Thursday, December 6, 2012

1st Anniversary!

As I was loading this blog on my profile, it just occurred to me that it was one year ago today that I created it.  It has certainly changed since then!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

So far, Captain Von Trapp is on!

I am now contemplating Christopher Plummer for the role of the protagonist's grandfather.

I keep track of what movies I've seen with my favorite stars.  Of him, I just found out I've seen Syriana, Up, Dolores Claiborne, The Sound of Music, An American Tail, Dracula 2000, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and A Beautiful Mind. (There's also Twelve Monkeys which I own used on VHS but haven't watched yet)

Actually, a family member recommended Plummer in case Mickey and Betty croaked.  Now I guess I'm returning the favor!

Upon looking him up on IMDb, I was surprised to see how many of his films could be described as "contemporary" (considering he was born in 1929).

Let's see how many of the actors I have in mind decide to sign!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Top 200 Movie Songs

There will definitely be an original song in this movie.  In fact, I plan to write original songs for all of my scripted movies.

So while I was thinking of it, I reckoned I would give this list as well.

  1. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz
  2. White Christmas - Holiday Inn
  3. Rock Around the Clock - Blackboard Jungle
  4. When You Wish Upon a Star - Pinocchio
  5. When Doves Cry - Purple Rain
  6. Stand by Me - Stand by Me
  7. Born to Be Wild - Easy Rider
  8. Stayin' Alive - Saturday Night Fever
  9. Lose Yourself - 8 Mile
  10. A Hard Day's Night - A Hard Day's Night
  11. Fight the Power - Do the Right Thing
  12. Jailhouse Rock - Jailhouse Rock
  13. Mrs. Robinson - The Graduate
  14. This Land Is Your Land - Bound for Glory
  15. As Time Goes By - Casablanca
  16. Bohemian Rhapsody - Wayne's World
  17. Moon River - Breakfast at Tiffany's
  18. Thanks for the Memories - The Big Broadcast of 1938
  19. Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
  20. The Way You Look Tonight - Swing Time
  21. Everybody's Talkin' - Midnight Cowboy
  22. I'm a Believer - Shrek
  23. What a Wonderful World - Good Morning, Vietnam
  24. I'm Easy - Nashville
  25. Jai Ho - Slumdog Millionaire
  26. A Whole New World - Aladdin
  27. Gangsta's Paradise - Dangerous Minds
  28. Born Free - Born Free
  29. The Way We Were - The Way We Were
  30. My Heart Will Go On - Titanic
  31. Try Again - Romeo Must Die
  32. Say You, Say Me - White Nights
  33. Take My Breath Away - Top Gun
  34. Be My Baby - Mean Streets
  35. Gonna Fly Now - Rocky
  36. Unchained Melody - Ghost
  37. God Bless America - The Deer Hunter
  38. Do Not Forsake Me - High Noon
  39. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  40. Theme from Shaft - Shaft
  41. Don't You (Forget About Me) - The Breakfast Club
  42. Kiss - Under the Cherry Moon
  43. Eye of the Tiger - Rocky III
  44. The Harder They Come - The Harder They Come
  45. Fame - Fame (1980)
  46. You've Got a Friend in Me - Toy Story
  47. Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast
  48. Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon - Pulp Fiction
  49. We Will Rock You - A Knight's Tale
  50. We Are Family - The Birdcage
  51. I Will Always Love You - The Bodyguard
  52. The Entertainer - The Sting
  53. Ain't Too Proud 2 Beg - The Big Chill
  54. People - Funny Girl
  55. Breakaway - The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
  56. The Rainbow Connection - The Muppet Movie
  57. Singin' in the Rain - Singin' in the Rain
  58. Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
  59. King of the Road - Brokeback Mountain
  60. Colors of the Wind - Pocahontas
  61. Can You Feel the Love Tonight - The Lion King
  62. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Cinderella
  63. Tequila - Pee-wee's Big Adventure
  64. Under the Sea - The Little Mermaid
  65. The Power of Love - Back to the Future
  66. You Can't Stop the Beat - Hairspray (2007)
  67. Evergreen - A Star Is Born (1976)
  68. My Favorite Things - The Sound of Music
  69. Up Where We Belong - An Officer and a Gentleman
  70. You're the One That I Want - Grease
  71. Beyond the Sea - Beyond the Sea
  72. Wind Beneath My Wings - Beaches
  73. Are You That Somebody? - Dr. Dolittle
  74. Theme from New York, New York - New York, New York
  75. I Got a Name - The Last American Hero
  76. Things Have Changed - Wonder Boys
  77. The Hands That Built America - Gangs of New York
  78. If I Were a Rich Man - Fiddler on the Roof
  79. Love Me Tender - Love Me Tender
  80. The Look of Love - Casino Royale (1967)
  81. I Just Called to Say I Love You - The Woman in Red
  82. Arthur's Theme - Arthur (1981)
  83. Love Is All Around - Four Weddings and a Funeral
  84. Blue Moon - An American Werewolf in London
  85. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Neptune's Daughter
  86. I Got You Babe - Groundhog Day
  87. Aquarius - Hair
  88. The Man That Got Away - A Star Is Born (1954)
  89. The Morning After - The Poseidon Adventure
  90. Yeah! - The Hangover
  91. In Your Eyes - Say Anything
  92. Believe - The Polar Express
  93. It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - Independence Day
  94. The Trolley Song - Meet Me in St. Louis
  95. Yellow Submarine - Yellow Submarine
  96. Cabaret - Cabaret
  97. (I've Had) The Time of My Life - Dirty Dancing
  98. Last Dance - Thank God It's Friday
  99. My Guy - Sister Act
  100. If I Didn't Have You - Monsters, Inc.
  101. Misty - Play Misty for Me
  102. A Love Before Time - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  103. Three Coins in the Fountain - Three Coins in the Fountain
  104. Pennies from Heaven - Pennies from Heaven (1936)
  105. Ave Satani - The Omen (1976)
  106. Streets of Philadelphia - Philadelphia
  107. On the Road Again - Honeysuckle Rose
  108. Cheek to Cheek - Top Hat
  109. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah - Song of the South
  110. Wicked Game - Wild at Heart
  111. The Rose - The Rose
  112. Stuck in the Middle with You - Reservoir Dogs
  113. 9 to 5 - 9 to 5
  114. When You Believe - The Prince of Egypt
  115. Swingin' on a Star - Going My Way
  116. High Hopes - A Hole in the Head
  117. Footloose - Footloose
  118. Al otro lado del rio - The Motorcycle Diaries
  119. Pure Imagination - Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
  120. You'll Be in My Heart - Tarzan
  121. Flashdance…What a Feeling - Flashdance
  122. Upside Down - Curious George
  123. Life's a Happy Song - The Muppets
  124. They Can't Take That Away from Me - Shall We Dance (1937)
  125. Because You Loved Me - Up Close & Personal
  126. My Kind of Town - Robin and the 7 Hoods
  127. Baby Mine - Dumbo
  128. Jean - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
  129. Chim Chim Cher-ee - Mary Poppins
  130. Hard to Say I'm Sorry - Summer Lovers
  131. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Shallow Hal
  132. The Living Proof - The Help
  133. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing - Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
  134. I Need to Wake Up - An Inconvenient Truth
  135. Into the West - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  136. Jackson - Walk the Line
  137. Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
  138. You Must Love Me - Evita
  139. It Might as Well Be Spring - State Fair (1945)
  140. You Light Up My Life - You Light Up My Life
  141. Suicide Is Painless - MASH
  142. Life Is a Highway - Cars
  143. Somewhere in My Memory - Home Alone
  144. Call Me - American Gigolo
  145. For All We Know - Lovers and Other Strangers
  146. Alfie - Alfie (1966)
  147. Put a Little Love in Your Heart - Scrooged
  148. Days of Wine and Roses - Days of Wine and Roses
  149. The Day I Fall in Love - Beethoven's 2nd
  150. We Belong Together - Toy Story 3
  151. Suddenly I See - The Devil Wears Prada
  152. Skyfall - Skyfall
  153. Georgy Girl - Georgy Girl
  154. It Had to Be You - When Harry Met Sally…
  155. One Week - American Pie
  156. The Shadow of Your Smile - The Sandpiper
  157. It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song) - Mermaids
  158. Goldfinger - Goldfinger
  159. Iris - City of Angels
  160. And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going - Dreamgirls
  161. Some Day My Prince Will Come - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  162. Endless Love - Endless Love
  163. Book of Days - Far and Away
  164. Tiny Dancer - Almost Famous
  165. Falling Slowly - Once
  166. Somewhere - West Side Story
  167. As I Lay Me Down - Now and Then
  168. Lean on Me - Lean on Me
  169. You'll Never Know - Hello, Frisco, Hello
  170. Tubular Bells - The Exorcist
  171. Build Me Up Buttercup - There's Something About Mary
  172. Change the World - Phenomenon
  173. Magic Moments - Bridget Jones's Diary
  174. It Must Have Been Love - Pretty Woman
  175. It Might Be You - Tootsie
  176. Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) - Beetlejuice
  177. The Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book
  178. The Ballad of Cat Ballou - Cat Ballou
  179. Love Is a Song - Bambi
  180. Somewhere Out There - An American Tail
  181. Father and Daughter - The Wild Thornberrys Movie
  182. Live and Let Die - Live and Let Die
  183. The Longest Day - The Longest Day
  184. Whatever You Imagine - The Pagemaster
  185. Belleville rendez-vous - The Triplets of Belleville
  186. Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man) - Dick Tracy
  187. Blue Velvet - Blue Velvet
  188. Accidentally in Love - Shrek 2
  189. Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
  190. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Benny & Joon
  191. How Do I Live - Con Air
  192. Tammy - Tammy and the Bachelor
  193. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Armageddon
  194. True Grit - True Grit (1969)
  195. Blazing Saddles - Blazing Saddles
  196. Tomorrow - Annie
  197. No Ordinary Love - Indecent Proposal
  198. What's New Pussycat? - What's New Pussycat?
  199. Bring Me to Life - Daredevil
  200. Where the Boys Are - Where the Boys Are

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

One more cast member (for now)

I am definitely considering Queen Latifah—rapper, singer, and actress born Dana Owens—for a part in this movie.  However, no longer will I tell my readers what parts these actors will play.

By the way, I've decided to use an unknown actor for the lead role.  It would lend a bigger touch of realism.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

'Tree of Life' shapes production possibility

Before tonight, I had seen no Terrence Malick films.  Now I have - specifically, The Tree of Life - and not only does it live up to its reputation as the best film of the 2010s so far, but presently it is influential to my plans.

None of his other notable films - Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The New World - are as experimental, but they are also very acclaimed.  So I've got an idea: Write my script and sell it to him.

He's never directed something he hasn't written, but if, at almost 69, he is still capable of making such a work of genius as The Tree of Life, I have high hopes IF - and that's a very big IF - he is interested.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

No longer a solo project!

I'm going to find a co-writer, because I feel this movie would be inadequate if I were left entirely to my own devices.

100 Best Versions of Christmas Songs

Now that the season that ACTR is named after is impending, I thought I would share this list I created - unrelated to the movie, but who cares?

  1. White Christmas (1947 single version) - Bing Crosby
  2. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
  3. The Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simeone Chorale
  4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Gene Autry
  5. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Perry Como
  6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
  7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Nat King Cole
  8. Ave Maria - Leontyne Price
  9. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
  10. Sleigh Ride - The Boston Pops
  11. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
  12. O Come All Ye Faithful - Nat King Cole
  13. Jingle Bells - Frank Sinatra
  14. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
  15. Silver Bells - Bing Crosby & Carole Richards
  16. Merry Christmas Darling - Carpenters
  17. Adeste Fideles - Luciano Pavarotti
  18. (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays (1954 version) - Perry Como
  19. Christmas in Dixie - Alabama
  20. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters
  21. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
  22. A Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
  23. The Christmas Song - Carpenters
  24. Christmas in My Hometown - Charley Pride
  25. Feliz Navidad - José Feliciano
  26. White Christmas - The Drifters
  27. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
  28. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby
  29. If Every Day Was Like Christmas - Elvis Presley
  30. Winter Wonderland / Sleigh Ride - Dolly Parton
  31. O Holy Night - Perry Como
  32. In Dulci Jubilo - Vienna Boys' Choir
  33. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Johnny Mathis
  34. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
  35. Deck the Halls - Mannheim Steamroller
  36. Carol of the Bells - Robert Shaw Chorale
  37. Coventry Carol - Cambridge, King's College Choir
  38. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
  39. The Christmas Song - Tony Bennett
  40. Caroling, Caroling - Nat King Cole
  41. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Perry Como
  42. Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
  43. Jingle Bells - Jim Reeves
  44. O Holy Night - Nat King Cole
  45. Frosty the Snowman - Red Foley
  46. The Chipmunk Song - The Chipmunks
  47. Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
  48. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Michael Bublé
  49. O Come All Ye Faithful - Celtic Woman
  50. What Child Is This? - André Previn
  51. Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) - Elvis Presley
  52. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Sarah McLachlan
  53. Angels We Have Heard on High - Gordon Langford & Orchestra
  54. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Bing Crosby
  55. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Aimee Mann
  56. Sarajevo 12/24 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  57. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Perry Como
  58. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
  59. What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder
  60. It's a Marshmallow World - Vic Damone
  61. Here We Come A-Caroling / O Tannenbaum / I Saw Three Ships - The Boston Pops
  62. The Twelve Days of Christmas - Roger Whittaker
  63. O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi Trio
  64. Joy to the World - Mannheim Steamroller
  65. Irish Carol - Julie Andrews
  66. Cool Yule - Louis Armstrong & The Commanders
  67. Pretty Paper (E-flat version) - Willie Nelson
  68. Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
  69. Sleigh Ride - Harry Connick, Jr.
  70. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - Lena Horne
  71. The First Noel - Andy Williams
  72. Joy to the World - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
  73. Mary's Boy Child - Harry Belafonte
  74. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Philadelphia Chorus
  75. Silver Bells - Kate Smith
  76. Good King Wenceslas - The Ames Brothers
  77. Silent Night - Jim Reeves
  78. O Little Town of Bethlehem / It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Canadian Brass
  79. O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Virgil Fox
  80. Baby It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
  81. You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
  82. The Christmas Waltz - Nancy Wilson
  83. Ding Dong Merrily on High - Roger Whittaker
  84. The Toy Trumpet - Al Hirt & The Boston Pops
  85. Frosty the Snowman - Gene Autry
  86. O Come All Ye Faithful - Sergio Franchi
  87. Silent Night (Oiche Chiún) - Enya
  88. (There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays - Carpenters
  89. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Eugene Ormandy & The Philadelphia Orchestra + Chorus
  90. What Child Is This? - Ed Ames
  91. Good King Wenceslas - Morton Gould & The RCA Symphony Orchestra
  92. The First Noel - Sergio Franchi
  93. Away in a Manger - Ed Ames
  94. We Three Kings of Orient Are - Dick Liebert
  95. My Favorite Things - Tony Bennett
  96. White Christmas (1953 version) - Perry Como
  97. The Little Drummer Boy - Bing Crosby
  98. Deck the Halls - Ottmar Liebert
  99. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Bing Crosby
  100. Silent Night - Sergio Franchi
Actually, maybe I can relate them - I'll release this as a boxed set someday to coincide with the movie's release.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

A *series* to remember

It's official: ACTR is not just going to be one movie.

If it's successful enough, I plan to make it a series, each one taking place during a different season.

So when you walk out of that theater three years from now, it will be just the beginning.

I would reveal more about each one, but to do that I might have to give away crucial points.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Live till production, can you do it?

Never mind what I've said about hoping Rooney and White will make it to production.  Now I'm thinking of an actor who's a little younger—though not by much, so I will have to keep hoping and praying. (Pray with me! LOL)

Now that Ernest Borgnine has passed on, Rooney and White in question are the oldest working actor and actress in the American film business.  The third is one of the most prolific actors ever, as well as one of my favorites in a way: Christopher Lee, who turned 90 earlier this year.  I looked him up on IMDb just now and it lists him as still being alive.

As long as he is mentally able, I also hope he'll join another of my productions—as the Ghostly Old Man in my remake of Manos: The Hands of Fate.

JT in the house?

I've been thinking…now that he's retired from music and is acting in movies of varying degrees of seriousness (he is 31 now after all), I think perhaps Justin Timberlake would be good for this movie, depending on the role.

Though, it would definitely have to be a supporting role.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Forget about it

Newman is no longer being thought of for a "resurrected" role that would require special effects.  Instead I'll find someone else who's alive and about the age he would have been now.  I was thinking possibly Harry Dean Stanton, but we'll see…

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

From death to the screen

Today, it's been four years since Paul Newman passed away.

Originally I didn't find out until the day after, but that day was one of the saddest days of my life.  Newman is my favorite actor of all time, and even now I have nothing but "why's?"

Why couldn't he have lived through cancer?  Some people, even celebrities, get it and live.

Why couldn't he have been in Cars 2 as well as Cars?  It might have alleviated the persona of Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy), who'd become Pixar's answer to Jar-Jar Binks.

Why couldn't he have gone on to act further?  He was eighty-three, but some actors were born before or not long after him and are still alive and working today.

In our society we are not allowed to grieve anymore, or else we are prescribed antidepressants.  My parents, who are old-fashioned, believe that grieving is a part of life.  I guess, and I've been thinking less about "that news" through the years.

But if the Newman estate will permit me, he will be the actor I've been hiding from you readers, who will play the protagonist's great-uncle.  I will do it in the same manner that they used to bring LBJ, Nixon, John Lennon, et al back to the screen in Forrest Gump.

And when I cast my Fairly OddParents adaptation, I will choose a Newman look-alike for the role of Timmy. (Well, they both have blue eyes.)

Well-known or unknown?

Should I have somebody well-known play the protagonist, or just an average Joe?

On one hand, maybe the unknown actor could bring more realism to the role of a stingy, obese reactionary.  On the other, he'd have to be a decent actor.

Comment on this post to let me know.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A composer on the moody side

Most filmmakers just select composers for their projects randomly, which is why they tend to be versatile.  I, on the other hand, choose them carefully based on certain projects of theirs.

For over a year, I've believed that Hans Zimmer would be genuinely a good choice for the score because of the dramas and comedies he's scored, and this movie is a little bit of both.  That was before I considered Thomas Newman.

I think Newman would be better than Zimmer, now, because, as a person I polled put it, the films he's scored are "moodier."  That's just what I was thinking, as demonstrated by the following selections from his 30-odd-year career:
  • Scent of a Woman (1992).  Al Pacino learns to love life despite the fact that he is going blind.
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994).  A prisoner redeems himself through goodwill.
  • Little Women (1994).  The most recent notable adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's beloved book.
  • Meet Joe Black (1998).  Dealing with the afterlife.
  • American Beauty (1999).  A dead man relates his last months.
  • The Green Mile (1999).  A towering convict is scheduled to be fried for prejudiced reasons.
  • Road to Perdition (2002).  Gangster drama.
  • Finding Nemo (2003).  An over-protective single father fish learns to loosen up.
  • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004).  Three orphans find their way in a cruel world.
  • WALL-E (2008).  Near the end of the 3rd millennium AD, a robot reflects on previous life and has adventures in space.
  • Revolutionary Road (2008).  A violent end to an unhappy marriage.
  • The Help (2011).
Doesn't it seem like there's a trend here?  The themes in all of these movies seem to be pretty deep.  He should feel in place scoring a movie about spiritual reckoning.

But it's not just for the rest of these films that I'm hoping he'll accept.  It's also the nature of the scores themselves.  His work for Finding Nemo is one of my four or five favorite scores ever, because it serves as a perfect companion to the wonders that wait beneath the waves, while the main theme illustrates the movie's main theme.

Before he did such deep work, Newman scored some teen comedies in the '80s.

So unless he declines, I'm planning on this guy now!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

New Facebook URL

Now that I've restarted this movie's Facebook page, maybe I'll gain an audience prior to its release.  The address is:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Christmas-to-Remember-NEW-PAGE/486860211337745

Saturday, September 22, 2012

In praise of a career, in criticism of character

Mel Gibson is no longer being considered for a part, because as a writer I have been unable to write a part that doesn't interfere with the story I have in mind.

It really is a shame that he had his anti-Semitic tirade in 2006.  Not only did it condemn a race, it tarnished his career, and now on Facebook most of his movies have as much as two-thirds as many Likes as votes on IMDb.

Don't worry - he would have been the villain.  Josef Stalin's grandson, to be exact.  Most moviegoers would probably now want him either as a villain or not at all.  My critiquers, employed specifically for this movie, say the part would contribute to the movie being over-stimulating (ie there would be too many plots).

Despite being a conservative, at one point he owned an ill-fated electric car, and was interviewed in the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? in 2006.

As for his filmographies, it's only been a year and a half since I've been watching movies nearly every minute of my spare time.  His most widely-seen film among the film-buff crowd, Braveheart (1995), despite winning both Best Picture and Best Director (Gibson himself), is actually not my favorite movie, nor my least favorite, though its powerful conveyance of moral choices and how they intertwine with the Scots' fight for independence even moves me.

Halliwell's editor John Walker listed Braveheart 872nd on his list of one thousand greatest films in 2005.  Personally, I'd replace it on these lists with The Patriot, which has many similarities despite being set 500 years later.

I've expressed interest in going out of my way to watch his movies, of which I've currently only seen 9 (10 if you count Casper, in which he cameoed).  My mom's had thoughts of doing the same with Jason Robards, "even though he was an SOB in real life." (Emphasis added.  And did you know that Jimmy Stewart was a McCarthyist?)

I am not pardoning Gibson.  I am simply saying that in spite of this dogmatism, he is genuinely talented, and that the tirade ought not to have happened because of its role in affecting the public's view of him.  The film where he plays a Jewish person is in post-production, but whether it's just for the money or to genuinely atone - my guess is as good as yours.

Everyone else is still being planned on!

Monday, September 17, 2012

This time we're making it for real!

Okay.  I know this script project has been going on and off, but just let me finish my Manos: The Hands of Fate remake script and I'll start this one again.

What motivated me?

The answer is the fact that time does not stand still, and that I might never have this good a cast again.

'Hall Pass' co-star to land lead

Yep - Jason Sudeikis, I think, would be great for the role.  Seann William Scott has been in the right type of movies (well, sort of), but his appearance does not match what I'm envisioning.  The other cast members are currently static.  And if Rooney and White don't make it, I've decided to use unknowns.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Back to original plan

Despite my previous post, I'm still going to draw inspiration from Ozu's There Was a Father for the single-parent subplot.

The reason is that in There Was a Father, the child's mother is dead—as he is here—whereas in Kramer the parents are divorced.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Replacement movie

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) will replace Ozu's There Was a Father (1942) as the movie I will use to get inspiration for a single-parent subplot.

Rest assured…

I am hesitant to reveal one actor who I want in this movie, but rest assured, he will be the villain.  Although people would now want to see him either as a villain or not at all, I can't think of a better actor for this particular part.

However, I do think it is hypocritical that, on Facebook, users dislike Gibson so much as a person that they've removed his movies from their profiles, but quickly pardon Chris Brown.  I'm not saying I admire either person on the basis of their character, though one has made a lot of decent to deserving movies, while the other is no more talented than any pop music artist still active (who, frankly, are quite talentless).

How do you have a backlash against an anti-Semite, but praise a man who commits domestic violence against women?

Yet, despicable though one's opinions may be, I do not believe it is sufficient grounds to deny them work.  My gay former friend objected to Clint Eastwood being cast in a dead project of mine because the friend thought he supported Proposition 8.

Monday, June 11, 2012

A word about 'The Simpsons'

I'm watching The Simpsons - Christmas DVD, consisting of 5 episodes from 1989 to 2001, and am cracking up consistently.


The Simpsons has been named the greatest show of all time (by Empire magazine), and as the greatest kids' show (though I couldn't recommend it to anyone under age 8).  Both of those accolades are very definitely deserved.  I can't think of a better show I've seen…then again, I'm more inclined toward the cinema than the boob tube.  I used to not be much, though.

From ages seven to nine, I stopped watching it for the stupidest reason ever: because of Treehouse of Horror VI (1995), where Homer repeatedly screams "Crap!" as he goes into the vortex in "Homer3."  Later I got back into it, and in ninth and tenth grade saw every episode through season seven.

But it hasn't been till now that I've truly appreciated everything about it.

Sadly, on my movie review blog, I think I'll give The Simpsons Movie a 3-out-of-5 rating.  The plot development is as good as any episode, but the jokes are not up to scratch by show standards.  The only exception is at the beginning: "AMERICAN IDIOT - FUNERAL VERSION."

Even the later episodes might not be as bad as I used to think.

Now for your next hint: This actor was a guest star on The Simpsons in the thirteenth season.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

More cast members!

Hopeful ones, that is.  Until they actually sign, I can't make any promises that they really will appear.

Sam Neill as the protagonist's father.

I'm not sure if Will Smith would be ok with playing a small role, given that he's played much bigger parts in recent years, but if the answer is "yes," I'd like to consider him as the protagonist's physician.

Finally—and I'll try to put this as simply as possible—there's an actor whose work I admire even though many people dislike him as a person now.  So when I realized my script needed a villain—and not just any villain, but Josef Stalin's daughter's son—I thought perhaps I'd give him this appropriate role.  For fear of losing popularity (and this is a blog of note), I'd rather not say who it is.

Now for your first hint as to the answer to my previous post: He turned down the part that went to Roy Scheider in Jaws.

Resurrection of more than just my project

For the purposes of having him be in this movie, I'm going to "resurrect" a dead actor.

Not literally, of course, but I will try to get permission from his estate to use his likeness in a brand-new role.

With the help, of course, of CGI.

Who is it?  I'll give you several clues; the first person to answer correctly will get whatever they wish (as long as it's legal).

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Nine to start with!

Without further ado, I decided to just name who I'm considering for the cast in what I hope will be the next masterpiece.


Sean William Scott as the lead role, in the hopes that he could experiment with more sophisticated comedy.

Katherine Heigl as his fiancée.

Anjelica Huston as his son's homeschool teacher.

George Clooney as his dietician.

Kathy Bates as his mother.

Michael Caine as a fabled gift-giver associated with the season, and Julie Andrews as the missus.

Should they make it to filming, Mickey Rooney and Betty White as his elderly grandparents.

After the end credits, there will be a sneak peek at an upcoming, related film, as there are at the end of Marvel movies.

More to come when I think of actors for the other roles!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

New hopeful cast & crew: Composer

Hans Zimmer, like so many great film composers, has scored a wide range of films, which calls for a wide range of styles.

My former Facebook friend Lucas Hazlett named him as one of his three favorite film composers, the others being John Williams and James Horner.  Since breaking into the American film business, he has given us:

(asterisks are the ones that inspired me to consider him)

MOONLIGHTING (1982)
SUCCESS IS THE BEST REVENGE (1987)
RAIN MAN (1988)*
PAPERHOUSE (1989)
BLACK RAIN (1989)
TWISTER (1989)
DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989)*
BIRD ON A WIRE (1990)
DAYS OF THUNDER (1990)
PACIFIC HEIGHTS (1990)
GREEN CARD (1990)*
BACKDRAFT (1991)
THELMA & LOUISE (1991)*
REGARDING HENRY (1991)
K2 (1991)
THE POWER OF ONE (1992)
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992)*
POINT OF NO RETURN (1993)
I'LL DO ANYTHING (1993)
CALENDAR GIRL (1993)
TRUE ROMANCE (1993)
COOL RUNNINGS (1993)
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (1993)
RENAISSANCE MAN (1994)
THE LION KING (1994)
DROP ZONE (1994)
CRIMSON TIDE (1995)
NINE MONTHS (1995)
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT (1995)*
BEYOND RANGOON (1995)
BROKEN ARROW (1996)
MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND (1996)
THE FAN (1996)
THE PREACHER'S WIFE (1996)*
SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW (1997)
THE PEACEMAKER (1997)
AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997)*
THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (1998)
THE THIN RED LINE (1998)*
CHILL FACTOR (1999)
THE ROAD TO EL DORADO (2000)
GLADIATOR (2000)
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II (2000)
AN EVERLASTING PIECE (2000)
THE PLEDGE (2001)
HANNIBAL (2001)
PEARL HARBOR (2001)
INVINCIBLE (2001)
RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS (2001)*
BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001)
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON (2002)
THE RING (2002)
TEARS OF THE SUN (2003)
MATCHSTICK MEN (2003)*
THE LAST SAMURAI (2003)
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (2003)*
KING ARTHUR (2004)
THUNDERBIRDS (2004)
SHARK TALE (2004)
SPANGLISH (2004)*
MADAGASCAR (2005)
BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (2005)
THE WEATHER MAN (2005)
THE DA VINCI CODE (2006)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (2006)
THE HOLIDAY (2006)*
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007)
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (2007)*
AUGUST RUSH (2007)*
KUNG FU PANDA (2008)
THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (2008)
FROST/NIXON (2008)
THE BURNING PLAIN (2008)
ANGELS & DEMONS (2009)
PIRATE RADIO (2009)*
IT'S COMPLICATED (2009)*
SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009)
THE PACIFIC (2010)
DESPICABLE ME (2010)*
INCEPTION (2010)
MEGAMIND (2010)
HOW DO YOU KNOW (2010)*
THE DILEMMA (2011)*
RANGO (2011)
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011)
KUNG FU PANDA 2 (2011)
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011)

Just FYI, I can't make any promises that who I want will appear in the movie.  These are just biographies of my wishful choices.

New hopeful cast!

Now that pageviews have somewhat taken a dive, I thought I'd share just who I want in the cast.

ATTN: DiCaprio and Winslet are no longer the leads.  But whatever appeal it might lose (because of my changing my mind about them and Macaulay Culkin) should be made up for with the social commentary the film will provide.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Movies to study

As the writer, I will model the seventh draft after seven films, which I will watch until I have them memorized.  In chronological order:

  • There Was a Father (1942)
  • The Cardinal (1963)
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
  • The Simpsons Christmas episodes DVD
  • Nobody's Fool (1994)
  • Heavy (1995)
  • The Ice Storm (1997)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

New cast! (And more)

Leo and Kate are still being considered for the leads.  But the considered cast has changed!  It will not be revealed until later.

Also, the plot is being written, experiencing a change of direction if you will.  I, writer, will watch 7 movies over and over until I've memorized them.  The idea is for them to draw inspiration to this film.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Activity ceased, now resurrected

Like the title says, I'd discontinued this project for a while.  But now I'm back!  More to come later.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Part 1 scripted!

Good news!  A Christmas to Remember: Part 1 has reached its first draft.  It is now entering review.  Once it is finalized I will post on that.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Thank you, Mr. Cameron!

I assume you've read my recent post saying that Owen Wilson's son is not in the cast anymore.  As this year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic, allow me to say: It's a shame that those people drowned and everything.  But if it hadn't happened, his daddy would be stereotypically cast as the lead role in ACTR.

"How is that so?" would be a reasonable question.  And I'll do my best to answer it.

I guess it all started the day after Christmas, 2010, when my sister and I were at Goodwill.  And, you know, VHS tapes today are a steal; it's been so long since they dominated the home entertainment market that movie collectors can save a lot of money on them almost anywhere.  I chose Two Rode Together (1961), a classic Western movie; Jurassic Park (1993), which I wanted to revisit and which I see so often in used-goods stores that at the time it had to be the biggest-selling video ever; and Titanic (1997).

When I first saw the doomed-vessel/romantic epic on the first day of spring, 2011, I thought it was pretty good—particularly the sinking sequence—but that a lot of the dialogue was cheesy, with Jack's line "This is bad" after the iceberg encounter making the 1999 book Stupid Movie Lines.  But as time has passed, I've come to look at it differently, and now I almost concur with Joseph McBride, who in his awful (as in "WAY too critical") 1998 Book of Movie Lists listed it as one of his top 25 movies ever.  In late 2006, the film peaked at #973 on the "1,000 Greatest [i.e. most acclaimed] Films" project at:
http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000.htm.
I ultimately sided with its champions and at the end of August 2011 requested that the copy I'd purchased join my collection.  (This was about the time I got back into VHS, the way some people enjoy collecting LPs.)

I had thought of Owen for a long time in the lead role, but after watching Titanic the second time I literally dreamed about resurrecting my ACTR idea, and in this dream I got the idea that Leonardo DiCaprio should play it instead.  And I thought, "Why not?  He's about the right age now."  So the project was reinstated.  I got other ideas for the cast, but the only one I've kept to this day was the actor to play his grandfather.

By the way, Titanic is being reissued in 3D in just 7 weeks to commemorate the centennial of the disaster it depicts.  Now that it's grown on me, I would have gone, but since the revival of 3D at the beginning of 2009, the 3D has added very little to the experience (Disney/Pixar's Up is testimony to this).  Couldn't they have just given it a Blu-ray release?  I know Hollywood has been a lot more conservative about releasing movies on Blu-ray, but it seems to me like it would make a great candidate for the format.

Where is the love?

ACTR has a follower here on Blogger, yet its Facebook page has no likes as of yet.  If any of its viewers are on Facebook, please feel free to click the "Like" button.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Owen Wilson's son dropped from cast!

Robert Ford Wilson, the son of Owen who recently turned one, is no longer planned on as a cast member.

Robert was considered (by me) for the main character's preschool-age son.  If I'm trying to have part one of the movie come out in time for November 2014, he will seem too young.  And if I want the main character's grandparents to be played by Mickey Rooney (born in 1920) and Betty White (born in 1922), I'd have to shoot their scenes first before they pass away.

R.F. may also be too young to act yet.  The DVD commentary for Finding Nemo describes how it was much easier to work with six-year-old Nicholas Bird (who played Squirt) than toddler Mary Gibbs, who played Boo in Monsters, Inc.  Some scientists say the human brain does not capacitate memory until age three.  And even in Judy Blume's book Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing, Fudge is three and has issues filming a Toddlebike commercial.

But maybe someday when RFW is older, I'll consider him for a part.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Welcome back to me!

I know I haven't posted anything about this movie for a while, but it's definitely happening.  Updates coming soon.