Category Archives: Entertainemt

« And the Oscar goes to … » 2014 Edition

10 Monday Mar 2014

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(Please find hereafter the article I wrote for the French Newsletter)Image

Comme chaque année, la cérémonie des Oscars entraine un buzz médiatique qui va croissant avec les années et les dernières applications technologiques innovantes .

Avant, pendant et après . Meme si le nombre de spectateurs TV dudit évènement s’effrite au profit d’un suivi sur la TV internet.

Avant : pronostic et présentattions des films en compétition , bio des acteurs et réalisateurs ( un petit scandale est toujours le bienvenu, Scarlett Johansson cette année en a fait les -minimes et très calculés- frais.) Annonce des nominations et des présentateurs (hosts) du lieu et comparaison rétrospective de type fashion des participants des années précédentes (la décade est favorisée comme plus propice à la comparaison de l’évolution du style de telle ou telle actrice)

Pendant : pronostic de dernière minute, détail des tenues et bijoux de ces dames en direct, glose sur le style vestimentaire de ces messieurs (le smoking est il soluble dans le style plage? Le Bermuda-smoking de Pharell Williams cuvée 2014, porté sans chaussettes, laisse songeur).

Comme pour tout, certains connaissent les règles -trop subtiles apparemment- du smoking et du bon gout et d’autres… eh bien, autant n’en rien dire.

Idem pour ces dames, qui portent des tenues prêtées pour l’occasion, tout comme les bijoux. Mais le risque est plus limité, le show servant de vitrine aux createurs, établis ou montants, il y a moins de risque de dérapage.

Dernier pronostic aussi avant que le présentateur vedette n’ouvre les festivités, avec plus ou moins de bonheur, là aussi.

Dernières pauses devant les flashes sur le tapis rouge.

Après , ça continue encore: les news télévisées, les journaux -papier et online-, les magazines, les blogs, les réseaux sociaux…tous relaient les résultats, qui sont immédiatements commentés et parfois deviennent “viral” (la fameuse jambe d’Angelina Jolie en 2012 avait eu un nombre de retweets et de commentaires phénomenal). Les magazines de mode proposent alors, outre le passage à la moulinette des détails du style des actrices (maquillage, vêtements , chaussures, bijoux, etc…), des « knock-off » pour copier lesdits styles pour un prix bien plus modique, on s’en doute, piochés dans des marques plus grand public, chaussures et pochettes de soirée compris.

L’arrivée de twitter et de facebook ont boosté les interactions entre l’industrie (toutes catégories confondues) et le public . Les acteurs se pretent au jeu, postent des selfies (autoportraits) sur leur profile de résaux sociaux, commentent, indiquent leur humeur, leurs attentes , ce qu’ils ont pris au déjeuner et qui les habillera, voire , appellent aussi à soutenir quelque cause ou événement politique ou autre. Le selfie de Ellen DeGeneres a fait tourner les moulins de twitter et les commères pendant toute la nuit, presque 3 millions de tweets . Pub fantastique pour les parties concernées, not so sure pour le prestige de la cérémonie.

L’évènement , presque confidentiel et très codifié à ses débuts (15 minutes le 16 mai 1929 , host Douglas Fairbanks,  12 catégories, 270 invités) , est devenu au fil du temps un vrai show à l’americaine, de presque 4h, dont la liste des catégories s’est allongée pour atteindre 29 à ce jour , dont 5 « Special » ; les 3332 sièges du Kodak theater récemment lieu d’accueil ne sont jamais vides). Certaines catégories ont d’aileurs été éphémères ( ex. : Best Dance Direction, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score ,…). D’autres sont régulièrement proposées (ex. : Best casting). On a adjoint à cette cérémonie purement grand écran des éléments de la télévision, par les présentateurs d’abord, ou des stars du petit écran, puis des numéros comiques et enfin, des chansons. C’est, littéralement, le cirque  quand en 1992 David Letterman ( The Late Show with David Letterman) produit un numéro -pathétique- avec des chiens dansants pour remettre à Tom Hanks  -dubitatif -sa statuette pour sa prestation de Forrest Gump.

Et en 2014, on n’a pas peur d’innover dans le genre « no-limit-au-n’importe-quoi » avec un “selfie”, justement, sur scène de la part de la présentatrice et TV star Ellen DeGeneres (qui a l’air impromptu, mais en fait a été minutieusement répété) pour promouvoir la marque d’un téléphone. Cela surprend de prime abord, et puis on apprend que ladite marque a déboursé $19 millions pour s’assurer que les cameramen captureront bien le nom et la génération du téléphone en question. A ce tarif-là, on s’affranchit de ses scrupules, quitte à écorner à la fois le mythe et marcher sur les pieds de la vénérable vieille dame de 86 ans. N’est-ce pas Madame Ellen ; n’est-ce pas Monsieur le Groupe Coréen diversifié Electronique , Automobile, Constructeur Naval, Téléphone Mobile , etc…Passons sur l’épisode pizza, certes inattendu et sympathique, mais inapproprié, dans ce contexte, meme si Brad Pitt a montré une simplicité et une promptitude à distribuer les parts remarquables. Ellen est une femme généreuse, elle le rappelle devant les caméras avec le « tip » qu’elle quête auprès de ses amis les professionnels de cette industrie . Elle aurait pu lui partager son pactole téléphonique et épargner cette ridicule prestation. (Surtout quand on sait que la Vanity Fair Party qui suit traditionnellement ne propose pas que des chips aux invités : en 2014 ; il y a eu : cupcakes customisés, macarons caviar-crème fraîche, salade crabe-avocat, tourtes de volaille-champignons, lasagne à la truffe noire, donuts et café. Bref.)

Cela donne une curieuse impression de populisme d’empereur romain mégalomane. Mais enfin, cela illustre parfaitement ce que veut le public : du pain et des jeux. On est au cirque, à cette minute-là, Panem et Circenses, cela prend toute sa dimension.

Au fil du temps, on a vu de drôle de choses, aux Awards, comme l’utilisation de l’évènement à des fins politiques ou des appels à prise de conscience . Des hiatus qui donnent souvent lieu a de nouvelles règles. Notamment , c’est à cause de Marlon Brando et Sasheen Litllefeather  (par ailleurs fausse Apache et vraie actrice) que les vainqueurs de la statuette dorée sont obligés de venir en personne chercher leur récompense, et non d’envoyer une délégation et ne sont plus qutorisés à lire un speech de critique de 15 pages en déclinant, en plus , ladite récompense (1972, pour le Parrain).

1977 avait été marqué par le discours controversé (contre le fascisme , l’anti-sémitisme et le sionisme) de Vanessa Redgrave. 

2013 avait vu déjà un fléchissement avec une cérémonie -traditionnellement et jusqu’à lors-  dénommée 85th Academy Awards rebaptisée Oscars 2013 (nom officieux). Les puristes en auraient avalé leur carton d’invitation.

Depuis 2001 et le speech de 4 minutes de Julia Roberts , nous savons que le temps de parole pour le discours d’acceptation est calibré et que le « stick man » le rappelle en coulisse.

En 2014, les résultats sont un peu décevants, pour les cinéphiles exigeants, et il est clair que souvent le succès commercial ou que les a-priori des votants sur leurs collègues pèsent davantage dans la séléction et le choix final que les qualités intrinsèques du film, qui devraient être évaluées impartialement.

Que « Gravity » remporte l’oscar Best Cinematography (Photo),  Best Editing (Montage) et Best Visual Effects (Effets Speciaux) reste un mystère (on en reparle dans 10 ans), quand le premier semblerait davantage devoir revenir à « The Secret Life of Walter Mitty » (hélas non sélectionné), le deuxième n’aurait pas déparé «Her» ou « The Secret Life of Walter Mitty » et le dernier aurait du revenir à «Her». Quant à « Nebraska », une catégorie spéciale aurait pu être créée, comme parfois cela arrive, Best Original Cinematography . Et la categorie Best Sound (bande son) devait revenir à « 12 years a slave ».

Dans un autre genre :  « Lego the  Movie » est formidable : la chute est excellente ; le scenario, parfait et l’auto-dérision, déléctable. Et « Budapest Grand Hotel » est sorti trop tard ; et c’est tant mieux pour Gravity, qui sans cette sortie tardive n’aurait pas fait le poids et aurait été balayé et remisé au placard des anecdotes de science-fiction-pseudo-thriller mal ficelées.

12 years a Slave a mérité ses récompenses; même si les pointes de complaisances de son réalisateur sont un poil irritantes et Dallas Buyers Club , comme Nebraska , apportent une vraie gravité, pour le coup (sans jeu de mot), à une industrie qui contemple trop souvent le succès facile comme un gage de qualité. On perd un peu de l’esprit fondateur de l’évènement, qui  malheureusement en cours de route, a récompensé des films a posteriori très décevants ou surévalués, et en a oubliés d’autres qui méritaient amplement leur statuette dorée.

Oscar Trivia :

*Chaque statuette pèse 6,75 pounds (3 ,61kg ) et mesure 13 ,5 inches (34 ,29cm)

*Discours le plus long : Greer Garson pour Mrs. Miniver (1943) : entre 5 et 7 minutes  selon les sources

*Seuls 5 films ont remporté , à ce jour, le « Big Five » (Best Picture , Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay : It Happened One Night (1934) ; One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Vol qu dessus d’un nid de coucous)(1975), The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

*Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), et The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King (2003) sont les films les plus récompensés, remportant chacun 11 oscars. Le Seigneur des Anneaux est le seul a avoir remporté tous les oscars pour lequel il a été séléctionné.

*Acteur le plus fréquemment séléctionné: Jack Nicholson (12 nominations, 3 victoires)

*Actrice la plus fréquemment séléctionnée : Meryl Streep (18 nominations, 3 victoires)

*Actrice la plus récompensée : Katrine Hepburn (4 victoires)

*Discours les plus courts : Patty Duke 1963 pour The Miracle Worker. etAlfred Hitchcock : « Thank you »

*Temps imparti à chaque vainqueur : 45 secondes. Certains débordent et sont coupés par : le présentateur, l’orchestre, une bande-son qui démarre, un extrait du film, leur émotion incontrolable.

*La Costume Designer Edith Head a été séléctionnée 35 fois pour 8 victoires (Sabrina , All about Eve, The Heiress, Samson and Dalilah, A Place in the Sun, Roman Holiday, The Facts of Life, The Sting)

* Walt Disney a reçu 22 oscars (pour 59 nominations)

* 6000 votants sélectionnent les potentiels vainqueurs

* Depuis 1989 ; on ne dit plus « And the winner is… » mais on annonce : «  And the Oscar goes to… », par égard pour les autres nominés. Eux, ils pourront reprendre une part de pizza. Donnée par Brad Pitt.

Bon film!

Floreva

The secret life of Walter Mitty and Her – Sundance FF

24 Friday Jan 2014

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Well, well, well….

With the academy awards ceremony just around the corner, it’s the right time to hit the theaters and enjoy the inventive movies on offer. Rather that rushing to see “The Wolf of Wall Street” (Scorcese with DiCaprio, based on a true story, what could possibly go wrong? I’ll watch that later), I’ve chosen “Walter Mitty and his secret life”, because the storyline sounded appealing, and there was no dissatisfaction .

The film is based on a 1939 short story by James Thurber.  While some changes have been made in regard of the original story, namely since the action in the book is wrapped tightly around Walter Mitty and a single event as trivial and unremarkable as accompanying his wife to the drugstore. He stays for a smoke outside the shop while she proceeds with the groceries’ list. The essence of Walter Mitty’s rich inner life and  feats is pretty much interestingly translated onto the screen. Ben Stiller does a remarkable composition, a pleasant mixture for a contemplative character made of grace and reserve, the plot is maybe not fantastically inventive, but it flows nicely and the ties are well tied together, interwoven with clues we grabbed along the road to his own journey into the real world. Haven’t we all day-dreamt of delivering punching line to people who are as annoying as a dickhead, or to rude people or haven’t we fought that with a bit of increased audacity we would have done or said something bound to lead to a better situation, and kept for ourselves for various reasons? Sometimes, though, the only alternative is to harness that audacity and just…. well, dive into the unknown, because it feels right.

It is also a refreshing film for three reasons ; firstly in the sense that the filming locations are not somewhere in the States, pretending to be that particular area in the world where the action is supposed to be taking place. The crew did film in several part of Iceland (but they did not film the Himalayan part in real Himalaya though but in Iceland too, namely in Longufjorur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, still, the magic works).

It’s refreshing too because the crush he has for his colleague finds a quiet and gentle materialization when he firmly holds her hand, and we are spare the too-often -seen lip-crashing kiss plastered all over the screen since Top Gun (1986), in big scale, which since then made every kissing moment look like its always raw desire on steroids that both the protagonists seem to be able to either perform or want. So a little change is very welcome, and here the apparent shyness makes it for a gentle breeze without losing its powerful implication. Out of Africa (1985) was the embodiment of that elliptically shown strong desire, and it never felt less powerful that a close-up on naked bodies rummaging together on a bed, against a wall, on the floor, warlike, and seldom necessary in such length or numerous occurrence.

Thirdly, ( no offence, please) it felt refreshing to have locals playing the characters of locals, and not some American again playing the foreigners, much to the weariness of the (European, shall I write?) audience. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as a Greenlandic pilot is just perfect and he feels right too, just as the Chilean ship crew and the Icelandic/Greenlandic ship crew or the ticket agent (Rosamund Gundmundsdottir).

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is a very pleasant film, which provides an enduring feeling of lightness and happiness and a sense of joy, The photography is fantastic and that alone should have the movie being qualified for the Academy Awards, along with a  perfect script. Ben Stiller proves again that he is a real creative bloke, he acts in and directs here a great film, whose qualities will better with age. (Unlike the absurd “Arthur Newman” , 2012, in which Colin Firth and Emily Blunt unconvincingly play 2 American con artists, lost in their own identity and tediously trying to escape their miserably boring lives, 2 appealing British actors along with the somewhat inconsistent Anne Heche. Result : greatly annoying film full of wearisome cliches ).

“Her”

“Her” is a surprise, emphasing on the loneliness experienced by humans  dwelling in this modern techie urban habitat. We follow the life of Theodore Twombly whose job is to write love letters for people who lack either the ability, or the  time to do so. Theodore is a loner, still grieving over his lost relationship to his childhood sweetheart. He enrolls on a program providing humans with a personal OS, a virtual companion, able to learn and grow human like feelings. What ensues id crystal clear : he falls in love with the witty software, which improves so rapidly in the field of emotions and psychological understanding that their relationship becomes (strangely) intimate and emotionally accurate. Of course, what underlines the script is that no such relationship can exist, since we are humans, and no machine, as much sophistication it can get/operate/create/develop/have , can rival another human being because there is a moment when feelings and closeness need to find their physical expression and materialization through those trivial things but unbeaten yet : the skin, fingers, lips and eye locking into another step of intimacy, different and yet complementary to the closeness of soul, mind and spirit.

Here, Spike Jonze signs a question-raising film regarding our human condition, the loneliness we can experiment even when surrounded by fantastic tools of communications and technology enhancing or facilitating our everyday life. In the end, the moral of the story looks like : to experiment human contact and togetherness, joy in being reunited and this sense of “belonging”, the simplest thing to do is to ring a friend, drag them out of their flat, and together, closely seated in the warmth of human bond (love, friendship), contemplate the sunrise, rekindling with our human capacity to marvel at the simple joys Nature has to offer, and that can never be replaced, even by sophisticated machine. Steel can never have goose pimple, whereas the human body can  express inner emotions through various changes, in temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, change in color of the skin, breath and fluids exuding its pores or tear canals.

A modern tale, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, with a mustached Joaquin Phoenix.

Everybody’s gathering to Sundance FF!

I heard the other day over the radio Matt Damon and Glenn Close… I think this once alternative and indie-prone Film Fest seems to be gradually getting transplants and defectors  from Hollywood and getting to be contaminated by Hollywood stars and spirit…..Or is it? Anyway, I recommend RAINDANCE film Fest, and other Indie Film Fest, less known and yest more innovative and out of the big machine circuits…

So fellow film lovers, oddjobbers, check those FF and let us keep cinema ALSO indie.

So long,

Floreva

VISIONFEST
FILM FESTIVAL
New York, New York – USA
May 14 to 18, 2014

The 5th Annual New Media Film Festival
Based in Los Angeles, the New Media Film Festival celebrates the ever-changing world of new media. Declared “worth the entry fee” by MovieMaker Magazine and hailed for making “the cutting edge accessible” by Huffington Post, the festival accepts Web Series, 3D, Apps, Digital Comics, Machinima, Made on Mobile/Tablet, Music Videos, New Media, Scripts, Shorts, Shot on RED, 30-second pitches, Socially Responsible Content, and Trailers among other formats. The jury includes reps from Pixar, Fox, and The Caucus, among others. A total of $45K USD in awards will be presented at the festival this June. Join filmmakers from around the world, hear industry leaders, and network…submit today!

House of Cards US and UK.

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Entertainemt, TV Series

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Hi Folks!

It’s been a while since I last posted, but I wish to thank you, dear readers, old and new, for your kind loyalty. As I am not a Royal member of the British Monarchy, the motto “never explain, …” does not apply to me.

So. I have been extensively researching on various subjects lately, mainly Everest, Japan and Japanese traditions and way of living, and Operette, because my writings have connections to those fields. Hence my silence for more that 2 months. Apologies.

In the meantime, the much awaited “House of Cards” US aired on Netflix, Feb 1st. I am that TV series addict. Previously, I had enjoyed the British series “House of Cards” from which the US show derives and I must say that it was worth the wait and the impatience!

Some of you have read my early posts and know that I am no reasonable viewer, and as a TV series enthusiast, when the product is good, I find it very difficult to stop after just one episode. And so, the entire 1st season (13 ep) was dealt with within 2 days.

I liked the British show, and enjoyed that the rules were bent to better serve the narrative process by involving the audience as a witness or a confident (Diderot’s “4th wall” , also  used in Shakespeare’s  Richard III, also known as the “Regard Camera” -Camera Look, notably used by Fellini, Godard, Truffaut, The Coen Bros., Hitchcock, Bergman, Woody Allen, to name a few), when the character looks right at the camera, i.e. us,  and expresses his thoughts, or makes a comment.

This is not often or usually done, as the camera’s main quality remains to be invisible or discreet, and its presence must be “forgotten”, if the purpose is not voyeuristic or subjective camera.

In both series we follow  the resentful (because and after getting passed over for a promotion at a Senior position in the majority) politician and anti-hero Francis (Urquhart -UK/ Underwood-US) as he sets his own rules to weave his web around his soul-devouring sole goal : to become the leader of the governing party.

The script is packed with the usual suspects we hate to love and we love to hate, when carefully structured, crafted and brought to light  : Treason, manipulation, amoral deeds, blackmail, staged display of sympathy, intimidation, lies, false allegations and all the panoply of what we think politics is at its worst, allegedly for the “good of the nation”, while conveniently serving the main character’s personal ambitions.

Like most, I appreciate a good anti-hero, and Kevin Spacey’s  performance turns Francis Underwood into the perfect guy for the job, just as the late Ian Richardson created an equally brilliant bad guy in the eponymous UK series.

Not to mention the clever use of the graphics FX & inlays in the screen of the latest tech embedded on every smartphone, as already seen in “Sherlock” (which marveled the script analyst in me) and described by me in the post “Sherlock and me”, and brought to a higher level of creativity ( when Underwod texts someone) in this series.

It’s bound to be a massive success.

Welcome aboard, Kevin Spacey fans!

Enjoy!

Floreva

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House of Cards (US- 2013 and UK- 1990), on Netflix.

From the novel series written by UK author Michael Dobbs : House of Cards (1989), To play the King (1992) and The final cut ( 1994) 

Fearlessly You.

23 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in Entertainemt, Mt Everest

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Good day, Sunday readers!

All the books on self-improvement, personal development, almost all movies and much of the fictional literature seem to be teaching us mainly one thing, namely : discovering why we are here and being unashamed to be ourselves. We fear so many things, and yet, fear is just a prison we step into willingly. Instead of fear  have faith. Instead of fearing you will not succeed, have faith that you are already successful. Be fearless. Be you.  Be fearlessly YOU.The others will not notice the difference. If they are bothered by you, then, they also will be bothered by you being fearlessly you. So, WTF?

from LOMM

from LOMM

We are constantly reminded that we can only approach a satisfying level of happiness when we allow ourselves to accept every aspect of our personality, the shady side and the bright one. Things to improve and things already good in us.

It sounds easy, and the multiple quotes we may come across during the day make us think that it’s easy. In a way, it is. The main obstacle may be precisely our very self. This self we have difficulty to accept sometimes or all the time, or to understand , or that is playing tricks on us, because there are times when we are hit by sadness, discouragement, depression, anger, fear, loneliness, jealousy. There are times when the pressure is to hard to contain, or is triggered by a word, a song, something that add a little more steam and then we are, astonished by our own reaction.

We are seldom upset by perfect moments of happiness. And when we are overjoyed or experiencing bliss, we rarely do things that we are not very satisfied with.

So we learn to deal with it. The best way being, of course, to regret nothing and integrate those reactions into our global self, and to carry on. Problem is : we are our strongest censor, which can lead to sabotage our strategy to reach our goals. In those moments, we become our own personal enemy. And this enemy can stick around for a very looooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

Usually, we are judging ourselves by assuming what others think about us. And usually, we give a shit whereas they do not. They just do not bother taking time to reflect on it. They just have no time for you.

Wise quote - from Pinterest

-from Pinterest

 

So, instead, it’s probably safer and easier to sign a truce and work with the power hidden in our shady side.

And carry our load a little farther, a little longer and a little stronger. Micro-victories upon ourselves that we can be proud of, and that we can use to fuel our dedication  to reach those impossibly crazy goals. Shoot for the Sun, and you’ll land amongst the stars.

Take a hero, a simple noble heart. A model to help you harness your desires and your dreams, a powerful figure to restore your courage and your will, a personality packed with kindness and determination, a genuine model for you to travel side by side on the chaotic and marvelous path of life.

Read his or her biography, and you’ll discover all the battles he or she had to fight, the somber moments of self-deprecation or adversity which clouded their courage or sincere enthusiasm.

Choose your hero, your mentor, your Pygmalion wisely, for he or she’ s gonna be your guide, your teacher, your personal coach, your inspiration and your reference in values you want to stick to or you are willing to attach to your life to, to your personality and your work. You want this person to become a part of your self-empowerment, the foundation upon which you will structure your own personal architecture, because you have higher goals, or achievements for your self and your beloved ones than others can think of.

And you will succeed. You are already on the path of success.

We all are, from the minute we decide we want to better ourselves and respond to our true call and put all our energy, forces, strengths, life-driven desires and iron determination. Stay loyal to your life, self, call, hero. Honor them and fuel them with joy and hard work, self-confidence and kindness towards others.

As for me,  the strong figure and perfect model, this hero, is George Leigh Mallory, the British climber who pioneered the route to Mount Everest from the North Col.

GLM Quote

GLM Quote

Happy Holidays and a jolly merriment to you all ! ‘Tis the season…

Floreva

 

 

Santa Fe Film Festival 2012 DREAM AWAKE

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Creating, Entertainemt, Movies, Places, Writing

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Last Friday, I flew to New Mexico with a friend to the SANTA FE Film Festival (SFFF).

The theme was : Dream awake. What a good motto, what a wonderful idea.

Santa Fe and the SFFF : Such a marvelously energetic city, such a great event. Films, shorts, Q&A with directors, actors, producers, composers. Meeting passionate people, sharing their work and their art and their thoughts about it  with a genuine simplicity. It sounds obvious, of course. And yet, the authenticity feels so unspoilt in a festival like that one,  that you leave the event boosted, and fulfilled, especially if you are  an oddjobber like those who flocked in there.

SFFFpass

Being in Santa Fe again, in (almost) Winter time, with cold air filling the bright blue sky saturated with sun beams, it felt so good.

This city has really something about itself and in itself that you just can’t miss to experiment. The air seems to be rustling with extra positive vibrations.

The nearby mountains (visible from nearly every corner, unlike Houston, flat as my palm) anchor your looks into that beautiful Nature. You can’t escape beauty : architecture, settings, landscapes, buildings, the most creative human activity (painters, writers, potters, craftsmen, filmmakers, even  festivals to celebrate all that!!), a true osmosis between our natural environment and our humanity.

Georgia O’Keeffe sensed that earthy energy and savage beauty as she transcripted on the canvas or on the paper those vibes. Her paintings are as peaceful and quietness inducing as the vision of the surrounding scenery.

No wonder a film festival set in this city would attract talented and tactful professionals.

Our stay was blessed and punctuated with the most exquisite and nice encounters, some probable, others completely impromtu, absolutely unexpected. Saturday early morning, we came in the CCA to retrieve my friend’s ticket, and we ended up in the nearby venue, chatting with the person in charge that day, and visiting the Military Museum of the NM National Guard. very interesting.

 

DSC_0074

Then we went downtown Old Santa Fe, for a visit before the screening of the film that lay at the core of this trip. We visited the Georgia O’Keeffe museum.  We chatted with I can’t remember how many persons. (It is me or it this city is triggering people into conversations?).

And then, the FILM. “NOTHING WITHOUT YOU”. Just as it was about to begin, we met the director, Xackery Irving whom we greeted and he was so kind as to take some time to talk to us, and thanked us for coming from so far, Houston.

The film deserves the prize it won at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year.

Emily Fradenburgh is a lovely actress, impossibly talented and natural in her way of playing,  and her character is so appealing. We adhere to her motivation without the slightest reluctance. And we are thrilled, of course, because her life is at stake.

The script is well balanced, with drama and humour, thrilling moments and suspense.

And it has what most of us revere  : a twist end. But not a sloppy one, a well constructed, well defined and precisely chiseled one.

All in all the film is extremely good, finely crafted and structured. And the music is a pure moment of happiness.

The Q&A was a great moment, with The score composer, the producer, the director, the actress and another actor. The Qs showed that the audience is mainly composed of professional (talking about angles in shooting and stuff of the kind). And it was pleasant to learn as much by listening carefully to the As as we did for the Qs.

We went to the party held for the fest. And it was a blast, again, because you meet there all the people who make the fest! I talked with some of the crew of NWY, and they were forgiving to the enthusiast that I am. It felt like I was a child with a sugar tooth locked in a candy store! I also talked with the producer and the scriptwriter of the short we would watch the next day, “Brightwood”, winner of several prizes too. Amazing short, gorgeous sets, lovely child actress, the director of photography did an amazing job and it deserves its awards.

I feel so blessed and lucky to have been able to go to Santa Fe. And I wish all those talented people success, luck, and more creativity and extremely good connections to craft other good works and masterpieces for their audience to enjoy.

Thanks Emily, Victoria, Dorie, Xackery, Gabriel, Rick, Jacob, Keith, Ruth, Nani, Scott, and all of you who make all that possible.

I came back in Texas full of energy, a will to quickly achieve my writing projects – and particularly this road movie script. I am boosted, energized, more balanced, and I know that even ZERO budget films get shot. So, all is possible, you see.

It took a decade for the director Xackery Irving to achieve his script (it went through many re-writings and editings, as he told the audience), but at last, he made it. It must have been though, and depressing maybe sometimes, but it has a shape, a name and a prize to acknowledge its quality. Think hard and confidently enough that you can do it, and you’ll do it, and even better that you originally thought.

SO….

more caffeine and ….

FADE IN….

Good night, fellow oddjobbers.

Floreva, still enjoying  the light of Santa Fe….

 

“Nothing without you”, written & directed  by Xackery Irving, 95 min, genre : Psychological Thriller, Narrative feature

nothingwithoutyoufilm.com

facebook.com/nothingwithoutyoufilm

“Brightwood”, written by LaDora Sella, directed by L.Gabriel Gonda, 18min.

Brightwoodmovie.com

 

 

On being a writer who learns and writes.

06 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by in Books, Entertainemt, Movies, TV Series, Writing

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Time for reflection about being a writer.

When I was 14, I wrote a novel, not very long.  And then, I destroyed it. It was too personal, too raw, too me and I was too vulnerable, or so I thought…I wrote dozens and dozens of poems and texts. I wanted  two things : to be a writer AND to play on stage. I was an amateur theater actress and wrote in the school newspapers.

At 16, I wrote down a list of titles for the books I would wrote and a corresponding list of names, the character’s names.This list I still have with me, by my side as I write all that now, for your eyes. I kept on writing, although I had to change my professional choices. Eventually, deeply buried in those marketing jobs, I forgot about my self essential and my real life . Then one night, in August 2010, around 3 in the morning…

…I woke up. I mean, I WOKE UP to my past aspirations.  I was in the kitchen, sleep escaping me. My mind is racing.  For various reasons, over various subjects. And a thin fragile thread, long forgotten, attached to the very essential part of my soul is hit by a light I thought I had lost years ago. It was given back to me.

The energy of the writing spirit.

Now, at this hour of night, that day, I wanted to fight for that. This was the fighting spirit meeting the writing spirit. Good! Let’s go on!

So, in the heart of the night, I let the sun rise. I wrote  for 4 hours on my laptop. Characters knocked on the door of my mind, allowing themselves in, story unfolding neatly and energy increasingly awaking my creativity and my imagination…

Since then I have kept writing.

Now, I feel that I need to write more, to publish frenetically. I feel miserable taht I have not been able to give complete work to my publisher. I am affected by the virus of perfectionism. I rewrite, again and again, and again.  I got stuck on sentences for days, to achieve the ultimate construction. Letting go is difficult, and reaching a satisfying level is complexly hard. Sometimes, I think I have not done much in those past months. So I decided to summarize it.

What have I done in those past months, then? (Apart from my daily duties, of course). I did my homework and my work. And I ‘m still on it.

Firstly, I have prepared myself to properly tackle the writing of a script (because I am also a film lover since an early age) so I have :

  • read about 15/ + books on the subject ( The little red writing book, The golden book on writing –what’s this fantasy about colours??-, How to write a damn good thriller, How to write a damn good mystery, The art & craft of storytelling, A writer’s guide to fiction, The Bible of screenwriting, Crafty screenwriting, Writing screenplays that sell, Writing is a verb –oh?, The writer’s book of wisdom, See Jane write : a girl’s guide to writing chick lit, How not to write a screenplay –appealing/disturbing title, hence brilliant,  How to write what you want & sell what you write – long title, didn’t like the book, and 2 or 3 others.
  • shelled, analysed and studied about 40 scripts (and I am far from those 2/week I need to read!), among which  Eve (Mankiewicz), Body Heat (for that subtext), The big easy, Ocean’s 11 & Ocean’s 12, The electric Horseman, Howards End, Being John Malkovich, 3 Days of the Condor, Sherlock TV ep, Luther TV ep, The Prisoner TV ep, The Mentalist 4 TV ep, Scrubs  TV ep, West Wing 2 TV ep,   Amadeus, The Godfather, Donnie Brasco, Maltese Falcon, Pulp Fiction, Heat, Barton Fink, Sleepy Hollow, O Brother, Stagecoach, Night of the Hunter, The big Lebowski, The Big Sleep,  When Harry met Sally (yeah, for THAT scene, and see how it’s written), Some like it hot, etc…
  • read 7 modern plays (The Odd Couple  -his and hers- , Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf, The importance of being earnest, Ginger ale boy and Electric ballroom by Enda Walsh, one Shakespeeare…)
  •   read 6 novels , including the wonderful War Horse,  to relax

Secondly, I have written for myself (all)  and my publisher (a very small part) and you, -soon to be mine agent  (some):

  •  a 433p techno-thriller , with 2nd and 3rd  (same hero) in the synopsis -ripening room)
  • a 2x 150p drama novel (considering compiling to make one 300p book)
  • 2 short-stories
  • a long-feature radioplay (53min)
  • a short film screenplay
  • another short film screenplay
  • a synopsis for another short film
  • an article about a painting exhibition
  • 10 songs out of 12 for a musical project (with a music composer)
  • 20 poems (some are 2 or 3p long)
  • 4 detailed synopses for novels
  • 2 detailed synopses for short-story
  • 9 detailed synopses for a TV series
  • a synopsis for a noir feature film
  • 1 fan fiction TV ep
  • a 1st draft for a 3-act play in need of rewriting, editing, finishing and trimming
  • bits and pieces to be assembled into projects
  • 10 loglines /ideas for novel/Shortstory/script.
  • posts in a blog & tweets in a twitter account

I have relaxed in watching :

  •  300 ( or more) films and TV Series episodes, of various genres. (Next thing, I must try Doctor Who) [I can watch Sherlock AND read the script in the same time while sipping coffee. I’m like Windows, I am multitask) [[Sometimes, I watch the entire series in a row until it’s über-too late]]

In the meantime, when I have an insomnia, I also have observed & studied my targets (thanks Writer’s Market and magazines and blogs and news) and prepared my business and marketing plans, established the communication plan, established a list of other  contests I want to participate to. I have a new idea for a short…

I need a coffee, now. Strong, black, ultra caffeinated. Maybe I can just chew some coffee beans… It’s faster and a lot less fussier than brewing a mug ‘o joe…

It’s going to be a short night.

So long, Folks.

Coffee and films, what could go wrong?

What if…?

05 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by in Books, Entertainemt, Movies, Writing

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The oddjobbers (writers, screenwriters and the kind) know that some of the best stories (apart from adaptations of literature pieces, remakes, documentaries, mockumentaries, historic and period dramas) started with a  seemingly übersimple child’s game : “let’s make believe that…. (I am a princess in a pea pod shaped mattress; I am a dragon slayer; Ramses, King of Egyptian people;  this mud is our chocolate pie and Mum is the Big laundrymatic Chief Lady;  I have a hammer, I am a pop singer and I smash all my toys; MY name is Han Solo and  YOU are Chewbacca; etc).”

The only difference is in the formulation : What if….?

And starting with this “what if…” postulate can lead you pretty far and produce some of the finest stories, provided your ideas are decently fueled with a good imagination. Forget narrow-minded or clichés  things, unless you twist them enough to turn them into an interesting pattern.

 

Results can be good or… not so good.

Let’s have a closer look: (remember I  talk fiction here, not historical facts nor period dramas).

Sometimes the results are just astonishing and we are being provided with great literature and films. (I leave the scientific or engineering part of this aside, its not my field).

For instance :

  • What if …a scientist wanted so bad to compete with God and created his own creature? Results : Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) and James Whale (1931) [+ numerous adaptations TV, films, theater and countless spoofs & cartoons.]
  • What if…an evil man, feeding only on human blood, could transform into a bat and contaminate each person he bites? Results : Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) and Tod Browning (1931) [+ numerous adaptations TV, films, theater and countless spoofs & cartoons.]
  • What if…aliens invaded the Earth? Results : The War of the worlds by HG Wells (1898), radioplay by Orson Welles (*wink*) 1938 and all the Alien Invasion literature & films influenced/induced by those geniuses [from The day the Earth stood still (1951) to Mars Attacks (1996) & Men in Black 3 (2012)]
  • What if …a priest wanted to protect his religious community from persecution and created an protector which later turns destructive? Results : The Golem (first writtten by Rabbi Eliyahu of Chelm (16th Century), then by Rabbi Yaakov Emden (1748), by  Franz Klutschak (1841) and film by Paul Wegener (1921)
  • What if…a school director’s wife and his mistress teamed up to murder him to get rid of him? What if he DID not actually dies and sought revenge? Result : Les Diaboliques  (The devils) by HG Clouzot (1955), (forget the remake w. Sharon Stone , it’s pathetic)
  • What if…pets and animals could talk and tell their adventures to a young Victorian aquarelist woman? Results : all Beatrix Potter’s books and Miss Potter (2006)?
  • What if…a zillionaire paid paleontologists to revive some defunct Dinosaurs species on an island, the team escaping a funest fate just in time? Results: Jurassic Park by M. Crichton (1990) and by S. Spielberg (1993) [and sequels, and spoofs and various others Jurassic monsters]
  • What if…a rejected secretary decided to turn love down, wrote a best-selling book about it- thus allowing other women to take control over their feelings, love and ensuing pain- to finally win the object of her thoughts turned true love? Result : Down with love (2003).
  • What if…a widowed woman who discovered that her husband left her broke, had an affair, eventually befriended the lover while developing a marijuana business to erase her debts and found love? Result : Saving Grace (2000).
  • What if…There was a secret passage to enter a famous actor’s mind for some minutes, allowing to control his mind and body? Result :  Being John Malkovich (1999)
  • So many others.

Yet, sometimes the results are, well, you know…so so, to put it kindly.

For instance :

  • What if…we followed the life of several teenagers on their campus and recorded their  abyssal stupidity and their gastric problems? (American pie*)
  • What if…we stuffed in so much SFX on screen, everyone will think it’s a GREAT movie? (Matrix, Thor, Iron Man 2, Spider man, Star Wars the Phantom Menace and the updated episodes, Titanic)
  • What if…we made any sequel of a any Blockbuster in the attempt to make as much money, based on the notoriety of the 1st film, hey? (Bad, bad, baaaaad idea, seldom good sequels, Jaws, Highlander, Rocky, Rambo…)
  • What if…we had NO viable idea but tried ANYWAY?  The March of the Yellow giant Raspberry (it’s a joke), Sex lives of the Potato men* (it’s not a joke), Gigli (now really, a lesbian who sleeps with men?),  Jersey girl (now really, again, a music rep in a BIG company who does not how to change his daughter’s diapers, chooses to lose his temper and trash his client Will Smith, ending in solo pleasures and a crazy Liv Tyler?), Cowboys and Aliens* –no comment- (2011).
  • What if…Abraham Lincoln was (secretly) a VAMPIRE HUNTER?….(Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter * 2012)
  • And, what if…. IN THE SAME TIME, Abe Lincoln chased Zombies*?  (2012)(I think he might have had a seizure, if not already dead, and certainly had turned in his tumb)
  • What if…there is no proper script or plotholes or unsatisfying endings? 2001 : space odyssey (yeah, I know, you hate when I say that, but have a second look), Indy and the last Crusade( I know, I know, yet, plotholes around), Barton  Fink (sorry, ending’s weak)

* Oh God, someone REALLY greenlighted that, you know, and put MONEY into it, and INFLICTED it to the world!

So long, folks, I have to find a greenlighter for my 15 min-script in which :

the protagonist gets a tip from a spaceship alien commander that his mother is the reincarnation of the American Pie (eaten by Lincoln in a theater) made of Potato slices found in the Tumb of Bigfoot, rescued by Indy while en route to the dentist for his pet Shark JAWSY the 6th, and that’s disturbing fact, because he tries to to fight his growing inner apetite (haha) for fame  in participating in the “Yukon contest of the tough guys of the Woods” :  being able to eat 999 fries in one mouthful (haha, again). Being connected with/to a potato mother presumably still alive in the stomach of someone (brought back to life per thunderstorm), the stakes are high and the obstacles, numerous. Will he burn out? (hahaha) .Good idea, hu?

Floreva

PS : For science cum-what if… : http://what-if.xkcd.com/13/ (ANSWERING YOUR HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS WITH PHYSICS, EVERY TUESDAY)

 

 

 

DNA for dummies or Genetics and the screenwriter.

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Entertainemt, Movies, TV Series, Writing

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Is it just me? Or are you, dear reader,  bothered too,  when a nice piece -TV series or movie- does not play DNA by the rules?

Namely, the color eyes chart. Especially, when it’s clearly said/showed/brought to our knowledge that NO foul actions or adultery/messing around have EVER occurred in the life of Madam since she’s married*? So?

So how come that THIS happens :

“(Recessive*) Blue eyes father + (Recessive) Blue eyes mother = Dominant** Brown eyes child “? The off-springs should have (Recessive) blue eyes.

Unless… The father has transmitted one (Dominant) Brown to the bundle of joy to, UNBEKNOWNST to the screenwriter. Or props were not properly stocked and the person in charge lacked those colored eye lenses. Too bad…

Maybe it’s just me. I probably shouldn’t have been so much attentive as a student in 8th grade, I suppose. Or is it only because I was just better in genetics than in geology, and the knowledge has sunk in deeper and is still there? [I confess : I took my (sweet) revenge in excelling at genetics whereas I sucked at geology, AND I was being taunted by my biology teacher because my father IS a geologist. No kidding,”why my cousin has blue eyes and mine are only hazel ?” bore much more appeal than “feldspars KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8″. And honestly, the sole interest I have in stones is when they are square-shaped, small, sparkling, red or blue, mounted on a golden ring]

*(in “Downton Abbey”, Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, his wife  Cora, Countess both blue-eyed produce two brown-eyed daughters -Lady Mary and Lady Laura, or in the episode “The Hide”  of the series “Foyle’s War” the boy is also affected of the same heritage; and some others I do not recall right now). 

**Recessive means it takes two of them lads to be strong, dominant means it is stronger, even on its own. It’s not me, it’s the law of Genetics. It’s possible to have blue inherited eyes if one of your parents is brown-eyed and the other blue-eyed, provided at the upper level (grand-parents) one of them had blue eyes too and had transmitted the Recessive gene to the younger generation. It means that the recessive (i.e. non-dominant) is stored in the genetic patrimony and express itself oddly and randomly with another recessive gene. 

Just as the script (and therefore, the show) must not bear historical inaccuracies, nor errors (such as  continuity, plot holes, factual, visible crew, revealing, characters, police cars plates changing every other episodes…),  it must get the DNA heritage done properly, don’t you think?

Super Screenwriter explains it better than me :

Super Screenwriter is a genius ©Floreva 2012

A nice cuppa and a British series episode

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Entertainemt, TV Series

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It’s been awhile since I last posted, as a fellow blogger & follower told me recently. Sorry, sorry, dear readers, it’s been a busy time, back on tracks and back to work. Plus I had to find something worth writing about & sharing with you.

And, no wonder, it’s TV series “addiction” I’ll write about today… Let me grab my preferred teabag, kettle is whistling…There… So…

…While discovering the much acclaimed (and being mesmerized by) Sherlock on Netflix  last month, I reflected on my TV & movie enthusiasm. And I came to the conclusion that I decidedly have a thing for most British stuff .

Particularly when it comes to TV series.

I loved them then ( 60’s & 70’s, 90’s), I love them now.

No doubt I’ll love them tomorrow.

Especially if the future series blend inventive narrative tricks with caustic characters and brilliant writing, and neat subtext (as Sherlock does, for instance).

And on whatever angle I approach them, I am never disappointed. Comedy, drama,  law, children ( remember Paddington, and Here comes the double decker ? ),  detective, period and history, they’re always a perfect match for me.

An complete list would prove annoying for you to read and useless (if not preposterous) for me to write down, so in respect for your time, I’ve shortlisted them to the 10  I would carry the DVD’s with me, should I be sent to the farthest corner on Earth (provided there’s a TV set, of course ;-p )

Mind you, choosing among all them has been difficult.

So the winners are :

The Avengers (from Honor Blackman’s time to Linda Thorson’s time), The Prisoner, Blackadder, Sherlock, Yes Minister, Wish me Luck, Foyle’s War, Absolutely fabulous (which comes “ex aequo” with French and Saunders and a Bit of Fry and Laurie, I’m afraid), Wire in the Blood, and The Last Enemy.

Now, I just can’t wait to watch A touch of Cloth, a spoof crime-police series airing on Sky 1. With John Hannah (who starred in McCallum and New street order, btw).

Interview in the Guardian here : http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/26/charlie-brooker-spoof-crime-drama-sky1

Trailer there : http://sky1.sky.com/sky1hd-shows/a-touch-of-cloth
http://on.fb.me/jXJXk5 (Like on Facebook)
http://bit.ly/mn7faJ (Follow on Twitter)

I’d be glad to read what your fave British series is, drop me a line!

I think I need a second cuppa now, cheers and good night.

F.

Nowadays it’s difficult to make a breakthrough in the Industry if you’re a shark, a rat, or a sheep…

10 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by in Books, Entertainemt, Movies

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The Animal Kingdom seems to be an endless source of inspiration to fuel buoyant imaginations and savagely creative brains.

So far, it has cared for award-winning movies, and provided an extensive literature and comics or cartoons.

Among the most prominent actors of the Deuterostomes, Ecdysozoa, Metazoa, Fauna, that flow spontaneously in mind, we have : 

Category “Water-based”:

Sharks, fish (clown fish notably), otters, crabs, sponge (yeah, but trimmed and square), octopus, crocodiles, alligators, caimans, piranhas, penguins, the Creature of the Black Lagoon

Category “I run faster than you humans”:

Horses, huskies, dogs (namely dalmatians -and I mean 101 of ’em-, colley and various shepherd’s) , lions and lionesses, wolves, mice, unicorns, zebras, tigers, foxes, cats

Category “Phobia-inspired” and “terr-horrific”:

Spiders (ALL of ’em) , flies,  bugs, mantis, scorpions, snakes (boas, pythons, vipers, etc…ALL of ’em too), bees, wasps, ants, rats…

Category “Dead but reborn”:

T-Rex, Pterodactyls, Triceratops, Velociraptor, Aurochs, Dodo, Brachiosaurs, Dilophausaurs, Phoenix, werewolves,  were-rabbits…

Category “We are cousins, according to Darwin”: 

Apes, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, monkeys, Tarzan and Greystoke (ooops…)

Category “The rest that needs a category each, so I put them all together”:

Fawns, elks, mooses, unicorns, goldfish, birds, pigs, rats, mules, seals, elephants, hamsters, pandas, turtles, owls, bats, rhinoceros, lamas, camels,  brown bears, sheep…

What insects/bugs/animals did not have their 1/4h or fame so far?

Let’s see….erm…Think of what it may give as movie/series/book title :

Lice? (“Invasion of the lice” = already an award-winning entertainment event every fall in every school districts)

Unio Crassus? (“My so-called life as an extinct mussel in Netherlands”)

Were-Butterflies? (“Muffy , Were-Butterflies slayer”, huhu)

Tenia? (“It’s a long road to Tipperary’s loo”, “Independence Week”)

Dragonflies? (“US Airforce Once”)

Alpaga? (“My friend Alpaga”,”White tooth”,”Harry and the giant Alpaga”,)

Goat? (“Something new on the western front”= good meal ahead, haha)

Horseshoe crabs? (“Invasion of the horseshoe crabs”, see pix above, taken by yours faithfully or “2012 : A martian  odyssey” featuring horseshoe crabs invading the dust people of Mars with the landing of the Rover “Opportuniy” on the Red planet)

A mad bull? (“Mad bull and his brothers”, )

A strange animal, result of the crossing of an eagle and a jellyfish by a crazy-rejected-by-the -academy scientist, brought to life by a thunder in a windmill? (“The big sleet”, “Some like it undercooked”)

What would be your choice of an animal for a would-be hit story?

 

PS : thanks a bunch to the animal/bugs/insects/others/animated or plastic things featured in  : Jaws, Planet of the Apes, Starship troopers, the Fly, Arachnophobia, Crocodile Dundee, King Scorpion, Rintintin, Lassie, My Friend Flicka, Stuart Little, Moby Dick, A close shave, Gorillas in the mist, Dumbo, Jungle book, the Birds, Free Willy,Oliver and Co, Basil, Babe, march of the Penguins,Happy feet, Bedtime for Bonzo, Monkey Business, Bringing up Baby,  Wallace and Gromit, Beethoven (and all dog movies you can remember), The Creature of the Black Lagoon,King Kong, Benji, The Black stallion, Seabiscuit, Lassie come home, Cats, The Whale, The Lion, The Bear, The Fly, the Spider, Jurassic Park I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII …hum, sorry, one too many ;-  etc, etc… you name them… 

So long, folks.

Floreva in the Mist too ( here, in Cape Cod today)

 

 

 

Fun at the Carter’s Steam Fair

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Enchanting world, Entertainemt, Life in style

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Want to experiment vintage sensations? Want to ride a horse on a jolly bonnie galloper platform? Fed up of ads for sodas, or phone operators plastered on every wall or panel while you’re having a ride on the bumping cars? Bored of plastic molded toy cars or boats of the thrill rides?

Try something new, and paradoxically enough,  try it vintage.

You’re ripe for the Carter’s Steam Fair experience!

After heavy showers, sun was shining again, and along with my London-based friends (who never even knew such a fair existed in the UK), I headed down to Dulwich (location changes and the Fair travels all around UK).

It took 25 minutes from Kensington by train and tube to reach the Fair .

 (I told you it was sunny…well, with still some clouds here and there) And then, at last :

 

 

 

 

The yard was soaked and muddy, and ruined our trousers and our sneakers or flats in a minute, but as the sun was warming and the sky, bright blue, and the carousels were so lovely and vividly coloured, that we  chose to stay on a positive mindset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old wooden carousels or vintage tin cars merry go rounds, penny arcades, and mighty strikers attraction to challenge one’s strength, shooting stall or ball throws, everyone can enjoy the fair…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the candy floss tastes special here, like old child’s souvenirs of sugary candies and confections, coupled with the reminiscence of a scent of that powder used by a kind grand’ma with pink velvety cheeks.

 

 

Penny arcade : full of oldies goldies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bright shiny and glossy painted wooden gallopers provide an endless string of happy souvenirs attached with memories of forgotten moments, replaying as the retro music fills the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wonderful micro-escape in time, among extremely exquisite gems of past days attractions.

 

 

Looking for something more goose pimply? Try the Chair-o-Plane or the Victory Dive Bomber for thrilling sensations.

 

 

We had a wonderful moment.

 

 

 

And we came back home, stopped for a LP at the pub around the corner, while waiting for our Indian take-away to be ready.  It all ended with an ep. of Mentalist, coupled by a hot cappuccino with a double dose of whipped cream.

It has been a lovely day.

 

Carter’s Steam Fair.  For dates and locations : http://www.visit.carters-steamfair.co.uk

 

Tea and Thor, the though guy who changed.

04 Monday Jun 2012

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It’s 4 pm, and at this moment, I need a cup of tea.

Coffee is more a morning affair, a routine to fuel my lack of energy to sit at my table (my desk, or an anonymous table in a coffee house or at the library), get to what I have to do, figure out how the things must develop onstage (for the musical project I am currently working on), finish the work, retrieve the scene where I left it (for the techno-thriller), having allowed  the hero to breathe a little more before throwing him into an unbearable dilemma, when I switched the laptop the night before.

The perfect cuppa is better enjoyed with an episode of a great TV series, after 8 pm, when I am not out.

I am addicted to tea and telly paired together (well, not the telly, rather the TV series on the telly). While busy with my favorite vice,  I can’t help but analyse the product I am served.

I suppose it’s what everyone suffering from the same disorder does : We shell the tricks of the screenplay, anticipating moves of the action or of some characters, expecting them to react in a particular way. I like it when I have a right guess, I feel the screenwriter has done his job properly, by having followed the rules and that the director has done a good job too with the clues, letting the audience to recall them on time and find the path to enlightenment.  I like when the series is so cleverly crafted that if leaves me puzzled or amazed. It’s highly enjoyable when this feeling lasts a bit more and makes one smile. It’s always better when the trick/twist end/resolution is cleverly chiseled and not set on a short fuse.

For instance, I felt quite disappointed with “Thor”. But not with “Pirates, band of misfits” that I saw last Sunday.

Ok, so…Thor.

Thor is a nice guy. He is about the become king of Asgard.Check. Strong, big, handsome, chiseled 6-pack, charming smile, his father is proud of him. He is the hero. The hero is a though guy (with loads of special FX, too much), he wants war. Check. Special FX. Check. Special FX again. Cheeeeeeck.

Thor has a jealous brother, Loki (Nemesis character), conspiring against him. Check. But he is shot-tempered (Thor, not Loki. well, Loki too). This is his main drawback (coupled with an unquenchable thirst for revenge upon the people of Frost Giants). The Frost Giants interrupt and try to steal a casket, followed by Thor and his friends (reflection characters). Battle takes place.

(Special effects,I, II, III, IV)

Odin is terribly disappointed. His father, the king of Gods (all this is inspired by Norske tales and the marvel comics) banishes him from the Scandinavian Olympus and the brother is seeking to seize the throne after this banishment. Check.

Special effects.

Thor is a shallow, smooth character inside, a little guilty on the edges (well not that much) when he learns that his father is dying. Loki has layers that add depth to his dilemma (his is the adopted son of Odin, an offspring of a killed Frost Giant Chef).

Special effects.

Later, Thor faces the dilemma : inner motivation : striking back, showing he is not that short-tempered and he can change and become king . Outer motivation : to regain his father’s esteem and redeem his right to the throne (and regain his immortality and his powers). Check. Check. Check. Special FX.

On Earth, he meets Natalie Portman, the pretty scientist (she embodies both (a little) the reflection character and the romance character). She lives and work in a RV, with her assistant and a tutelary personification of the father (= authority, credibility, etc).

Special effects.Special effects.Special effects.Special effects.

Thor is accustomed to be served by servants, right? He does not know how to clean a table, cook an egg (furthermore in a kitchen on our planet, he is a God from Above the Clouds), or understand why it’s important to be polite to others, right? (Special effeeeeeeects)

He must face a dilemma : he must understand that making war is bad bad bad. He should be torn between his blossoming attraction for Natalie and his duty and his anger to show his father that he has all rights to seek revenge over the people from the icy world, right? Especially when his brother comes down to whisper the song of  war and brute force to crush them and regain his throne, right?  His brother wants to use those feelings to destroy Thor forever, and seeks to excite his appetite for blood and fight. The audience expects to see the dilemma plastered all over his blond face, his hands twisted with remorse and regret and duty and courage and anger…

It must, it should, it needs to last some minutes, and could be shown in several micro-scenes, inserted in the flow of the linear construction of the timeline, even in parallel actions, to add tension and thrill and build the suspense.

But not Thor. He does not give a toss to our expectation of tension, thrill, or supense.  He has his magic hammer (well, ok, ok, it is still stuck in a mud bed, with all the FBI, CIA, whatever agency agents all around sent to observe the unknown device, and the rain is pouring, and it’s night and it’s thunderstrom everywhere, and Thor escapes the security to retrieve his hammer and he  meets Natalie again and….), his blond suntan skin and his surfer hair, he is tough (remember?) AND he has changed.

We know that because he said so, while piling the eggs sunny-side-up into Natalie’s plate, a tea towel thrown over his shoulder, with a nice apron and a perfectly peaceful gaze at his bro, Loki, who just can’t believe his ears (just as the audience, BTW, this was dumbfounding, I daresay).

“WHAT? No war? what about your anger, and your will for revenge? And regaining your hammer and its power and your powers? Those people are our ENNEMY from the beginning of time, blablabla…” (he tries really hard to shake the king-to-be-banished-but-not-really-and-already-forgiven-by-Daddy). Special effects.

But no. It’s written in the script, so there goes Thor  : “I HAVE C-H-A-N-G-E-D, nanana… No war. Peace and love, bro. “

Can you believe that? What happened to the screenwriter? Why frustrating the audience like that? There are rules, in the good book of screenwriting rules.

See? Special effects can’t be all. And I need a tea. Tea and Thor, the guy who changed. Not the perfect match. Too bad, it was promising, even the second seeing is frustrating.

So long, though guy.

Floreva, TVseries addict forever.