if it builds up his strength then great.
He’s loosing a lot of fur – a symptom of being so ill, but you can see he is really trying to pull through. His back legs are stronger and he is on some new anti-biotics that will hopefully finally clear up the infection.
I don’t know if he’ll make it – but he’s fighting. And as long as he is – so will I.
Nic.
P.S. 'Ricochet' was bloody awful :)
"Somewhere over the rainbow"...
I’m watching ‘Ricochet’, Denzel Washington – circa 1991. Was on Film Four last night and tagged it with the old Sky+. I haven’t seen this movie in years but I remember liking it when it came out.
Looking at it now – it’s got a weird structure. Has a nice opening sequence setting up the relationship between DW and Ice-T, also the capture of John Lithgow. It then spends the next 30 minutes following DW’s blossoming career, and JL’s obsession with revenge.
So what’s weird about this? I think if this movie was written and made now a montage over the opening credits would probably cover all this – a la ‘Red Dragon’. It also seemed pretty bold that the passage of time wasn’t hammered out to the audience. A couple of subtle overheard radio broadcasts, DW growing a moustache.
As I watch it now it’s interesting to see how similar it is to ‘Cape Fear’, which was remade in the same year. Haven’t seen that movie in ages either but I’m sure it probably does the same thing.
I guess the reason I’m even commenting on this movie is because when it first came out I didn’t have a clue about how stories were constructed. I miss those times. Those times when I could just sit back and enjoy a movie without pulling it apart.
Same thing goes for videogames. I can’t play a game without pulling it apart. While most people just sit back and get lost in the created world. Me – I’ll looking at the renderer, level construction, the A.I., frame-rate, draw distance, disc access, load points, etc, etc, etc.
Sometimes I’d love to be able to forget all this stuff and just enjoy a movie or a videogame without looking behind the curtain. But then I suppose I’d have to get a proper job!
Nic.
Switch your CODEC to frequency...
Now this is looking super tasty!
Metal Gear Solid was the Playstation’s finest hour. A great game. Unfortunately I hated almost everything about MGS2 on the PS2. MGS: Twin Snakes (MGS1 given a lick of paint and hopefully some new surprises) looks the business. I really excited about the new cut scenes cos one of my favourite Japanese directors (Ryuhei Kitamura)was brought in to re-do them.
I hope they recast the voices as well. The originals were a little dodgy. Not as bad as MGS2's – “I LIVE ON THROUGH THIS HAND – BROTHER!”
Yeah right... whatever.
Nic.
Britney Baby One More Time
After my daily hour long session on 'Dancing Stage' (DDR) I decided to try out ‘Britneys Dance Beat’ with the dance mat. When I first got this game I unlocked everything – but I was playing it with the pad – like you would Parappa etc.
This game sucks with the dance pad. Really does. A real shame.
It’s Monday so I’m going to pop down to Blockbuster and see what’s new to rent. Think ‘The Hulk’ (I liked it) and ‘Charlies Angels 2’ (I liked it the first time I watched – then hated it on a repeat viewing) are out.
Nic.
....
Too tired to give a full update today. Had lunch with the Argonaut Oriental City crowd where topics ranged from my new found ‘cyber stalking’ tactics (this is research for the new screenplay by the way before you get too worried) and my friend telling me he liked ‘Brittany Murphy’ and ‘Drew Barrymore’ because they looked a bit ‘downs’. (If you don’t know what that means then that’s probably a good thing.)
I’m really regretting the decision to try and give my rabbit a little more time on this planet. He’s sat of the sofa with me watching ‘Pop Idol Extra’. Poor thing is having difficulty eating and I’ve just had to prod a syringe in his back and down his throat. I think I have to do the right thing next week. It hurts me so much to see him suffering like this. I guess I was just delaying the inevitable.
I’ve been looking at the cost of flights to Hong Kong. It’s going to cost about £800. I don’t think I can afford it just yet. Need to get the writing thing generating some money.
Andrea Renee Johnson mailed me this week. She’s recorded 36 new spoken word tracks for the new ‘andjuliet’ album we’re putting together. Work this end starts as soon as I get the CD in the mail. Looking forward to doing some new music to her exceptional words.
Turned out to be a longer blog than I thought,
Nic.
Invite!
My girlfriend is going to be working in Hong Kong over Christmas and has invited me out. This is cool because I’d love to go to Hong Kong (and they don’t celebrate Christmas so I can get away from all the bullshit that happens in the west). But - I might have to stay home and look after the rabbit.
I picked him up from the hospital and he is ‘okay’. He’s eaten a little but maybe I did do the wrong thing. Maybe he has ‘had enough’. I’m going to give him lots and lots of huggins’ tonight and try and get some food into him.
Nic.
I’m liking this...
"A one-speaker home theater system that is able to deliver surround sound has been unveiled by Nirotek America (Torrance, CA). The single speaker unit actually contains five individual speakers packed horizontally into a single case. The surround sound effect is achieved by playing some sophisticated psychoacoustic trickery on the human brain. Realistic surround sound from movies and stereo CDs can be obtained as long as listeners are at least six feet away from the speaker unit and the unit stands near the front edge of whatever surface it is placed on. The unit is priced at around $799 and USA Today has a review."
This would be great in the bedroom. At the moment I have a set-up based around and old Yamaha studio power amp, two HUGE speakers that used to be in the studio, and the Sky+ from the living room, PC from the study, and a DVD player all fed into a Spectrum Research SRS processor that turned up on the doorstep one day.
It’s a pretty bulky system to have in the bedroom and I think the Niro might be just what ticket. Just need to make sure the DVD player is region free and find a UK distributor.
Nic.
House Keeping...
You know these PVR things make you real lazy. It’s only until you get down to about 5% free and can’t record another thing that you have to do something about it. I now have to archive off about seven hours of ‘Raising Dad’. I got the show on series link and it’s on every day so it soon fills up.
For the curious, I use a dual PVR set-up – a SKY+ box (like a Tivo but with built in dual satellite tuner) and ‘Showshifter’ on the living room PC. I tend to record everything on the Sky+ then anything I want to keep I copy over to the PC through Showshifter (this is all very interesting I’m sure).
Thing is after that – I’ve got about another six hours of movies and stuff like the new ‘Louis Theroux’ show to archive off. JOY!
So my rabbit is still in the animal hospital. They kept him in over night on a drip. I’m beginning to feel a bit guilty – like I’m putting my rabbit through all this when even the vet is telling me that he feels like he has been through enough. He does say that he wants me to prove him wrong.
I just want to give him one last chance. If he doesn’t pick up then I’ll have to go through with the inevitable. I’m picking him up at 2:30. I missed having him in the house last night.
Nic.
It's alive...
Found this while cleaning out my harddrive.
During the development of 'Orchid' we were so desperate for staff we resorted to 'building' them!
Nic.
Dig Deep
Why do murderers always bury their victims in shallow graves? Surely the best thing to do would be put some effort in and dig deep. After all – you’ve just killed somebody.
Hmmmmm.
Nic.
Mind made up...
I’m not giving up on the rabbit. I syringed a load of food into him today. I think he’s given up but I haven’t. He’s going into the animal hospital tomorrow to clean out some of the infection. After that I’m going to try everything I can to make him well again.
I love my rabbit.
Nic.
A terrible decision...
I’ll be honest – most of the time when I can’t decide between two options, I flip a coin. I can’t do that this time.
My rabbit has been seriously ill for a couple of months now. There was a stage when I was taking him to the vets daily for injections (I do them now) and he is on four different meds every day.
He’s taken a turn for the worst. For the first time the vet has asked that we make the decision to put him to sleep, or try even more treatment.
My rabbit’s quality of life is not what it used to be. He lives in the house (like a cat) and has the free roam of a large garden. These last few weeks he’s simply slept by a radiator – barely eating, barely moving. He’s weak and loosing muscle tone.
So I have a decision to make. I can take him to the animal hospital and let them have one last attempt to clear the infection in his mouth – or put him to sleep.
I’m siding with giving it one last go. Taking him to the hospital and seeing what they can do. But I can’t help feeling that this is a selfish act and that I’m just delaying the inevitable.
I just don’t think I can give up when there is one last thing left to try. Money is no object. Inconvenience isn’t an issue. In my heart I know he won’t last the year. I just can’t give up on him. Not yet.
Nic.
"Dayayavid Bowowowowie"...
Soundtracks are the coolest. I’m downloading ‘Absolute Beginners’ (seems to remember Mr. David Bowie being hyper camp in that movie) and ‘Fantastic Voyage’.
Fantasic Voyage takes me back when I was working on the ‘Croc’ games for Fox – the guy who ran the studio back then (man I wish I could remember his name – great guy) really wanted to do an ‘Fantastic Voyage’ game. Virtual ‘Raquel Welsh’ nice.
I met Ms. Welch a couple of years ago at a screening of ‘Tortilla Soup’ – still hot hot hot.
See how I linked soundtracks right back into the last posts subject matter. From soundtracks to tortillas. I’m like a verbal DJ.
Nic.
"Din Da Da – Dun Du Du"...
Today’s blog centres on food. Probably cos I’ve just done the weekly shop. It’s that moment in life where the fridge is so full of stuff you have to kind of throw your hand in, feel around, and pray.
Today I’m going to talk about the versatility of tortilla wraps. Here’s two quick meals based around them.
1: “I gotta run” lunch wrap.
Cook a burger (vegi or meaty). I use a vegi and a “George Foreman” grill.
While you’re doing that – grab a frying pad and put some heat under it.
When it’s hot:
Get a tortilla wrap and throw it in (no oil – no nothing) and spin it around on the hot pan for about 15 seconds. Should start to puff up. Take the wrap out of the pan.
Throw a few salad leafs, a bit of coleslaw, and a small amount of grated cheese on the wrap. Add Tabasco if you dig it.
When the burger is cooked, slice it lengthways and break it into the wrap.
Fold and eat.
Yum Yum Yum!
2: “Like a pizza” - only in seconds.
Get a plate. Slap a tortilla wrap on it.
Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto the wrap.
Drop some grated cheese on to the wrap.
Slice a few cherry tomatoes and drop then on the wrap.
Microwave until the cheese starts to melt.
Take out of the micro and roll.
Wait a few minutes and eat.
Oh yeah!
Both are low cal (sub 500 Kcals) – lowish carbs (approx – 50g’s) and yummy.
In other news, work has started on the new script, finally. I WILL have this finished before the end of the year and’ll post it once finished.
Nic.
Talent Spotting...
I’m creative – but I can’t draw. Ergo – I admire Artists. The same is true for Actors.
I do however love to ‘talent scout’.
A good example of what I’m talking about is the latest Matrix movie. While all hell was breaking loose, I was thinking how cool the gal with the grenade launcher was.
Here’s an example of someone I ‘spotted’ a number of years ago. (note: when I say spotted I am by no means taking credit in anyway for their success.)
Vin Diesel. I first saw Vin Diesel in a short film he made called ‘Multifacial’. This is a great little movie, written by, directed, and staring Vin Diesel as an out of work actor of indefinable race. It shows him going for a multitude of parts, each from a different ethnic background – hence the title.
This short film showed off the range and depth of the man. Known these days as an action hero (and why not), I feel the only film that has so far scratched his surface is ‘Boiler Room’.
I tried to get Vin for the voice of ‘Kael’ in the ‘Orchid’ videogame back in 2000. I was a little too late – his career was about to snowball and his agent knew it.
He had just finished ‘Pitch Black’ and was about to do ‘The Fast and the Furious’. Looking back on the figure I was quoted – it was ludicrously cheap – but the money wasn’t there. And then he became the hyper successful Vin that everybody now knows.
So I got Vin. Who else am I putting my money on over the next few years?
Every now and then someone I spot simply falls off of the radar. A good example would be ‘Lisa Rieffel’. Probably best known for staring in the early episodes of ‘The King of Queens’, I also caught her in the movie ‘Drowning Mona’. I think this girl can act. I’d love to see more of what she’s capable of. Hopefully she’ll resurface. Hopefully she’s doing all right.
Falling somewhere in between Vin and Lisa Rieffel is ‘Tamara Mello’. Tamara has had a pretty successful career that seems to have quietened down a little these last couple of years. You’d know her from the series ‘Popular’ (a great show) and possibly ‘She’s all That’. I had the pleasure of working with her on ‘Orchid’. The girl is an amazing talent. She was always one step ahead and knew exactly what needed to be done to get the character across. I didn’t so much as direct that day as observe. I feel Tamara’s day has yet to come. As she matures I feel she’ll become a powerful character actor, and one I’d love to work with again.
Another actor who I’ve worked with, and was really impressed by is ‘Laura Fraser’. Laura works a lot. Primarily on low budget UK movies – but you’d know her from ‘A Knights Tale’ where she played the blacksmith. She’s one of those actors that will give a part absolutely everything. Witness the not so great ‘Titus’. The movie was tough going, but it’s a brilliant example of just how far Laura Fraser will push herself, and the craft. I get the impression from working with her that she’s more interested in challenging work than fame and fortune. All power to her. She’s on of Britain’s finest actors.
New to the books is ‘Kat Dennings’. Best known for the series ‘Raising Dad’ (which I’ve only just seen), I feel this girl has a bright future. In some ways she reminds me of ‘Christina Ricci’ - unconventionally beautiful, and I can see her taking on some darker, quirkier parts in the future. To watch her as a 15 year old in Raising Dad is pretty amazing. It’s one thing to be 15 – it’s another to be able to act as a 15 year old. She has a great sense of timing and an amazing ability to hold a scene. I’ll predict Kat Dennings as a future queen of Indie cinema.
So Nic – I hear you cry – why all the fems?
I guess because I feel I write women better than I do men, and tend to have female characters take the lead in a story (‘Orchid’ – 3 main gals to 1 guy, ‘Consolidate to Devastate’ – 3 main gals, ‘Strange Hours’ – 2 main gals) so I guess I’m just looking out.
I do generally find young male actors are a little bland. This is of cause is a gross generalisation but here’s a case in point – ‘Tom Welling’ from Smallville. I got zero things against the guy, but while he looks great on a poster – I don’t see any depth to his dramatic presence. I guess as a writer I look at actors in a different way. I guess I look at who could bring more to a part than I could write.
I think this probably explains why I’ve never ‘cast a script’ with A-List stars in the parts. I’d love to be able to say, “You know who’d be great in this, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts”. Thing is – we’ve seen Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise so many times that we don’t see the characters they play. We see them. Coming out of a Tom Cruise movie I’d guess the majority of the audience wouldn’t remember his characters name (unless it’s Jerry Maguire).
I’ve got absolutely nothing against A-List talent. If somebody read a script of mine and wanted to cast Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts – I’d be over the moon. It’s just when I’m writing I like to cast people whose personas aren’t so well known. Actors I can project my characters on to.
That’s why I talent spot. That’s why I watch the edge of the screen and see who stands out. More often than not the edge of the screen is far more interesting than centre frame.
Nic.
"Website update"...
As promised in the Blog below – I’ve added the circa 1992 mini-album ‘High On Hate’ to the main website. The title is of cause a joke (so are all the tracks on it). What – you really thought I was a Satanist?
I’ve also added a scrapbook of tune ideas I’ve been messing with while waiting for Ms. Johnson gets her ass into the studio to record some more of her poetry bliss. 2004 should see some new material from us under the name of ‘andjuliet’.
All these delights can be found on the main Medulla Corp website and you can jump to them right now by clicking
HERE.
Nic.
"Guru Meditation"...
How embarrassing. I got emailed an Amiga emulator (old home computer) to have a mess around with. Now late 80s, early 90s I used to do a lot of music on this beast. Impossible to think now – 8bit samples at 22k if you were lucky, 4 sound channels, 512K RAM (which was shared with the system). I mean 512K RAM. That’s nothing. I probably have single Hi-Hat samples that are bigger than that.
Still – it was my first ‘real’ sampler and I loved it.
So I’m messing around with this emulator and searching for disks when I find some of my old (old old old) demos. These are pre-me getting halfway competent with the music software. So embarrassing.
I can’t believe these disks are out in circulation when some of my later and better efforts aren’t.
To try and redress the balance I’m going to have a look at re-mastering (as best I can) a mini-album I did on the Amiga back in 1991. It’s all early industrial stuff. What can I say – I was ahead of my time. The sound quality will still be nasty but it was all done on an Amiga and a 4-track.
My Amiga is still with me (up in the loft somewhere) and if it weren’t such a pain to get the disks across I’d probably spend some time archiving all my stuff from that era.
Ah memories.
Nic.
"Colonel Yangs House Of Skin"...
The 'Starbucks' in the Watford Borders seems to be full of women breast-feeding their kids, but I’ll try and type while all around chaos breaks out.
It was the usual Friday dilemma – what do while my house gets cleaned. Decided to go down to ‘Oriental City’ (an Asian shopping mall in North London) to grab some noodles and hook up with some of the Argonaut crowd.
‘Oriental City’ has the most amazing food court. Some of the best Asian cuisine is served here. I decided to go to ‘Colonel Yangs House of Skin’. It’s not actually called that – Joss (one of the 'Orchid' designers) named it that because of their 'interesting' food.
The place is actually called ‘Yong Tofu’ and they make all kinds of crazy tofu styled weirdness. For example, tofu chicken wings that are made out of super thin slices of tofu, wrapped around a stick of carrot. Super tasty as well. Great place. Grab five bits of tofu weirdness and they’ll cook them up into a noodle soup and it’s super yummy.
Hooked up with a few of the Argonaut crowd and discussed the latest movies – including just what was added and what was snipped from the Alien Directors Cut. How geeky is that!
While I was there I also picked up a load of Japanese magazines from ‘Asahiya Shoten’ (Japanese book shop). The magazines and books in this place are mightily expensive – but they have clearout bins full of old stock and I just love to have a bit of a rummage. Normally it’s lots of Golf and F1 magazines but I found a few gems today. Here’s what I picked up:
Shoxx: Fashion magazine that’s little bit like those excellent ‘Gothic and Lolita bibles’ I collect. Full of androgynous looking Japanese Goths. Japanese ‘Goth’ fashion is lot like a clash of English punk, 80’s US Glam Metal, Alice in Wonderland, and those creepy Victorian dolls. I love it. There’s a character in the new script is going to be a ‘Gothic and Lolita’ inspired hacker, who is also a DDR champ. Already cast ‘Imai Eriko’ in that role.
Heroines of the Fantastic World 2003: Lots of pictures of cute gals who either voice or star in weekly anime and live action stuff like Masked Rider and Ultraman. I love kitsch sci-fi, and this magazine is full of it. As a surprise bonus it even has a picture of the Godly ‘Tony Todd’ (Candyman). Love Tony Todd. ‘Cast’ him to play ‘Jones’ in the ‘Consolidate to Devastate’ script. This magazine must be ‘super lucky’.
Fruits: I have the hardback copy of the ‘Fruits’ book of Tokyo street fashion. This is a magazine in a similar style but fashion from the streets of London, New York, and Copenhagen. The Londoners are the best dressed of cause. Cool mag. More great character reference.
Ride: Japanese street fashion. Much like ‘Boon’ and ‘Smart’ if you’ve ever seen either of them. Very hip-hop. Bought a whole load of these types of magazines when working on Orchid. Useful for basic fashion reference.
Cool: Slightly more formal fashion mag than Ride but still very hip. Has a spread featuring Aya Hirayama. Swoooon. And lots and lots of trainers.
I picked up all that for under £10. Bargain. No doubt I’ll be cutting them all up tonight and scanning the best bits.
Always nice to see the Argonaut crowd, and I must congratulate the ‘SWAT: Global Strike Team’ on getting an 8.1 on Gamespot. Nice work guys. Now I’m looking forward to getting to play a final build of I-Ninja. It played great six months ago so I’m sure the release copy will be very cool.
Nic.
I’m worried:
MOAN MODE ACTIVATED:
Title: The Ring 2
Log line: Plot being kept under tight wraps.
NIC’S SPOILER:
(I’ll tell you the plot. The kid turns out to be possessed by the spirit Sadako - or whatever she was called in the US version - and Naomi Watts has to get him un-possessed no doubt. Wait – can’t even remember if there was a kid in the US version. Think I fell asleep. They’ll be lots of running around and stuff. Some horses will jump out of a plane this time and parachute to the safety of a Florida retirement home. The video from the first one will be mastered to DVD and region protected so anyone outside the US won’t be able to play it. Naomi Watts will try and copy it back to tape but the macrovision will screw of the signal and she’ll end up dieing. The kid will then go on to drama school where he’ll learn how to act and in Ring 3 he’ll have the staring role, but the twist is by seeing him act in the third movie you will die in seven days. And so you should for watching a remake of a classic Japanese horror movie.)
END NIC’S SPOILER:
Writer: Ehren Kruger (His/Her/Its name is probably the scariest thing related to this movie)
Agent: Paradigm
Buyer: DreamWorks
Price: n/a
Genre: Horror (yeah right - Nic)
Logged: 11/6/03
More: DreamWorks' Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce. Roy Lee will executive produce. Benderspink’s J.C. Spink & Chris Bender will co-executive produce. Noam Murro will direct. Naomi Watts to star in again. First set up in December 2002. (Just in it for the money.)
The US remake of Ringu was about as scary as a night in the Playboy mansion. God knows what they’ll do in the sequel. No doubt completely ignore the original trilogy’s story line. Best thing about the US ‘Ring’ was a staring role by my uber espresso machine in the open scene. My ‘Robot Café’ rocks the hizzy.
On a sort of related note, Naomi Watts was HOT as ‘Jet Girl’ in the terrible ‘Tank Girl’ movie. She was the ultimate super geek. Swoooooon.
MOAN MODE DEACTIVATED:
I feel better now.
Nic.
Life will never be the same again...
I feel I have just witnessed one of the greatest moments of television that has ever been broadcast. Wait – rewind.
So - I was looking through the A-Z listings on the Sky+ box (tivo) when I come across ‘Miss Chinese Universe Pageant’. So I recorded it. Now I know what you’re thinking – pervert. I personally prefer to think of myself as having an anthropological interest in other cultures. Or something.
Anyway – this wasn’t the usual walking around in swimwear rubbish. This was by far the most engrossing, edge of the seat, laugh out loud piece of television I have seen in years.
It goes a little something like this. Twenty girls. Thousands of small rectangular white boxes. With me? No – I didn’t have a clue what was going on at first but I stuck with it.
So the girls start to line up these boxes on the floor – a little like dominos. All the time I’m thinking – but they’re all the same white boxes – what the hell is going on? (I should point out that this was broadcast on a Chinese language station).
Slowly I started to figure it out. SOME of the boxes had splashes of colour. Okay? And they’re putting those special boxes in the middle of the pack.
Then with one camera sweep it hit me. They had these thousands of boxes to lay down in perfect rows – some with splashes of colour – and the splashes of colour formed a logo. GENIUS!
This was tense stuff because it was so easy to slightly knock one over and the whole thing would collapse. There were a few scares, a few collapses - then…
Oh it’s best if I just show you.
CLICK HERE – to see what the hell I’m talking about.
Watched that? Good.
So these girls must have been at this for at least nine hours straight. They looked cold and tired, but the end result was so impressive – I ended up standing and applauding.
To see the finished result –
CLICK HERE.
Brings a tear to my eye. Best hour of television I've seen in years.
Nic.
"7his is 4 my p3opl3..."
Work has started on the new script (no title yet). This is going to be the most grounded script I’ve written. Everything else has been either near future, or alternative present. This one takes place ‘-> h3r3. -> |\|0|/\|’.
It’s a tribute to all the ‘pHr33|<5 and g33|<5’ out there. It’s going to be a script that portrays ‘my p33p5’ in a positive light. W00T!
The structure is all sorted out. I’m currently filling in the details and casting the characters. As I’ve probably mentioned before – I cast everything I write and I’ve already moved (the self proclaimed) ‘fabulous Kat Dennings’ (who I was using in the aborted ‘Everybody’s Special’ screenplay) into a role (make sense? Or should I used some more ()).
The rest of the cast should fall into place over the next few days, as should the finer details.
Writing will start next week, which is a good thing cos in the summer when I decided to do this fulltime I told myself I’d complete two new scripts before the end of the year. One down – one to go.
Ph34r t3h 5cr!p7. Okay – that’s quite enough of that!!!
Nic.
"Round 1 - FIGHT!..."
Streetfighter is still the greatest beat-em-up ever made. Wish I was in Tokyo later this month:
"Street Fighter birthday bash in Japan
Gamers invited to join Capcom and Cospa at club dates and arcades to celebrate game's 15 years in release.
TOKYO--Character merchandise manufacturer and retailer Cospa will team with Capcom to help Street Fighter celebrate its 15th anniversary in style.
Not content with merely a stylish Web site celebrating the milestone, Capcom will also co-sponsor a series of club events featuring dance music based on the game soundtrack.
The two companies also plan a commemorative CD, Street Fighter vs. Street Musician, that will feature some of the recording artists playing the club events. But the biggest draw for hardcore fans will be consoles running Hyper Street Fighter II that will be set up at the venues, giving Japanese gamers an early chance to try out the game.
Of course, attending the events in costume is also encouraged, and the organizers have arranged a costume contest as well. The parties take off on November 15 in Fukuoka, November 16 in Osaka, and November 23 in Tokyo. "
“Silly Rabbit...”
I’m both shocked and stunned. Not because I’ve woken up before 9:00am. No. Because I got a mail from a friend who said she hated ‘Kill Bill’!
What? This is the one gal in LA I know who has both seen ‘Battle Royale’, and loved it. The girls got good taste! But not liking ‘Kill Bill’? Does not compute.
So weird. ‘Kill Bill’ is (for me) the best film I’ve seen this year (and I’ve seen it a whole bunch of time now). Okay – so your thinking “Nic, it’s mostly set in Japan and has a cute girl with a sword in it. Of cause you’re going to like it.”
DAMN RIGHT!
Tell me about a movie that’s set in Japan and has lots of swords in it (cute girl brandishing one is even better) and I’m there.
Exhibit 1: ‘Azumi’, the latest movie from Ryuhei Kitamura. I loved versus (has swords in it and was set in Japan), but ‘Azumi’ looks amazing (has a cute girl with a sword and is set in Japan). The DVD is out in Japan next month and I’ve ordered the super-deluxe, won’t understand a word of what’s being said in the extras, double-disc thingy – but who cares!
[Note: He’s also directed the mocap for the ‘re-visioning’ of Metal Gear Solid on the GameCube. I love the original MGS. One of my fav games and to think Kitamura San is directing the new cut scenes. OH MY GOD!]
Exhibit 2: ‘The Last Samurai’. Now towards the end of this year we have three epics coming along. I hate epics. ‘Master and Commander’ – you’d have to drag me by my bleeding scrotum to see that movie. If there is a hell, it’s showing the trailer for that movie 24/7.
‘Return of the King’ – I know I am the only person in the known multi-verse that doesn’t like these movies. I love Peter Jackson’s work. I think the LOTR movies are exceptionally well made. I just hate all that dungeons and dragons crap. Always have. When I went to see Matrix 3, all the circa 1986’s just found the trailer hilarious. I know my sister went to see the first one and just laughed her ass off all the way through. I just fell asleep.
But ‘The Last Samurai’, boy oh boy does that look like a great movie. It’s set in Japan and has Swords in it. It’s going to be great.
Nic.
"I'm un-wired for sound..."
I’m feeling the need to find some new music. Been a bit of an off year I feel. I guess I’m just hoping for something to grab me by the ears the same way the ‘Plus Tech Squeezebox’ album did last year.
I recently picked up albums by FannyPack (a lot of fun), Aqualung (don’t like it as much as the first album), Freq. Nasty (ditto), and The Herbaliser’s Solid Steel mix (nowhere near as genius as the DJ Food mix).
I guess the Prefuse 73 album came out this year and it was pretty smart. I like all that ‘Glitch-Hop’ stuff. The RJD2 album was pretty good (‘The Horror’ is my ring tone so I must have liked it).
Ho Hum… someone recommend some music will ya! Mail to the usual place:
nic@medullacorp.com
Nic
"The Fast and I'm Furious"...
Man – cars are a lot cheaper in the US than over here. I was checking out the Mazda RX-8. It’s 22K over here ($36,800) and only 16K ($27,000) in the US. Even cheaper if you want an auto (but why would you want an auto?).
That’s nearly ten thousand dollars difference. That’s crazy. Actually that’s really annoying!
Time to move to Santa Monica? Hmmm. Maybe not just yet.
Nic.
“Talking about a...”
I did the deed. I went to see Matrix 3. What can I say? For the most part it was pretty good fun. Certainly a hell of a lot better than number 2.
I’m not going to review it or anything. That’s not what I do. But I would like to note some comments.
Over here in the UK the first showing was 2:00pm (that’s the showing I went to). Since I don’t have to be at a place of work, or school, or college or anything like that I normally go to the cinema during the day and usually the first showing when a film opens. The cinema is normally pretty empty.
Today was different. It just shows you what a pull this franchise has. The cinema was pretty busy. Not crazy busy. I still had plenty of personal space around me and I was sat centre and near the back.
The audience interested me. I figured it’d be half full and predominantly male (geeky male at that).
Totally wrong. There was a real balanced mix of people. Mostly school kids and college kids that either had the afternoon off or went mysteriously missing (and who can blame them – I used to do the same when a big movie came out.)
It was actually a good crowd to go see it with. They found all the cheesy moments funny which lightened the whole movie for me. I did zone out during most of the long dialog sections. What I remember was pretty cheese ball.
But I suppose my main point is that The Matrix obviously speaks to a huge demographic. And when something appeals to such a broad range of people, I’m respectful.
On exit the mutterings were mixed. Some people loved it, others not as much. Some just hated it. I didn’t hate it. I thought it was for the most part entertaining. I liked the two gals with the grenade launcher – but as anyone who knows me can tell you, I’d make a whole script simply out of that concept.
So anyway - no review. All I’ll say is if you’re a fan of the first two – you’ll love it. If you’re a fan of the first one – this is much better stuff than the second.
Nic.
Sony PSP...
Is
THIS really the new Sony PSP. It's very cute. I guess I'll just have to buy one (suprise suprise!). Not as cute as my
Sony Vaio TR-1 though...
Nic.
While we’re on the subject...
Of all things Anime and Ghost in the Shell, a trailer for the ‘Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence’ has been posted on the official Japanese website. You can grab it by clicking
HERE.
Now this truly is a thing of beauty.
Nic.
What to do...
So I have a big dilemma today. Should I go and see ‘Matrix 3’ or not. Since it seems to be important - let me tell you where I stand on the first two. ‘Matrix 1’ was an okay film. My big problem with it was how much stuff they had directly lifted from ‘Ghost in the Shell’. I’d be getting into the movie and then another bit of ‘Ghost in the Shell’ would pop up.
‘Matrix 2’ on the other hand is probably one of the worst films I have ever seen. I simply can’t think of a single good thing to say about it. Anything that was good about the first movie was destroyed here. It was like ‘Philosophy for Dummies’. I’m sure if you’ve never opened your eyes to the world around you, or ever really thought about the human condition – you might have got something out of it. To me it was force fed bullshit.
The other big problem I have with the series is its lack of humour. I’m not asking for Bond one liners, it’s just I found them all so miserable. Cheer up – it might never happen. Or may be it will in the third film. Here’s hoping!
No denying that the first film is an important piece of cinema. What I personally got out of it is that there is a mass-market for Anime inspired movies. Also I have to thank them for the ‘Animatrix’, which I thought was a fantastic piece of work. Not as great as the Production I.G. stuff in ‘Kill Bill’ – but still the most exciting piece of the Matrix franchise for me.
So why the hell am I thinking about going to see the third? I guess a combination of being swept along with the hype, having the afternoon free, and an appetite for film.
I’ll probably pop into town and see if there are any tickets going. If not – no loss.
Nic.
On the subject of Fatman Scoop...
I you like that track, there's a great compilation that came out around 96' I think called "Shoot Tha Pump". Hightly recomended block party music. Has some Crooklyn Clan on it as well as Doug E. Fresh and many others. Used a track off of this on the last
Mix Tape. You can download that from the main site. Check it out...
"Is New York in the house!"
Nic.
I think I getting young...
It’s really weird how things come around. Two things recently stuck me.
1: Fatman Scoop being number one in the UK charts. I think for the first time in my life that a record is at number one that I like. I mean Crooklyn Clan for Christ sake. I grew up listening to music like this. Next thing you know they’ll be re-making ‘Wild Style’ – wait… what’s that?
Title: Wild Style
Log line: Described as “8 Mile” set in the world of graffiti.
Writer: Michael Bacall
Agent: ICM and the Gotham Group
Buyer: New Line Cinema
Price: n/a
Genre: Drama
Logged: 10/21/03
More: Pitch by Michael Bacall and John Morgan. John Morgan and Noah Emmerich's Sandbox Entertainment will produce.
Oh – erm… okay. Wait.
Next thing you know they’ll be re-making Breakdance the movie… [*tumbleweed*]
Didn’t think so.
2: Clothes. My wardrobe hasn’t really changed since I was a teen. Hooded top, baggy T-shirt, loose jeans, and a pair of Vans. I used to get the piss taken out of me. Now I look like the kid who has been held back – for 15 years.
I think an old college friend said it best the last time I saw her. “Nic! You’re in fashion!”
When you get older you’re meant to bemoan the youth of today. I say, youth of today – where were you 15 years ago man! I could have done with some company!
Nic.
PING...
I’ve stopped writing my new script. I hate doing this – I’m a finisher, but it just wasn’t working. Killer concept – bad structure. It’s going back into the pile of ideas until I have a breakthrough.
Luckily I have a whole load of other ideas I can move onto. So now I’m going to start work on a pet project of mine – my ‘Hacker’ script.
I've been planning to write a script about hackers and geeks for a while now but I’d been struggling with who to present the story. Then after getting drunk, and depressed over my current script – it hit me.
‘In vinos veritas’ as the old saying goes. It also seems to solve structural block also. Nice.
This could be a fun little movie and for once I’ll try and not destroy some major metropolis.
Time to install Linux :)
Nic.
Better Than Atkins?...
I just randomly came across the funniest thing. 'The Hacker's Diet'. I'm serious. Here's a
LINK.
Email Etiquette...
You know – I’ve been thinking about email recently. As things with the writing start to slowly take off I’ve had to write a few of those ‘Hello my name is Nic’ emails.
These are the hardest things to write.
How do I want to come across? Should I just be me and write how I’d write as if they were someone I converse with everyday? Or do I restrain and come off a bit cold? Maybe I should try and come across a little more intellectual? Or dumb it down and keep it simple?
If you’re in regular email contact with me, you know how I write. But in a cold call email situation it takes a bold move to put any kind of personality across.
Exhibit A. I was given the name and email address of someone to contact with regards to the writing. Cold call. No idea who this person was. No idea what they are like. All the time, going through my mind are these initial contact dilemmas. In the words of Tyler Durden, “Do I give them the crotch, or the ass?”
I went with a pretty dull email talking about what I’ve done – what I’m doing. The mood was instantly lifted by a confident, and amusing reply.
First email tension lifted.
Exhibit B. I emailed someone I admired for their work. Cold call. An introduction if you like, and to complement them. How do you make that not sound creepy?
This happens to me a lot. I send an email and then think – how will that be taken? I then go through a whole paranoia of should I have even bother writing the email in the first place.
Post first email stress disorder.
These emails can end up becoming the literary equivalent of the answer phone scene from ‘Swingers’. I can’t help but think I’m always making an ass of myself.
I find first emails are like those caught glances across a room. You’ve made eye contact – now what do you do? You’re putting yourself out there with no idea of how the other person will respond.
Like all social interaction, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s the clumsiness of the human species.
First emails are the butt sniffing of the 21st century.
I’ll leave you with that thought.
Nic.